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Released in early May DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 is now available. And with it several new and exciting features. Including: Davinci Resolve Neural Engine upgraded with AI tools. Color Slice tool on the color page, and Intellitrack AI can now track, follow and pan audio. My favorite is the Color Slice palette...

Color Slice Tool In DaVinci Resolve Studio 19

Colorists rejoice over this fabulous addition to the color graders tool bag. Off hand I can think of many ways to engage this tool. Right off I wish I had this back in '91.

Back In '91 I was working as a Sr. Film Colorist at FilmCraft Video in Detroit, Mi. I used an early version of DaVinci Resolve. As I recall there were no additional numbers associated with which version it was. It was version 1. I had what today is called the Micro panel hooked up to a Turbo Rank Cintel film scanner. Premier equipment for that day.

This new client comes to me with a 16mm film clip of a "David" statue (You know, the Greek nude guy), in a picturesque garden setting. Shot at 24fps in bright morning... shadow. To say it was underexposed would be generous. The fresh out of art school kid exposed his film for bright sunlight while the subject was in deep shadow. Yuk, it was flat and colorless.

Have you ever worked with a color blind (so-called) artist? I have had that distinct displeasure. I spent about an hour preparing a color correction scheme to the best of my (and the equipment's) ability. It was as good as it could get.

"NO, NO!!!," says the client, "the statue is more green than that. I need to see the patina.* Crank up the green and swing the hue over some." So I did, then told him "now, the sky is green."

"No problem, looks okay to me" he says "just focus on the statue. More green please." So I gave him what he wanted and thought that was it.

It wasn't. Next day I get called on the carpet by the company owner. "Why is the sky green?" he asks.

"That is what the client asked for," I reply.

"Well" the boss says "your client's boss called me and chewed me out and claimed that his artist was better than my colorist. Because the sky is blue, not green."

He wanted a full refund AND for us to pay for re-transferring the footage, at a different facility. That we screwed the pooch on this one, because his artist just graduated from Art School.

"Thought this might happen" I respond. "That's why I laid down a second version, with the sky blue."

Of course, I was the bad guy on this fiasco, because for sure, a kid just out of art school sees color better than a seasoned professional colorist. Regardless of the colorist's 14 years experience. Regardless of his vast film experience. Totally disregarding the fact that the so-called artist is green color perception deficient.

When I saw this new Color Slice tool in DaVinci Resolve Studio 19, I knew that was the tool I was missing all those years ago. If-a coulda, woulda grabbed a slice of green sky and made it blue. That woulda been heavenly. I did CYA on this job by saving my original color correction. Which I saved to tape, and sent to the client later.

What I learned from this episode is this. When someone else wants poor quality, it isn't enough to just give just that to them, even if it is all they want. You should give them your quality version as well, as an option, just to CYA. Just in case... here it comes... everyone is a critic.

Fortunately for me I laid down 2 versions of that clip. My original grade and the grade the client warped into. I sent the second tape, and never saw that client again.

Looking for a little color grading on your footage. Give BWT Videos a try. Contact me for a free consultation...

*Patina - is a glaze that develops on the surface of bronze with age. Patina is a blue-green-black color mix that is sometimes irridescent and changes appearance with light refraction and angle of incident. Meaning it can appear to change color. (But, this effect is softened in deep shadow.)

Great brakes are a must have for any racecar. Not only for safety but also for speed. The better the brakes the faster you can stop. My brakes are made by MCP. The pads are spring loaded and have adjusters, to set the air gap between the pads and the disc.

In this video I show how to adjust the MCP brakes. And provide tips to set them up properly. I used a combination of a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera (BMD PCC) with a Lumix 12-35 zoom lens and an Olympus 25mm fixed focal length lens. I shot this video in Blackmagic "Raw" format, at 30fps, and color corrected and edited in DaVinci Resolve 18...

Slingshot Brake Adjustment

Website tips for this post:

1. Exposure is critical to the noise factor in video. Under-exposure will increase the noise factor during color correction. To get the right exposure, let the camera do it for you. The BMD PCC has an auto exposure function that works at the push of a button.
   • Pros:
     Auto exposure is easy, accurate and works great in a controlled light environment. The BMD PCC camera has an auto exposure button on the back panel for easy operation.
   • Cons:
     In an environment where light quality changes auto exposure can cause noticable changes in the quality of the shot.
2. If I suspect the light quality may change during a shot, I turn auto exposure off, after I set it. That way the shot will have the same exposure throughout. The colorist can correct the exposure later, if needed.
3. In DaVinci Resolve 18 you can create chapters (for YouTube) by adding and naming markers in the video. Then, simply check the option"Add chapters from markers" in the render setup. These are added into your YT description.

I love my BMD PCC. The raw footage setting allows me to use DaVinci Resolve to get the absolute best color correction possible. The wide dynamic range make this camera a great choice for all types of video production. Get yours here...

Okay I just made up the term "Real Fake." And realized it is an oxymoron. Or a figure of speech that juxtaposes 2 contradictory terms to create a new meaning. The meaning of "real fake," at least to me is; a fake of a real person, (which is what HumanPals and HumanBots are for), and not an impersonation of a real person.

I got asked, the other day, if I could make "Deep Fake" videos. And immediately thought "Danger, Will Robinson!" Do I have a moral issue with making Deep Fake videos? Yup, probably. So, I replied "Sorry, my boss prohibits me from making that type of video."

Must admit I felt a little downtrodden over admitting that. Essentially because I make fake videos all the time. It is called animation. The difference is I use real fake personalities, as opposed to impersonating real people, or faking a real person. Which is what deep fakes videos do.

In animation you can animate real fake people to look just "real." With AI animation you could impersonate anyone.

BUT, should you? Is it morally responsible to do that? NOpe, As a matter of fact many if not all AI animation tools insist that you agree to several terms of service prohibiting the creation of Deep Fake, impersonation or violent or sexual or political or mean videos.

However that leaves a lot you can do. You can teach how to do something, you can promote a product, offer a service, entertain friends or record a lifestyle. So much is possible.

Now you can use the same tools I do to create "Real Fake" videos. The best tools for AI animation creation are the ones that last, the ones that perform well and ones that have great customer support. These are my BWT Videos recommended tools...

Looking to build your own animation creation biz? Here's a few website tips for you.

• Get a website, home office, powerful computer and Internet service.
• Build or occupy an isolated desktop home office, say in a spare room or basement.
• Connect to an audience on social media or world wide web.
• Get some low cost animation tools and learn how to use them.
• Take your time. Don't expect spectacular results too quickly. A good stew takes time to cook.
• Create and share your animation creations with tools you can get from here...

Video Express AI video generator is so good it defies imagintaion. Unique cutting edge features make this animation creation video app a must have. Unlock your creativity with this powerful AI driven app with tools not available in other apps. It's capabilities are truely remakable. Take a look for yourself.

This well thought out AI animation creation machine is packed with features. You get:

So many features I can't possibly describe them all here. You'll just have to look for yourself. I can say the (deleted) guy selling this gem, should have asked for more money. He could have asked for much, much more. But, NO! Paul Ponna had to go and make it affordable. For now!

Video Express AI certainly deserves to be my top app of the year. I mean where else can you get top grade practically unlimited, AI video creation? You can't! But this one-time low cost deal won't last forever. Hurry up and get your subscription now...

Rainbow On Christmas Day occurred in the Smokey Mountains over Sugar Camp Circle outside Pigeon Forge, TN. The family and I got treated to a rainbow on Christmas morning. By 2pm. it was sunny and warm and kids went swimming. I could not resist grabbing a camera and capturing this special moment. Check it out...

Rainbow on Christmas Day

Website tips for this post are;

In this video I used DaVinci Resolve 18 to edit and color correct the footage. With it I was able to adjust the exposure and contrast for different parts of the scene. I could have turned on auto-exposure but didn't.

Taking advantage of DaVinci Resolves non-linear color corretion capabilities I was able to pull more detail into the scene. In the sky portion of the shot I cranked down on the exposure and cranked up the contrast. I used a cross dissolve to extend the change over a second. Which is right where the camera pans from shadow to sky.

My tip is find a good colorist to grade your footage. It can mean the difference betwen getting the shot and blowing out the details. Do you need to get some footage color corrected? Contact me at...

Unboxing and assembly video showing how to assemble the C.R. Plastic Products C03 Upright Adirondack chair. As a former design engineer and draftsman I was disappointed in the quality of the provided instructions.

Poor or weak drafting skills in an assembly drawing is a pet peeve of mine. These ones were under detailed and incomplete in direction for assembly. I would have done a better job, myself. But, instead I made a video that others can study to get a better grasp on what it takes to assemble this outdoor backyard, front porch or patio Adirondack chair. Check it out...

C03 Upright Adirondack Chair Build

Website tips for this post are;

1. In this video I used several styles of transitions. However most experts tell you, to only use 1 style of transition throughout your video. I disagree. Transitions can be dynamic, instill emotion, change a mood or indicate different times and places in the piece. Mixing transitions can be an effective way to set the mood or indicate location changes.
2. Davinci Resolve comes with several special effects included. One is "noise reduction." With it, you can identify and remove frequencies that are noise.



3. Use DaVinci Resolve "color" page to color correct your footage. In this video I used natural light instead of lighting it. While I did use a UV filter, I still had various amounts of UV to deal with. To fix this I would match the RGB values with changes in gain and gamma, (mostly in the blue channel).

In this video I captured a lot of unwanted noises I was able to edit out using the "Fairlight" page. This page is specially designed to work with audio only. Having a dedicated page for audio allows for audio post instead of editing audio on a video editing page.

A phenominal celestial event occurrs on April 8 2024, a total solar ecclipse. This rare event is special because it can be seen with proper eye protection in only a localized area.

Einstien's theory of "General Relativity" can be observed during a total solar ecclipse. Where gravatational lensing of the sun warps starlight from stars that are behind it. Here is my animation of a solar ecclipse. What do you think?

Solar Ecclipse Animation

Solar Ecclipse is an animation creation by BWT Videos. Watch the moon pass in front of the sun. Animated in Camtasia Studio 2023.4.

This animation features a relatively new animation called "spotlight." With it you can vary the amount and location of a radial shadow mask. Which has the effect of the light fading from our sight, like the darkness of night. Can be used to highlight different areas of the screen. Or as a special effect, like in this video. Hope you liked it.

I thought about and researched the data for more information. And I was going the blab about how much I know about astronomy. But instead I'll just direct you to my source. Lost in Space.com...

More Website Tips: March 2024 « 

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