Our 4-part series entitled “Exploring Adobe CS5 Production Suite” comes to a conclusion this month with Adobe Encore.

Adobe Encore is a streamline DVD authoring application which can incorporate native Adobe Premiere files into interactive DVD features and more.
This workshop will be presented by our own user group manager Akram Taghavi-Burris.

Don’t miss the fun!

Who

Free and open to the public.

When

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

Our 4-part series entitled “Exploring Adobe CS5 Production Suite” continues with part 3 this month.

Pittsburg State University Broadcasting Professor Leo Hudson returns with a presentation on Adobe Audition, a high end multi-track audio software.

Adobe Audition software delivers the professional tools you need to make your video and audio productions sound their best. Handle a wide range of audio production tasks efficiently, including recording, mixing, and sound restoration.

Joins us for some fun, that sounds good.

When

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

Our 4-part series entitled “Exploring Adobe CS5 Production Suite” continues with part 2 this month.

This time our Pitt State AUG co-manager and Career Tech Teacher, Chris Burris will present Adobe After Effects software which is used to create sophisticated motion graphics and cinematic visual effects.

After Effects allows industry professionals the ability to create and animate text and vector graphics, choose among extensive visual effects, fluidly key, mask, rotoscope, and paint composites.

Joins us for some animated fun.

When

Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

We kick of this year’s meetings with a 4-part series entitled “Exploring Adobe CS5 Production Suite”.

This month PSU’s Broadcasting Professor Leo Hudson will present us with a in-depth look at Adobe Premiere,a non-linear video editor of choice for millions around the world.

Over the versions, Adobe has integrated Premiere Pro to work seamlessly and dynamically with the industry heavy weights Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects for a complete comprehensive workflow. That’s not to mention that it is a fully featured and powerful editor suitable for editing your next project, learn how by attending this our next meeting.

When

Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

If however you were not able to make our meeting don’t fret below is a quick recap.

As usual our meeting began sharply at 6:00pm with our group manager Akram Taghavi-Burris, reminded everyone who haven’t already to be sure to join the site mailing list by clicking on the Join link on the Pitt State AUG website. After registering you will get a confirmation email. By joining you will be able to receive email updates about meetings and event presented by Pitt State AUG.

After a few house keeping notes and introductions Ms.Taghavi-Burris began the night’s presentation on “Christmas Present Ideas using Adobe Creative Suite. These ideas included a custom Christmas Card in InDesign, a personalized movie poster using Photoshop and finally a unique DVD slide show using Encore.

Christmas Card in InDesign

InDesign is a page layout software used for print projects. Using InDesign to create a Christmas Card is quick and easy. To start you need to create a document set up for use as a card.

Click here to download the Christmas card InDesign template.

Photoshop Poster

Taking everyday photos and converting them into a mock movie poster, is a great gift idea. Start this project by finding high quality photographs you would like to use for the poster. After considering the photos think of what movie genre would work best with the photos. Research and reference some popular movie posters for ideas.

Movie posters are typically portrait and since they are large print the resolution can be lowered to about 150 ppi.

The key with this project is all about the details, include an original movie title that is meaningful to the gift recipient. Another nice touch is to include the names of the individuals in the photos as names of actors in the credit line. Using the right font for the credit line can create a more authentic movie poster look. One of the best fonts to use is SF Movie Poster.

Click here to download the movie poster Photoshop template.

Encore Slide Show

The last gift idea was to create a DVD slide show using Adobe Encore. The whole process is pretty simple, just create a new Encore project, import all your images and even an audio file to the project bin. Then create a new slide show, select the files to add and then in the options box you can set the transition the length for each slide or just auto time the entire slide show to fit the length of the audio file. Once the slide show is set up you can quickly add a DVD menu from the library and then build the DVD disc. The disc will play on any regular DVD player.

These are just a few ideas on how to use Adobe products to create creative Christmas presents.

Stuck on what to get friends and family for Christmas? Why not get creative with Adobe Creative Suite and create customized presents that everyone will love. The Pitt State AUG December meeting will feature ideas for creating a greeting card in InDesign, a custom photo poster in Photoshop and video slide show in Encore.

When

Tuesday, Dec 6, 2011
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

If you were not able to make the meeting you missed an excellent presentation, but don’t worry below is a short recap.

As usual our meeting began sharply at 6:00pm with our group manager Akram Taghavi-Burris, introducing the night’s presenter Pittsburg State University, Graphic and Imaging Technologies Professor David Oldham. Mr. Oldham began his hands on presentation by having the attendees open Illustrator on the computers provided. Mr. Oldham stated that he would be discussing two exciting features of Illustrator both the 3D Extrude and Blend effects.

Using 3D Effects

Any 2D shape or text object in Illustrator can be converted into a 3D object. Simply create the shape/text on the art board, then with the item selected choose Effects > 3D > Extrude & Bevel from the top text menu in Illustrator. In the 3D Extrude dialog box, designers have the option to set the depth, angle/perspective and bevel of the 3D object. With the preview button selected in the 3D Extrude dialog, designers can see real-time updates to the objects on the screen. Once you are satisfied with the object simply press okay and exit the 3D Extrude dialog. If for any reason you need to make changes to the extrude/bevel, the settings for the object can be reopened by selecting the object, and double clicking on 3D Extrude & Bevel in the Appearance Panel.

The new 3D object can be colored by simply selecting the object and selecting a color swatch, which includes both solids and gradients. In the 3D Extrude dialog, there is also an option to Map Artwork. This allows designers to specify a symbol for each side of the object, with this feature designers can essentially create custom graphics, save them as symbols and then apply them to the specific surfaces of the object. If you want a little more flexibility in the coloring of the object, the 3D object can be expanded to all the designer to select specific surfaces to color. To expand a 3D object simply select it and choose Object > Expand. This will break the 3D object into specific surfaces allowing the designer to select them individually, this however could be somewhat difficult if working with a complex object. Note that when expanding a 3D object you can no longer return to the 3D Extrude dialog from the Appearance Panel.

Another way to create 3D objects is to use the Revolve option, which begins with a drawn path of a single side of the object. For example if you want to create a vase you would only draw half of the vase then choose Effects > 3D > 3D Revolve, which will create a revolve of the object. Many of the setting in the 3D revolve are similar to that of the 3D Extrude.

Creating Blends

Blends in Illustrator are essentially a morph between to objects, morphing their shape, size and color. To create a blend simply create two different objects, this could be shapes, text or symbols. Place them a certain distance from each other then select both objects, using the shift key, then choose Object > Blend> Make. The direction of the path can be easily updated by selecting the path of one of the blended objects and moving it to a new location.

There are also blend options that allow designers to create a seamless blend transition from one object to the next, or by specifying the number of steps (morphs) between the objects. The blend options can be access by selecting the blend and then choosing Object > Blend > Blend Options.

Other Tools

The attendees had many questions about both the 3D and Blend options in Illustrator. The conversation then turned to alternative techniques for create pseudo 3D objects. Professor Oldham, gave examples of creating 2D shapes and skewing them to appear 3D, as well as applying faked shadows. Another tool discussed is the Perspective Grid in Illustrator.The perspective grid allows you to approximately represent a scene on a flat surface, as it is naturally perceived (by the human eye). For example, a road or a pair of railway tracks, which seem to meet or vanish in the line of vision.

Finally Professor Oldham referenced Adobe TV as an excellent source for tutorials on all Illustrator topics discussed at the meeting and was willing to answer any questions regarding these topics. If you have a question for Professor Oldham you can email him at: doldham@pittstate.edu.

Pitt State AUG is proud to welcome PSU Graphics and Imaging Technologies dept. Assistant Professor David Oldham. Mr. Oldham will be giving a presentation on his own experiments with the 3D functions- Rotate, Extrude and Bevel, and Revolve as well as the Blend functions in Illustrator. Both are great at creating 3 dimensional images.

When

Tuesday, Nov 15, 2011
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu

If you didn’t make the meeting, you missed out on a wealth of information and prizes. But don’t worry, here’s a quick recap:

Group manager Akram Taghavi-Burris, welcomed the group members to the first meeting promptly at 6:00 pm. All attendees were asked to complete a quick member’s information form, which will be used for future planning of meeting times and presentation topics. Mrs. Taghavi-Burris also provided a brief overview of the Pitt State AUG website, while participants continued to arrive. The site is built on HTML5, and therefor may look slightly different in browsers which do not support HTML5. Hopefully, in the coming months the site will have all it’s kinks worked out.

Around 6:15, Mrs. Taghavi-Burris, began her presentation on “Adobe Resources”. A summary of her presentation is provided here: “Adobe Resource Presented By: Akram Taghavi-Burris”. The presentation covered some interesting resources Adobe offers, many of which are online and include:

• Photoshop.com
• Kuler
• Acrobat.com
• Adobe Labs
• Learn Adobe
• Adobe Exchange
• Adobe TV
• Adobe User Groups

After the presentation and questions, it was time for a few door prizes to be given away.Occasionally at our monthly meetings we will offer door prizes, courtesy of Adobe. This month we had 4 excited members win a prize.

Hope to see you all at our next meeting in November.

Join us as we share our love and expertise of Adobe Products in our first meeting for the Pitt State AUG (Adobe User Group). At this meeting we will provide list or Adobe resources and discus our goals for the group.

This group is open to students, educators and professionals in the community who want to learn more about Adobe products.

We will also have a few door prizes so, don’t miss this event!

When

Thursday Oct 27, 2011
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Where

Pittsburg State University, Kansas Technology Center
1701 South Broadway
Pittsburg, KS 66762

Room Location S104

For more information contact Mrs. Akram Taghavi-Burris (group manager) at ataghaviburris@gus.pittstate.edu