Cavalry updates it’s Free license to allow High Def before the release of version 1.2

Now it is time for me to give Cavalry a try, with the update to remove the Watermark and increasing resolution to 1920×1080 for the free version. Of course some features will now be behind the paywall, like Forge Dynamics, Dynamic Rendering, Lottie Exports, Google Sheets Asset, Control Center, Command Line Interface, and all Beta Features.

Randi Alman’s Post Perspective Virtual Roundtable on Editing and remote editing is a must read

Randi Altman has an extensive round table with many participants talking about current state of editing, with a whole lot of focus on remote editing. This is talks with editors and people on the technology end of post and it really does show that the future of editing is remote and hybrid, though of course some people will always prefer in person.

Personally, I am for fully remote at this point, but hybrid at some point, but since I have recently set up a real time remote workflow so I can live stream my cuts with ZOOM, and have the real-time viewing and feedback, while still staying remote.

I can honestly say I would not to be in an office all day with a mask on, but even with masks and vaccinations I wouldn’t feel safe, especially with the bathrooms in most office buildings. And the time I have spent with my wife and my dogs during the pandemic just shows me how much I don’t want to have to drive in Los Angles traffic anymore.

Logan Baker at Premium Beat on Giving up Premiere Pro for DaVinci Resolve after One Year

Logan Baker at Premium Beat on everything he learned in a year of switching from Premiere Pro to DaVinci Resolve.

Well worth the read. I have delved into DaVinci Resolve myself, at first just for it’s coloring, but then I have also done editing in it.

And I tend to agree with what he says that is better in premiere, basically the interface itself, the ability to control the interface, the integration with After Effects, and the Essential Graphics Panel. I would of course also add the Essential Sound panel as it is a great start for a mix.

The interface control for me is huge. I love how in Premiere like AVID before it there are so many ways to do the same thing, keyboard shortcut or using the mouse, while I feel like DaVinci is much more forcing you a single way with many commands only available through keyboard shortcuts. And you can’t add your favorite controls to the interface, what they chose is what you get.

The article doesn’t talk about it, but I also want to talk a little about the Cut Page. It is a very Final Cut Pro X addition to DaVinci, for quick cutting a rough cut with smart edits and transitions and it is what their Speed Editor interface is totally focused on. While I do like that it will take a folder and string everything together so I can zip through footage quickly, I can do that in Premiere with Stringout sequences. And I spend so much less time on the initial edit than on the actual edit, that I would much rather focus more on the edit page than the damn cut page. Sorry, end of rant on the cut page.

DaVinci is so powerful, but you have to learn their way to do everything, and that is my complaint with Final Cut Pro X. I would much rather have multiple ways to do things, and you can find the way that suits your editing style. I feel like the engineers win here over the actual users. And I hate that.

ProVideoCoalition has released a 2021 Video Workstation Buyers Guide

Damien Allen at PVC has released a 2021 Video Workstation Buyer’s Guide with both Mac and PC options.

As with all PVC Articles well worth a read if you are looking for a new machine this year.

The Mac world is really in so much flux with only consumer oriented Apple Silicon M1 chips released so far. Personally I am so looking forward to what pro Apple Silicon will do, but will certainly have to wait for that.

New Features coming in Cavalry 1.2 Motion Graphics and Animation Program

Chris Hardcastle at Cavalry has posted about what is coming in version 1.2 which will be out soon.

New features include Forge Dynamics with Collision events like visibility and colour.

Improvements in Text which include a preview of Style Behaviors with procedurally styling text.

Enhanced Drawings tools with Bezier manipulation and a stabilizer mode for pencil to automatically smooth curves.

And a bunch of other new stuff.

I really do need to give Cavalry a try. It looks really powerful for motion graphics, though it will never have the integration with Premiere that After Effects has. Still want to give it a try.

Maxon has released updates to a bunch of it’s applications and plug-ins

Maxon has updated most of it’s apps, Cinema 4D to 25, Redshift, Trapcode to 17, he VFX Suite to 2 and included new plug-in Bang!, Magic Bullet to 15 and Universe to 5.

Trapcode 17 is updated.

Features the long-requested ability to work with Particular and Form in the same 3D space by bringing Form behaviors to Particular. The release also sees upgrades to the Flocking simulation with the addition of On Predator/Prey Contact and Team designations as well as improvements to system organizational capabilities in the Designer. Form also includes many quality-of-life updates and all Trapcode tools now support Adobe’s multi-frame rendering.

VFX and Bang!

Includes the newly acquired Bang plugin, a fully procedural 3D muzzle flare generator that enables the quick and easy addition of muzzle flashes to your footage. Bang gives full creative control over the look of muzzle flares, including position, shape, color, decay and duration. Recent enhancements include more realistic Glows, Heat Blurs and Age Control refinements. VFX 2 also introduces compatibility with Apple’s Metal Graphics API for Primatte Keyer for optimal performance on supported systems.

Magic Bullet 15

Incorporates compatibility and optimization for Apple Silicon-powered Macs, as well as support for Multi-Frame Rendering (MFR) in Adobe After Effects. In addition, Cosmo, Mojo, Film, Renoiser now take advantage of Apple’s Metal Graphics API for optimal GPU performance on Mac.

Both Magic Bullet and Universe 5

now support Multi-Frame Rendering (MFR) in Adobe After Effects. *Denoiser has not been updated in this release.

Cinema 4D Release 25

The most intuitive 3D application interface just got even better with a new modern skin, user interface enhancements and an expansive preset system for optimizing your workflow. All-new Spline Import options allow users to easily use Illustrator, PDF and SVG vector artwork in their 3D scenes. Capsules allow anyone to tap into the power and flexibility of Cinema 4D’s Scene Node system, with plug-in-like features directly in the Classic Object Manager. And the New Spline and Data Integration functionality can be used to build powerful Capsule Assets.

Redshift RT (public beta)

A new rendering mode that provides near real-time rendering performance while using the same shaders, lights, and efficiently co-existing with the standard Redshift render engine in the same DCC and scene. Perfect for artists to use during the development process of a project or even final render if the project does not need the same amount of fidelity as standard Redshift.

II have been using Red Giant for years, still hate that you only get 1 install vs 2 you had before Maxon bought them, but there suite is still something I use almost every day.