Shake? Is it any good?

[www.apple.com]

check out what is termed the latest add on thing for FCP.

Good enuf o be used on THE LORD OF THE RINGS, KING KONG and STAR WARS EP III

So it seems to be able to just do the stuff that FCP can do. I don't understand why one would need a programme like shake for compositing?

Unless ofcourse using shake to composite lots of stuff would reduce lag in FCP?

fcp scratches the surface of compositing compared to shake and even after effects.

the question really is - is it any good for you specifically. the answer is:nope
fp

not to be rude, but if you think that Shake is on an equal playing field to compositing in FCP don't waste your $.

Frank,
Now that was funny. You're more bitter than this here cup of coffee. :-)



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That tour doesn't really explain why one should have shake on top of FCP.
Since it just seems to be able to composite and chromakey.

For just one thing, but there are many I can think of. The keyers in Shake are the absolute best in the business. I don't know what they would cost, if you purchased them seperately, but it would FAR exceed $500.

The ability to composite different formats and image sizes in one project is HUGE. Speed changes are way better than in FCP and 3:2 up/down convert between 30 fps and 24 fps is marvelous.

Just imagine anything that you wish you could do with your video and Shake probably does it with ease. The operations are old school where like in After Effects you need to RAM render your work, but getting around that , Shake offers some fascinating options.

Shake at $500 is like spending good money on one plugin to FCP. and getting a pot of Gold with it.

i didn't mean to be bitter or harsh-y.

i really thought that if it seems no different, then there is nothing that he is trying to do that would warrant shake, that's all. if he was trying to make kong climb the empire state bulding and it wasn't looking good with FCP compsiting tools, he would truly feel the need for shake.

i kinda feel like shake or combustion et al and even after effects makes it's abilities more apparent when you find yourself hitting a wall with FCP or Avid or any NLE compositing capabilties. that's how i started with AE (years ago) - avid was limited and literally could not do what i needed it to do.

today, AE still does things i need that fcp is 'clunkier' at doing.

i really didn't mean to have a negative tone. i hate that in forums where you're just looking for info/discussion.

fp

Any bets Shake gets folded into Motion 3?

- Loren
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Shake works in 3D space and FCP doesn't. Shake rotoscopes, FCP doesn't. Shake is format and resolution independant, FCP isn't. Shake has wire and rig removal, FCP doesn't. Shake has tracking and motion stabilizing abilities, FCP doesn't (I know FCP has a motion stabilizer, but it's rudimentary and barely works).

That's just scratching the surface, but of all the things they can both do, Shake does it an order of magnitude better.

Of course, it's not exactly simple to use (at least ver 3 isn't).

Andy

I've been reading through the amazing huge Shake Manuals and have yet to really master how to integrate Shake into my FCP-ing but the best thing by far(other than access to kickass keyers) has been the Smoothcam node...

[www.benscottproductions.com]

It does crop the image a little so resolution drops slightly but it when someone hands you crappy footage to integrate with clean footage, there's nothing better.

One thing i was going to ask was about FCP 5.1. At the supermeet they were making a big deal about shake and fcp integration, was there anything more than the normal send to shake function that would make the upgrade worth it? thanks...