Oklahoma City Final Cut Pro Users Group

November Meeting Update!!

2009-11-03T13:01:00.010-06:00

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late update. We are 1 week away from our last meeting of 2009! This is going to be a good one. I am lining up the last of the presenters now and will hopefully have an official update out by Wednesday.

OKCFCPUG Sponsors!!

We have some very exciting news to discuss as a group this time around. We are looking at some big changes for 2010 and we need everyone who can make his next meeting to be there! Also, we will be having free pizza! Yeah man, free eats. I might even try to bring some cookies or somethings. You'll be responsible for your own drink though. No Beer Burleson! I don't want to have to wrestle away anybody's keys from them....mostly because I probably wouldn't win but also because if I did, I really don't want to drive them home.

Seriously though we are looking at some pretty serious opportunities in the year ahead and we want everyone's input. Also, this will be our last chance to hang out before the Holidays and we're having free pizza! If you are planning to come, please shoot me a reply and let me know, that way I can try to order the right amount of pizza and no one gets shorted.

We will meet November 10 at:
OKCFCPUG November Meeting
November 10, 6 - 8p.m.
okcCOCO
723 N. Hudson Ave. (Corner of 7th and Hudson)
For Directions: http://okccoco.com/
Make plans to join us Novemebr 10 from 6-9p.m. for OKCFCPUG!!!

So what little I do know for sure about presentations is that we will have an FCP and a DVD Studio Pro presentation. I should know tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning about the last presentation. But again, being there for your input into the group and to help us have a good launch into next year is really important for this meeting. Hope to see everyone there and please don't forget to visit our sponsors!!

OKCFCPUG Sponsors!!

We will meet November 10 at:
OKCFCPUG November Meeting
November 10, 6 - 8p.m.
okcCOCO
723 N. Hudson Ave. (Corner of 7th and Hudson)
For Directions: http://okccoco.com/
Make plans to join us Novemebr 10 from 6-9p.m. for OKCFCPUG!!!

Gregory D. Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

May Meeting Review

2009-05-18T12:28:00.018-05:00

I don't know how to say this exactly. The last several meetings have been awesome and I keep thinking we might lose some momentum but yet again, the speakers for our last meeting were awesome. We had several new faces in the crowd as well.

I would like to take a minute and give a special thanks to a few members.....

Jody Wickersham has been a huge part of this. Jody got our website parked for us a long time back and always helps with taking pictures and getting them to me for later posts. Jody also started our Facebook page.

Chris Martin got us on Twitter and has been talking to some businesses for meeting give aways. Chris also got us in contact with OKC Coco which is where our next meeting will be and has some sweet perks...more on that later.

The guys at ODOT hooked us up with the Firstcom sponosrship.

To everyone who has participated as a presenter. We have had some awesome presentations and I really appreciate all of the effort put into all of the presentations! It is definitely noticed and appreciated.

There are several more but I also want to thank everyone who comes out to the meets as well. Without everyone being there and helping out, this wouldn't be possible. Thanks! Ok, enough butt kissing...back to business!

Awesome meeting!! If you missed it....you MISSED it!

Rick Lippert - Soundtrack Pro

We started off with Rick Lippert going over a recent job he got with the Air Traffic Control. Rick used several actors and finished this project out in Soundtrack Pro. Rick used a simple yet efficient workflow and showed a lot of useful shortcuts. I have grown to love shortcuts and encourage everyone to start using them, they WILL help your speed. Rick also showed a cool little mouse tool for the MAC. It places a customizable target around your mouse, great for presentations or teaching.

You can download the Mouse Locator here:
homepage.mac.com/Kuhndog/Sites/OKCFCPUG/May_2009/MouseLocator-1.dmg

David Callahan - '09 NAB

David Callahan reminded us of the many benefits of actually going to NAB. He also went over a long list of new equipment coming out. Dave went over a lot of stuff so I have just posted a link to download his presentation here:

homepage.mac.com/Kuhndog/Sites/OKCFCPUG/May_2009/NAB_2009_Presentation.key.zip

Shawn Teague - CODECS???

I don't know about you but I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to decide which Codec/camers I was going to go with. Like Shawn said, there are pros/cons no matter which direction you go. You have a lot to consider.....file sizes, color depth, camera style, Long GOP or not to Long GOP, pixelization, low light situations, the list seems endless. Shawn gave us a good look into the pros and cons of Cameras and their CODECS.

July Meeting Preview
We have an exciting change ahead. As I said above, Chris got us in touch with

okcCoCo (okc Coworking Collaberative) www.okccoco.com
They have a virtual tour of the facility on their website

okcCoCo provides a professional meeting environment at a reasonable cost. They have wifi and a great area to meet as well as an awesome place to hang out and chat afterward. They will also film our presentations! This is a very nice facility and offers some perks that I will have the director talk to us about at the next meeting. I am really excited about this new facility. It is downtown, 723 N. Hudson Ave. (Corner of 7th and Hudson).

I don't have anything specific as of yet on presentators but as always, let me know if you would like to give a presentation or have something specific you would like to see. I am working on an FCP presentation over a project I just finished. Please consider being a part of our next meeting!

OKCFCPUG July Meeting
okcCOCO
723 N. Hudson Ave. (Corner of 7th and Hudson)

Make plans to join us July 14 from 6-8p.m. for OKCFCPUG!!!

Gregory D. Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

OKCFCPUG May Meeting!!

2009-05-04T09:03:00.009-05:00

May Meeting!!!

Sorry for the delay guys, I have been swamped and I am finally getting my ducks back in line. Those crazy ducks of mine are somewhat rebellious......could I be any cheesier....only if I used the word cheesier....oh crap!

Anway, here is what we have for May! It is going to be an awesome meeting...hope you can make it!!!

Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 231- 8650 4th floor
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 - 6P.M.

We have an AWESOME line up this month!!!

There is going to be a slight change up in the meeting line up this month. I have noticed we usually hang out for quite a while after the meeting. So, I am going to start right out with presentations and leave time on the end for mingling and questions.

6:00p.m. - 6:15p.m. Show up

6:15p.m. - 6:45p.m. Soundtrack Pro!!!
Rick has just finished the first cut of a big audio project for the FAA to test air traffic controllers. The FAA has developed 51 different scenarios using computer animation, and Rick is providing the audio portion that the test-takers will hear over headphones.
This project involved hired actors (and real controllers), recording the dialogue in a studio, and Rick finished the mix in his home studio. Rick will re-create one of the shorter scenarios to demonstrate the process. This is going to be an excellent, real-life, demonstration using Soundtrack Pro!

6:45 - 7:05p.m. Shawn Teague Panasonic AVC-Intra
Shawn is going to talk about Panasonic's new AVC-Intra. He will be giving us the low down on its pros and cons. Shawn works at Fowler media and is very knowledgeable concerning codecs and products and all of there various capabilities and limitations. This should be a very interesting presentation.

7:05p.m. - 7:30p.m. David Callahan NAB Update/Recap
If you're like me, NAB wasn't an option this year. I have heard a lot of rumors as to how important NAB really is anymore and I keep hearing of vendors dropping and what not. Anyway, David was there and he's going to give us the scoop on NAB and what he got from it. So if you wren't able to attend, this will be your chance to get some inside info. from someone who was there.

7:30p.m. - 8p.m. OKCFCPUG News/Open Session
So, we'll try to finish up early tonight and give everyone some time to mingle and catch up. If you have any questions, this is a good chance to get them answered, we have an awesome group of professionals who are more than happy to share their wisdom.

Hope to see you there!
Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 231- 8650 4th floor
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 - 6P.M.

WEBSITE:
Don’t forget to check out the new website!!
www.okcfcpug.com

Last But Not Least:
As always, even if you are not on the list, bring any projects or ideas you have been working on with you. The last 30 minutes of the meeting is basically brainstorming and show and tell.
Also, if you have any questions or input for the meetings, ideas and what not, please let us know! Just send a reply and we’ll check it out as soon as we can. I hope everyone can make this next meeting.

Don’t Forget To Support Our Sponsors!

http://aatc.metrotech.org www.ribbitfilms.com www.firstcom.com

Gregory D. Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

OKCFCPUG March Meeting!!

2009-03-11T11:26:00.007-05:00

Hey guys...and gals...we have an awesome meeting scheduled for March! I hope everyone can make it out. Below is an updated schedule for our next meeting. FYI, we are meeting on the 3rd Tuesday this time...MARCH 17!!

Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 231- 8650 4th floor
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2009 - 6P.M.

We have a very diverse line up so far and are hoping to add to it if we can.

6p.m. - 6:30p.m. Open Discussion:
We will be open for Q&A as well as Show & Tell. If you have something you have been working on and want to show it off....bring it! This is a free for all, if you are working on something and need some insight, hopefully we’ll have someone there who can help out.

6:30p.m. - 7:00p.m. Soundtrack Pro!!!

Rick has just finished the first cut of a big audio project for the FAA to test air traffic controllers. The FAA has developed 51 different scenarios using computer animation, and Rick is providing the audio portion that the test-takers will hear over headphones.
This project involved hired actors (and real controllers), recording the dialogue in a studio, and Rick finished the mix in his home studio. Rick will re-create one of the shorter scenarios to demonstrate the process. This is going to be an excellent, real-life, demonstration using Soundtrack Pro!

7:00p.m. - 7:30p.m. Adam Oxsen – Ecstasy of Gold

Adam Oxsen is a filmmaker and entrepreneur right out of the OU film school. He has big time aspirations of making big blockbuster movies in Oklahoma. Ecstasy of Gold is an action-adventure-western and is his first step towards realizing that goal. Adam is going to discuss some of the technical difficulties and workflows as well as some practical advice for those of us considering a film project. Hearing from someone who has done it is usually the best way to avoid unexpected pitfalls. Go to, http://www.TheEcstasyofGold.com to check out the trailer.

7:30p.m. - 7:55p.m. Critical Mass

Dave and Don from Critical Mass will bring out their Red Camera and answer any questions you might have about workflows, costs, accessories, formats or any other questions you might have. If you missed their recent RED party (which was AWESOME!) this will be a good chance for you to check out their set up. Dave and Don are awesome guys and have a lot of experience, this will be a good chance to get some info. on the RED.

7:55p.m. - 8:00p.m. Closing/Upcoming/Announcements

This is gong to be a great meeting, I hope you can make it out! We have some great presenters lining up for May already as well, but please be thinking of being a part of our next meeting. And even if you don’t want to or can’t, maybe you know someone who could. Just let me know and we’ll get the ball rolling!

Everybody be sure to have Tuesday, March 17th marked on your calendars. We started 2009 off great, let’s keep things rolling!

WEBSITE:
Don’t forget to check out the new website!!
www.okcfcpug.com

Last But Not Least:
As always, even if you are not on the list, bring any projects or ideas you have been working on with you. The first 30 minutes of the meeting is basically brainstorming and show and tell.
Also, if you have any questions or input for the meetings, ideas and what not, please let us know! Just send a reply and we’ll check it out as soon as we can. I hope everyone can make this next meeting.
Don’t forget to get some “Behind the scenes” footage of you and your family during the Christmas season to show off at the next meeting!

Don’t Forget To Support Our Sponsors!

http://aatc.metrotech.org www.ribbitfilms.com www.firstcom.com

Gregory D. Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

2009 FCP New Year Meeting Update

2008-12-17T17:41:00.012-06:00

2009 is on it's way!
We have had some awesome meetings and their are several exciting opportunities coming our way in the new year as well!
You definitely want to be at this next meeting. Not only do we have a great line up of presenters but there are some exciting things going on behind the scenes that I will update everyone on!

So enough chit chat...here it is:
Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102 (405) 231- 8650
4th floor
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2009 - 6P.M.

6p.m. - 6:30p.m. Open Discussion:
We will be open for Q&A as well as Show & Tell. If you have something you have been working on and want to show it off....bring it! This is a free for all, if you are working on something and need some insight, hopefully we’ll have someone there who can help out.

6:30p.m. - 7:00p.m.
AUDIO, AUDIO, AUDIO.....What to do, where to go!
Paul Thomas is going to bring out some mics and give us a run down on the never ending battle of quality vs. price. There is also the difficulty of selecting the right mic depending on how windy it may be or whether you are in a studio setting, outside, in a large hall, there is a never ending list of obstacles you can run into on the audio side of this world. Never fear, Paul Thomas is here! He will help light the way through this treacherous audio minefield.

7:00p.m. - 7:20p.m. Chris Martin - In Living Color
Chris is going to show basic Apple Color techniques covering round robin workflow from Final Cut to Color and back. We’ll cover entry level color grading and picture enhancement. I don’t know about you guys but I haven’t even opened this program up yet. I am definitely in need of a Color kick start!

7:20p.m. - 7:40p.m. Critical Mass - David Callahan & Don Stephens

We'll be discussing the challenges of creating the OU Pregame Stadium video in 32x9 format.

7:40p.m. - 8:00p.m. Story Time with DVD Studio Pro:
I am going to go over a DVD project I got into and didn’t really know how to address when I was first asked if it could be done. I had never even heard of a “Story” in DVD studio Pro. After figuring out some of what you could do with them, they have really opened up some creative and diverse ways for me to build DVDs now. They add some flexibility to your menus and also come in handy if you are running low on disk space.

This is gong to be a great meeting, I hope you can make it out! We have some great presenters lining up for March already as well, but please be thinking of being a part of our next meeting. And even if you don’t want to or can’t, maybe you know someone who could. Just let me know and we’ll get the ball rolling!

Everybody remember to get some “Behind the Scenes” footage of you and your families at Christmas. Nothing big but it would be fun to see you guys with the fam!

Everybody be sure to have Tuesday, Jan 13th marked on your calendars. We ended 2008 with a great meeting, let’s kick off 2009 with one even better!!

November 2008 Meeting Update

2008-11-01T06:10:00.021-05:00

Man! I don’t know about you guys but I had a great time at our last meeting. A special thanks to everyone who made it out! We had a little bit of everything at the last meeting. Product demos, tutorials, job opportunity (even though it’s in Texas). Thanks to everyone who gave presentations.

A special congrats to Rick Lippert who was the winner of our door prize from our most excellent sponsor Ribbit Films!

www.ribbitfilms.com

Congratulations Rick. You are a winner!! (No matter what anyone else might say!:)
We still have 2 more prizes from Ribbit Films so don’t count yourself out just yet!

ODOT brought out a ton of fun stuff. Nick demonstrated their Steady Cam.

I was a little surprised at how quickly it went together. This thing, with there Panasonic camera mounted weighs in at about 60lbs. It doesn’t take long to wear an operator out. There is some versatility to it that I wasn’t aware of. Like mounting the camera upside on the bottom and getting those low, through the grass type shots...pretty cool. It can also be mounted to trucks, dollies, etc. with the right mount attached. Pretty awesome piece of equipment. This one comes in around the $30,000 mark.

ODOT also brought out the Sticky Pod (Sorry forgot to get a pic). This mount uses up to 3 arms with big suction cups that you can mount to just about any flat surface. Great for tight fits, you can mount it to windows, vehicles, tables, and get some unique looks that are impossible without putting yourself into serious danger, I don’t know.....like hanging out of a car window while your “buddy” holds onto your shirt!

These guys also brought out there Anycast. Pretty cool little 6 input all-in-one switcher that is very portable. One of the coolest things about it is that it can webcast to up to 20 locations without needing to use a service to provide your stream! That’s pretty cool for those who do conferencing and those sorts of things. As well as there EX-1. Thanks ODOT for an awesome presentation!

Darrin Hill showed a clever and quick way to use Compressor and Cinematools to create much better and more realistic slow-mo footage. I was seriously impressed with the results! This is one of those things that might seem cumbersome at first but once you get your workflow down, this is really a simple way to make some really good looking slow motion footage. If you want a clean looking slow down, this is the way to go!

Darrin also showed a quick way to use Motion to do a simple fly-in effect while adding Z-field depth to your images and keeping your images in the same aspect as your camera. Quick and neat way to light up an end slate or opener. Add some depth of field and dissolves and you have a clean look in no time at all.
Tutorials will be posted on OKCFCPUG.com as soon as possible!

Rick Lippert gave some insight to the simplicity of using Motion to create Drop Zone Templates that can be used in FCP. You do all of the “dirty work” animating and such in Motion. Get the look you want and all of your animation set. Then turn your video/image elements you want to be able to replace into Drop Zones. Save as a template and then you will be able to access your template straight from FCP. Throw it on your timeline and open the controls. All of your drop zones will be there and you can just drag and drop the updated shots/images in.

Next Time Around:
We have a Color and DVDSP Tutorial lined up for January. I am hoping to get Paul Thomas to go over some different kinds of mics and their applications as well. If anyone is interested in doing a presentation or if you wanted to demo a product or a project you have done, please let me know.

Thanks again to everyone who made it out. If you missed, you missed it. But make it in January!!

So, our next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 13th. As we come closer to CHRISTmas, we will finalize everything. Which reminds me, I thought of something fun we could do. When you are celebrating the Holidays, see if you can’t get some footage of you with your family. If you have time, throw a little 2 minute montage together and show us some “behind the scenes” footage of yourself! It will be fun! E-mail me back if you are in....also if you think that is stupid and have a better idea.

Meeting Pics:

Gregory D. Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22

--

Weeeeeee’rrreee BACK! September Meeting Details

2008-08-12T13:19:00.017-05:00

We just finished up an awesome OKCFCPUG meeting! Thanks to everyone who came out! The more people we have, the richer and fuller our meetings will be. Also, a special thanks to everyone who spoke. PL Studios was great to have and offered us some opportunities to be involved in what they are doing (I’ll detail that more below). Andrew showed us his HV20 and some of the things he has done and the tutorials were good as well.

We have also started a freelance sign up list. If you are interested in freelancing, send me your name, contact information and what you are qualified in, i.e. Camera, editing, effects, etc. Please consider your skill level, we definitely want everyone to participate, but we need confident, competent people on the list to make sure to keep a strong sense of integrity in our group.

Below is a brief description of the speakers and a very preliminary overview of what we have lined up for November 11, 2008.

PL Studios
Thanks to Sandip and Sarah from PL Studios for making time for us. They have a great training program going and specialize in training for 3D modeling and animation. They are considering starting up training for FCP, Motion and After Effects as well. If you have any footage, feel free to send it their way. PL Studios is open to anything you have, green screen, scenery, good or bad footage that they can use in their training resources. You will get full credit if they use your footage. Standard Def, HD, anything you wouldn’t mind sharing. Here is their contact information if you are interested in sending something their way:
DIGITAL-TUTORS | PL STUDIOS, INC.
501 N.Walker Ave., Suite 160
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
LOCAL: 405.601.4806
FAX: 405.601.2472
CELL: 405.818.1112

Andrew Smith brought out his HV20 and showed us some of the projects he has put together with it. This camera makes a beautiful picture for the price. You sacrifice some manual controls but with the amount of accessories you can get for this thing, you can really get some incredible footage. Andrew also brought out his Merlin (Pictured above) steady cam for cameras under 5 pounds and showed off some nice shots he got using it as well.

Jody demonstrated the Replace Media function in Motion. It is a simple and very useful function that allows you to make quick updates and logo changes without making new layers or copying and pasting filters. To see a review of this tutorial:

http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/index.php?c=5&mforum=okcfcpug

Greg Kuhn showed a quick way to take a flat 2D image and use Photoshop and Illustrator to create a vector path that can then be used in any 3D application to add extrusion and turn a 2D image into a 3D object to add an extra level of dimension to your project. To see a review of this tutorial:

http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32&mforum=okcfcpug

Alright everyone, our next meeting is scheduled for November 18, 2008 6 – 8p.m.
Same bat time, same bat place:

Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
300 Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 231- 8650
4th Floor
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008 - 6P.M.

I am working on speakers now. We will have a great Motion tutorial from Darrin Hill and we are looking at the possibility of a couple of great product demos. Member participation is crucial to the survival and depth of this group.
We are looking for someone to do a DVD Studio Pro or Soundtrack tutorial. If anyone has any tips or tricks they would like to share with these programs, please let me know.

WEBSITE:

Don’t forget to check out our website and visit our forum. There is a link to our forum on the right side of our website. Our forum has a tutorial section now. Feel free to post any tutorials of your own or even links to good tutorials you have found. Let’s do our best to keep the posts in good order. If there is another section needed, just let me know.

Jody has also started an OKCFCPUG Facebook page:
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5903377818

Last But Not Least:
As always, even if you are not on the list, bring any projects or ideas you have been working on with you. The first 30 minutes of the meeting is basically brainstorming and show and tell.
Also, if you have any questions or input for the meetings, ideas and what not, please let us know! Just send a reply and we’ll check it out as soon as we can. I hope everyone can make this next meeting. We are all very excited to gear back up for the Fall. Please invite a friend and bring them along!

Greg Kuhn
Without Counsel, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.

New and Improved and Interactive!

2008-07-29T17:13:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the new OKCFCPUG website, reengineered for maximum functionality for our members. It's not just better, it's really really better, no kidding. Click "Subscribe" above to automatically receive OKCFCPUG news, updates, meeting info, etc. Be sure to register and let us know what you think by commenting below.