…and that’s all this blog post is about. Recognizing this day; this very cool, (in an extreme-nerd kinda way) unique day of the century.
Sadly, it wasn’t posted precisely at 11:11, as my ISP (COX, what’s in a name?) decided to barf during that very historic moment in time. And yet, life carried on. ;P So here it is instead, presented on 11/11/11 at 2:22:22.
Happy 11/11/11, my fellow members of the geek chic…
Blog on.
I’ve just returned from Adobe MAX 2011 and unlike previous years, this year proved that no matter what your main ‘discipline’ is (ie, web dev, flash dev, HTML coder, etc) video and specifically video encoding is something you need to be somewhat familiar with, and it was definitely a hot topic amongst attendees. I presented a session at MAX on this very subject and, as is often the case, ran out of time during the final section of the presentation dealing with using the Adobe Media Encoder’s Watch Folder system (and the different methods of leveraging watch folders).
As promised, here’s a little video that simply covers the two types of Watch Folder-based encodes: using a single video source and encoding to multiple formats (with duplicated Watch Folders); or using a single Watch Folder to encode multiple video files to a single format.
Here’s a link to the FULL PRESENTATION AT MAX, viewable on Adobe TV.
Additionally, as the real ‘devices of choice’ for encoding were the Apple iPad2 and Samsung Galaxy 10.1, I thought I would also include the specs of these devices in this post (Blackberry’s Playbook spec is listed as well). This is stuff straight from their respective manufacturer’s websites, but having it one place is kinda handy…
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iPad2 Audio/Video Specs
Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps**, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Actual Tablet Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768
**I’m not sure what this is referring to exactly, as you can certainly encode at higher bitrates
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Audio/Video Specs
Audio Formats Supported: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, RA
Video Formats Supported: Full HD video playback at 1080p/30fps. Codecs: WMV7, WMV8, WMV9, H.264, MPEG4, Xvid, DivX, H.263, VP8**
Actual Tablet Screen Resolution: 1280 x 800
**Having exported a few WebM/VP8 files (actual *.webm files) I’m thinking the spec refers to playing VP8-encoded media from within a site, but not an actual WEBM video file. I tried this (both as straight WEBM and QT-wrapped VP8 files without success.
Blackberry Playbook Audio/Video Specs
Audio Formats Supported: AAC (96Kbps or higher), HE-AAC V1 & V2 (128Kbps or higher) in stereo or 5.1, MPEG-4 AAC @ 128Kbps/Stereo/48kHz, MP3 (MPEG 1,2 layer 3, stereo, 128Kbps), Linear PCM (LPCM, A-LAW, U-LAW, ADPCM), WMA9, WMA10, WMA Lossless
Video Formats/Codecs Supported: 3GP, 3GP2, M4A, M4V, MOV, MP4 & MPEG-4 as H.264 (Profile: Baseline, Main *and* High Profile, up to Level 4.2, CBR @ 20Mbps) and MPEG4 (simple and advanced simple profile, level 0-6). Windows AVI (as MPEG-4 and H.264; same detail as above), Xvid, ASF, WMV9, WMV10, F4V (VP6/Sorenson Spark)
Actual Tablet Screen Resolution: 1024 x 600
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And lastly, I had promised to include links for acquiring the Ogg Theora and WedM Quicktime components (which are accessible via AME and even in Photoshop’s Render Video options, once installed). Again, in AME these codecs will appear in Quicktime’s available codecs meaning these are quicktime-wrapped versions of Theora/WebM. Oddly enough, they *will* appear as their own, self-contained codecs in PSCS5.
Photoshop CS5.1 Render Video Window w/Extra Components Installed
Xiph’s Ogg Theora/Vorbis Quicktime Components (Mac & PC)
WebM Installer Packages/Components (Mac & PC)
CAVEAT: these are 3rd party codecs and I’m offering links to these purely to give you the option of encoding to these formats within CS5.5. I cannot guarantee their functionality/stability and I would highly recommend backing up all system data/media content before performing any kind of codec installation/modification. You have been warned.
If you’re still looking for a quick and easy solution, you can use the freeware Miro Video Converter. Quite simply, this little app does a fine job for simple, drag-drop operation, especially for the aforementioned formats. Again, they’re all just tools to get the job done, so use what you feel best suits the task at hand.
Blog on.
Greetings from Amsterdam. Having just completed IBC 2011, I’m now headed back home (for a mere 96 hours) before Greg, Paul, Rufus and I begin our German Master’s Tour on the 21st in Stuttgart.
In any case, as previously mentioned, I shot a new season of Short&Suite back in August at the AdobeTV Studios in San Francisco. They’ve been rolling out new episodes every few weeks, but it would appear that most of them have already posted to the site (though they’re currently ‘hidden’, unless you search for them).
As such, here are the videos directly from ATV. You can either watch them here, or visit AdobeTV for more. I covered several topics that users have been asking for since our last tour, so hopefully there’s a little something for everyone. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts…
Basic Secondary Color Correction/Grading in Premiere Pro CS5.5
Repairing AGC Clipping Artifacts from DSLR in Adobe Audition CS5.5
Dual-System Sound Synchronization without Timecode in Premiere Pro CS5.5
Work Natively with PSD Files in Premiere Pro CS5.5
Multitrack Mixing Automation in Adobe Audition CS5.5
Quick-Start DSLR Editing Workflow for Final Cut Users/Switchers
Blog on.
Drew Carey was right: Cleveland Rocks, and this week’s CS5.5 Adobe Camp seminar was true evidence of that! Once again, the three of us hit the road and presented 3 hours of Creative Suite workflow for the attendees. Held at the Botanical Gardens on a truly glorious summer day (warm, breezy, no humidity), the crowd were loud, enthused, and provided great inspiration for our demonstrations. As evidenced in Austin two weeks ago, we were truly amazed at the incredible diversity of users in attendance; a very fair split between Design/Web/Mobile & Video…even a few hardcore Flex/Flash Builder types too. This makes our jobs even easier, as we aim to show workflow across all disciplines, but also showcase some of the ‘hidden’ gems found in each of the Suites.
Adobe Cleveland Rocks!
From left: Paul, Mari Hulick, Greg, Jason, April Clark
Additional thanks to our amazing Camp leaders (pictured above) for organizing the event. It’s truly a privilege to be part of the local communities’ activities. We hope to see you again soon!
Blog on.
Earlier this week, we presented the first US date on the CS5.5 Evolution/Adobe Camp tour in Austin, TX. With a great turn-out, lots of good Q&A following the 3-hour session and a little extra time to meet, greet and share a pint with some of the attendees, I can only say that I can’t wait for Cleveland on the 23rd!
The Awesome Adobe Community in Austin
21.09.2011 Stuttgart
22.09.2011 München
26.09.2011 Hamburg
27.09.2011 Berlin
It’ll be great to return to Berlin after a nearly 2-year hiatus. This 6-hour show will also showcase new content from each of us (yours truly, Greg, Paul, Rufus) and will once again highlight the complete workflow from application to application and outputting your content anywhere, on any screen or device.
Also, I’ll be in Amsterdam for IBC as well (beginning around the 8th September). Hope to see you there!
Blog on.
As the title suggests, I’m proud to announce that the Creative Suite Evangelists (myself, Greg Rewis, Paul Trani & Rufus Deuchler) will be hitting the road for a series of CS5.5 Evolution Tour-themed seminars in U.S.!! It’s been nearly 6 years since we last toured the United States (as a team, that is) and we couldn’t be more excited to bring Creative Suite 5.5 to the Adobe User Group/Adobe Camp communities.
Here are the cities and registration links. Several of the cities will also feature additional speakers and activities at the venues, so please check the links for details…
9 August 2011: Austin, TX @ St. Edward’s University
23 August 2011: Cleveland, OH @ Botanical Gardens
31 August 2011: Hollywood, CA @ Moviola
1 September 2011: Denver, CO @ Casselman’s Bar & Venue
A big thanks to all of our Adobe User Group managers/Adobe Camp managers for putting all of this together.
Hope to see you there!
Blog on.
Hello all. Well, today’s a rather exciting day at Adobe, as we’ve announced a very enticing, very aggressive discount on Production Premium and Premiere Pro for Final Cut and Avid users…50% off until 30 September!
There’s truly never been a better time to get your feet wet and roadtest Production Premium or Premiere Pro CS5.5.
If you’ve been thinking about switching, or if you’ve merely been trying to find a better workflow solution between your existing NLE (FCP, AVID) and Creative Suite products, the time has never been better to check out what we’re offering.
A couple of highlights in Premiere Pro & Production Premium:
–Truly native, file-based format support (incl. RED R3D, Canon XF, DSLR, AVC-Intra, DPX, etc);
–Dynamic Link integration between Premiere Pro, After Effects, Encore & Adobe Media Encoder for render-free application integration;
–Mercury Playback Engine in Premiere Pro for accelerated playback, effects processing (w/adding Mercury GPU acceleration) and rendering;
–Warp Stabilizer and RotoBrush in After Effects for effortless image stabilization and quick rotoscoping tasks;
–Native Photoshop (PSD) workflows in After Effects, Encore and Premiere Pro;
–32-bit Floating Point Color Workflow in PPRO, with switchable 8/16/32-bit options in AE;
–FCP XML/AAF/EDL support in Premiere Pro and OMF & FCP XML support in Adobe Audition;
–Easily background export to virtually any format for screenss and tablet device with Adobe Media Encoder.
These are, of course, only a few of the highlights. Check out all the online videos and help docs to learn more.
Blog on.
This blog post has been in the works for nearly two months now. For someone who speaks to crowds of people on a daily basis around the world, I must admit that I was really speechless as to what I should write. I can’t emphasize enough the amount of influence Roger had on my life, my work, and everything that I do. He was a constant teacher and true visionary…but it was his passion for audio, his determination for excellence & precision, and his incredible patience and sense of humor that endeared him to me forever.
Jase, Roger & John Denver, Nashville, 1996.
Apart from Steely Dan, Roger’s credits run the gamut, from John Denver (both as Producer and Engineer) to Johnny Winter; Diana Ross to the Beach Boys, James Taylor to Stevie Wonder and literally everyone (and everything) in between. During my years working with him at Digital Atomics in Nashville, Tennessee, the majority of recorded/mastered output consisted (mainly) of country music; Wynonna, Delbert McClinton, Lari White, Trace Adkins and Kacey Jones were among some of ‘masters’ I was introduced to…right out of college. His trust in me, to allow me to do *anything* with these recordings, was immeasurable. But that was Roger; once you earned his trust (and somehow, I seemed to earn it rather quickly), it was limitless. The biggest highlight for me, however, began on my first day of work with the master himself…
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Hey all. Here are the examples from today’s ASK A CS PRO session, shot by yours truly in Egypt this past November with the Canon7D, Zacuto Z-finder and 14mm f/2.8, EF-S18-135 f/3.5 lenses…
A before and after, with some added color-grading courtesy of Colorista II and Mojo.
Warp Stabilizer Examples – Before & After (Pt1) from Jason Levine on Vimeo.
A live Qanun performance, handheld Canon7D, Warp Stabilized with remastered Stereo Audio (from the mono on-camera mic)
Warp Stabilizer, Audio Remaster w/live Qanun (Pt2) from Jason Levine on Vimeo.
The coolest thing about the workflows implemented above is the fact that I only rendered ONCE, at the very end, after making all of my various tweaks/changes (both on the audio side, the edit, and the grading). Dynamic Link was used between Premiere Pro and After Effects, with me sending the audio (and/or, the entire sequence) from Premiere to Audition. Everything was effectively LIVE until the very end when I made these exports. The performance of my Quad-Core i7 amazed me; far beyond what I experienced on the dual core, and with the speed enhancements and improved disk caching in PPRO/AE 5.5…you just have to try it to believe it.
Blog on.
Greetings, everyone! Writing you from the hallowed halls of NAB (well actually, my hotel room) but nonetheless we’re here to announce the coming of Creative Suite 5.5.
In the last year, we’ve seen incredible momentum and adoption of our applications across the board (especially in Production Premium) with Premiere Pro truly leading the way for DSLR users, Broadcasters, RED Workflow, and anyone who’s looking to go ‘from the camera to the timeline’ and begin editing—instantly. No transcoding, no fussing about.
Well, I’m happy to tell you that it’s getting even better in CS5.5 Production Premium. I’ve provided links below to some of the movies I shot a few weeks back, highlighting some of the new features. Aside from those, however, there are many new things included in 5.5 which, more specifically, make upgrading from CS2/CS3/CS4 even MORE attractive. Yes…if you’ve been wondering, >Is now the time to upgrade? (from an older version) then I’d say, unequivocally, YES!
Couple of things that make moving to CS5.5 from CS2/CS3/CS4 even better…
–Enhanced Mercury Playback support in Premiere Pro CS5.5. This includes faster decoding of RED R3D media and AVCHD media, along with new support for RED EPIC and even greater support for Canon XF media;
–The incredible new Warp Stabilizer in After Effects. Effectively, drag-and-drop stabilization of hand-held footage, giving it a truly dolly-like, steady-rig look, even with the ability to reduce Rolling Shutter Ripple artifacts from DSLR media…automatically;
–Enhanced Light Falloff and New Camera Lens Blur effect in After Effects CS5.5;
–Adobe Audition CS5.5 on the Mac! Yes, you knew it was coming; now it’s officially here;
–CS5.5 Subscription Editions: So, can’t afford to buy the entire suite? What about specific point products? Still too pricey? Subscriptions allow you to essentially ‘rent’ CS5.5; you can opt into monthly or yearly plans (with options to purchase perpetual licenses after the fact). It keeps you current, it gives you access to the latest features and latest updates, and you can even access it across multiple computers (you’re still allowed ’2′ installs; but you can simply activate/deactivate as necessary, so you’re never tied down to a single machine).
–Adobe Touch Apps and the Adobe Photoshop Touch SDK. This is really the big news for Photoshop. Access to the SDK for developers, allowing you to create mobile/tablet apps to control and interact directly with Photoshop CS 5.5 We’ll be releasing several apps to the Apple App Store upon ship.
There’s a lot more in there, but I recommend checking out some of the links and certainly follow my colleagues blogs (Greg Rewis for Web, Terry White for Design and Paul Trani for Flash & Mobile) for more information on the updates to Web Premium and Design Premium apps.
Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium Feature Tour Overview. This is the Über video, containing all of the CS5.5 Production Premium new feature vignettes; 43 minutes in length.
Smoother Editing Workflow with Dual-System Sound Support in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5
Greater performance gains with the Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5
Improved 64-bit Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5
Integrated audio-for-video workflow
Stabilize shaky footage with the Warp Stabilizer in After Effects CS5.5
Create soft-focus effects with the Camera Lens Blur feature in After Effects CS5.5
Control light intensity falloff w/the Light Falloff effect in After Effects CS5.5
Get direct integration with Adobe Story and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5
Overview of what’s new in Adobe Audition CS5.5
Blog on.