Is here a REAL EXPERT or PRO in "video effects" ??

[Ridgh]

Looking for a REAL EXPERT or PRO in "video effects", that can explain me how some effects from my Kid's Wedding had been done.
There looks very simple, essential, but from 116 people from other boards who downloaded the small (5M) clip - no one could give me a real answer.
If anyone thinks that she/he may and wish to help me, please, d/l the clip from my (temporar) ftp....I hope it'll last for a while up to my next boot, then my IP will change

ftp://ridgh:ridgh@212.179.224.65:2121

PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU CAN !!!!! 8)

PS: Yes, I know that the speed sucks, even I'm on ADSL 1.5M, but PLEASE try again....3 members succeded up to now (1 hour from posting) to d/l it...

TIA,
Ridgh

[BJ_M]

i would tell you but can not download

[Ridgh]

Somethin strange happen... 3 members succeded in the last hour and 10 didn't....
I checked my "ftp"....nothing seems wrong... please try again.
Wierd... just now an user is d/ling at 10k without problem... maybe something with the "passive" on or off...
TIA

[BJ_M]

i dont really understand your question .. all the effects can be done in several different programs and all are pretty basic effects .. they can be done real time on DPS , Matrox digisuite, AViD, Toaster, Reeltime nitro and several other NLE cards or done in software with After effects , final cut pro w/ AE, Vegas video, avid composer, commotion pro.

"How" they are done .. id oyu just load them into the program you are using and apply the effect -- sometimes you need a mask or use an alpha channel but today .. all that stuff is real easy ..

a lot of the effects there remind me of stock effects in video toaster ..

[BJ_M]

i didnt list all the software - there is several others ..

[Ridgh]

I thought they could be done with a ready made software, like Holywood fx gold, or Adorage magic....
It took about 2 hours from the finish of the outside recording of the clip (it's a 5 minutes clip - here are only the efects) up to bringing it to the festivity hall....so it has - in my opinion - to be done with a ready made "skeleton".....outline.
I spent over a month trying to do it with Hollywood gold....No way, especially the droping cards effect....
Maybe he used a hardware...but I spent so many hours, I'm very curious...
For example, the film strip:
In Hollywood it's a 6 frame strip, how can I make a - let say - 100 frames?
There is no "merge" function - or at least I cannot find it.
One more thing: what's a DPS you mentioned?

[BJ_M]

DPS and several of the other hardware based cards above all do real time effects -- there is no rendering - no waiting ..

http://www.dps.com/dpsweb.nsf/PHP?OpenFrameSet

[BJ_M]

in fact i know that some guys who do theis have premade template/project files and all they have to do is import the raw files and use trimmer to pick 3 - 6 stock shots .. and drop them in ..

you could have the whole thing done real fast ..

[Cornucopia]

What you have there--

1. A zooming in 3d-warped picture ("flipping") with trails (video echo).

2. A series of stills with custom "Video Camera viewfinder" framing, with burst through white ("explode") transitions.

3. A 3d-warped twist in (and then out) of a stock filmstrip, with alpha channel cutouts for footage to be inserted within. Footage is identical in all cutout scenes, but each with a few frames (or seconds) delay to give the illusion of the image running slowly down the length of the strip.

4. A post-and-hold or "stamped" effect of the same footage in a footpath pastiche with varying degrees of "colorization" effect on each-possibly progressing through the color wheel-and then a final 3d-warp zoom in and then out, with trails ("video feedback"-like) with a repeat of the pastiche.

This looks very much like some often-used template for wedding videos (sorry, but I've seen alot of them). This could be done with many of the available editing/compositing/effects programs out there. If you didn't mind the wait, all this could be easily done within Adobe AfterEffects and you would just have to render it--no additional hardware needed. At my work, we would be able to do this on our AVID MediaComposer in about a half an hour. Probably also using a template.

Personally, I like the content to drive the effects and not the other way around.

Don't know if that's really what you wanted to hear?

Scott

[Ridgh]

@BJ_M:
Thanx a lot for the info. So, in your oppinion there were been made with hardware + software.... I don't think the guy uses hardware...Maybe...So, for me, as an novice - I have no chance to make them look alike.
@Cornucopia
Thank you very much for your answer. As I could see from your respond, you are a real "PRO", that really works with this stuff. I'm an electronics engineer, doing the video editing as a hobby meantime, and hope that in a year or two, when I'll retire, to open a Video studio, mostly for weddings and other eveniments (I'm not sure, but this is my wish...)
As I understood, there is no problem to "produce" those effects with After Effecs (I got ver. 5.5) or AVID MediaComposer (I'll buy that if it may help me). I began to read the manual of AE, but GOD!!! it's so complicate I've almost gave up....
I'm using Hollywood FX GOLD 4.6 for transitions and Premiere 6.5 for editing, with the ready made effects. I have Boris Red 2.5 and FX, but never thought it's so hard to learn them by myself - and I have no other posibility, as there is no school nearby...
The clip I sent is just a challenge for me, as I really want to learn this stuff.
If you really think it's so easy, and I think you are right about, I'll be very grateful if you can give me some tips... for example - where to begin? What software should I learn first?
And, please, I'll be very thankful if you'll permit me to Email you from time to time for getting some help.
I'm almost always at MSNM too as nina_p20@hotmail.com.
If you have other ideas of how it was made, I'll be very thankful for any tips.
TIA

[Cornucopia]

Ridgh:

Yeah, you could email. Sometimes I don't check it for a day or two though.

AE is really not so much an editing program per se, really more of a compositing program. The editing functions aren't the most intuitive. It makes more sense to use the tools that are appropriate for the need. most compositing stuff is for intros, outros, transitions and bumpers, usually shorter things. Editing is usually a little more plain vanilla and mundane, but takes care of the bulk of the show. You can obviously mix and match. AE IS difficult to learn, but once you get the hang of it, it really pays. Just takes time-to learn and to render. Best thing you can do is do a tutorial. You should check out http://www.aefreemart.com. It's dedicated to AfterEffects and has some tutorials that you can download not just the instructions, but the media and the Project files, so you can recreate the project yourself!

AVID MediaComposer costs US ~$80,000 new and has hefty hardware requirements. If you're just starting out and want a good hardware/software system, you should try a Matrox or Pinnacle or Canopus system, or if your rig is powerful enough on its own, get AVID XpressDV-it uses just an OHCI Firwire card (ADS Pyro is often recommended) and does everything else in software. None of these are really "casual/hobbyist" programs-more for someone who actually wants to make a living with it.

Sounds like you're starting off well with H'woodFX/Premiere w/Boris. Check out various user forums for each of these progs. You can garner a lot from seeing other peoples' questions. (Same as here )

One last thing: Don't retire until you've got plenty stashed away! Video/Multimedia isn't much in the way of money. AAMOF, I started college in double-E, switched to Radio-TV-Film for the "Art", "Creativity", etc., and while I found my wife that way and have done some fun stuff, I regret the big amount of money that I have quite missed out on.

Good luck,
Scott

[Ridgh]

If anyone else wants to take a look at the effects, the IP was changed to:
212.179.224.65
Thanx