I'm busy trying to organize my schedule over the next few months and one of the things I have coming up in HD Expo in NY's Javitts center. If you're a student of the calendar, you'll notice that we announce CS4 on September 23rd. You'll also notice that the Expo and the day of the workshop is September 25th. What do you think I'll be showing? Yup, you're right. So sign up here
UPDATED 8-27-08 - I forgot to post the AE project file in case you want it. Here it is... Displacement Tutorial
I cover displacement maps in After Effects as a simple way of mapping your images or video on moving sources with depth.
Subscribe to Adobe Beginner Classes in the Adobe Media Player if you haven't already.
Cheers, Dennis ;-)
Continue reading "All the best of Photoshop and Premiere for home users" »
As more and more episodes get posted, I will write less and less about each one... I'd rather you just watch it and figure it out for yourselves! ;-)
Anyway, this one dives into Premiere Pro PIPs in a deeper way giving you the tools on how to create a sophisticated PIP look like "24" or the recent movie, Vantage Point. As always, leave a comment here if you get the chance.
As more and more episodes get posted, I will write less and less about each one... I'd rather you just watch it and figure it out for yourselves! ;-)
Anyway, this one dives into Premiere Pro PIPs in a deeper way giving you the tools on how to create a sophisticated PIP look like "24" or the recent movie, Vantage Point. As always, leave a comment here if you get the chance.
During this episode, I give a quick tutorial on Premiere Pro and how you can use it to create a picture-in-picture effect. This is often used in news and documentary workflows. Go get with the Adobe Media Player and make sure you subscribe to my feed - type in Adobe Beginner Classes in the search field and subscribe - yes, do it now! ;-)
Okay, enough self-agrandizing. Take a look at the latest and hopefully you'll learn something fun from it.
MOTU
Just a quick post here to mention that there are two new customer stories based around video and film making.
For Unified Pictures, they employed nearly all of the Adobe tools in a variety of projects based around both Macs and PCs. Get all of the details by clicking here and getting the PDF: Unified Pictures
For ReelTV, they utilize After Effects, Soundbooth, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc. Get all the details by going here: ReelTV
Adjustment Layers as a term sounds very perplexing and perhaps just downright weird. It sounds like I should be talking about Chiropractors instead of After Effects. Nevertheless, adjustment layers are one of the most powerful tools for an AE artist and if you're willing to read through the attached tutorial, I give a couple of minor examples on how to harness the power of this under utilized feature.
Along the way, I will also show you a simple example on using Track Mattes - a wonderful tool displaying your video in unique shapes - in this case text. Yes, video text is within your grasp and it's easy with track mattes!
Finally, I happen to show you how to use Motion Sketch as a means to input real-time position data into layers within your composition.
So, download the project file and come along for a triple whammy tutorial!
Many Adobe employees are somewhat, for lack of a better description, "sick in the head" because they are so into creating content and what they do, that they play with their stuff on the weekends.
Guilty as charged...
Continue reading "Adobe Beginner Classes - Bootleg edition" »
Toolfarm.com is hosting a free Boris FX After Effects plugin. It's a kind of 'shine' effect but it's got some nice features to it and hey, it's my favorite price - FREE so if you're interested give it a look. Of course you have to fill your name and email address but I figure it's worth it for a fully functional free plugin. While you're at it, you can download several trials on the same page. However, it's a limited time deal, so you better hurry if your interested.
Get it all here
Continue reading ""Holy Hot Looks Batman, they're Magic Bullets!"" »
So, here I am in Indianapolis teaching teachers about Production Premium and I had a couple of hours to set up my assets in a Mac-centric lab. Of course they had Final Cut Studio on the systems as well and because my 200gb hard drive is desperately full already, I have not been able to install a copy on my laptop yet. Where's that 2.5" terabyte drive when you need one? ;-)
Continue reading "After Effects Tutorial: Information Slate 2008" »
I have to admit that we haven't been regular about getting these episodes posted on a two week basis. I'm still working out the kinks but the good news is that you get a new episode this time after only a week!
This episode covers an extended bit on how to create better audio with Soundbooth and Audition as well as utilizing Photoshop's Actions panel to make certain video tasks easier. You can watch it here, at Adobe TV or via the Adobe Media Player
Tell me what you like and don't like - it helps me and others to shape our tutorials to what you want to know!
You guys love free, you scream for free... Sing it with me, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for" Wait a second, that doesn't work here.
ANYWAY, I've noticed that entries like free After Effects plugins seem to get some traffic long after the post is valid. The good news is that there is always a ton of stuff that you can dig around and get for free if you're looking for it.
You know the routine by now, right? You should watch it via the Adobe Media Player, but you can also get it by clicking here
If you're really not into clicking, downloading or saving up the tutorial goodness until later, then it's embedded (kind of) right here.
As always, let me know what you think and what you might like to see in the future.
Continue reading "After Effects Tutorial: Basic Toolbox Series" »
Continue reading "Have you given the Soundbooth beta a try?" »
Continue reading "A big Kuler update - color picking made easy" »
AVC HD has been a topic that has dominated a previous post where the comments are really the topic as opposed to the topic itself. This post has driven a large portion of my overall traffic, which has been humbling as I'd like to see more of it go to my tutorials and content (hint, hint, sniffle.)... Of course, I dig getting people on the site at all, so what they hey - hit me wherever! ;-)
Gosh, haven't left the first paragraph and I'm already digressing...Lets see, ah yes AVC HD.
Continue reading "Update: Premiere Pro & AVC HD revisited - a list of solutions" »
The After Effects New York meeting will be auditioning a new space since we've grown too large for Pratt. BTW - many thanks to Pratt for their great space and open friendship.
We'll be a PS41 which is at 116 West 11th street (corner of 6th ave) and the space can hold up to 400 people. Let's give the place a great first meeting!
As for the meeting itself, Jim has done a great job of lining up some terrific presentations.
Mark Coleran is a visual FX artist who has worked on a number of major films including the Bourne films and Alien vs. Predator.
John Montgomery is one of the founders of FXguide.com which is a great site and he's also done work for McDonalds, Disney and others.
In addition, we've got an official new logo. I think it's pretty spiffy. Give it a look and tell me what you think.
Continue reading "AE Tutorial: Using Text as a shape layer" »
Continue reading "Checking in with Adobe's Customer Stories" »
The event is happening tomorrow and there will be a lot of fun things going on. If this the first you're hearing about this digital video event, then click here. We've got partners like Panasonic, Matrox, Maxon, Grid Iron, Blackmagic and AJA among several others. There will be vendors like MOTU that will be giving a first look at some new hardware. B&H will be there with special one day prices on Adobe Production Premium, so now is a great time to buy. Zoomin Online will be giving away free training to those who fill out a registration card - who doesn't want to learn about Photoshop and other Adobe products??? AENY will be there working for other companies, but again a great chance to meet the leaders and learn about the next meeting. Almost every manufacturer will be talking about what's new for them and finally there will be a technology preview from Adobe Systems. This will be a unique chance to get a sneak peak at some of the things Adobe is working on. If that isn't exciting, I don't know what is! Wait a second, I do know what is more exciting - prizes! Lots of things to give away at both sessions, so take 4 hours out of your day and choose either the early afternoon or evening slots. Check out my other post if you'd like to get more information on this event.
That's right, you heard it hear (or elsewhere on the blogosphere).
Regardless of how you heard about it, you'll want to check it out and get it from the Adobe Labs site. There's a bunch in there and a lot to explore, so give it a whirl and tell us what you think.
Adobe is extending an open invitation to join us and many other exciting vendors as we recap what went on at NAB. It's happening on May 29th, near B&H at the New Yorker hotel. Read on to get all of the event details and to register.
Finally! I apologize, but while I've had a number of shows done for over a month, the part of posting them is still somewhat of a manual process. I am sure that it will improve but in the meantime, I'm glad to say that the second installment is up there.
Continue reading "Adobe Beginner Classes Episode #2 is now live" »
Continue reading "Adobe Live event on May 29th in New York City" »
Continue reading "AE tutorial - another simple 3D Text example" »
Continue reading "ABC Episode #2 online soon and 5/29 event in NYC" »
Continue reading "NAB Day 1: Adobe Premiere now supports XDCAM EX" »
If you're an Avid user and are looking to add the Adobe tools to your toolbox, or are looking to switch, then Adobe's done it's best to make it easy for you. Visit the following link below and check out the details!
Come and get it!
Newspapers have been facing declining circulations for several years now and they've been faced with a fight for their lives as new media threatens to take all of their ad dollars away.
Fortunately, I'm seeing more and more newspapers embracing new media and delivering video content on their websites as a way to stay 'up-to-the-minute' on news and content in general.
Continue reading "eSeminar - Newspapers are interested in video!" »
Continue reading "Adobe TV = ABC = Adobe Beginner Classes!" »
Just a quick entry here this morning to start you off on your creative day (you have your Starbucks or favorite cofee in hand don't you?)
Lightroom 2.0 beta is up on Adobe Labs. If you're a photographer, then you'll want to check out what the latest is from the Photoshop Lightroom team. If you've never heard of Lightroom, two things: Where have you been? and... Lightroom is "Photoshop for Photographers" and an awesome program whatever your skill level in Photoshop may be. Give it a test drive.
Also, check out this nifty and quick little tutorial on creating clean silouettes from photos inside of Illustrator with Live Trace. It comes to you from Layers Magazine and will take you only a few minutes to digest. You can get it here
And, as a baseball fan, I can't resist posting an article here from Macworld which gives talks about MLB's new MLB.tv service based on Microsoft's Silverlight technology. As an avid fan of baseball, I look at the MLB.tv service every year because I travel a lot and want to catch the games if I can. However, based on this, I think I'll either wait or pick up a Slingbox when I have a few extra $$. It's interesting to note that MLB's Gameday and many other surrounding services and features are all based on Flash.
If you're in the local New York area, I will be doing an evening seminar at TekServe on April 7th beginning at 6PM. The event will be focusing on Adobe's P2 implementation as well as how to take that to Adobe's Encore for burning a Blu-ray disc. Of course, since I am at TekServe, I'll be demoing on a Mac, but we always get a bunch of PC people there as well, because hey - Adobe is cross platform!
Click on the image to take you to the register page - I hope to see you there!
The title is provocative, interesting or imflamatory depending on your perspective. What fun!
One of the things that users everywhere like is interoperability. Of course, I believe Adobe is the best at interoperability between our own apps (INTEGRATION, INTEGRATION, INTEGRATION!) but obviously, I'd be living in a cave if I didn't recognize that there are a lot of products out there including Apple's Final Cut.
Last night's AENY meeting set another new record. We believe we had over 200 people at one. The feedback is tremendous, if you take out the fact that everyone is so cramped! If you're a part of AENY, thanks for making our one year anniversary so kickin'! Don't let the crowding stop you from coming to the next meeting. Vist AENY to get all the details on our next meeting. While you're there, please sign up for the mailing list - we won't spam you. However, it will give us an overview of the total size of our group as it stands right now.
Also, we're still working on finding a new, larger space. If you find something or know someone, please get in touch with Aharon or Jim (group leaders)
Adobe put our AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) out there for the world this Monday. It combines HTML, PDF, and Flash in one environment. It allows a whole community of Flash developers to not only design cool web pages but now, cool applications.
On Adobe's home page, you now download the AIR runtime. Coincidently, it's next to the buttons for downloading Flash Player and the Acrobat reader. To me this is an indication of how impactful AIR could be.
If you're about to click away from this post - WAIT! Click the link below and you'll begin to understand what AIR can do for you as a consumer. My example is that I use ebay personally. To say that the ebay interface is less than perfect would be an understatement. Well, ebay created their own AIR app that you can download and oh - what a difference!
There are other apps that are in our spotlight section as well that might be worth a look depending on what you're interested in.
If you're looking for a little additional reading on the story behind AIR, check out the NY Times article published on Monday: Adobe Blurs Line Between PC and Web
I can't say that I'm a Flash programmer, but the potential of this environment makes me want to pick up a book and start learning!
Dean sent out a message to me telling me about some new animations that he makes available to everyone. Here's what he said:
"Hello Video, Film and Web folks,
I was messing around with some ideas for St Patrick's Day and came up with twelve different animations. There are Gold Coins, Rainbows, Clovers and even a Pot of Gold ready for download!
All 12 are free up until March 17th...and as usual they are royalty free and fully customizable."
Who doesn't like free? ;-)
Our one year anniversary AENY (After Effects New York) event is happening next Thursday (February 28th) at 6PM at Pratt. There will be a ton of prizes including a copy of Production Premium CS3 (your choice of platform) to celebrate our past year. The group is growing and we're still looking for a new home that will easily accomodate 200 people per meeting. If you know of such a place, please let me know here.
To get all of the details, visit the AENY.org site
Here's another basic tutorial that tries to bring some new concepts and ideas together in a real world project. I got this idea from two sources: First from an internal Adobe call that was demonstrating some new features on an upcoming product and secondly from a Creative Cow AE podcast that did a nice job on creating a fictitious movie title called, "The Smoke."
Everyone wants to know how to do photo retouching or 'beautifying' of portraits. I did one this past fall and you can get it here.
However, I'd be the first to say that I'm not the ultimate at anything - my goal is more to make people aware of what's possible and to make you dangerous with the tools.
Below is a link from the good people at NAPP and Layers Magazine and in viewing some Saturday browsing, I came across a really nice example on photo retouching along with some ideas I have never tried before. Needless to say, I will! Here's the tutorial via Flash: Tutorial
As a rule, ever since I joined Adobe I've always kept an eye out on all kinds of design, content, video, etc. I'm always looking at it to not only admire (or sometimes deride) the design, but to figure out how it was done. Today's tutorial is one such example that beginners and intermediate Photoshop users will enjoy.
Michael Coleman, who is Product Manager for After Effects has posted some important information about the new release which includes P2/MXF support.
Also, Dave Helmly got the scoop on me and listed the other fixes in the release as well.
This important release DOES NOT coincide with the release of Quicktime 7.4. Unfortunately, this QT release has some problems with AE and rather than hold up our release any further, we went ahead. We're hopeful that the Quicktime team will address some issues found in a subsequent update, but in the meantime, I would steer clear of the latest release of QT.
Continue reading "AE Tutorial: Watching football make me think" »
We've got a great line up of speakers and technology for our January meeting. It will be one to remember and I hope that you'll join us if you're around NY on January 24th at the Pratt Institute on 14th street. You can get all of the details at the AENY website
Gary and the gang over at Videoguys.com do a yearly review of the top 10 most influential products over the past year. I'm happy to say Production Premium CS3 took the top spot over some very worthy competitors. Check it out at Videoguys top 10 for 2007
I can't pretend to be an expert at film or even photography, though I am an avid learner. Today, I stumbled upon a great tutorial on depth of field, which is a topic that both video/film and photography people can gain some insight to. While this tutorial is 20 minutes long, it is pretty comprehensive, so I think worth the time.
Depth of Field may sound a bit geeky, but I guarantee that it's a topic that can help improve your craft be it still or in motion.
I will be joining Matrox next Thursday (1/17) for two events showing off their hardware in conjunction with Production Premium CS3. If you're on the bubble for either Adobe or Matrox products, this is a great opportunity to get in front of the manufacturers and ask us some questions as well as see what the buzz is all about!
There will also be stops in Illinois, Texas, Utah, Washington, Kansas and Ontario! You can register for one of these events here: Matrox Hardware Advantage Tour
The following Thursday (1/24) will the first meeting of AENY in 2008. After Effects New York is getting ready for a big 2008 and you can help us kick off the new year right. Its a great environment for beginners and professionals alike and we always have some fun. Check out the website to learn about when and where: AENY.org website