I Make Videos, Why Should I Upgrade?

Ok, so maybe you are like me and you see these new enhancements to Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc. and you wonder why, as a video editor/graphics person, you should upgrade to Creative Suite 4. There are not nearly as many 'sexy' updates on the video side as we may have seen before. I know exactly what you are saying:

"With Cs3, After Effects had some really neat updates to After Effects like the Puppet Tool and the Brainstorm function. This version just seems to have some dumb filter called Cartoon."

Ok, yes. Cartoon is dare I say it...pretty useless. Someone else has mentioned it out there but it is basically there to do the Richard Linklater effect which is apparently now in vogue now with those Charles Schwab commercials (which seems to be a really silly use of the effect, in my opinion).

Before I get to After Effects, let me start with Premiere. As a Final Cut Editor, reading down the list of improvements, I certainly notice a lot of, let's say, similar functions which have been added to the product. But they really were worth adding on. The functionality has been greatly improved.

The neatest part of Premiere however is definitely the Speech/Transcription function which labels clips with searchable metadata. Now before you get out your credit card - this is not an effective automatic transcription. But it is pretty good. And you can edit the text easily. Plus you can just edit based upon these words which are tagged to the time code.... I hope I am not the only one that thinks that this is incredible. It is not yet perfect - but it is sure pretty cool.

Now back to After Effects - two really neat things (neither having to do with Cartoon). Ok not the most interesting thing, but very useful: Improved composition navigation. Mini-flowcharts and keyboard shortcuts makes it SO much easier to jump into your precomps. I have always hated how difficult it is to go four comps deep...and I really like to precomp.

Second thing, Unified Camera tool. Ok this should have been a no-brainer several versions ago, but Adobe put this into place where you do not need to switch between three different camera tools, just to change between x, y , and z movement. I was amazed at how much easier Motion's camera was when it came out, but this is now once again comparable. All you need is a three button mouse and it work much like some popular 3-D programs work.

So final verdict...you'll be fine with CS3 if you don't want to outlay the cash. If you are CS2 or earlier, it is definitely worth it for you to update. These updates are not nearly as essential as something like Flash CS4 is or as I felt AE 6.5 and 7 were - but still cool enough to venture a look.

Oh - and all of the products now have trials available for download....FINALLY.

Creative Suite 4 Highlights - Photoshop & Illustrator

Over the past two weeks, C2 has been hosting a number of Creative Suite 4 Launch Events.  I thought I'd highlight some of the new features in Photoshop and Illustrator (be ready to Ooo and Ahhh). Over the next week, C2 instructors will bring you some of the new features for the other Creative Suite 4 applications. 

First, let me tell you about the Creative Suite in general terms. According to Adobe, this is the biggest software launch they have ever done and I tend to agree. When CS3 was released it was only halfway through the Adobe product development cycle (which is 18-24 months normally), due to Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia. This endeavor put everything on hold - the sexy new features and updates to help accommodate the inclusion this new software. Creative Suite 4 brings you a full set of updates for all the applications including new interfaces and better compatibility between software. 

So, here are some of the new features for Photoshop and Illustrator. 

Photoshop

• Live, nondestructive corrections with the Adjustments Panel. This allows you to create nondestructive adjustments, similar to the Adjustment Layers available in CS2/3. With CS4 you have much more control and its all live on your document, no dialogue box or menu to go to. 

• Re-editable, feathered, density controlled masks. This is the companion panel to the Adjustments Panel, allowing you to edit your masks live on your document using the same controls as the Refine Edge command. 

• Enhanced Auto-Align, Auto-Blend, and new 360° panoramas. Photomerge now allows you to create 360° panoramas and in conjunction with the updated Auto-Align and Auto-Blend, is even more seamless than ever. Auto-Blend can now create an omni-focus photo from a number of Macro lens shots. Very cool. 

• Fluid canvas rotation. I love this feature, as it allows you to temporarily rotate your entire image on screen to get a better angle for painting, retouching, etc. similar rotating your sketchbook on your desk. See below for more info on this...

• Ultra-smooth pan, zoom, preview and painting tools. Photoshop CS4 now takes advantage of your computer's Graphics Processor (GPU).  This allows you to have fluid transitions including zoom, canvas rotation (see above) and allows you to throw your document around the screen. This new GPU utilization really speeds up the redraws in PS. 

• Breakthrough 3D editing and compositing. This is one of the biggies. You can now not only edit 3D directly in Photoshop CS4, but you can also CREATE 3D. Now instead of taking 4 steps to edit a 3D shape, you can paint, merge objects, and transform live in your document. Using the new 3D menu, you can take a panoramic shot and create a Spherical Panorama (3D bubble view), or a number of preset objects. Try the hat shape, its pretty funny.  

Illustrator

• Multiple Artboards. Nuff said. This has been the number 1 request of Illustrator and former Freehand users for years, and Adobe has come through and exceeded all expectations. Now you can have multiple artboards (not pages) and different sizes, orientations, crops, etc. You can export directly to a multipage PDF or to the Web as a gallery. Nice!

• Gradients. What can you possibly do to improve gradients you ask? How about the ability to create gradients with transparency! Or, how about an on-screen gradient interface. No longer will you need to use the gradient palette (except to change the format from linear to radial). The new interface is slick and a huge time saver. Love it!

• Blob Brush. Ok I admit, I love the name of this tool. But beyond that. The Blob Brush is the natural progression from the Eraser. You can now add to a shape by just painting - imagine that, illustrating in Illustrator. Using the Eraser, you can remove from a shape. 

• In-Panel Appearance Editing. This is a great feature and a HUGE time saver. With the new appearance panel, you can access your effects directly in this as well as stroke, swatches, and more!

• Separations Preview Panel. Now you can preview your color separations a lá InDesign in Illustrator. Huge plus for artists to double check their work before sending it down the food chain or placing it in another application. Now to just make sure that they use this!

So those are just some of the new features in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator Creative Suite 4. Keep watching our 100% Fresh Blog for new posts and features on CS4 from C2 instructors and creatives.