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New HD Survival Handbook Has Great Advice
Friday, August 15, 2008
“The HD Survival Handbook was written to answer the myriad of questions that arise when a video professional moves from working in the Standard Definition world up to the more complex world of High Definition.
From essential background information a video professional is expected to know, to summaries of the latest gear that would take you hours of research on the web, this handbook has it covered. The HD workflows area will help you avoid the pitfalls that have trapped so many others and be ready to meet your customers' demand for HD.”
The book works with all NLEs, but has deeper coverage of Final Cut Studio. What’s also cool is that you can buy just the sections you need. Philip sells the Production, Post Production, and Distribution chapters as separate downloads.
Here are two sample pages:
Here are the table of contents for each section:
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Motion Graphics Meets John Lennon
Monday, July 07, 2008
I was over at YouTube posting a new tutorial.... came across a great clip that mixes multiple animation styles… this is VERY cool. It’s nice to hear the man so off-the-cuff… yet wise.
“In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and timeless message.”
Learn more about it here (and yes… I missed this one somehow).
Review of Premiere Elements 4 (4.5 out of 5)
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
AMAZINGLY CAPABLE VIDEO SOFTWARE FOR
WINDOWS
“You might be thinking, “What’s consumer software doing in a pro magazine?” The short answer is that if you aren’t using the Adobe Master Collection or the Production Premium suite, you probably need Adobe Premiere Elements 4. Whether you work as an advertiser, designer, developer, or photographer, you most likely have an interest in making videos or DVDs.
Sure, Adobe
offers the very capable video applications found in
the Creative Suite product line but for many users,
it’s hard to spring for the “whole enchilada.” When
I sat down with Premiere Elements, I was
immediately impressed. The product offers an
easy-to-use toolset that addresses the needs of
many users.
Here’s the lowdown: Premiere Elements only runs on Windows machines. If you’re a Mac user, you should be looking to iMovie and iDVD ’08 to fill the same needs. On the PC side, the market has been woefully underserved by offerings from Adaptec and Microsoft. With version 4 of Premiere Elements, Adobe clearly steps up to offer a dramatic redesign, combining power with ease of use (an Adobe trademark).”
You can read the rest of the review here...
“You might be thinking, “What’s consumer software doing in a pro magazine?” The short answer is that if you aren’t using the Adobe Master Collection or the Production Premium suite, you probably need Adobe Premiere Elements 4. Whether you work as an advertiser, designer, developer, or photographer, you most likely have an interest in making videos or DVDs.
Here’s the lowdown: Premiere Elements only runs on Windows machines. If you’re a Mac user, you should be looking to iMovie and iDVD ’08 to fill the same needs. On the PC side, the market has been woefully underserved by offerings from Adaptec and Microsoft. With version 4 of Premiere Elements, Adobe clearly steps up to offer a dramatic redesign, combining power with ease of use (an Adobe trademark).”
You can read the rest of the review here...
Adobe TV at NAB 2008 – Production Premium CS3 for Final Cut Pro Editors
Monday, May 05, 2008
Caught
a great presentation from Steve Martin at NAB. It's
all about using Production Premium with other NLEs
like Final Cut Pro. Steve is a popular trainer (in
fact one of Apple's main instructors). This one is
helpful...
If you want more free classes... visit the Adobe TV site.
If you want more free classes... visit the Adobe TV site.
Adobe Demos Future Technology at NAB
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Following up on my
"Really Cool Adobe Announcements" post...
Adobe has actually posted their "secret" presentation from NAB. Hart Shafer talks about four cool things Adobe has up their sleeve.
You SO need to watch this... trust me. BTW (for those of you waiting... they did show OnLocation for Mac in this demo).
Adobe has actually posted their "secret" presentation from NAB. Hart Shafer talks about four cool things Adobe has up their sleeve.
You SO need to watch this... trust me. BTW (for those of you waiting... they did show OnLocation for Mac in this demo).
Get the Adobe Media Player Now!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
This is an
excerpt from an article to be released in full
later this week:
Adobe released
the Adobe Media Player
software on April
9, which allows a customizable, cross-platform
media player experience. Built using as an Adobe
Air application, the media player harnessed the
power of Flash to create a rich media
experience. To complete the experience, Adobe
adds support for both RSS feeds and H.264 video,
two of the open standards used by the podcasting
movement.
What does this all mean? I had a chance to sit down with Deeje Cooley, who serves as the evangelist for Adobe’s Dynamic Media Organization (and formerly as the product manager for the Adobe Media Player). Cooley was tasked with bringing the product to market and he shared insight into Adobe’s motivation for the product and goals for its role in the market. Unlike competing products, the Adobe Media Player has chosen to focus on being a video-only player.
“The growth of
video online, the dramatic growth of flash as the
video delivery mechanism of choice… there was a
ripe opportunity to take advantage of all these
events around the industry,” said Cooley. “We
started to build an RSS aggregator and quickly
recognized that video was going to be a significant
media online and so it became a video RSS
aggregator. And so that’s really the birth of the
Adobe Media Player.”
The Adobe Media Player is immediately available as a free download for Windows and Macintosh platforms from http://www.adobe.com/go/mp.
What does this all mean? I had a chance to sit down with Deeje Cooley, who serves as the evangelist for Adobe’s Dynamic Media Organization (and formerly as the product manager for the Adobe Media Player). Cooley was tasked with bringing the product to market and he shared insight into Adobe’s motivation for the product and goals for its role in the market. Unlike competing products, the Adobe Media Player has chosen to focus on being a video-only player.
The Adobe Media Player is immediately available as a free download for Windows and Macintosh platforms from http://www.adobe.com/go/mp.
Scott Kelby Releases 2nd Annual Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide
Monday, November 12, 2007
“It’s here: the long awaited, unabated, triangulated, amalgamated, 2nd annual edition of Scott’s Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide!
This year’s expanded in-depth guide includes nothing but the coolest, personally hand-picked gear for the photography and Photoshop freak on your holiday list.”
An Amazing Website for the Land of Oz
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sci-Fi Network has a very cool series that "re-imagines" the Land of Oz. The show is called Tin Man, and while the show looks fantastic, it is an amazing promo site that deserves mention. They have created a really unique sub-site called The Infinite Oz which offers a virtual reality experience. What I like is how immersive and creative the website is. It also features the work of several up and coming 3D artists. Go take a look... really!
Holiday Shopping Guides for Gadget Loving Geeks
Sunday, November 19, 2006
First, you have Scott Kelby's “Gonzo Holiday Gadget Guide.” This free PDF features a ton of cool digital photography and photoshop related goodies. All the products have been tested by Scott himself, which is cool as he certainly knows his stuff. You can download it from http://www.planetphotoshop.com.
The other guide is from Terry White (who is a true road warrior who works for Adobe). The 2006 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide is an interactive PDF links to some of the coolest gizmos out there. Terry covers everything from digital video to frequent traveler to music lover. His choice are really very good.
A Truly Amazing Comic (On Copyright)
Thursday, November 16, 2006
New Freebies for Video Pros
Saturday, October 28, 2006
• Background Textures from Digital Anarchy
• NTSC Test Image (For use with Photoshop's Video Actions)
• Power Window/Vignette to enhance Film Look
• Over The Shoulder Data Sets Template
I hope you enjoy. If you spot any problems, please let me know.
New Film/Video Group in NYC
Thursday, October 26, 2006
While at NAB New York, I had the chance to catch up with some industry pros. I just found at that the New York Final Cut Pro User Group has evolved into a broader focus. The group is now called The Motion Pictures Collective.
"The Moving Pictures Collective fosters our professional filmmaking community to enhance their abilities and broaden their overall knowledge and skills to reach their career goals. With post-production as our core competency, we will share techniques, tools, and best practices in all competencies including editing, directing, writing, producing, and shooting. We will also promote member collaboration by sharing our work in a supportive environment and create opportunities for our members to flourish.”
If you live near New York City, be sure to check out one of their great events.
New Rotoscoping Solution Previewed - Motor from Imagineer Systems
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
At NAB New York, I had a chance to take a look at a new rotoscoping product that is truly unique and fast! Imageneer Systems showed off motor, which looks to speed up the tedious process of rotoscoping by 3 times. The tools is designed for both video and film work. It is a standalone product, but it can export matted clips or mask data to other programs. The product works using 2.5D planar tracking technology where the user defines basic objects or planes (like body parts). The system then supports variable edge width and the ability to refine edges with far fewer keyframes. The product is currently in beta testing (but release looks to be soon).
The Real Reason for Windows Vista Delay
Sunday, October 22, 2006
So I went to hear (and see the latest). But it seems that the Microsoft rep couldn't get the system to boot up using Windows Vista. The audience was good natured, but still after multiple reboots and attempts, it just wouldn't work). So, the unaltered photos you see here are what the audience got (at least the demo guy had a sense of humor).
So, has Vegas started taking odds on Apple vs. Windows as to who will get their operating system out the door first? What are your plans about Windows Vista?
5GB of Free Online Storage for PC Users (and Very Patient Mac Users)
Sunday, October 01, 2006
“With your 5GB of secure online storage there's plenty of room to keep backup copies of digital photos, all your important documents, e-mail attachments, and other files — and still have space leftover for your music collection. It's the best way to keep computer crashes from becoming disasters. Think of it as hard drive insurance.”
In that vein, it gets even better. When I logged in, they upped it to 50 GB for free. They offer free software for Windows users that lets you mount the Xdrive as a volume on your desktop. But Mac users can still access the service through a slightly more clunky web interface.
Classic TV Test Pattern Now as Desktop Wallpaper
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A few folks commented about my desktop pattern at a recent conference. It seems the old 'Indian head' pattern evokes some memories in many audience members.
Well the version I had comes from a Russian designer named Art. Lebedev. You'll find it and several other pieces of artwork on his posters page. For the test pattern, scroll down to the bottom and you'll find it in the right column. All are free to download.
New Update for DVD Extraction Tool
Thursday, August 31, 2006
My favorite app is Cinematize, a cross-platform tool designed to extract non-copy-protected material from a DVD. This can also come in handy if the deck just ate your dub master and you have to get a copy out. Although you'll be dealing with a compressed file, it's better than no file at all.
Miraizon has now released a free update that makes the application Universal, which means it will run natively on both PowerPC and Intel chips. The application is also available to Windows users. Be sure to give it a try.
New P2 Utility Makes Field Production Easier
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Leave it to Anders Holck to come up with a great solution. We already profiled the useful utility called FCP Rescue on this blog. Now he's released P2 Genie which automates several of the media management aspects when working with the cards.
• You run it on a Mac Laptop with a CardBus slot (This means PowerBooks only)
• P2 genie can be used as an automatic P2 store, or you set manual options
• It can also be used offload a P2 store or HVX-200.
• You can also choose to datestamp all your ofloaded P2 cards for easier sorting
We'll be putting it to test on a week-long shoot next week. P2 Genie costs $33 (US) or €25.
New EVDO ExpressCard Arrives (and is Perfect!)
Friday, August 11, 2006
Hats off to EVDO Info for shipping as promised and getting it to me overnight. Note, their website references a high demand... so if you need one... pre-order.
“The demand is huge for the ExpressCard. We sold out of our first shipment (which is being sent out to customers on 8/11/2006). Our next shipment is currently scheduled for 8/23/2006.”
Boy... do I love wireless internet.... *GRIN*
T.W.O.M. - August 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
MACDINKED – verb: When a designer (or client) continues to tweak a project beyond an appropriate level because they are technologically capable of doing so.
This word was brought to my attention by my Dad (and yes... I felt slightly aghast that he was more plugged in). Feel free to comment or add your own. Email submissions welcome and there will be a prize for the best word each month.
Good DVD to Learn From
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Cool Free Fonts
Saturday, July 08, 2006
The Master of Trivia Comments on DVD Trivia
Saturday, July 08, 2006
In his blog, he recently weighed in on both DVD Extras and access to catalog titles. Ken’s blog is funny and insightful and surprisingly addictive (much like his Jeopardy run).
It’s all About Covering Your Assets
Friday, July 07, 2006
Spot the Fake
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
NuLooq First Look
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
To find out more.