Year: 2018

Created in December 2018

by

Minor tweaks on themes for versluis.com and The WP Guru sites. Updates are live on GitHub:  https://github.com/versluis/The-WP-Guru-2013 https://github.com/versluis/Versluis-TwentyThirteen

Creating the Vertigo/Jaws Shot in DAZ Studio – Part 2

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to create a Dolly Zoom animation in DAZ Studio. That’s a camera trick made famous with Alfred Hitchcock’s movie VERTIGO, hence it’s often called a Vertigo Shot or Jaws Shot (because Steven Spielberg has used it for great effect in Jaws). In Part 1 I’ve explained how the …

Read moreCreating the Vertigo/Jaws Shot in DAZ Studio – Part 2

Creating the Vertigo/Jaws Shot in DAZ Studio – Part 1

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to create a Dolly Zoom animation in DAZ Studio. That’s a camera trick made famous with Alfred Hitchcock’s movie VERTIGO, hence it’s often called a Vertigo Shot or Jaws Shot (because Steven Spielberg has used it for great effect in Jaws). In this part I’ll explain how the …

Read moreCreating the Vertigo/Jaws Shot in DAZ Studio – Part 1

How to use SOUL REFLECTIONS for DAZ Studio

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to use my new lighting product SOUL REFLECTIONS – Vol. 1. I’ve had so much fun exploring the eye reflections I’ve explained in my previous two videos, importing several interesting shapes and turning them into reflective surfaces. SOUL REFLECTIONS is the result of my endeavours. I’ve compiled presets …

Read moreHow to use SOUL REFLECTIONS for DAZ Studio

Storyist 118: Bookmarks and Comments

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to use the bookmarking feature in Storyist. I’ll also explain how to use comments and where to find a list of them so you can see them all in one place. https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Storyist-18-Comments.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:27 — 11.4MB)

Discovered in November 2018

by

More like a re-discovery, Yellowjacket’s 1992 live album entitled LIVE WIRES is a timeless classic. I remember when my friend Oliver bought the CD back in the early nineties. It was like dynamite in our Walkmen.  Except for a couple of inevitable duff songs that seem to find their way into the best album, 7 …

Read moreDiscovered in November 2018

Multi Camera Editing in Premiere Pro CS 5.5

by

Even my ageing version of Premiere Pro CS 5.5 has multi-camera editing capabilities built in. And even my ageing Mac Mini from 2012 can cope with full HD clips during those edits.

It’s a slightly mysterious process, and until very recently I didn’t quite know how to do it, but with my desire to do multi-camera interviews with inspirational people, it’s something wanted to research. This workflow is also helpful if you have a single camera feed and want to switch live (vision mixer style) to zoomed-in versions of the same.

Now I know how to do it (works fine in present versions of Premiere Pro too). Before I forget this concept again, I thought I’d better write it down and share it with you (and my future me).

In short, we need to

  • drag all camera clips into a timeline (all on top of each other)
  • sync all clips in this timeline (then select them all, right-click and choose “synchronise”)
  • create a new sequence from that sequence
  • enable multi camera on that clip
  • open the multi camera monitor, press play and switch live between cameras, creating edits on the fly

Jonathan Lang explains it here:

Read moreMulti Camera Editing in Premiere Pro CS 5.5

Created in November 2018

by

Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last 30 days. It’s been highly productive, even though what I have achieved was not quite in line with what I had set out to do. It’s always interesting for me to see how unpredictable creativity is. SUPER SURVIVOR – Season 1 (Podcast) I’ve turned my second …

Read moreCreated in November 2018

Storyist 117: Using Story Sheets

by

In this episode I will (try to) explain the concept of Story Sheets to you. Those are writing aides, akin to writing bibles and index cards. Think of Story Sheets as a supercharged version of a post-it note. They let you define relatively vague “things” like plot points, characters, settings, scenes, character development points and …

Read moreStoryist 117: Using Story Sheets

DAZ Studio 111: Installing Content in a Second Directory

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to install 3D Content with Install Manager into another directory of your choice. By default, Install Manager will use a folder called “My DAZ 3D Library”, but sometimes you may need a second directory to install content in. For example, to keep pre-release files separate from “release versions”, …

Read moreDAZ Studio 111: Installing Content in a Second Directory

Storyist 115: Writing Shortcuts

by

In this episode I’ll show you some of the shortcuts I find useful when using Storyist. I’ll show you how to navigate words, paragraphs and whole lines from the keyboard, and I’ll also explain a couple of tab key shortcuts. Lastly, I’ll show you how to access a full list of shortcuts that are supported …

Read moreStoryist 115: Writing Shortcuts

DAZ Studio 110: Object Hierarchies, Grouping and Parenting

by

In this episode I’ll show you how parent objects to one another, and how to create groups, and the implications either of these actions has on your scene. I’ll also explain the Null object and when/how to use it. Understanding these concepts means you’ll be able to build scenes more efficiently: hierarchies let you move …

Read moreDAZ Studio 110: Object Hierarchies, Grouping and Parenting

Storyist 114: Headers and Footers

by

In this screencast I’ll show you how to customise the headers and footers of your document. The principle is the same for either. In particular, we’ll look into aligning the page numbers in the footer: off numbers to the left, and even numbers to the right – just like some books do. Storyist can help …

Read moreStoryist 114: Headers and Footers

DAZ Studio 109: Adjusting the Pivot Point and using Multiple Viewports

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to change the location of the Pivot Point in DAZ Studio. It’s the point at which the 3D manipulator gizmo shows up and from where objects are translated and rotated. Blender calls this the “origin point”. DAZ Studio uses the Joint Editor to manipulate this point. While I’m …

Read moreDAZ Studio 109: Adjusting the Pivot Point and using Multiple Viewports

Created in October 2018

by

Another busy month draws to a close. Let’s see if I can remember all the exciting stuff I’ve been able to create, which consisted mainly of video content.

Blender Logo Creation – Mini Series

I’ve created a 5-part mini series on how to take a rasterised image, turn it into an extruded 3D object in Blender and use it to create a snazzy logo.

I’ve used this technique to create thumbnails for two of my recent projects (the DAZ Studio 101 series and my WordPress podcast). There are many steps to the whole process and I thought I’d record how I did it. I also created thumbnails for the videos in the series using the same approach, showing bit by bit what each video is about. Like this one:

Read moreCreated in October 2018

Storyist 113: Customising Your PDF

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to customise the print-ready PDF we’ve created in the previous video. When Storyist formats a PDF with templates, it create intermediary files that we can tap into and further refine the output to make it look exactly as we want our book to look. https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Storyist-13-PDF-2-v2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 15:51 …

Read moreStoryist 113: Customising Your PDF

Discovered in October 2018

by

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Julie Rothenberg MS, RD, LDN (@julienergynutrition) I found this post by my wonderful nutritionist Julie Rothenberg in Instagram this month. It struck a chord in me about awareness and helped me through a day on which I felt angry and aggravated. I really didn’t want to …

Read moreDiscovered in October 2018

Using a Density Map with the Blender Particle Emitter (Replicator)

by

In this final episode of our serves I’ll show you how to create and apply a Density Map for use in Blender’s Particle Emitter. This will allow us to specify where objects are replicated and how may we want at which point. I’ll also explain how to invert the map. I will touch on how …

Read moreUsing a Density Map with the Blender Particle Emitter (Replicator)

Storyist 112: Creating a PDF

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to create PDF version of your document. In Storyist, this is done using an intermediary Book Object that takes care of the page setup and formatting options. https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Storyist-12-PDF-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:16 — 16.7MB)

Adding Materials to our Objects in Blender (Cycles)

by

In this episode I’m giving our objects some colour with simple shaders: I’m making the grass green, give the ground an earthy brown and add a shiny golden touch to our logo. I’m also covering the logo with another replicator, simulating an interesting effect. This is part 4 of a mini series about how to create …

Read moreAdding Materials to our Objects in Blender (Cycles)

DAZ Studio 107: Manipulating Objects with Tools

by

In this episode I’ll show you how to manipulate objects in the viewport using four tools: the translate, scale, rotate and universal manipulator tools. I’ll also explain the concept of world vs local/object coordinates and touch on screen coordinates. These are tough concepts to grasp, but with a bit of practice, you’ll be flying around …

Read moreDAZ Studio 107: Manipulating Objects with Tools

Storyist 111: Ebook Formatting Tips

by

In this episode I’ll give you some tips about ebook formatting when using Storyist. For this demo I’ll use an EPUB document we’re creating from my dummy manuscript and open it in Apple s iBooks for macOS. I’ll show you how to replace the section separator, how to deal with empty lines, and you’ll see …

Read moreStoryist 111: Ebook Formatting Tips

Replicating an Object with Blender’s Particle Emitter

by

In this episode I’m building several simple grass stalks and replicate them along a plane using Blender’s Particle Emitter. I’ll talk you through the scary options we need and explain some of the concepts in using the Particle Emitter as an Object Replicator. This is part 3 of a mini series about how to create a …

Read moreReplicating an Object with Blender’s Particle Emitter

DAZ Studio 106: Viewport Draw Styles

by

In this episode I’ll talk you through the various Viewport Drawing Styles. The default we usually see is “texture shaded”, which is a nice compromise between displaying a good looking “live” picture, while keeping your computer responsive for navigating and posing. However, with larger scenes your system may become slower and less responsive. We can …

Read moreDAZ Studio 106: Viewport Draw Styles

Storyist 110: Creating a Kindle ebook

by

In this video I’ll show you how to create a Kindle ebook from your manuscript and several other items in Storyist. Amazon’s Kindle uses the .MOBI ebook format, while other e-readers support the .EPUB format (such as Kobo, Nook and iBooks). Storyist supported them both equally well. https://www.versluis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Storyist-10-Kindle-ebook-v2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 20:18 — 18.6MB)