Last week's webinar - "Working with Still Images in Apple Final Cut Pro" - included demos of software that I haven't covered before: scanning software SilverFast 9, from LaserSoft Imaging and image enhancing software Photo.AI from Topaz Labs. Both of them can create stunning results. My entire presentation demos five different software tools - all designed to improve the look of your still images - both scanned and digital.
This week's webinar - "Working with Still Images in Adobe Premiere Pro" - looks at ways we can improve the look of still images in Premiere. I'll include demos of both SilverFast 9 and Photo.ai, because these tools apply just as much to Premiere as they do to Final Cut. I'll also show how to properly scale images, then animate them using keyframes. This will be a fun session and, best of all, registration is free.
After last week's webinar,
Dave McCollum raised an interesting question of whether still image quality improves when you import a still image at a larger frame size that the project. My understanding is that it does, Dave's research shows that it doesn't. I've added this to my list of things to test. But, if you have an opinion on this,
please let me know. Trying to figure out how best to test this is tricky, but I'm looking into it.
Thinking of demos, I have three new video tutorials, all based on last week's webinar. These include:
I look around my somewhat cluttered office and see five different computers all connected and operational - ranging from a 2013 MacBook Pro to a 2023 Mac mini. Technology marches on and we accumulate gear along the way. As I was planning my 2023 Mac mini review, I realized that one of the problems with hardware reviews these days is that many reviewers assume we upgrade our gear every year. So, they focus on the incremental improvements from one year to the next. However, in most cases, these improvements are relatively trivial, which minimizes the advantages of the new gear. (For example, the M2 Mac mini is "only" about 15% faster than the M1 Pro MacBook Pro.)
But I can't afford to upgrade my computer hardware every year. My computers need to last many years between upgrades; my first laptop is now eleven years old and I still use it every week for webinars.
As I compared this older gear to the new M2 Mac mini, it became obvious just how much performance has improved over time. While it may not seem like much from one year to the next, when you consider a five or six year gap, the performance differences become particularly compelling. Plus, the shift from Intel to Apple silicon SoCs offer outstanding performance. This is something that owners of older hardware need to consider.
I keep older gear and older software just in case I need to go back in time and access something that won't play on today's systems. But, this older gear also allows me to see just how far we've come. Something that is easy to overlook as we meet our deadlines on a daily basis.
Until next Monday, stay healthy, stay hopeful and edit well.
