Nov 2008
90 Percent of Problems are Cable Problems
Sunday, November 30 ,2008 Filed in: Video
- Shut down the computer to avoid any improper dismounting of media drives.
2 Isolate the suspected “problem” device. - Be sure to reseat both ends of the cable.
4 If that doesn’t work, try swapping out the cable. - Continue to add devices until the problem recurs. Then repeat this cycle.
You might be surprised how many times this works.
Remember, there’s more than just FireWire cables; there are USB cables, RS-422 cables, monitor cables and extensions, and fiber-optic cables. Even your audio and video cables (RCA, BNC, XLR) could be culprits. “What, no video? Oops, my RCA came unplugged.”
Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.
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Editor's Retreat – "Virtually Free"
Saturday, November 29 ,2008 Filed in: Conferences | Apple
If you’re an editor, be sure to check out the Editors Retreat. This great event is a lot of fun and a wonderful learning experience (I’ve been 5 times its that good). The price is lowered, but you need to put a reservation in ASAP.
“With respect to the current economic times and in response to your requests, we are pleased to announce a price reduction for 2009 Editors Retreat. By shortening the length of the Retreat by one day, we’ve managed to cut the price from $3,150 to $2,300 without losing any of our key sessions.
The Retreat now includes:
• 4 days and 3 nights of sessions and activities
• All-inclusive resort stay
• See more here
And, a package of give-aways for each attendee worth $2,400 to include:
• A Full Pass to the 2009 NAB Post-Production World Conference in Las Vegas! (Valued at approx. $700)
• An Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium! (Valued at $1700)
With all of the give-aways and savings you actually receive more than the price of the retreat!
Join us for an amazing conference of advanced sessions, networking, creative workshops, award winning keynotes, raffles and unlimited access to representatives from Apple, Adobe and Avid!”
Registrations must be submitted before December 10th, 2009 with a 30% down payment. Visit www. EditorsRetreat.com for more info.
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Photoshop Brush Shortcuts
Saturday, November 29 ,2008 Filed in: Adobe
I often see people struggling with brushes in Photoshop. Brush control is essential for many tasks besides painting, you’ll need precise control for masking, retouching, and creating selections. With this in mind, here are my favorite shortcuts for getting things done.
For more on Photoshop, check out the latest book: Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS4
For more on Photoshop, check out the latest book: Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS4
- The book is on sale at Amazon for 37% off, and adds some great new stuff.
- The book is on sale at Peachpit’s website for 35% off. If ordering from Peachpit, use the discount code UAPTWO at checkout.
Tech Shopping Deals
Friday, November 28 ,2008 Filed in: Resources
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.
Two Important Updates from Adobe
Wednesday, November 26 ,2008 Filed in: Adobe
Additionally, Camera Raw for Photoshop CS4 (Mac|Win) adds some much-requested improvements
- Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT) for on-image adjustments
- Output sharpening for print or screen output
- "Snapshots" for saving multiple sets of settings per file
- You can find out more here. Thanks to John Nack for pointing these out.
130 UAP - Setting Preferences - Understanding Adobe Photoshop
Instructor Richard Harrington shows you how to customize Photoshop CS4's preferences so the program works best for you.
130 Understanding Adobe Photoshop - Setting Preferences - The funniest videos clips are here
Want to go hands-on with the image files? Get the book.
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
130 Understanding Adobe Photoshop - Setting Preferences - The funniest videos clips are here
Want to go hands-on with the image files? Get the book.
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
Apple Releases Pro Apps Updates
Tuesday, November 25 ,2008 Filed in: Apple
Improved High-Precision Rendering – This means improved reliability and quality when rendering still images and footage in high-resolution formats.
Improved AVCHD Support – This affects the Panasonic AG-HMC150 C and the Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder
Improved Support for Metadata Imported from P2 Cards
Improved Format Support for Color – Color 1.0.3 provides support for XDCAM 422 media and for the RED plug-ins for Final Cut Studio.
Improved EDL Handling – Accuracy and reliability during EDL import have been improved.
To Download Files
What’s That Exclamation Point?
After about five minutes, they call us back and ask if we were pulling their legs. Well, Final Cut Pro does have a secret AI engine. If we told you more, we’d be put on double-secret probation, but the exclamation point and checkbox actually mean something
else.
They’re used to determine if your video is broadcast safe/legal. An exclamation point means you’re not broadcast safe, and a green checkbox or one with an up arrow means you’re okay. Now how did this get turned on? Well, the keyboard shortcut for this is Control + Z, so people often accidentally hit it when trying to do an Undo (Command + Z) or a Fit to Window (Shift + Z).
Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.
129 UAP - Converting Image Modes - Understanding Adobe Photoshop
Instructor Richard Harrington shows you how to switch between image modes in Photoshop CS4.
128 Understanding Adobe Photoshop - Pixels in Depth - Click here for another funny movie.
Want to go hands-on with the image files? Get the book.
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
128 Understanding Adobe Photoshop - Pixels in Depth - Click here for another funny movie.
Want to go hands-on with the image files? Get the book.
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
New Photoshop Book is Shipping
Sunday, November 16 ,2008 Filed in: Adobe | Training Products
The book is on sale at Amazon for 30% off, and adds some great new stuff.
The book is on sale at Peachpit’s website for 35% off. If ordering from Peachpit, use the discount code UAPTWO at checkout.
We’ve made our podcast series totally interactive for our book readers (more in a few days).
You can access a free chapter on Automation here.
You can view an excerpt from a chapter on color correction here.
The books are in my hands and shipping from both Peachpit and Amazon.
If you like the book... PLEASE write a review (I’d really appreciate it).
Podcasting is NOT Dead
I spoke in New York City for 3 days at the NY Post Conference. I was joined by great podcasters like Paul Vogelzang of MommyCast, Dusty Wright and Richard Burns from Culture Catch, and Alexandra Gebhardt from Inside Mac. We had healthy crowds with great questions. There were also big companies there, like TiVo and HP, as well as representation from several universities. I also had some great meetings with Apple and mDialog... two great companies with cool things coming.
Read More...
Aperture 2 Quick Tip – Now on iPhone
Sunday, November 16 ,2008 Filed in: Apple
“The mDialog application is always available as a free download worldwide from Apple's App Store on iPhone and IPod Touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore/ or click on the link on the mDialog site.”
Be sure to download and try it out.... it works great and is absolutely free.
Scott Kelby's Holiday Gift Guide is Great
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.
Double Your iPhone Battery
Monday, November 10 ,2008
But here’s something I just had to gush about.... The mophie Juice Pack iPhone battery is shipping. I had the original battery pack, but with the new form-factor for the 3G phones, I had to upgrade. Here’s the specs:
- Standby Time – Up to 350 hours
- Talk Time – 6 additional hours on 3G | 12 hours on 2G
- Internet Use – 6 additional hours on 3G | 7 hours on Wi-Fi
- Audio Playback – 28 additional hours
- Video Playback – 8 additional hours
This device is absolutely awesome and lets me get through a long day of business.
Exposure Blending with Photoshop
Monday, November 10 ,2008 Filed in: Adobe
“One classic technique that digital cameras make very easy is blending more than one exposure together for contrast control, increased dynamic range, or creative purposes. A variation on this technique is to apply different RAW-conversion settings to a single RAW file and then combine the files into a single image. Let’s explore both approaches and look at the proper camera technique behind the scenes.”
Cloning an Image in Aperture
Saturday, November 08 ,2008 Filed in: Apple | Photography
1 Press X to select the Retouch tool.
2 Select the Retouch HUD and click the Clone button.
3 In the Retouch HUD, adjust the brush Radius and the Softness.
4 Hold down the Option key and click the area you want to sample.
Tip
It’s often better to take a few strokes to build up the texture. Be careful as you clone so you don’t introduce stray strokes.
5 Brush over the area you want to clone.
6 Repeat brushstrokes as needed.
Tip
If you get an unintended stroke, you can choose Undo. If you return to a retouched image you can also delete a Retouch brush stroke at any time by clicking the Delete button in the Retouch area of the Adjustments pane. Note that brush strokes can be deleted only in reverse order because they’re recorded sequentially.
127 UAP - Recovery in Camera Raw - Understanding Adobe Photoshop
Instructor Richard Harrington shows you how to do recovery in camera raw to post-process your images before opening them in Photoshop.
127 UAP - Recovery in Camera Raw - The most amazing bloopers are here
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
127 UAP - Recovery in Camera Raw - The most amazing bloopers are here
Like the podcast? Subscribe for FREE.
Want more training? Check out our Books.
Adding Captions to Flash Video
Saturday, November 01 ,2008 Filed in: Business
“The really great thing about this feature, from our perspective as designers and developers, is how simple it is to accomplish and manage. If the timing is out or a caption is wrong, you simply change a few words or numbers in the XML file.”
This tutorial makes it really easy and I suggest you check it out.