S.A.T's Media Blog

iMovie + Photoshop ::: Titles using Slick Matte-tastic

IN iMOVIE

1. Position the Tape Head on the video frame you want to use as template in the iMovie Timeline.
2. Select File > Save Frame As.. (apple F)
3. Choose Format: pict
4. Save & name

IN PHOTOSHOP

1. Open the pict file. (N.B. Image size = Frame size ::: width 768 pixels x height 576 pixels)
2. Design Title / Font + position etc.
3. Switch off Background Layer (i.e. the original pict image) to make background transparent.
4. Save



BACK TO iMOVIE

1. Select the video clip in the Timeline.
2. In the iMovie Effects panel select GeeThree - Slick Matte-tastic lite.
3. Click Configure...




4. Choose your Photoshop title image.
5. Click OK.
6. Preview effect.
7. Adjust the Effect In + Effect Out to create fade in and fade out of title.
8. Click Apply.



NOTES / LINKS

Put iMovie effect plug-ins into the iMovie Plug-ins folder:
Macintosh HD > Users > "Account" folder > Library > iMovie > Plug-ins

***** GeeThree - Slick Matte-tastic lite *****

GeeThree: Products: Slick

GeeThree: Matte-tastic Tutorial

GeeThree also provides an exclusive version of Slick Matte-tastic Lite in this book: iMovie 3 Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Special Effects - Erica Sadun, that practically pays for the book itself !

iMovie 3 Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Special Effects - Erica Sadun

corporatemedianews.com: review

Amazon UK: £19.79

iMovie + Plug-ins ::: 4-Way Split Screen



1. Trim the four videos to the same duration in the iMovie Shelf.
2. Drag your first video clip to the Timeline.
3. Open the Effects palette.
Select Shrink And Place from the list of installed effects (See notes below).



4. If needed, move the Scale slider to the very centre.
The video clip occupies top quarter of the frame.
5. Click Apply. Wait as iMovie renders the effect.



6. Drag your second video clip to the Timeline and place it to the right of the first.



7. In the Effects palette choose *Overlay and drag within the preview window to move the second clip into the top-left corner.
8. Click Apply.
Wait as iMovie renders the effect. When finished drag any unused footage back to the clips Shelf.
9. Repeat the steps 6-8 to add the remaining two clips to create the four-way split screen.



NOTES / LINKS



The Shrink And Place iMovie plug-in is part of the Practical Plug-in Pack which is exclusive to the iMovie 3 Solutions book.

iMovie 3 Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Special Effects - Erica Sadun

corporatemedianews.com: review

Amazon UK: £19.79

Put iMovie effect plug-ins into the iMovie Plug-ins folder:
Macintosh HD > Users > "Account" folder > Library > iMovie > Plug-ins

iMovie ::: Basic Photoshop Animation

For this demo I'm going to use Photoshop animation to give the illusion I'm taking off my head !

SHOOTING

1. First I shot the scene mimicking taking my head off.
2. Then with the camera in the same position filmed the same shot without me in it.
This will be used in Photoshop as the background layer to erase to.
3. Next I uploaded the footage into iMovie.

iMOVIE

1. Drag video clip to the Timeline.
2. Positioned the Tape Head on the video frame at the start of the head lift.
3. Select File > Save Frame As.. (apple F)
4. Choose Format: pict
5. Save & name.
6. Repeated Save Frame As.. with the head lift finish point and background shot.



PHOTOSHOP

1. Put all three pict files into one Photoshop project as layers.
BACKGROUND LAYER - layer 1, HEAD start - Layer 2, HEAD finish - Layer 3.



2. Isolate the head.



3. Move HEAD to top position and erase original head.





4. SAVE AS + name (TOP HEAD).
5. Locate the layer of the first shot. SAVE AS + name (BASE HEAD).

iMOVIE

1. Select File > Import.
2. Select the two Photoshop files and click Open.
3. Arrange and edit the two Photoshop files to the Timeline to create the animation effect.



With the final movie I couldn't help but add B&W and Aged Film effects keeping with the silent movie slapstick theme !



NOTES

To switch OFF the KEN BURNS EFFECT
Select PHOTO in the IMovie toolbar. UNCHECK the KEN BURNS EFFECT CHECKBOX.



Keep the IMAGE SIZE set to 1.00.
To change the duration of the still : adjust the (rabbit) slider.

iStop-Motion Animation

This tutorial walks you through the basics of iStopMotion and guides you in shooting your first stop motion animation movie. So, go ahead and have fun!

Step 1: Starting up

Connect your camera to your computer (follow the instructions in the manual of your camera)
Launch the application by double-clicking the application icon.



After launching the application, a window will appear with the New Movie sheet over it.

Step 2: Creating the movie

In the Custom preset set the WIDTH to 720 pixels and the HEIGHT to 576 pixels. Then set the FRAME RATE to 12 fps (Frames Per Second).

Leave the Start Timecode by default.



Click OK button to go on.

Now you should see the current camera live image displayed in the main window.

Step 3: Animation

Place an object in front of the camera.

Capture a frame, by clicking the Capture Button or pressing the space bar.



Animate the object. That means to move the object just a little bit, like it's demonstrated in the picture below.



Click the Capture Button again, if you think the object is right in place.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have a small scene with about 40 frames, you should have over 3 seconds animation by now.

If this is your first attempt, notice that the smaler your movents of the objects are the smoother your animation will look when finished. The biggest mistake beginners do is capturing not enough frames. Always remember, that the result should look like a real motion, so if you displace the object to far, the motion itself won´t look like a "flow".

Step 4: Saving your work

Don't forget to save your movie! It might actually be a good idea to save your work on a regular basis. While iStopMotion has proven to be quite stable, every software can crash and make you loose your unsaved work.
Choose either Save from the File-Menu or press Command-S.

Give the movie a name, and choose a place where the movie should be saved.

Click the save button to save your movie on the disk.

Step 5: Export to QuickTime

File > Export to QuickTime...
Name and click Save, choose location etc.

Change the Movie Settings:
Video: Settings: Compression DV - PAL Frame Rate: 25
Uncheck the 'Prepare for Internet Steaming' checkbox.

Click Ok



Step 6: Import into iMovie to edit and to add sound effects, music, transitions and titles.

iMovie > File > Import

LINKS

Boinx iStopMotion

iStopMotion Examples

Final Cut Express ::: Lip Synching

Here's a quick demonstration of how to lip synch using Final Cut Express.
Below is the original footage of ‘You Wanna What’ I will use to synch to the original CD track.


FINAL CUT EXPRESS

1. Linked Selection Control
In the Button Bar click the ‘Linked Selection Control’ button to keep the video and audio of a clip linked in the Timeline.



2. Place ‘You Wanna What’ Audio Clip (CD TRACK) on the Timeline
Click the AIFF audio file in the project window to select the CD track.
Then DRAG + DROP onto the audio track of the Timeline [A1/A2].

3. View Waveform
Click the triangle next to the Track Height display to open the Track Layout pop-up menu.



Then select Show Audio Waveforms to display of waveforms in the Timeline.



4. Add Marker
In the Timeline find a key point in the ‘You Wanna What CD TRACK’ that can be recognized visually.
{“.... some guys.... OHHH.....”}

Place the Playhead in the Timeline at this point.



Select the ‘You Wanna What CD TRACK’ clip in the track and in the Canvas window, click the Add Marker button. [ or press ‘M’ ]



Two pink markers will appear on the audio clip.



5. Place video clip on the V2 track in the Timeline
Click the video clip to select the clip.
Then DRAG + DROP onto the V2 track of the Timeline.

6. Switching Tracks On and Off
In the Timeline click the A1 and A2 Speaker icons to turn off the ‘You Wanna What CD TRACK’.



7. Find the “Ohhh” Point and Add Marker
In the Timeline play the video clip to find the same key point as marked in on the ‘You Wanna What CD TRACK’. {“....some guys.... OHHH.....”}

Place the Playhead in the Timeline at this point.

Select the clip in the track and in the Canvas window,
click the Add Marker button. [ or press ‘M’ ]

8. Audio Synching
Move the two video source audio tracks until markers are aligned on the Timeline.



Click the A1 and A2 speaker icons in the Timeline to turn on the
‘You Wanna What CD TRACK’.

Then click the A3 and A4 speaker icons to turn off the source audio of the video clip.

Play the sequence to check the lip-synch.
Zoom into the Timeline and adjust if needed.


Here's the finished student video:

Final Cut Express ::: Motion Paths

Two key of uses of Motion Paths in Final Cut Express are adding movement to titles and camerawork.

Final Cut Express ::: Motion Paths and Titles

1. In the Timeline, select the title.
Position the playhead on the first frame of the clip.

2. Make the Canvas window active, then choose 25% from the Zoom pop-up menu and Image + Wireframe from the View pop-up menu.



3. To add the first keyframe, click the Add Motion Keyframe button in the Canvas window.



The Wireframe in the Canvas window turns green indicating a Keyframe.



4. In the Canvas, drag the wireframe’s centre handle to the left until the right side of the wire frame aligns with the left edge of the black background.

Your title is now positioned just off screen, at the left.



5. In the Timeline, position the playhead on the last frame of the title.
In the Canvas, click inside the wireframe and drag it to the centre.

As you drag, the motion path appears across the centre of the screen.



6.Render the motion:
Choose Sequence > Render Selection > Both [apple/command - r].

To make adjustments to the motion path:
Click the motion path and drag in the direction you want it to go.

To reset / delete a motion path:
In Motion tab of the Viewer window, Click the reset button.





Final Cut Express ::: Motion Paths and Camera Movement

TO CREATE A SLOW ZOOM-IN:

1. Add Keyframes at the start and finish of the video clip.

2. In the Timeline, position the playhead on the end Keyframe.
In the Canvas, click on one of the outside handles of the wireframe and drag out to the final close-up.



3.Render the motion:
Choose Sequence > Render Selection > Both [apple/command - r].

A group of teenagers find themselves in possession of Stay Alive, a next generation horror survival videogame!
In Theatres: March 24th, 2006.......

Apple - Stay Alive Trailer

Stay Alive - The Official Movie Site

Stay Alive - IMDb

Google Video - The Godfather: The Game

The Godfather: The Game is Electronic Arts video game (due for release in 2006) based on Mario Puzo's novel and the 1972 film of the same name.

Apparently this is the "unseen on TV/banned" commercial for the xbox 360.......

xbox 360

The Nintendo Revolution Controller sets aside the traditional controller seen in other mainsteam consoles in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience.

The controller is shaped like a television remote control and is held with one hand.

The controller is also able to sense motion; two sensors placed near the television allow the controller to sense its position in three-dimensional space. Other sensors in the controller itself allow it to sense its tilt and yaw. This allows players to mimic actual game actions such as swinging a sword or using a flashlight, instead of simply pushing buttons.

This early marketing video showed actors miming such actions as fishing, cooking, drumming, conducting an orchestra, shooting a gun, sword fighting, and performing dental surgery!

To communicate with the sensors, the Revolution's controller uses Bluetooth technology.

Nintendo Revolution Controller

Classic Atari 2600 commercial from the 70's......

Atari 2600 Commercial

John Battelle, co-founding editor of Wired and founder of The Industry Standard visits the Google New York office to speak about his book The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture (12/7/05).......

John Battelle talk at Google NYC

At BBC BLAST you can make a demo game, choosing the characters, background, music and more. Then show it off by sending it to a friend: Game Maker

GO! is the game I created !