Updated to Avid Media Composer 8.9.2 on macOs Sierra 10.12.6

Updated "manually" again via downloading the installer from my Avid Master Account.

I always Uninstall the previous version completely before I install the new one. Worked great this time, no problem whatsoever, all plug-ins up to date, all good. :))

If you are updating via the Avid Application Manager, a reminder that the app downloads the installer(s) into the following folder: MacHD/Library/Caches/Avid/AppManager/Downloads

From the AppManager, I update in two steps: I click "Update" in the App Manager window. It first downloads the installer - you will see a progress bar.

Step 1 - Downloading

When this is done I do not click "Install" from the App Manager, instead I Quit the app, go to the Installer, and move it to a different location.

Step 2 - At this point, Quit the app, do not click "Install".

Step 3 - Copy/Move the installer to wherever you want it.

(I keep all installers together in case I need them later.)

Step 4 -  install "manually" from the newly copied installer.

This way I'm not dependent on AppManager behavior and I can keep the installer where I want it. After installation, the app restarts automatically.

Done.

In the case of MC itself  I can uninstall before I install, note that the Installer for the AppManager does not offer the option to uninstall.

I've had less problems doing it this way than blindly clicking "Install" from the AppManager.

How to copy a Mask Path into a Shape Path in After Effects

I always forget this...

Select the Layer containing the Mask
Hit "M" on the keyboard to reveal the Mask, or expand Mask > Mask
Click on the Mask Path with the Hourglass next to it and Copy
Select or create the Shape Layer
Select the Pen Tool and draw any kind of shape, this will create a new Shape/Path within the Shape layer
Expand Content > Shape > Path1 > Path to reveal the Path with the Hourglass next to it.
Paste the Mask Path into this newly created Path. Voilà!

The trick is to Copy / Paste the actual keyframes from the Mask Path to the Shape Path. The Path is actually buried one step below what you expect. You have to see the Hourglass to copy the keyframes, else you only copy the Mask from Layer 1 to a new Mask on Layer 2. 

Has anyone found a solution to Apple Motion banding Light Object???

Here I am outputting some Motion (5.3.2) graphics with light, and again it has banding all over the exported QT file. 😩

Doesn't matter if it's set to Normal, Best, with or without Alpha, ProRes 422, ProRes4444XQ, Normal Gamut, Wide Gamut, export directly from Motion, send to Compressor, Dither, Anti-Alias - They all fail and they all have nasty banding! Why?

This is a year later and this problem is still not fixed. Actually, a quick Google search shows this problem creeping as early as 2011.
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/170/870329
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3310058?start=15&tstart=0
http://www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/16928-prores-banding-in-quicktime-player-not-in-motion-or-fcpx
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/344/39931

That was the early Motion version 5, we are now at 5.3.2

Anyway, as it is Motion is useless as soon as you want to lit your scene. No light, all is good and dandy. Add a Light Object, all goes down to the drain 'cause... ugly banding.

And no, adding noise is not a fix. Adding noise does not clean the banding away. It just adds noise and your graphic is all dirty instead of clean with a smooth gradient.

Indeed, exporting using Compressor Settings and selecting Animation Codec results in a smooth gradient. And because of the codec, QT Player has to convert the file before opening it.

Mind you it looks perfect in Motion's Canvas, but on QT export, ugly banding all over. Exporting a single frame as TIFF or PNG looks just fine though. So why? Why can Motion export a still perfectly but not a .mov?

See for yourself (click on images to see larger versions):

Motion Canvas, just fine.

QT export (ProRes4444XQ Best) - Terrible ugly BANDING!

Exported as single PNG - No banding, looks just fine

Rahhh! Now I have to recreate my graphics in After Effects.

I resubmitted feedback to Apple. Do so yourself if this is driving you crazy as well.

Sapphire Radeon 7950 Mac Edition on MaPro 5,1 macOs Sierra

I moved my Sapphire Radeon to my MacPro 5,1 over a year ago and everything has been fine. I have no glitch and things are smooth. I wish I could upgrade to a Sapphire RX580 8GB and get more power with FCPX, Premiere, Resolve, Motion and After Effects - my staple apps.

Apple has announced some support for external GPUs in masOc High Sierra, and the Radeon 580X is one of the few card that seem to be supported. Although as a single GPU in a MacPro we probably wouldn't see the splash screen at startup. The card is hard to come by though. I am still on Sierra, and I might wait until the end of the year to upgrade os + GPU. We'll see.

The card has seen a lot of usage, and has been working flawlessly, so I'm not complaining. I read on the internet that the 7950 glitches happened in a single monitor configuration. Might be why I have been immune on my station since I am using two monitors. My previous post about this problem was back in 2014 in a MacPro 3,1: https://humanuser.blogspot.com/2014/02/radeon-7950-mac-edition-on-macpro-31.html

For original content from the source, please visit: https://humanuser.blogspot.com

For original content from the source, please visit: https://humanuser.blogspot.com

Adobe Creative Cloud App 4.3.0.256

For the first time the Adobe CC Manager App (v. 4.3.0.256) updated itself without crashing or getting stuck in the process, (read my tribulations here.) On both my Macs under macOs Sierra. No need for the cumbersome workaround.
Cheers to that Adobe!

Native eGPU support in macOS High Sierra!

Yep, you read this correctly. Buy an compatible external Thunderbolt 3 GPU chassis, add any freaking video card(s) of your choice, AMD Radeon or Nvidia Pascal video card and boooooom! You are no longer limited by your Mac built-in GPU. Native support is the big news here. Even though it's not fully implemented yet, it shows promises.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/07/hands-on-macos-high-sierra-native-egpu-support-shows-promise-video/