Jason Levine – Healing People Daily with the Power of Digital Video & Audio

Hey everyone! Just a quick update to let you know that a new episode of my Adobe TV series, "Short & Suite" has been posted!

This time around, you'll see me and Karl Soule talk about the making (and re-making) of Johnny Encore's classic number, Chroma Key You. I'll take you through the process of re-recording a 60s classic, and adding the touches to bring a circa 2008 recording back to the sweet sound of the Summer of Love. BTW - do those background vocals sound familiar to you? ;)

Of course, this is part 1 of 2, so stay tuned for the next episode, coming soon.

Don't forget, you can also access all AdobeTV programs from within Adobe Media Player. If you haven't downloaded AMP yet, do so HERE.

And in case you just don't feel like surfing away from the blog, here's the episode:

Well, that's all for now, my friends. I'll be gearing up for the seminars in Holland and Belgium next week, but I'll be sure to keep you up-to-date as to what's happening 'on the road'.

Until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey there, my friends! It's been a few weeks since NAB, which means that we're further along into 'glorious springtime'; and all I can say is....Aaachooooo!! (gesundheit!)

Allergies. Blech!!! I have been sneezing my head off for weeks...and I'm literally going out of my mind. I mean, it's bad enough that the weather is so wacky everywhere, but on top of all that, the air quality is, well, not great either. As a result, I've got a runny nose, puffy eyes, and a constantly rotating supply of Visine, tissues, and Alavert added to my usual regimen of travel goodies (oh...and Twizzlers as well).

In any event, despite the allergy-hell that I'm in, there's a WHOLE BUNCH of cool stuff happening around CS3, upcoming events, and some *other* stuff that I just can't talk about (heheehehee). I'm so giddy about all the upcoming events, however, that I was actually full-on smiles yesterday. Want proof? Here's some pics...

Puffy-eyed and smiling...

The *usual* look, which my friend Daniel refers to as 'the Levine'

So, here's what I can tell you so far...Three events coming up in the Netherlands--Correction (puffy eyes to blame, and thanks Jeroen for catching my mistake!)...1 Event in the Netherlands over two days; 1 event in Belgium:

AV Manifestation, Hilversum. 21-22 May.

Multimania! Kortrijk, Belgium. 23 May.

Masters Tour (w/Greg & Rufus) Zurich. 29 May.
Masters Tour (w/Greg & Rufus) Stuttgart. 2 June.
Masters Tour (w/Greg & Rufus) Berlin. 3 June.
Masters Tour (w/Greg & Rufus) Graz. 4 June.

Alrighty, well, that's all the time I have for, as I'm about to hop a plane. I'll keep you posted, and keep sending all the great comments. ;)

Until next time, mes amis...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Hello, my friends! Well, to say that I've been 'recovering' from NAB wouldn't really be accurate. In truth, things have gotten so busy with SO MANY other things (can't really discuss...he he he...secrecy) that I've barely had a moment to breathe...or blog. ;( So, in an effort to make up for lost time, I'm posting LOTS of great vids here...and a little late-night pic as well.

Red Shirt, Big Red Adobe DVD Case (I think I've had it since 2003!)

Yes, we've now posted a whole series of videos from different presentations conducted at NAB. The best way to check them out is to simply go to the Adobe TV Site (or, access AdobeTV through the Adobe Media Player). Either way, you'll see a whole bunch of videos from myself, Greg Rewis, Karl Miller and more.

So, here are a few 'selections' from the show...

Production Premium for After Effects Users (stay tuned to the end...and for those who were asking about "that Puppet Tool" video...check it HERE!!

Flash for Production Premium Users with Mr. Rewis

Here's an overview of Audition 3's new features (sadly, they didn't record the restoration demonstrations that I did on days 3 & 4

And there you have it. There's lots more to see from NAB, so be sure to check out the Adobe Presentations @ NAB on AdobeTV...NOW!

And before I end this blog post, I just wanted to let you know that Greg, Rufus & I are getting back on the road shortly, reprising our CS3 Master Collection tour. We'll be starting in Zurich (around the 29th, May), then onto Stuttgart, Berlin and ending in Graz, Austria (home of several of my dear friends, and the birthplace of Video2Brain)

We've also got a series of events in the Netherlands *prior* to hitting the road for the Master Collection Tour; and then...
...a month in Asia!! We'll be showcasing Master Collection Workflow in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and India (just to name a few!). Details will soon follow (along with dates and reg info) so stay tuned!!

So, until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hello, my friends! You know, it's becoming increasingly challenging to come up with a new, catchy 'Title' for these blog posts...but I think this one really paints an accurate picture! LOL

In short, our four days at NAB proved nothing short of spectacular. Interest in CS3 continued to fill the seats in our theatre presentations, and with new products like Adobe Media Player and AdobeTV being centre stage (not to mention, the 'couch' experience), attendees were genuinely blown away (re: gaping mouths, in awe) by the technology, the workflow, and the overall story of the Adobe Message...Powering the Future of Entertainment.

Another 'mouth open' moment was the preview of the Reel by Paul & Christina Graff and Robert Stromberg. As mentioned earlier, these three produced a demo (compiled from footage of some of their recent triumphs, including HBO's John Adams) and literally left people in complete disbelief...for when you see that nearly EVERY SHOT in the aforementioned and subsequent films was in fact 'composited together' in After Effects CS3, well, it's just a sight to behold. Unfortunately, I'm not able to post a clip (or I would)...so all I can say is...see it for yourself. If you can check out John Adams, the Golden Compass, 3:10 to Yuma (or just IMDB search their names for more) you'll see what I mean. But seriously...John Adams? It's fricken incredible. I've now seen the reel (and the show) multiple times..and the fact remains, as John Lennon once said, "Nothing is real." The Power of Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended and After Effects CS3.

So, a real short update, but just wanted to end on a positive note. Thanks to all of our customers and freelancers for presenting on stage (alongside me, Greg Rewis, Kevin Towes, Karl Miller, Bob Donlon and others) and we look forward to seeing you again, sometime, somewhere, on the road.

Until next time...

Blog on.

PS - Many people were asking when I'd be doing an Audition 3 training series. For the moment, there's nothing scheduled...but if you want to learn about workflow (and see some really cool techniques for producing, mastering, and finishing audio) check out my Adobe TV series starring yours truly, Johnny Encore & Karl Soule entitled "Short & Suite". And if that's not enough, you can still purchase my Audition 2.0 training video from Total Training.

Posted by Jason Levine at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think the title really says it all. Hello, my dear friends. Today marked day one at the show, and it was packed city! Even my 9am presentation on Production Premium (note: the doors only open at 9am!) was full by 9:15am. Preso after preso, crowds were wowed by CS3, both showcased by evangelists and customers. I must also say that we have some of the greatest customer presos (and footage being shown) at the booth this year, EVER...much of it showcased in glorious, full-on HD 1080.

What was also extremely cool about today was that I was able to connect with some of the 'readers' of my blog from all parts of the world, and share some additional stories, shoot the breeze, and get to meet some of the 'faces behind the comments'. Thanks to all of you for coming up and introducing yourselves.

Post show, clad in Adobe-gear, and spreading the message...

And that brings me to the button that you see above. This year, we've got this new tag-line for NAB...Adobe's Got My Back. We've got four days to spread these buttons like wildfire! So if you don't have one, come up to the booth and get some! We'll have 'em on hand (cause after all, we've got your back!)

I should also point out that i had a lot of questions (and really great comments) related to my new show on Adobe TV with my colleague Karl Soule, featuring Johnny Encore & the Acrobats. Many have stated that they've been waiting for me to do another training series on Audition (3). Well, timing is definitely an issue...but in the interim, check out our show Short & Suite. There are some great tips on mixing, mastering and noise reduction in these first two episodes (not to mention, all of the incredible techniques Karl used for assembling the video, literally shot in one short session) and, well, the music (and the stories around it) are just hilarious. It's all about Johnny Encore...and he'll rock your world. ;) (oh...and you can scrub through the content; so even if you don't watch the whole show in one sitting, you can always scrub back to the point where you left off.

And on that note, I'm off to prep some materials for my class @ the Post Production Conference tomorrow (run by FMC). It's a class on getting Great Results with Soundbooth CS3, and will feature some workflows between Premiere Pro & Soundbooth. All of the FMC sessions are in the NORTH HALL (complete opposite end of where our booth is) and these are register-only (ie, not free)...but, there may still be open spots and I look forward to chatting up Soundbooth and talking about restoration, effects, and music creation with Soundbooth Scores.

So, until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)