Nov 2007

Richard Harrington Blog | Dec 2007 | Oct 2007

Interviewer Tips

Thursday, November 29 ,2007 Filed in: Business | Video

Becoming a good interviewer is an acquired skill that takes training and practice. For the less experienced, here are a few helpful pointers.

“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 will use only part of the answer (such as step three, without steps one and two).
Ask leading, open-ended questions… being sure to ask a single question only.
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’ and can stop trying to talk themselves out of a corner.

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Charts and Graphs with Keynote

Monday, November 26 ,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.

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Want More on HDV?

Sunday, November 25 ,2007 Filed in: Resources | Video

Looking to find out more on HDV? A useful book with reading is HDV:What You NEED to Know! By Douglas Spotted Eagle. This book offers useful advice and essential information on HDV workflows. Find out more at www.VASST.com.

“232 pages of information including colorplates, this book also includes a DVD that offers viewers the opportunity to work with HDV from all 4 professional HDV cameras available today including CF 24, 24p, and 24f. The book also discusses products that are available now, and available in the future.
VASST wrote the world's first book on HDV, which has become a resource for over 55,000 readers. The Second Edition delves more deeply into the subject than ever before, containing tips on camera settings, formatting, editing solutions and workflow for every major NLE system, and detailed information on making your HDV video more film-like. VASST has been providing film-look plug in tools for 2 years to the SD and HDV editing world, and some of their tips and secrets are revealed in this book.”

Download a Sample Chapter

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Wacom Bamboo Fun is a Great Value

Friday, November 23 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe | Microsoft

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.

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Keep Two Sets of Cables Handy

Thursday, November 22 ,2007 Filed in: Video

A mantra that we like to repeat often is this: 90% of all problems are cable problems. A bad cable can destroy your production. From pops in the interview, to a flickering client monitor, a bad cable can do all sorts of damage.

Cables are cheap, re-shoots are not. To avoid expensive problems keep two sets of audio, video, and FireWire cables with your camera bag. And when a cable goes bad, toss it and replace it.

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FireWire – A Technology with Many Names

Monday, November 19 ,2007 Filed in: Apple

If you are shopping for FireWire technology, you’ll often see it referenced by two additional names. Sony frequently calls the technology i.Link, while others favor the generic IEEE 1394, which refers to the number given to it by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

The technology is identical, what is at play here is a resistance to use the FireWire logo and name which is closely associate with Apple, Inc. which co-developed the technology. Adding to the confusion is that there is FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. The technology called FireWire 800 uses a 9-pin connection type and is much less common. It is generally used for higher-speed hard drives and is usually not found on cameras.

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Useful Article on Photoshop Automation

Friday, November 16 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe | Resources

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.

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Photoshop CS3 & Leopard Bug

Thursday, November 15 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe | Apple

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.

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Adobe Media Gallery Plug-In

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.”

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Explore the Adobe P2 Workflow

Wednesday, November 14 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe | Resources

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.

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.mac Has Got Your Back

Monday, November 12 ,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.

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Scott Kelby Releases 2nd Annual Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide

Monday, November 12 ,2007 Filed in: Resources

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.”

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Strata 3D in Photoshop

Saturday, November 10 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe | Resources

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.

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European Radio Conference

Friday, November 09 ,2007 Filed in: Conferences | Business

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

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New Scripts for Photoshop CS3

Wednesday, November 07 ,2007 Filed in: Adobe

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

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Want to Win Some Free Photo Gear? Then Check Out the $1,000 Question.

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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