Oakmozart
Forum Replies Created
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100% in agreement. It’s what I use. There should be a demo available. Get it and test drive it. If it fits your needs/wants, then get it, as there should be an academic discount available. If not, then look into Boris Continuum Complete AVX (3.0 or 4.0), zMatte by Digital Film Tools, or Primatte Keyer by Red Giant Software.
If you’re on Adrenaline 2.0, screw Ultimatte and go with Avid’s BRILLIANT SpectraMatte Keyer. It’s free and it’s just as good as Ultimatte, IMHO.
Good luck.
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Ultimatte is the best. Also the most spendy. It’s what I use. https://www.ultimatte.com
Consider either Boris Continuum Complete AVX 3 or 4 (if going 4, the 4.1 release is due out soon, which will fix a bunch of problems users are encountering at this time), or zMatte by Digital Film Tools. https://www.borisfx.com or https://www.digitalfilmtools.com
Red Giant Software has also recently released the Primatte Keyer AVX for Avid, which used to be an After Effects-only plugin. Primatte’s been shuffled around from several different owners over the past 6-8 years of its life, but it’s killer. $495. https://www.redgiantsoftware.com
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Agreed. Get an airsoft pistol for realistic blow-back on the gun. Whip up some fake blood and make a “Guacamole gun” to create the gory effects from the gunshot. Use AE and Photoshop for the Muzzle flashes (or the Muzzle Blast effect from the “Delerium” Plugin Suite for AE from DigiEffects), and a good 3D app for the spent shell casings. VOILA! Realistic gun wounds. Yes, it’s a bit of a pain to get, but it’s worth it, because the end result will be SO much better if done with mechanical effects, as opposed to cheesy AE effects.
Good luck.
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Start out here:
https://www.avid.com/products/xpressprohd/specs.asp
2 gigs of RAM is fine. More than 3 gigs is a waste of money, as Windows won’t really see any more than that (long, confusing, complicated story).
Striped SCSI drives are best, but striped SATA drives will work fine too.
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Check these out:
These are SD-only, but they’re high quality and should serve you well. You did not specify a price-range, so these vary anywhere from just shy of $500 to $1600 and some change. All are high-quality and very good. You also might check Ebay and look for deals. I recently bought a Sony PVM-series CRT (NOT LCD) HD monitor (don’t recall the number off-hand), with SDI and all expansion options for $1500. It was recently serviced and is literally in like-new condition. If you can still find it new from a place who’s selling it (like B&H), you’re looking at around $5000+ for just the monitor. There’s deals to be had. Here’s an example:
This is another great model of Sony that you can get…very professional, spendy, but well-worth it:
Sony PVM 20M4U NTSC/ PAL 16:9 Client Monitor w/SDI Option
That should give you an idea of where to start.
Good luck.
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BCC and Sapphire work flawlessly with each other. Not only can you have both installed on the same system, be it Xpress DV all the way to Symphony, you can use the effects at the same time on the same clip without trouble (ie: BCC_Glow and S_Jitter).
The only caveat is to make sure that your system supports the form of AVX you’re using in the plugin. In other words, if you’re using XDV 3.5.4, don’t try and use the newest AVX2 version of BCC 4, use the older AVX 1.0 edition (like an older release of BCC, such as 1.0 or 2.0), or AVX 1.5 version, if supported. Another one: Don’t try and use the AVX 1.0 release of Sapphire on XPro HD 5.x, since it’s my understanding that XPro HD 5 no longer supports the AVX 1.0 format. Make sense?
Both are great investments that you will use daily…just be careful not to overuse them, since it’s easy to do.
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You also might consider doing the effect manually…the “old-fashioned way.” Set up a greenscreen with some glass. Set up a rain bar, garden hose, or whatever water source you can get above the glass. (You’ll probably want to angle the glass to something akin to a windshield). Set up your camera behind the glass and turn on the water. It’ll take a bunch of experimentation, but you should be able to come up with a convincing “rain on the windshield” effect shot. Take that footage into your compositor, key out the chroma and comp it into your shot with your existing footage. You’ll probably want to get both “inside” and “outside” shots for the effect. You can also park a car in front of a greenscreen (car pointing toward the greenscreen), setup your camera inside the car, and shoot footage against the greenscreen while the water pours on your car. In this way, you could have the windshield wipers going to give it another great effect which would be easily keyable if shot/lit correctly.
I’ve done stuff like this before. It can be a real pain in the fanny, but the end-results are amazing and it often looks better than what can be achieved with plugins: more real.
Just a thought…provided I’m understanding what you wish to achieve correctly.
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Definitely go for SpectraMatte…but that’s only available on MCA 2 and later. If you’re on a 1.0 or 1.5 system, you’re out of luck.
What SpectraMatte can create is scary…better than Ultimatte!
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I second BCC. And BCC AVX 4 just came out, so that’s got some cool stuff in it, too.
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Go on Avid’s website and use the dealer locator to find the reseller (dealer) nearest you. Call them and arrange a demo of Avid 3D. They’ll walk you through the program and show you some of the things that can be done with it. Make sure you get some “stick-time” (an aviation term), meaning that you sit down and play with the software yourself. Often times, the dealers don’t want you touching anything, they just want you to sit, watch, go “ooooo!” and buy. Make sure they give you a chance to play.
From what you’ve described, it sounds as if Avid 3D might fit your needs, but again, only a demo can tell you for sure. If you’re looking to do advanced character animation, for example, then look at a bonafide 3D-application, such as softimage, Maya, 3DS Max, Lightwave, etc. If you’re looking to create and add simple 3D objects to your video, as well as create simple 3D animation, 3D lights, particles, text, explosions, warps, and other 3D FX, then Avid 3D should fit the bill.
I use Avid 3D and I love it…provided I’m using it for the manner in which it was designed. It’s a great tool and the learning curve is actually quite tolerable. Go on Avid’s website and check out some of the online tutorial/demo’s done by Tim Wilson (former “Man About Town” at Boris, now working at Avid). Tim is very competant and a good guy to boot. I’ve been learning from him for years…and you can too. Check it out, but make sure you have the Flash Player installed: https://www.avid.com/video/xpressDemos/index.asp?currVideo=1
Dealer locator: https://www.avid.com/forms/locator.asp
Good luck.