Last week I was lucky enough to be a student at the National Press Photographers Association’s Multimedia Immersion, which was an intensive week long workshop on video/multimedia production. I had some amazing coaches and was assigned to find a story at a local animal shelter in Syracuse, NY. I met Bob Graham, who had a very interesting story to tell. Have a look at my final project and hear his story:
XEffects is another plugin for Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) that I have found useful for adding more of that polished look to my video projects. The plugin offers 10 or 12 distinctly different transition animations. These transitions are pretty sophisticated and so when you watch them, they feel professional. Not cheesy. They are intense enough for upbeat videos, but with enough options for toning down the mood more a more serious commercial project. I would highly recommend the plugin.
XEffects Tech Transitions is available from idustrual revolution for a reasonable $49.
Here is a video in which I used a couple of XEffecets transitions near the beginning:
Here is the company’s official tutorial:
Punchline is a plugin for Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) that offers some slick titles and transitions to spruce up your project and save some time with editing. I wanted to write a quick FCP X Punchline review so that editors out there like me can decide if they want to spend the money on yet another new plugin for FCP X. Personally, I enjoy editing and telling a story with visuals (since I’m a photojournalist), but I don’t usually want to spend a lot of time on animation, titling, etc. I’m also not ready to spend the money to outsource this work to a third party. Plugins are a great compromise here.
Punchline is available for $49 from SUGARfx. You get a set of about 10 or 12 different styles, all of which are highly customizable.
Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
Easy to use
Quality transitions
High energy, which is good for sports and entertainment videos
Cons:
Variety – I might like to see a few more styles of transitions.
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You can watch the official FCP X Punchline plugin tutorial below:
I recently finished a new video project for UW Bothell that I think you will enjoy. It’s an uplifting piece about the value of scholarships and how private giving can change someone’s life.
Today I’m doing a PluralEyes FCP X review because there is now a new version of the popular PluralEyes software for Final Cut Pro X that might help speed up your editing process, especially for DSLR shooters. Singular Software’s popular synching tool for Final Cut Pro 7 is sure to be a hit with video editors using Apple’s new FCP X, but I’ll break down a couple of the reasons why you may or may not want to buy this plugin. Here are a few pros and cons:
Pros:
Cons:
Thanks for looking and I hope this PluralEyes FCP X review was helpful to you …
I’m happy to share the second installment of the With Nature in Mind video series I am working on for the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia Community College in partnership with Jim Perich-Anderson. UWB/CCC has an inspiring staff that is leading the way in organic gardening and landscape management. They have completely phased out pesticides and herbicides while using goats, composting, and a host of other solutions to create a beautiful campus. The music for the video was composed by UW Bothell recruiter and musician Ramon Stephens. I am especially proud of this great campus because I am an alumnus of UW Bothell’s Master of Arts in Cultural Studies program.
Please have a look below at the short trailer for my upcoming documentary short film, Legacy of War, about the internal conflict in Peru.
Related: Legacy of War photo essay.
I recently produced a promo video for Seattle magician Nate Jester, Ace of Illusions. He’s a really talented guy and hilarious, too. Have a look at the video but be warned – you’re going to want to hire him …
In case you saw the trailer for The Tallest Hurdle and were waiting for the finished piece, or if you don’t even know what I’m talking about … you should have a look at this new video I recently finished! I shot everything on location in Nepal and I’m really happy with how it turned out. It is a difficult story to tell but very important, as these kinds of things often go. Below is a short story summary. Please also see The Tallest Hurdle photo essay.
In Nepal, it is surprisingly common to find children with severe burn injuries since villagers cook over unprotected fires in their homes. Both parents of a household may often have to work, leaving children unattended or under the care of a relative who may also have many responsibilities. Children can crawl or walk in to an indoor fire, or perhaps tug on something hot that is cooking. In smaller homes, children can even fall into a fire while sleeping, as was the case with Sujan Gautam, who lost most of his right hand from injuries sustained while sleeping. Fortunately, the Disabled Newlife Center in Kathmandu and similar organizations are providing support for people like Sujan and are working to challenge the stigma associated with disability in Nepal.
Yanobox provided me with their new color manipulation plug-in for Final Cut Pro X, called Moods. In this post I will review Yanobox Moods and tell you a bit about its pros and cons and why you might want to try it on your next Final Cut Pro X project.
First off, as always, this is an honest Yanobox Moods review for Final Cut Pro X, but I did want to make sure and mention that yes, Yanobox sent the Moods software to me for free. That said, I will still try to be objective in this review. Second, right off the bat, I like Moods because it is simple, easy, and user-friendly. The software does not necessarily go far beyond what is already built into Final Cut Pro X, but it is still useful, intuitive, and comes with some great color-correction/manipulation presets. I tested out Moods in FCP X on my new project, The Tallest Hurdle, which is about the surprisingly common trend of child burn injuries caused by accidents with cooking fires in Nepal.
What’s great about Yanobox Moods is that you can preview a preset by simply moving your mouse over the preset. You will see the visual effect on your selected clip without even having to click. That is slick. There are several options for presets in Yanobox Moods and Final Cut Pro X makes integration with the plug-in a breeze. Click on “Effects” while in FCP X and review the Moods preset options. Select a preset or start from scratch using the array of sliders and wheels that control everything from shadow color tones to gamma, exposure, and more.
What’s not so great about Yanobox Moods is that it seems to draw much more energy from the computer in order to render changes as compared to say, using the built-in color and exposure controls in FCP X. Other than that drawback, I can’t really find a reason not to use Moods, unless you are tight on money. Otherwise, for $50, it’s really not a bad deal at all.
If you liked this Yanobox Moods review for Final Cut Pro X, you want to see more reviews, or just want to disagree, go right ahead! Let me know what you think or send me a question. I will be reviewing another software plug-in for Final Cut Pro X soon – Singular Software PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro X – so stay tuned. Thanks for viewing.
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Here is the Moods tutorial video, which is just an introduction by Yanobox that they put on YouTube for beginners:
Singular Software has just released PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro X. PluralEyes was the go-to plugin of choice for video editors syncing audio using Final Cut Pro 7, and now the plugin is available: PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro X. I will be reviewing the new plugin soon.
As DSLR shooters, we have to use external audio recorders because our cameras don’t record audio very well. And as you may know, to sync audio in Final Cut Pro X it is as easy as three clicks – just click the audio track, the video, and right click to select “synchronize clips.” This is great and a feature that was badly needed in Final Cut Pro 7, which is why PluralEyes was so great when it came out. So why would anyone ever need PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro X?? Final Cut Pro X does not seem to be able to figure out how to sync multiple video clips with a single audio track. This is very frustrating, because often I will have one track for audio from an interview, and multiple video clips from the interview. This is because DSLR cameras like the Canon 5D mark II cannot film for longer than 12 minutes or so. You have to briefly stop and start the camera. I’m very much looking forward to testing out this new version of PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro X.
See below for the official press release:
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PLURALEYES FOR FINAL CUT PRO X NOW AVAILABLE
New release lets Final Cut Pro X editors better manage dual-system audio and multi-camera productions; sophisticated automation technology accurately syncs video and audio
Vancouver, British Columbia, January 25, 2012 — Singular Software™, a developer of workflow automation applications for video production, is pleased to announce the availability of PluralEyes® for Apple® Final Cut Pro® X (FCP X). The multi-award winning PluralEyes technology works alongside FCP X to quickly and accurately sync video and audio clips for dual-system audio and multi-camera productions, saving hours of tedious manual syncing during post-production.
“The auto sync function that is built into Final Cut Pro X is a start, but most professional editors will want more. They want to be able to sync many clips at once, see the results right away, and be confident that the sync will work across a broad range of real-world video projects,” says Bruce Sharpe, CEO, Singular Software. “PluralEyes for FCP X is built on the same technology that is used countless times every day to sync weddings, corporate videos, documentaries and a host of other video production types. With a time-tested, proven technology powering the automation, FCP X editors can confidently offload their entire sync task to PluralEyes and be hands off until the sync is complete, regardless of the type of project they are working on.”
PluralEyes for FCP X went through an extensive public beta before its release with thousands of editors putting the software through its paces. Photography Bay reviewed the PluralEyes for FCP X beta release, commenting on its ability to better handle real-world sync projects, “…syncing multiple takes to a single audio clip is a challenge in FCP X, but is something that the new PluralEyes beta shreds through easily.” The full Photography Bay review can be viewed at http://www.photographybay.com/
PluralEyes for FCP X Pricing and Upgrades
PluralEyes for FCP X is available today via http://www.singularsoftware.
Existing PluralEyes for FCP customers can upgrade to PluralEyes for FCP X free of charge at http://www.singularsoftware.
FCP X editors can test-drive the new release by downloading a 30-day trial version from http://www.singularsoftware.
Today I am launching the trailer for an upcoming multimedia project called The Tallest Hurdle, based on this photo essay I produced in Nepal about indoor cooking fires and the surprising prevalence of young burn victims. Please have a look:
