One of the most popular questions we get here at RGTV, is how to use our tools to turn text into sand/dust. Peder Norrby created a great project file that has sat on trapcode.com since Trapcode Form was released, but there was never an explanation of how it worked, so…

Click on image to see example video.

RGTV Ep. 21 – Creating a Text to Sand Transition

In this episode of Red Giant TV, I’ll show you how to use Trapcode Form to create the effect of text (or a logo) dissolving to sand and blowing away. You’ll also learn how to reverse the transition, so that sand forms into text.

This is actually the basis for a much, MUCH cooler tutorial I have planned, and you can see the planned next stage at the end of this tutorial.

You can watch the tutorial here.

And, of course, you can get a discount on Trapcode Form here.

Hey folks – Another great Episode of Red Giant TV coming at you this week. This one comes from Rob Birnholz of Absolute Motion Graphics.

Episode 20: Creating a 3D Picture Montage with Trapcode Particular

In this Episode, Rob Birnholz shows you a great technique for quickly creating a 3D picture montage with Trapcode Particular. It takes just minutes to set up, but can save you hours of work.

Transporter effects, and binary transitions are cool and fun, but very rarely do we have a tutorial with a project that can be used in so man situations, and help you really make money. This one will be great for anyone who has corporate clients, but it’s applicable to so much more.

You can watch the episode here.

BTW – the episode opens with a sneak peak at Particular 2, so don’t miss it!

And, as always, just for watching the episode, you can get a discount on Trapcode particular (with free upgrate to particular 2) here.

Episode 19: Creating a Transporter Effect
Hosted by Eran Stern

In this episode, Chief Engineer Eran Stern works furiously to get his Starship’s transporters back on-line to rescue a fellow crew member trapped on a hostile planet. But time is running out. Will Eran be able to build the transporter in After Effects before it’s too late?

You can watch the episode here.

And, as usual, you can get a discount on Trapcode Particular, Knoll Light Factory, Key Correct Pro, and Magic Bullet Looks, but going here.

In honor of Star Trek (of which I am a huge fan), I’m also offering a discount on my own product, Crowd Control: Pre-Keyed Alpha Stock Footage. Use the code “startrek” for the next seven days, and get 50% off the cost of Crowd Control credits.

Just an FYI for anyone who has tried to comment on the tutorials in the last few weeks. We have been hit with an incredible amount of spam, and are doing our best to clean it up so we can post your comments. Rest assured they are going into the queue, but it may be a little while before they are posted.

Hey everyone,

My name is John Kerr, I wear quite a few hats here at Red Giant Software, and one of my absolute favorites is interacting with our customers.  For this reason I have launched Twitter and Facebook pages to give our users multiple ways to communicate with us.  I especially like to see what people are doing specifically with our plug-ins, and generally within the community itself.

Since Red Giant Software is part of a larger eco-system of software and users, I am going to start posting some of the cool stuff being shown, uploaded, and talked about on the web within our industry.  If you have any specific stuff you want me to show, link to, or talk about, shoot me a Twitter @RedGiantTweet.

Hi folks -

This week we have Michele Yamazaki sharing a ton of tips from her new book, Greenscreen Made Easy. If you’re looking to learn more about keying and compositing, don’t miss it!

Watch the episode here.

In this episode, Michele uses Primate Keyer Pro, Key Correct Pro, and Magic Bullet Looks. And just for watching, you can get a discount on one, two, or all three. get the discount here.

This weeks episode is up:

Episiode 17: Color Grading in Final Cut Pro with Magic Bullet Looks

In this Episode, award-winning director, Philip Bloom walks you through the process of color grading his film “Return to Dungeness” in Final Cut Pro, using Magic Bullet Looks.

You can watch it here.

And, of course, you can get a great discount on MB Looks just for watching. Get that here.

Sorry about the lack of episode last week. We are gearing up for some major stuff at NAB, and when all is said and done, I’ll have been on the road for 3 weeks straight.

But rest assured more content is coming, and not just from me. A lot of people are sending along cool episodes for us to share with you. And I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

But, for now, you just have me, so here goes:

Episode 16: Better Compositing with Light Wraps

In this Episode, I’ll show you how to get better compositing results with Light Wraps – an effect used to blend the background light and foreground elements more convincingly during a composite.

I know I’ve talked about light wraps before, but I’ve been using them almost every day lately – so I’ve picked up a few new tricks…

You can watch the tutorial here.

And just for watching, you can get a discount on Key Correct Pro here.

I am here…just kidding. I am not Aharon but Sean Safreed, Product Director at Red Giant Software. I want to share a few details about the upcoming Particular v2 and our policy regarding upgrades.

Particular v2 is coming along nicely and Peder has added some killer features. But before I lift the veil on one of the many features in this new version, I want to let our customers and the community know our upgrade policy. If you buy Particular 1.5.1 after April 7th, 2009, you are entitled to a free upgrade. In fact, our policy across the board is to give a free upgrade to users that purchases a Red Giant product when the next major version has been announced but hasn’t shipped. In general, we only charge for major updates that involve significant development effort. The upgrade to the new version of Particular will be $99.

Now, I can’t say exactly when Particular v2 is going to ship because Peder is still busy adding features and fixing bugs but I expect that this version will be out in the summer, maybe sooner. I can say that Peder has listened carefully to a group of beta testers and users to push the boundaries of what is possible in After Effects (as he always does .

Here is a taste of one of the features in v2. The feature is natural particle shading and it responds to After Effects lights in 3D space:

Particular v2 offers much more realistic shading of particles

I know users are going to love this feature along with the vastly expanded controls. For the rest, please come to NAB to get the full scoop and see Peder Norrby demo in person.

Just some stills from a presentation I’m doing for Red Giant @ NAB, focusing on Trapcode Form -although it also uses particular, warp, and knoll light factory. Of course, the women in the image are courtesy of  Crowd Control.

I’ll be presenting this at 10:00AM on Tuesday Apr. 21, at the Red Giant Software booth SL2529H. Hope to see you there.