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

Hey there, my friends. Today marked the final day of the CS4 Nordic Launch Tour, and we truly went out with a bang! Another packed house in Copenhagen (followed by a capacity crowd yesterday, in Gothenburg) left us all feeling great, feeling like we've truly accomplished something, and feeling like we need some serious sleep!

This has been a whirlwind 2 weeks. But having seen over 5,000 people come out and spend their morning with us, one thing is clear: our users are the greatest people in the world; true visionaries, true artists, true knowledge-seekers, and true to the message of the entire suite: visiting us in an effort to find their shortcut to brilliant. :)

Now, since we often favour planes and trains as our travel method, occasionally we *do* hit the road 'old-school' and actually take a car. With our drive from Malmö to Göteborg, however, car isn't exactly what I would call this vehicle...

The 10-person van was so big, I couldn't even fit it into the frame!

With Fredrik behind the wheel of this road-albatross, he braved the Swedish highways for us, and carted myself, Greg, Rufus and our event coordinator Anna all the way to Göteborg. In fact, he was *so* good at driving this massive transit van, I have wonder if prior to working for Adobe, Fredrik ever held a position as a roadie....for Iron Maiden or Deep Purple, perhaps? ;) In any event, it was a good time had by all, we arrived at the hotel, did a simple dinner, and all promptly crashed (ie, slept) in anticipation of the following day's activities~which greeted us with another packed house, and another groovy crowd, ensuring that we left Sweden on a real high note....Tack!!

Capacity crowd in Göteborg

But this is merely the start for me, Greg & Rufus. With another packed week of seminars in the Netherlands and Belgium, the excitement is far from over...and the drive to spread the word of CS4 continues...

So, until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hej hej, my friends! Today we're in Malmö, and as we speak, Rufus in on stage wowing the crowd with Design Premium CS4. We're at this really cool theatre, and once again have a packed house!

Just to keep the numbers flying in: over 500 in Aarhus; 700 in Copenhagen yesterday, and another 500 today in Malmö. What can I say about this tour? The Nordic regions LOVE CS4 --- and we LOVE presenting it to all of YOU!

Today, in Malmö

700 strong in Copenhagen...and we've got another seminar there on Friday!

Despite the low-lighting (and a nearly black original image), you can still see the packed crowd in Aarhus. Thank goodness for Camera Raw!

Now, after our seminar in Copenhagen, the three of us conducted a private evening seminar for professors, staff and students of the IT University in Copenhagen. We covered an additional 3 hours on advanced workflows (switching up the content from earlier in the day) with Greg covering a great deal on Ajax and Spry, Rufus covering more in-depth Illustrator and Photoshop, and I delved into deeper integration and export capabilities of the Production suite. Upon finishing, I shot a little video of the interior of the University campus building. True Danish design, tons of glass and reflective surfaces, and truly, crazy stuff (in Rufus' words).

Well, we've got about 30 minutes until the first break, then Greg will kick off the second half, and I'll close the final hour of the seminar. Upon finishing, we're all hopping in a van (acccompanied by our fab Event Coordinator, Anna Bouveng, and driven by my dear friend and fellow Adobe colleague, Fredrik Johannesson) and we'll head up to Göteborg. Then, back to Copenhagen one more time for (what will hopefully be) another sold-out show! Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 1:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings from the Nordics, my friends! To date, we've wrapped the first three of eight CS4 Launch Tours, and it's been nothing short of fab. Over 500 attendees in both Oslo and Helsinki, with over 1100 attendees at our event in Stockholm yesterday; CS4 love is in the air...and we're spreading it around like wild fire!

I've included just a couple pics from the theatres, taken just before the seminars started (so people were still filing in the seats). Beautiful locations with great marketing and branding materials adorning the entry ways, making these events truly special, and very Adobe. ;) A great big thanks to our extended Nordic teams in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. You've all done an AMAZING job so far; we can't wait for the NEXT 5 cities, kicking off next Monday in Århus.

The crowd files in. Oslo, Norway, 21 October.

Rufus Talks InDesign @ Sthlm Seminar

1100 and counting in Stockholm (taken with the iPhone, stitched in PSCS4)

So my friends, many more cities to visit, and thousands more to inspire. Stay tuned for more updates, and please, feel free to come up and Hello! We've had some great Q&A in all the cities, and we look forward to meeting you all.

Until next time...(promoting my fave coffee maker, Nespresso, found in the Radisson SAS hotels)

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hello, my friends! Just a quick update to let you know that I'll be back on the road next week (along with fellow compadres, Greg Rewis and Rufus Deuchler) to present the entire Adobe Master Collection CS4 over the next three weeks! Oh yes...no rest for the weary; but who would want to rest anyway? There's so much great stuff to talk about, so we're back on the road, coming to you!

The Nordic Tour starts in Oslo (21 Oct), followed by Helsinki (22 Oct) and then Stockholm (23 Oct). From there, we're off to Århus (27 Oct), København (28 Oct), Malmö (29 Oct), Göteborg (30 Oct), and then *back* to København on the 31st (as we sold out the first venue and had to add a second date...Yeah, baby!). In the Benelux, we'll be in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Brussels and Antwerp, all beginning on 3 November. For detailed info about venues and times, check out the following links:

CS4 Launch Tour - Norway
CS4 Launch Tour - Finland
CS4 Launch Tour - Sweden
CS4 Launch Tour - Denmark
CS4 Launch Tour - Netherlands & Belgium

We hope to see you there, and please do come by and say hello! It's been an amazing kick-off so far, and the next three weeks look to be the most exciting yet.

Until next time,

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hello, my friends. Well, this has indeed been quite the week! From our 30+ hour journey to Cape Town, followed by a rocking seminar there, then onto Johannesburg, and yet again, another great turnout for CS4, it's simply been a whirlwind of big events, big responses, and good times among friends. Sadly, I didn't get any pics @ the venues...But here's a couple snaps of the 'team members', and our pals, Mo and Leonard...

Mo ponders existence...

Leonard talks business...

Greg & Jase take in beautiful Cape Town; Table Mountain in the distance

In a rather unusual (and extremely uncommon) bit of good luck, Greg and I actually had the fortune of getting a few days off, post-seminar in Joburg. Again, quite the rarity for us, and as I'd never been to Z.A. before, I really wanted to experience some culture, learn about the history (particularly about the many African tribes that continue to thrive here, along with their diverse languages) and take in a bit of tribal dance, buffet feast, wild game, and of course...Nature Park Safari.

Well, as a perfect end to a perfect tour, we set out to Lesedi (just outside of Joburg) to experience a bit of traditional South African culture (and learn some of the differences between Zulu, Bashoto, Xhosa and Pedi tribes and their respective languages). It was truly incredible, to say the least. I took a bunch of pics and vids, and will post the latter when I return home. The upload speeds have been a bit erratic...but I'll get the content up there. All I can say is, Ke Bona Lesedi!

To begin, some impressive tribal dancing @ Lesedi

I studied African drumming, but never heard it quite like this...The Drum Crew

Following our African Tribal Village tour, we spent the morning and early afternoon on Saturday visiting the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve. Approximately 1200 hectares in size (around 2900 acres or so) we got to see the most amazing sights...and that's even before we got to the lions! White Rhino (though brown, due to being covered in dirt! lol), zebra, antelope in many variations, cheetah, ostrich, buffalo, wild dogs, tigers, warthogs, tons of birds & vultures, and even white lions; this place was simply mind boggling. And, having just spent some time at the San Diego Zoo not long ago, it really makes you feel for the animals there, only wishing they could return to a place like this. Outta sight, man. Outta sight.

A cheetah walks past us...a truly unreal sight to behold

A dirty zebra struts her stuff...

The True King of the Jungle...and now I know why...MASSIVE

The white rhino...alas, covered in dirt

Again, a great big thanks to our South African Adobe team: Mo, Leonard, Alistair, Rianette, Jo Anne, and the rest of the gang. Many, many thanks for your hospitality and incredible efforts to make this a launch to remember. We'll can't wait to return. ;) BTW: if you want to see more pics of the safari, click on any of the images, which will take you to my photobucket gallery. lots more to see!

Until next time, my friends.
Cheers, South Africa!

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 1:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hello friends. Writing you from Cape Town, Z.A., a mere 19 hours before we kickoff our CS4 Launch tour. Myself, Greg, and fellow Adobe colleague Mo Jogie will be conducting back-to-back seminars in both Cape Town and Johannesburg (7 Oct/9 Oct respectively).

At the moment, it's 26c outside (where Greg and I are both on our laptops, via WiFi), the sun is shining, and Cape Town has proven to truly be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. As such, I thought I'd drop in a few scenic photos, literally taken from just outside our door. Crazy beautiful.

A stitched panorama of Granger Bay (sourced from 6 images)

The classic, majestic Table Mountain

A local friend that Greg and I stumbled upon, taking a snooze on the pier

So my friends, we're in the process of gearing up for tomorrow's big event, so I'll keep this one short. Hope to see you there; it'll be packed with sweet, CS4 goodness. ;)

Until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 5:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello, my friends! Well, Photokina 2008 was indeed an incredible adventure. From the day of launch all the way until the end, it was everything we'd hoped it would be: a packed booth, all day; over-crowding in the aisles; tons of great feedback and simultaneous applause during presentations...and a little theft to top it all off.

YES. So, with the good sometimes comes the bad, and on Day 5 of the show, my laptop (along with my laptop bag; you know, that big, massive albatross that I *wheel* around) was stolen...right from the Adobe Booth, in the back staff room!! Unbelievable? Yes. Did it happen? Yes. Did I remain cool, zen, and collected? Amazingly, yes. Read on for details...

Feeling like tartar? This is what I felt like, when I realized (the laptop) was gone-minus the parmesan...lol

The scene on Day 5: Packed with people...STILL!

Another view from the front: people everywhere!

Ok...so here's the REALLY incredible (and perhaps, karma-rich) part of the story: my laptop bag was FOUND!! YES.

Now, the laptop itself (naturally) was NOT in the bag; but my harddrives (yes...4 of them, 2 G-Raids in fact) along with all of my USB keys, papers, Rosetta Stone German Language lesson DVDs and other assorted stuff was all there! So, despite it being an utter downer not having my machine...it *could* be replaced. And, in fact, it was (as of yesterday).

And...being the OCD, backup-crazed freak that I am, I had everything backed up (very recently) so I lost virtually zero data. The main concern, of course, was photos and music...and all of that has been wonderfully restored. Time Machine fricken' ROCKS. Damn...sometimes I really *do* love Apple. ;)

In any event, there were other details that need not be re-hashed...but in short, it didn't in any way diminish nor sour the wonderful event that was Photokina. Many, many thanks to all of our friends (new and old) who came to visit us at the Adobe booth. And, a very special thanks to our German colleagues (too many to name; but you know who you are!) for once again, putting together a fab event. It's a team effort indeed, and a rocking one at that. (oh...and a thanks to our friend @ Kodak as well, for finding the laptop bag!)

So...here's just some additional photos, taken on that Saturday (Day 5). You'll notice a series of images taken that evening, at dinner, with the 3 Evangelists...Ahh...Früh Kölsch. Where would we be without you?? Much love...

The Köln Dom...So majestic, so picturesque; stitched in PSCS4 from 3 images, nearing sundown

Another shot of the Photokina crowd, Day 5

@ Früh, Rufus tells Jase, "That's the way it goes sometimes, buddy."

Greg does his best Tim Cole impersonation

Despite the stolen laptop, we press on...and drink and eat Brauhauswurst

So my friends, until next time...

Blog on.

Posted by Jason Levine at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)