Have an old font that's not working right? Maybe
it's PC-only and you're on a Mac. Here's a free
service to convert fonts –
FreeFontConverter.comallows you
to quickly convert between many font formats
without the hassle of installing any software
on your computer. Our service works on any
operating system including Windows, Mac and
Linux. Our font converting service works for
all of the common font formats including
TrueType (.ttf), OpenType (.oft) and
PostScript (.ps). We can also convert many of
the less well known font formats including
Suitcase (.suit) and Data Fork (.dfont) fonts.
Thanks toRod Harlanfor pointing
this one out.
There are hundreds
of websites that offer embeddable players based
on Flash technology. For many, this is a key way
to embed content on their website and share with
others. In this case, you are using the hosting
services of the video-sharing site as well as
their embeddable players.
While many take a role the dice approach, we
believe in pre-processing clips before we upload.
By taking matters into your own hands, you can
get better looking clips in the final player. You
can also get around some of the file size limits
that can impede the duration of the video.
Let's take a look at two of the most popular
services, YouTube and Facebook. The techniques
discussed however can be applied to many other
sites as well.Read
More...
Here's a great article on
cool application for the iPhone and iPad.
Twenty-two apps that help video pros and
filmmakers.
"The iPad and iPhone have
taken the world by storm. Only very recently have
filmmakers started to see their potential in a
production environment. The iPad has only been
out a few months and we are already seeing it
used in some very creative ways.
For this feature we have rounded up some of the
best and most useful Filmmaking Apps that our
Deal Leader Steve Jobs has approved for the App
Store. As more filmmakers explore the
possibilities with these powerful mobile devices,
we are sure this list will continue to grow"
Get
the whole article here –http://filmmakeriq.com/2010/07/22-filmmaking-apps-for-the-ipad-iphone/
Have
talent/interviewee bring an alternate set of
clothing.
Herringbone,
stripes, or small patterns do not look good on
camera.
Keep jewelry
simple.
Do not allow
interviewees to wear bright white. Cream,
eggshell, or light gray are
preferred.
Utilize a
make-up artist. People give a better interview
when they look good. Decision-makers favor
approval copies when their people look
professional.
Maintain eye
contact throughout the interview.
“Edit
in the Camera.” Encourage short answers
and come back to topics again. Better to focus
on good, tight answers, than trying to cobble
together six takes to make your
point.
Avoid
enumeration or the phrase “Like I said
before.” It is highly likely that you may
use step three, without steps one and two. You
also wouldn’t be asking the question
again, if you were happy with what the answer
was “before.”
Don’t
be afraid to stop and start over. Do not let an
answer ramble on. Smiles and nods encourage
subjects that they are
‘on-target.’
While working
onmy latest Photoshop
book, I did some
research on Actions. I was looking for some
new examples of actions that push the
boundaries of what Photoshop can do. I came
across several beautiful actions created
byPanos FX.
From postcards and
filmstrips to paper and sketch effects. These
actions are great, they produce powerful results
and are flexible enough to create several looks.
The website has more than 30free actionsand the
powerful ones for sale are very affordable. Be
sure to check out their many products to build
up your Photoshop toolbox. If you did pick up
the new book, be sure to look on the DVD for
some additional free actions.
We've been using
storage systems from Drobo in our shop for quite
some time now. We've got the entire office wired
so we can share HD video projects to any
workstation. We've also been backing up files
from our HD shoots with Drobo Pros. We've been
quite happy with the arrangement and Drobo asked
us to explain our workflow.
You can check it out here –http://drobo.com/resources/vm_video-storage.php
"Learning how to spot problems in your images and
then choosing the right correction technique is
an essential part of mastering Photoshop. Richard
Harrington describes the most important tools and
shows you how to use them to make the best color
correction and enhancement choices.
The primary purpose of Photoshop is to act as a
digital darkroom where images can be corrected,
enhanced, and refined. How do you know an image
needs touch-up? You can pretty much assume every
image can look a little (or even a lot) better
than how the camera captured it. Whether
it’s adjusting the exposure, increasing
contrast, or boosting saturation, Photoshop is
the place to improve an image."
Looking for a good comparison of audio and video
codecs. We've found a great comparison of digital
video, audio, and graphic formats. They've also
got some great shortcut guides posted for Avid
and Final Cut Studio applications.http://worldwide-studios.com/Worldwide_Studios/Resources.html
This is a great
short video about the history of Comic Sans and
is told by the font's designer. It's really quite
funny and he has a great sense of humor about it
all.
One of my new
favorite resource sites isdpBestflow.orgproduced by the
American Society of Media Photographers and
funded by the Library of Congress. This site
contains a ton of great information about
workflow, digital imaging, and photography.
It's also totally free.
The purpose of
dpBestflow™ is twofold:
To create
guidelines for refined production workflows,
archiving methods, and best practices for
digital photography based on a variety of
capture methods and intended image use. The
guidelines will be developed on the basis of
research, analysis of software products and
other tools targeted at professional
photographers.
To
publish the dpBestflow™ as a website open
to the public. The adoption of the
dpBestflow™ guidelines will be promoted
to the professional photography community and
the public through programming at industry
trade shows and a nationwide series of training
events at ASMP chapters, trade shows, and
educational institutions.
I will be leading a DC-area event for the
Worldwide Photo Walk. The event is a fun few
hours of shooting pictures and meeting other
photographers. There's a few spots left for the
July 24th event (it's free).
Meeting
Location & Time
Vienna Community Center (10:00am - 12:30pm)
120 Cherry St SE, Vienna, VA- USA
After the walk, meet at: Church Street
Pizza- 115 Church Street NE, Vienna
DATE: Friday, June 25TIME:
4:30 – 7:30 pmLOCATION:
Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom 311 West
34th Street New York, NY 10001PRICE:
FREE – Bring a Friend!* You must sign up in
advance here –www.photoshopuser.com/cs5nyc
There's a geek in your pocket, and his name is
Richard Harrington. Keep up with the latest in
technology with the noted author and podcaster.
This app lets you view free videos, read blog
posts, and interact through Facebook and Twitter.
Rich shares his person passions for all things
related to digital video and photography. The
goal, to help you have fun and get more done in
less time.
Over
the centuries, we've welded metal, beat it
into shape, bent it, melted it. But until
recently, we've never inflated. Now that too
is possible, thanks to years of painstaking
work by architect Oskar Zieta and materials
scientist Philipp Dohmen, both researchers
at Zurich's ETH (better known as Einstein's
alma mater).
The two call their work Free Internal Pressure
Reshaping--FIDU, for short. But the process might
seem familiar to anyone who's ever blown up an
inflatable raft. Zieta and Dohmen are exhibiting
their process--and its promises--at next week's
DMY Berlin International Design Festival, which
celebrates cutting-edge design. But if you can't
make it,here's a
taste.
I'm
a guest for the new episode of this week in
Photography. ControversyFrederick Van
Johnson Shoot and get shot! BP gets slippery
with photographers...and David duChemin
talks ebook publishing.
Are
Cameras the New Guns? –
Recent increases in Facebook and YouTube videos
that depict police abuse, has given rise to a new
trend in law enforcement. It is now illegal in at
least three states to record any on-duty police
officer. "Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland
are among the 12 states in which all parties must
consent for a recording to be legal unless, as
with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that
recording is underway."
Apple
Releases the next iPhone –
The latest version of the iPhone was announced at
WWDC with new features including a hi-res screen,
improved 5 mp camera, digital flash, ability to
shoot and edit HD video, and a front facing
camera for video chat.
BP's
Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill
–
According to photographers, BP and government
officials are preventing them from photographing
the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
AFP
Suing Photographer It Stole Images From
PDN
- David Walker - "It's hard to explain a
mind-blowing mess like this one, but AFP is suing
a Haitian photojournalist for "antagonistic
assertion of [his] rights" after it distributed
his news-breaking earthquake photos all over the
world without his permission."
INTERVIEW
WITH DAVID DUCHEMIN
Get
the file here –Download MP3
file
Get the free
Photoshop CS5 Knowledge Panel for a bunch of cool
free tutorials built right into Photoshop CS5.
Choose Window > Extensions > Knowledge to
open it.
Here's why you need it.
It's totally
free
It's
interactive with cool controls
A bunch of my
tutorials are in there on video and
animation.
"Sometime in
the last 48 hours, your copy of Photoshop CS5
quietly sprouted some new functionality. We hope
you like it, and we'd love to get your feedback.
Adobe is now delivering the Knowledge panel for
Photoshop. This tool delivers interactive
step-by-step guidance, walking you through some
70 tutorials written by expert authors. Unlike
other tutorials, these can drive Photoshop:
clicking links executes commands in PS (e.g.
clicking "File->New" brings up the New
Document dialog box)."
Learn more here –http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2010/05/the_knowledge_panel_arrives_in_photoshop.html
Thanks to Victor Gavenda at
Peachpit and John Nack at Adobe for doing this.
Check out the latest show on Peachpit TV:
Photoshop in 5 with RC Concepcion. NAPP
instructor & Adobe Certified Expert in
Photoshop Rafael "RC" Concepcion gives 5-minute
tutorials in Photoshop on topics including the
Type panel, Soft-proofing, Brush-based tools,
Channels, Adjustment and Mask layers.
If
you've been looking for a comprehensive
guide on greenscreen this is it. Jeff covers
everything from preproduction through
shooting and post. Jeff's a great teacher
who's passionate about his subject.
You can get a few samples of the bookhere for
free,
but be sure to check out the whole
thing.
See how to plan, set up, and execute your shots
to reduce fixes in post
Choose the right keying process for your
project
Master basic shooting setups and live broadcast
keying
Understand proper lighting and how to match
subjects to the background
Create a working storyboard and learn how to
select and direct talent
Composite your footage and fix problem
shots
Work creatively with virtual sets, motion
tracking, and match moving
Master techniques that apply to all compositing
software and plug-ins
With the move to CS5,
many Adobe apps require a 64-bit operating
system. What this means is more speed and a
greater ceiling for memory. It also means
you'll need to update your plugins.
Here's a definitive list on the state of
After Effects plugins right from Adobe.
After Effects CS5 requires 64-bit plug-ins as
well as a 64-bit operating system. As plug-in
developers release 64-bit versions of their
plug-ins, we will list them here. Most plug-in
developers are working on 64-bit versions of
their tools, and many have announced that their
plug-ins will be available at or near the time
that After Effects CS5 is available. Check
this pageoften for
updates.
Richard
Harrington, a trainer for Future Media Concepts,
explains a new adjustment in Photoshop CS4 called
Vibrancy. He discusses how to use this tool to
boost color without making it look flat.
I was a
recent guest on Digital Photo Experience
Episode 11. Be sure to check out the
show.
This
is Episode number 11 of the Digital Photo
Experience Podcast with Rick Sammon & Juan
Pons.
We hope you enjoy the episode, and if you do, we
would greatly appreciate it if you could give us
a positive rating on iTunes. Hey, it only takes a
minute!
To get the enhanced version of the podcast with
images and chapter markers, subscribe to the
podcast via iTunes here:DPExperience Podcast on
iTunes
I've released anew tutorialover at the
TipSquirrel.com website. Learn all bout how to
crop your photos. Before you think you know
all about cropping, consider these points.
Here's the Podcast
–DIGITAL CONVERGENCE EPISODE
6 Episode 6 features Richard
Harrington and Robbie Carman, who are two of
four of the co-authors of the new book from
Peachpit: From Still to Motion.
In this episode, Rich Harrington and Robbie
Carman talk about what to expect from their new
book. Taking a platform agnostic approach and
covering a wide range of budgets, they discuss a
broad range of topics including unexpected
lessons learned, do-it-yourself lighting, camera
support and motion, post-production and color
grading, sound, stop-motion and time-lapse and a
wealth of other topics. I hated to cut short this
conversation - it's our longest episode yet. But
it's well worth hearing.
If you're a media pro...
here are a few iPhone/iPod Touch apps to
check out. I've not played with all of these
yet, but they've all been recommended to me
(or I've used 'em).
If you're a media pro...
here are a few iPhone/iPod Touch apps to
check out. I've not played with all of these
yet, but they've all been recommended to me
(or I've used 'em).
I'll be teaching two
classes in the Washington, DC area for
DC_SIGGRAPH and DC ACM. The workshops are
part of their Spring 2010 Professional
Development Seminars. These are hands-on
workshops that include a textbook.
You can register early for a 10% discount (by
February 28, 2010). Reference Code (please use
when registering): 101
“DC ACM is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to providing opportunities for
meaningful connections between the area’s
academics, professionals, and policymakers in the
computer science and information technology
fields. The proceeds from the seminars support DC
ACM activities such as computer science lectures
for the general public and awards for junior and
senior high school students at regional science
fairs.”
I'll be teaching two workshops
on social media for Future Media Concepts. These
are targeted at business folks of all types who
want to learn social media in a practical way.
Description: When used correctly, social media
tools can help you reach potential customers and
keep your current clients engaged and interested.
In this informative session you'll learn
practical advice that can be implemented
immediately, such as:
Using Twitter
to share your latest news & keep in touch
with your best customers
How to set up
a corporate page on Facebook to share video,
photos, & info
Keeping your
business leads up to date with
LinkedIn
Creating
enjoyable blog posts and content for your
readers
The fine folks over at the
National Association of Photoshop
Professionals offer up two great things to
celebrate Photoshop's 20th anniversary.
First,
take their (tough) quiz on Photoshop history.
"The quiz is
just for fun, of course, but it’s harder
than you might think."
If you’ve got a couple of minutes,click
this linkto take the quiz
and see how you do.
Second,You
can virtually attend the Live Webcast of the big
party/presentation/Photoshop love-fest happening
this Thursday night (the 18th) in San Francisco
celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Photoshop.
(1) You sign up here (it’s free):http://www.photoshopuser.com/photoshop20th
(2) The Live Webcast starts at 7:30 pm Pacific
Time (10:30 EST).
(3) There are some VERY special guests making an
appearance that night.
Photoshop is about to turn
20 years old... yet it seems like yesterday
when I had to run it off a floppy disc. The
fine folks over at Webdesigner Depot
offer20 Years of Adobe
Photoshopwith some great tidbits and
history.
"The first version of the
Photoshop splash screen features just four
Photoshop programmers. In subsequent versions,
more and more names are added to the list. In
more recent versions, a limited number of Adobe
VIP’s appear in the splash
screen."
You should also check out this great interview
with John Knoll, one of the two inventors of the
application.
So... like many
I've been pretty frustrated with Flash video
lately. When you visit a site (like this blog)
with several Flash players, you can see a huge
performance hot. Turns out that Flash can' t hand
over that H.264 processing to the graphics card,
so it becomes a HUGE processor suck (and RAM..
and battery). You've probably heard about Steve
Jobs railing on it being a hog and not allowed on
the iPhone.
Well...here's a cool pluginthats free for
Mac users... it's called ClicktoFlash and its
a plugin that keeps Flash files from
auto-loading on Safari.
"Ever wanted to get rid of
the scourge of the web that is Adobe Flash, but
still retain the ability to view Flash whenever
you want? With ClickToFlash, you can! Using
ClickToFlash, all of those icky Flash bits that
have infected most webpages on the internets are
replaced with a nice, smooth gradient and the
word "Flash" set in a nice, pleasing font. When
you want to view the Flash, just click on it!
The advantages of ClickToFlash are numerous.
Since Flash isn't loaded until you specifically
ask for it, your CPU usage will stay at normal
levels when browsing the web. This has tons of
benefits: web browsing stays speedy, your Mac
laptop won't get as hot, and your Mac's fan won't
come on as often. In fact, we guarantee* that
ClickToFlash will quintuple your battery life and
that it will protect those precious parts of your
body on which you rest your laptop! (*note: not
actually guaranteed)"
You can even use the plugin to force YouTube
videos to use the QuickTIme player for H.264
playback. Just click the Gear icon and tweak the
preferences.
It's
almost time for NAB – The National
Association of Broadcasters Conference. If you
want a free NAB pass for show floor or to save
$100 on any conference — then here's a
great offer. Thanks toCreative
Cow,
visithttp://tinyurl.com/nab10cowandenter code
CC01 and save — good thru February 19.
Are you looking for an easy way to share
presentations online? Then check out SlideShare.net. With it
you can embed slideshows into your own blog
or website. You can also sync audio to your
slides and make shows public or private.
Here's how:
Uploading Your Presentation
– It can be a PowerPoint,
OpenOffice, Keynote, or PDF file. Your
presentation file should not be password
protected and be sure to remove any macros. Not
all fonts supported (but you can convert to
PDF). Be sure the file is less than 100MB.
Converting Your Presentation
– The second step is converting
the file to SlideShare’s sharing format.
Once uploaded, the file is placed in the
conversion queue (this might take a while). You
can leave the page and come back later... If
there was an error you will need to go to the
“My Slidespace/Edit All” to find
the files that were not successfully
converted.
Creating a
Slidecast– Slidecasting is a
multimedia format from SlideShare. Any slide
deck can be synced with an audio file.
Put it all Together
– Use the synchronization tools
to mix audio and slides.
You gotta
love free fonts... I found a great article
over atdesignm.agoffering 50
free fonts. These are cleared to use on
commercial projects.
"Designers
love to have a lot of quality fonts available to
them, and fortunately there are some very good
free fonts out there. In this post we’ll
feature some of the best free fonts that can be
used in your commercial designs."
Here are the fonts. If you’re
looking for more, check out these other sites:
One misperception we hear time and time again is
about resolution. For the record, video graphics
are not 72 dpi. First off, dpi stands for dots
per inch (as in printing). Photoshop measures
graphics using pixels per inch (ppi).
The resolution of this photo has been reassigned
from 300 ppi to 72 ppi. The Document Size (in
inches) has changed for printed output. The pixel
dimensions and file size remain unchanged at 1920
x 1080 pixels (for a 1080 HD video project).
When dealing with video graphics, resolution
doesn't matter. The same HD video file can play
back on a laptop, a television, or on a digital
projector, and the total number of pixels won't
change. To see this clearly, stand really close
to a big-screen HD TV; the picture looks soft.
Now find a smaller display with an HD signal; the
picture looks clearer. This is because HD is HD;
the bigger the screen the larger each pixel is
displayed, but again resolution doesn't change.
Figure 9.2 The enlarged area shows the individual
pixels that make up the butterfly image.
Setting Photoshop to Measure in
Pixels
Out of the box, Photoshop is set up for a print
workflow (biased isn't it?). This is easy to fix
with a simple preference change. You can set
rulers and other tools to measure using pixels by
default (which will make designing for the video
screen easy).
Launch Adobe Photoshop.
Press Command+K to call up your Photoshop
preferences.
A fascinating
documentary onRay Harryhausenwho is a
prolific stop motion animator. Some of his
work you may have seen includesThe 7th
Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the
Argonauts, andClash of the
Titans.
Our friends
atthe Peachpit User Group
Programare making a
special offer for all Mac User Groups who are
interested delivering both great information
on video production and a great price on a
Peachpit book to their members.
Do you ever need to size
video for web or multimedia? Instead of
wasting time processing those clips with
your video compression software
– use After Effects. You can get
cleaner scaling and much faster processing
times using AE.
To make things easier... I have made a template
project to save you several steps. You can
download it here.
These
templates are designed to convert an HD source to
a variety of output formats.
Select either
the 1080 or 720 source folder.
2 Locate the correct target format and open the
template.
3 Import a QuickTime movie of your HD source.
4 Highlight the layer called Replace Me.
5 Hold down the Option/Alt key and drag your
replacement footage onto the solid layer to
swap.
6 Change the comps duration to match your
footage layer’s length by choosing
Sequence > Settings.
7 Add to the Render Queue and render to
taste.
This short film was
shown to me yesterday byAlex LindsayandFrederick Johnsonwhen I was
visiting forThis Week in
Photography. It's a beautiful
documentary about a man who loses his dog to
cancer. The whole piece was produced with a
Canon 7D. What I like about it is that the
filmmaker truly shows an intimate moment (and
one I can relate to as a dog lover). The
smaller cameras these days (that can shoot in
lower light) are letting us tell stories we
never good before.
I
presentLast Minutes
with ODEN
Always nice
to find a free resources. Here are a
thousand+ free fonts – The folks at
Brands of the World have a ton of great
fonts up for download (all totally free).
AJA
Video Systems, a leading manufacturer of
professional video interface and conversion
solutions, announced today the release of AJA
DataCalc. AJA DataCalc is a free storage
requirement calculator designed for video
professionals and is available now as a free
download from the Apple iTunes
Store here.
Just in time for the holidays, here's an
eggnog-induced new font for your seasonal
enjoyment. The nog makes the whole font a bit
fuzzy, but if you bump it up to sizes of 100
points or more, people should be able to read it
okay. HO HO HO! Enjoy this new font and use it
often. And use it BIG, okay?
https://www.chank.com/shop/detail/4/fonts/63/nogged/
We've been playing with
the new Drobo Elite at our offices at
absolutely love it. It's a great 8 bay unit
(for desktop or rack-mount). It's fast
enough for HD video editing, it can expand
as you grow, and it works fantastically
well.
Join me for an educational seminar on Thursday,
December 10, 2009 where we review how it (and the
rest of the Drobo line) can benefit video
editors, motion graphics artists, and
videographers.
The event starts at 8:30 AM Pacific / 11:30 AM
Eastern. Its a 30 minute seminar and you can ask
any questions you want.
We've been putting it into play with our tapeless
workflow and have been very pleased.
“How would you like a chance to win a
1.5-TB Guardian MAXimus quad interface hard drive
and $200 dollars in Fotolia credits, both
courtesy of Fotolia? We thought so. Just show us
your killer design skills, and before you know
it, it could be you downloading a ton of awesome
images from Fotolia to your brand-new hard drive.
And as an added perk, we'll publish the winning
entry in the January/February 2010 issue of
Layers magazine. So how do you win these great
prizes? All you have to do is enter the Layers
Back Page Design Contest.”
The
extraordinary trainer, Terry White has
released an iPhone app called
"Learn
Adobe Creative with Terry White"which gives
you access to nearly 300 Video Tutorials.
Terry is a great podcaster and trainer with
a lot of passion for Adobe software.
You also get access to bonus content that won't
be posted anywhere else. The app also lets you
download the videos to your iTunes library so you
can watch when you are not online.
The "Learn the Creative Suite with Terry White"
app is available for both the iPhone and the iPod
touch. You canget it from the App Store for
$1.99.
I just found a great
shareware tool calledDaisy Diskthat graphically
shows the contents of your hard drive. It
gives you a great visual map of what's on your
drive and makes it easy to drill down and
clean up files. The best news? It's
currentlyfreeas part of
theMacHeist
promotion. Visit theirsiteand solve the puzle (look at
the top banner for a clue). Then tweet your
results and you get the software for free.
For example... I saved over 1.5
GB of space in just a few minutes.
I used it to
identify some HUGE template files for Apple
Motion on my internal drive.
I then opened
up the files with QuickTime Pro. They were
Photo-JPEG and Animation codec files (both
beefy).
I converted
the Photo JPEG to Apple ProRes 422 and the
Animtion to Apple ProRes 444.
Voila.. space
saved.
I am currently on a seek and destroy mission to
locate large downloads and forgotten files. If
you are a little weary, back up your drive before
you start the purge in case you trash a needed
file.
This is awesome...
a colleague of mine Jason Cranford Teague, has
posted some great resources aboutweb
typography. My favorite is this
usefuldesktop patternof web safe
fonts.
There is also an incredibledirectory of fontsinstalled on Mac
and Windows computers.
I need to use
textures all the time when creating
graphics. From backgrounds to text
treatments... a good realistic texture adds
weight and impact.
I recently
found a great website with a bunch of free,
high-resolution textures. Be sure to check
outTextureArchive.com. “TextureArchive.com
is devoted to providing a site which is useful
for all types artists.”
Free
is good... "good" free is even better.
If you've ever fought back
the urge to pull out a red sharpie to mark
up a sign or poster, then you'll like these
stickers. There's a new website
calledDesign Policethat offers
handy labels for identifying designer gaffes.
While the labels are good for a laugh... I am
sorely tempted to actually print these out on
adhesive sheets. Be sure toclick throughall five
pages... ordownload the set as a
PDF.
I
saw this mentioned over atScott Kelby's
blog. If you need
hi-res textures, for free, then be sure to
check out theTexture King
website. There's more than
250 images to choose from including glass,
fabric, rust, metal, and wood. The images are
totally free to use in any project and its a
great site to check out.
Many of you will
notice that I amfarbetter at posting
to myFacebook fan pageand toTwitterthan I am to my blogs. This
is due in large part to the fact that I
can’t blog via my iPhone (but can easily
post to Twitter and Facebook). So if you
can’t beat em...join em.
ympus has released a
re-imaginedPen
Camera. The original was released
50 years ago, and cost about a a third less
than conventional cameras. The camera was
known for trying new technologies and
innovative ideas throughout its history.The
new camera allows for several lenses as well
as HD video.
To celebrate the new launch, the company
commissioned a very cool stop motion commercial.
- Shot 60.000 pictures
- Developed 9.600 prints
- Shot over 1.800 pictures again.
Check out thiscool tutorial
on lighting for photographers fromRobert Louis
Vanelli.
In this video tutorial you will learn how to
light a subject using multiple lights and what
each of those lights do for the overall
lighting scheme.
Peachpit is offering a
cool deal. Try out Safari Books Online
andget a free
book.Of course,
you’ll have questions.
Q: What’sSafari Books
Online?
A: It’s a ton of books you can read online
from publishers like Peachpit, O’Reilly,
and others.
Q: Is it reallyfree?
A: Sign up for the trial... order a book. If you
don’t like, cancel within the 10-day trial
period. Otherwise they bill you for first month
(which is about the cost of a book).
Q: Which Books are Free?
A: There are 10 to choose from.
Mastering CSS
with Dreamweaver CS4 – Stephanie
Sullivan, Greg Rewis
Building
Findable Websites: Web Standards, SEO, and
Beyond – Aarron Walter
A Project
Guide to UX Design – Russ Unger, Carolyn
Chandler
Online
Communities Handbook – Anna Buss, Nancy
Strauss
Mac OS X
Leopard Killer Tips – Scott
Kelby
The Hot Shoe
Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes
–Joe McNally
The Adobe
Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide
for Photographers – Martin
Evening
The Photoshop
Elements 7 Book for Digital Photographers
– Scott Kelby, Matt
Kloskowski
Facebook Me!
A Guide to Having Fun with Your Friends and
Promoting Your Projects on Facebook –Dave
Awl
SocialCorp:
Social Media Goes Corporate – Joel
Postman
In this Adobe
Photoshop tutorial from CreativeCOW.net, learn
how to use smart objects in CS4 to enhance your
workflow. This tutorial is part of a
series available
atwww.creativecow.net.
There are
lots of shopping deals this weekend.... Here are
a few that I’ve already taken advantage of.
Delkin Devices–25% off and free
shipping. This includes a Blu-ray burner,
multiple types of card readers (I ordered a 4
card reader to load from 4 Compact Flash cards
at once)! Use the code HOLIDAY during
checkout.
equinox– Makers
of useful software utilities like Coverscout (to
get iTunes artwork) and several templates for OSX
mail. I ordered the tube stick bundle for $99
that lets you record over-the-air digital TV
signals to your Mac, then transcode them for use
on iPod or iPhone. Several bundles that are 50%
off.
Mophie– Get
the JuicePack for iPhone and iPod Touch. Doubles
your battery life and makes for a long day of web
work on the device. Take 25% off this weekend.
Use the code gobblegobble3G.
Hop you enjoy... I get nothing from links... this
is just what I spent money on and thought the
deals were good.
Noted
author Scott Kelby has released his annual gift guide.
What’s great about the list is that
there are some really cool tools on there
for photogs and even hobbyists. It’s
nothing but the coolest photography and
Photoshop gear.
“Since many of you are new to the
gear guide, I wanted to let you know how I make
my picks each year, and why I think it’s
different than most other guides you’ll
find out there these days. Put simply, every item
in here is stuff I actually use, it’s stuff
I’m crazy about, and now it’s become
stuff I can’t live without (which is sad,
in a way), and it’s the same stuff I
recommend to my friends (well, my friends with
room on their Visa cards).”
I agree with several of his picks, already using
things like the Hoodman Loupe and Boda Bag
myself. Be sure to check it out.
Richard Harrington shows you how to
use the color range command and how CS4 makes it
even easier to make a localized selection.
Want the videos in HD? Then check out
ouriTunes
version.
Richard Harrington shows you the
small but important updates and features new to
Photoshop CS4 .
Want the videos in HD? Then check out
ouriTunes
version.
Richard Harrington shows you how to
size pictures for video and work with video files
in Photoshop CS4 .
Want the videos in HD? Then check out
ouriTunes
version.
Richard Harrington shows
you new printing features in Photoshop CS4 ,
including the ability to do 16-bit printing.
Want the videos in HD? Then check out
ouriTunes
version.
Richard Harrington shows
you the improvements that Photoshop CS4 brings to
the dodge, burn and sponge tools.
Want the videos in HD? Then check out
ouriTunes
version.
Want to find out
everything new in Adobe Creative Suite 4?
Trust me... there’s some really cool
things coming. Adobe has an invitation out
to view theirWeb
broadcast on September 23rd. But you do need
to go to the sign-up page atwww.adobe.com/go/somethingbrilliant.
By the way... we are going to be releasing
something very special on the 23rd as well as a
“thank you” to all our viewers. Be
sure to stick around and keep an eye out.
To make
things easier, we’ve put together a
new website forRHED Pixel
Productions. Here you
can find out information about all our
podcasts, books, DVDs, and websites.
Feel free to take a quick browse and try out some
of our new resources. I hope you enjoy!
To use this
template, first open and crop your desired
image to 540 x 366 pixels at 72 ppi. Note: you
can crop the entire image, or focus in on a
smaller, more important part of it.
Flatten your
cropped file and select "Save As" to save the
cropped file as
"FileNameFlatLowRes.psd"
Then open the
template, click on any one of the smart object
layers in the layers palette. Select Layer >
Smart Object > Replace Contents, and
navigate to select your cropped, low
resolution, flattened file.
After the
images are replaced, choose the best looking
conversion, open your original high resolution
file, and drag and drop the adjustment layer
from the template to the high res file.
Voila!
I often preach extensively
about project management at design and
creative conferences around the globe. The
one piece of paperwork that I always
emphasize is completing a scoping document
for a project then getting the client to
sign off and accept it. This one piece of
papaerwork can solve all sorts of problems
and is really worth the 2-5 hours it takes
to write. The outline is as follows.
SubEthaEdit
- $35 [Mac]http://www.codingmonkeys.de Having
creative sessions and want to keep notes? This
application is the perfect note taker. It allows
you to collaborate on one open document across
your network. It’s also rendezvous enabled
so it’s easy for other Mac users to join
in. Nice features such as color-coding for each
user as well as time stamping make this a
flexible tool.
If you need some groupthink
without the use of a projector... then this is a
perfect tool.
I don’t live in the
world of website creation every day... but
I’ve been putting up sites since the
launch of Mosaic back with PageMill 1.0. I
may be a little slow.. but here’s
fourteen questions I recommend getting
answers to before you build a site (feel
free to comment and I’ll expand the
list).
Project Planning Sheet – Website
Objectives
1) What main points do you wish
to make with your website? (No more than five)
2) Who is the audience? (Please be specific)
3) What is the market’s current attitude
toward your company?
4) What objections to potential customers have to
your company?
5) What do you want the consumer to think after
they see your website?
6) What do you want the consumer to feel after
they see your website?
7) What do you want want the consumer to do after
they see your website?
8) What Five adjectives describe the look and
feel of your future website?
9) Are there any special features or design ideas
you have about your website?
Administrative
10) Who will be involved with
creating the content of the website?
11) Who has final website approval?
12) What are your deadlines?
13) Is your domain registered? If so, what is the
URL and where is it registered?
14) Have you selected a web hosting company?
NOTE: Please send any
relevant documents or promotional material that
will affect the content of your website
I've got a new book
that's going to press this week. It's a short
one, but is designed to help teacher's use
Apple's iLife and iWork in the classroom. I come
from a family of teachers (having 5 elementary
teachers and 2 college instructors in my
immediate clan). I really hope this book inspires
teachers to fully integrate digital media into
their lessons.
Apple
Training Series:
A Teacher's Guide to Digital Media in the
Classroom by Richard Harrington with Ted
Lai
Price:
$19.99
Release Date: August 8, 2008
Product
Description
In
this Apple-certified guide, Richard Harrington
shows teachers how to integrate digital media
arts into their existing curriculum using iLife
’08, iWork ’08, and practical,
step-by-step projects. Developed in collaboration
with the Pearson Education Foundation in
accordance with the National Educational
Technology Standards council, the book includes
class-room tested guidelines from the
Foundation's Digital Media Arts program, as well
as inspirational profiles of successful digital
media classroom projects around the world.
Designed to be used with Apple Training Series:
iLife ’08 and Apple Training Series: iWork
08, this guide covers everything from designing a
photo essay to creating polished video projects,
and will have teachers and students producing
websites, podcasts, video blogs, and DVDs in no
time. Students learn to:
• Express a Feeling: Create a photo-essay
slideshow, add sound, and publish it on the web
• Make a Factual Case: Track data in a
spreadsheet, organize it into charts, then
deliver it as a Keynote presentation
• Make a Persuasive Case: Research an
issue, develop an argument, and create a PSA in
iMovie and burn it to DVD
• Solve a Problem: Reconcile income and
expenses in a household budget and chart
financial scenarios
• Tell a Story: Document the personal
history of a community leader in a short,
sophisticated movie
To order the book,click
here.
I was
interviewed by MacEditionRadio.com about
Photoshop and creating a portfolio.Here it
is.. enjoy.
“At
the 2007 Photoshop World in Las Vegas, I sat down
with Peachpit Press and Focal Press author
Richard Harrington, and we discussed the issues
involved in creating DVDs that make your
photographs look their best. If you have ever
been confused about the proper resolution to
prepare files for DVD, television, or video
projection, then Richard’s Tips and Tricks
will fill in the blanks! Rich is the author of
“Photoshop for
Video”,
and “Understanding Adobe Photoshop:
Digital Image Concepts and
Techniques.”
and if you are working with digital
photography, Photoshop, or Lightroom, and need
to show others your photos then listen in to
this interview! Recorded at the National
Association of Photoshop Professionals
Photoshop World Conference, in Las Vegas, in
September 2007 by Harris Fogel. Posted 6/28/08
(24:09)”
Author and video
podcaster Richard Harrington explains how you can
take your wireless broadband card and share that
internet connection with others on location.
Steve Holmes has a
great tutorial over at
Layers Magazine on using the Vanishing Point
features in Adobe Photoshop and After
Effects. The tutorial is totally free and
Steve does a great
job.
“Without a doubt, the best new feature in
After Effects CS3 is the Vanishing Point Exchange
with Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended. Creating very
believable 3D movements from quite simple 2D
digital photographs has to be seen to be
believed, and the best thing is it’s a
pretty easy process. However, there are a few
caveats to keep an eye out for, so let’s
take a trip into the world of two-dee
three-dee!”
Apple iTunes
just promoted my company to network status. You
can find all of our "in-house" technical training
podcasts on asingle pagenow.
I encourage you totake a lookat our
several shows.
Understanding
Adobe Photoshop – iPod and
HD – A general interest show about
Photoshop for beginners and intermediates
Photoshop
for Video –iPod and HD
– A show about creating graphics for video
pros and motion graphic designers
Producing
Video Podcasts –iPod and HD
– A show that offers both production and
post tips for making video for the web
Final
Cut Help –iPod –
Weekly tips about using Final Cut Studio
Remember, the podcasts are totally free, all we
ask is you post a review to the iTunes store and
tell a friend.
Looking for something different? I
discoveredAnimotoat this year's SXSW
conference... Load up your photos, pick a
song, and within a few minutes you have a
rocking music video. You can use their cleared
music or load up your own. Thirty-second
movies are free, full-length videos cost $3.
You can get a full year's access for $30.
The whole process is a piece of cake. Be sure to
check them out – here.You can post the videos to a
website, download them for an iPod, or even
use YouTube to share. The videos you download
Here are a two more of mine that you can check
out.
I need to use
textures all the time when creating
graphics. I recently found a great website
with a bunch of free, high-resolution
textures. Be sure to check outTextureArchive.com.“TextureArchive.com
is devoted to providing a site which is useful
for all types artists.”
Free
is good... "good" free is even better.
I've taken part in
MacUpdate's bundle deals for a while now...
here's theirlatest and
greatest. This deal runs out soon.
“MacUpdate has partnered with 11 Mac
developers to bring you a great software bundle.
You can buy this bundle for $49.99 instead of
$666.74, a savings of $616.75 This amazing offer
is time limited so buy today.”
Here are my favorites from the bundle
ForkLift
–A
useful FTP application
RapidWeaver
–A
great website and blogging tool, how this
website is made.
Xslimmer
–Trim an applications by
removing universal versions (going to just PPC
or Intel) as well as Internationalization
files.
Yep
– A really cool cataloging tool
for PDF files
SRS iWOW
–Makes iTunes sound great on a
laptop.
XMIND 2008
Pro –A mind-mapping application
that helps creative types get their ideas
down.
iStabilize
–A
REALLY good image stabilization program for
shaky footage.
PulpMotion
–A
surprisingly useful motion graphics tool with
some cool templates
Seems many folks
are confused by the wealth of Photoshop
choices on the market... (Do I need Elements
or Extended?) With five different products
baring the Photoshop name, a little bit of
sorting is in order.
Fortunately Adobe has all five productscompared on one single
pageto make your
shopping process a little easier. What's nice
is that they clearly break down the features
as well as the target industries and
activities for each program.
While you're there, you can read a quick blurb
onPhotoshop’s 20 year
history.
I suspect that
many of you may be viewers of the
Understanding Adobe Photoshop podcast... I
really need your help.
The show is starting to get some major attention
(all of it good that will let me do MORE episodes
and give away more stuff on the site). But I
really need to get its iTunes review score and
its ranking up.
So... pleaseclick
here, to go to iTunes
and post a review (the negative reviews are
pretty much from when we first launched and
had episodes go down for a few days).
Some recent facts:
1. ALL the back episodes are now live on the page
thanks to the folks at Podango. So even if you
are a subscriber,visit the iTunes
pageand download any
missing shows.
2. The show was named to iTunes Photoshop Masters
page (really... I had no idea there was such a
page). Congrats to Scott Kelby, Terry White,
Russell Brown, Matt Klowskowski and Jan Kabili
(all peers).
3. We re-branded the show with cool graphics
(heck, replace your old shows with new ones).
4. ALL shows are now 640 X 480 (so again replace
those old episodes with higher res versions).
If you'll be at
the Podcast and New Media Expo show this
weekend, consider checking out these free
classes on the show floor. Podango is
offering an“Unconference,”a
featured program of the Podcast and New Media
Expo (PNME) taking place September 28-30, at
the Ontario Convention Center.
Podango, the online video and audio network that
enables publishers and advertisers to “get
heard” by today’s hard-to-reach,
niche audiences, is heralding a wide range of
topics and speakers. They include: new media
pioneer Scott Bourne, host of The Apple Phone
Show; Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang,
hosts of MommyCast; as well as Jason Van Orden,
David Lawrence and others. Speakers will share
ideas for building and monetizing audiences in
today’s niche-oriented, interest-driven new
media marketplace.Read More...
If you'll be at
the Podcast and New Media Expo show this
weekend, consider checking out these free
classes on the show floor. Podango is
offering an“Unconference,”a
featured program of the Podcast and New Media
Expo (PNME) taking place September 28-30, at
the Ontario Convention Center.
Podango, the online video and audio network that
enables publishers and advertisers to “get
heard” by today’s hard-to-reach,
niche audiences, is heralding a wide range of
topics and speakers. They include: new media
pioneer Scott Bourne, host of The Apple Phone
Show; Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang,
hosts of MommyCast; as well as Jason Van Orden,
David Lawrence and others. Speakers will share
ideas for building and monetizing audiences in
today’s niche-oriented, interest-driven new
media marketplace.Read
More...
I've been meaning to post
on this for a while (I am knee-deep in 4
books right now). Came across some
incredible Photoshop actions from the
talentedPanosFX.com. The newAnalysisaction set contains 23
different looks that can make your photos into
books, filmstrips, and photo spreads. What's
nice is that these actions add realistic
lighting and edges for a very believable
effect. Another bonus is that things remain
layered which means you can perform some level
of animation in After Effects (or even the
Photoshop CS3 timeline). The set cost $10, but
is quite nice and a strong entry into my
toolbox. If you'd like to see the quality of
PanosFX, check out their generousFreebies. Quite a lot of cool things
in there.
We've
added a brandnew pageto
our Resources section. Come search for
“free” images at various
government agency sites. Several websites
offer images that are either public domain or
have very generous usage rights. Be sure to
read usage terms at each site.
We call them “free” as they were paid
for with U.S. tax dollars (which means they are
now free to use). Start toexplore nowand
find images for your next project (many of
these are high-resolution as well!) Please
share this page with your friends or students.
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