Just the other day, I happened to be watching a random Beyonce interview on You Tube and...

Yes, that right you saw the video. Beyonce, makes her "selects" in Final Cut Pro.

I have been fortunate to teach video editing to students and adults this year and one thing each of them say is that they didn't know that video editing could be this easy and fun.  So what's holding you back from learning how to edit your videos and make them more "professional"? 

I have created a free hour-long webinar to get you jump started editing in Final Cut Pro X.  If Beyonce can make her selects I am sure you can too! Now it's time for me to finish up some projects and make my selects. 

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In this tutorial I teach you how to resize your timeline photos for Facebook by using Adobe Photoshop. I taught this to my media production class recently.

You can download my template here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5080976/facebook-timeline-template.zip

Courtesy of LifeHacker: 

http://lifehacker.com/5884096/pimp-your-facebook-how-to-create-a-badass-timeline-banner

My family photos were taken by http://www.scrolevision.com

For more video tutorials visit

http://www.webvideochefs.com

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Final Cut Pro has recently released an update to include multicam editing to the program. In this tutorial I show you how to edit multiple cameras, frame rates and codecs by using the software.

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These videos were produced for the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the American Heart Association. I always have a good  time creating these videos for the annual Heart Ball.  This years theme is "Diminishing Healthcare Disparities" and honors two African-American doctors who have been pioneers in medicine locally and nationally. 

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This blog post was featured in Philip Bloom's in 7 Professional Editors share their experiences.

The famous American author Mark Twain said  "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." This is how I feel about Final Cut Pro X. Since its release in July 2011 it has come under heavy scrutiny from the professional editing community. The crucible for most editors (including me) is whether or not I could use the software for paid projects. I was one of those harsh critics. I cheerfully downloaded FCPX on the day it was release in the Mac App Store and to my amazement, I saw iMovie Pro (like many other editors). I immediately shut it down and used it for only video blog projects and edits that weren't pay gigs or things that didn't require much effort.

In August 2011 I started a new job teaching media production and I had to make a decision. To teach the often bad reviewed/much maligned Final Cut Pro X or teach what my colleague was teaching, Final Cut Pro 7. I was hesitant, even nervous about this decision because this could be a decision that could shape my new students lives if they continue on media production career pathway. I decided to teach Final Cut Pro X to my students and it was one of the best decisions of my young teaching career.

 Here is why:

1.  I started my students off with iMovie and within the first month moved them to Final Cut Pro X.
2. Students who never edited  were able to grasp trackless editing quickly.
3.  Students were editing creating videos within weeks instead of months. http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/16177 (that’s the URL to see my students videos) 

I also have a portfolio of professional work that I create outside of school. The decision for me to switch my professional work in July was a little more challenging because of these reasons

1. Most of my work-in-progress was in Final Cut Pro 7or Avid Media Composer and there was no shortcut or app available at the time to export footage out
2.  Final Cut Pro interface was so different than FCP 7 it was like learning how to drive all over again.
3. Many plugins that I use like Magic Bullet looks and Alex 4D that relied on were not available at the launch. 

One of the most powerful features in my opinion of Final Cut Pro X is metadata. You can add keyword collections, smart collections, and what Philip Hodgett wrote about called derived metadata.

As of this post Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 is out and Apple has delivered on most of their promises for updating the software.

Multi-camera editing: You have the ability to sync clips by camera time code, camera name, in or out points, markers, or using the source audio. FCPX offers up to 64 angles and that is more cameras than you will ever need for an event or television show edit.

Layered PSD Files: All of us who used Final Cut Pro 7 brought our layered PSD files into the system and we expected to do this when the software was first released, now you can do this in FCPX.

Chroma-keying upgrades: Adobe After Effects and even iMovie have some pretty powerful Chroma-keying options and FCP 7 always lacked in this area.  With this update apple makes chroma-keying even more powerful with adding and fine-tuning advanced controls.

Media relink: This is for manual reconnect of projects and Events to new media. This is often overlooked, but if you are familiar with relinking media in FCP 7 you will appreciate being able to re-link your own files.

XML 1.1 with support for primary color grades, effects parameters and audio keyframes. I am a huge fan of this because now I can use my Magic Bullet looks while using the software.

Broadcast monitoring. For editors who want to see their work on a professional broadcast monitor this is a God-send.  I am sure more accessories and third-party devices will be added soon. 

There are many people who still want the print to tape feature of Final Cut Pro 7. And I was one of them, especially if you, like me edit a show that requires you to print to tape for broadcast delivery.  Apple, like only Apple can do (reminiscent  of not allowing flash on an iPad) has basically rendered tape-based workflow dead. I don’t know if that is a good thing, but as I tell my students “it is what it is” and you must find a work around.

 Working with Final Cut Pro X has been like being a cruise that starts off really bad, but you know by the end of the vacation it  will get better, and it just did.

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Visit my new site http://www.chipdizardweddings.com to view my portfolio of wedding videos. 

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Like my new facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/chipdizardweddings and enter to win a free Engagement/Love story video shoot.  This contest is valid for couples residing in the Washington, D.C., Maryland or Virginia area.

For contest rules visit http://www.facebook.com/chipdizardweddings

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When I first told my students about a silent film project they didn't get excited.  I told them they had to make a flipbook film but they couldn't talk they weren't too excited.  I instructed them each write on construction paper and put any thoughts (even personal ones) they had on paper.  They shot and edited each of the films in Final Cut Pro X. 

This film is from Allen and he did an excellent job on the project.

Papers_2.mp4 Watch on Posterous

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iBooks Author app is out and it looks like it will definitely change how content is delivered via e-books on the iPad.   One of the many features I like is the ability to add rich media, and especially video. In this tutorial I show you how to add and format your video files for iBooks.

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After watching the Apple education keynote I decided to create a sample e-book or better yet, an iBook.  Here are a few things you should before downloading:

• Update your software. It supports Lion 10.7.2 and Keynote 5.1.1 or greater.
• If you don't have the app Pages, get it and learn it. The author app is similar to this.
• This book won't let you preview iBooks on your computer. You must tether it to an iPad.

See the full gallery on Posterous

I am making a tutorial video soon, but at first-glance I feel this is very promising.  I can't wait to see what Amazon and other companies are going to do next. 

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I use LanSchool software to mange the lab of 18 iMac computers in my classroom. It has a good interface for creating and scoring tests, doing polls and sending files to students.

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I am teaching Adobe Photoshop and showing my students how to use layers. This lesson got a big hit because of the flyer I created.  

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I had a great time filming Tiffani's 30th birthday party at Laurel Skating Park in Laurel, Maryland. I used an old technique by professional camera persons called in-Camera Editing.  I knew the shots that I wanted to get in advance and I just pieced them together in sequence and I used very little b-roll.  

I shot the video on Saturday night and by Sunday after about 30 minutes of editing and 15 minutes of compression the video was complete.

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In this video I used the Sennheiser MD46.

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Yes, it's official this blog has become "extra random" but I am glad to do my first food review.  It is for Cupcake Kisses and you will see what I thought about the Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. 

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Just another life lesson learned. Sometimes you learn them from the most unexpected people.

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I am big fan of Tascam for audio production. My wife recently purchased the Tascam iM2 from the DVEstore as a holiday gift. I am not going to get into the technical specs, because Dave Courvoisier did an excellent job writing about the pros and cons. 

Below is the audio I read from a magazine I had around the house about BOSE and I tried to read with the same pacing. Please note, I am NOT a voice-over talent, but I will be using this recorder for my iPhone videos and as a back up to my Tascam DR-100. 

Using iPhone built in Mic

with_no_mic.mp3 Listen on Posterous

with_tascam.mp3 Listen on Posterous

All audio was recorded with the Twisted Wave Audio Editor App.  All audio was converted to .mp3 using Adobe Soundbooth CS 5 at 128 kb. No other audio adjustments were made.

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I had the chance to sit down with Shauna Stuart, an up-and coming multimedia reporter and we spoke about how she uses media and social media in business.

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Happy Holidays from my family to yours during this season. Remember no matter what you do, capture those special moments in your life. 

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I taught my students how to make a slideshow and move it to the beat using iMovie and they used photos from Photobooth (a popular mac app) and a few photos from a digital camera.  To see all my students work visit http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/dizard

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