In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Jeremy Garchow will walk you through a potential P2 workflow complete with metadata and native DVCPro HD editing on a Mac using MXF4mac s MXF4QT Import and P2 Flow Contextual Menu (CM). Editing DVCPro HD P2 with no log and transfer
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson demonstrates a quick, easy and very high quality bleach bypass effect right inside of After Effects. Understand what the term refers to and how to simulate it in the digital intermediate process or on digital video, using After Effects.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern will show you how to create a simple morph effect using time remapping and pixel motion.
In this tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Carl Larsen shows you how to track a lens flare onto a 360 degree camera-aware environment using Trapcode Horizon.
Need SD upconversion for HD projects, and HD cross-conversion? Broadcast editor and Final Cut Pro community leader Shane Ross recently had a DVCPRO HD project shot with the Panasonic Varicam and HVX-200 at 23.98 that had to be converted to 1080psf 23.98 for delivery on HDCAM. After long research and experience with many FCP-compatible cards, he concluded that the AJA Kona 3 was the way to go. It even handles SD upconversion too, all in real time. Read why he chose this specific card, and how he got the job done.
In this tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Carl Larsen shows you how to track a lens flare onto the surface of a 360 degree camera-aware environment without the use of a third-party plug-in.
In this tutorial, Broadcast Designer Jason Brown will show you how to knock out a vector logo from Adobe Illustrator into a 3D logo in Maxons Cinema 4D. The tutorial also touches on basic texturing, lighting and animation.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Carl Larsen shows you how to build a title sequence within the 360 degree environment created in part one of this tutorial series.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern will show you how to create a fiery iris animation which has laser beams shooting from a girls eyes.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Carl Larsen shows you how to create a 360 degree camera-aware environment in After Effects without the use of third-party plug-ins.
The independent film Juno featured one of the most distincitive opening credit sequences in recent memory. It has a wonderful handmade look - which it turned out was created by hand! Whether you have seen Juno or not, Cow leader Simon Bonner shows a much easier way to create unique, handcrafted looks, without the pain.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern will show you a different technique to create the Running Numbers Effect using Trapcode Form plug-in.
In this video tutorial Creative COW leader Vince Rosati presents a simple technique to use an obscure function in the rotate tool to quickly create radial patterns in Adobe Illustrator. Use this technique with gradients or more complex shapes to create incredible radial patterns.
In this tutorial you will learn how to create a full page pop-up window that overlays an existing html page. This technique is used often for displaying a video, movie file, picture, or form when a user clicks on an element in a web page.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you how to create the flashback look as seen in the film The Bourne Ultimatum with some extra touches and hints.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz (Along with the help of his daughter Noa) shows you how to create a looping particle system in After Effects.
Professional motion graphics artist, Greg Neumayer, shares his experience creating the zoom out from earth to outer space effect using Maya and After Effects. Greg walks you through how he solved the transition problems associated with this large scale effect where realism can be very difficult to achieve.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern shows you how to duplicate elements in After Effects using Trapcode Echospace plug-in.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Tony Ross demonstrates how to add a simple pause/resume functionality to a scrolling image bar using Actionscript 2.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern shows you how a neat way to duplicate elements in After Effects using the Puppet Tool.
Want to let everyone in your shop use the same media at the same time? The Cows Bob Zelin shares the secrets for affordable shared storage that you can build yourself, and that WORKS. Start with big, fast storage from your favorite pro vendor, then follow along. Bob even shows you a few hazards to avoid along the way.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern shows you how to duplicate elements in After Effects using the Shape Tools Repeater function.
Looking to create your own holographic effect? Let CreativeCOW.net Contributing Editor Stephen Smith show you how. This Apple Motion video tutorial will teach you what you need to know to create a hologram effect.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you how to use shape layers to easily create that Old-School look where a red dashed line animates over a map to indicate travel destinations.
Its game time baby! In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you how to create the look of a giant monitor, such as the kind you might see at a stadium or concert.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern continue to show you how he designed the 3D Titles for his DVD Promo using Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro and how the final composite was made.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern takes you behind the scenes and show you how he created the background animation for his DVD Promo using Trapcode 3D Stroke and Shine.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you how to be an AE road warrior by changing the keyboard shortcuts to account for missing keys on a laptop - such as the Ram Preview key or the Audio Preview key.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson will explain how to simulate many elements to enhance your DV footage. Many techniques in this tutorial will show how to create effects similar to those in a popular software package.
Sure, being replaceable can be scary -- but sometimes you NEED somebody to step in and help. Here are some of the tricks that Cow author Dustin Lau has learned for project set-up, file naming, and clear communication with other members on the team. These tricks will create smooth hand-offs from you to your temporary replacement -- and back to you when you return, without driving anyone crazy.
Looking for better media management in Final Cut Pro? TV producer and Cow contributor Dustin Lau says it all begins with better file naming. He shows how its working at ESPN/Star Sports Asia, as they manage their workflow across multiple teams, under the high pressure of episodic TV deadlines. It will work for you too.
It does not make you a better FCP editor, but no matter what kind of work you do, speed still matters. Cow author Dustin Lau shares some tips and tricks to accelerate your work in Final Cut Pro that even the old dogs can learn from.
Creative Cow Contributor Jake Russell takes you deep into the advanced navigation capabilities in Apple DVD Studio Pro to show you how to take complete control over menu navigation. In this case, hell show you how to make the chapter skip button take you to a menu. It might SOUND easy, but if youve tried it, you might actually think its impossible -- but not if you follow Jakes direction.
Particles are a great world to explore. In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, well learn how to create particles in very simple ways. We also add collision objects gravity and render them in a liquid like mesh.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Tony Ross demonstrates how to to create a simple text animation in Flash using Motion tweens and the Distribute to Layers command.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern will show you how to project text on the floor using light transmission feature in After Effects.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, we will create a nice looking effect in Maya that emulates the half-tone print effect. This tutorial shows that Maya can create looks not traditionally associated with 3D rendering applications.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Tony Ross demonstrates how to create text writing itself via masking in Flash. Tools used include Brush tool, Selection tool as well as masking.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern shows you a how to build a 3D scene using Photoshop CS3 Vanishing Point and re-light it inside After Effects.
In this Maya video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, youll learn why is important to keep everything nice and organized into projects. Well also learn other ways to create folders by using the mighty command line / shell.
VFX artist Roger Bolton has worked on films including The Lord of the Rings, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Kingdom of Heaven. He has also created effects for his own use -- in this case, a wide variety of 2D and 3D VU meters, automatically animated by the audio in your project. He now offers these 8 plug-ins to artists using Final Cut Pro, After Effects and Motion -- with no watermarks, no time limits, no price tag. Please note: these plug-ins are MAC ONLY.
In this Maya video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, we add shaders to our geometry to later light and render our final logo. This is part 2 of a 2 part series Creating a Logo in Maya.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson will explain how to use the After Effects Motion Tracker to remove unwanted jitter and movement while still retaining the original motion of the sequence through the use of an expression or manual keyframes in After Effects.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern shows you a how to track objects that are moving out of frame using expressions and AE motion tracker.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW contributor Alvaro Castaneda, we begin by tracing the logo in a vector app, then use that to start building the logo, using Maya to bring it to life. This is part 1 of a 2 part series Creating a Logo in Maya.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Tony Ross revisits the tutorial how to build a basic site about Colors in Flash. This version is created using Actionscript 3. The basic principles learned from this tutorial will enable the user to create a variety of simple websites. Elements covered are basic Actionscript 3, navigation, labels, button and graphic symbols.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson will cover important and useful techniques for working with alpha channels that are specifically derived from certain color luminance values. He will explain how to extract the color of a certain area of the image, turn it into an alpha channel, and use it to manipulate the image.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Contributing Editor Eran Stern enhances the 3D ribbon text composition by adding a ripple effect to the floor plus a flock of fireflies that dance around the scene.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern shows you a very cool way to create 3D ribbon text animation using After Effects CS3 Text tool.
In this video tutorial, CreativeCow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you a menu item for speeding up the process of copying expressions to other layers, without typing or altering the current values.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, you will learn to create an Action/ Title Safe template in Flash. Use this as a guide when making animations or motion graphics going to DVD or TV. Using rectangle tool, transform window, saving layers as a guide, and learn to save a document as a template.
Apple Automator is a tiny application included with Mac OS X with big power, quickly and easily creating custom workflows based on the work you actually do - no programming required. Its the perfect way to handle those pesky repetitive tasks in FCP. Do something once, then let Automator take it from there. This handy little tool can make the difference between keeping and losing your sanity -- and making or missing your deadline.
In this video tutorial, CreativeCow leader Aharon Rabinowitz returns to the subject of Audio (Workflow tips #8) and shares a tip for working with audio waveforms that he got from an AE user via email.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, you will add the rain to the cityscape via Photoshop. You will use a series of filters in Photoshop to create a single image to import into Flash, then create a 4-frame rain loop that can be animated at any angle. In addition you will add sound and lightning FX in Flash to complete the illusion of a thunderstorm. This is the last of a 3 part series, animating a rainy cityscape in Flash.
In this video tutorial, CreativeCow leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you an often-missed feature in AE that can help you when trying to create transparency in an image by using the layers below as the source of that transparency.
Creative Cow Leader Shane Ross is one of a very small handful of the worlds most respected FCP experts. Over the course of years answering questions, hes compiled a real-world list of the questions that are truly the most frequently asked. He calls them Shanes Stock Answers. We call them the information you really need for working with FCP. Here in Part 3, he covers QuickTime issues, timecode management, P2 tips and much more, including one of the most frequently questions of all: how to open new projects in older versions of FCP.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson will take you through an effective way of tracking Mystic Text onto a wall or screen. This technique can be used in horror films, commercials, or promos. He will cover the basics of the After Effects paint tools, some basic 2.5D motion tracking, and some simple yet effective compositing techniques.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Aharon Rabinowitz shows you an often-missed tool that can help you out in a pinch, by expanding the boundaries of your footage.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, you will build a multiplane by animating a second set of buildings as the foreground. Tools include the Rectangle Tool, Oval Tool, Selection & Subselection Tools, in addition to Motion Tweens. This is part 2 of a 3 part series, animating a rainy cityscape in Flash.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Jeff Bellune demonstrates how to use the tools available in particleIllusion and After Effects to get a particle emitter source to track an element in a video clip. Part Three shows how to mask the emitter layer in an After Effects composition, so that the emitter appears to be placed properly in the scene relative to the other video elements.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern continues to animate the vector shapes using After Effects and finalizing the design for our Telenovela opener.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Jeff Bellune demonstrates how to use the tools available in particleIllusion and After Effects to get a particle emitter source to track an element in a video clip. Part Two concerns the animation of the emitter itself so that it accurately tracks the video element.
In this tutorial, Creative Cow leader, Michael Park, demonstrates another, more advanced method for creating shimmering glitter particles using Trapcodes Particular. The main advancement is the implementation of 3d rotation of the glitter particles, as well as using expressions to convert the rotation of the particles in all 3 axis to drive a greyscale map, which in turn is used to color the particle using colorama and create the shimmer effect when the particles face the camera.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, you will create a seamless, looping background of buildings against a night sky. Tools include the Rectangle Tool, Oval Tool, Selection & Subselection Tools, in addition to Motion Tweens. You will also learn to work in Flash using the Duplicate Window option. This is the first of a 3 part series, animating a rainy cityscape in Flash.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern demonstrates a cool way of designing a text title for a Telenovela soap opera opener using Illustrator open type font.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Jeff Bellune demonstrates how to use the tools available in particleIllusion and After Effects to get a particle emitter source to track an element in a video clip. Part One details how to animate the Layer Offset in particleIllusion to eliminate motion in the clip that is caused by movement of the camera that filmed the scene.
In this tutorial, Creative Cow leader, Michael Park, demonstrates how to simulate shimmering glitter particles using fractal noise, colorama effect and Trapcodes Particular plugin.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, learn to use Flash as a drawing tool, while making several pseudo-3D shapes, including a flower pot. Tools include the Rectangle Tool, Oval Tool, Paint Bucket Tool, and Free Transform Tool.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Aharon Rabinowitz introduces you to Shape Layers, one of the most powerful features in Adobe After Effects CS3.
In part two of his shotgun tutorial, Michael Park will demonstrate how to incorporate the 3d footage together with 2d footage in After effects and use different filters to create the distortion surrounding the blast from the barrel of the shotgun and the air distortion trailing the individual shotgun pellets as they race towards the camera. He will also cover some time remapping techniques to add some more interest to your shot.
Many people are interested in creating and incorporating 3d generated footage into live action. In this 2 part tutorial, Michael Park will demonstrate how to create a shotgun blast at the camera using 3d rendered particles and distortion trails along with some 2d footage to create a convincing effect. In part 1 of this tutorial, we will create the 3d shotgun pellet geometry and material, as well as the distortion trails to be later used in the after effects composition.
In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Tony Ross, learn how to create and save a custom swatches palette in Flash. Tools include the Eyedropper tool, the Paint Bucket tool, and the Swatches window.
In this Apple Motion tutorial Ben Scott shows you how to create a TV screen effect inside Apple Motion. This is part four of a series that can be found in the Creative COW Final Cut Studio Tutorials Podcast.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern with the help of his brother Yuval will show you a simple method to create the famous invisible look inspired from the movie The Predator.
This Adobe Photoshop tutorial will show how to use Photoshop to design a website that will be exported as HTML and image slices. The web page can be brought into an HTML editor program such as Adobe Dreamweaver to be modified. This is an Adobe Photoshop web design tutorial showing how to design, create and save a web page with Photoshop.
In this article, Brendan Coots addresses some of the points that users need to consider when asking ''What do I need to do to go into business for myself?''
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Grant Swanson will take you step-by-step through the easiest and fastest (and extremely effective) way of creating the popular Sin City effect - colorized objects in a black and white world. You will learn basic techniques when working with color, and some useful masking/rotoscoping techniques.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz explores a few ways to correct some common problems experienced when creating text animators.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Aharon Rabinowitz explores creating Text animators, and talks about why you might animate properties together or separately.
In this article, technology guru Mike Skibra discusses both IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and the way that tools like Softron's OnTheAir system webcasts digital television over broadband network connections. IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks. At the forefront of this new evolution in distribution, Softron OnTheAir enables the delivery of content using these internet enabled computers to become new broadcast channels. The OnTheAir system is Mac-based and in this article, Mike Skibra explains many of the basics you need to know for set-up and successfully broadcasting your content.
Film look software will never offer the same impact on your work that film-style shooting will. Software will also always take longer than shooting right the first time. Longtime film shooter Kim Segel shows you the tools and techniques to maximize film looks, even on paupers budgets.
If you thought the pre-built templates that came with Motion were cool, how about building your own? This Apple Motion video tutorial by CreativeCow.net Contributing Editor Stephen Smith will show you what you need to know to create your own custom Motion templates.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern will continue to finesse the design of the Digits Man promo. Learn how to create a subtle background using the Shape Tool and spice it further with additional effects and Text animations.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Tony Ross demonstrates part 3 of a 3 part series, creating optical illusions in Flash. Create a more complex spinning illusion of two sets of concentric circles using Motion Tweens, Rotation Options, and Blend Modes. Tools used include the Oval Tool, Free Transform tool, Gradients, and the History panel.
Want to save time while using Final Cut Pro? CreativeCow.net Contributing Editor Stephen Smith will show you how. His video tutorial has five must use tips: Motion Templates, Swap Edit, Audio Levels, Ripple Delete and Transitions Time Saver.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern will show you a cool technique for filling an image of a human head with animated numbers using After Effects CS3s Text tool.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Tony Ross demonstrates part 2 of a 3 part series, creating optical illusions in Adobe Flash. Create a tunnel illusion using Motion Tweens and Masking. Tools used include the Oval Tool, Free Transform tool, Gradients, and the History panel.
In this Flash video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Tony Ross answers a forum question:
I want to animate the movie clip as a roll over. so as the mouse is hovering over the MC it plays the animation in a loop, but when the mouse is moved away it finishes the animation then stops. This will be done using a movieclip, an invisible button, and Actionscript.
In this Adobe Flash video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Tony Ross demonstrates the first of a 3 part series, creating optical illusions in Flash. Create a spinning illusion of circles with cycling gradients using Motion Tweens and Rotation Options. Tools used include the Oval Tool, Free Transform tool, Gradients, and an introduction to the History panel.
Final Cut Studios Compressor has many pre-existing settings that allow you to start compressing your project immediately. If you find yourself making the same alterations this tutorial can save you time. CreativeCOW.net Contributing Editor Stephen Smith will show you how to: create custom settings, create custom settings from scratch, create groups of settings and how to delete settings.
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern demonstrates how you can create the illusion of time bending with a special focus on the correct way of using the CC Time Blend FX.
Learn about MySQL and how to implement its functionality into your web site allowing you to create dynamic content built from databases. In this tutorial you will learn some basics of using MySQL, PHPMyAdmin, Database Management Systems, and how to display MySQL content in a web page.