Creative COW Contributing Editor and graphics expert Sean Cusson shares the secrets to success that he's learned the hard way. They include the power of music for graphic design, specific animation and compositing techniques inside After Effects, and invaluable workflow tips that will save you hours.
Creativity is one thing. Getting paid is another thing altogether. Sean also shows you how to keep your graphics clients coming back for more -- not only because they enjoy your work, but because they enjoy working with you. Interested? Read on!
This is just one article among the many you'll find in the December issue of the Creative COW Magazine, written by pros at the top of their game, for anyone who wants to get there.
It was easy to be underwhelmed by the MacWorld announcements from ONE company -- but it turns out that many, many OTHER companies had exciting announcements for both creative professionals and Mac fans in general. We've got the best of them here, starting with Gary Adcock's report on great new studio speakers, a must-have iPhone accessory for your car --- and a product that may well redefine workflow as we know it.
Visit the newly renovated COW Blogs for even more stories, including the smallest portable array yet, multiple perspectives on the MacBook Air, the interesting alternative offered by the Axiomatic ModBook, new server possibilities, new accelerated rendering for the Mac....
...and a combination iPod dock and toilet paper dispenser. Yes, really.
So before you wave off this year's show as major snoozer, take a look at a few of the reasons why we think this was the best MacWorld in years.
PS. Plenty of news here for PC folks, too - for example, plenty of pro storage news, and we're pretty sure that the iPod dock/toilet paper holder is platform independent.
We often know each other in the Cow from the problems and solutions we share with each other, and very rarely the WORK that we actually do. Allow us to introduce then, a handful of Cows involved in various aspects of non-fiction television production. This covers everything from food and fishing to creating tasteful head wounds. With over 550,000 people passing through the Cow, this is only a brief introduction, but we have to start somewhere, don't we? Read more...
In this in-depth report, expert film compositor Pete O'Connell takes you through the world of Cineon files, including exactly what they are, how they work, and how to work with them in Adobe After Effects. This is the uncut "Director's Version" of an article that ran in Creative COW Magazine. In the magazine article, Pete digs into the similarities between the way that film records light and how your eyes see light. In this in-depth study, Pete looks at much more, exploring the what, how, when, where and why of Cineon files. If you work with film files or want to, you need to read this article.
In his Creative COW report, Don Greening takes us along on his very first shoot with his brand new Sony PMW-EX1 camera on location in British Columbia. The EX1 is the newest member of Sony's CineAlta XDCAM line-up. Don says that he bought it because it has "HD, 1/2" chips, pro-style lens, tapeless and it's all wrapped up in a small unobtrusive package for run-and-gun shooting." Upon return to his nice warm studio, Don also takes us through his very first look at the footage on his plasma TV, and his first edit in Final Cut Pro.
Set in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire will begin its fifth and final season January 6, 2008 on HBO. As different from standard TV as it gets, the show has received the highest levels of critical acclaim, being referred to by multiple reviewers as "the best show on television." In its last issue of 2006 Time Magazine ranked The Wire first on its list of "10 Best TV Shows."
Creative COW's Nick Griffin spent time on-set earlier this year and interviewed one of the show's Producers. They talked about shooting styles, lighting and camera strategies and many other elements that go into making The Wire one of the most well produced shows on television.
On November 17th, the new issue of Creative COW Magazine was announced
across most of the COW site and if you haven't already downloaded the
PDF of the new issue of Creative COW Magazine, then visit the magazine
site, as this is an issue that is getting a lot of positive feedback
from readers. In the new "Commercials" issue, you will meet one of the
men that made Max Headroom such an 80's icon. He'll share strategies and
how it all came about, including some of the techniques used. One of the
members of the legendary Robert Abel & Associates team takes you inside
some of the earliest uses of CGI and how these commercial techniques
preceded their later use in the world of film. You will also be taken
inside a direct response advertising expert's world and how it works and
why. You will also learn how one man made a commercial that you would
swear used 3D software but doesn't. You will discover five ways to get
control of your billings and make more money with less stress. Watch as
one woman handles 11 deadlines a day -- and you thought you had it bad,
eh? Learn an artist's secrets for high-end graphics workflows. And take
a tour of drive technology of the past, the present and the future. Download it
here.
Many aspects of HD production cost just about the same as SD production did. Thanks to new formats, HD production sometimes actually costs less than SD production does. But one of the most critical pieces for professional-strength editing is an external broadcast monitor for your work....and HD versions of those cost much, much more than their SD counterparts.
Desktop LCD monitors cost less, and make beautiful pictures, but haven't been up to the job of broadcast HD monitoring. Creative COW leader Shane Ross has experienced this the hard way in his HD editing for Discovery, The History Channel, and many more.
Enter the Matrox MXO, a converter box that sounds too good to be true: true, fully-calibrated HD broadcast monitoring using the DVI spigot on an Apple Cinema Display -- or a laptop! -- for less than half the price of previous options. Join Shane as he puts the Matrox MXO to the test, over months of HD broadcast monitoring. Is it too good to be true? Or truly good?
A few years back, Sony rocked Comdex by pulling out out of the show, spurring a rash of speculations and rumors. But once the initial smoke had cleared and people began to crunch the numbers, it was clear what Sony knew and what had prompted their decision. This week, Avid has been generating similar press and speculation after their press release yesterday saying that Avid would not be on the expo floor of NAB 2008.
While some people argue that this is a sure sign that Avid is doomed and is headed for bankruptcy, here at the COW we see a different image and you can read all about it in the COW Report, fresh from the farm...
Sony Music has the pieces for you to put together. Shane Ross has the story.
Looking for stories about professional creativity? About business? About technology? About interesting stuff we've found? The Creative COWBlogs are the place to look. Here's a perfect example. Shane Ross came across Sony Music's offer to build a new Tori Amos song using multicam and greenscreen footage that they've provided. Sony's even got a video tutorial that shows how those features work in Final Cut Pro! Here's Shane's report.
Get the idea? The forums are the place to solve problems. The blogs are a place to put up your feet and let your mind wander. We know you'll want to see everyone's COW blog so swing on by. Hey, and while you're there, get your own COWblog!
