He did a recap somewhere but I just put these links all together. Thanks for him again for helping us all out. I am hoping someone can sticky this post. If there are any new ones, hopefully we'll be able to add to it.


List of Tutorials:

Tutorial #1 (The FCP Sessions)
www.vjaswift.com

Tutorial #2 (A very quick time-remapping tutorial)
www.vjaswift.com

Making A Dj Logo in Motion:

www.scratchlive.net
vjaswift.com

All About Remuxing
www.scratchlive.net
Flash: www.vjaswift.com
QT: www.vjaswift.com

Thanks for putting these together. I feel like one is missing though. I can't place it.

Good idea- thanks!

**Stickied**

WOW!! A-Swift got a Sticky. About time.

Damn, big ups to a-swift, you've been sticky'd. (no homo)

hey. that's pretty cool. a sticky for swifty.

As long as we have a sticky, I'll take some recommendations for future tutorials. Kenny Q has already put his vote in. He wants a tutorial on how to put together awesome DVDs using DVD Studio Pro.

Any other recommendations?

I would like to learn how you do all those cool background displays like in your video mixes where you video is part of the background not just everything. Like your most recent video mix you posted, the intro where your video is part of the abstract background! $weetne$$!!

All about greenscreen / compositing. Maybe I should do one on that.

who is this a-swift character?

When the teach appears the student will listen...

Greenscreening will be cool. But I'm also talking about where it says "A-Swift - Live Video Mix" and how your video is incorporated into the background with all the shapes and effects going on (almost 3D like) at the very beginning of your latest mix. I've seen some other guys with this stuff at the beginning and ending of their mixes. I know it's post production work. But it's freakin' sweet. But also good props on the greenscreening with you mixing in front too!

I think you've got a good idea going. That effect was done with a simple Motion template so I can't take credit for it. A tutorial on how to put together stuff like that with the Motion templates would probably get a lot of use though.

yeah. i thought it might be motion. that's some cool stuff. definitely willing to learn! thanks again "swifty" :-P

Swift I wanna see a tutorial for us mac rookies who wanna replace their internal hard drives with a bigger hard drive...

I already made this tutorial, if you're using a pre-unibody macbook pro. Made that one like 8 months ago!

www.vjaswift.com

They're both unibody mac's...

Early 2009 macbook and a late 2009 Macbook Pro...

Hook that up dreadlock, lol...

When I buy a unibody, that's when I'll make a video on now to replace the hard drive for one. Not planning that anytime soon.

The question is...has anyone taken the cd rom drive out of their new macbook pro's and replaced it with a 2nd hard drive...Im getting to the point where I either 1. have to go from a 500 internal to a 1tb internal or take my cd rom drive out and put in a 1tb. Yes I know I can put the files on the external drive, but there is a method to my madness....

^^ what he said

I was considering doing the same with my pre-unibody mac.

the problem with my unibody is that applecare says if I either 1. do it myself or 2. have an apple certified person do it, it will void my warranty...but a friend of mine did it, and when he had a problem with his mac non related to the hdd, he took out the hdd and put back in the cd rom and apple had no clue...

Say Phat if you do it to your pre uni let me know what you did... I would give my cd rom in a heart beat to add a 750...

..it would just be my luck that i would fuck something up haha

swift who is your sever provider my server has went slow all of a sudden..

I mean who is hosting your website.... Mine all of sudden sucks.... shoot me some info.

Dreamhost. Highly recommended. Tons of space. Tons of bandwidth. Pennies a year. Fast.

Last question what package...

They change the packages so I don't know.

Are you on a deticated sever or vnp.....or just a reg shared with unlimited banwith that they offer... Sorry to bugging u teacher...

A-Swift tutorials are the new crack.

the first hit is always free!

is there a way to split up long dvd mix? by chapters on a certain spot that i choose?

cinematize works great for that.

DVD Studio Pro let's you add chapters wherever you want. Or you can specify the chapter markers in FCP and DVD SP will import them, or compressor. Using the Final Cut Studio apps is pretty easy to specify the chapter points to be where ever you want.

how bout chapters in an mp4 is that possible.

yes, final cut studio can put chapters in your mp4 or aac audio files. this is how video podcasts are done.

this is how long DJ mixes really are supposed to be done when you put them up for download. nothing worse than an hour long dj mix with no chapter points so you can fast forward through it. just one long ass mp3 file.

also, all of my mp4 movies that i encode at home from dvd, have all the original chapter points preserved in the mp4. this is how it should be done.

thanks teacher...

nice, thanks again for the insight and help.

i didnt know i could do it in FCP.

will look into that...

::jumps on the bandwagon for fcp::

I stopped tracking my mixes a long time ago. It makes you listen to the whole mix rather that just skip through it all. Usually if someone gives me a mix that's tracked then I just skip through it where as if it's one long file I usually just listen to it all (unless it's garbage then it gets thrown out the window)

well chapter points on a CD are still a must. i hate when djs give me a mix CD it's one hour long track!

just saw this sticky....long overdue man, good job

I am speechless at how much this intro to FCP has helped me. THANK YOU :)

The one thing it didn't cover though is exporting to the best VSL settings, are there any tutorials on exporting from FCP?

What's up Nice. Thanks for checking out the tutorials.

Exporting is really covered pretty well on the forums here. Also, I don't use FCP to make my mp4 files. I export to Uncompressed from FCP and use ffmpeg on linux to make my mp4 files. Since that workflow is not real useful for most people, I let the people who are compressing on the mac comment about the best settings to use.

a-swift. Mad props for your willingness to share your knowledge with the community. Very much appreciated! I have a question - the guy on your Tutorial #1 (The FCP Sessions) reviewed his batch program to rip/tag/encode videos auto-magically. Can you provide a link or info to where and when we can get our hands on it. I am sick of staying up all night typing song title/artist/BPM info.

Thanks Swift, once again really appreciate all this help!

nik39 is the guy who had that program. he's still working on it. we're ALL waiting for it. he'll post it here when it's ready to go.

sweeeeeeet !

a-swift YOU RULE!!!! Thanks these tutorials are CRUCIAL!!

Thanks ambassador. Tell a friend!

its better to get FCP instead of other FCE?

FCE is missing some crucial functionality. I'd even take it step further and even say that Final Cut Pro is not even enough. You really want Final Cut Studio. Save up and buy it. It's not that expensive and it's worth every penny and then some.

Not that I am an editing guru but A-Swift is right. I have FCE and FCP and I can do way more in FCP, motion came with FCP and really that's the only thing I use, the programs look the same but trust me they are not. As a matter of fact I had to get FCP to do something I could not do in FCE that Swift helped me with last year sometime. Start with PRO but damn Studio cost... : ) really they all do so that's why Swift does the edits I just buy what I want... Keep up that editing A-Swift.... when is the next class?

I got something coming up. Now,... will we be able to edit the sticky and get it linked up top?

BTW... I for whatever reason couldn't get quicktime to work with the remuxing of mp4 videos on a PC. I tried three different computers and different MP4 videos. The easiest FREE method is a program called YAMB. You can demux and remux and everything on this application. I know A-Swift mainly shows apps relating to MAC so for those who are not 100% using MAC's as their main workstation I would suggest YAMB if you have problems with Quicktime not working out right.

yamb.unite-video.com

Yeah that's weird Al. I assumed that the PC version of Quicktime would work the same way if you've upgraded to Quicktime Pro, although I never tested it as I don't have any Windows computers.

I did just go through my steps again from the tutorial and the Quicktime method is solid. Still my favorite way to remux mp4.

Come on Phat all wheres the tutorial....what up with that... :)

I don't have all the High-Def cameras and green screens to film me giving a tutorials. That's all A-Swift! If he only knew PC's stuff.... hmmm...

clever

ha... just got that.

LOL, is he white and nerdy?

more like brown and gifted

finally had some time to watch the remux vid.... def picked a few time-saving pointers.

Thanks A-Swift!

Tutorial #1 (The FCP Sessions)
www.vjaswift.com not working i think lol!

Why is that funny DJ Vegas? Try downloading the mp4 file directly.

www.vjaswift.com

its working i just watched it.

I would be more than happy to do a tutural while your down here Swift on Green Screen I'm actually just about to finish up official fatman scoop dj class new years anthem video all green screen. However please don't expect killa graphics on this one for my turnaround in post production wasn't very much. It will be exclusive to SV.

sweet!!!

Yeah man, I've been doing a LOT of greenscreen stuff lately. I'd pretty much say I'm an expert at it by now. Using Shake almost exclusively for creating mattes now too but can get the job done quick and dirty in AE, FCP or Motion. Those are OK for compositing but they all suffer from being "Timeline Based" applications, Shake is node based.

Anyway, not sure if I'm bringing my camera or not. It's really expensive to ship.

Guys, it's been a while since the last tutorial. Honestly, every time I think of a good idea for a tutorial, there's already a million other tutorials that cover it. I'll come up with something good though.

Make a tutorial on how to make tutorials!!

Haha. Don't joke, I actually thought about dissecting one of my videos and doing kind of a how-to on how I did all the compositing, and everything.

the videos aren't loading for me in safari.. its just showing the quicktime symbol. Any ideas ?

what kind of camera do you have swift?

i have a few cameras. the good one is called a viper though. yeah, i know,... you've never heard of it.

i think it's my web host. sometimes it' trippin. you just picked the wrong day to check out the videos. i'm thinking about re-hosting them all on vimeo.

its workings now, but for some reason my fcp wont install. iI says i dont meet the system requirements and i have a mpb unibody.

It's a shame that Shake has been discontinued.

agreed, the Shake replacement apps are very good (nuke for example) but you can't beat $500 price of shake. Hands down, the most powerful app you can buy for $500. Also it's easily one if the most powerful yet simple apps ever made. Usually simple apps are just that. Simple, no power. Like iMovie.

And Apple is kidding itself if it thinks Motion is anywhere near Shake in capability. AE crushes Motion but I'll always say the the FCP Studio is best all around. You just might need to get AE to fill the gaps.

i want shake
NOW

ha

matter fact i do, i do music videos thats why i asked, i have a canon sl2, nothing close to a viper or an arri but im a big fan of cinematography, im subscribed on few mags, so i read a lot about cameras, i asked you cause im like "why does he needs to ship the camera for" now i know lol, can i see some of your work with the viper? :)

when i recorded kris p. spinning in kansas city, i carried on the viper and a change of clothes in my carry on. what a nightmare that was since i was paranoid something would break, even with me carrying it by hand, it was well packed but you only have so much room with a carry on. the trip to crush's birthday though is 3 days clothes, plus I have my DJ gear. no way I can carry all that on plus a camera, forget about tripod, monitor or any of the other stuff I need to shoot with.

most of the stuff i posted online from the viper was all run and gun stuff, nothing lit properly, color balance all over the place, super low light, etc. clubs are about the worst place possible to shoot video in.

we just wrapped a short film on thursday, shot with the viper. lots of good footage there. i wasn't the dp, he flew down from alaska to shoot it. he was impressed with the rig though. it was a 10 day shoot, shot on Zeiss digiprimes and a digizoom. I promised the director no leaks of footage until it's been through post. I can show you some behind the scenes footage though. It was a lot of fun, my first time putting the viper on a techno-crane. that was awesome.

i bought my JVC HD100 to shoot music videos with. That is one awesome camera but after looking at the quality of videos today, I decided an HDV camera is just not good enough. 1/3 sensors are just not sharp enough. So I put everything on hold until I got the right gear to do it right.

sent you a link in a PM.

The "i think" part is funny to me because i thought its some how my fault not yours! Someone els had the same problm tho.

well i think it depends the budget on who the video is for, if its for a mainstream artist your viper its the one hehe, but if you are gonna shoot a video for an up and coming artist who has 1500 for a video (if you are lucky to find one cause rappers are cheap nowadays lol) then your jvc is perfect for it!! my 2 cents, and good looks for the link

Honestly, I look very closely at the videos from the biggest names in the business who have unlimited budget. Artists like Britney and Rihanna who have videos that are obviously made by discerning directors and in a studio system that does not compromise quality. Those videos are crazy sharp and with top notch post.

I read the production notes from a lot of work so I know what they're shooting with.

I also look at music videos shot with crap equipment. They don't look good. I know how hard it is to do all the work involved with shooting something, it just makes no sense how you would go through all that preparation and work involved, only to capture your permanent record on subpar equipment.

A fully loaded RED rig can be had for $300 a day so there literally is no excuse for shooting a video on crap equipment.

I'm fully aware of the downside of rentals though. Kinda hard to get spontaneous footage of an impromptu performance when you don't have a rental with you. Again, I know the best camera for the job is the one you have with you.

i never heard of a place in new york that rents a fully loaded RED rig for 300 a day, but if you know of one i would really appretiate it, cause i would like to start shooting with real cameras lol, plus is not that easy to land music video production unless you know people that knows people, unfortunally i dont know people that knows people, so i have to escalate my way up, from shitty videos to ok videos to dope videos, and buying equipment on my way up, its hard for a father of 5 to keep up with djing and videos you know?lol

videoequiptmentrentals.com

I just looked on craigslist, found a couple.

a-swift is there any good video tutorials on vegas movie studio pro that you know of. I see you are a mac user, but im just thinking that you may have a dj friend that is using pc. i am having a few problems. The sad thing is im the only dj in my town doing video so i dont know what to do, and all the video djs in my neighboring town are fkn stuck up and full of them selves. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
SlimBrady

Haha SlimBrady. I know the type man. All a lot of video djs are stuck up and full of themselves. Luckily we have the forum homies on here to help us all out. I know a few Vegas users. djpuma_gemini is a Vegas dude and he can probably help you out. Post a thread in this forum, describe your problem and he'll probably see it.

djpuma_gemini: a-swift tells me you are a vegas user. I really could use some help. I have vegas movie studio 9 platinum pro pack. I am new to editing videos. Ive been djing videos for about 2 yrs and just now getting into editing. Im trying to start off slow by just doing a logo and have a major problem. when im done i render my project or hit the make a movie button and save my project to the sony mp4 setting. it saves and when i play back in quick time the video clip looks fine but my text is pixelated, worst part when i load the file to serato and drag it into the player, video-sl crashes. What am i doing wrong?

I just tried to do my first remux and i'm having some trouble. I have an mp4 that I switched out the audio using quicktime, but now the words are off when the artist is singing. How do I fix this?

You must not have watched the whole tutorial. I explain that you need to line up the old audio and the new audio. I don't show it on the Quicktime method because it's shown in the previous method. No need to waste time in the tutorial showing how to line up audio AGAIN. The lining up audio is the same, no matter which remux method you use.

You must have skipped the step where I say take the unmuxed old audio and the new audio into an audio editing program. Add or remove silence to the beginning of the NEW audio so that it starts exactly at the same time as the old audio.

Obviously, the new audio needs to have the exact same structure as the old audio. That means the verses all need to be the same, in the same order, etc. If the song structure has changed, a simple remux will not work. You'll need to do a full blown edit.

Yea it looks like I will have to do a full edit. When I go to save the mp4 it says the time value is incorrect.

FCP does not read mp4s correct? So when I change the format of my mp4 to work in fcp will I lose quality?

I'm new to the video side so thanks for your patients with me a-swift!

Trying to a remux and when I get to the point in streamclip where you say to "hit demux" the demux is greyed out.

I am running snow lep and I am thinking that maybe you are not. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your time.

I'm running snow leopard too. Is the source file that you are trying to demux, a genuine MPEG2 file or some other type of encoding? Demux only works with proper MPEG2 files. If it's another type of file, you'll need to use another type of demux method, which I really didn't get into very deeply in these tutorials, since most of us are working with 1 of 2 types of sources, VOB from DVD subscriptions or mp4 from online video pools.

I was trying to demux a mp4 file from mymp3pool. I changed the file name to mpeg and had the same result. I bought QuickTime pro and mpeg2 clip thinking that was the problem and same result. Really frustrating and was wondering what do you rate the difficulty of remuxing from 1-10 with 10 being difficult? Thanks again.

I rate demuxing a level one task. It really doesn't get any easier. MPEGStreamclip does not demux mp4 files, it works on mpeg2 only. You can name the file anything you want, you can even name it to an avi file and that won't change what kind of data is in the file. You can't change a file type just by changing the name.

Quicktime can demux a compatible mp4 file, and the method of demux is also covered in the tutorial.

Use the right tool for the job and I think you'll find this demuxing method is the most straightforward and fast way to replace the audio in a video file with 100% quality preserved.