NEWS - Feb. 15, 2021
The big news this last week was Frame.io's introduction of "Camera to Cloud." In fact, it's my lead story this week:


In other news:

Adobe released a minor updates to Premiere and Premiere Rush last week. The latest features revolve around bug fixes and faster audio render speeds. They are available free as part of a Creative Cloud subscription.


BorisFX announced that Silhouette is now a participating product in the Netflix Post Technology Alliance. This means that rotoscope, paint, and visual effects artists who work on Netflix Originals like "The Umbrella Academy" and "Stranger Things" can rest easier knowing that Silhouette officially meets Netflix’s technical & delivery specifications and will continue to do so in the future.


Envato released a series of free Premiere Pro resources and templates. They also offer a free Premiere Pro course, as well as templates to create these videos in a really simple way.


The custom cable folks at Cloom have written an interesting white paper covering different display and cable standards. If you want to learn more about HDMI, DisplayPort and other display options, this overview is a good place to start.

The good folks at Pearson Press are offering my book - Techniques of Visual Persuasion - at a 45% discount from now till Feb. 20! In fact, they selected just twelve of their books for this special sale! (I am delighted to be included!!) Enter KNOWLEDGE during checkout to get your discount. I am very proud of my book - and the reviews are outstanding! Please order your copy today.


The response to my Learning Motion webinars has been much greater than I expected. Hundreds of folks have tuned in. So, I decided to continue this for one more week. Cameras, Sets and Drop Zones is my next webinar on Feb. 24. (NOTE: There is NO webinar this week!) This session covers using cameras to create movement, building sets, and creating projects that can be used with Final Cut Pro. As always, registration is FREE!


Last week's webinar - Lighting Techniques in Apple Motion 5.5 - is now posted to my store and our Video Training Library. This entire series of Motion projects includes the actual project files that I used for the training. I had fun showing you how to work with the lights to create some very interesting effects.


I have four excerpts from the Lighting Techniques webinar in the Reviews & Tutorials section; from exploring what the four light types can do to lighting a 3D object. The 3D object tutorial was a great deal of fun!

Oh! Last week, I presented a tutorial on how to create cast shadows in Motion using the Threshold effect. That was fine, but using lights provides a much better way to work. I have a video this week that illustrates this process.


Text titles in Final Cut Pro can be pretty hokey. So, this week, I wrote a tutorial with examples of what you can do to make the titles shipped with Final Cut look a whole lot better. 


I was talking recently with a student who was disappointed she couldn't get into film school. I told her that, all too often, film school simply teaches how to use a camera. It is living life and meeting the people in it that give us the stories that we use a camera to tell. Never confuse the tool with the message.

Until next Monday, stay safe, stay hopeful and edit well.
TUTORIALS & REVIEWS
» Frame.io "Camera to Cloud" - Big Changes to Production (Comment)
» Their new initiative opens a new ways to boost collaboration & diversity.

» Create a Cast Shadow in Motion Using Lights (Video Tutorial)
» How to create a moving cast shadow from a chroma-key or other object.

» Text Tricks & Techniques in Final Cut Pro (Tutorial)
» Tricks you can use in FCP and Motion to improve the look of animated titles.

» Illustrating the 4 Different Light Types in Motion (Video Tutorial)
» Motion offers four different light types. Here's what they look like.

» Illustrating Different Light Settings in Motion (Video Tutorial)
» See the results when you change the settings of a light.

» Light a 3D Object in Apple Motion (Video Tutorial)
» This is just plain fun! Light a 3D object with studio-style lighting in Motion.
Cameras, Sets & Drop-Zones in Apple Motion 5.5
This week, we go deeper into 3D and add camera movement.

* Add a camera to 3D text
* Build and light a simple set
* Add and modify camera moves
* Use multiple cameras with multiple sets

Everything you need - all in one place!
Lighting Techniqes in Apple Motion 5.5

This week, we explore lights & lighting effects in Motion:

* Light types & capabilities
* Prebuilt lighting configurations
* Custom lighting for 2D & 3D
* Positioning & animating lights

Everything you need - all in one place!
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