New From Adobe

Earlier this month, Adobe announced the release of its Creative Suite upgrade. Here's a concise overview of the new features found in the new Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 -  Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5: What’s new and changed. Here's Adobe's overview.

Also here's a report from the Videoguys. Finally, here's the review from EventDV.

Also nice to see Audition is once again included with the Production Premium Suite.

First Orbit - "Let's Go!"

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight a new film, First Orbit has been released and is being distributed for free viewing.

The film is a real-time recreation which features audio recordings of the radio communications between Vostok 1 - (Call Sign: Cedar) and several ground stations.  News reports of the flight are also included.  In order to recreate the flight, the stunning orbital footage was shot from the International Space Station.   I was also reminded that in order to return safely to earth, Gagarin ejected and parachuted from the Vostok 1 capsule 7km (that's 4.3 miles) above the earth surface.

You may watch First Orbit here or download it for later viewing.  I downloaded an MP4 using Keep Tube.  That made it easy to watch the film on my Xbox on a larger screen.  That's something this film definitely benefits from. 

How To Fix A Broken Plugin

After Effects is an amazing program. That's not particularly newsworthy.

But when using third party plug ins, it's not uncommon for a "demo" version watermark to reappear - even after you've paid your money and activated the plugin. In the past two weeks, I've experience this problem with Magic Bullet Looks and Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator Classic.



I'm not sure if this is a Windows issue or an After Effects issue or a plugin issue and I don't really care. Broken software is a real momentum-buster when you're trying to get something done. And when aren't we?

Anyway, here's a simple fix to try before spending hours attempting other remedies.

The problem can be found in the After Effects preference file. You can force the application to rebuild it by pressing and holding down Cmd-Opt-Shift (mac)/ Ctrl-Alt-Shift (win) immediately after you've clicked the AE icon.

I've found this solution is quick and often corrects the watermark problem.

If this doesn't help don't hesitate to involve the software support staff. I've worked with the folks at Magic Bullet Looks and Zaxwerks and both were friendly and responsive.

Also please give this blog post a look. Jonas Hummelstrand at General Specialist.com gives a thorough overview of troubleshooting After Effects issues.

Oscar Winner Available Free Online

The 2011 Academy Award winning documentary, Inside Job, directed by Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs is now available online at no charge from the excellent Archive.org.

Here's a description:

Inside Job provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

Here's the flash version:

Free is good!