http://library.creativecow.net Creative COW Library of tutorials, articles, reviews and more for media professionals world wide. en-us Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:00:00 GMT PHP Script webmaster@creativecow.net webmaster@creativecow.net http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/HFR-Cinema_Douglas-Trumbull-JMR/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/HFR-Cinema_Douglas-Trumbull-JMR.php Douglas Trumbull wanted to make UFOTOG, a 10-minute short, to showcase his vision of immersive movie-going: 120 fps at 4K in 3D, on a curved screen. To shoot and present a movie in a never-before-seen format, he turned to JMR Electronics to design and build a server and storage system that could col Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_4/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_4.php In this tutorial, we look at how to import and organise assets inside our projects and how to use and create a custom bin structure so we can easily find our assets when we begin editing. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/VFX-Wayne-Brinton/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/VFX-Wayne-Brinton.php Modus FX created 227 visual effects shots in Now You See Me, a movie starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher about four young magicians who appear to rob banks during their performances, distributing the spoils to their audiences, while the FBI and Int Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_3/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_3.php In this tutorial, Andrew Devis shows how to organise your media assets on your hard drive and what to do when Sony Vegas Pro can't find an asset because it has been moved. Andrew also goes on to show how to open new empty projects and save your project - which is not the same as 'exporting' your pro Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_2/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_2.php In this overview tutorial, Andrew Devis goes over the User Interface (UI) of Sony Vegas Pro, showing how to customise the UI, save new UI layouts (called workspaces) as well as showing how to add events to the timeline, trim them and create simple transitions very quickly. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_1/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Sony-Vegas-Pro_1.php In this introductory tutorial to the new Sony Vegas Pro Basics series on Creative COW, Andrew Devis talks about purchasing options for Sony Vegas Pro and the advantages of using Creative COW to view and download the tutorials as well as to access world-leading forums for Sony Vegas Pro. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/AE_CC_C4D-Text-1/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/AE_CC_C4D-Text-1.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe gets you up and running quickly inside of Cinema 4D lite by showing you how easy it is to not only extrude text, but texture it and give it a quick animation, and get it back into After Effects before your client even knows you left! Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:04:47 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_14/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_14.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe begins his look at creating basic text inside of Apple's Motion 5. This lesson is essential as most of the work you do inside of Motion 5 will have some kind of text element in it, and it's important to have the fundamentals down, before tackling your first project. Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:10:22 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_84/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_84.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe talks about encoding your exported Media Composer timelines using Apple's Compressor. This lesson is specifically focused on Editors who have made the switch from Final Cut Pro/Studio to Avid's Media Composer, but still want to get the most out of the applications i Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:19:33 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Star-Trek_Into-Darkness-VFX/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Star-Trek_Into-Darkness-VFX.php On Star Trek Into Darkness, VFX producer Ron Ames was concerned about standardizing color information between production company Bad Robot and the VFX companies ILM and Pixomondo as well as DI facility Company 3. The solution was installing Dolby's PRM-4200, a professional reference monitor that can Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:10:18 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Star-Trek_Into-Darkness-Editors/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Star-Trek_Into-Darkness-Editors.php The old saying is that the edit is the final version of the script. For editors Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. and Maryann Brandon, A.C.E, their work on Star Trek: Into Darkness began far earlier than that -- when they were asked for their advice on how to shape the script in the first place! In conversatio Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:01:56 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/chase_nicholas/WorldStage-Collaborates-with-ESPN/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/chase_nicholas/WorldStage-Collaborates-with-ESPN.php WorldStage, of New York City, has recently designed and integrated 'First of It's Kind' Live, Moving LED display installation for ESPN's premier show, the KIA NBA Countdown, recorded at the Los Angeles Production Center. This article describes the design and integration requirements implemented by W Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_13/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_13.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe gives you an introduction to Particles inside of Motion 5, and shows you how, with a little bit of forethought, you can create 3D particle elements in your compositions. Normally this type of element is created with a third party plug-in, but everything you see in t Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:47:41 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_83/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_83.php In this first of a multi-part tutorial series, Kevin P McAuliffe takes a look at setting up your Media Composer or Symphony timelines for creating SD DVD's. He covers formatting issues you need to keep in mind, as well as the proper way to export your sequence in three important, but very different Thu, 13 Jun 2013 04:30:19 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/3D-Conversion_The-Last-Emperor/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/3D-Conversion_The-Last-Emperor.php Rumors had buzzed for two years that director Bernardo Bertolucci was interested in converting his masterpiece The Last Emperor to 3D. That became a reality when the 3D version debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The sensitive job of handling the conversion went to Prime Focus in London, which dedi Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Rachel-Morrison/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Rachel-Morrison.php Cinematographer Rachel Morrison, who photographed the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner Fruitvale Station, was presented with the Kodak Vision Award at the 2013 Women In Film (WIF) Crystal + Lucy Awards in Los Angeles on June 12. The award is given annually to a female filmmaker wi Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Restoring-Richard-III/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Restoring-Richard-III.php When The Film Foundation decided to restore Richard III, the non-profit film preservation organization approached Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures Executive Vice President, Asset Management, Film Restoration & Digital Mastering, Sony Pictures Entertainment. The job was to return the film as close as poss Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_82/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_82.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe answers a common question, and that is "What is the difference between Consolidating and Transcoding?". Not only does he explain the difference and show you how easy both are to use, but he also discusses Batch Importing, and how what might seem like the b Sat, 08 Jun 2013 21:08:37 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Peter-Suschitzky/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Peter-Suschitzky.php British cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, BSC, ASC has shot an astonishing number of films that have become iconic: Privilege (the film that inspired George Lucas to ask him to shoot Star Wars), Star Wars Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and every David Cronenberg f Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:30:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/VFX-Great-Gatsby-Iloura/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/VFX-Great-Gatsby-Iloura.php In director Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, one of the more dramatic locations is the Valley of Ashes, a bleak, depressing rubbish dump that the characters pass through on their way between Manhattan and Long Island. Nearly everything there was created by Iloura, an Australian VFX company. Iloura V Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:30:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/VFX-Great-Gatsby-Animal-Logic/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/VFX-Great-Gatsby-Animal-Logic.php Award-winning, Sydney-based VFX and animation company, Animal Logic delivered 590 shots for the gilt, luxurious and captivating film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. 175 people worked on Gatsby over the course of a year and a half. VFX Producer Ingrid Johnston and VFX Supervisor Andy Brown talk to Cr Mon, 03 Jun 2013 02:45:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Avid-CatDV/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Avid-CatDV.php Square Box Systems' has just unveiled a CatDV asset management system for integration with Avid nonlinear editors. Pegasus is a premium CatDV client that is based on the CatDV Enterprise product and, in addition to integration with Avid Media Composer, also offers metadata support for RED Epic. With Fri, 31 May 2013 21:43:53 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Randy-Coonfield_Arrested-Development/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Randy-Coonfield_Arrested-Development.php Shapeshifter in Los Angeles most recently color-corrected and added VFX to ten of the new 15 episodes of the cult TV show Arrested Development. The job came to the full-service post facility almost accidentally, when colorist Randy Coonfield advised the production on how to best round-trip between t Thu, 30 May 2013 20:35:20 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_12/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_12.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his talk about navigating around the canvas by looking at the Replicator, and how you can use it to not only create video walls quickly and easily, but also to create awesome 3D text right inside Motion, with no 3rd party plug-ins required. Thu, 30 May 2013 05:18:05 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/hurwicz_michael/3dsMax-Particle-Flow-3/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/hurwicz_michael/3dsMax-Particle-Flow-3.php In this Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 tutorial, Creative COW leader Michael Hurwicz uses the Data operator to adjust the size of particles on the surface of a sphere, based on the separation between the particles. Tue, 28 May 2013 23:53:36 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_11/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_11.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe talks about Effects inside of Apple's Motion, and not only shows you how to create a cool basic effect, but he also show you how to create an effect for FCPX, and how to have complete control over the effects parameters. Sun, 26 May 2013 22:56:47 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_10/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_10.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his trip across the Canvas and discusses Behaviors, how they differ from Keyframes, and why you will want to use them as much as possible in your workflow, as they will save you a ton of time. Sun, 26 May 2013 19:29:41 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_81/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_81.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe answers a viewer's e-mail about creating multichannel audio exports. Most people think that this is a hardware limitation for most PC's and Mac's, but Kevin quickly shows you that this is very easy to set up right from within your export settings, and once you have Sun, 26 May 2013 01:22:31 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/hurwicz_michael/Autodesk-Particle-Ball/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/hurwicz_michael/Autodesk-Particle-Ball.php In this Autodesk 3ds max 2014 tutorial, Creative COW leader Michael Hurwicz uses the Data Operator (available (available for the first time as a standard feature) to create a sphere of particles with random 3D motion. This is done by taking particle rotation data and using it to determine particle p Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/hurwicz_michael/3dsMax-Particle-Flow/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/hurwicz_michael/3dsMax-Particle-Flow.php In this Autodesk 3ds max 2014 tutorial, Creative COW leader Michael Hurwicz looks at two features that are now a standard part of the product: The Data Operator allows you to use math, via a graphical user interface, to manipulate particles. Presets allow you to save and load Data Operator setups pr Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_9/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_9.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his look at the Canvas by talking about creating lights, and the ins and outs of figuring out and adjusting their parameters. He also starts out the lesson by creating basic geometrics inside of Motion 5 to work with, to create realistic lighting effects i Wed, 22 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/hofmann_jerry/Squeeze-9-review/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/hofmann_jerry/Squeeze-9-review.php Sorenson Media launches Squeeze 9 with industry-first HTML5 optimization, streamlined user experience, higher quality and faster speeds - and Jerry Hofmann takes a look. Wed, 22 May 2013 21:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_80/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_80.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe answers a viewer's question about how to create client approval Quick Time files in MC/Symphony. To take things to the next level, Kevin also shows you how to create HD YouTube files ready to upload to show your work to the masses. Mon, 20 May 2013 18:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/zelin_bob/Blackmagic-Design_SmartScope-Duo/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/zelin_bob/Blackmagic-Design_SmartScope-Duo.php Stop using the high price of HD waveform/vectorscopes as an excuse for not checking your video. Join Bob Zelin for a closer look at a real-world installation of Blackmagic's new SmartScope Duo, a practical, flexible, and yes, affordable approach to broadcast-quality monitoring. Mon, 20 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_8/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_8.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his look at the canvas, and talks about the most important tool in your Motion 5 work, and that is the HUD (Heads Up Display). He also discusses Camera basics, and how to get the best positioning in your scenes by using Motion's viewports. Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:57 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mize_rob/AE-Fireworks/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mize_rob/AE-Fireworks.php Rob Mize shares his techniques for using After Effects to create a variety of fireworks displays. All you need is CC Particle World, a few expressions and a reason to celebrate and you can light up your world with dazzling pyrotechnic effects. Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Ross-Riege/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Behind-the-Lens-Ross-Riege.php Ross Riege just finished shooting his first feature film, The Kings of Summer. Currently working on a feature-length documentary with director Greg Kohs, Ross took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with Creative COW about his career path as a young cinematographer and his experiences shooti Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_7/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Apple-Motion_7.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his tour of the canvas by looking at the transport controls inside of Motion 5, and the tutorial takes a turn to look at keyframing with the introduction of the "Record Keyframes" button that is tucked in right beside the Play button. Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:05 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/Ray-Harryhausen/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/Ray-Harryhausen.php "When we grieve Ray Harryhausen's passing, we are at least in part grieving perhaps the last living link to the earliest days of movie visual effects," says Creative COW's Debra Kaufman. She spoke to many of today's VFX giants who were inspired by Ray, including Phil Tippett, Richard Edlun Thu, 16 May 2013 21:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/reilly_michael/CDAT-History-Videos/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/reilly_michael/CDAT-History-Videos.php Lanier High School students work with 3D Studio Max creating a real world project thanks to a collaboration between Biscardi Creative Media Principal Walter Biscardi, Jr. and CDAT teacher Mike Reilly. Instead of just working on a class assignment, these students are creating something that will be p Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_79/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_79.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe continues his talk about Power User keyboard settings and you'll quickly see that you don't need to remap the entire keyboard to speed up your workflow. In most cases, it's simply about choosing the right tools to have at the tip of your fingers to get the job done Wed, 15 May 2013 08:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_78/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_78.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe uses a Linkedin forum discussion about what keyboard settings are useful for an editor to not only show you his settings in depth, but also explain in detail what each customized setting does, and why you're going to want to add it to your editing workflow. Wed, 15 May 2013 07:10:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/HitFilm-review/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/HitFilm-review.php HitFilm have just launched a KickStarter to bring their 3D compositing, visual effects and video editing software to Mac. Andrew Devis looks at the software package for Creative COW. Tue, 14 May 2013 21:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Premiere-Pro-CC-110/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Premiere-Pro-CC-110.php In this tutorial, Andrew Devis goes through a new option that will be coming with the next release of Adobe Premiere Pro called Lumetri Looks - which gives you the option to apply .Look files created in Adobe SpeedGrade directly to your footage in Premiere Pro. While this option at first glance seem Tue, 14 May 2013 20:01:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/devis_andrew/Premiere-Pro-CC-109/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/devis_andrew/Premiere-Pro-CC-109.php In this short tutorial for Premiere Pro's new CC version, Andrew Devis goes over some of the changes and improvements to the timeline panel for the next version of Premiere Pro so that you can get up and running with it quickly and smoothly. Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/garber_michael/FCPX-News-Editing/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/garber_michael/FCPX-News-Editing.php Michael Garber has spent hundreds of hours learning the ins and outs of editing broadcast news features with Final Cut Pro X. He describes a workflow that takes advantage of the best that FCPX's new approaches have to offer, while being honest about its limitations. Every editor already working with Mon, 13 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/VFX_Victoria-Alonso_Iron-Man/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/kaufman_debra/VFX_Victoria-Alonso_Iron-Man.php Victoria Alonso, Marvel Studios Executive Vice President of Visual Effects and Post Production, began her career in the early days of the digital visual effects industry. We had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Victoria about the Iron Man movies, post production's evolution, remote dailies an Sat, 11 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_77/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_77.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe shows you another real-world example of how to create "Hollywood-Style" effects right from within your timeline, by creating the "24" commercial break bumper. With some very simple title work, and a little forward thinking with the 3D Warp Tool, Fri, 10 May 2013 18:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/GenArts-Sapphire_7/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/GenArts-Sapphire_7.php Frequent COW Contributing Editor Kevin P. McAuliffe reviews the latest version of GenArts Sapphire plug-in effects filters for both Adobe After Effects and Avid AVX versions, with ratings for current and new Sapphire users. Kevin also observes Sapphire's ability to plug into other NLEs and finishing Thu, 09 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT http://library.creativecow.net/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_76/1 http://library.creativecow.net/articles/mcauliffe_kevin/Avid-Media-Composer_76.php In this lesson, Kevin P McAuliffe shows you the basics of tracking a background plate, and applying that information to a title you create in your timeline. Then he shows you, with the power of the fantastic Animatte effect, how to create a realistic effect of a car driving in front of a title. Adva Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT