ShareThisBy MIKE BERMAN
Add a splash of color here, a video there and maybe a bit of artwork and what do you get? A multimedia masterpiece worthy of praise from your peers and exposure in cyberspace.
Thankfully, the folks at Adobe Systems Inc have assembled all of the software you need in one convenient package, fully integrating all of their most popular products so they can work together seamlessly, making it easier for you to produce that masterpiece.
The Adobe Production Studio Premium ($1,699) combines the power of Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, After Effects Professional 7.0, Premier 2.0, Audition 2.0, Encore, Adobe Dynamic Link and Adobe Bridge allowing you to create, edit and combine all of the elements that make up an impressive multimedia presentation. Add to this the high-powered capabilities of Dreamwaver 8 ($399) and you have everything you need to make your mark in cyberspace.
The name Adobe used to be synonymous with "professional" or "hard-to-use." Although these products are still on the high end of the scale, it was fairly easy for me to compose my presentation and post it on the Web using tutorials and step-by-step wizards that guide me through every feature of all of their programs. In no time I was editing video, retouching photos and producing simple illustrations.
And all of the programs I needed were dynamically linked to my presentation, meaning I could click on various portions of my masterpiece and would have immediate access to the tools from the program in which that segment was created.
Once that was completed I could then use Dreamweaver to instantly convert all of my text to HTML. It also recognized the formats the graphical elements were created in and I was able to upload them to my page after one or two clicks of my mouse.
Of course you don't need to use all of the high-powered elements of Dreamweaver to create a simple, basic site (case in point: www.jocgeek.com). And, believe me, you don't need to be a creative genius to use it.
Key features of Adobe Production Studio and Dreamweaver 8 include:
Adobe Production Studio Premium:
_ Native HD, HDV SD and DV editing.
_ Video capture and industry standard image editing capabilities.
_ Core 2D and 3D compositing for motion graphics and visual effects.
_ A complete vector graphics toolset.
_ Render-free use of After Effects compositions in Adobe Premiere Pro and Encore DVD using Adobe Dynamic Link.
_ Centralized file management using Adobe Bridge.
_ Powerful tools for audio restoration, editing, multitrack recording, mixing and mastering.
_ Original soundtrack creation using thousands of included royalty-free loops.
_ Full featured DVD support including titling, copy protection and advanced audio.
_ And the combined power of Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Illustrator CS2.
Dreamweaver 8.0:
_ Drag and drop text, Flash video and other elements onto your page.
_ Set-up style sheets containing all of the elements of your page, enabling you to just highlight and click to make format changes.
_ A unified CSS panel gives you a quick understanding of the styles applied to a page, making it easier for you to uncover formatting errors.
_ Files are uploaded to your Web site in the background, allowing you to continue working on your pages.
_ A new coding toolbar gives you instant access to code without having to hunt for it.
_ A newly designed starter page gives you instant access to the pages you want to edit.
For more information on these products, check out www.adobe.com.
(Contact Mike Berman at jocgeek(at)earthlink.net or through his Web site at www.jocgeek.com.)
