Sony Software recently announced Vegas Pro 12 at IBC to be available this fall 2012. To be exact, that could be anywhere between September 22 – December 20^th. With it, comes many new exciting features. One in particular is proxies. If you ever experienced any lag or choppiness during playback, the new Smart Proxy Workflow looks like it’ll come in handy.

Vegas Pro will be available in two configurations. The traditional Vegas Pro 12 collection will include Vegas Pro 12, DVD Architect Pro 5.2 and Dolby Digital Professional Encoder for all your video, audio, and disc authoring needs. The more affordable Vegas Pro 12 Edit however comes with everything above except DVD Architect Pro. This is great if you need the editing power but don’t have any use for the DVD authoring software.

Some key features I’m looking forward to;

• Project Interchange
  • This allows you to import and export a wide range of project files to and from Vegas Pro 12. You can convert between the native .veg file and AAF for Avid® ProTools® 10, XML for Apple® Final Cut Pro® 7, Final Cut Pro X (export only), DaVinci Resolve 8, and .prproj for Adobe® Premiere® Pro CS6 and After Effects® CS6.
• Smart Proxy Workflow
  • I’ve seen many people struggle with lag or choppiness during playback. With Smart Proxy Workflow, you can create high-performance, edit- friendly Smart Proxy clips in the Project Media view, to achieve faster playback. The media will automatically and dynamically switch from original to proxy based on the Preview playback settings. Original media files will be used for the final render.
• FX Masking
  • Now you can mask and effect rather than the image itself. Perfect for quickly blurring or pixelating certain areas of video clips such as logos, license plates or a person’s face.

• Shape Masking tools
  • Previous versions of Vegas Pro included the simple Bezier Masking Tool (Pen Tool) which is powerful and accurate but can sometimes be too much for simple masking. The new rectangle/square and oval/circle Masking Tools make it much easier to mask portions of the media by drawing the desired shape over the appropriate areas.
• Layer Dimensionality Video FX and Compositor
  • Adding white text over video clips can sometimes be hard to read. With Layer Dimensionality, you can add the appearance of depth to graphics and video clips. Useful for elements with alpha transparency layers, you can add realistic shadows, glow, and embossing effects. Layer Dimensionality is also available as a Compositor plugin, making it useful in conjunction with Track Motion and picture-in-picture effects.
• Vegas Pro Explorer Redesign
  • The updated Vegas Pro Explorer now features a Thumbnail View, and supports Windows libraries including My Songs, my Videos, and My Pictures. Auto-text fill and “Breadcrumb Control” similar to Window s Explorer lets you quickly navigate to previous directories in your system. Using Ctrl+ the mouse wheel scaled the thumbnail images for added image detail while browsing.

• Expanded Edit Mode
  • Double click at the edit point to see the timeline in a detailed “A-B Roll” view. The adjacent frames of the events at the edit point can be clearly viewed above the tracks for reference, and unused media in the events can be seen in the track area. The edit point/event edge is then highlighted in red and can be trimmed with the mouse or numeric keypad. Setting a Loop Region around the edit point enables you to dynamically add or remove frames from either side of the edit point while the media is playing, creating a highly precise editing experience.

Other great new features;

• 64-bit Audio Plug-ins – Sound Forge 32-bit plug-ins are now compatible with the 64-bit version of Vegas Pro 12.
• CompregensiveS-log Workflow – Supports S-log via ACES color space standard.
• Project Media Tagging – Quickly categorize your media with customizable tags.
• Project Media Updates – Thumbnails in the timeline will display with letter boxes depending on the events aspect ratio.
• Color Match – Match colors between clips using L*a*b* color space.
• Panasonic P2 Support – Edit the DVCPRO 25/50/100 and AVC-Intra 50/100 MXF files natively.
• HDCAM SR (SStP) Mastering – Encode to all flavors of the HDCAM SR mastering format.
• LAB Adjust and L*a*b* Color Space Histogram – Manipulate colors using the powerful L*a*b* color space.
• Edit Properties for Multiple Video Files – Edit file properties for a variety of media at once.

Some new features not listed in the article but shown in the video;

• GPU acceleration for Titles & Text
• Expanded Edit mode
• Simultaneous audio/video fades
• ACVDH 2.0 support
• Match project to first media added
• Vertical docking windows
• Improved L-cut, J-cut editing
• Timeline Editing and Trimming enhancements

It definitely looks like Vegas Pro 12 will include a good handful of much needed updates. A few in there I’m ecstatic to try out. Again, Vegas Pro 12 is expected to release sometime this fall with no exact date as of yet.

Reference:

https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro12cs

What new features are you excited about or disappointed that they didn’t include? Leave your response in the comments below!

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Independence Day is just about here in America and I wanted to share some of my favorite firework photos from the past years a day early. If you have any photos you’d like to share, please link them in the comments below! Also be sure to check out some of the tutorials I posted below on how to photograph fireworks as well as create your very own fireworks in Photoshop.

Fireworks

by @robynw, on Flickr

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth by Matt Pasant, on Flickr

Blue light special by Neil Kremer, on Flickr

God Bless America by Moniza*, on Flickr

Fourth on Lake Austin by Stuck in Customs, on Flickr

Disney – Illimunations – Reflections of Earth (1) (Explored) by Express Monorail, on Flickr

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth by Matt Pasant, on Flickr

by Darvin Atkeson, on Flickr

Mark Twain Fireworks #4 (Explored) by WJMcIntosh, on Flickr

Fireworks by Steve&Siewmei, on Flickr

4th of July ShalerJump – Fireworks Celebration Strobist Style by ACME-Nollmeyer, on Flickr

Bridge to Next Island by =the=, on Flickr

by heartreef, on Flickr

celebration of light 2007 – vancouver, canada, fireworks by jonrawlinson, on Flickr

Margret Hunt Hill Bridge – Dallas, TX by Fab05, on Flickr

Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks 2011 @ New York City by mudpig, on Flickr

rainbow boom by mudpig, on Flickr

Fireworks by casseybunn

Volksfest HDR Fireworks Manip

Some great photography I wasn’t able to embed:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheishichiyo/5311757944/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonebridgedapper/6287115735/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/johngilchrist/4079517476/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonebridgedapper/5913265359/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancier/721597393/

Tutorials

How to Shoot Fireworks (My 4th of July Tradition) – Scott Kelby

How to Photograph Fireworks Displays – Digital Photography School

How to Shoot [photograph] Fireworks – chasejarvis

Photoshop: Abstract Fireworks – Iceflow Studios

My Collection of Tutorials:

After Effects: Basic Fireworks

Create a Bottle Rocket in Illustrator

Photoshop: Abstract Fireworks

Taking Photographs of Fireworks

Bonus Videos

Slow motion aerial birds eye view of fireworks exploding — filmed with a GoPro HD

Fireworks From the Air

Pretty cool aerial view of fireworks.

and of course…

The Ultimate Fireworks Fail Compilation

http://youtu.be/D5jI92Ht99Y

Have fun shooting fireworks on the 4th! Again, if you have anything you’d like to share, leave a comment below!

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A handful of Valentine’s related tutorials.

Sony Vegas: Vintage Valentines Effect

I’ll show you how to create a neat looking vintage Valentines effect in Sony Vegas Pro 11. You’ll also learn how to group Event FX into their own presets.

Photoshop: Snow Heart for Valentine’s Day

Howard from http://iceflowstudios.com/ shows us how to create a ‘snowy heart’ design in Photoshop.

Photoshop Tutorial: Valentine’s Day Wallpaper

Hilart Abrahamian from http://octotuts.com/ shows how to create a Valentines Day wallpaper in Photoshop.

Photoshop – Color Effects for Valentines

In this tutorial, I will show you how to make your photos appear dramatic and make the people in them stand out.

Creating a Simple Valentine’s Day e-Card

Happy Valentine’s Day Text

Valentine’s Day eCard – Photoshop Graphic Design

The post Handful of Valentine’s Day Tutorials appeared first on Robert's Productions | Post Production Tips.

Enjoy this free 1080p footage taken of a fireplace. Although not the BEST quality ever, it’ll work as a nice little background. Just another free gift from me to you!

25 Seconds – .MOV File – 7.61MB

Preview

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Looking for some fun holiday tutorials? Here is a list I compiled of some pretty great holiday tutorials you can use to add some funk to your holiday projects.

Photoshop – Snow Text Effect

Photoshop CS4: Let it Snow!

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Candy Cane text tutorial at iceflowstudios.com

Well the Holidays are finally here and I come bearing gifts! This time, I’m giving you guys all some free lower thirds for your holiday video projects. Just some transparent images, nothing to go tipping over your hot chocolate for, but they’ll get the job done. You’ll get the PSD file so you can even animate these yourself if you want! Just a little something to show my appreciation to all of YOU my followers and to thank you for all of your support! Here’s to another great year in 2012!

DOWNLOAD THIS FREE!

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I also found this website which helped me design my own

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Part 2

From collegehumor

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Sometimes it can be such a pain looking for stock photography that’s actually FREE and not just Royalty Free. Royalty Free stock photography basically means that you don’t have to pay the photographer every time you use the photo, but you do have to pay for the actual photo itself. Over the years, I found what’s now known as “my little collection” of free stock photography sites. Today, I’ve decided to share those with you and better expand your collection of free stock photography sites.

1. Image After – Free Photos & Textures

2. Freepixels – Corporate type Images

3. Stock.XCHNG – Free Stock Photography

4. Photo Rack – Free Stock Photos Categorized only

5. Image Base – Free to use Photos

6. Morgue File – Free Stock Photography

7. Open Photo – Free Stock Photography grouped by categories

8. Woophy – Travel Photography Community

9. Free Historical Stock Photos – Historical Stock Photos

10. Public Domain Photos – Public Domain Photography

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