Beats Antique, out of Oakland CA, are not your average experimental world fusion and electronic music group. If there were such a thing. They have described their music as an electro, xfunctional, acoustic, hip-hop, melodramatic, down tempo-freakness, world, gypsy, funk, vulcan, get down off your butt, sound. I’m serious – check out their interview with KVRX 91.7FM Austin:

The trio got together in 2007 in San Francisco to combine the artistic talents of David Satori (guitar, sax, viola, and percussion), Sidecar Tommy Cappel (keys, toy piano, drums, and percussion), and Zoë Jakes (belly dancer, composer, and arranger). All three are from a performance arts background and have a very visual approach to music.

Their latest music video, ‘Revival’, was directed by Ivan Landau who was also responsible for post production and VFX. Using both Magic Bullet Suite and Trapcode Software, Ivan’s video is an intricately woven visual tapestry that is a masterful example of how the two software tools can work in unison.

Landau has said it was ‘amazing, watching ‘Revival’ materialize from subconscious to screen’, so we asked him to tell us a bit more about this enthralling piece of work.

How did the video come about?

“Revival” started as a little dream.  It was a basic story of an epic journey to restore life to a world in decay.  It was a world made of snow and paper cutouts.  It was abstract, beautiful and weird.  I thought of Beats Antique and Leighton Kelly immediately.  Zoe Jakes, David Satori and Tommy Cappel of Beats Antique are artists that I have watched for many years.  I always admired their visual style and amazing live show.  They are a band who put equal emphasis on the visual as well as the musical aspects of their performance.  I approached them with the idea and they were immediately on board.

You talk about the project being a collaborative dream, were you familiar with Leighton Kelly’s work before?

This really was a collaborative dream.  Leighton Kelly is one of my favorite artists.  He captures profound emotion with subtle strokes.  I have known him for several years and, after perusing through his blog (http://dayone2012.tumblr.com/), I was totally inspired to collaborate with him.  The initial dream I had actually had Leighton’s illustrations in it.  I was a little nervous that if Leighton couldn’t do the drawings then the video couldn’t happen.  There was a lot trust between everyone making this video (namely Beats Antique, Leighton Kelly and Austin Rhodes, my cinematographer).  Everyone contributed.  It was a surprisingly smooth collaboration considering we were very rarely all in the same place.  The band was on tour for most of the project and, with the exception of our initial brainstorming session, Leighton was in India and Bali with a sketchpad, a small scanner and sporadic internet access.

How long did Revival take to produce, concept to completion?

The entire production, from subconscious to completion probably took about four months.  It’s hard to gauge exactly how much time was spent in actual production and post because I was usually working on it after hours, weekends and while other jobs were rendering.  At some point, for reasons beyond rationale, I decided I would just do all the post production myself.  I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted it to look like and when I started experimenting with the shots I just couldn’t stop.

What was your favorite part, or particular sequence of the production?

My favorite parts of the video are the illustrated snowscapes and the dance sequence.  The illustrated environments were rewarding for me because it was like recreating the dream I had, except better.  Once Leighton started handing off his illustrations with these little details like spats and bow ties on the deer, I knew we were on to something.  The final dance sequence was amazing to work on because it was a total experiment.  Zoe designed the costumes and choreographed the sequence for the three main dancers (herself, Kami Liddle and Auberon Shull).  We basically could just hit record and they would nail it on queue.  I experimented with a lot of different looks for that sequence (macro photography and lazers!) and decided that stop-motion paper was the most appropriate.  I wanted it to look a little rough and out of control, beautiful and tactile.  Austin and I spent some long nights crumpling paper.

What do you like about using Trapcode?

I’m blown away by what people are doing with Trapcode.  I easily impress myself when I just make a little snow or floating dust particles with Particular or throw some Shine on some otherwise drab elements.  I had experimented with using organic elements for the snow, and while there is some of that in there, it never looked exactly like i wanted it to.  Particular is so dialable you can always get the look you want.  plus, how else could you make thousands of little fish explode from someone’s head? (that didn’t make the cut).

Do you have a favorite aspect to using Magic Bullet Suite?

I really do love Looks.  It almost feels like cheating.  It provides such good baselines that can be endlessly dialed.  I’ve actually learned a lot about color by inspecting and tweaking the Looks settings.

Were any of the Red Giant tutorials helpful?

I used to be a bit of a tutorial junky.  I’m getting better, usually not more than one a week at this point.  I’m basically self-taught so online tutorials have helped me tremendously.  I can’t even count how many of Aharon’s tutorials I’ve watched.  I’ve probably watched all the Red Giant tutorials.  I love how some of the Red Giant tutorials include the projects files.  Being your own teacher can form some bad or at least inefficient habits, so opening up clean project files has enlightened me to some better techniques.

We love the intricate blend of Leighton Kelly’s work and if you’re familiar with the band you should spot some of their signature imagery used in Revival.

Ivan Landau is well known and admired for his work as VFX Editor on feature films such as Sin City, Aeon Flux, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Blade Runner (Final Cut version). And we’re hoping ‘Revival’ is just this start of him turning his talents to music videos.

Links:

• Beats Antique http://beatsantique.com/
• www.facebook.com/beatsantiquefans
• Ivan Landau http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1010291/
• Leighton Kelly http://dayone2012.tumblr.com/

Quick Tip #56: Sketchy Stop-Motion Text Look

Inspired by a video he found on Vimeo, Aharon shows you some quick tips and techniques for creating a sketchy stop-motion style look for text.

Watch the tutorial HERE.

The Big Red Giant Sale is on! Get 40% off EVERYTHING in the Red Giant Store, today (December 13, 2011) only.

Use Coupon Code: SECRETSALE2011

CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING

Maintenance Release: Magic Bullet Suite 11.1.2

The elves at Red Giant have been merrily working away on some updates to the Magic Bullet Suite, checking a few items off our lists to try and ensure your latest film project doesn’t end up looking like a lump of coal. This will also be the first Magic Bullet Suite installer that will not contain Denoiser 1.0 (more below).

Here are the hi-lights of Magic Bullet Suite 11.1.2:

PhotoLooks 1.5.2

• Those of you installing PhotoLooks along with the entire suite may have noticed categories that show up in the Looks drawer that happen to be empty – this occurs because Looks created for Looks 2.0 used new tools and aren’t usable in PhotoLooks (yet). We’ve fixed things up for now so you wont see a bunch of empty categories – only categories that have Looks you want.
• “Save Image As” in the Photo LooksBuilder was never meant to be left in the application and was not working correctly. It has been removed completely. Use the host app you launch PhotoLooks from to save your images.
• For those of you who also use QuickLooks, there was a bug in the installer that would cause all of your QuickLooks presets to disappear after installing PhotoLooks. We’ve fixed this up.

Looks 2.0.4

• For those of you using Looks 2.0 in Sony’s Vegas Pro on non-English 32-bit Windows systems, we’ve fixed up the truly annoying OMP error that pops up on your screen.

Colorista II 1.0.5

• In Premiere Pro, dragging the power mask preview outline was not lining up with the actual mask. We’ve sorted this all out and it’s working great.

Grinder 1.5.1

• The Timecode Start setting was always working in ‘Continuous’ mode – ‘Reset’ and ‘Time of Day’ were being ignored – all fixed up.
• Choosing “Original + Timecode” as the main format option was causing the timecode to be off by a factor of 100. We’ve got the math all working now and you’ll get the results you’re looking for.

Bye-Bye Denoiser 1.0

• As we previously blogged, Denoiser will be temporarily removed from the Magic Bullet Suite. As of the 11.1.2 release, it has been removed and can no longer be installed through the suite installer. We’re getting really close with the Denoiser we’be been developing in-house and will get it in place as soon as we can!

Grab the latest Magic Bullet Suite installer for Mac or Windows here or use Red Giant Link to update your installation.

Not too long ago, our Support Manager, Jeremy, sent out a customer service survey to over 15,000 customers. You might have been one of them. Here are the results! Drum roll please:

Availability and Responsiveness of CS Team

• 89.8% Excellent or Good
• 5.8% Average
• 4.4% Below Average or Terrible

Helpfulness of CS Team

• 88.9% Excellent or Good
• 5% Average
• 6.1% Below Average or Terrible

Quality of Red Giant Products

• 95.1% Excellent or Good
• 3.8% Average
• 1.1% Below Average or Terrible

96.9% Would recommend Red Giant products to someone else.

If you want, you can compare these results to our last customer service poll HERE. We try to do them often so that we can improve ourselves. We know there is always room for improvement, and we want to hear how we can make your experience better.

Kicking it Old School

When I think about customer service I can’t help but imagine a 1950′s gas station. A car rolls up, the bell dings and the attendants come running out with a smile. Want your windows washed? Some air in your tires? You got it!

Over the years, it’s pretty safe to say that the level customer service that most companies provide isn’t to that degree anymore. I can’t think of the last time that I called into a company and I didn’t have press 7 different extensions, answer a riddle to the Billy Goats Gruff and then give up my first born child just to receive contact with an actual human being.

Call it old fashioned, but Red Giant has that 50′s customer service mentality in the modern world. Call us, log in to LiveChat, Tweet, Facebook, or Email and we come running to help.

We’re a small support team (totaling of about 5) but we run like a well-oiled machine. We each have our strengths and where one of us has a weakness, or when the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, we work together to find a solution. There are countless times where I’m at a loss for words about an issue, when my coworker swoops in and iChats me the correct answer. We keep an eye out for one another with the rewards of friendship, coffee and, if we’ve earned it, a beer.

Red Giant is the best company I have ever worked for. It’s pretty fantastic to be a part of a team that has its customers’ best interest at heart.

If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here for you.

Simon Walker’s Master Artists for Looks

Grade like a Master Artist with 30 film looks

Film directors and cinematographers have long been influenced by the paintings of Master Artists, using the visual language explored by these painters to inform their own film and video work. Visual techniques like Chiaroscuro, Sfumato and the Impressionist style of capturing light, color and specular highlights have all been used to stunning effect in film and video. Now you can replicate these techniques in your own films using Master Artists for Looks, a collection of presets created by Red Giant Guru and Colorist Simon Walker. Classical painters who spent their lives investigating light, color and form have taught us a great deal about composition, color and light in video. This Guru Preset will give you the confidence to shoot and grade your footage like an artist.

Features

• Stunning painterly treatments are easily applied to a wide range of footage, including landscapes, interiors and closeups.
• 30 original visual looks are based on techniques of Master Artists from the Renaissance through Post-Impressionism.
• Classical presets include the light and airiness of the early fresco painters, through Chiaroscuro and Sfumato Renaissance techniques.
• Modern art painting is represented by colorful styles that include Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Colourist.
• Spanning the centuries from Fra Angelico to Picasso, these looks are carefully crafted to give your films the look of a fine art masterpiece.

Get it HERE for just $69, or buy it as a part of the Guru Suite (includes over 500 film looks and templates) for just $499 HERE.

BTW – if you already owned the Guru Presets prior to Dec 8, 2011, Simon Walker’s Master Artists for Looks 2 is  a FREE update.

Episode 65: Warp Projection – 3D Environments from a 2D Image

In this multidimensional episode of Red Giant TV, designer Harry Frank is going to walk you through creating a 3D environment from a 2D image, all in After Effects.  This won’t be using traditional camera projection techniques – nor will it use vanishing point in photoshop. Instead, Harry’s figured out a technique for warping images to build 3D layers.  You’ll also learn some great compositing  and color correction techniques to finish off the job right.

Watch the tutorial HERE.

Our goal at Red Giant is to offer unique products that provide real value to our customers.

In March 2011, Google acquired a technology company called Green Parrot Pictures to improve the quality of videos uploaded to its YouTube service. (Read article) Green Parrot Pictures was our development partner on Magic Bullet Denoiser, and its video denoising technology is an integral part of the plug-in.

Because of the Google acquisition, Red Giant no longer has the legal right to sell Denoiser. Unfortunately, you will not be able to purchase or download Denoiser from us, as we have to remove all current and past versions from our website and product catalog. With the next update of Magic Bullet Suite in mid-December, Denoiser will no longer ship with the Suite.

The good news is that you can continue to use your copy of Denoiser. The Google acquisition does not change your rights to use a product that you already have. It only affects our legal right to sell or distribute it further.

Our Red Giant team is hard at work developing a new version of Denoiser. In early 2012, the new Denoiser II will be included in Magic Bullet Suite and sold individually. We are confident this version will deliver the same great results as the Denoiser that you currently use and love. In fact, we feel the new Denoiser will be more stable, as it addresses customer requests and quality issues. NOTE: Due to the restriction of the Green Parrot Pictures license, Denoiser II will not be backward compatible with earlier Denoiser projects.

Current owners of Denoiser 1.0/1.0.1 will get a free update to Denoiser II. New purchases of Magic Bullet Suite will also receive Denoiser II at no additional cost. For full details about the transition to Denoiser II, please read our Denoiser FAQ Page.

Product quality is very important to us, and we’re making sure the results are amazing. We feel that current and future customers will be happy with the new product once it’s available, but until then there will be a gap in service. We truly apologize for any inconvenience, and hope you share our excitement about the upcoming potential of the new Denoiser II.

As always, we want to hear from our customers. If you have any thoughts about this decision, send an email to ceo@redgiantsoftware.com. If you have any sales or support questions, please contact our Support team.