I have had the opportunity to work in Motion 4 for about an hour and all I wanted to test first was the addition of the reflection and cast shadow features.  Let me say that before Motion 4, to create these effects required multiple layers/groups and a lot of keyframing.  A reflection could be created by duplicating the image or object, inverting and adding an alpha gradient, adjusting the blur and opacity, and you end up with something that works.  To animate it was labor intensive and difficult to make look correct.  A similar problem existed when trying to create realistic looking cast shadows.  And to animate them was even more difficult process to make move and lengthen or shorten appropriately.

Motion 4 has made both of the features automatic and easy to manipulate.  I am going to have a tutorial on using these features next week.  I have been very pleased with this new addition by Apple.  They are making this program more functional for animations and compositing.  There are several features with the camera that need to be enhanced and a “true” 3-D environment before it will be able to truly compete with the likes of After Effects, but they have made some significant improvements.  If you are a Motion fan, you will love the changes!

Here is a quick, crude sample of the reflection and cast shadows.

I have to say, the first thing that struck me about the new Final Cut Studio 3 from Apple was not the new features.  There are many and most of them are advantageous to workflow.  As I get the opportunity to play with them, I will give you my review of each.  But have you seen the box?  Final Cut Studio 2 came in this huge box with all the manuals as hard copies.  It weighed a ton!

When I went to the Apple store to buy my copy, I also picked up a new wireless mighty mouse.  As I was standing at the counter getting ready to buy my goods, I noticed that I had what appeared to be two mighy mice.  As I looked closer I noticed that one box was in fact Final Cut Studio!  That’s right, the new program fit in a box the same size as mouse.  Now that is pretty cool, because I could actually carry it out in a bag and didn’t need a hand truck to get it to the car.

I did get Final Cut Studio installed yesterday and everything wen’t as smooth as possible!  I was doing the install on my new iMac and had the upgrade version.  At the magic point during the process, I was asked for my previous product code.  I inserted the code and the install continued.  So after a few hours of sitting at the computer and loading disks, the install was complete.

I will let you know how all the features are as I get to use them.  I am most excited about the new features in Motion and will explore those first.  If there are any specifics that you are interested in, let me know and I’ll try it out and give an update.

I have jumped on board and bought my upgrade to Final Cut Studio!  $299 for an upgrade is amazing when you consider all the apps you get for that price.  Color alone, a $25,000.00 app before Apple purchased it, is well worth the measly $299.  I am most excited about the upgrades to Motion and the additional flavors of ProRes.

I am about to install my version of the software and will give a status report when I have had the opportunity to kick the tires a little.  Stay tuned for my review.

I have had many request to do a photo video for graduates or weddings.  It is a pretty easy gig, so I always accept.  A client provides the photos, we scan them and produce a beautiful photo video that makes them smile, cry and laugh.  It really is a wonderful thing.  The thing about photo video’s is that they are tremendously easy to do if you have the right equipment.

iPhoto has all the tools you need to create the perfect photo video.  They call them slideshows, but they are photo videos.  So for all those with a Mac who want to have a photo video for your graduation or for that special event, here is how you do it.

This is the first in a series of post about creating a video editing system and environment on a Budget.  I know that many churches, schools, and non-profit organizations do not have the funds available to invest $10K and up on a video editing system.  So I want to point out a few important factors to consider when building your first editing environment.

I have mentioned in a previous post that I am a Mac guy when it comes to video production. I personally think that the Mac is a more stable platform and that Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro work more intuitively than the other guys. So I always suggest investing your dollars in a quality Apple Mac over a PC. But this begs the question, which mac do I choose?

Apple offers an array of computers to choose.  If you have between $3,000 or more to put toward a computer, I recommend going with a Mac Pro.  It is a tower machine that will give you the power and performance you need when editing and rendering those long video pieces.  They can be upgraded to fit any specific need will last you for several years.  I recommend adding as much RAM and processor speed as your budget will allow.  This type of machine, however, is generally a budget buster and so we need to look at other options.

The Mac of choice for the budge conscience editor is the iMac.  For under $2,000 you can have a robust machine that will allow you to edit and render most any production.  The beauty of the iMac is that everything is built into a simple monitor and requires a very small footprint on your desk.  I would again recommend adding as much RAM and processor speed as your budget would allow.  The iMac is a budget friendly editing solution.

I went to the Apple Storeand configured a 20 inch iMac with a 2.66 Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, and left everything else standard and it retailed for $1,699.  That is not a bad price for a budget friendly video editing machine.  With Final Cut Express and this machine, you should be able to produce 80% of all your production needs, which will more than pay for itself in savings from outside production cost.

An often overlooked way to get quality hardware is through Apple’s refurbished Mac’s.  On their store page, they have a link to refurbished machines.  There you will find all kinds of machines offered at discounted prices.  Apple offers these machines with the same kind of warranty and protection as a new machine.  So you are not taking on additional risk by purchasing a refurb, but you will be able to get more machine for your money.

Our next topic will be storage.  We will look at hard drive space and options required for video production.  Stay tuned.