videoediting
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Apple is reportedly developing a social video app
Deep in the bowels of Apple HQ, the company is reportedly developing a new video-editing and sharing application. According to Bloomberg, it's similar to Snapchat, allowing iPhone users to quickly record video, apply filters and scribble messages on top with their finger. The app is being optimized for one-handed use, a source tells the site, with a workflow that you can plow through -- from shooting to sharing -- in under a minute.
GoPro buys mobile app makers to help your action camera editing
It's rarely fun to edit your action camera videos, and that's a big problem for GoPro -- it even cited that drudgery as a significant "inconvenience" to users when reporting its lackluster results in January. And now, it appears that the company is doing something about it. It just acquired the developers behind two mobile editing apps, Replay and Splice, for $105 million. While GoPro isn't divulging its exact plans, it tells Forbes that it needs more developers to boost its (frankly humble) video editing efforts.
ICYMI: 3D-printed vertebrae FTW, YouTube blur and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-105465{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-105465, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-105465{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-105465").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: An Australian neurologist successfully used 3D printed replacements for vertebrae to save a man who would have died from cancer otherwise. YouTube has updated its editing tools to include a custom blurring option. Another new device for the problem of not having wireless service in the boonies is available, you just have to keep it on you... and whoever you're trying to contact. We also wanted you to see the latest Guinness Record for a robot solving a Rubik's Cube. It's less than a second and of course, incredible. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Final Cut Pro X now handles 4K export to some Apple devices
Final Cut Pro X didn't get the warmest of receptions when it was released in 2011. But Apple's made many changes to its video-editing software since, listening to user feedback and adding features that were missing from Final Cut Pro 7. And it keeps getting better. The latest version (10.2.3) of Final Cut Pro X brings 4K export to compatible Apple devices, such as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, as well as the iPad Pro and new Apple TV. You can now share videos to multiple YouTube accounts too, which is useful for individuals who have channels with different purposes.
Slow down time with PlayStation 4's video editor update
Sony has an early gift for you this holiday season: more tools for its PlayStation 4 video editing app, Sharefactory. The electronics giant says that the ability to manipulate time has been among the most requested features and that's where Time Bender comes in. With it, you can slow nature's most effective killer down or implement time lapse to your gameplay footage. What's more, Sony's also increasing the number of clips that you can add to your masterpiece; the new limit's 50 for video and 12 for music.
Adobe Premiere Clip brings its video-editing tools to Android
Adobe's bet on mobile productivity is serious, with its suite of Creative Cloud apps leading the way. One of the company's newest applications is Premiere Clip, a video editor that first debuted on iOS. But now Adobe is bringing this app to Android, giving users on the platform a fast and easy way to create videos on the go. Adobe Premiere Clip automatically creates videos from media stored on your smartphone or tablet (among other things), which can then be shared to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Aside from letting you distribute saved videos on social media, you can also polish those on the desktop with Adobe Premiere Pro CC -- though you'll need a subscription for the latter feature. The best part about Premiere Clip is that it's free, and could be a good option if you have to make a video in a pinch.
Twitch private messages make their way to mobile
Twitch introduced its private messaging, dubbed Whisper, almost six months ago and now the system is rolling out to mobile. Like normal, a small number of Android users will get the functionality first and Twitch says that once its gathered enough feedback for a full deployment, the feature will hit iOS. If you get the notification to update the app, you're in; otherwise there's nothing else you have to do. The live-streaming service announced some big changes to its video-on-demand section at TwitchCon this year and those are starting to come to fruition, as well. Support for thumbnail editing is live for everyone. Sadly, you can't upload your own images though. Instead, Twitch will auto-generate a quartet of thumbnails for any past broadcasts -- generous! Twitch says that further customization options are coming down the pike. Should you need something to hold you over until then, well, there are always Bob Ross Mondays.
Google buys Fly Labs, Photos to get in-app video editing
The team at Fly Labs announced on Friday that Google had acquired their company and will be rolling their image-editing technology into Google Photos. "We'll be pouring the same passion into Google Photos that we poured into Clips, Fly, Tempo and Crop on the Fly," the company wrote in a blog post. Existing users should note that while Fly Lab's existing suite of tools will remain free and available in the App Store for the next three months or so, there will be no more updates. Furthermore, if you've already downloaded the apps, they'll continue to work even after this three-month grace period. You won't, however, be able to re-download them once they've been removed from the App Store so make sure you don't go accidentally uninstalling them.
iMovie for iOS is ready to handle your 4K video editing
If you're determined to produce a 4K masterpiece on an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus or iPad Pro, you now have one of the tools you need to get the job done. Apple has delivered an iMovie update that switches on 4K editing for its most powerful iPhones and iPads, giving you an easy (though not professional-grade) way to edit extra-sharp videos on the move. You can't capture 4K on the iPad Pro, alas, but it's powerful enough to edit multiple 4K streams. The giganto-tablet also has room for a larger media browser and a video viewer that shows every single pixel of a 1080p clip.
GoPro is making a mobile video-editing app
Creating short reels out of GoPro footage requires video editing knowledge, that's why some casual users don't even bother. Well, that could change soon enough -- or at least as soon as the company's new mobile app launches. According to TechCrunch, GoPro president Tony Bates has revealed to investors that the action camera maker is developing an app, which will give users the capability to edit and trim footage straight from a phone or tablet. It's in the final testing phase and could be out by the end of summer, so don't be surprised if you find your News Feed filled with friends' surfing, swimming or hiking videos.
The Xbox One's built-in video editor just got a lot more powerful
Microsoft has been touting its Upload Studio since before the Xbox One launched, but until now, the video editing suite only offered a few options for gamers. Now its first major update is bringing a ton of new features -- it can splice together recordings to run for up to 30 minutes, drop in text overlays and toss in tons of new effects and transitions including many styled for games like Forza Horizon, Halo and Call of Duty. The biggest change, however, may be the ability for players use the Kinect camera to drop themselves into the video, using green screen effects without the need for an actual green screen backdrop. According to Major Nelson, the system can see your body and pick it out of the background, but we've seen enough camera glitches and voice commands missed to be skeptical until more people have tried it out. There's a demo video laying out the new Upload Studio experience embedded after the break (plus a clip I tossed together with the new tools), and if you have an Xbox One the update should be live right now for you to try out.
Google+ can automatically 'enhance' your mobile video recordings
Google's no stranger to tweaking your photos automagically, and now it's extending that expertise to video. By using Google+ and its auto-backup system for your media, Mountain View says it can adjust the lighting, color, stability and, soon enough, speech in any video you shoot. Just be sure to have Auto Enhance activated on your device and, well, that's the only thing you have to worry about actually. It's a bit different than what the search giant did with Auto Awesome videos, actually, and if you want to see an admittedly low quality sample, pop beyond the break.
Disney tech auto-edits your raw footage into watchable video
More and more people are starting to record their daily lives, whether by traditional video cams or first-person live-loggers attached to glasses, headsets, necklaces or even handbags. Since a group of people (say, at a party) are bound to capture videos of the same event from multiple points of view, Disney Research has developed a method to easily splice together footage taken by different cams. Disney's algorithm chooses the most interesting aspect of a single event based on how many cameras are focused on it, then it chops the videos and chooses parts with best quality, lighting or angle for the final cut.
Microsoft's Video Tuner outfits Windows Phone 8.1 with easy clip editing
Windows Phone 8.1 users have been rather strapped when it comes to video editing apps straight from HQ, but now Microsoft is looking to lend a hand. With Video Tuner, Redmond serves up a new app that wrangles smartphone clips with the ability to apply filters, add music (non-DRM protected MP3s, natch) and apply a range of corrective adjustments -- including speed tweaks. As you might expect, once the finished product is ready, footage can be broadcast directly to various social channels, with the exception of Vine. The software can save videos in the proper format for Twitter's video stream, but there's no direct sharing at this time. Video Tuner supports MP4 files and allows editing of video captured from the same device on which it is installed. You'll need a Lumia handset running Windows Phone 8.1 to nab up the new offering, but it's already available free of charge from Microsoft's app repository for those who qualify.
The PS4's first big update is almost here, check out what's inside
Curious to know everything that's in the PlayStation 4's 1.70 update launching on Wednesday? You won't have to download it yourself to find out -- Sony has spilled the beans ahead of time. Some of these updates we've heard about before, such as the SHAREfactory video editor, 720p HD Twitch streams (that are archivable) and automatic pre-order downloads. However, we now know that there's quite a few subtler improvements in store. You can control the default length for shared gameplay videos before saving them to a USB drive, and a toggle to dim the DualShock 4's lightbar is included in this update. Remote Link pairing with the PlayStation Vita is now automatic, and those who hate credit cards can shop with PayPal on the PlayStation Store. All told, this is a lot more than a simple tune-up, and you'll likely want it as soon as it hits the servers -- updated companion apps for iOS and Android are already available. Update: The 194MB download is rolling out now, and there are a few more tweaks included in the changelog, like the ability to log in multiple users with a single controller.
Cameo enters the social video world with a clever and powerful app
Cameo is a new free social video app that aims to compete with the likes of Vine and Instagram. The app sports some powerful features and has enough advantages that people who love to share videos will want to give it a shake. The app allows you to take as many videos as you want. All the videos are rendered in the cloud at 720p, and a copy is saved to your iPhone so it can be uploaded to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. One clever feature is the ability to share videos in real time with friends, so if, for example, you're both in different places at a sporting event, you can share each other's clips and build them into your own video creation. Like Vine, clips are limited to six seconds, but you can combine those clips into a video that lasts as long as two minutes. As you shoot new clips, new ones are being rendered in the cloud, so you are not waiting for things to finish. When all your clips are done, you can select music, either from your own library or from clips provided by Cameo. You can title your video, and choose a theme. Then the video is rendered on the Cameo servers, which is pretty quick, and then you can share. I gave the app a try and found it very well thought out. A novice can get a great-looking video the first time out without ever consulting a help file. You can comment on friends videos, or follow what they are doing. I found the six-second clip limit restrictive, but once I got into the rhythm of the app, I was less bothered by it. The themes are very well done, and don't feel like simple filters thrown on top of video. The themes are sort of all or nothing. You pick a theme and go with it. You don't get to fiddle with transitions and effects. There are a lot of iPhone owners who never touch the video feature they have, but Cameo could give them a good reason to explore video as a creative and social outlet that isn't complicated to use. Like all apps, Cameo will mutate and improve, but it is already a strong contender and everyone who uses video on their iPhone, and those who don't, but are thinking about it, owe Cameo a look. Cameo requires iOS 7, and it's not universal. Your best bet is an iPhone, which is what it is really designed for.
Mac pros react to the Mac Pro
It's been over a week since Apple announced the new Mac Pro, and while public opinion has been quite positive, the creative professionals who will most likely be the target market for the shiny cylinder haven't been heard from... until now. Macworld UK's Karen Haslam followed up with a number of power users, and found that while many are thrilled with the prospect of Apple's new flagship product, there are some concerns as well. The lack of internal expansion in the new design is of concern to several commenters. Writing for Broadcast Engineer, David Austerberry noted that "If I upgrade, that spaghetti under the desk will be joined by more Thunderbolt spaghetti connecting to external storage." Referring to the turntable base of the new Mac Pro, Austerberry says, "If I need to plug in an external drive to bring in video content, I can attempt to plug in at the back, but the chassis isn't going to turn easily with all the cables plugged in. Some front connectors would have been dead handy!" Despite the concerns about internal expansion, Final Cut Pro trainer Larry Jordan recently blogged that 80 percent of current Mac Pro users don't have any PCI cards installed except for the graphics card. Jordan also wrote that "Apple essentially provided a virtually unlimited number of card slots for users that need the maximum in expandability," in reference to the use of the still unproven Thunderbolt 2 bus. Pros need a lot of storage. Video editor Lou Borella bemoans the lack of Thunderbolt peripherals, saying that the "missing piece is the lack of high-speed Thunderbolt-native RAID 5 storage systems" and "very, very few 5- to 10-drive RAID 5 systems, which we editors need the most." Most of the pros seemed thrilled with the prospect of the Xeon E5-powered Mac Pro and fast PCIe flash memory. But most were also concerned about the lack of choice of GPU in the new Mac Pro. Borella "was drooling at the thought of two NVidia Titans" in his future Mac Pro, but Apple has apparently decided that the two built-in AMD FirePro workstation-class GPUs are enough. Some Mac users have software that isn't optimized or even compatible with the new graphics card, so the ability to swap out GPUs is a major concern. For the most part, many of the pros were optimistic, with Borella noting that "This machine will change the way my peripherals sit on my desk. It will cause me to take a hard look at my current monitor situation. It will cause me to re-evaluate my home network and my NAS devices. It might even cause me to give a harder look to FCPX. For good or bad this Mac Pro will change everything and cause a ripple effect in my entire computing life... It's probably about time that some company takes me to the next step." We'll hear more about the Mac Pro, including pricing and expansion possibilities, as the fall release date draws closer. If you're a current Mac Pro owner and have your doubts or hopes about the new model, please leave us your comments below.
Adobe Premiere Pro on Windows to boast OpenCL support
Premiere Pro has already been tearing through video with OpenCL on Macs for a year, and now AMD and Adobe have teamed up to bring support for the open standard to Windows with the software's next version. Not only does the duo claim it's the first time Microsoft's OS has been graced with hardware-accelerated video editing using OpenCL, but they boast that exporting video replete with effects from a source to a final format can now be done up to 4.3 times faster. There's no word on when the fresh release of Premiere Pro will arrive, but if it's any consolation, Adobe says it's set to unveil some "incredible enhancements" to its video editing tools at NAB next week.
Open source video editing program needs help on Kickstarter, offers immortality in return
Forget having kids. Forget mind-transfers. Real immortality lies in naming a video transition after yourself. No, seriously. To make eternity happen, you simply need to donate $500 to Jonathan Thomas's Kickstarter project and in return he'll let you create and name a transition effect in a new cross-platform version of his free, open source video editing program, called OpenShot. Currently Linux-only, it supports regular timeline-based video editing with layers and compositing, transitions, effects, titles and support for a wide range of AV formats courtesy of the usual open source codec libraries. If it reaches its $20k goal, Thomas will start work on editions for Windows and Mac OS alongside Linux, anticipating a beta release before the end of the year. Smaller donations will receive more minor possessions in the afterlife, such as your name in the credits. Bigger pledges -- of up to $10,000 -- will flip things around slightly and require Jonathan Thomas to sell you his soul. Go get it, Pharoah!
Magisto adds still photos to its AI video editing witchery (video)
Short of serving the popcorn, Magisto's editing app can take care of the video production needs for the busy (or artistically challenged), including helping with music choices, chopping it all together and even distributing it across video albums. However, one sorely lacking feature was the ability to include photos, which the developer has just rectified in its latest update with a "smart photo feature." After you pick your images, the system's algorithms "choose the most compelling moments within the pictures and videos, and automatically marry them in a narrative format," according to Magisto -- even matching photo and video subject matter via AI. From there, it'll add graphical themes, music and transitions to fill out the movie while you tend to more pressing matters. The iOS version is now at the App Store with an Android release arriving shortly, and the company said it'll soon add morphing, image foreground / background separation and other effects. If you want more than the five images the freebie version offers, you'll need to pay $18 a year for the premium app -- but all that extra free time should let you go earn the bucks to pay it off.
