I still have a copy of FX Home on my old Windows machine but haven't powered it up in ages. Steve was actually using the predecessor to FX Home, I forget what it was called, when he was doing the keying. I believe Jon and Steve (Gilson) used After Effects. I'm currently using the basic tools in Premiere Pro, but plan to upgrade to After Effects in short order. I haven't really tried Hitfilm, other than playing around with the demo a bit when they first released it. The learning curve from FX Home didn't seem huge though.
So here's an object lesson for all budding fanfilm makers out there. Since day one, sound has been by far our biggest problem. While I wouldn't suggest we have this entirely licked, we've reached a stage where we are at least recording much cleaner sound, and have progressed to recording sound separately from the camera. Now this may add another layer of complexity to the post-production process, but I can't recommend it highly enough. The sound we're getting is much, much cleaner. Of course, it's also sensible to record sound directly into camera as well, which makes synching your nice clean sound files much to the video much easier. Anyway, getting to the object lesson, you should always check the on camera mic is switched on before shooting. In our defense, we haven't used this camera in over 2 years, so we're a bit rusty. And it's not an insurmountable job to synch the audio with the video, but it's a lot, lot harder. So yeah, made my job harder. Doh! Always double check folks. Always doublecheck.
Congratulations on becoming a father, and congratulations on returning to the Intrepid! I know just what you mean by parenthood affecting, well, everything. And it's a wonderful (but exhausting) thing.
Thank you! And yes, it is indeed. Even though I spent most of last night sleeping in my daughter's bed because she kicked me out of ours.
The latest version Hitfilm 3 has some nice features, but AE is the standard for most productions around here.
At some point I might invest in Hitfilm and play about with it, but for the foreseeable future I'm going to concentrating on learning AE.
Here's a quick out take from the January shoot. Please note this is just a quick pass, the background plate is a placeholder. No sound work has been done and neither the keying or colour are necessarily indicative of the finished film, but now that we're up and running again I'm keen to share updates where possible and practical. [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TCeN5PAbZo[/yt]
Looks like we'll be shooting a new short next month in what should be an interesting local venue. This will also be our first shoot using DSLR, but we'll have a few news faces helping out both in front of and behind the camera, so hopefully it'll be a relatively smooth process. I'm going to try and document things as we go (other pressures permitting) for those who may be interested.
Thanks guys. Just received confirmation last night for dates that we can use this location, so looks like we're a go.
Currently getting some odds and ends ready for the shoot in three weeks. Here's a couple of props we'll be using.
Everything looks great Nick. I've always been amazed at the level of green screening in your episodes. I am looking very forward to your next episodes and the visual effects in the first video here were great. Also, congratulations on being a dad. It's a wonderful gift.
Thank you! No greenscreening for this upcoming shoot, I'm happy to say. I hate doing greenscreen. And yes, being a dad rocks.
I asked this question over on our Facebook page, but I'm curious what others think. If the Intrepid crew were ever to meet a fanfilm crew from the Original series era, which one would you pick, and why? I have a particularly soft spot for Starship Exeter. It wasn't the first fanfilm I saw (it was the second) but it was the first that made me not just want to make my own, but to believe I actually could. So for me, if we ever did such a thing (assuming team Exeter were willing and able) that would be my first choice.
I have a major soft spot for Exeter, too. Andorian lithors (sp?) are established to exist by dialog in the Intrepid universe. So, seems like a natural fit. I'd love to see the return of as many Exeter characters as is feasible.
More Exeter would be great. Who knows, maybe they'll come back for one last mission one of these days.