BTS: Goodbye Final Cut, Hello Adobe Premiere

I'm saying goodbye Final Cut Pro 7 and moving on Adobe Premiere. Also, critical look into developing the video and story. 

Screen Grab of finished documentary "Comics in Education"

Screen Grab of finished documentary "Comics in Education"

I've used Final Cut Pro 7 as a major part of my workflow for seven years (the irony) and I FINALLY made the switch. Why? Because technology and tools are changing and I needed a new challenge.

The "Comics in Education" documentary is brief look into the community during Free Comic Book Day and the positive benefits in reading one for all ages. It was part of a larger body of research that included photos and a story for print newspaper.

Party with Batman, Ghostbusters and York County residents at comic book stores as they celebrate Free Comic Book Day, an annual event on the first Saturday of May. York County educators express positive benefits in reading graphic novels for all ages. Published with the York Daily Record / Sunday News w/ story and photos: http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25678663/york-educators-ready-free-comics Music By DoKashiteru "Music Tonight" http://ccmixter.org/files/DoKashiteru/15611

I will be honest, this was my first time opening Adobe Premiere Pro and working on a longer video. I quickly gained a few knowledge of where keyboard shortcuts were and the use of the timeline. It was almost the same at Final Cut Pro 7. And I also had some training in Adobe Premiere Elements. 

It was not too foreign to me. By the time I was done with the video, it wad clear I had to move onto a better Video editing software. 

PROS & CONS w. Adobe Premiere Pro:

PROS
- Format to .mp4 or .mov
- Do not have to compress video files
- Sub clipping made w/ keyboard shortcut
- Edit audio tracks in multiple layers
- Closing gaps in timeline w/ out misplacing audio or video
- Text titles easily edited and more range of options
- Looks like a mini version of Adobe After Effects

CONS
- can not repair clipped videos (still doing research) 

What work, what didn't work

The newspaper daily grind is a difficult. Their are some set backs in trying to be everything when time is tight and when people are too busy with their own work. It took about a month and 2 weeks to produce the video, research, story and photos. 

I wish I had two others to help with motion graphics, post production and sound recording. I thought the video needed more attention to color and a steadier shooting capabilities, but I could not let the work set out too long after Free Comic Book Day, which happened Saturday, May 3. It was a great learning experience for myself in both research about the topic and time management.

See story and photos of Comics Educates All at York Daily Record / Sunday News

My most favorite part is meeting Dave Kot, co-founder of Autism At Face Value who created a super hero with Autism in a comic book. 

I had a clip of him saying he was autistic, but I left that piece out of the documentary. I felt the work as a whole won't support his confession. I want people to focus about the work he has done than being autistic. I want people to come up with their own conclusion and actually read the book. Find out on their own terms. 

He said this to me, "I'm autistic, but I'm also a bald, a left hander and wear glasses. I want people to judge me on this traits than just being autistic."

What does organic mean?

I should have asked this question a long time ago, "What does organic mean?"

Since, the weather is nice and jogging outside is bearable - I'm back on my healthy habit (and hope to stay on it). I believe the best way to track my healthy habit is shop anything that has the words: organic, fair trade, acai ( ah-sigh-ee) and so on. 

It's a quick and easy way to feel healthy, but HOW good are these words and is it good for your health? 

Today I bought Sambazon Mocha Java superfood smoothie. It was 2 for $5.00 at the GIANT food store. (Taste amazing!) Here are some examples of words on the bottle:

ORGANIC
It's an adjective that is derived from living matter according to Google. (Yes, I did google search. It's God's gifts of doing research.) Chicken is living matter, but some packages do not have the word "organic".

On Organic.org, it's grown without any pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, ionizing radiation or genetically modified organism.  

Fun fact: NASA frozen meat packages and frozen uncooked meat products have ionizing radiation according to the FDA.

FAIR TRADE
Fair Trade helps support farms that have fair wages and safe working conditions. It also ensures farmers to receive a fair price for their crop. 

On the bottle of Sambazon, It states I support the Fair Trade Acai Supply Chain that is located in the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest.

 

ACAI
The Acai berry is found in Brazil. It is  a dark purple berry that is grown on a type of palm tree. The natives found the berry to have healing properties and give natural energy when consume everyday according to DoctorOz.com.  

I hope the next time you go the store, check out what the bottle or product is telling you. What are some food or products that you bought that has these words?

Happy health shopping! 

side note: Memes are awesome. I created my at Meme Dad.

 

 

Saturday Challenge: Gif Portrait
Ohio Botanical Gardens

Ohio Botanical Gardens

Good Morning. I like gif, pronounce Jiff like the peanut butter, and I made one from two photos.

It took about an hour to figure out the right combination.

It's easy to do if you are thinking of making a gif yourself.

Here are the steps:

1. Pick two photos. Import into Photoshop. Layer one on top of each other.

2. Open Animation window. Window > Click Animation

3. Window appears. Click duplicate selected frames in the animation window. 

4. Go to layers window and un click the eye. It will change the picture in the animation. 

5. Repeat. When satisfied, click the play button in the animation window.

6. Adjust to your liking. When finished, save the file.

7. Go to File > Save Web and Devices

8. Pick you preference and preview it online.

9. Bam and done.

You can also save it as a Video. Happy GIFING.