I've been "learning" all about video since I got my camera, the Sony PMW-EX1, back in January.

 

The learning curve has been far steeper than I expected, owing mainly to all manner of problems around compression, different video formats, and the way my video's get transcoded on different video web sites.

 

But I think I've learnt a lot over the last few months, and expect to go on learning a lot over the next few months (and years), and it occurred to me that I really ought to blog my learning experience as I go

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So here I am! The day I start this blog happens to have coincided with the realisation that I need to do more than just get to grips with my NLE (Sony Vegas Pro 8) - I really need to try and learn Adobe After Effects to achieve the results I want for a planned weekly internet review show.

 

Despite being a lifelong despiser of Adobe products (hence the use of Vegas over Premiere Pro) I've ordered an upgrade from my copy of Adobe Design Standard CS3 to Adobe Master Series CS3 (it was about the same price as buying a standalone copy of After Effects, but meant I also got Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Flash and a bunch of other stuff too!) As seems typical with any Adobe products I paid a premium price for fast delivery, only to find a week later I'd had no email or confirmation of despatch, just a "processed" indication when viewing my online order.

 

A subsequent phone call has revealed that the supplier is 'awaiting stock from Adobe', which means I've got at least a two week wait ahead of me. Thank goodness for 30 day trial versions, which mean I can get started almost immediately.

 

I'll be posting reviews of the various tools I'm using to start learning After Effects over the coming weeks, together with any other thoughts I think appropriate. Later today, I'll post my review of Andy Beach's "Real World Video Compression" from Peachpit Press which I finished reading yesterday.

 

Stay tuned!