• Seamlessly exchange projects and assets between After Effects and Flash
• Shoot green screen material correctly, work with Keylight, and utilize embedded alpha channels
• Create dynamic text, vector-based animations, and “animated” video using the tools in Adobe Creative Suite 4
• Work with 3D cameras and lights and create 3D environments
• Convert Flash to broadcast and DVD standards with After Effects
• Use Adobe Media Encoder for professional results
• Create interactive controls and use cue points in your video
• Optimize video for accessibility and use Adobe® Soundbooth® for video transcription
• Use ActionScript in your projects for more innovative animations

1. Shut down the computer to avoid any improper dismounting of media drives.
   2 Isolate the suspected “problem” device.
2. Be sure to reseat both ends of the cable.
   4 If that doesn’t work, try swapping out the cable.
3. Continue to add devices until the problem recurs. Then repeat this cycle.

Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

“The mDialog application is always available as a free download worldwide from Apple's App Store on iPhone and IPod Touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore/ or click on the link on the mDialog site.”

“The really great thing about this feature, from our perspective as designers and developers, is how simple it is to accomplish and manage. If the timing is out or a caption is wrong, you simply change a few words or numbers in the XML file.”

“Apple's Compressor relies heavily on a service called Qmaster in order to work. Qmaster allows you to split rendering tasks across multiple machines in a render farm but it is still required even if you are only rendering on a single computer.The link between the two is so important that if the Qmaster service fails to launch, Compressor will be unable to submit batches. Should this occur, Compressor Repair checks for problems that could be preventing Qmaster from operating correctly. It checks for missing files, incorrect permissions, and attempts to manually start the qmasterd process.”

• "What is HD?"
• RAID

• Production
• Post-Production

• Distribution

#1 – Build It Right

#2 – Make a template

1. Have an empty document open sized for your editing system (see above).
2. Create a new (empty) layer, and name it Safe Title Area.
3. Select All by pressing Cmd+A (Ctrl+A).
4. Scale the active selection to 80% by choosing Select>Transform Selection, and then typing in 80% in the Options bar for width and height. Press Return (Enter).
5. Load red as the foreground color. Then choose Edit>Stroke and specify four pixels centered. This is the title safe area.
6. Lock the Safe Area Overlay layer by clicking on the Lock icon in the layer’s palette.
7. Save your work.

#3 – Pick a cool font

• SERIF vs SANS-SERIF: Serifs are the little hooks on type. Serifed type (think Times) uses thick and thin strokes. Sans-Serif (think Helvetica) uses even-weighted strokes. Sans Serif usually reads better for video. If using serifed fonts, look for a bold or black version and avoid lines thinner that 3-pixels.
• Style: Write 10 – 20 words down that describe your video. Get input from your client too. Use these words for guidance when looking at fonts.
• Free or Paid: Free fonts (and overly cheap) fonts often have partial character sets. This may be an issue if you need special symbols (such as & ™ © or • ). You get what you pay for, but don’t worry, several independent font foundries sell great fonts for less than $25 per font.
• Keep it in the Family: Some fonts belong to families (regular, bold, black, italic, etc). This is useful as you can use one font family and mix styles. This leads to a consistent design in your titles. If you want to mix fonts NEVER use more then two fonts in a title graphic.
• Format: Many fonts come in different formats. Macs have historically used Postscript while PCs have used TrueType. Macintosh OSX can now read many “PC” true type fonts with no problem. A new format OpenType is also starting to pop up for sale.
• Kerning: Some professional fonts have had the spacing between characters carefully tweaked. This balanciong is called pair kerning. If your type appears improperly balanced you will need to kern it. Move between characters using the left and right arrows. Hold down the Option key (Alt key) and press the left and right arrows to tighten or loosen pair-kerning.

#4 – Use good color

• Avoid highly saturated colors. Bright reds and yellows will cause problems in video.
• Use contrasting colors; if you were to use a color wheel, these would be colors opposite each other. If you want to use three colors, draw a triangle on the color wheel. Digital Anarchy sells a great product called ColorTheory that makes it easy to pick color combinations for two or more colors.
• Pick up the Pantone book on color trends. This book offers interesting color combinations that always seem to end up the latest fashion.
• Mix light and dark colors to maintain contrast. Dark on dark and light on light are VERY hard to read.
• Use a contrasting edge on your type (such as a shadow or glow). This will improve readability.

#5 – Make it layered

• Use photos of textures in your bars. I often take pictures of light, reflections, lighting, water waves, etc. and mix these in with my graphics to add a natural depth. Simply place the texture above your bar and press Cmd + G (Ctrl + G) to group it. The texture is now applied just to the bar area below.
• Use blending modes to achieve better looks. This is perhaps Photoshop’s coolest feature. While you can pick them from a list in the layer’s palette, I find it easier just to experiment. Highlight the layer you want to blend, pick the move tool (V), then press Shift + + or Shift + - to cycle through blend modes. Experiment, have fun, trust me it works!
• Use layer masks to blend layers together. Use black and white gradients on your layer masks to create smooth transitions in mixing layers.
• Fill an empty layer above your bar with a solid color or gradient. Tint your bar by setting this layer to the Color or Hue blending mode.

#6 – Layer Styles are your friend

1. Create a new layer and name it Flat. (It will be created by default right above selected layer.)
2. Press Option+[ (Alt+[) to select the layer below to be flattened.
3. Link to the layer named Flat.
4. Choose merge linked from the palette’s submenu.
5. Press STOP. (You can choose Option (Alt)+Merge Linked instead for targeted flattening).

#7 – Make it Readable

1. Choose View> Actual Pixels.
2. Press the F key twice to go to Full-Screen mode.
3. Press Tab to hide your palettes.
4. Stand up from your computer and look at it from the far corner of the room. How’s it look?
5. Press the F key and tab to return to normal.

#8 – Make it See Through

1. Turn off all layers you don’t want in the final graphic (including the background or placement image). Create a new (empty layer) and highlight it.
2. Hold down the Option (Alt) key, choose Merge Visible. A composite layer is now created.
3. Turn this layer off by clicking on the Eye icon.
4. Hold down the Cmd (Ctrl) key and click on the layer name in the layer’s palette. The marching ants should encircle the layer.
5. Switch to the Channels palette and click on the Save Selection as Channel button. Only have 1 alpha channel per document or your NLE will get confused.
6. Choose File>Save As to Save A Copy as a PICT or TARGA with an alpha channel included. Photoshop 7 users who need TARGA files should download the free update to fix a bug with transparency

Pick Your Power

bbDEMUX – Free

• Material that has already been captioned for TV viewing
• Live programming
• Video that is "generally considered to be comparable to programming provided by multichannel programming distributors."

• When working in Premiere, don't forget about the search menu that you can use to locate the effects you want
• Change Color is a useful effect that you can use to target and adjust one color region of your video clip
• There are also Shadow/Highlight adjustment options in Premiere
• You can bring your video clips into Photoshop Extended and apply Photoshop effects to them
• Make video clips into smart objects so that Photoshop will treat them as a single layer
• After you have finished editing the video clip in Photoshop, go under the Export command and render the finished video
• Get more information from Richard at Photoshop For Video.com
• Use After Effects to make speed changes to your video clips. Remember, time is just another keyframe
• If you want further video training from Richard, you can watch his classes at Kelby Training.com, or see him live at Photoshop World this September in Las Vegas”

• Arranging audio files on multiple tracks
• Making quick edits and applying fades
• Matching volume levels with a single command
• Removing unwanted noises and background sounds
• Adjusting tempo and pitch
• Recording and polishing voice-overs
• Adding effects and filters
• Previewing MP3 compression quality
• Easily creating customized music — without musical expertise
• With the new Adobe Sound Document file format you can take “snapshots” of your work-in-progress and undo changes made to your audio assets.

1. Inside Final Cut Pro select the sequence you want to export.
2. Choose File > Export > Using Compressor.
3. Inside Compressor select the setting you’d like to apply to the file. With the setting active, select the Inspector window and click the Filters tab.
4. Choose Timecode Generator.
5. Change the settings for the Timecode Generator as you see fit.
6. Apply the setting to the clip in the Batch window.
7. Submit the job.
   

Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

It’s possible to trim on the fly. This way you can listen for an audio edit or look for a particular visual cue. Just make sure the Dynamic trimmimg checkbox is marked.

1. Enter Trim Edit mode, and press the space bar to cycle your trim. The sequence will play around your edit point and loop. The pre-roll and post-roll are set in the Editing tab of User Preferences.
2. When you reach the desired edit point, press the I key to move your In point.
3. Press the up or down arrow to move through the Timeline to your next edit point.

Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

• Flash Video is getting really popular
• The Adobe Media Player will be easier for corporations, schools, and government to use due to Adobe's greater acceptance over Apple (and especially iTunes).
• The media player supports several models that are attractive to content creators
• The media player supports very rich statistics on media consumption
• The application is going to move onto all sorts of devices and platforms in the near future.
• If you are a podcaster... I predict the Adobe Media Player will have as great of an impact as iTunes did on podcast consumption.

• After Effects Apprentice – Trish and Chris Meyer
  • After Effects @ Work – Focal Press
  • Broadcast Graphics on the Spot – Richard Harrington, Glen Stephens, Chris Vadnais
  • Creative After Effects – Angie Taylor
  • Creative Cow – www.CreativeCow.net
  • Xeler8r – www.xeler8r.com

• File sizes are approximately four times larger.
  • Download times are approximately four times longer.
  • Hosting and delivery costs are approximately four times greater.

• Migrating from another NLE
• Upgrading to Final Cut Studio 2
• Seeking a handy reference to raise your proficiency

QuickTime P2 MXF/DVCProHD Decode Components for Windows
For playing P2 MXF Files and QuickTime DVCProHD Files on Windows (see Read Me)
Download BETA 1.0.0 (Build 18) for Windows
Download Read Me
Download License Agreement