ITGumbo: spicing IT up

This first item needs no introduction. It is like the Michael Jordan of the non-liner world.
Believe it or not, Photoshop is nearly 20 years old. The first shipping application came on one single floppy disk in 1988. While those days are long gone, the same premise still exists; streamlining productivity is still Adobe’s number one concern. What has made the product a success for so long still has not changed but the new version of the image editing software will boost productivity by taking advantage of a wide range of new improvements.
The interface had somewhat of a facelift, and is now streamlined, which offers new timesaving tools that make users work quicker and with more productivity in mind. For example, the Loupe tool in Adobe Bridge CS3 lets you easily zoom into the fine detail of any image.
One such improvement is automatic layer alignment and blending, which enables advanced compositing. Live filters boost the comprehensive, nondestructive editing tool-set for increased flexibility as well.
The software is still used to edit images using a powerful layer-based approach. It also features smart filters to add artistic effects, powerful color and curve controls, and digital camera raw image support and text tools.
Photoshop allows users to align a series of images to compensate for slight camera movement. It features tools that allow users to remove unwanted bystanders from a series of pictures. This can also be used to better create HDR images that are created from a series of exposures of different lengths.
This next item is fairly new to the game when compared to Photoshop but offers a ton of functionality in such a short window of existence.
Adobe After Effects 7.0 has always been a sought-after product by creative professionals. The notion of being able to design and animate with greater artistic freedom has always inspired editors to take projects to new heights.
The application provides a powerful 2D and 3D compositing and animation suite that can be used to create motion graphics for film, video, DVD, the web, and mobile devices. Take advantage of unmatched integration with other Adobe software and hundreds of effects and Animation Presets to bring a new dimension to film, video, DVD, and Macromedia Flash productions.
The new software offers a similar look and feel of its last version, but now it comes with a host of new improvements designed to help users create compelling motion graphics. For example, the User Interface (UI) has been redesigned, and a new Graph Editor helps streamline workflow. Animate freely and with even more flexibility, using new Shape Layers and the new Puppet tool, or use the new Brainstorm feature to naturally evolve animation variations based on predefined parameters.
Adobe offers After Effects for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. There is also an upgrade option for folk who own Adobe After Effects CS2, rather than having to buy the full new version of the software.
One of my favorites in the batch is Premiere Pro CS3 Video Editing Software from Adobe, which is a professional video non-linear editing and DVD creation suite. Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 redefines productivity and flexibility by enabling the capture, editing, and delivery of video content.
Create high-quality visual and editorial effects directly within the editing timeline. Generate slow motion and other time-remapping effects with precise keyframe control and real-time feedback. It is an excellent editing choice for both professionals and enthusiasts alike.
The utility also supports multi-camera editing, Adobe PDF clip notes, and Blu-ray disc authoring. Premiere Pro supports SD, HD, and HDV video formats, and can even export video for use in Flash.
Adjust the Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 interface to fit any editing style, workflow, and environment. Panels can be configured in many arrangements and across multiple monitors.
Tight integration with Adobe After Effects and Photoshop expands your creative options. Reach a wide audience by delivering your content to DVD, Blu-ray Disc, the web, and mobile devices. Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 is your choice for inventive storytelling and enhanced productivity.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 software is available for both Mac and Windows. The creative solution is also offered as an upgrade for both platforms for users who originally purchased Production Studio Premium/Standard CS2.
Once you start digging into these products, you are quick to realize that it goes beyond the software application. Many of these killer apps are bundled with hardware. It can be customized into a turnkey solution or added into an existing system.
Video editing in real time was something that was not easily accomplished, not too long ago. Now there are a number of different hardware-software turnkey solutions out there that offer the same functionality. One solution is Matrox’s RT.X2 PCIe HD Capture and Editing Card with Adobe Premiere Pro 2.
Working with the included Adobe Premiere Pro 2 software package, the card allows you to digitize both SD and HD video footage and edit HDV and DV video in real time.
Analog video is compressed using a high-quality MPEG-2 4:2:2 codec and you can even mix HD and SD video on the same timeline. The card even features a DVI output to allow you to monitor your HD video at full resolution on the dedicated LCD display of your choice. These features and more make the card an excellent choice for editors who wish to work with HD video and Premiere Pro.
Last up and the newest edition of the bunch is Lightroom, which can best be described as the next-gen photographer's software. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is an application that perfectly complements Adobe Photoshop, and is an extremely useful tool for managing and editing digital images. The utility goes beyond a typical file browser, something users might be familiar with when working in Adobe Bridge-but rather it acts as an image management application database. This helps in viewing, editing, and managing digital photos. It provides photographers the tools that they need when working on their images-managing thousands of digital images, and doing post production work. The utility provides support for more than 150 camera raw formats. Fine-tune photographs with precise, easy-to-use tools for globally correcting white balance, exposure, tone curves, lens distortion, and color casts. Completed images can be output directly to print, the web, or transferred to Photoshop. Lightroom’s powerful feature set provides a flexible workflow method for photographers that allows for more time behind the lens and less time staring at a monitor.
Adobe software is the professional photographer's essential toolbox, providing one easy application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs and video so users can spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens.