• Cropping to a specific size
• Cropping for print and web
• Using Smart Objects for scaling
• Non-destructive cropping
• Perspective cropping

The last chance to save $100 on Photoshop World is tomorrow. The Early Bird offer is a great deal. I'll be teaching several classes, including a pre-conference session on DSLR Video as well several motion graphics classes. Here’s the link.

If you're new to Photoshop World, here's the Top 10 Reasons to Attend

1. Scan several images at one time. For best results, you need to keep 1/8 inch between the images in your scan.
   2 If you’re working in a multilayered image, select the layer that contains the images.
2. Choose File > Automate > Crop And Straighten Photos.
3. Each image should be cropped, straightened, and moved into its own document window.

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.

1. Create a new Premiere Pro project and match its settings to your primary footage format.
   2 Import a folder of QuickTime movies into a Premiere Pro project. You can even import a Final Cut Pro XML file to bring a sequence in without needed to do anymore media management.
2. Edit the clips as needed into sequences.
3. After your clips are edited, just select them and press Command+C to copy them to your clipboard.
   5 Switch to an open After Effects project and press Command+V to paste the clips using Dynamic Link. The clips (with handles) will move from Premiere Pro to After Effects.

• 
  Brush strokes, cloning, and most manual tools from the toolbox do not record properly with actions. Instead, use an alternative, such as a Gradient Fill layer (Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient) instead of the Gradient tool.
  • To play a single step of an action, double-click it.
  • If you make a mistake in an action, click Stop. Delete the incorrect steps by dragging them into the Actions panel’s trashcan. Choose Edit > Step Backward as many times as needed. Then click Record and start again from the last good point.
  • Button mode lets you launch actions quickly—just click an action and it runs. You can access the command from the Actions panel submenu. You’ll need to disable Button mode to access recording and editing features.
  • Choose Playback Options from the Actions panel submenu. Specify that you want the actions to play back an action accelerated. Photoshop can process faster than it can redraw the screen.
  • Be sure to back up your custom actions to two locations: the default location and a secondary backup location. This way, a reinstall or upgrade won’t blow away your custom actions.
  • To create an action that will work better on all files, set the rulers set to measure using percentage.
  • Use File > Automate > Fit Image to resize an image for a specific height or width.
  

• Early bird registration is $100 off (it expires February 26)
• I am teaching a DSLR Video Pre-conference session
• I am teaching 3 Motion Graphics classes
• I will be showing pre-release copies of the new From Still to Motion book at Peachpit's booth
• I hope to catch up with many of you at show.

• After Effects CS4 Guides
• After Effects CS4 Mocha 
• After Effects CS4 Light and Shadow 

• Megasuite from Digieffects $799
• Plug-in from Automatic Duck $495
• Plug-in Collection from CGM $199
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 $799
• Free Training Course from FMC $1,500
• NAB Post Production Conference Pass $895
• Music License from Free Play Music $100

• http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/adobe/story/the_future_is_64_bit/
• http://blogs.adobe.com/keyframes/

One Grand Prize: $2,500 (USD value)

• National Association of Photoshop Professionals – one-year membership
• GridIron Flow software
• Kelby Training Online Classes – one-year subscription
• Layers magazine – one-year subscription
• Kelby Training Books & DVDs
• Photoshop World Conference & Expo Admission (plus flight and hotel expenses)
• And Tons of Fame & Exposure
• Plus, as the grand prize winner you get the opportunity to teach millions with a special guest spot on PhotoshopUser TV and Layers TV podcasts, in the pages of Photoshop User magazine, in an instructor’s chair at an upcoming Photoshop World Conference & Expo, on the PlanetPhotoshop.com and of course, visibility within NAPP to 71,000 members worldwide.

5 Honorable Mention Prizes: $500 (USD value)

• National Association of Photoshop Professionals – one-year membership
• GridIron Flow software
• Kelby Training Online Classes – one-year subscription
• Layers magazine – one-year subscription
• Kelby Training Books & DVDs

• Includes training videos edited specifically for the iPhone or iPod Touch.
• Offers easily viewable screens, with zooms and close-ups of the action.
• Every lesson includes hands-on files that you download to your computer. There’s no need to merely watch, you can try out every technique on your own.
• Test your knowledge with interactive quizzes. Score yourself as well as check your answers with video responses.
• Search throughout the application by keyword and your own bookmarks.
• A quick reference guide is also included to help you build your Photoshop knowledge.
• Interact with the trainer with comments and a Twitter client.

Understanding Photoshop: Quick Fixes

Understanding Photoshop: Creating Panoramic Photos

• Free chapter and project files
• http://bit.ly/pN1mJ

• Free chapter and project files
• http://bit.ly/XB6Ag

• Before scanning an image, ensure you have the latest software needed by your scanner. You can always check their websites or use Version Tracker. Having problems with a lack of support on the OSX side for older scanners. I recommend checking out VueScan from Hamrick Software.
• The most important thing when scanning is to be consistent. Scan all of your photos in at one time if possible.
• Ensure that the scanner is lying flat, or you may get misregistered scans.
• Use a gentle glass cleaner whenever smudges appear. Spray the cleaner on the soft cloth, and then wipe the scanner bed down.
• Make sure your photos are clean before scanning. Never write on the back of photos, instead write on a post-it note and adhere to the back.
• Place your photos on the scanner straight. Use the edges to help you maintain parallel edges on your photos. If you get crooked photos, try Photoshop CS’s newest automation tool File>Automate>Crop and Straighten Photos.
• If your scanner allows you, set the white and black points before scanning. Think of this as a white and black balance that you would do in a video camera. This will produce the best tonal range. You can then use Photoshop’s color correction tools to adjust the white and black points as well as make additional color changes.
• If you are scanning in previously printed items such as newspapers, magazines, books, inkjet prints, etc, you will likely get a moiré pattern. Photoshop scanning the small spaces between the previously printed dots causes this. Most scanners have a de-screen filter in their software. If available use it when scanning previously printed items. If this is not available, run the Median filter at a low value (Filter > Noise > Median).
• Scan at the quality you need. For video, scan so you have approximately 4,000 by 3,000 pixels. This is generally enough pixel information to perform motion control in After Effects.
• Save to uncompressed formats such as TIFF, PICT or TARGA for maximum compatibility and disk space usage. The PSD format is great for layered files, but is not as efficient for single layered files. Always save the appropriate file extension for your file type.

1. Place multiple photos on your scanner. For best results, you need to keep 1/8 inch between the images in your scan. If the Crop And Straighten Photos command does not succeed (which is rare), you should process the individual images using the Crop tool.
2. If you’re working in a multilayered image, select the layer that contains the images. If you only want some of the images, draw a selection border around one or more images.
3. Choose File > Automate > Crop And Straighten Photos.

• Seamlessly exchange projects and assets between After Effects and Flash
• Shoot green screen material correctly, work with Keylight, and utilize embedded alpha channels
• Create dynamic text, vector-based animations, and “animated” video using the tools in Adobe Creative Suite 4
• Work with 3D cameras and lights and create 3D environments
• Convert Flash to broadcast and DVD standards with After Effects
• Use Adobe Media Encoder for professional results
• Create interactive controls and use cue points in your video
• Optimize video for accessibility and use Adobe® Soundbooth® for video transcription
• Use ActionScript in your projects for more innovative animations

• The Free Photoshop Update
• The Free After Effects Update

• 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.

• 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.

“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.”

• Fluid canvas rotation
• Enhanced Pan, Zoom, and large image navigation
• More refined, natural results with Dodge, Burn, and Sponge
• Next generation Adobe Bridge
• Tighter integration with Photoshop Lightroom
• Kuler for color harmony creation and sharing
• N-up and multiple document view
• More powerful printing options
• Superior performance on very large images*
• Extensibility with SWF panels
• Unified tabbed interface with self-adjusting panels

• Live, nondestructive corrections with the Adjustments panel
• Re-editable, feathered, density-controlled masks
• Enhanced Auto-Blend with seamless tones and colors
• 360° panoramas
• Extended depth of field
• Camera Raw with localized adjustments
• Enhanced Smart Objects
• On-image controls for Curves, Hue/Saturation adjustments
• Clone Stamp and Healing Brush preview cursor

• Direct painting on 3D objects
• Easy conversion from 2D to 3D
• Editable 3D properties (scene, materials, meshes, lights)
• New high quality interactive ray tracer
• Create 3D composites with 2D images or other 3D objects
• New, high-performance, non-modal 3D engine
• Volume Rendering
• Keyboard shortcuts enabled for the Animation panel
• Enhanced preview of non-square-pixel images
• Preview and export audio content and frame comments
• Animate 3D objects and their textures
• Enhanced Count tool

• If you’re a keyboard shortcut junkie...
• Interview with Adobe's John Nack
• Flash Panels
• Content Aware Scaling

• Adobe announced that they will announce CS4 on September 23 (weird... I know)
• I caught a few great classes from some top instructors
• I saw some great new technology, blog posts forthcoming
• Lots to talk about soon... tonight I am tired.

• Julieanne Kost from Adobe has posted a great resource for converting color images to grayscale using Photoshop.

• 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!

Import Tips

• Double-Click in the AE Project Window
• Shift-Click Multiple Items
• Organize in Folder and Option+Drag (Alt+Drag) from Desktop
• Keep file names less than 27 characters long

Photoshop

• Assign unique names to each layer
• Avoid using layer sets unless you want the layers to come in as a nested composition
• If layers are not needed, reduce your render burden by importing as a flattened file such as a PICT, TIFF or TARGA
• If you have applied an adjustment layer in Photoshop such as Levels, consider applying the effect directly to the individual layers in Photoshop instead

Illustrator

• Be sure to use layers in Adobe Illustrator to split up elements
• Change AI preferences to use AICB format (not PDF) for proper Copy/Paste

• To convert a images to JPEG, PSD, or TIFF format. You can also convert files simultaneously to all three formats.
• To process a set of camera raw files using the same camera raw options.
• To resize images to fit within a specified pixel dimension.
• To embed a color profile into images or convert files to sRGB and save them as JPEG images for the web.
• To include copyright metadata into the processed images.
• The Image Processor can be used with PSD, TIFF, JPEG, or camera raw files.

• Save As JPEG – This sets the JPEG quality between 0 and 12. You can also choose to resize the image and convert it to sRGB color profile.
• Save As PSD – This sets the PSD options. You can also resize the image and choose to Maximize Compatibility.
• Save As TIFF – This saves images in the TIFF format with LZW compression. You can also resize the image.

• Run Action – If an action is loaded into your Actions palette, you can run it on the image during the process.
• Copyright Info – You can add copyright metadata to the image.

• When working in Premiere, don't forget about the search menu that you can use to locate the effects you want
• Change Color is a useful effect that you can use to target and adjust one color region of your video clip
• There are also Shadow/Highlight adjustment options in Premiere
• You can bring your video clips into Photoshop Extended and apply Photoshop effects to them
• Make video clips into smart objects so that Photoshop will treat them as a single layer
• After you have finished editing the video clip in Photoshop, go under the Export command and render the finished video
• Get more information from Richard at Photoshop For Video.com
• Use After Effects to make speed changes to your video clips. Remember, time is just another keyframe
• If you want further video training from Richard, you can watch his classes at Kelby Training.com, or see him live at Photoshop World this September in Las Vegas”

Watch Episode Online
Download Episode 138

• Before scanning an image, ensure you have the latest software needed by your scanner. You can always check their websites or use Version Tracker. Having problems with a lack of support on the OSX side for older scanners. I recommend checking out VueScan from Hamrick Software.

• Arranging audio files on multiple tracks
• Making quick edits and applying fades
• Matching volume levels with a single command
• Removing unwanted noises and background sounds
• Adjusting tempo and pitch
• Recording and polishing voice-overs
• Adding effects and filters
• Previewing MP3 compression quality
• Easily creating customized music — without musical expertise
• With the new Adobe Sound Document file format you can take “snapshots” of your work-in-progress and undo changes made to your audio assets.

• Upload up to 2GB of photos (for free!)
• Sort images to keep them organized
• Easy to use editing tools let you do all sorts of tasks like Crop, Rotate, TOuch-up, remove red-eye, change focus, sharpen, white balance, and add fill light (plus more).
• Share your photos with a Gallery (customized photo displays are supported)
• Upload them to your Facebook page, blog, or anywhere else online.

• First, it brings Photoshop to more people, ensuring a healthier life for Adobe.
• Second, it's free! 2GB of storage is useful.... I am loading up images that I often use to teach with as well as a few portfolios I'd like to share.
• Third, New Media.... it's catching on and apps like this are truly exciting to all ages.

• After Effects Apprentice – Trish and Chris Meyer
  • After Effects @ Work – Focal Press
  • Broadcast Graphics on the Spot – Richard Harrington, Glen Stephens, Chris Vadnais
  • Creative After Effects – Angie Taylor
  • Creative Cow – www.CreativeCow.net
  • Xeler8r – www.xeler8r.com

• Put Your Portfolio on DVD
• Motion Control 3D
• Typography in Motion

• Business
• Community sites
• Companies
• Freelancers
• History
• Notable Individuals
• Notable Works

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