A very useful video from Laura Coyle at www.illustratoring.com for understanding and dealing with tile edges that show up on screen.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

Point Type in Adobe Illustrator is funny. There’s this invisible “shield” around it. This shield is much larger (at least it seems that way) than the text itself. It prevents you from selecting objects behind text by clicking between letter and words. This shield is particularly meddlesome with lowercase letters and decenders because we think surely we can click on that blue box (or whatever) because it seems far enough away from that Point Type. But that lowercase “j” is extending the Point Type’s territory even further.

Okay, now that we know we’re talking about the same thing, let’s move on to the solutions.

Step 1. Check ‘Type Object Selection by Path Only’ in Preferences
You’ll find this option in Preferences/Type. Click it and that nasty text shield goes away. But there’s a price to pay. With this option activated, the only way you can select your text is by clicking on the text path, a super, tiny, thin baseline thingy under all the letters, but above decenders. It’s really hard to grab. To do it right you need to slowly approach the text path with your cursor. When you’re right over it, Illustrator will let you know by adding a small black square to your cursor. Now, you can click, hold and move your text. But this workflow can really slow you down and break your rhythm, maybe even more so than with it turned off. So…

Step 2. Add the ‘Outline Object’ Effect
Select your Point Type and, from under the Effects Menu/Path/, select Outline Object. This effect does something really sweet to text in Illustrator: it lets your Point Type objects be treated as if their were converted to Outlines. You can still edit the text, but as far as selecting it, Illustrator now considers it outlines and shapes instead of a text object. Basically, it now considers the Path of the text to be the text itself! Now, since we’ve already checked ‘Type Object Selection by Path Only’ we can now click on the text to select it. Just the text. Not the baseline, not the wacky invisible shield surrounding it.

And now… you can select things behind the text by clicking between words and letters. And the ONLY way to select Point Type is to click on the visible parts of the text itself! Problem solved.

I now use this technique 90% of the time and so have assigned Command+3 to the Outline Object effect.

Potential Problems:
Too much of a good thing could be a bad thing. Let’s say you have some Point Type set in a very light face and it’s pretty small or you’re zoomed way out. Selecting that text could be a problem since you have to actually click on the text itself. Just keep in mind that selecting smaller text may just require an extra click to grab.

This method lets you select text by clicking on the visible portion of the text itself. However, dragging a short marquee and just “touching” a part of the text does not work. To select using a drag, you have to make sure you run over the actual text path (that thin baseline.)

Applying this technique to your old files
Now that you’ve learned this awesome new way to work around type in Illustrator, you may be anxious to open yesterday’s project and get back to work. But you may not be looking forward to applying the Outline Object effect to each and every piece of type. For this you can use Illustrator’s “Select Same” feature. Select one piece of text. Then from the Select Menu click on Object/Text Objects. Now ALL of your text objects will be selected, and you can apply the Outline Object effect to all of them at once!

That’s it. If you build ads or work with a lot of type in Illustrator, you’re about to be able to work a lot faster… and happier.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

Normally if you had 3 bits of text with thick strokes applied to each and then pushed them this close together you wouldn’t see the same thing illustrated above. The strokes of the ‘higher’ objects would overlap onto the lower objects. Then just how was this accomplished here?

Take all three text objects and Group them. Then Highlight the Group in the Appearance Panel. Next, add a New Stroke. The new stroke will appear on top of all other Appearances so Select the Stroke and drag it below the Contents. That’s it.

Now you can double-click the group to enter Isolation Mode and freely move the text objects around, and the group stroke will faithfully follow along. (As demonstrated below.)

GOTCHAS

There are some potential problems with this technique and you’ll need to avoid them. For example, if you have a Drop Shadow applied to one of the shapes inside the group, then your ‘group stroke’ will wrap around the outer feathering of the shadow and won’t look right at all. Another potential problem is if you already have a stroke applied to one of the objects inside the group. Live Strokes are… live, so they don’t get considered when adding a stroke to the entire group and will be ignored.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

To regain the old cropping behavior in Photoshop CS6: open a new image, select the Cropping Tool and then, in the Options Bar, find the Gear icon. This icon represents the settings for the Crop Tool. Open it and select “Use Classic Mode“. That’s it.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

2 spots I made for DramaFever.com to announce the release of their iPad-Optimized website. (Editing, color, animation). This version features footage with actors shot outside their office in New York. It has a dual message. The first is simply the fact that DramaFever.com is now available as an iPad-optimized site. It briefly demonstrates the interface and also pushes the importance of this new feature by showing how you can now enjoy the site in a coffee shop, outdoor cafe or anywhere your iPad can get a signal.

This version is more ‘graphical’ with a simpler message which is very clear to current DramaFever.com subscribers. It features simply imagery of Korean TV dramas on the iPad in full screen mode. Again, this celebrates the fact that content which was previously limited to PC or laptop can now be seen on an iPad.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

I’ve been trying to take breaks from motion design and do some editing. Here’s a trailer I did for Korean hit drama Secret Garden. It’s for English audiences who use the DramaFever.com streaming site. I had to sort through the first 6 hour-long episodes to get enough clips to tell the story. What a chore! Okay, it wasn’t that bad. I have a thing for Ha Ji-Won.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

I recently tried to open a trailer I had been editing and was met with crash after crash. I put a lot of work into that and had just gotten past a tricky edit. I was preparing to get pissed. I rebooted and thankfully the project opened just fine. But that was almost a disaster. I checked to see what my previous version of the project looked like. (Every now and then I use Save As and add a new number after the file name.) When I opened my “Gumiho4.prproj” I saw that it looked nothing at all like “Gumiho5.prproj.” Apparently I had been so absorbed in a tricky edit that I just kept saving and didn’t bother to increment. I decided I never wanted to go through that again.

Increment and Save
I looked up File/Increment and Save and that feature seems to be gone now from version CS5. (Please tell me if I’m wrong.) Well, we’ll just have to do it by hand then. Every time you save, save twice. First, just File/Save. And immediately after use File/Save As and add a higher number at the end of your file name. Why save twice? Because if you only do it once (and increment) the differences between your last two projects will be greater (depending on how often you do it.) If something happens to your last file, know that your previous file won’t be so different. And that means less lost work.

Use Auto Save
You can tell Premiere Pro CS5 to automatically save your project as much and as often as you like. In Preferences, choose Auto Save. In the new dialogue check Automatically Save Projects. Next, enter how often you want Auto Save to work (in minutes). Finally indicate the Maximum Project Versions you want. (Auto Save does the same thing as Increment and Save; it adds a higher number after each file name.) Auto Saves are saved in a new folder kept with your project called Adobe Premiere Pro Auto-Save.

If you choose to Auto Save every 10 minutes and set Maximum Project Versions to 6, then the last hour of editing will be pretty safe.

Do both
After Premiere Pro has Auto Saved the set number of project versions, it will begin to overwrite the older files. So in our example, after an hour instead of yourproject-7.prproj being created, yourproject-1.prproj will be overwritten. Auto Save only protects you in the short run. But if something does happen, and you’re a quick editor, you’ll be really glad you had Auto Save set to save often.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

Have you ever considered using web backgrounds in After Effects?

There are a ton of sites out there offering free tileable patterns meant for use on the internets. Many of the collections look amazing. And many of them are large enough to use in HD video projects.

And while background tiles are automatically repeated for you in your site, we have good ‘ol CC RepeTile to do the same thing in After Effects. You can use this effect with these free assets to extend and repeat your tile as big as you like. Texture text, create environments and backgrounds for a unique look in your AE projects.

Thing is… become a collector and snatch up the free files while you still can. The above video example was made using excellent patterns from a site called PatternWall.com.  I liked them so much I grabbed and saved as much as I could but I eventually had to call it a day. I always thought I could go back to get more. When I tried I found the site has gone. Maybe their just late with one payment, or maybe they’re never coming back. My point is if you find something good, save it right away. Even if you don’t have an immediate use for it right now, you could start a library and get it when you need it.

PatternWall.com may be away right now you can start your tileable pattern collection at WebTreats.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

The sounds come in four main categories: General FX, Human FX, Noise FX and Musical FX. The General FX category is a collection of practical sounds from the real world plus some foley stuff. MusicalFX is packed with musical logos perfect for, well, logos.

But the real gem in my opinion is the Noise FX category. The sounds in here are all synthesized electronic sounds and practical sounds which have been heavily altered. And they are f’n amazing. You find a ton of evolvers, drones, hits, beds, stingers, stabs, sweeps and swells.

There are, in fact, too many. I haven’t even heard a fraction of what I’ve got. There are just too many. Fortunately you get to use the free Juicer program that comes with it. With that you can search, collect a batch list after browsing, and output them in the format of your choice.

Listen to some samples at http://www.digitaljuice.com/products/products.asp?pid=160&tab=t3. Make sure you check out the Noise FX section.

Now, if you like what you hear, then grab it while you can here. I say that because Digital Juice likes to “retire” or “discontinue” products to get people to “buy before they’re gone!” …But they always come back. Keep watching the DJ site because you never know when SoundFX volumes 2, 3 or 4 will show up again. Yeah, there are four sets.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .

That happened to me today as I flipped through an uninteresting pamphlet for a local entertainment venue. It was filled with events like that leotard type dancing shit. I thought I might take a look anyway just to see the layout and design of the thing. I was about to toss it when something caught my eye like a hook. The Family Spooktacular page had a green jack-o’-lantern on it. Wow. Look at that. I found it, I don’t know, interesting. It was like my mind needed extra time to “process” what I saw.

Obviously you can’t use this trick all of the time. Most things just need to be presented in the proper color. But if your design is a little forgiving, like a Halloween design, then this could be a great way to make busy people stop and look your stuff. Obviously, it still needs to make some kind of sense. Green is a Halloween color so in the end you don’t look like you’ve made a mistake. A blue apple on a white background would attract attention, but you’d better have a reason for making it that color.

Thanks to Vector Jungle for the free vector jack-o’-lantern.

This feed is from http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/ and www.hikaru.tv .