Hang over from Digital Juice

www.digitaljuice.com

has anyone here used digital juice b4? if so, i am thinking of getting it today and i wanted to know if there were any adjustable parameters or if your just stuck with what they give you?

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

Don't know which package you're referring to, but I've used two of their JumpBack animation backgrounds and neither volume came as layers -- ie. graphical elements are already flattened and you can't, for example, take out a ribbon in the background.


www.derekmok.com

i have a handful of their products and for certain uses, theyre great.

like derek says, the jump backs arent layered, so they are what they are and they get stale pretty fast - after you start seeing them in other peoples work they begin to lose their appeal. but they are quite handy in a pinch.

now their editors toolkits ARE LAYERED and come with all kinds of individual elements (lower 3rds, backgrounds, frames, transitions, wipes, masks, alpha mattes, etc...) that you can use in all kinds of ways. the only drawback is that they are a bit pricey for joe-average-user. but on a time-saving basis, they pretty much pay for themselves in a single use.

their stacktraxx music is super handy and if you find the right deal you can get just about the whole library for $250. the cool thing about them is that the music is separated into individual instruments. so you can customize them a good bit, weed out the cheesey elements (of which there are several!) and avoid sounding just like everyone else.

the only real drawback to their stuff is that a lot of ham-handed hacks RELY on them as their main production resource. so you see and hear them all over the place and thats kind of a drag.

but usedtastefully (and sparingly) they are quite useful - and in my cases, have paid for themselves in a single use.

I have a very extensive collection of Juice . . .

one of the things you can do to change up the look is to adjust the color phase using the color correction plugin

or you can layer a couple of one's and change the opacity a little

plus there is hints from Juice higher ups that they are working on layered jumpbacks however the problem is delivery . . . they would be HUGE!

here is an EP of DJTV that shows different uses for Jumpbacks [www.digitaljuice.com]

and another on how to use the HD JB's in SD to make unique backgrounds
[www.digitaljuice.com]

the Juice Drops are static graphics but they are layered and you can do animate them in FCP/AFX

they have a couple of Magazine articles on that in there JUICE MAG they publish
[www.digitaljuice.com]
[www.digitaljuice.com]

David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]

I love Digital Juice.

Sure a lot of hacks rely on them to make up for their own deficiencies (just like the "star wipe" is a punchline for pros). But DJ products in the right editor's hands can deliver outstanding results.

Also, you don't have to use them as they are (as referred to earlier). Not only can you change the color, transparency and layer them yourself, but you can render only certain portions of each one. This offers a lot more flexibility. Not to mention, you can create a B&W matte of any shape and create your own lower thirds and overlays. Or, on some of the Editor's Toolkits volumes DJ supplies quite a few static mattes you can choose from.

And DJ is continually offering deals, so if you have enough patience or time you almost never have to pay full price for a product.

I highly recommend checking out the episodes of DJTV on the site (also previously mentioned). They don't just hawk their own products, the offer a lot of practical production tips and advice in very well-produced vingettes.

My 2 cents.

Robert Faust
Faust Productions

Power Mac G5 10.4.9
Machine Model: PowerMac 7,3
2 CPU - 2.7 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory 6.5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Scratch Drive: 1TB
FCP 5.0.4
DVD SP 4.0.3

so which would you say is the better buy? jump backs or editors tool kit? i was looking at the etk 10 i think. thats the one where he is on a construction sight.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

etk10 is a fine choice. though its no better or worse than any other - just depends on your work style... but the deal they are offering on it is a freakin steal!

its not a matter of jump back OR etk - they are totally different animals... it just depends on your needs and personal workflow. obviously there is more source content to work with with an etk. but if you put them under your foot, the jumpbacks are good as well. though if i had to suggest one or the other, id go etk... just more for the money

they are both handy to have in your toolset, and both can save your bacon in a pinch. just dont start to lean on them...

OR you could get your head around motion, aftereffects, photoshop and a decent 3d app and build you own from scratch - but thats a career in itself!

I don't own ETK 10 yet, but I do have 1 & 2, the two wedding kits, the Xmas kit and most of the JBs & HD JBs, plus the 2 non-stacked music libraries and 3 volumes of the StackTraxx. Oh, and about 12 volumes of the Juice Drops.

I've barely scratched the surface of their potential, but I like having them available. Most of my clients are not sophisticated enough to demand heavy graphics use ;-) .

It seems to me if you are about to make your first DJ purchase ETK 10 is the way to go. Like Wayne said, that volume seems to offer more for the $$.

The DJ website even has a "Showcase" for people to upload clips and images to show off their work and get comments from other users.

Good Luck!

Robert Faust
Faust Productions

Power Mac G5 10.4.9
Machine Model: PowerMac 7,3
2 CPU - 2.7 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory 6.5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Scratch Drive: 1TB
FCP 5.0.4
DVD SP 4.0.3

well thats what i'm a gettin'. i need to have a few xtra graphics if but for no other reason but to study how they are made. i have always wondered how they create those sports center type graphics in such a short time.

i just hope i dont come off as a copy cat. i hate to think i was kida original with how i use things then notice that every tom, dick, and harry is doing it.

thanks

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

Quote

i have always wondered how they create those sports center type graphics in such a short time.

Oh boy...don't have enough time in the day to go into this, but the "Sportcenter GFX package" was not created in a short time and definitely did not use Digital Juice. There were multiple Artists working weeks on so many elements it would make your head swim. The package was done by TROIKA who is also responsible for the "NBC Sunday Night Football in America" GFX package (amazing) and "ESPN's College Gameday" (also amazing) among a ton of other stuff.

To reverse engineer the DJ stuff, you should be comfortable with After Effects Pro & all major AE plug-in packages / Studio max / Cinema 4D.

- Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

here is a short list that uses Juice

American Idol
America's most wanted
The Daily Show
The Tonight Show
Oprah
CNN
The Weather Channal
NASCAR (Nextel Vision)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Oakland Raiders
The Cleveland Cavaliers
MTV Video Music Awards
etc.
here is a video that shows some Juice in Use [www.digitaljuice.com]

DAVE

i got an email from the digital juice folks talking about juice drops. do you guys have any experience with those?

the tech said that it comes as separable layers.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

I recommend the ETK in my book. I like the precut alpha graphics, fodder for travel mattes, still graphics, motion graphics. A lot of cool stuff there.

The only factor is your knowledge of how to put, say, a travel matte into play. If you have only a little knowlege of fx creation, then the ETK will not be quite as useful.

If you are new to fx, may I suggest that with a combination of the ETK, a copy of my book, "Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro" and a couple of weeks spent "playing" will get you in the zone.

...and while I've gotten a bit dizzy from my use of Digital Juice's products, I've never had a Digital Juice Hangover.

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Yep, the Juice Drops are layered. So you can turn on/off the layers you want/don't want. You can import the layered files into FCP and animate the layers. There is a recent episode of Take 5 on DJTV (at digitaljuice.com) that touches on it.

I don't think any of DJ's products are meant to replace any other product, but they each serve a unique purpose. Kind of like the idea that you wouldn't use a jib instead of a tripod in every situation. They're great at what they do in an appropriate situation. A jib can do things a tripod can't do, but sometimes a tripod is a more appropriate choice. Some DJ products are a better fit than others depending on your needs.

Of course that's how they getcha . . . so many volumes and so many styles to choose . . . but they do offer a lot of deals.

Robert Faust
Faust Productions

Power Mac G5 10.4.9
Machine Model: PowerMac 7,3
2 CPU - 2.7 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory 6.5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Scratch Drive: 1TB
FCP 5.0.4
DVD SP 4.0.3