Book Description
Sure you can animate using motion tweens, in fact we'll help you do that with our Flash Cartoon Animation book, but isn't there something extra special in making things move with just a few lines of code? In this book Keith Peters guides us through some basic animation theory and then demystifies the math and physics behind creating realistic animation, looking at trigonometry, velocity and acceleration, and bouncing & friction. This book will teach you how to use Flash ActionScript to move the objects in your movies, rather than letting Flashs tween engine do it for you. The benefit of this is smaller, more realistic, more dynamic interactive movies that seem to come alive on your screen. Almost all of the code featured in this book will work fine in either Flash MX 2004 or Flash 8, and with a few minor adjustments, most of it can even be applied to Flash MX. Although the text covers many advanced math and physics concepts, making for very realistic motion, theres no need to worry, even if youre a relative newcomer to programming and the last math class you took was in high school (and even if you barely remember that!). This book first covers everything you need to know to get started: the principles of animation, and the basics of ActionScript, trigonometry, and Flash rendering methods. Youll work your way slowly from using code to move a single object across the screen to creating complex systems that really push Flashs capabilities with topics covered including collision detection, particle attraction, and kinematics. The book concludes with looking at 3D animation techniques, including building a basic 3D engine, 3D lines, fills and solids, and matrix math. Once you come to grips with the ideas presented here, youll find yourself creating all manner of exciting animations and games! Summary of Contents
- Part I ActionScripted Animation Basics
- Ch. 1 Basic Animation Concepts
- Ch. 2 ActionScript Basics for Animation
- Ch. 3 Trigonometry
- Ch. 4 Rendering Techniques
- Part II Basic Motion
- Ch. 5 Velocity and Acceleration
- Ch. 6 Bouncing and Friction
- Ch. 7 User Interaction: Dragging and Throwing
- Part III Advanced Motion
- Ch. 8 Easing and Springs
- Ch. 9 Collision Detection
- Ch. 10 Bouncing off Angles
- Ch. 11 Billiard Ball Physics
- Ch. 12 Particle Attraction
- Ch. 13 Forward Kinematics
- Ch. 14 Inverse Kinematics
- Part IV Three D
- Ch. 15 A Basic 3D Engine
- Ch. 16 3D Lines, Fills, Solids
- Ch. 17 Advanced 3D: Backface Culling and Lighting
- Ch. 18 Matrix Math
- Part V Tips and Tricks
Customer Reviews:
Easy to use and understand, even for the novice.......2007-10-15
I was tasked with producing eight Flash simulations for an engineering dynamics course this past summer. I programmed the simulations using ActionScript with algebra and calculus introduced to control the behavior of a variety of objects -- no small task if you consider that I am an English teacher and not a programmer or engineer.
By doing and redoing the problems posed by Peters, I could eventually understand them well enough to be able to program similar modules for my project. No idea seems too difficult for him to explain in a manner a beginner can understand, particularly with the working models at the FriendsofED.
I purchased nine books on the subject at the beginning of the project. I ended up using this one more than all of the others combined.
I also recommend his ActionScript 3.0. Being the same book written for two different versions of ActionScript, the two books give us a really good opportunity to compare and contrast the two languages.
Must Love Actionscript.......2007-09-22
I will atest that this is a great book IF you are an actionscript junkie, but if your not you will hate this book. I was looking for a book to help my students with thier Flash animations and this book was way beyond where I wanted to take my students.
Incredibly well written.......2007-09-10
I bought this book along w/ about 4 others that I needed. This one was the splurge... I was simply going to browse through it and see what I could pick up from it - not really thinking I could fully grasp the advanced concepts.
To my suprise, this book brought you all the way back to those good ole Trig classes and explained what you'd need to recall (or re-learn) and why. Every concept was very well explained and one concept builds upon the next.
It's definitely no light read, but if you really do have a desire to learn, this is the book.
Indeed a great tool for making animations.......2007-07-12
I was looking for a script animation book and I finally found the one that cater to my needs.
Just what I was looking for..........2007-07-12
I started learning Flash 8 about 6 months ago, hoping to make some physics simulation programs and games. I started out by buying Foundation Actionscript for Flash 8 and was quite disappointed to find that the subject of math was avoided at all costs. After reading 100 pages or so, I finally decided I'd just buy this book and hope I had learned enough to get me by. Now I regret not buying this in the first place.
Peters starts with the very basics of physics and takes you step by step on how to translate it into Actionscript. As it goes, it explains what the code means and how it works, making it possible to actually learn a lot about Actionscript in general. Although he explains how the physics works, he makes an effort to keep it at reasonable level and I never found myself the slightest bit bored or confused. This book teaches by example, which is the easiest way for me to learn. Nearly every major and minor topic mentioned has its own example with code in the book (which can also be downloaded off the website).
As can be seen from the table of contents, he gets into some relatively complicated topics and even in these, he does a great job of explaining how it works and how to keep your code efficient, making sure to mention any shortcuts that can make things easier.
So to sum things up
-this book is great at teaching you how to program realistic physics-based motion
-it's amazing at explaining what each bit of code does and how it works to the extent that it can be used as a beginning guide to Actionscript in general.
Book Description
"Clear, concise, lively, well-organized and opinionated."—Popular Photography and Imaging
In this thorough revision of his best-selling guide, Rick Sammon covers all the steps in the digital photographic process. The book teaches basic technical picture taking and the art of photography, plus introductory and advanced digital techniques.
Orchestrating over 1,000 images into easy-to-read lessons, Sammon uses an approach of "learning to see and seeing to learn" with pairs of images, software screen shots, and the best photographs from his own shooting assignments.
New for this edition, all the image editing tips feature the popular Adobe Photoshop® Elements®; file format discussions now include working with Camera RAW files; and more than 170 new color images have been added. 1000 color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
As good as they say, but let's correct a misquote..........2007-09-30
New photographers will appreciate the fact that most of Parts I, II, III and VII in this 445-page book, a total of more than 250 pages, is about photography subjects other than digital photography per se. These subjects include sharpness, autofocus, the rule of thirds, using flash, and so on. Understandably, though, experienced film photographers who want to move on to digital photography, or those who already have books on general photography, may see it differently. So I am in sympathy with reviewer "A Photographer, Planet Earth" when he complains "first they want to teach you a little basic photography..." then it's on to "Photoshop tricks".
Readers who want to focus on the "digital" in digital photograpy might want to look at "Complete Digital Photography" by Ben Long and "Digital Photography, Expert Techniques," by Ken Milburn.
Sammon's digital photography book deserves its good reviews, because his obvious enthusiasm for the medium transcends the book's faults, or perhaps what some would call its overly broad approach. There is only one error that Sammon's enthusiasm does not transcend. He misquotes one of the world's greatest photographers, the late Henri Cartier-Bresson, about his philosophy of image-making. Each of Sammon's chapters begins with an italicized quotation. So when you see, at the top of Lesson 15 on page 87, this comment attributed to Cartier-Bresson -- "To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event" -- you may think that is what Cartier-Bresson really said.
But that is not what he said. In the preface to his book "The Decisive Moment," Henri Cartier-Bresson wrote, "To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event its proper expression."
To get the first half of this quote right, and omit the second half entirely, is to miss the whole point, and in doing so to seriously misinform young people about Cartier-Bresson's actual philosophy. It is a philosophy that the photographer lived for many years as he wandered Europe on foot. The Frenchman's well known work actually does reveal a talent for organizing circles, ovals, arches, and other shapes so as to enhance the meaning of the photograph! What he did in recognizing the meaning of an event and *at the same time* organizing shapes and forms within the frame so as to express that meaning is incredible. Study his photos with his stated philosophy in mind and you will only marvel more. He didn't just teach it; he lived it.
Sammon is an admirer of Cartier-Bresson. That being the case, I hope that in the future he will be more careful how he quotes him.
I'll close with a compliment. Sammon has an enviable rapport with his subjects -- and these include people from all over the world. I admire this quality of Sammon and his book, and I think you will too.
Easy to Read & Understand.......2007-07-19
I've only recently begun shooting pictures digitally. I took a short class on Crime Scene Photography that scratched the surface, but I wanted to learn more. Rick Sammon writes in a very conversational way that makes his book fun to read and easy to understand. This book is great for the beginner and the advanced alike. There are countless tips on general photography as well as editing your photos in PhotoShop. This book is certainly worth the time to read and re-read. I keep it around now as a reference.
An enjoyable but not completely satisfying read........2007-06-12
I'm giving this book four stars based almost solely on Rick Sammon's enthusiasm. He is obviously a person who enjoys what he does and likes interacting with others. His writing was lively enough so I read the book in one afternoon. The bottom line problem with this guide is the same bottom line problem I'm finding in all digital photography guides I've encountered. The first thing they want to do is teach you a little basic photography knowledge and the next thing they do is tell you how to use Photoshop tricks to create "artful photos" that, in effect, minimizes the need for knowledge of basic photography. Photography is more than tricks and "secrets of the pros" and Photoshop is a fine tool for photographers to augment their work. Unfortunately, most digital photography teaching vehicles today emphasize the ghastly and tasteless manipulations in Photoshop and fail to emphasize learning basic camera technique. To Rick Sammon's credit, he does provide a measure of how to use tools available for in-camera control as opposed to relying solely on Photoshop corrections and manipulations in post production. But when the chapters on the various Photoshop tools and manipulations come into play, it's still a lot of ghastly and tasteless trickery that takes center stage.
The higher quality, professional and advanced amateur digital cameras that are available today are so sophisticated, it's difficult to really screw up your pictures if you have a basic grasp of photography and how to use the camera's features. Despite this, a lot of people are screwing up their pictures in post production by relying on photo editing software. Sammon's examples in the Photoshop Elements portions of this book point this out very clearly. The "before Photoshop" photos are often preferable to the "after Photoshop" photos. I'm not speaking of basic operations such as minor color corrections, cropping, sharpening, etc. I'm speaking of the use of filters and borders and the cut-and-paste collages that Sammon often refers to as "artistic" which are, in fact, perfect examples of over-processed pseudo-art.
I'm not really picking on Rick Sammon here. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I've enjoyed Sammon's writing and photography in other publications as well. It's just that we really don't need more people playing around with their computers to create the photographic equivalent of black velvet paintings.
A must read Digital Photography book for everyone.......2007-06-08
I bought this book about 3 months ago . This book as well as its earlier edition changes my concept about digital photography. One thing that I am missing in the 2nd edition is the absence of Adobe photoshop CS2 treatment. I think that would be more attractive option. The approach of Rick Sammon is wonderful. He covers picture for almost all the remote corners of the world, specifically Asian and South American countries. I strongly suggest this book for everyone involved in digital photography.
Enjoyable / Informative Book.......2007-06-08
I attended a seminar by Rick Sammon just a few weeks ago and had to get his book. I'm new in digital photography and his approach is straight forward and entertaining while being very informative. Highly recommended.
Book Description
So you fancy yourself a filmmaker? Here to ensure that you truly are is a simple, to-the-point guide that leads you through the process of creating your very first digital video project with Adobe's brand-new consumer-level video editing software, Premiere Elements ($99). In these pages veteran author and PC Magazine contributing editor
Jan Ozer gets right to the point: Rather than explore every option and feature of Premiere Elements, Jan uses project-based instruction and big, colorful screen shots to demonstrates the quickest, easiest, and smartest route to cinematic success. Each short lesson builds on the last as you learn how to capture and import video; add transitions, titles and effects; take advantage of the program's stunning templates; use the program with Photoshop Elements to edit and incorporate still images; and output your finished video to DVD. The book's small size and even smaller price ($12.99) make it the perfect entry point into the world of digital filmmaking as well as the ideal jumping-off point for further exploration.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing, Only Covers the Very Basics.......2007-08-27
This book has several issues. The first is that it is not written for any specific version of Adobe Premiere Elements. You will note a clear avoidance of tying this book to any software release. Therefore the book deviates from reality with Adobe 3.0 in several areas. This alone would be a reason to avoid this book.
My second issue is that this book only covers the most basic of steps, which are repeated in tutorials that you get when you purchase Adobe 3.0. Therefore, I can so no reason to purchase this obsolete book.
Visual QuickProject Guide .......2007-08-14
Disappointed to find this was for the earlier version of Premiere Elements and it did not contain the new important features. The classroom training book by Adobe is far better.
Good add-on book.......2006-03-04
This book provides color visuals and is a good add-on to "Adobe Premiere Elements for Dummies". I will not recommend it an independent guide to Premier elements as it is a little sparse on details.
Information without confusion.......2006-02-25
Wanting to transfer my camcoder footage and Video tape footage of my family holidays to DVD I came across the Making a Movie in Premiere Elements a Visual QuickProject Guide book,the reviews looked very good,so I took a chance and bought it.I have not been dissapointed,in fact I was well impressed.Its explained to you simply and in pictures that make you understand what its all about.It gave me,a 49 year old newcomer to camcorder/video editing,the confidence to go ahead and use Premier Elements (also works for Premier Elements 2.)I have found this to be money wery well spent.I sincerely recommend this.
Gift.......2006-01-16
I got this as a gift for a friend, but I have always had great luck with the Visual Quickstart books and would recommend them to anyone who needs to learn an application.
Average customer rating:
- Outstanding Photography Book
- Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Taking, Making, Editing, Storing, Printing, and Sharing Bett
- Complete Guide to Digital Photography - my opinion
- Great Book for beginners and Experts
- From good to great!
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Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Taking, Making, Editing, Storing, Printing, and Sharing Better Digital Images
Rick Sammon
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Rick Sammon's Digital Imaging Workshops: Step-by-Step Lessons on Editing with Adobe Photoshop Elements
-
Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
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Rick Sammon's Travel and Nature Photography
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Digital Photography Pocket Guide, Third Edition (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly))
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Perfect Digital Photography
ASIN: 0393325512 |
Book Description
Over 1,000 images teach shooting and Photoshop techniques in easy lessons for anyone wanting expert advice on digital photography.
In 2003, digital camera sales will explode following a 35 percent increase in 2002. Rick Sammon, one of North America's most widely read photocolumnists, covers all the steps in the digital photographic process.
Sammon begins with basic advice for those new to photography. Experienced film shooters will enjoy Sammon's ample coverage of Photoshop and digital image techniques. And in a bonus section, Sammon offers advanced tips such as taking glamour shots, producing e-books, and setting up a home studio.
Sammon answers questions such as "How do I select a digital camera? How do I store my images? What are the first things I should do when using Photoshop?"
Sammon's approach of "learning to see and seeing to learn" uses pairs of images, software screen shots, and the best photographs from his own vast library. The 107 lessons take the reader through each topic in friendly, concise steps. Includes a CD-ROM with "The Camera Looks Both Ways," a mini-course in photography. 1008 color illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding Photography Book.......2007-04-10
I bought this book before a recent trip to Italy. This is an outstanding book on Digital photography and photography in general. If you really want to improve your work from taking snap shots to creating high quality photographic images, you have to read this book! Absolutely the best book on photography I have ever read!
Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Taking, Making, Editing, Storing, Printing, and Sharing Bett.......2007-03-08
Thank-You this is a easy to read guide book. I also have learned a lot from.My Digital Photography teacher even has noticed my photo's are much better!
Complete Guide to Digital Photography - my opinion.......2007-01-30
While I like this book, and it does include a ton of useful information on various aspects of digital photography, I also have some criticisms. First, if you are not using Photoshop (CTS or Elements), this book will be of little value to you. Two-thirds (2/3) of the book is focused on techniques using Photoshop. Second, I am not a fan of the "every section is a short lesson or tutorial" approach. This often does not allow for in depth coverage of specific topics and can make it difficult to find specific topics. Finally, the CD/ROM included with the book is supposed to be a Tutorial, but is really a PowerPoint of selected chapters + some additional resources. It does not include photographs that are included in the book with before/after focus, which would be better. Overall, I think this book is good for someone who is making the transition from film to digital and/or someone who owns Photoshop and wants to learn more about how to use it.
Great Book for beginners and Experts.......2007-01-25
This is the best book out there for digital photography users. It will teach you how to buy equipment, the basics of computers and digital equipment, how to get started with your new camera, and shooting tips. It has basic info and then advanced techniques. It is a also a great reference book to dive into topics you havent learned yet. I bought 4 other books before this one, and Ricks book is all you will need.
From good to great!.......2006-03-16
This book helped me to go from being a good amateur photographer to a great amateur photographer. Each of the 107 chapters provides a short lesson for you to read and digest, before going out to practice with your own digital camera and computer. It took me about 3 months to finish the book, and a year later I still refer back to it from time to time.
FYI, although the auther uses the professional Photoshop program for around $650, I have been able to do just about everything using the lesser version for $93 (Photoshop Elements, Version 3.0 for Windows). Either way, Photoshop is a wonderful program, and you can always upgrade in the future.
The author provides great examples to help illustrate each of the concepts in the book. His photography is very creative while his writing is fun and personal. However, at the end of the day, what you put into it will definitely be what you get out of it!
Book Description
PRODUCING INDEPENDENT 2D CHARACTER ANIMATION takes an in-depth look at the artistry and production process of cel animation in a friendly, how-to manner that makes the sometimes tedious process of animation enjoyable and easy to understand. This book guides animators through every step of planning and production; includes examples of actual production forms, organization tips, screen shots, and sketches from the pre- to post-production processes; and contains detailed information on the hardware and software used to complete each step.
By mapping out the course of how his small studio brainstormed, created, then produced its award-winning animation, TIMMY'S LESSONS IN NATURE, Mark Simon explains to animators what it takesboth creatively and resource-wiseto get their animations to market.
Includes exclusive interviews with Oscar-nominated independent animator Bill Plimpton, Craig McCracken, creator of the POWER PUFF GIRLS, Craig "Spike" Decker of SPIKE & MIKE'S SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION, David Fine & Alison Snowden who are the Academy Award-Winning producers of BOB AND MARGARET, Cartoon Network's Senior Vice President of Original Animation, Linda Simensky, and Tom Sito, Co-Director of OSMOSIS JONES...as well as others.
* Take your project from concept to creation, then take it to market
* Learn story development, character design, audio recording, editing, ink and paint, compositing, and the software available to enhance your animated films
* Complete with project organization guidelines, production forms, as well as work samples, trial software, and eight animations on CD-ROM!
Customer Reviews:
this book officially kicks ass.......2004-07-13
First of all, I just wanted you to know - this book officially kicks ass.
I have been messing around with Flash animation on and off for the past 4 years. Some of my stuff appeared on Howard Stern's syndicated TV show, and I even won a prize in an animated joke competition.
But I have been in a total slump lately - no motivation or understanding of how to improve my skills and not a decent idea to speak of. I haven't posted a new animation on my website in well over a year.
Then I received the book (Producing Independent 2D Character Animation) as a gift. It has been the jump start I needed, like shock treatment for my creativity. I've written some scripts and started storyboarding. I also did an animatic in Flash to check the timing/jokes. With the procedures outlined in the book as my guide, I intend to begin animating again shortly.
Thanks to the author for sharing his knowledge.
Informative; Possibly Suffers from a Misnomer.......2004-07-10
There is some good information in this book. If you have at least a modicum of familiarity with animation though, there's very little new about art or theory or instruction in here. The title and subtitle should be reversed in terms of importance to
Making and Selling a Short Film: Producing 2D Independent Character Animation.
Granted, this is not a flaw with the book, but I am writing this review as a caution to those who might think of it as one thing, when it is in fact another. They don't mean "I produced animation for Mary." They mean "For Mary I was involved in an animation production."
Difference being, aside from a section on tips, there is -no- mention of the process of animating, but rather name-dropping of software/hardware you'll need to run a digital version of the conventional studio, presented vicariously through the author recounting his experiences in making his short film.
All that being said, though, the tips are pretty good and the single most informative part of this entire book are the exclusive interviews with artists and suits from around the industry. These are so insightful (on the respondent's part) and so chock full of good things to know that it might have been more beneficial to chop the price in half and have the whole book just be about the interviews. Still, keeping the price the same, it's almost still worth it.
This is not a bad book by any means; on the contrary, it is one of the better, more clearly written books out there, and though there are too many purposeless illustrations, the ones with purpose are great and it's wonderful eye candy to have them in full color. I never got a chance to see it before I bought it, and ordered it into Barnes and Noble by my house...Now I'll likely be contributing it back into the world via the Marketplace as an interesting one night stand...
best buy for beginning animators.......2004-05-06
explains all resources all indumentary needed and best of all almost everything has high budget and low budget examples.
Why is this so expensive?.......2004-02-25
This book is selling for $27.99 at Barnes and Noble as of 2/24/04 - that's over $20 less than here!
Highly Recommended!.......2003-07-12
This book is the most concise, and comprehensive book I've seen on the subject of producing a 2D animated cartoon. While several other books focus on the art of animation, Mark Simon focuses on the nuts and bolts of "getting it done". Topics flow from planning, visualization, character design to storyboarding, audio recording and animatics, through editing, rendering and even distribution options. The sample CD-ROM has a huge assortment of demo programs to help you "work along" with the book. It is by no means the ONLY book you need to embark on animating a cartoon, but it is an essential one for any prospective cartoon filmmaker's library. Interviews with several industry professionals are included and add a perspective from the talent buyer's view. All in all a very handy resource for someone who knows what they want to do, but need guidance to realize their vision.
Book Description
Digital Illustration - A Masterclass in Creative Image-making instructs the reader, through detailed, step-by-step tutorials, in the skills and techniques used by the masters of digital image-making.
With the growth of computer arts, designers are now using Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash as much as QuarkXPress. These designers are combining handcrafting skills with modern techniques to produce a fresh creative aesthetic. Digital Illustration reveals the secrets of the industry's most successful creatives who transfer traditional illustrative skills into digital dimensions, producing the highest quality, most commercially successful animation, three-dimensional and vector-based illustration. This book offers a master class for students and professional designers and illustrators who want to take their work beyond the constraints of two-dimensions and to gain greater commercial success.
Customer Reviews:
Not impressed.......2007-07-06
I didn't like the tutorials, and most of the illustrations in this book were terrible. You won't get much out of this book that you can translate into practical portfolio pieces. Get Illusive: A guide to contemporary illustration, or handmade if you want to see what the real movers and shakers in the illustration business are doing.
Book Description
If you're making the move to Final Cut Express (or thinking about why you should) and want an expert personal trainer--you're in luck. In
Making Movies with Final Cut Express, Hollywood veteran and fun guy Michael Rubin—-a pioneer in the editing field—-comes to you!
In these 336 pages, Rubin lays out everything you need to know to start producing entertaining and informative videos with Apple's new Final Cut Express. Offering loads of illustrations and a friendly writing style, this handy book makes it easy for even complete novices to become skilled and comfortable at digital video editing. And if you're already editing home movies with Apple's iMovie software, you'll quickly learn the ways Final Cut Express can dramatically raise the sophistication of your projects.
Rubin carefully and methodically works through Final Cut Express's important tools and fancy features using specially prepared video that is included on the book's companion DVD. In no time you'll be using the timeline,inserting and adjusting shots, and working with picture and sound separately to create professional results. Once you've mastered the basics, Rubin goes on to explain how to add music, titles, and special effects to your video and encourages you to think of new ways you can apply this powerful software to your personal and business projects. It's the perfect first book for someone just getting into Final Cut Express.
Customer Reviews:
making movies with FCE.......2005-09-29
This book is a good start, its has a lot of dialog so its an easy read. If your looking for a reference book so to speak, this is not the book for you. If you want an introduction to FCE, this is the book for you. Be sure to check the version number of your software against what the book was written for.
"It Rocks".......2005-07-23
Although I am a highly technical person that works with computers and networks every day, I do not enjoy dry, technical books that bear a striking resemblance to user manuals.
From the moment I read:
"Why Work With Final Cut Express?
- Final Cut Express rocks."
on page xiii of the intro, I KNEW I was going to enjoy this author. This step by step guide with accompanying DVD of material for the lessons is simply outstanding.
It is far preferable to learn how to use FCE from a professional film editor than from a computer programmer than only offers an endless list of "...and it can do this and this and this and..." The author uses the material from the DVD that was specially selected to illustrate key elements of editing and how to use FCE to accomplish each task. You aren't going to get experience like this by taking your latest home movie and using a manual of features to edit it. You are going to both a better filmer and editor for learning these lessons.
I am bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for my first project in FCE now!
(And might I add my in my professional opinion: Macs rock too!)
Excellent.......2004-12-21
I threw in the Final Cut Express add-on when I bought my new iMac G5 - I didn't think I really had that great a need for it, but figured what the heck. At first I was disappointed as it wasn't as intuitive as iMovie (silly me). However, the more I played with it I realized all I needed was a guide book to help me along. This book filled that role perfectly.
It starts out explaining the basics of professional video editing, which cleared up about 50% of my confusion. It is easy to read and easy to jump around to pick and choose topics to explore. The text is structure as a start to finish tutorial, but I found it worked really well as a reference, too. I was able to quickly jump from the index to a topic when I got stuck or wanted to know how to do something.
Within half an hour, I was editing old footage of a Half Dome hike - not necessarily "like a pro". However, I was creating segments, adding text, importing Photoshop images (maps of Yosemite), and chopping out all the slow spots to put together a short "not quite as boring as before" video of the hike. =)
This book was perfect for me. I'd highly recommend it to anyone comfortable with iMovie who wants to move on to Final Cut - you won't need iMovie any more.
Great for moving from iMovie to Express.......2003-09-08
I have been playing around with iMovie for about a year or so, I finally made the move up to Final Cut Express to have more control over my editing. So I got the program and found that it had a very complex interface and no written manual! After reading through a few books at a local bookstore I decided on this book. Not only is the book a good price but it includes a DVD with footage that the author walks you through to teach how things are done in Final Cut Express. The author has a very relaxed writing style that is easy to read and enjoyable. I really believe Apple should have this book as a bundle option with the purchase of Final Cut Express, this is the written manual that should be in the box.
Book Description
You're impressed with Adobe CS2 and love Adobe Bridge, its new navigational control center. But are you making the most out of it? Adobe Bridge is more than a simple file browser. It's a powerful desktop tool and provides centralized access to all your suite project files, applications, and settings. With file organization and sharing, plus Adobe Stock Photos at your fingertips all the time, Adobe Bridge speeds your workflow and keeps your ideas moving. In this first book to cover Adobe Bridge, best-selling author Terry White shows how to fully utilize this cool, productivity-enhancing software. You'll master organizing your files using the Bridge while customizing views and your workspace. You'll also learn how to view files (PDFs, multi-page InDesign files, Photoshop images, and more) in Adobe Bridge and directly see fonts and swatches used without actually opening a file as well as how to create collections of files, send files out for email review, track projects, effectively use Version Cue, set up RSS feeds, purchase stock photos, and more!
Customer Reviews:
This should have come with the software.......2007-01-09
There isn't any detailed information in this book, it's just an extended pamplet that should have shipped with the product. I didn't learn anything more from this than just sitting down with the program for an evening and poking around the menus. Powerful program: yes, hard to learn: no. I doubt I will use this as much of a reference book either. I have worked with Adobe products for many years, not as a job but as a hobby, and feel that anyone who knows Adobe products at all can understand this program by just diving into it without a book.
Time Saver Extrodinaire.......2006-07-26
The Bridge program gives us an incredible new tool for organizing and processing large groups of image files. This great LITTLE book is an outstanding resource to get you up and running with Bridge to take advantage of its power in as little time as possible.
A Bridge You Need to Cross.......2006-01-24
Terry White's newest book has the Bridge you need to cross to use all of the Adobe Creative Suite products productively. In only 100 pages Terry shows us Bridge so it is a production tool all by itself. You learn enough to be able to seamlessly go from Adobe app to Adobe app. But wait, there's even more. You are taught to create Adobe Bridge Scripts that integrate with all of the Adobe products. You can create a Photoshop script without even opening up Photshop! You also are directed to a site at Adobe.com where you can download new scripts even from third parties. Want to export an Illustrator file as a flash script? Page 61 tells you about the two options you have. Create an InDesign Script that does not create pixels as Photoshop does when you create a slide show. Wow! Try that, anyone. Use the Bridge to batch process your Raw files faster than Photoshop. Why? Bridge does not perform anything such as needing you to convert to 8 bit to view as you do if you make a common mistake. Batch processing is much, much easier in Bridge.
The section on the slideshow is worth the price alone. It will help you create award wining and profitable slideshows for images. Additionally, you can mix vector and bit-mapped images and you do not waste time by converting each to the other. Terry tells you how with this gem of book in less than 100 pages and at at a cost that is astounding for what you get. You may have to buy two as you wear this book out as a daily reference.
A must-have book for everyone who uses Adobe CS2 products.......2006-01-19
The Adobe Bridge is actually a stand-alone application and as such, is one of the most underrated parts of CS2. Terry White's Bridge book is not only well written and clear, it reveals the awesome power of the new Adobe Bridge. Other books touch on the Bridge, but Terry shows you how to use all it's features and power. There are many hidden tricks to making the Bridge work for you and they are all unveiled in the clear explanations in each section. What a great idea to take this one part of CS2 and describe each and every aspect so the reader can use the Bridge to his/her own advantage! This book is definitely worth reading and USING as you work in any application.
Good Missing Manual.......2005-12-24
A good reference of Adobe Bridge if you are handling more than photos. Since this is an application that is new to most "Creatives" this title stands as a great foundation of an application that may turn into a new type of operating system.
If you are an Photoshop expert and photos are your thing - this is may be on the basic side. But if you are more of an Indesign/Illustrator type - dealing with all sorts of things and you are not the technical type - this will be a good reference for an application that will become a staple.
Book Description
You've seen your friends' camcorder-shot, digitally edited home movies-and you're pretty sure you can do better! However, that doesn't mean you want to spend days (or even weeks) learning everything there is to know about the free video editing software at the heart of your Windows XP OS. You learn by doing-and this guide delivers. In these pages, veteran author Jan Ozer gets right to the point, using simple project-based instruction and big, colorful screen shots to guide you through the process of editing your very first video project with Movie Maker. By focusing on a single goal (making that first movie) rather than exploring every option and feature, Jan demonstrates the quickest, easiest, smartest route to cinematic success. Each short lesson builds on the last as you learn how to create transitions, titles, wipes, dissolves, freeze frames, and more in the process of editing your video into a finished film that you can then post on the Web or copy to CD or DVD.
Customer Reviews:
Easy to understand, very clear, and pictures to help.......2005-10-09
This is the best book to help you get started on making a movie with Windows XP. It's easy to follow, the pictures are clear, expaining everything in detail.
Average customer rating:
- Bad choice
- mymac.com book review:
- A STAR IS BORN!
- Great book!
|
Making Movies, Photos, Music & DVDs on Your Mac: Using Apple's Digital Hub
Jesse Feiler
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
MacOS
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Digital Photography
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Audio & Video Editing
| Digital Music
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jp-unknown1
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ASIN: 0072225548 |
Book Description
Get full coverage of Apple's hot new suite of fun, creative tools for making movies, photos, dvds and custom music in one volume! Now you can see how easy it is to make your own customized digital creations using iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, and iTunes with help from this detailed, results-oriented guide.
Customer Reviews:
Bad choice.......2003-11-28
There are so many better choices. Much of the information is sketchy, redundant, or just wrong. Steer clear of this one.
mymac.com book review:.......2002-10-24
Book Review: Making Movies, Photos, Music and DVDs on Your Mac
Chris Seibold
Columnist/Cartoonist
Making Movies, Photos, Music and DVDs on Your Mac
By Jesse Feiler
Publisher: McGraw Hill/ Osborne
SBN: 0072225548
...
Imagine for a moment that you have a spiffy new iMac and further suppose that you want to use it to make all kinds of multimedia. Heck if you have a newish Mac you know it comes pre loaded with iTunes for music, iPhoto for pictures, iMovie for making your own movies and iDVD for cramming that newly made movie on a DVD disc. Thatýs a lot of programs to take in all at once and if you have a new Mac you know that the manuals are nonexistent. So are you left running out to buy a book for each program? Maybe not, perhaps Jesse Feilerýs book "Making Movies, Photos, Music and DVDs on Your Mac" can answer your specific needs for a fraction of the price of four individual tomes and with a good deal more depth than an all-encompassing Mac reference.
The first problem with the "Making Movies, Photos, Music and DVDs on Your Mac" is the title. It might trick you. Jesse Feilerýs book is not about making music or photos on your Mac, itýs about organizing and manipulating said multimedia. I suppose that objection is a minor quibble, after all it is the stuff between the covers that counts. "Making Movies, Photos, Music and DVDs on Your Mac", from now on referred to as MMPMD, starts out fairly basic. On page five Jesse Feiler covers the importance of "thinking digital" noting that today's computers are digital. Computers (the kind Jesse is thinking of) have been digital since 1937 but other media has been heading steadily towards the land of 1 and 0ýs for the last few years. The progression of media to the digital realm is what makes the Mac a digital hub and what makes MMPMD worth reading as long as you ignore anything that doesnýt pertain directly to computers or digital equipment.
Just what am I talking about? An example resides on page 21 where Jesse Feiler is chatting about visual perception. Sure this topic may seem a bit extraneous to some (and I would agree) but if youýre going to jam this kind of information in you should at least get it right. After noting that you need your brain to see (who knew?) we are treated to the following:
"Light, like all other electromagnetic radiation, consists of waves. All electromagnetic waves behave in the same way. This is why sound, light, infrared, X-rays, and gamma rays all exhibit similar behavior"
This is not some quibble about wave/photon duality or some other obscure quantum mechanical complaint my beef is a bit more basic: Just when did sound become an electromagnetic wave? Itýs been a couple of years since my class in classical mechanics but way back in ý97 science was pretty sure that sound waves were mechanical.
Once we get the first chapter out of the way we can begin to actually eye the book for the intended purpose of using our Mac to the fullest in the increasingly digital world. So how do the remaining 24 chapters hold up? Generally pretty well, the prose is easily understandable and the book is full of useful iMovie tips I havenýt seen elsewhere. The iPhoto information is quite thorough and useful and the iTunes chapters are more than passable. The last few chapters are "case studies" which are fairly useful to help the reader realize just what the "hub" can do.
While mostly solid (say 85%) MMPMD also has more than itýs fair share of "why the hell is this here?" spots where you are left wondering what the point was of the last few pages. A prime example of this can be found in the chapter on Applescript. The reader is treated to a couple pages full of Applescript terms and lines of Applescript code but not enough info to write a useful Applescript. The point of the chapter seems to involve a wish to get the reader to learn Applescript elsewhere and noting that there are quite a few useful downloadable scripts. My question remains: why did I wade through all that Applescript stuff just to find out I need to get a different book to actually write an Applescript?
Bottom Line: When MMPMD is going well itýs full of tricks and solid tips. When MMPMD is going bad it can be quite a time waster. My advice to those who buy this book: Make frequent use of the index to avoid the tangential information scattered throughout MMPMD.
MacMice Rating: 2 out of 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Seibold
A STAR IS BORN!.......2002-09-26
At last, a book that is understandable, compelling and
practical! As a teacher of film at USC, I found this
book enormously helpful. I will make it required reading
for my students.
Great book!.......2002-09-10
This book is so much fun! I am now totally hooked on digital cameras! I've been looking for help with digital photography and this book is the best I've seen---informative, well-written, great photos. If you aren't already interested in digital cameras, you will be after you read this book.
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- Fourth Sex, The
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- Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Glencoe Literature: The Reader's Choice, Grade 12, British Literature
- Green Money
- Hagakure: The Book of the Samauri
- Handbook on Architectures of Information Systems (International Handbooks on Information Systems) (International Handbooks on Information Systems)
- HARLEM RENAISSANCE, THE: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930 (Circles of the Twentieth Century)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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