Dynamic Video Masking in Pinnacle Studio 24
First of all let me just clarify that I have not turned into some kind of strange Pinnacle Studio fanboi!
The reason I say that is that for the last few weeks I have been reporting on the release of Pinnacle Studio 24.
Usually that would mean a blog post announcing it and then an update of the review that you can see here, Pinnacle Studio Review, but this has been turning into the release that never ends!
What has been happening with this one is that they have been kind of slowly leaking out resources to both announce and explain that update.
Not really sure why any of these video software companies can’t seem to get their ducks in a row before the release date!
So it is at least good to see them finally catching up with some decent explainer videos!
The one below came out this week and covers the new Dynamic Masking feature which only really seems awesome when you get to see what it is.
When you try to explain in words what it is, it just seems a bit confusing although that may actually be my problem.
How To Make a YouTube Video – Step by Step from Idea to Release
Let me introduce you to Kevin if you have not met him before.
Kevin goes by the “YouTube” name of The Basic Filmmaker and has been putting out quality content for years now.
You should really go over and check out his channel here: The Basic Filmmaker
Every now and then Kevin grabs hold of a subject and does a complete end to end, soup to nuts breakdown of that thing.
One he did a few years back on Green screen is to me still THE definitive video tutorial on the subject and is the resource I always refer people to when they ask about it.
You can see that tutorial here The Definitive Guide to Green Screen… it’s about halfway down that page.
This week he came up with another one of those comprehensive videos, this time on the subject of creating a YouTube video.
If you have been slapping together videos to upload to YouTube and after some time are still not getting anywhere then this one may be the video for you!
Likewise of you are just starting out, THIS is actually how it needs to be done.
Make Stuff Fly! Creating a Product Commercial at Home
I have watched this tutorial a couple of times trying to find the thing that you can’t do in a consumer level video editing program.
As far as I can see, there is nothing.
So if your editing software can handle green (blue) screen you are off and running.
The only other thing you will need is keyframing available for, clip speed, adding blur effects, adding a rotation effect and… I think that’s about it!
The one workaround you may need is when in Final Cut Pro the presenter creates a “compound clip.”
I think Pinnacle Studio is the only consumer level editor that can do that but for all the others you just need to render the clip as a new video then bring it back into the project.
How To Change Title Graphic Colors in CyberLink PowerDirector 18
If you have read any articles on this site or have been following the Friday Roundups, then you would probably know I am not a big fan of “canned” effects, transition, titles and stuff like that.
Now I know that just about every video editing software package out there will be packing an overwhelming array of those things.
The reality is that the inclusion of the majority of them is more to do with marketing than editing videos!
Don’t get me wrong, when you first set off into the world of video editing those preset features can be a great way to get going but it doesn’t take long for it all to wear a little thin.
An often overlooked aspect of those prepackaged effects is the fact that in most cases you can actually tailor them to how you want and make them your own.
In the video below Maliek goes through some of the things you can adjust in your average prepackaged title sequence to get it looking how you want.
PowerDirector – Scroll Text Up to the Beat of Music
Just a straight tutorial on working with titles in conjunction with the beat of the music.
It shows in PowerDirector how to use the beat detection tool as well as a workaround when that tool cannot function.
Sometimes when you have edited the beginning of a video track with music or an audio track the beat detection tool may have trouble identifying the beat.
This video it shows a manual way you can add beat markers to deal with that problem.
Using Masks to Create a Surreal Train Station – PowerDirector
Yet another “not exactly the easiest” of tutorials to follow from CyberLink this week.
However what it does do (other than confusing you) is show a great example of how you can layer masks in an infinite number of ways to create a truly unique effect.
Smoke Disappearing Effect – Filmora9
A simple effects tutorial from Filmora this week showing how to do an “up in smoke” disappearing sequence.
Although this is quite basic given that it is just a transparent smoke animation overlaid on to some cuts there are a few things to note.
First up the smoke animation shown being used was downloaded from the Filmora website and is actually a paid resource.
To get around that you can do a search for free smoke animations and you should be able to find something usable.
The second point is that although the bare bones of the effect are easy the real work is in the details.
In the video you will see there is a bit of tweaking going as far as timings, settings and sizing goes and it is there that you will either succeed of fail to sell the effect.
How To Animate Text in Resolve – DaVinci Resolve 16 Basics Tutorial
When you are working in DaVinci Resolve and want to start getting all fancy schmancy with effects and stuff you will most likely end up using Fusion.
Fusion is that part of the program that deals with all of that post production functionality.
However the nice people at Resolve also realize that very often you may want to just add some simple tasteful adjustments rather than going nuclear on the whole thing.
For that reason they have a few tricks inside the basic editing interface including adding motion that you can use without having to go full Fusion on your project.
One of those features is called Text Plus and it adds a few tricks to the text/titling editor that are very handy to use.
You can get a good idea of how to access that feature and use it in the video below.
How To Make A Progress Bar in DaVinci Resolve – Fusion Motion Graphics Tutorial
Just so that you can see what I was talking about regarding the previous video and using DaVinci Resolve WITHOUT going into Fusion… check this out!
Although the results are great and the software is powerful, it all gets pretty complicated pretty fast!
Retro Video Game Style Title – Resolve 16 Fusion Motion Graphics Tutorial
And just to drive home the point, here’s yet another tutorial delving into the complication that is Fusion in DaVinci Resolve!
The Power of Negative Space and Tension in Video Editing (Cut to Black)
This is a great explanation of what filmmakers means by negative space and how it affects the audience viewing your projects.
Timelapse Photographer Q&A
If you are interested in time lapse videos and all the ins and out of that then this Q&A session is quite informative.
It covers a whole range of topics as is usually the case with these kinds of sessions so you may find something for you in there.
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