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Total Training for Adobe's Digital Video Collection
Reviewed Date: September, 2004
Reviewed By: Post
Product Reviewed: Total Training for Adobe's Digital Video Collection
I can only speak for myself, and I may or may
not necessarily represent the majority of
Post readers, but… I am having trouble
keeping up. I mean, I have a smorgasbord of
applications loaded on my PC workstation
and another whole set loaded on my G5. It's a
certified challenge to keep them all straight.
Jack of all apps, master of none? Toss in a
major OS curveball upgrade and my head is
spinning. Help!
That yelping request was answered by
John Bell and Brian Maffitt — the creators of
Total Training, who offer CD-ROM and DVD
training titles for virtually every product in the
Adobe software line. This includes Video
Workshop discs that Adobe graciously includes
in its software packages to get its users
up to speed quickly on its new product features.
With thorough, comprehensive and
hands-on techniques,Total Training has developed
an instructional methodology that helps
me stay up to date with new versions. Just
when I think I've got a handle on Adobe After
Effects 6.0 — NAB 2004 unveils Version 6.5,
which may seem like a minor “dot-five” upgrade
on the surface, but in reality is a monster
toolset revolution. If I sound dramatic, it's
because this new version is HUGE. And I
wouldn't have known the half of it if I didn't sit
down with a 2D like-ness of Brian Maffitt (via
DVD) for a few hours, and take it all in.
I found Maffitt presented the material at
just the right pace, even though I had the ability
to pause, jump back or speed ahead. His
sense of humor kept me entertained while his
years of experience as a nationally recognized
animator and After Effects evangelist kept me
very focused. He really is the Papa Smurf of
motion graphics, ya' know. You can view these
DVDs on your laptop on your way to Aunt
Elsa's, or at home on your entertainment system.
But what I found to be the best method
for my own learning was at work, on an editing
workstation with dual monitors… one
21-inch set up to display the DVD full screen,
and the other 21-inch hosting AE V.6.5 full
screen.That way, I could really participate in
the learning process, making it easier for me
to retain all the details of the series.
In Total Training Presents:Adobe Video Collection
— From Edit to Output, noted animator
and professional designer Steve Holmes
gets video professionals and enthusiasts up to
speed on how all of Adobe's latest digital
video products work together. Holmes gives
viewers the techniques to unleash their creativity
with all of these products while keeping
tight control over the process of developing
professional productions.The workflow and
tight integration of all five applications included
in the Professional version of Adobe's
Video Collection is stressed in this eight-hour
DVD that guides viewers through creating
eye-popping effects, rich soundtracks and dynamic
DVD design using the powerful features
in the latest releases of the programs.
The Offerings
In its in-depth training series for the individual
Adobe digital video products,Total Training
calls on Holmes and Maffitt to lead After Effects
V.6.5 training, feature filmmaker Jacob
Rosenberg to direct Premiere Pro V.1.5,Adobe
product evangelist Daniel Brown to train on
Encore DVD V.1.5, and audio pro Jason Levine
(rock on dude, love your hair) to guide users
through Audition V.1.5 in the new DVDs.
• Total Training for Adobe After Effects
V.6.5 — four-set, 13-DVD series covering After
Effects' functionality, including the fundamentals
of animation and special effects, 3D, expressions,
text and design and compositing.
• Total Training for Adobe Premiere Pro
V.1.5 — multiple-DVD training series to teach
Premiere Pro's realtime digital video and audio
editing features, including new features like
Bezier key frames, Auto-Color/Levels, the Project
Manager and pre and post processing with
the Adobe Media Encoder.
• Total Training for Adobe Encore DVD
V.1.5 — DVD-based series to cover the creation
of polished DVDs. Covers comprehensive
design tools, efficient workflow and easy integration
with other Adobe software.
• Total Training for Adobe Audition V.1.5
— four-hour, two-DVD set on Audition's multitrack
mixing, mono and stereo waveform editing,
effects support, looping capabilities and
CD burning in Adobe's audio editing software.
Because of the relationship Total Training
has built with Adobe (one might say “in bed
with”),Total Training is able to introduce these
new training DVDs in sync with Adobe's latest
releases. For Premiere Pro,Total Training gives
you three-hours with professional filmmaker,
author and Adobe Premiere Pro expert Jacob
Rosenberg, who offers insider tips and lesserknown
features in Adobe's video editing software,
such as enhancing projects with special
effects, perfecting audio levels, bringing seemingly
lost footage back to life, and achieving
greater efficiency overall. In the first three lessons,
Rosenberg focuses on increasing productivity,
especially when working on tight
deadlines. Lesson two, “Crunch Time,” offers
an alternative workflow to enable video and
filmmakers to edit on the go, while lesson
three teaches use of the keyboard to edit
faster and more efficiently.
Conclusion
I don't know where I'd be without Total
Training, for myself and my production staff as
well. I've saved thousands of dollars with this
series. And it's not a one-shot deal either, you
can always refer back to the discs to refresh an
area that may have gotten a bit foggy over
time. And if you lose a staff member, you don't
lose the money invested in the training like
you would if they had attended local workshops
on software.
View original at Post Magazine
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