Total training for Adobe's digital video collection

Post, Sept, 2004 by Tor Rolf Seemann

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 lesser-known 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.