Twisted, dark and awesome. Three words that describe the work of the creative team and visual artists that make up McFarland & Pecci. Still relatively new Creative Cloud members, these fellas have wasted no time utilizing the broad range of tools and programs to create one-of-a-kind work. A documentary film for well-known “metal core” band, Killswitch Engage? They’ve done it. High concept cover art for the Boston Phoenix? Sure. See what we mean about twisted, dark and awesome?

We engaged in a lightning round Q&A session with them to get more details on why Creative Cloud works for them. The diverse amount of products offered, the seamless syncing, constant updates, and bug fixes are just a few reasons why this duo takes creativity to a whole new level.

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Adobe: Describe a project you are currently working on or have completed with Creative Cloud.

McFarland & Pecci: We signed up for Creative Cloud a few months ago and jumped right into a few projects with Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop. McFarland & Pecci is a creative team of directors and visual artists. We create everything from high concept photo shoots to feature films and documentaries. The past few months have kept us busy in post-production on the new Killswitch Engage documentary called “New Awakening”, the new music video for CZARFACE featuring Inspectah Deck from Wu-Tang, one of the final high concept covers for the Boston Phoenix, and an upcoming ”double secret” comic book film.

What was your inspiration behind the project?

We love to tell stories, and we tend to be drawn to darker subject matter and artists that are obsessed with their craft.  The film on Killswitch Engage was a fun project that allowed us to focus on the guys as a family unit and we kept our gear tight and our crew small. The CZARFACE video is deeply rooted in our love for Grindhouse flicks and Shaw Brothers films, and the ‘End of the World’ photo shoot was completely influenced by the epic magic of Michael Bay!

How has the Creative Cloud changed your creative workflow?

We switched to Premiere Pro to simplify our workflow. Plain and simple. We shot CZARFACE with the RED EPIC in 5K with Hawk anamorphic lenses.  The piece required a lot of compositing in After Effects and color grading. The fact that I could bring the raw files right into my timeline and directly export to After Effects made our lives so much easier. A competitor’s program has really dropped the ball when it comes to professional editing these days so we were looking for a smart move. Just the time saved by not having to transcode footage from the RED and/or DSLRs was enough of a reason to make the jump to Premiere Pro.

What tools specific to Creative Cloud enable you to work more efficiently?

As mentioned earlier, all the new benefits of Premier Pro were our big draw in the video side of things, but the new version of Photoshop and its retouching tools and amazing smart layers really helped us composite these giant “End of the World” files. We have always been Adobe fans in one way or another, but having it all in one spot really helps us.  The cloud helps us keep both systems identical in our edit bays, and the constant updates have fixed a lot of software bugs already.

Describe your style of work in three words

Really F$#Kin Awesome!

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t create without _________.

Our twisted minds and the tools that can keep up with them.

What advice would you give to an individual who is considering Creative Cloud?

If you are a video editor, make the jump to Premier Pro.  Just do it. Creative Cloud is the smart choice; you sign up and download everything you need. It even runs on two systems. Makes having a post house a lot easier.

Dig their work? Check out Mcfarland & Pecci on Facebook, visit our website to see more films – www.mcfarlandandpecci.com – or follow directors @MikePecci and @Ian_McFarland on Twitter for behind the scenes content and tutorials.

Creative Cloud does not just provide creative individuals with tools to take their talents to the next level, but also offers the opportunity to explore other creative areas of interest. Take Geordie Milne (@geordiemilne) for example. The use of Creative Cloud has evolved his creative workflow by enabling him to work with multiple programs on a single project. Not to mention, new updates (some exclusive to Creative Cloud users) gives Geordie the ability to try programs he may have never used before.

Read about his current project, check out some of his impressive work, and learn which tool in Photoshop blows his mind below.

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Adobe: Describe a project you are currently working on or have completed with Creative Cloud.

Geordie: I am currently using Creative Cloud for a project for themeditator.com and marinacowdray.com. I am taking photos of the jewelry and sculptures and creating graphics using Illustrator and Photoshop; as well as some time-lapses using Premiere Pro.

What was your inspiration behind the project?

Geordie: My current client’s work has a meditation feel & knowing its positive effect; I find pleasure in modifying it and creating patterns from it.

How has the Creative Cloud changed your creative workflow?

Geordie: It’s amazing to have access to all of Adobe’s programs! I probably would have never dipped into learning as many of them as I am now, and I’m excited to download some more.  I also end up using more than 1 program per piece such a making a time-lapse & then bringing it into Photoshop to apply some of the great new video capabilities, such as ‘Blur’ or ‘Liquify’. Creative Cloud gives me the ability to save and access files from any computer, and be able to share files with my clients and friends. As a visual person, I have found that Adobe Bridge helps me find files and stay organized.

What tools specific to Creative Cloud enable you to work more efficiently?

Geordie: I also work with drones (multicopters), so one essential tool for sure is Premiere Pro’s, ‘Warp Stabilizer.’  Illustrator’s ‘Pattern Options’, makes for quick, exact designs. Photoshop’s ‘Smart Objects’ offers a new, nondestructive workflow and is a great way to add filters.

Describe your style of work in three words

Geordie: Fun, Technicolor and Geometric

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t create without _________.

Geordie: I can’t think of one thing other than just answering, ‘Abode’ but one thing I absolutely LOVE is the ‘Oil Paint Effect’ in Photoshop… it blows my mind.

What advice would you give to an individual who is considering Creative Cloud?

Geordie: Do it, try it, you won’t regret it! I often urge people to sign up for ‘Creative Cloud’. Its monthly costs offer people who want to emerge into the creative industry, a financially strategic, practical step.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Geordie: I love signing into the Creative Cloud and seeing an update here and there. Adobe is pushing the creative technology like no other. I feel that I have also joined access to a like-minded community, have made some great connections and look forward to seeing everyone’s creations! 

Like Geordie, has Creative Cloud inspired you to try products you’ve been intrigued by, but have never tested out? If so, tell us about it on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments below.  Care to see more of Geordie’s work? Check out his blog here.

There was no better place for the Adobe video team to be in late January than Park City, Utah – home to the Sundance Film Festival.  Sundance is the largest and, arguably, the most important annual event for independent film in the United States.  Over the last few years numerous films, including Precious, Winter’s Bone, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, which premiered at Sundance, have gone on to receive nominations for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.  In addition to film, technology is a large topic of conversation at Sundance – filmmakers, aspiring hopefuls and enthusiasts alike share their opinions and preferences regarding the tools they’re using to produce their creative work.

Sundance 2013 was, once again, a huge success for the Adobe video team.   There was strong Adobe presence all over the festival and numerous films in the festival were cut exclusively with Adobe video tools (through Creative Cloud!).  Creative and technology panels boasted the strengths of Adobe video products and partnerships and festival attendees and filmmakers were proud to make known their plans to switch to Adobe Premiere Pro, if they haven’t done so already.

To learn more about everything Adobe at the Sundance Film Festival check out the videos created on the ground in Park City during the festival – they’ve already garnered over 8,500 views on Adobe TV!

Adobe & Sundance 2013 – Part 1: Sundance filmmakers share why they’ve decided to make the switch to Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Creative Cloud: http://adobe.ly/YvQlTH

Adobe & Sundance 2013 – Part 2: Adobe hosted a panel of industry luminaries – here they share how Adobe video tools are helping them and their colleagues succeed in a rapidly changing media industry: http://adobe.ly/111QyiN

Adobe & Sundance 2013 – Part 3: Adobe loves connecting with the community and is proud of our growing partner ecosystem: adobe.ly/XGhA7b

Filmaker Kyle Patrick Alvarez talks about his film C.O.G. The first and only film adaption of a David Sedaris story, for which he switched to Premiere Pro through Creative Cloud membership: http://adobe.ly/VdSaQu

Filmaker Jim Mickle discusses why he switched to Premiere Pro for his film We Are What We Are and why he thinks Adobe Creative Cloud is the best option for independent filmmakers: http://adobe.ly/11gHo19

Director Ross Ching has mastered the art of the time-lapse video and has recently done it in very innovative way. He has created an eerie video series, titled “Empty America,” by removing the hustle and bustle that normally is the heartbeat of major U.S. cities, using Creative Suite 6 applications, Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro. Check out our exchange with Ross on his inspiration and some of his quick video tips.

Adobe: Can you give a quick description highlighting your creative process/creative workflow for Empty America?

Ross Ching: People really find connections with things they recognize in situations that they don’t recognize. It’s almost as if the viewer is in on an inside joke. It’s something that I always try to incorporate into my work, and that’s why time-lapse, super slow motion and stop motion are so prevalent on the Internet. So when deciding which cities to feature in this series, I wanted people who have never even been to the locations to be able to pick out landmarks that they’ve seen before. 

What was your inspiration behind the project?

I live in Los Angeles. I drive in Los Angeles. I think about traffic a lot in Los Angeles. A couple years ago, I discovered Matt Logue’s Empty LA photographs. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but every time I was stuck in rush hour all-hour traffic, I found myself thinking, “What if tomorrow everyone’s car disappeared?” What would that scene look like? How would people react? How quickly would the atmosphere rebound from centuries of fossil fuel emissions?

So I took Matt Logue’s still photography concept and applied it to something that I do best — time lapse. That Los Angeles video was very successful, and so I pitched an expansion of it to Thrash Lab, a destination for digital filmmakers created by Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Network. They really liked it and believed in my work, and it’s now the biggest set of videos on the channel.

Do you have any useful tips or techniques to share with the community?

When creating something for the Internet, people’s attention span is VERY short. Think about how you look at other videos on YouTube and think about the how long it takes you to either skip through the video or click the back button. Our main goal as a video creator is to get the viewer to watch from beginning to end without skipping or hitting the back button. If they’re able to do that, they’re MANY times more likely to share the video with a friend — and that’s how seeds of viral videos are made. So let’s look at the elements to do that:

Must be short — 3 or 4 minutes or less. I’ve got many other tabs open and my pot of water on the stove is about to boil.

The 10 second hook — Probably the most important aspect. We need to WOW the viewer right off the bat. That means either showing them something they’ve never seen, or some kind of filmmaking technique that’s really unique. Whatever it is, if your friend doesn’t say WOW when you tell them the first 10 seconds of the concept, it’s back to the drawing board.

Sustainability — Once you have them hooked, you need to create a device that pulls them to the end. Some examples: a story, beautiful cinematography, creative art, exciting visuals that are rarely seen. Anything that will get them interested in seeing what happens at the end.

Check out more from the Empty America series on Thrash Lab’s Facebook Page.

Last week was quite the week for conferences. While Photoshop World was coming to a close, we had another team in Amsterdam for the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC). If you missed it, our Digital Video & Audio team has you covered with daily video highlight reels straight from the convention floor.

Friday, Sept. 7

It was opening day for the convention and our team had some new products to share, including Adobe Anywhere and Project Primetime.

Sunday, Sept. 9

On Sunday, the theme was all about workflow efficiencies, where we highlighted some of our industry partners’ workflow integrations showcased across the show floor.

Monday, Sept. 10

From video streams to revenue streams, Monday was about driving more revenue by getting your video to more viewers, on more devices, with Adobe Project Primetime.

Tuesday, Sept. 11

Tuesday was the last day at IBC, and it was all about collaboration without boundaries. We spent the day taking a closer look at the growing momentum behind Production Premium CS6 & Adobe Anywhere for video, which helps teams work together in real time, across virtually any network with shared media.

IBC 2012 was an action-packed event full of exciting releases and announcements. For more from IBC, check out our IBC Online hub.

For Final Cut Pro or Avid users, now is a great time to switch to the Adobe Creative Cloud and take advantage of our Switch. Save. Edit. promotion.  You’ll get 40% off all Adobe pro video tools, including Premiere Pro, plus so much more with your Creative Cloud Membership. The offer ends November 30, 2012. Don’t miss it!

The 48 Hour Film Project is a weekend where filmmakers are challenged to create a short film with limited direction and a simple genre, all to develop a movie in just two days. One of our own employees here at Adobe, Kush Amerasinghe, accepted the challenge for the San Francisco, CA event and opted to use Creative Suite 6 and Adobe Touch Apps within the Creative Cloud in his team’s efforts to create a winning submission. Here’s Part I of our Q&A session with Kush and his film titled, The Bandit:

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With the arrival of Creative Cloud and CS6 just around the corner, we wanted to give our Fans and Followers a first-hand look at some of the new features they can expect! We’ve put together a schedule of 10 Ask a Pro sessions with details below.

Whether you’re into graphic design, web design and development, video production and/or photography, there’s a little something for everyone! Just remember to register for the sessions of interest. read more…

Our team is at NAB 2012 this week, where they’re revealing Creative Suite 6 Production Premium –which will be included in the Adobe Creative Cloud membership. There will be first looks and hands-on demos of the suite taking place at the show.

For those of you not therecheck out the reveal and get a look at new features on our CS6 Production Premium Revealed page, and read below for a look at the highlights and more. read more…

Our digital video team hosted a great Ask a DV Pro session last week featuring Laforet Visual’s producer/editor Jon Carr. During the one-hour discussion, Carr shared how he and the team leveraged the Production Premium Suite – specifically Adobe Story, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop – to create and deliver Vincent Laforet’s latest film, Möbius.

Watch the full session recording here. And check out the Premiere Pro Work Area Blog for session highlights and resources.

Hey, Creative Layer readers! Do you have a demo reel that needs a face lift? If so, we invite you to take the Adobe Reel Challenge. It’s easy – just start by downloading CS5.5 Production Premium or Premiere Pro’s  free 30-day trial version if you don’t have it already. Then, update your demo reel and upload it to the Adobe Reel Challenge Vimeo page, and voila!

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