Here is a 7 part series in which Dave Helmly from Adobe walks you through a complete 3D Stereo workflow with Premiere Pro CS5. This is a start to finish workflow and a must see for anyone getting started with 3D Stereo video shooting and editing or just interested in the technology and the whole workflow. The videos start from the basic 3D camera rigs, covers Active, Passive and Anaglyph viewing methods as well how to play your videos on a consumer 3D HDTV.

via Premiere Pro CS5 Stereoscopic 3D Video Editing with Dave Helmley | Stereo Pictures Real 3D Films.

A Sony exec revealed that YouTube would be part of Sony’s upcoming 3D offering.

Mick Hocking, a studio exec at Sony, last week was drumming up support for Sony PlayStation’s future capability to game in 3D when he let loose this little tidbit:

YouTube will be supporting 3D content over the next 12 months as well – and you’ll be able to watch that on the PlayStation 3. And as you start taking 3D pictures of your family or 3D camcorder movies, you can play those back on PS3, too.

Obviously, people who want to enjoy 3D content will need to buy all new hardware that supports 3D, all of which Sony plans to sell you. To watch YouTube, in 3D for example, you’ll need a 3D display and a HDMI 1.4 compliant video card. you’ll also need a TV or computer OS that supports 3D.

via Today3D Forum.

Here’s an awesome tutorial on building a 3D cityscape in Motion from Andy Neil.

This exploration of lights in Motion 3 is now available for free download through DVcreatorsUniversity.

Click here to ask a question or make a comment about Motion.

Ever since the release of our DV Enlightenment lighting course, people are always asking us, “How did you make those awesome light rays on your titles?”

In that case, we used an excellent plugin for After Effects called Shine. Shine worked for a bit in Final Cut Pro years back, but then Apple changed the plugin API, and Shine no longer worked in Final Cut. (It works now, however!)

I’ve always liked the super-dramatic light rays effect, but the light rays filters in Motion and Final Cut Pro take too long to render… and frankly, they are pretty lame. So I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to help you create those super long, awesome godlike light rays, and preferably in real time! And finally, that opportunity is here.

I bet you probably own an amazingly powerful 3D graphics program that you’ve never even installed- even though it’s on a disc within sight of where you’re sitting.

It taps directly into the awesome power of OpenGL, OS X Core Video and Core Image to give you incredible real time effects. And the project files can be dragged right into the Final Cut Pro or Express timeline (just like LiveType or Motion) for pristine, uncompressed SD or HD animations that will knock your socks off!

WARNING: This is not a tutorial for non-techies! If you don’t have a propeller on at least one of your hats, you may be a little overwhelmed. Also, you must own OS X 10.4 or higher.

However, if you fancy yourself a bit of a nerd, if you’ve tinkered with HTML, PHP, or Javascript, if you feel you have a good grasp of relativity, or predicted the subprime mortgage meltdown, or understand the movie Memento, this free tutorial will open up a whole new world of visual effect programming that will allow you to create some animations no other common software program will.

It was designed to be presented in our patented Chunkalized learning environment, so it moves pretty fast. You’ll want to keep a hand on your space bar to pause the movie after each step if you are following along hands-on. Some of the presets have some additional controls, and some are similar, but we have total faith that you’ll have fun with them even though they are not quite finished! We will keep teaching you about this impressive secret tool!

Also, this tutorial was done with Tiger, but Leopard users will find the tutorial is still 100% current. It’s even a little cooler in Leopard.

Ask questions about the course by clicking here.
Enjoy!

The student files are in this zip file:

Click here to download student files

Extract the zip file and place the folder in your Documents folder.

Click here to start your Rayz O Lite journey!

http://dvcreators.net/media/tiplets/complete_rayz_of_lite.mov

After Effects is the software from whence a new art form, motion graphics, was born.

Motion offers many advantages and disadvantages to AE. The two can work together, AE users can use Motion to generate layers for their AE compositions.

Owners of both, before starting many projects, will have to pause and consider which program to use.

So when would you use Motion?

• projects involving interaction between elements (attracting, repelling, orbiting, bouncing much easier in Motion)
• users needing something cool-looking quickly without having to create it from scratch (because of the large library of text behaviors, particle emitter presets, replicator presets (LiveType also good for this)
• particle emitter design (because of real time playback)
• Designs with repeated elements (because of Replicator)
• prototyping (because of Motion’s real time capability with simple projects)
• easier integration with FCP (don’t have to render a movie)
• matching motion to audio (due to real time playback)
• With complex motion, using Motion behaviors and stacked behaviors is simpler than keyframes

When would you use AE?

• projects needing high quality keying (greenscreen/bluescreen)
• projects needing high quality resizing, rotation, changing tracking, etc.
• as projects get more complex, the AE interface handles projects with dozens or hundreds of layers better when moving or scrubbing the playhead, manipulating objects, adding filters etc.
• there is such a huge variety of AE plug-ins, some projects depend on them, so a project requiring a special AE plug-in will need to be done in AE
• AE is happy running on any semi-decent Mac or PC made in the last few years, Motion really requires the fastest possible computer with the very fastest video card and a lot of of RAM to be viable in a professional environment
• some features, like Motion Math, offer power to do things Motion cannot
• 2K or 4K projects for filmout
• output to .swf

This is not a comprehensive list, just a general guide. All in all, both programs are so deep and offer so much no one will ever come close to exhausting their potential.

Some of you may be wondering what we’ve been up to lately. Well, we have many top-secret projects cooking up in our lab, buried deep within the Hollywood hills (yes, we’ve taken over Dr. Evil’s lair after his retirement).

One thing is that we’ve collaborated with the great Stephen Schleicher on the world’s finest After Effects hands-on course. Final Cut Pro editors have delved into LiveType, then Motion, but many are finding they are still seeking an industrial-strength motion graphics and compositing environment. There are many great reasons After Effects continues to be the tool of choice for top industry professionals doing everything from major film and broadcast work to corporate, education, science, medicine and more.

We are very happy with how this course turned out. The effectiveness of the training is only matched by the quality of the production… unparalleled in my (biased) opinion!

After Effects PowerStart is the world’s best learning experience for mastering After Effect’s unique and sophisticated motion graphics creation environment, whether you are a professional graphics artist, video or film editor, or new to digital media.

After Effects PowerStart excerpt 1
After Effects PowerStart excerpt 2
After Effects PowerStart excerpt 3
After Effects PowerStart excerpt 4
After Effects PowerStart excerpt 5

(the links above are simply Quicktime movie excerpts, and are NOT presented in our Chunkalized™ learning environment. They are provided just to give you a glimpse of the product quality and content, but won’t give you a feel for the actual learning experience. But they are neat, eh? You must have Quicktime 7 to view these excerpts- but the actual DVD only needs Quicktime 6)

What will I learn in this course?

After Effects PowerStart consists of two lessons: “Foundations” and “Advanced”.

The Foundations course begins with a series of modules covering the After Effects interface and basic concepts. Then, you will build a simple but ultra-cool title animation and gain a solid grasp of the entire After Effects project creation process and workflow.

Then, in the Advanced course, you’ll dive many layers deeper into After Effects, building an sophisticated, professional-level project incorporating video, vector elements, text, effects, masks, nested compositions, alpha channels, transfer modes, 3D layers, and many other intermediate to advanced features of After Effects.

How is this course presented

To master any software, you must do, not just watch. After Effects PowerStart is presented in the DVcreators.net next-generation, innovative chunkalized™ learning environment, light-years beyond any other teaching method. You will actually build the tutorial project yourself in After Effects with the help of your virtual instructor. Each technique and process is presented in a series of clear, easy-to-understand steps.

Why is this course far superior to the plethora of other training books and discs?

After Effects PowerStart was created by top experts Stephen Schleicher and Josh Mellicker. Stephen, a well-known digital media expert and teacher, was chosen by Adobe as one of the world’s top After Effects gurus to write large sections of their advanced Classroom in a book. Josh is considered among the foremost experts in motion graphics and digital media, and has been working with After Effects since the CoSa days.

Unlike other products that rehash the product manual or cover tools and concepts in an order convenience to the author, each and every concept and action presented on this DVD is presented in context of completing a real world task. So you’ll immediately be able to put what you’ve learned to work on your very next project.

And we deliver this all to you with crisp, sharp, high quality visuals on your computer screen, unlike fuzzy, headache-causing DVD video discs. The movies on After Effects PowerStart are huge, so you get the whole picture. The easy-to-use navigation and comprehensive map also allow you to jump directly to any section for quick reference after you’ve been through the entire course.

What if the course goes too fast or too slow?

Speed is not even an issue with our training discs. We encourage you to learn at your own pace. In our chunkalized(tm) learning environment, you must verify that you understand and have completed each step in the process before your virtual instructor moves on. Quickly move through sections you understand, make your virtual instructor go over difficult concepts as many times as you need without worrying about other students or the time limits of a class. You have total control.

What if I have a question?

No one should have to learn alone. Our “Ask a Question” button will allow you to post your question on our After Effects forum for thousands of other users, including our own industry-leading instructors, to answer. You can ask questions, offer advice, and share tips in a collaborative, organized online environment on the very topic that you are currently learning.

Should I buy After Effects PowerStart if I’ve been using After Effects for years?

This course is mainly designed for new users with material that will be familiar to anyone who has been working in After Effects for a while. However, any editor who has not yet attained the mastery of After Effects they desire will find going through the whole course from the beginning solidifies and improves their understanding of After Effects.

We do guarantee that you’ll find tons of unique tips and secrets sprinkled throughout the course that will be invaluable for any After Effects artist.

Course Outline

Interface Orientation • Compositions • Project Settings • Solids • Transform Properties • Text Tool • Intro to Keyframing • RAM Preview • Creating Multiple Keyframes • Animation Presets • Rendering • Import • Animation Shortcuts • Continuous Rasterization • Work Area Markers • Raster Images • Masks • Nesting • Navigator View • Moving Keyframes • Markers • Modes • Effects • Easing Keyframes • Track Mattes • Working with Photoshop Files • Motion Blur • Trendy Title Appear • The Uberkey • Text Animation Presets • Animating a Blur • Light Burst • Animating Tracking • Speeding up RAM Previews • Audio • 3D Layers • The Final Render

After Effects PowerStart course on DVD-ROM
For new users to professional motion graphics artists

Requirements: recent model computer with Mac OS X or Windows XP, QT 6+, 1280 X 1024 monitor, DVD drive

Availability: Shipping NOW!

Price: $79.95

Click here to ask a question about this disc or After Effects.

This is a great program for creating quick and detailed animations of characters right out of the box.  Excellent for character stills and animation, medical illustrations, architectural, and storyboards.

In my case, having only dabbled a bit in the Poser of the past, but now, after seeing and using Poser 7, I am now convinced that this is the best program to quickly create and animate the human figure.  You also have access to numerous animal figures and even robots.  And now even more so, with the walk simulator, that definitely simplifies the animation process.  You also have lip syncing functionality, when you import some narration or voice over that you’ve recorded.

This is the walk designer, where you can uniquely customize the stride or gallop of your character.

This is just one picture of the many tool tabs that are available, and very easy to use.

It also has very powerful lighting, and rendering tools.  You can then customize how you want your animations output, from photorealism, sketch, cartoon, silhouette and more.

All in all, this is a wonderful tool for animators, being that you can create quick realistic human figures.  And especially those of you, who are just dipping their toes into the perverbial water of animation.

Bare Feats is at it again, with speed tests of the new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros:

http://www.artzend.com/3D%20Programs.htm
3Delight Free – http://www.3delight.com/index.htm
Anim8or – http://www.anim8or.com/
Blender – http://www.blender3d.org/
Daz Studio – http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/studio/-/?
Houdini (Free Edition) – http://www.sidefx.com/apprentice/index.html
Computer Graphics books – http://2020ok.com/4134.htm
Now3D – http://digilander.libero.it/giulios/Eng/homepage.htm
OpenFX – http://www.openfx.org
POV-Ray – http://www.povray.org/
SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP – http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/
Terragen – http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
TrueSpace - http://www.caligari.com/Products/trueSpace/tS75/Brochure/Intro.asp
Toxic – http://www.toxicengine.org/
Wings 3D – http://www.wings3d.com/

Maya Personal Learning Edition is a special version of Maya® software, which provides free access to Maya for non-commercial use. It gives 3D graphics and animation students, industry professionals, and those interested in breaking into the world of computer graphics (CG) an opportunity to explore all aspects of the award-winning Maya Complete software in a non-commercial capacity.

What looks to be a nice upgrade to this cross-platform, open source 3D modeling, rendering and animation software. And it’s free!

http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Cinema-4D/1