Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Filed in:
Apple
We absolutely adore
Apple’s Keynote software. Besides
importing PowerPoint files and creating
beautifully animated 3D charts, it likes to
share. In fact, it can create any QuickTime
format. Just set up your document for a
video size and export a QuickTime movie with
the Export command.
Like this
tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the
Spot from Focal
Press.
Friday, November 23, 2007 Filed in:
Adobe
| Apple
I recently picked up a new
tablet for home use... it's actually for my
three-year old who seems a bit too
fascinated with the tablets in my office.
Becuase budget was an issue, I picked up the
new Wacom
Bamboo. What I thought was merely
a replacement for the old Graphire tablets is
so much more. It's easy to set up, very
responsive, and fun to use.
The Bamboo comes in a standard version, simply
called Bamboo, which is targeted towards Windows
users who need signature abilities for their
documents as well as a few other perks. The "Fun"
version costs $20 more (unless you go for the
larger one, then its $120 more).
The tablet has four programmable buttons as well
as a touch wheel. It also comes with a full
version of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements and Corel®
Painter™ Essentials. What surprises me is
that the tablet costs the same as buying
Photoshop Elements as a stand-alone application.
The tablet is a nice addition to a home
workstation and would be a great entry point for
a new tablet user.
Friday, November 16, 2007
I just gave
a useful class (at least people there
thought it was) on Automating Photoshop. We
touched on Actions, Scripts, Droplets, and
Automation commands. I have a few notes
pulled together on the topic and wanted to
share them here.
•
Photoshop Automation
Techniques
If you want a lot more on using Photoshop for
Video, be sure to check out the book
Photoshop for Video
from Focal
Press.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
I just got
done fighting with Adobe Photoshop in front
of a live audience of people (which is
pretty frustrating). Photoshop crashed every
time I tried to open a file, save a file,
etc. Pretty frustrating... but I solved it.
The culprit was
Version Cue
from Adobe.
Every time File Navigation Services were
invoked to Open, Browse, or Save... Photoshop
crashed.
Here's
the fix.
1. Choose Photoshop > Preferences.
2. Click the File Handling tab.
3. Uncheck the Enable Version Cue box.
4. Quit and re-launch Photoshop.
5. Enjoy.
Thursday, November 15, 2007 Filed in:
Adobe
I drew a
blank earlier today when showing off the
useful Web Photo Gallery option in
Photoshop. I knew there was a way to do more
advanced galleries... I just forgot how. A
quick web search and I found it...
the
Adobe Media Gallery
plug-in for
Adobe Bridge CS3.
“Adobe® Media Gallery (AMG) for Adobe
Bridge adds quick, powerful Web gallery
creation to
Adobe Photoshop® CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3
Extended and the Adobe Creative Suite®. AMG
makes it possible to create HTML or
Flash-based galleries from any of the file
formats supported by Bridge; adjust the
galleries using the built-in preview; and
export the results or upload them via FTP.
Download and Installation
AMG is available on both Mac and Windows. The
download package includes both the plug-in as
well as AMG templates, all of the Adobe®
Photoshop® Lightroom™ default templates, as
well as the Lightroom HTML Gallery.
Adobe Media Gallery for
Macintosh
1. Close all
applications, including Photoshop.
2. Click on the link above to download & open
the DMG file
3. Open the AdobeMediaGalleryAll folder
4. Double click on SetUp and follow the on-screen
instructions to install
Adobe Media Gallery for Windows
1. Close all
applications, including Photoshop.
2. Click on the link above to download & open
the zip file
3. Open the AdobeMediaGalleryAll folder
4. Double click on SetUp and follow the on-screen
instructions to install
You can make your own templates for Adobe Media
Gallery -- the source code for the template files
is available on opensource.adobe.com.”
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 Filed in:
Adobe
Thanks to
Rod Harlan for pointing out this cool
podcast episode. Terry White has a great new
podcast on using P2 media with Adobe
products. Adobe is about to roll-out great
support for Panasonic's cameras with the
next software release. Get a sneak peak by
watching this podcast.
Check out Terry White’s special 200th
episode of his
Adobe Creative Suite
podcast. He has as
his guest Kevan O’Brien who walks
through the entire process he used for
creating a video podcast with Adobe Senior VP
Johnny L.
Click here to see the
“Making of” video with the full P2
workflow.
Click here to see the original
video starring Johnny L in the DVA lab at
Adobe San Jose.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Filed in:
Apple
Apple offers an excellent
service for online storage, tools, and
utilities. One of those utilities is Backup,
which is designed to synchronize some of
your key system settings. Any file can be
added to Backup and be told to archive to
your iDisk (the Internet storage that comes
with a .mac account). Be sure to add your
active project file to the backup list and
tell it to archive every night. This is an
excellent way to preserve a clean copy of
the project file.
Like this
tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the
Spot from Focal
Press.
Monday, November 12, 2007 Filed in:
Personal
| Windows
Thanks to
Scott Kelby for releasing his very cool
guide to gift shopping (for geeks and
photographers at least).
“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.”
Saturday, November 10, 2007
I just got
done with a full-blown review on
Strata 3D plug-ins
for Photoshop
CS3 Extended for Layers
Magazine. I can't
spill all the beans (my full review will
appear in next month's issue). But I couldn't
wait to point out a great new tool. Be sure to
check out
Strata Design 3D
In. This very
cool plug-in lets you bring in 3D models to
your Photoshop projects. Sure. you're thinking
doesn't PSCS3 Extended do that already?
Nope... not this well. This plug-in ties into
Vanishing Point and lets you match the models
and lights to the perspective of your photo.
Plus you get even greater control over
rendering out lights and reflections. This
tool is hot, and I highly recommend you try
the demo out.
Friday, November 09, 2007 Filed in:
Video
| Education
I recently
had the pleasure of speaking at the 2007
European Radio Conference presented by the
National Association of Broadcasters. The
event was held in Barcelona, Spain and was a
lot of fun. I presented two sessions and a
panel along with the talented
David
Lawrence. For those
who intended (and other interested parties)
you can download the notes here.
Podcast Compression
Techniques
Beyond Audio – Using
Enhanced Audio and Video in your Podcast Feed
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Adobe's
Russell Brown has produced a great new
collection of FREE workflow scripts for
Photoshop CS3 & CS3 Extended. Be sure to
check out
Dr. Brown's Services
1.9.2 which offer
some great features for video.
"Background
Remover," "Interpret Video," "Fit Video to
Audio," and "Slide Show" scripts take advantage
of Photoshop CS3 Extended's new video
capabilities.
If you want to save time, download
Dr. Brown's Services
1.9.2
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Peachpit
Press is running a new contest
featuring the
$1,000 question. It's a simple question "What
equipment and software would you recommend to
a budding digital photographer if they had a
$1000 budget to get started?" Peachpit
gathered six experts (somehow I was one,
you'll find me doing my best Las Vegas lounge
singer impression).
You vote for the best
answer (pick me) and a chance to win the
prizes.
The contest:
Go to peachpit.com/1000dollarquestion
and vote for
your favorite digital photography
package—compiled by our author experts.
You’ll be automatically entered for a
chance to win the package that you vote for.
We’ll choose one winner out of all
entries.
Contest ends December 31, 2007.
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