… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #1318: Interesting Ways to Flip a Transition

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Remember, wipe transitions are designed to break your story and take viewers somewhere “else.”

Flip transition settings (top) and the results (bottom).

Topic $TipTopic

The Flip Over transition in Adobe Premiere has several hidden settings that can make this transition more interesting. Let me show you.

  • Select the edit point between two clips.

NOTE: Any transition needs “handles,” extra media before the In and after the Out, in order to exist.

  • Apply Effects > Video Transitions > 3D Motion > Flip Over.
  • Select the transition icon in the timeline, then open the Effect Controls panel.
  • The four small arrows (top red arrow) determine the direction of the wipe.
  • Show Actual Sources (middle red arrow) displays the video clips on either side of the selected transition.
  • Custom (bottom arrow) opens a dialog where the number of bands and the background color can be changed.

NOTE: There is no option to make the background transparent.

These options can make an overused transition look more interesting and fresh. Feel free to play.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #1314: Delete Generated Media More Easily

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Generated media take storage space – which, sometimes, you need to get back.

This window allows you to select which generated media you want to delete.

Topic $TipTopic

I discovered this tip while researching a recent PowerUP webinar covering the new features in Apple Final Cut Pro v. 10.5.

Generated media are files created by Final Cut to enable your editing. These files are based on your original camera media, serve a variety of purposes, and include:

  • Optimized files
  • Proxy files
  • Render files

The problem is that these files take a lot of space and, most of time, Final Cut does not erase them, just in case you need to use them again. Most of the time, Final Cut needs these for your projects. But, for projects you’ve been working on a while, the storage space required for this generated media can get out of hand.

New with the 10.5 update are more ways to get rid of it. We can now deleted generated media by:

  • Clip
  • Selected group of clips
  • Events
  • Selected group of events
  • Projects
  • Selected group of projects
  • Library

Once you’ve selected something, go to File > Delete Generated [ name of selection ] Media. In the resulting dialog (see screen shot) select the types of files you want to delete.

EXTRA CREDIT

Deleting generated media can not be undone. However, if you delete something that Final Cut needs, FCP will automatically regenerate it. So deleting generated medis is less risky than it seems.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #1313: Copy a Library as Proxy-only

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Proxy-only libraries are small, fast and easy to share.

The “Copy to Library” dialog box, with settings to create a Proxy Library.

Topic $TipTopic

I discovered this tip while researching a recent PowerUP webinar covering the new features in Apple Final Cut Pro v. 10.5.

A new feature in Final Cut 10.5 is the ability to create a proxy-only Library. This is extremely useful when you need to share a library with a remote editor who doesn’t already have access to the project’s media.

Here’s how.

  • Control-click an existing library you want to share in the Library List to the left of the Browser.
  • Choose Copy to Library > New Library

NOTE: You can also copy one library into another library, for example, to consolidate files.

  • In the resulting window, check the Proxy checkbox.

This copies all library databases, events, projects into a new library. It duplicates any existing proxy files – though doesn’t create new proxies – and vastly reduces the size of the new library, making it much easier to send via the web to another editor.

EXTRA CREDIT

There are a number of other settings in this window. Read more about what this can do in Apple’s Final Cut Pro Help.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #1312: The Comparison Viewer Saves Time

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The Comparison Viewer is very helpful when doing color grading to match shots.

The Comparison Viewer (left) with buttons displayed on bottom.

Topic $TipTopic

I discovered this tip while researching a recent PowerUP webinar covering the new features in Apple Final Cut Pro v. 10.5.

The Comparison Viewer displays two timeline images side-by-side, which can simplify color grading or other tasks where comparing two images is helpful (see screen shot).

To display the Comparison Viewer, go to Window > Show in Workspace > Comparison Viewer (Shortcut: Control + Cmd + 6).

There are two buttons at the top:

  • Timeline. This displays the last frame of the previous clip, or the first frame of the following clip relative to the position of the playhead in the timeline. Switch between views using the Previous Edit / Next Edit buttons at the bottom.
  • Saved. This saves up to 30 still frames, captured at the position of the playhead in the timeline, then displays whichever you select in the Comparison Viewer.

I find using this very helpful whenever I do color grading.


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… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1308: The Academy Film Archive

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

From Collections to interviews to A.frame, the Academy Film Archive is a great resource.

The Academy logo.

Topic $TipTopic

The Academy Film Archive, part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, documentation, exhibition and study of motion pictures. The Academy Film Archive is home to one of the most diverse and extensive motion picture collections in the world.

A new section is A.Frame. “Every new movie has a story. Whether it began as an idea many years ago or took hundreds of artists to bring to life, these stories unfold through the people behind the lens. It is in this spirit that we have created A.frame, a new way to appreciate the movies you love and discover your next favorite.” (Academy website)

In addition to A.Frame, there are other facets that make the Film Archive worth exploring, one of my favorites is Collections.

  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Cecil B. DeMille
  • Dalton Trumbo
  • David Lynch
  • And many, many, MANY more

Link: https://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections


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… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1307: Top 10 Streaming Movies in 2020

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

This list was compiled by JustWatch.com.

JustWatch.com logo.

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Jason Hellerman, first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is a summary.

JustWatch.com, an international streaming guide, compiled a list of what people were streaming the most this year.

Here’s the list:

  1. Parasite
  2. Knives Out
  3. Jojo Rabbit
  4. Contagion
  5. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
  6. 1917
  7. Joker
  8. The Lighthouse
  9. Little Women
  10. Ford v. Ferrari

NOTE: This tracked movies viewed only in the US from Jan. 1 – Dec. 1, 2020.


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… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1306: 5 Photo Books to Inspire Cinematography

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Five exceptional books to spur your visual creativity.

(Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Lewis McGregor, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.

It can be hard to find the right place to look for cinematography inspiration. Let us narrow your gaze to five exceptional photo books. These are five of my current favorites, [specifically] because of how well they spark the flames of inspiration for aspiring photographers and cinematographers looking to emulate raw, naturalistic images.

  1. Where I Find Myself by Joel Meyerowitz ($65)
  2. I Can Make You Feel Good by Tyler Mitchell ($60)
  3. Girl Pictures by Justine Kurland ($50)
  4. The Atmosphere of Crime, 1957 by Gordon Parks ($40)
  5. Intimate Distance by Todd Hido ($65)

Finding More Resources

The Cinematographer’s Archive is an Instagram account formed by Jordan Buck and James Rhodes, and acts as an insight into what’s on the bookshelf of working cinematographers. From commercial to feature DPs, there’s a wide variety of collections to scour through.

However, be warned! Some of the more fascinating photography books are out of print and, therefore, hard to find, expensive to purchase. You may find yourself falling down a late-night eBay rabbit hole chasing after some of these books.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1305: Groups Do More Than Organize

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Use Groups to animate or modify multiple elements at once.

A Group with both Filters and Behaviors applied to it.

Topic $TipTopic

A group, in Apple Motion, is a folder that holds elements, behaviors and filters. But a Group does more than simply hold stuff.

Every Motion project requires at least one group, where we store all the elements in a project. At a minimum, we can use one, or more, groups to store and organize our elements. For example, I often organize groups as:

  • Text
  • Foreground
  • Mid-ground
  • Background

NOTE: The stacking order of groups makes a difference. Foreground is on top, background is on the bottom.

But, what makes groups much more than simple organizational tools is that we can apply behaviors and effects to a group. These settings then affect all the elements contained in that group. This is a great way to animate multiple elements at once.

EXTRA CREDIT

Select a group, then go to Inspector > Properties to change Transform, Blending or Drop Shadow settings, the same as if we were adjusting an individual element.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1304: Secret 3D View Control

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

This is a fast and interactive way to change the view in the Viewer.

Default 3D screen control (top). Roll over it to change to an expanded controller (bottom).

Topic $TipTopic

When you switch to 3D space in Motion, an innocuous control, illustrated at the top of the screen shot, appears.

I’ve happily ignored this for years.

But, if you hover your mouse over it, the control expands into a multi-purpose screen controller (bottom of screen shot).

  • Click one of the outside boxes to switch between Top, Bottom, Left, Right, or Back views.
  • Click the edge of the center box itself to switch to Perspective View.
  • Click the center of the box to switch to Front View.
  • Type Control + A to switch back to Active Camera view.

There are keyboard shortcuts for these, but clicking the controller creates a very cool effect.


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… for Apple Motion

Tip #1303: Add a Curve to a Motion Path

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

There are multiple ways to add curves to motion paths.

Double-click a motion path line, then drag to create a curve.

Topic $TipTopic

All motion paths in Motion are straight lines. However, adding a curve is easy. Here’s how.

PEN or PAINTBRUSH TOOL

  • When drawing a line with either the Pen or Paintbrush tool, drag when setting a corner. This changes the corner from a sharp edge to a curve.

MOTION PATH

  • Double-click anywhere on the red motion path line to set a control point.
  • Drag the control point to create a curve.
  • Drag one or both of the white control handles to change the shape of the curve.

A CONTROL POINT

  • Control-click an existing corner in a motion path line. From the popup menu, change it from Linear to Smooth to add a curve.
  • Change from Smooth to Linear to change a curve to a corner.

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