Doing a rack focus in FCP?

I wonder if its possible to do a rack focus* in Final Cut?
The blur filters don't come with a "center" so I cannot move the blur around the picture or seemingly blur just part of the picture.
Any ideas?
for those who don't know:
*a rack focus starts with the background blurred and foreground in focus then slowly changes and brings the background into focus while at the same time blurring the foreground. (or visa versa)

You could use a garbage matte with a nice soft edge and then keyframe the blur filter, having the identical clip on another layer with the other portion of the shot doing the same thing in reverse so it goes in and out of focus.
I would use after Effects for this shot as masking is much more controllable for this kind of effect.
Doing this in post almost always look a bit rough because of the other things in the shot affected by the depth of field effect you are trying to create.
In the UK this effect is called Pulling Focus.

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Faking rack focus: how to blur a rotoscoped foreground element

I've successfully employed the Roto Brush to cut out a foreground subject, built a grayscale precomp of the scene, and used Lens Blur to simulate a rack focus from the background of the scene to the foreground. After rotoing the foreground subject, I copied the Roto Brush effect to a pure white solid, so that it represents the utmost foreground. The effect is pretty convincing (if I do say so myself), but there's a problem...
START:
END:
The end of the rack focus looks great--foreground subject is nice and sharp--but the problem is that the start of the rack focus looks really fake, like the subject is in the Witness Protection Program. What I'm trying to achieve is the "bloom" that would be present around the perimeter the subject if it were out of focus optically. Instead, it's just sharply cut out, and clearly looks like it's comped over the background.
I've tried "negative choking" the roto on the white foreground solid and feathering the edges, but that really doesn't work--it just creates an in-focus outline around the subject once the rack is complete. I'm guessing what I have to do is comp the foreground subject in and blur it separately, so that the perimeter goes fuzzy. The Lens Blur is currently applied to single instance of the video clip, and is referencing a precomp of the grayscale depth map.
Any thoughts on the best way to achieve the look I'm after? Thanks!

Yes, AE's lens blur sucks, if I may say so. You would have better luck with other tools. Try the Box Blur or a third-party plug-in. Specular bloom can be simulated with a Glow preceding the blur to boost the highlights, light wrap using again blurs, mattes and the Add blending mode. Just don't overdo....
Mylenium

CS4: window does not regain focus

This happens using Dreamweaver CS4 on Windows 7 RC.
(Untested on Windows XP, Vista.)
Does not appear to be an issue with Photoshop CS4.
If DW is in focus and you click on another program's taskbar icon twice it does not re-focus the DW window, which was previously in focus.
For example:
I have Dreamweaver open and in-focus (I can type)
then I click the Firefox icon in the taskbar (Superbar) to preview what I just uploaded (F5)
then I click the Firefox icon again (my cursor is still there) to minimize it and return to Dreamweaver
then I start typing.... but the Dreamweaver window is not in focus, even though it is visible and in front
This works in XP with Photoshop CS2.
This is not a Windows 7 problem because other programs don't have this problem.
This is just a minor annoyance, but can anyone else relate to this or is it just me?
Thanks!

I see this as a condition common to many applications by many companies...
First you get the program's attention. (by clicking on it somewhere)
Then you start typing in it.
Think of the mess we would be in if you could simply hover your cursor and start typing without clicking...you could wreak havoc without even knowing where your typing is going...wait, that might be a good idea... (not the havoc...)
Beth

Does motion 5 works on FCP 7 or not?

Hi. I have a very simple question: Does motion 5 work on FCP 7 or not? I've been loosing my time and patience trying to send clips from FCP to Motion or create Titles on Motion 5 to import into a FCP project... nothing works. I can't find any clear answer to this anywhere. My oldest version of motion use to work on perfect harmony with fcp... How can something so simply become so complicated?
Motion 5 manual is ridiculos on explanations about FCP titles creation.
Thanks

You cannot roundtrip out of FCP 7 to Motion 5, you will need to use Motion 4. FCPX and Motion 5 have thrown out the concept of roundtripping. Templates in Motion are now designed to behave as plugins within FCPX removing the necessity for leaving FCPX at all (for most puposes.)
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How to listen for key press when air app does not have focus

Hi,
I am developing a application in air and part of the functionality I need is the ability for the app to listen for when a specific key is pressed, even when the air app does not have focus.
Is there support for this for windows or mac? If not, how might this be accomplished? ANE?

Ok Mr. Smartass...Ok
I'm building a browser that is always open, and when
a user presses Ctrl+F1 (notice, just those two keys,
I don't care what else they press...) the browser
will open up. That way, you don't have to wait for it
to load all the time.You have two ideas here. One is having a universal key map that always gets ctrl-f1 sent to your app. The other is a program that is constantly running so that you don't have to wait for it to open up. The former is not possible (and this is a good thing) As warneria and I have been saying, it is bad design for an app to try to force an OS to implement this kind of feature.
If you're not going to help please don't post at all;
it's a waste of time for both you, me, and anyone
else who may need help on the same subject. Why wouldBelieve it or not, I am helping you.
See
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=programming+code+side+effects
and
http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/ch04s02.html
"Doug McIlroy's advice to �Do one thing well� is usually interpreted as being about simplicity. But it's also, implicitly and at least as importantly, about orthogonality."
anyone in their right mind who's trying to steal
people's passwords come out and say, "I'm not trying
to steal people's passwords!"wait, your question is why would someone trying to steal passwords say I'm not trying to steal passwords? I think duplicitous people in their right minds might try to trick you that way.
Beyond that, even if you're not a malicious hacker - and I am sure you are not - if someone posts a solution to your problem, malicious coders then will have learned how to do it. If you think you're programming or using these forums in a bubble, you are not.

Why does Firefox switch focus to an immediately adjacent tab (in a series of tabs) on middle-clicking a link instead of staying on the same tab? (with setting of NOT switching to new tab).

I have usually 4 tabs open by default. If, for example, I'm in the first tab and middle-click a link to open a new tab, the tab opens but firefox focuses on the tab immediately adjacent to the tab I'm on (in this case, from tab 1 to tab 2 instead of staying on tab 1 whilst tab 5 is loading). The pattern repeats if I'm on tab x and open a new tab from tab x, but focus shifts to tab (x+1) instead of staying on tab x.
It happens more often than not, i.e. it sometimes stops but usually happens.
I have this setup for a year now and this is the first time this is happening. I believe since this latest update of 3.6.13.

This issue can be caused by an extension or plugin that isn't working properly.
Start Firefox in [[Safe Mode]] to check if one of the add-ons is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Themes).
* Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
See:
* [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]]
* [[Troubleshooting plugins]]
If it does work in Safe-mode then disable all extensions and then try to find which is causing it by enabling one at a time until the problem reappears.
* Use "Disable all add-ons" on the [[Safe mode]] start window to disable all extensions.
* Close and restart Firefox after each change via "File > Exit" (Mac: "Firefox > Quit"; Linux: "File > Quit")

TS2518 I have Aperture 3.1.2 running on os 10.6.8. Aperture does not show focus points on my Nikon D7100, nor does it recognize the RAW files. Will upgrading Aperture allow me to see the focus points and RAW files again? Also, do I need to upgrade my os f

I have aperture 3.1.2 running on os 10.6.8 mac book pro. Lost some features in aperature when I upgraded my camera (no longer shows focus points, does not recognize RAW files) Would like to upgrade to aperture 3.5, but do not want to loose any pictures in my extensive library. Do I have to upgrade one vesion at a time, or can I jump? I believe I also need to upgrade my os, but not sure which to do first? Any help would be appreciated...

1. Can I get Icloud without having to upgrade to OS Lion?
Nope, you need 10.7.
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No, you set that up yourself.
3. I have three mobile me email addresses. One for myself, one for my wife and one I use for my business. What happens to these.
You can convert them to be used in iCloud.
4. My wife and I also use mobile me to sync our calendars across an Ipad (original) and two Iphones (3Gs). Both Iphones and Ipad are still currently using IOS4, and I am reluctant to upgrade this to IOS 5 as I have heard some horror stories. If I fail to upgrade to IOS 5, will this create confusion with my Apple ID's. (There already is a lot of confusion with these- Apple appear to not have down their homework)
If you don't change the settings you have now, I'm sure it will stay working. I believe Apple is phasing out MobileMe and you'd be forced to upgrade eventually.
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Save As dialog box does not gain focus (bring to foreground) with Windows 7?

Hello,
I've got several users with Microsoft Windows 7 (64bit) and Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard (OEM) with the same problem. When you go to Print to your PDF Printer, the Save As... dialog box does not come to the foreground and gain focus. Most often it just sits in the taskbar blinking to get their attention.
However the users get frustrated and often don't realize the Save As box popped up at all. They did not have this problem with Windows XP.
I actually can replicate the problem on my own PC.
Any workarounds for this behaviour?
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This appears to be a Windows 7 focus issue.
You can back up your registry and try the fix below, it worked for me.
Fix number 1
1. Open Start >> Run and type “regedit” (without quotes)
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[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
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Motion Project does not look good in FCP

I am using FCP 5.0 and Motion2. I made a lower third title graphic in Motion. When I embed the clips back into FCP they look pixalated. They do not look as good as they did originally. Does anyone have a solution?

Hey,
Here's the result from last night. The quicktime file is good. It seems that Motion projects in FCP, even from rendered QT files, don't display their true image.
My output this morning for my project is flawless. Even though the timeline looks horrible.
The reason this seems to come up in this forum again and again, is probably that Boris 3D, FCP's titles, even LiveType, all display their true clean rendered image in FCP. Motion, however, doesn't seem to do that.
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It just doesn't say that anywhere that I was looking.
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Whew!
Gord
G5 Dual 2.3Ghz Power PC 3GB RAM, 2x120HDD, & 15" Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Why does the keyboard focus keep switching to the menu bar?

Does anyone else have the problem of Photoshop CS6 constantly setting the keyboard focus to the menu bar? This makes it difficult to use shortcuts.
Typical examples: I want to switch to the Move tool, so I press V, but instead, the View menu drops down. Or I press T for the Type tool, but instead, the Filter menu drops down. This happens often and it's very annoying.
This also happens in Premiere Pro CS6, and happens on both my Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 machines. Doesn't happen in other applications, and is not related to actually using a menu, i.e. if I choose something from a menu, then press V, Photoshop will often work correctly and activate the Move tool. This behavior seems to happen randomly.

Alt doesn't really "unhide" the menu bar (speaking of Photoshop), but it's always been the introducer of keyboard operations for "keyboard accessbility" - i.e., operation of Windows applications without mouse.
Alt causes little underlines to show up under the key characters of menu items, and prepares the system for the next character being typed to open a menu - so for example you press something like 'e' and the Edit menu pulls down. Now you use an arrow key to move to the next item, or maybe a single character that's associated with one of the menu entries.
Photoshop's goals for using modifier keys kind of conflict with this. They've apparently tried to reach a balance where using the Alt key to modify some operation cancels the introduction of the next menu item.
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As a contrast, one person might not press the Alt key until they're sure they're going to do something with it (e.g., zoom out), and that same person might only choose tools from the Tools panel by clicking on them. Another person might press the Alt key sometimes, but then stop before doing the operation it modifies. That same person might be in the habit of choosing tools by their letter (e.g., E for eraser). It's clear to see how the first person might never get into a condition where the menu introducer key (Alt) leaves them in a state where a menu opens inadvertently, while the latter might see it regularly.
As far as why Photoshop might get into a mode where the menu introduction occurs when you HAVEN'T pressed the Alt key, I don't know; I certainly haven't seen that reported much if at all here on the forum.
-Noel

FCP Kona Card does not get input from FCP??

Kona card LHE. Had it working just fine but I did something goofy and the Kona control panel does not get an input from FCP. Open to any and all suggestions.
Thanks
John

but I did something goofy.........Open to any and all suggestions.
Figure out what you did goofy and then do the opposite.
Seriously, what have you done to troubleshoot this? There's any number of goofy things that you could do that may result in this issue. I'd start with reading the Kona manual and the rather extensive part in FCP about external monitoring.

How does ACR compute focus distance?

Hello folks,
In the recent versions of ACR, I've seen that it can include in the EXIF the focus distance from converted RAW files. I'm just wondering how it determines such information, particularly with Canon CR2 files. The focus distance seems to be accurate only on very long focal lengths (500mm and above). I have a 400mm lens and I noticed that I'm getting only any of 6.5m, 11.5m, or 76.6m as focus/subject distance.
Can you guys provide me an idea as to how the the focus/subject distance is determined? For the type of photography that I do, this would be a very useful piece of information.
Thank you very much.
Mark

Thanks, guys!
@Jim:
I'm using a Canon 40D . Indeed some of the focus points are on areas which might be farther than the subject, but they were not activated (since I used only the center point AF). I believe embedded focus distance should be based only on the active focus point/s.
@ssprengel:
Yes, it seems there is a predefined set of distances that are returned.
Thanks for the link. I tried it and I'm still trying to figure out how the focus distance is determined based on the metadata (that was an awful lot!) retrieved. Of interest are the fields FocusDistanceUpper and FocusDistanceLower, but I couldn't find documentation about these fields in the web. The tool will be very useful. When I have the free time I can probably conduct some tests.
@MadManChan2000
Does it mean the camera embeds a rather rough approximation of this information?

Does rendering Motion Templates in FCP use the GPU?

I know that FCP when it comes to rendering relies almost completely on the CPU, but when Motion Templates are involved, does it somehow use Motions rendering system and involve the GPU? I only ask because i'm getting stupidly slow rendering times with Motion Templates in FCP, and i'm wondering if a graphics upgrade will help.
Many Thanks in advance.
Message was edited by: Ben Pirozzolo

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1868492&tstart=0
An ATI HD 3870 will sort you out.

Does email interfere with a FCP editing system?

Old school system setup prohibited email or even internet on a video edit system partition. For example, my Avid DS system specified NO external connections, no internet, no email, no local network, nothing. Avid didn't even want a Jazz drive connected.
Is this still the practice on Final Cut Pro systems? I have always had email and net on my FCP partition, but I can't say it has ever been totally stable.
What is common practice now? Does anyone have trouble from this stuff today

Nope...works fine.
I can e-mail, surf the web and use iChat on my editing system.
I don't, as I have a laptop that I use for this, but when I was without one for a week, I did that all the time.
No problems. Avid used to have probelms, and had to be set up VERY SPECIFICALLY. And Avid DS was the worse. Now you can use e-mail with Avids, the later models.
And it has never been a problem with FCP.
Shane

When publisher does Ctrl+E, focus goes to upper right Google Bar

Hello!
My client is publisher for a simple page on his soccer web site to update field status. He can update the page from his office with ctrl+E, no problem. However, on his home computer, he says using the same browser, when he does Ctrl+E to start editing, the focus goes to the upper right Google Bar. So he cannot edit the page. However, if he goes to the original email and link I sent to invite him to edit, he can edit the page. Could someone give me any info or help on this. My client is a web master himself, and was shaky on Adobe. Everything has worked so beautifully until now. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

Corey,
The site is http://chattanoogaunitedsoccer.com/fieldstatus.html
The field status editable page comes into the home page as a iframe.
I will verify OS and browser version with client for home AND office and let
you know.
Thank you,
Mikki
Mikki Blaes
Mikki Design
http://www.mikkidesign.com
[email protected]
[email protected]

Doing a rack focus in FCP?

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