Sean Maloney
Forum Replies Created
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Layer > Auto Trace
Set the Channel to “Alpha” and play with the settings until you get a tight mask.
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Actually, you CAN burn HD material to a standard DVD using DVD Studio Pro but you need a fairly new Mac to play the video back.
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You may want to look into Gridiron Software’s Nucleo plug-in. It should help you maximize the multiple processors in your machine.
Sean
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Although somewhat pricey, I keep finding new ways of using the numerous effects and transitions found in the Sapphire bundles.
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Although somewhat pricey, I keep finding new ways of using the numerous effects and transitions found in the Sapphire bundles.
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Assuming your DV deck has analog component outputs, then I agree with Steve that the Canopus wouldn’t be any better than the deck. However, for the cost of the Canopus converter, you could get a Decklink card with SDI outputs and go that route. You could even get the base HD model ($595) and use it for SD now and HD down the road. I’m pretty sure you can have Boxx configure the station with the card you want. If not, it looks like they’ve entered a partnership with ProMax who could probably do it.
A word of advice- get the most processor(s) you can afford. Shoot for 2 dual-core Opterons if you can. If you’re technically proficient, just get a base system from Boxx and add the options you want yourself (more RAM, more drives, Decklink card, etc.) Could save you big bucks.
Sean
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If you have the money, you can get fail-safe centralized storage (SAN or NAS) that will run nearly as fast (and sometimes faster) than local storage. The fastest solutions will run on a Fibre Channel network (XSan/XRaid, etc), although there are other solutions out there that will run on GigE (look at Maximum Throughput Sledgehammer and Studio Network Solutions GlobalSAN).
Good luck, Sean
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If you have After Effects 6.5, Echo Fire isn’t necessary- you can already preview using firewire with capabilities built into the program. If you don’t have 6.5, it’s definitely worth the upgrade. If you’re working in resolutions other than DV (D1 SD or HD), you may want to consider one of the Decklink products.
I’m not sure X-Factor will give you what you’re looking for. I’ve messed around with it a bit without much luck. I’ll admit that I didn’t put a lot of effort into it and that they’ve released updates since then, but I’ve never really heard great things about it. If it really was the holy grail of Fast AE Previews, I’m sure there’d be a ton more buzz about it. Search this forum and see what you find (or try the free download). You might be better off upgrading your workstation, if you have the cash.
Sean
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I too have been frustrated by Matrox and I love the Decklink products- but they might not even be necessary for your purposes. You probably want to continue to ingest and output using DV, so the Decklink would only be used for preview purposes, right? Couldn’t you just take advantage of the live firewire output features of Premiere, AE, & Photoshop and use your deck as a DV to Analog converter connected to your preview monitor? I don’t know about 3DS Max’s capabilities (if it has a similar firewire output) but I’m pretty certain the Decklink products won’t help you with that either. Assuming you don’t already have firewire built-in, a 1394 card is a lot more stable (and cheaper) than a Decklink card.
My 2 cents
Sean
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Just the advice I was looking for- thank you. I would be doing mostly mograph stuff, so your recommendation is spot-on. Looks like the Core Arsenal site is no longer up though. What is (was) Jenna used for? Was it free/shareware? Know where to find a copy now that the site is down (and will it work with the latest release of C4D?)
Thanks again,
Sean