If you are not subscribed to Adobe Cloud, what is your major malfunction?

Not to be rude with the title, but I wondered this about myself. The Adobe Creative Suite is an invaluable tool for creatives everywhere, but its price point tends to separate the haves from the have-nots. It also tends to turn normally law-abiding citizens into artistic pirates. Come on, Adobe, it's art for art's sake, not art for money's sake.

Well, Adobe listened and came up with an innovative and modern solution: a cloud. Users pay a monthly subscription to access all of Adobe's Creative Suite offerings, usually $50 a month for a year. Let's crunch the numbers for a second.

The average CS offering costs between $1700-$2500. Photoshop alone can cost over $500. Premiere: $700. After Effects: as much as $1000. Factor in upgrades at about $150-$350 a pop and you have a software program that is almost literally worth its weight in gold.

Creative Cloud for an annual commitment will cost $600. In monthly $50 chunks. You can even buy just one program for $20 a month, but why would you wanna do that? A plus: you may even qualify for the $30 a month price. I caught the sale price of $30 a month. There is also a student version for the same price.

So for $30-$50 a month (you know you spend more in gas!), you get:

• Most updated CS, currently CS6 (or maybe CS7 this month, according to rumors).
• Web hosting for up to 5 websites.
• Access to all Adobe's programs***.
• 20GB Server storage.

Thank you, Adobe. Yeah, you can argue that paying a monthly subscription means you might be giving more money to Adobe in the long run, but we live in a capitalistic society and Adobe does make an excellent product. Plus, you know it saves you time you could be working versus looking up cracked versions on Pirate Bay that don't work.

Oh. And this ain't the Google Docs version of CS. As you can see from the screenshot below, these are the full versions of the programs. Thinking cloud and thinking of web-based programs was my original hesitation to try, but I must admit I am happy with the fact I can run any CS program without being connected to the Internet (and if you are creative, you may want to work offline every now and then).
 

 ***Now for the caveat. As you can see, I'm still running Windows XP, like the broke 20-something I am. Although I plan to upgrade to a MacBook Pro this year, I'm not quite ready yet to say goodbye my faithful mocha-colored Vaio. My computer was Vista ready when I bought it, but I don't have to explain why I never upgraded. If you are running an older operating system, be prepared to notice a few programs missing. Maybe ones you were looking forward to, like After Effects. That's because your OS is not compatible. For Windows users, that means you must be running a 64-bit system. I had to Google that, so please, Adobe,  make that more apparent on your website or something. BUT...the cloud gives you 2 licenses, so hey, maybe that's not a big deal for you if you have more than one computer.

A pleasant surprise is Adobe Muse, which is like the Lightroom version of Dreamweaver. It's still a fairly new program, but an easy learning curve if you are already familiar with CS. I'm using it to redo the Lagniappe Cinemas website. Muse seems to be the star program, and for good reason. Web design is everything. 

If you don't commit to a year, you'll pay $75 a month. But, seriously, just do the year contract. Many projects last much longer than that. A year moves fast.

Happy Filmmaking.

Remembering Ebert: 1942-2013

MTV: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com

If you were alive in the 90s, you remembered that dynamic duo that make film criticism into its own artform. Sadly, that duo is no longer with us. Today, Roger Ebert died from a reemerging cancer only reported to the public two days ago.

Even the racists today on that website I won't dare link to gave Ebert his props today (Ebert was in love and married to a successful woman named Chaz who just happens to be black). Ebert was probably our most celebrated film critic, a true cinephile who sometimes would give an otherwise questionable film a second look. And we loved him for it. A quote from his final blog post: "So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies." RIP.

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter. Updates coming soon!

Smartphone Filmmaking: An App Review

I previously wrote a post about using your iPhone to take decent photos. This post, I’m taking it a step further. Since I was short on cash, I’m using my iPhone to film a short film for the Mobile Film Scramble. I’m new to the whole iPhone filmmaking thing, but having such a portable camera that you carry around everywhere makes being a guerilla filmmaker even easier than ever. And I love being a guerilla! It’s an addictive adrenaline rush.

So, one setback to filming on your iPhone is the fact your iPhone reads exposure, white balance, and focus as the same thing. This leads to very average footage. To fix this, I downloaded an app called FiLMiC. There is a pro version and a classic version. The verdict?

The footage was surprising good! Here is an exterior shot, raw and dirty. There is some loss of quality due to upload.

And an interior shot:

Being able to set exposure and focus separately improves the video quality exponentially. Overall, I was happy with the results, even with my now ancient iPhone 3GS. Changing the frames-per-second is also a great feature, since it allows you to use Hollywood standard (that’s 24 FPS), Euro standard (25 FPS), and video standard (30 FPS). It’s hip these days to shoot digital video at 24 FPS, so if you are feeling like Scorsese, you are free to do so with this app.

You can also do some minor edits in this app, but I prefer to do most of my edits on a full size computer. Maybe in a few years my views will change, but right now, I am of Camp Towers of Processing Power. Still nice to do edits on the fly, though.

There are some problems with this app. First of all, even though the app allows you to have more control of the built-in camera, it still relies on automatic data entering your aperture. Many people like this. Control freaks like me who prefer complete manual control do not. But, you are using an iPhone, not a Canon 1D, so it’s a minor issue.

Personally, I don’t see too much variance with the white balance. Maybe this was fixed in FiLMiC Pro, but the classic version seems a little slow to read white balance. Also, the record button is slow to respond. It may be a programmed to record a few seconds after you stop recording. For me, this is a little annoying, considering your iPhone, iPad or iPod has finite storage space. This may lead to happy accidents for you, however.

Try it out! If you are like me, you might want to buy the classic version first, to see if you like it. The classic version is only $0.99 and will work on all iPhones. The pro version requires iOS 6 or higher.

Happy Filmmaking!

Year of the Creative 2013: One Month Later.

Hey, Ya’ll! It’s Mardi Gras!

Well, it’s not Mardi Gras just yet. Fat Tuesday is a week away. Late Winter to early Spring is one of my favorite times of year to get a little work done. With all the awards shows and spring festivals around the corner, the creative side of my brain goes into hyperdrive.

I have done some of my best writing during this time. I wrote my feature-length screenplay Niecy in February and March. I also wrote my web series The Adventures of Maxis and Kevin in February and March. My friend Brian and I are also beginning a project, using the momentum from Keeper of the Flame, which was recently showcased at the Festival Régional et International du Cinéma de Guadeloupe (or FEMI, for short.) Here is a hint of what we are doing:

I've also decided to participate in Mobile's Film Scramble this year. Submissions are due in a week, and I am at a lost on subject matter. Whichever I choose, it has to include a cardboard box. Talk about out-of-the-box thinking! I better eat my Wheaties.  

So, busy, busy, busy! But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun. After all, isn’t that the point of Mardi Gras? All work and no play makes Sharonda a dull girl.

Happy Filmmaking!

New Year? Time for Mardi Gras

Happy New Year everyone! As we all cement our new year's resolutions and forget the ones we made last year, let us all remember: Mardi Gras is just around the corner! On the Gulf Coast, we keep partying until Lent!

Even this cute donkey cast-iron statue is ready for the bons temps.

Every year, filmmaking crews visit the Gulf to document the carnival. No, not just Girls Gone Wild. Anyways, let's see what the new year brings, shall we? Any filmmaking goals?

Happy Filmmaking!