[Alex Kuzelicki]

Hey TonyTony,

Thanks for the advice. It’s definitely an option (that I didn’t consider till you pointed it out).

I do, however, love the AE interface and am feeling more comfortable with it daily. I’ve played a bit with Motion and have test-driven Shake but in the end I decided that (amongst all the other programs I use – animation ones mostly) I need to pick an effects compositor to ‘get good at’. After my tests, I chose After Effects as it does what both Motion and Shake do, but in a way that ‘I get’ quickly and intuitively.

That said, I used to use Digital Fusion – which is a similar workflow to Shake – and I loved that before I loved After Effects. I guess you get used to the tools that you use most. It’s easy to love things that are familiar and easy (though don’t tell my girlfriend I said that).

Still leaning towards Automatic Duck, if for no other reason than I’ve got to finish this Music Vid soon and I can’t afford to spend time learning new stuff.

Your ideas are much appreciated though. Thanks kindly,

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

About Stu’s book,

Bought it last week. Can’t recommend it enough – it has so much USEFUL information they should make a film about it.

Have been a “DV Rebel” for many years now but Stu’s advice is making my video work look better than my film stuff. Wish it was around many years ago – would’ve saved me lots of time and money.

And it’s pretty funny too.

Great work, Stu. When’s the DVD coming out?

Cheers,

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Thanks Michael. That helps a lot.

Cheers,

ALEX

PS – Good to hear from a fellow Aussie.

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Hey guys,

Much appreciated.

Will check out the DV Matte Pro software though my initial tests with Keylight have come out really well. Shockingly well actually. But I shouldn’t speak too soon – there’s lots of footage to go through.

Thanks kindly for your help,

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

“… just made it all up.”

You scared me for a minute there. Very funny.

Thanks again,

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Whoah!

Thanks Steve. That helps A LOT!

Very much appreciated.

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Thanks Mylenium and everyone that replied,

With every post reply things are getting clearer but, you’re right, I definitely need to get educated on pixel aspect ratios and formats, etc. Which is exactly why I’m asking all these questions. Your advice is very much appreciated (and needed).

I’ve done some searches but it would be fantastic if someone could just explain it simply, especially as there are these higher resolutions with HD. Sorry for my naivety. This forum has been the best teacher I can find.

Maybe someone could set me straight on these two points:

1) 16:9 stretches pixels vertically so they can be unstretched out in 16:9 project or on a 16:9 monitor? Is that right? So the 16:9 camera (say the Panasonic HVX200E) actually distorts the pixels to get more resolution and, in After Effects, you need to Interpret the Footage as 16:9 to display and output it correctly?

2) Computer pixels are square, right? And video pixels are rectangular? But rectangular which way? I’m guessing they are ‘long’, rather than ‘tall’? But what confuses me is that 16:9 pixels are ‘tall’, aren’t they? So, doesn’t this kind of confuse things when you want to composite, say, artwork made in a square pixel program. It certainly confused me!

Perhaps someone can help. Sorry for my inexperience.

Thanks in advance,

ALEX

Just a note on the stunt work – My stuntmen are top professionals (have worked on all the Matrix films, Mission Impossible II, Superman and on and on). We’re doing advanced wire work with complex timings, acrobatics and equipment so, despite what you see on the “Behind the Scenes” of DVD’s, etc it’s often a matter of just doing it again and again until all the elements: the camera, the performer, the ‘pullers’ (or sometimes equipment like the winch or the air-ram) all gel together and you get a good take. I’ve worked on many ‘hundred million dollar films’ where they’ve shot up to 70 takes to get it right. Speaking from real world experience…

… of course, that said, I don’t have this luxury with my ultra low-budget music vid… so I really do need all the help I can get. Thanks so much for your advice so far.

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Thanks to all who replied.

Your advice is much appreciated.

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Thanks for your info. It helps a lot.

Very much appreciated.

ALEX

[Alex Kuzelicki]

Thanks for the ideas.

Appreciated,

ALEX