Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite

Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite

Released August 2009
Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
ISBN: None

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Book description

On a Mac, the sky's the limit for creating professional video. With all the tools available though, it can be a daunting task to decide which ones offer the best solutions for combined efficiency and high-level results. How can you effectively communicate your vision to clients and crew? How should you calibrate your camera for multi-camera and green screen shoots? Is it better to do your keying in After Effects, Motion, or Final Cut? How should you set up your edit suite for efficiency and accuracy? How do you manage large amounts of media and a multitude of formats for multiple software applications? In Video Made on a Mac, you'll learn the answers and much more. Chock-full of practical advice and step-by-step instructions, each chapter provides insight on the critical components of production and postproduction that can make all the difference when you're up against a tight budget and schedule. The accompanying DVD supplies you with project files and high-definition footage so you can follow along with the examples, as well as 50 training videos. Whether you're an advanced Mac user or just beginning to incorporate Adobe Creative Suite into your Final Cut Studio workflow, you'll learn to apply best-practice techniques to all your video projects.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Authors
  4. Introduction
    1. Who This Book Is For
    2. What’s On the Disc
  5. 1. Creative Design
    1. Creative Development Sessions
      1. Creating an Agenda
      2. Participate with iChat
    2. Creating a Two-column Script
      1. Generating a Script Template
      2. Using a Script Template
    3. Storyboard Techniques
      1. Capturing the Sketch
      2. Enhancing Storyboards with Photoshop
        1. Cleaning up contrast
        2. Enhancing the storyboard with lines
        3. Enhancing the storyboard with color and gradients
      3. Laying Out the Storyboard with Apple Pages
      4. Presenting Storyboards with Apple Keynote
    4. Creating Animatics
      1. Prepping the File for Animation
      2. Animate Panels with Adobe After Effects
      3. Editing the Animatic
    5. Outlining Media Projects
      1. Downloading Custom Stencils
      2. Outlining a DVD or Web Site
    6. Next Steps
  6. 2. Production Planning
    1. Essential Budgeting Paperwork
      1. Work Breakdown Structure
        1. Creating a WBS with OmniGraffle
        2. Creating a WBS with Microsoft Office
      2. Budget Template
      3. Scoping Document
    2. Essential Preproduction Paperwork
      1. Shot List
      2. Call Sheet
      3. Talent Release Form
    3. Using Online Project Management Tools
      1. MobileMe
      2. Basecamp
      3. Market7
    4. Next Steps
  7. 3. On-set Monitoring
    1. Choosing and Calibrating Field Monitors
      1. On-camera LCDs and Viewfinders
        1. LCD field monitors
        2. CRT field monitors
      2. Calibrating Field Monitors
    2. Using Color Calibration Cards and Chip Charts
      1. Checking Focus
      2. Adjusting Luma
      3. White and Black Balancing
      4. Checking Color
    3. Using Adobe OnLocation for Calibrating Cameras and File Management
      1. Overview of the OnLocation Interface
        1. Workspaces
        2. Field monitor
        3. Scopes
        4. Shot List
        5. Metadata
        6. SureShot
      2. Calibrating a Single Camera
      3. Checking Waveforms, Vectorscope, and Histograms
        1. Waveform
        2. Histogram
        3. Vectorscope
      4. Calibrating Multiple Cameras
      5. File Workflow with OnLocation
    4. Monitoring Audio in the Field
      1. The Dedicated Audio Person
        1. Equipment
        2. Specifications and best practices
    5. Next Steps
  8. 4. Working Tapeless
    1. Tapeless Formats and Tools
      1. The P2 Format
      2. XDCAM Disc (HD) and XDCAM EX Formats
      3. The RED Format
    2. Tapeless Workflow
      1. Designing and Planning a Workflow
        1. Shoot and ingest
        2. Rotate media
        3. Direct to Nonlinear Editor
    3. The Role of the Data Technician
      1. On-set Responsibilities
      2. Postproduction: The First Wave
    4. Ingesting Tapeless Sources
      1. Field Recorders
      2. Live Capture
      3. Final Cut Pro Log and Transfer
        1. P2
        2. XDCAM Disc (HD) and XDCAM EX
        3. RED
      4. Premiere Pro
      5. After Effects
    5. Archiving Tapeless Media
      1. Copying Tapeless Media
      2. Creating Disk Images
    6. Next Steps
  9. 5. Greenscreen Solutions
    1. Planning Greenscreen Projects
      1. Budgeting Greenscreen
      2. Successful Lighting
    2. Acquisition Strategies for Greenscreen
      1. Progressive vs. Interlaced Frames
      2. Tape or Tapeless
      3. Backdrop Choices
      4. Shooting Essentials
    3. Professional Keying in Post
      1. Keying in Final Cut Pro
        1. Getting started
        2. Pulling an initial key
        3. Refining the key
        4. Tweaking the composite
      2. Keying in After Effects
        1. Getting started
        2. Pulling an initial key
        3. Cleaning up the matte
        4. Correcting color
        5. Adjusting edges
    4. Creating Backdrops Using Photoshop
      1. Merging Photos
    5. Next Steps
  10. 6. Multicamera Productions
    1. Mapping the Production
      1. Camera and Set Diagrams
      2. Camera Requirements
      3. Crew Communication
      4. Lighting Strategies
    2. Calibrating Cameras
      1. Aesthetic Matching
      2. Technical Matching
    3. Syncing Cameras
      1. Timecode
      2. Audio/Visual Sync
    4. Audio Acquisition Strategies
    5. The Editing Process
      1. Loading the Angles
      2. Making Multiclips
        1. Syncing with timecode
        2. Syncing with a clapboard
      3. Customizing the Keyboard
      4. The Edit Session
        1. The rough edit
        2. Refining the edit
      5. Collapsing Multiclips
      6. Using Offline RT or Apple ProRes (Proxy) for Multicamera Shows
    6. Next Steps
  11. 7. Edit Suite Configuration
    1. Essentials of Room Setup
      1. Size and Windows
      2. Wall Color
      3. Lighting
      4. Desk and Seating
    2. Video I/O Devices that Work with Apple and Adobe Products
      1. AJA Video Systems
        1. Kona cards
        2. The IO family
      2. Blackmagic Design Products
        1. Decklink PCI products
        2. Decklink external I/O products
    3. Monitor Selection and Calibration
      1. Choosing the Right Computer Monitors
        1. Size and resolution
        2. Contrast ratio and color accuracy
        3. Response time and viewing angle
      2. Choosing the Right Video Monitor
        1. CRT
        2. LCD and Plasma
      3. Calibrating Your Computer Monitors
        1. System tools
        2. Hardware calibration
      4. Calibrating Your Video Monitors
        1. Setup
        2. Using color bars
        3. Calibration DVDs
        4. Hardware calibration
    4. Speaker Selection
      1. Speaker Design
      2. Powered or Unpowered?
      3. Frequency Response and Crossover
      4. Inputs
    5. Selecting Storage
      1. Internal Drive Solutions
      2. External and Portable Drive Solutions
      3. eSATA and Fibre Channel RAID
      4. Shared Storage
    6. Next Steps
  12. 8. Organizing Projects and Media
    1. Why Media Management Works
    2. The Apple Workflow
      1. Final Cut Pro Media Folder Structure
      2. Round Trip Options
      3. Autosave Options
    3. The Adobe Workflow
      1. Premiere Pro’s Media Folder Structure
      2. Dynamic Link
        1. Premiere Pro and Encore
        2. Premiere Pro CS4 and After Effects
        3. Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Soundbooth
      3. Using Adobe Bridge
    4. A Hybrid Workflow
      1. Common Media Folder
      2. Adobe and Apple Exchange
    5. Drive Maintenance
      1. Daily Maintenance
      2. Weekly Maintenance
      3. Monthly Maintenance
    6. Next Steps
  13. 9. Working with Photos
    1. Essentials for Photographic Sources
      1. Resolution vs. DPI
      2. Color Space
      3. Bit Depth
      4. File Format Selection
        1. Photoshop (.psd)
        2. PNG (.png)
        3. TIFF (.tif)
      5. Pixel Aspect Ratio and Resolution
    2. Acquiring Still Images
      1. Acquiring Images from a Digital Camera
      2. Scanning Photos
    3. Managing Your Assets
      1. Using Aperture
      2. Using Bridge
    4. Sizing Images for a Video Workflow
      1. Sizing in Photoshop
      2. Sizing in Aperture
        1. Export at current resolution
        2. Export at target resolution
    5. Important Corrections for Video Use
    6. Next Steps
  14. 10. Text and Titling
    1. Typographic Essentials for Video Production
      1. Font Selection
      2. Font Properties
        1. Serif vs. sans serif
        2. Font weight/font families
    2. Designing Lower Thirds
      1. Setting Up the Project
      2. Designing the Bar
      3. Designing the Text
      4. Creating the Alpha Channel
      5. Using the Graphic with Final Cut Pro
      6. Updating the Text
    3. Creating Animated Text
      1. After Effects
        1. Browsing text animation presets
        2. Customizing animation
      2. Motion
        1. Animating text
        2. Modifying an animation
    4. Next Steps
  15. 11. Motion Graphics Pipeline
    1. The Motion Graphics Workflow
      1. Concept Development
      2. Storyboard
      3. Animatic
      4. Design and Review
      5. Finalization
    2. Exchanging Video Files
      1. From Final Cut Pro to Motion
      2. From Final Cut Pro to After Effects
        1. Direct export/import
        2. Using Premiere Pro
        3. The bottom line
      3. From After Effects to Final Cut Pro or Motion
      4. From Motion to After Effects
        1. Exporting
        2. Finder trickery
      5. From Motion to Final Cut Pro
    3. Next Steps
  16. 12. Audio Solutions
    1. Recording Narration
    2. Audio Mixing in Final Cut Pro
      1. Basic Audio Options
      2. The Audio Mixer
    3. Using Scores in Soundbooth
    4. Restorative Audio Techniques
      1. Noise Reduction in Soundtrack Pro
      2. Amplitude Adjustments in Soundtrack Pro
      3. Matching Volume in Soundbooth
    5. Transcribing Audio with Soundbooth
    6. Next Steps
  17. 13. Online Editing and Color Grading
    1. The Online Editing Process
      1. The Poor Man’s Up-rez with Final Cut Pro
      2. Transcoding
    2. Color Grading in Final Cut Pro
    3. Working in Color
      1. Prepping a Final Cut Pro Sequence and Sending to Color
      2. Primary Corrections in Color
        1. Overexposed clips
        2. Underexposed clips
        3. Fixing color casts
      3. Secondary Color Corrections in Color
      4. Maintaining a Broadcast Safe Image
    4. Creating Color Treatments in After Effects
      1. Shadow/Highlight
      2. Leave Color
      3. Tritone
      4. Using Effect Presets
    5. Next Steps
  18. 14. Review and Approval
    1. Creating a Successful Review and Approval Process
      1. Communication of Review and Approval
        1. For the producer
        2. For the editor/artist
      2. Preparing Materials and Goals
      3. Using Timecode
      4. Use a Review Form
    2. The DIY Approach to Review and Approval
      1. Using Timecode Burn In
        1. Creating window burn in with Final Cut Pro
      2. Using Markers in Final Cut Pro
      3. Using Adobe Clip Notes
      4. Using iChat Theater in Final Cut Pro
      5. Creating an Optical Disc for Review and Approval
      6. Creating Web Media Files for Review and Approval
        1. H.264
        2. FLV and F4V
      7. Posting a File for Web Review and Approval
        1. Direct Web link
        2. Embedded file in a Web page
        3. Secure Web page (pseudo FTP)
    3. The Service Approach to Review and Approval
      1. MobileMe
      2. YouSendIt
      3. Facebook
      4. YouTube
      5. mDialog
      6. Xprove
      7. CineSync
    4. Next Steps
  19. 15. Digital Delivery
    1. Preparing Files for Delivery
      1. Mastering Codecs
      2. HD for SD Delivery in Final Cut Pro
      3. Using After Effects for Multiformat Delivery
    2. Using the Share Feature in Final Cut Studio
    3. Delivering on DVD and Blu-ray
      1. Encoding for DVD and Blu-ray
      2. Choosing an Authoring Tool
      3. Creating Interactive Flash with Encore
    4. Device Delivery
      1. iPod
      2. iPhone/iPod touch
      3. Apple TV
      4. Prepping for Other Devices Using Adobe Device Central
    5. Presentation Delivery
      1. Creating Video Files for PowerPoint and Keynote
        1. Consider how the video will be used
        2. Encode first
        3. Mix audio
    6. Web and RSS Delivery
      1. Creating Web Files with Compressor
      2. Creating Flash Video Files for the Web
      3. What Is RSS?
      4. Creating and Using RSS Feeds
    7. Next Steps
  20. 16. Backup and Archiving
    1. Using the Common Media Folder
    2. Creating a Backup Strategy
      1. Schedule and Workflow
      2. Backing Up Media Files
    3. Creating an Archiving Strategy
      1. What to Archive?
    4. Using Final Cut Pro’s Media Manager
      1. Using the Media Manager to Copy
      2. Using the Media Manager to Recompress
    5. Archiving in Other Applications
      1. Premiere Pro
      2. Collecting Assets in Motion
      3. Using the Collect Assets Command in After Effects
      4. Collecting Assets in Soundtrack Pro
    6. Archiving to Optical and Magnetic Media
      1. Using External Drives
      2. Tape-based Archival Systems
      3. Optical Archival Systems
      4. Software Tools for Backups and Archives
    7. Creating an Asset Library
      1. Managing by Client
      2. Managing by Asset Type
      3. Using Digital Asset Management Software
    8. Next Steps
      1. The authors invite you to keep in touch.
  21. Appendix: Working with DSLR Video
    1. Transferring Footage
      1. Card Readers
      2. Hard Drives
      3. Renaming Files
    2. Converting Footage
      1. Apple Compressor
      2. Adobe Media Encoder
      3. MPEG Streamclip
      4. Go Cut Creator... Go!

Product information

  • Title: Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: August 2009
  • Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
  • ISBN: None