Artist in Residence: Thomas Haneke

Mike Raffensperger — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:44:19 -0400

Zoom In Online is proud to present Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence Series. This recurring segment spotlights the creative insights of renowned film editors, all Resident Artists from Manhattan Edit Workshop's Six Week Intensive Course in the art of editing. In this week’s episode, Tom Haneke talks about the challenge of sorting through hours of dailies from a single camera shoot on the music documentary High Fidelity, the assumptions you need to avoid in filmmaking and how a screening with outside perspectives always helps you realize where your film stands and what needs to be fixed. Haneke’s work includes Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award-winning documentary American Dream and My Generation (which he also co-directed). He’s also edited From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China and He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’, which both received Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature. To purchase Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence podcasts in their entirety click here.

Artist in Residence: Jeffrey Wolf

Mike Raffensperger — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:45:11 -0400

Zoom In Online is proud to present Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence Series. This recurring segment spotlights the creative insights of renowned film editors, all Resident Artists from Manhattan Edit Workshop's Six Week Intensive Course in the art of editing. In this week's episode, Jeffrey mourns the loss of the apprentice editor and explains how editing is a young person's field due to the advancement of education and access to films. He also talks about editing room dynamics, recalling an anecdote of an unnamed director who purposefully created tension during post and how important it was to keep the film Holes truthful to its source material. Jeffrey has worked regularly with Ted Demme (The Ref, Snitch) and John Waters (Cecil B. Demented, A Dirty Shame). To purchase Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence podcasts in their entirety click here.

Artist in Residence: Michael Berenbaum

Mike Raffensperger — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:25:06 -0400

Zoom In Online is proud to present Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence Series. This recurring segment spotlights the creative insights of renowned film editors, all Resident Artists from Manhattan Edit Workshop's Six Week Intensive Course in the art of editing. In this week's episode, Emmy Award-winning editor Michael Berenbaum talks about how editors are often on their own in having to "figure it out" when it comes to continuity. He explains that continuity is not often a top priority depending on how fast paced the cutting and pacing are. He also reveals how he never watches his editing material beforehand for TV shows, explaining that even if he had the time, it would all blend together. Michael's work on Sex in the City scored him three Emmy nominations and one win. Other TV work includes The Wire and his feature film resume includes Hollywoodland and Sex in the City: The Movie. To purchase Manhattan Edit Workshop's Artist in Residence podcasts in their entirety click here.

FCP Plug-Ins: Lyric's Drawing Tools

Jim Rohner — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:22:09 -0400

Lyric's Drawing Tools plugin kit provides a versatile set of generators for drawing all kinds of graphic elements directly within Final Cut. The kit includes polygons, multi-segment lines, spline curves, ovals & circles, arcs, wedges and rectangular grids, etc.

FCP Plug-Ins: Digital Heaven's DH_RetroTV

Jim Rohner — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:30:08 -0500

Digital Heaven's DH_RetroTV replicates the effect of old school channel changing. A transition effect, this plug-in is a creative way for editors to impact a time-piece genre.

Final Cut Pro Plug Ins: Red Giant's Knoll Light Factory Pro 2.5.2

Jim Rohner — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:47:46 -0500

Created by John Knoll, Photoshop co-creator and Star Wars effects guru, Knoll Light Factory is one of the industry's most popular motion graphics tools. It is most famous for its high-fidelity simulations of light effects called flares, which simulate reflections from a very bright light source as seen through a camera's lens. Knoll Light Factory is Hollywood's go-to tool for adding interest to text or logos or extra pop to FX explosions.

FCP Plug-Ins: CHV 3D-Explode

Jim Rohner — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:03:48 -0500

3D-Explode will explode or implode a video clip to reveal a clip beneath or it can be used by itself over a black background. There is complete control of the direction and motion of the effect. You can tumble, spin and rotate (X - Y - Z Rotation) then entire effect as well. Explode 3D is actually two different plugins, a Transition and a Filter version which are found in the Video Transition bin and in the Video Filters bin in the FCP Effects browser.

FCP Plug-Ins: StageTools MovingPicture

Jim Rohner — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:36:35 -0500

StageTools' MovingPicture allows documentary and industrial filmmakers to pan and zoom on high resolution images (up to 8,000 by 8,000 pixels), ala "Ken Burns" (who happens to be part of their clientele). Rather than use an expensive and bulky motion-control rig or animation stand, often requiring expensive photographic prints, MovingPicture takes high-resolution scanned images and allows for perfectly repeatable pans and zoom moves on a desktop computer.

FCP Plug-Ins: Digital Heaven's DH_Box 1.1

Jim Rohner — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:58:39 -0500

Final Cut's built-in cropping and position controls do a great job for simple setups but if you want more flexibility and speed, take a look at Digital Heaven's DH_Box - the expert filter for picture-in-picture and split-screen effects. This plug-in is simple, and therefore all the more effective for its purpose.

Final Cut Pro Plug Ins: Red Giant's Toonit 1.1

Jim Rohner — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:29:54 -0500

Red Giant's Toonit 1.1 gives video footage that sought-after cartoon look easily and quickly. Red Giant ToonIt uses unique algorithms to transform your image into beautiful cartoon shading and lines. Its four plug-ins free you from time-consuming techniques like rotoscoping and hand painting, and give precise control over styles, shading and outlines. Quickly convert video into a stylized animation with great default settings.