Aprende Final Cut Pro X en 30 minutos (o menos)

Un excelente tutorial para aprender a usar Final Cut Pro X en 30 minutos (o menos)

Historia y Ciencia de Color desde Newton hasta los Hermanos Cohen

Reglas de Comportamiento, Parte 1: Fotografia Candida

Cuando uno es un apasionado de la fotografía, es difícil encontrarse en exteriores sin una cámara de cualquier tipo. Esta cámara dota al portador de una curiosidad hiperumana, y una necesidad de capturar con luz cualquier cosa interesante que se ponga frente al fotógrafo. Hacemos las medidas necesarias, hacemos un encuadre, y disparamos el obturador. La imagen ha sido grabada en el sensor/película. De pronto, junto a nosotros aparece una persona con semblante disgustado, mirando fijamente nuestro precioso aparato. Es probable que, al tomar tu imagen, hayas hecho enfadar al individuo que se encuentra frente a ti. ¿Sonries? ¿Te disculpas? ¿Borras tu imagen? He aquí lo que hay que hacer:

Fotografía Cándida

La fotografía cándida es un estilo de fotografía en la que el sujeto (invariablemente humano) no es consciente de que esta siendo fotografiado. Es una fotografía atractiva, pues muestra al sujeto tal como es. Sin embargo, por ser una fotografía tomada sin consentimiento ni aviso, puede molestar al sujeto, que siente que su intimidad ha sido violada. Mas aun, en estos tiempos, hay casos de personas que sienten que al ser fotografiados, se exponen a ser secuestrados, o extorsionados de alguna forma.

Para evitar disgustos, mucha gente utiliza lentes de gran longitud focal para tomar el sujeto desde una distancia. Otros, mas atrevidos, utilizan lentes de angulo muy amplio para tomar al sujeto sin tener que apuntar la cámara hacia el. Aun otros usan cámaras rangefinder de obturador mecánico (Como la Olympus Trip), que no hacen ruido al abrir y cerrar el obturador. No importa el método, nadie esta exento de ser atrapado. Puede que usted tenga suerte, y la persona a quien tomo la foto sea fan de Cartier Bresson, y comprenda su función como artista de la fotografía cándida. Pero si no es así, recurra a lo siguiente

1. No huya. Quédese donde esta. Si la persona se acerca a usted, adopte una expresión placentera. Esto no significa sonreír, pero evite por todos los medios adoptar un semblante grave que le diga al mundo "Hice algo malo, y ahora seré castigado por eso". Para cualquier caso practico, usted es un artista, y el mundo iluminado su lienzo.
2. "¿Porque me esta tomando fotos?" "¿Para que son las fotografías?" "¿Quien es usted?". Son preguntas a las que se vera expuesto si la persona decide interrogarlo. En caso de tener una cámara digital, usted tomara su cámara, la pondrá en Modo de Visión de Imágenes, y mostrara las fotografías al sujeto, a medida que muestra anteriores fotografías. Hágale ver que usted disfruta de capturar imágenes de diversas cosas, no solo de el/ella, y que las imágenes no formaran parte de un catalogo de "Personas por Secuestrar", ni pasaran a formar parte de un culto dedicado a el/ella. Si usted trabaja con análogo, tendrá que convencer al sujeto de igual forma, pero sin el apoyo de las imágenes adicionales.
3. Llegue a un acuerdo. Gane su confianza. La finalidad es, evitar tener que borrar la foto, o eliminar el rollo. 
4. Pida una disculpa por el inconveniente (no por tomar la fotografía), y retírese del lugar.

Con suerte, uno podrá salir bien librado de tal situación, y vivir para poder seguir tomando fotografías del estilo que sean.

Hasta la próxima!

White Background Photography

I want you to take a look at the picture below. Look at it for at least 10 seconds. Don't just look at it. Observe it. Analyze it. Ok?. Go!.

Now tell me:
1)Is the image a whirlwind of ideas and words-turned-image?

2)Did anything catch your attention? What is it?

The answers will most probably be:

1. No, it's a normal picture
2. Yes. The girl with fishnets on her arms and a flowery dress over a black dress, whose sight is directed at a point in the higher right corner of the screen... What the...? How did I get all those details???

That is the power of the white background. All your attention is directed to the colored subject in the center of the photograph. The white background is used by almost all kinds of photographers, to bring out textures, contrast, and to center attention on the subject of the photograph. Even underwater photographers use it to get pictures of tiny, colored specimens like camouflaged octopuses, angel fish, and a whole troupe of crustaceans.

The trick to isolate your subject on a totally white background is, theoretically, simple: you put more light on the background than on the subject, usually done by pointing two lights directly at the background. Example: You measure the suggested exposure on your subject. It calls for an f4 aperture. You must then light the background so that it calls for an f8 exposure. When you photograph the model using f4, the white background will be overexposed, and it'll come out extremely white. Being perfectionist pays here: you must eliminate anything between your lights and the background that can wash it, because if you don't, you'll get a bunch of hazy shadows on the background.

Other useful tips:

Use reflective material. Not necesarily white, but definitely, something that makes light bounce off effectively.

Leave a distance between your subject and your background, around 2 metres, so the light hits the backgound in an angle greater than 45°.

Don't forget to light the subject correctly. Even though the white background is important, it will be of no use if your subject appears like a black hole in a white wall.

Thank you all!

Photography: What to take on a trip?

When you have a whole arsenal of lenses for your SLR, the task of choosing the right lenses to take for a field outing is an extenuating and painful one. Leaving that beautiful 50mm F-1.7 lens seems inhuman, but what use could it have when you're going hiking alone?

Take my case as an example. I usually spend 20 minutes preparing my backpack to go downtown (yes, I take a backpack. Don't judge me!). Of those 20 minutes, at least 15 were taken trying to choose the right photo equipment for the job: Should I take a tripod? (stupid question: of course you should take the tripod, you ass!!) Should I take 5 lenses? Should I bring a bigger bag? etc.

For those of you who've found themselves in my case, Fear no more! I've made a list of all the essentials to take on those short (and not-so-short) trips to the outer world!!

1. A spare camera. Semi-Pro and Pro cameras are sturdy equipment. But that doesn't mean they're indestructible. If, by any chance, your camera were to, let's say, break down, you should always take a spare.
   
   
2. Lenses. We all love our lenses. We take care of them, put them in hard cases to keep them nice and protected, brush the dust off, use relatively-cheap filters to protect them. It's expected that parting ways with them is a hard step. But a necessary one.
   
   You should always take a wide-angle, for shots of Churches, Mountains, Big Fat Tourists, etc.
   
   A portrait lens is always a requirement. Trips are always filled with chances to take people sleeping in the subway, a guy with a beard that may have it's own fauna, or even your loyal companion. Make sure it's nice and long (75 to 135mm, ideally) and with both a big aperture (2.8 and bigger) and also a small one (16 and lower). And a telephoto lens, for nice closeups of birds, drifting gondolas, and people, perhaps some mountain views.
   
   
3. Miscellaneous: polarizing filters, lens brush, air syringe, lens tissue, your cameras instruction booklet, spare caps, hard cases.
   
   

May this list help you in the difficult task of choosing your equipment. Of course, we didn't include the tripod in the list because IT'S OBVIOUS you should take it! But you know that already, right?

Until next time!

When Should I Use A Tripod?

Question: When Should I Use A Tripod?

Answer: WHENEVER POSSIBLE. There. Said it. From this moment on, no matter what, you must remember to use a tripod on nearly every possible situation.

The tripod is indispensable to any photographer (pro or amateur) who respects itself. People who don't use tripods often use the following excuses to justify themselves:

1- They are Heavy/Bulky/Unpractical.

2- They are expensive

3- I don't need them

If you've used any of the above, you are horribly wrong. Here are counterpoints for those excuses:

1-Pro tripods ARE sometimes bulky, and heavy, but this has a basic reason: The more bulky a tripod is, the lose movement it'll have. Weight creates stability. Few things can move a bulky tripod. But that's only on Pro tripods. Amateur (or perhaps "Semi-Pro") tripods can be quite the light equipment, some of them being just 1 pound. And then of course, there's mini-pods, like the Gorillapod, a magnificent piece of equipment that, literally, can wrap its legs around any surface. Minipods are not Pro-Equipment, but for soccer-parent photography, it's a really good product.

Mind you, tripods are not, and shall never be, unpractical. The results achieved when using a tripod will prove this to you

2- It's true: good tripods are expensive. But good tripods, when used properly and taken care of, last forever. If you buy a good tripod today, you will be able to use it 20 years from now.

Good tripods are like good pictures: 20 years from now, you'll be glad to have them with you.

3- "Why use a tripod, when I can squeeze my body pretty tight, and obtain the maximum stability?" "I don't need a tripod, I've ISO 3200"

It doesn't matter! Even if you have ISO 3200, or if you normally shoot at 1/500 of a second, the tripod shall give you sharp images, almost 100% guaranteed. Of course, tripods are not magical. You need to make sure all screws are tightened up. But the next time you say "I don't feel like taking out my tripod", take it out. Then take 2 pictures, one with the tripod, one handheld. Then, check the pictures on your computer. Close up on a point, any point, and you'll see why cool people use tripods.

Of course, there's the tripod's cousin, the Monopod/Unipod. A Monopod may weigh only about a pound, occupies about a tenth of the space of the tripod, and provides good stabilization. And they make for amazing walking sticks. But consider it as an alternative, for use on hiking trips, and crowded stadiums. A Monopod lacks the stabilization of a good tripod, and althought it will make for good, sharp pictures, tripods are still tripods.

Lesson 3.2: The Timeline

Well, the Timeline: This is where the magic happens. You may set effects and in-points and out-points in the Viewer, or select those effects in the Browser, but your project ends up here... The almighty Timeline. 

Actually, at first glance (and based upon personal and shared opinions) the Timeline looks like the easiest window to understand, specially if you´ve worked on iMovie. And it is, if you use the basic knowledge: you pull the clip, and drop it on the Timeline, like we did on Lesson 3.1. But then, you´d have a sequence featuring tons of bumps, and jumps, and audio problems, etcetera.

The Timeline and the Canvas have a smbiotic relationship: Both display two different views of the same sequence, were the Timeline shows the chronological arrangement of clips ad layered video and audio clip items, while the Canvas provides  single view of your sequence as it will appear on whichever media you´ll be playing it.

On the upper right corner of theTimeline you´ll find the tabs for each different sequence you´ve created. Using the timeline, you can quickly navigate through an entire edited sequence, adding, rearranging and removing clip items.

One thing you´ll notice is that the playhead in the Canvas mirrors the playhead in the Timeline, which means you can use the Canvas to add in-points, out-points, markers and keyframes in the Timeline, and viceversa.

You can open sequences from the Browser in the Timeline, by double clicking the desired sequence in the Browser. Also, if that sequence had previously been opened in the Timeline, you can select it from the tabs I mentioned earlier, located on the upper right corner of the Timeline. To close a sequence, simply select the sequence´s tab in the Timeline, and choose File>Close Tab

On the Lower right corner of the Timeline you´ll find the keyframe and track controls: Toggle Clip Overlays and Toggle Clip Keyframes. The Toggle Clip Overlays button allows you to actually see the levels of opacity and sound in the sequence´s clips, while the Toggle Clip Keyframes button allows you to edit keyframes in the clip. Those of you familiar with Macromedia Flash (now known as Adobe Flash, since the release of CS3=, or Corel R.A.V.E (known asCorelCAPTURE, from the release of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 on(man, has it been that long since I learned to use animation software????)) , or any other animation software will know what a keyframe is, and what's it's usage.

On the right side of the Timeline, we found ourselves with the Editing Controls: Source and Destination, Track Visibility, Lock Track, and Auto Select Control.

Today´s shortcuts: 

Snapping: N

Linked Selection: Shift+L

Clip Overlays: Option+W

Render All: Option+R

That´s all for today. Keep an eye out for Lesson 3.3

Final Cut Pro

Lesson 3: Editing 101

Well, we've gotten here. That's quite a step, you know? Many people just stare at the computer and say: Meh, I think I'll do it in iMovie instead... But if you've followed since Lesson 1, and at least have tried to set a scratch disk, then you are worthy of recognition

This one is a strange lesson, because I can't really tell how you should edit your videos. I can only pass on some old editing wisdoms, and say what buttons do what things. But editing works two ways:

1. You follow your instinct
2. You obey the producer's orders

It is also an extensive lesson we'll have to divide into 4 parts. Today we'll concentrate on basic editing. So, let's get started...

First of all, ancient editing wisdoms:

1. Long clips are boooooooriiiiing! Keep it short, 10 seconds per clip, at it's most...
2. Do not overuse effects. It looks cheesy, and it can force your computer into a crash, unless you render
3. Transitions ARE an effect
4. Sound is important. Try to use sound transitions whenever sound levels jump a lot between clips
5. Don't listen to music while editing... Trust me...
6. Save your project, for God's sake, Save every 5 minutes!!! You can't trust on the autosave feature too much...
7. Don't edit more time than you can spend having fun. You'll get bored, and eventually, you will do neither. Try to balance it..

Now, off to the EditCave (cheesy 70´s superhero music):

If you've payed attention, you now know each of the windows in FCP (Browser, Canvas, Viewer, Timeline). You also know how to upload footage (Log and Capture). So now, all you've got to do is, move your mouse button over to the Browser. That's it. Double-click the desired clip to make it appear on the Viewer. Now that "Kat's_Birthday_Party_001.1" is on the viewer, proceed to select an in and an out point. (Remember Lesson 1's shortcuts? I= set in-point, O = set out-point) Now, once you've set the in-point at the moment Kat's face is shoved deep into the cake by good old Tommy Benson, and the out point when Kat throws cake at Tommy's face, click and drag the Viewer's screen. You can either drag it to the Timeline, and drop it there, or to the Canvas, were a small multicolored menu will appear, displaying different options: Insert, Superimpose, etc. Choose the one you prefer. If your clip appeared exactly as you wanted on the Timeline, congratulations, you've succesfully edited a clip!!!

Now, that's adrenaline, ain't it?

Keep tuned for part 2 of lesson 3!

Final Cut Pro

A Brief History of Final Cut Pro

Last time, we took a look at how edition has changed in the past 40 years. We now know what linear-edition systems are, how they worked, which was the first real non-linear edition system, and who are the big boys in the edition software game.

This time, we'll take a shot at Final Cut Pro, Mac's edition software. You've probably seen the results of using this fine piece of computer programming, although you probably don't know you have. Let me give you a hint: if you've seen Napoleon Dynamite, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Ring, Cold Mountain, Happy Feet, Corpse Bride, No Country for Old Men, or 300, you've watched only a few of the many movies post-produced with Final Cut Pro. It's a nice bunch, if you ask me...

Now for some History Class:

It all starts with Adobe Premiere. The year: 1992. The man: Randy Ubillos. Randy had created the first three versions of premiere before being given a team. Just before Premier V.5 was released, Ubillos was hired away by Macromedia to creat KeyGrip, which was to become an even snazzier video-editing software based on Apple QuickTime. Yet, Macromedia could not release the product without harming Truevision, as KeyGrip was also based in part on MS technology licensed to Truevision, and then borrowed to Macromedia. The license agreement stated that it was not to be used in conjunction with QuickTime. So Macromedia was forced to keep the product off the market until a solution was found. Afterwards, around 1998, Macromedia started focusing more and more on web applications, and they started looking for buyers for their non-web apps, including KeyGrip, which by this time had been renamed Final Cut.

Final Cut would be presented in private room demonstrations at 1998's NAB. During the demonstration, Windows and Mac versions were shown. The Mac version was working with a Truevision RTX dual stream real time card with limited real time effects.

When no purchaser could be found, Apple decided to buy the software as a defensive move. But then, Apple could not find anyone willing to buy the program, so they continued developing the software. In 1999's NAB, Apple presented Final Cut Pro, with added Firewire/DV support.

With the introduction of Final Cut Pro, Adobe remained strong on Windows, but began to lose users on Mac. since its older codebase was more difficult to maintain and enhance. In 2003, Apple announced a program for Premiere users to trade in their discs for a free copy of Final Cut Express or a $500 discount on Final Cut Pro. Later that year, Adobe introduced the successor to Premiere, Premiere Pro, a Windows-only product with a modern codebase.

Next time, I'll teach you Final Cut Pro's features, as well as file formats and introduction to start editing your videos...

See ya!!

Video and Television postproduction editing in Mexico