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Questions:

• What should and does it consist of?
  • Including anything non-obvious e.g. “tucked away”, “additional Downloads”, “obscure” etc.
• ???

Answers (as far as I can tell…):

•  _Support & Communities
  • Looks at first sight like any application’s Help dialog, but on deeper inspection is also connected web-wise and answers to questions are not restricted to Adobe products.
• After Effects
  • In contrast to Premiere, which is for conventional light-touch editing, this is for heavy effects and compositing etc.
• After Effects Render Engine
  • Render farm: Network rendering with watch folders and render engines.
  • Previously, it was possible to install render engines on as many machines as wished, but not so under CS5.5, where a separate serial number must be obtained for each machine.  For small guys like me that makes it pretty useless.   It seems likely that a more flexible option will exist in future versions.
• Audition
  • Audio editor, derived (many years ago) from CoolEdit.
• Bridge
  • A combination of media file manager, media manager, metadata editor, also does some kinds of media processing.
  • Can be run standalone or from within apps e.g. Premiere: [File > Browse in Bridge…]
• Color Finesse
  • A multi-host (including Premiere & AE) plugin that goes above and beyond typical NLE color correction.
  • On my system it only appears to be available under AE.
• Device Central
  • Simulates media appearance etc. on a range of devices such as cellphones.
• DigiEffects FreeForm
  • Manipulate a flat object into almost any shape using displacement maps and meshes in 3D space.
  • Examples: flowing cloth, animated loose filmstrips, rippling fluids, terrain flyovers, welded metal, morphs, reveals.
• Encore
  • DVD authoring.  Menus can be created in Photoshop (using special layering techniques).
• Extension Manager
  • Manage extensions (broadly like plugins) associated with various Adobe programs.
• ExtendScript Toolkit:
  • Adobe workflow command-script editor
  • An IDE (along the lines of Visual Studio) for scripts in Adobe Bridge, itself serving to automate workflows involving multiple Adobe applications.
• Flash Professional
  • A multimedia authoring program to create content for Flash-enabled platforms/devices.
• Flash Catalyst
  • A designers’ tool for creating the user interface for Rich Internet Applications.  Primary function of being a GUI composer for Adobe Flex components.
  • Can import Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, or Flash XML Graphics (FXG) files.
• Help
  • A help resource not only with local help-documentation but also capable of searching beyond, even beyond Adobe, to find solutions.
• Illustrator
  • Vector graphics editor e.g. useful for typesetting and logo graphics design. It is the companion product of Photoshop.
• KeyLight
  • An advanced chroma-keyer, tackling reflections, semi-transparent areas and hair.
• Media Encoder
  • Encodes audio and video media content.
• Mocha
  • Stand-alone tracking and roto tool to help solve problematic shots challenging the built in tools of After Effects and Final Cut by bringing advanced planar tracking and matte creation tools
• OnLocation
  • Direct to disk recorder / logger also acting as monitor with waveform monitor and vectorscope.  And no doubt much else.
• PhotoShop
  • Such a big noun that it became a verb…
• Premiere Pro
  • Primary editing app, with emphasis on productive cutting and smooth playback etc., minimising the need to render, leaving heavy effects and compositing etc. to AE.
• Story
  • A collaborative script development tool/service. There is an application for working alone on an offline version and a web-based service where you can sync up with an online version.
• Ultra
  • Vector-keyer (simple-to-use effective chroma-keying) that was once a standalone app by Serious Magic, now available as a plugin within Premiere (but not AE).  I get the impression it is regarded (or at least branded) as simple to use but ultimately less sophisticated/capable than KeyLight (???).
  • Serious Magic used to highlight its capabilities regarding reflections, semi-transparent areas and hair…
• Utilities
  • ExtendScript
    • An integrated development environment (IDE) for the creation and debugging of JavaScript code for Adobe Bridge, to facilitate workflow-enhancing automation of tasks between elements of Creative Suite.
  • PixelBlender
    • A simplifying basis for implementing image processing algorithms (filters or effects) in a hardware-independent manner, taking advantage of parallel processing / GPU etc.
    • Downside to commercial developers is that code using it may be more visible / understandable.

Ruby

• http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/
  • <<Ruby is…A dynamic, open source programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity. It has an elegant syntax that is natural to read and easy to write.>>
  • Ruby is also totally free. Not only free of charge, but also free to use, copy, modify, and distribute.
  • My MacBook has a copy of it, at [/usr/bin/ruby].  No idea if it came with Mac OS or an application, but it’s there.
• http://code.google.com/p/rvideo/
  • rvideo
    • Ruby video transcoding library
    • RVideo is a Ruby library inspects and processes video and audio files by providing an interface to free Unix tools like ffmpeg.
  • Demonstration of usage
    • A few examples:
      • file = RVideo::Inspector.new(:file => “#{APP_ROOT}/files/input.mp4″)
    • • file = RVideo::Inspector.new(:raw_response => @existing_response)
    • • file = RVideo::Inspector.new(:file => “#{APP_ROOT}/files/input.mp4″,
      •   :ffmpeg_binary => “#{APP_ROOT}/bin/ffmpeg”)
      • file.fps        # => “29.97″
      • file.duration   # => “00:05:23.4″
  • To transcode a video, initialize a Transcoder object.
    • transcoder = RVideo::Transcoder.new
  • Then pass a command and valid options to the execute method.
    • recipe = “ffmpeg -i $input_file$ -ar 22050 -ab 64 -f flv -r 29.97 -s”
    • recipe += ” $resolution$ -y $output_file$”
    • recipe += “\nflvtool2 -U $output_file$”
    • begin
    •   transcoder.execute(recipe, {:input_file => “/path/to/input.mp4″,
    •     :output_file => “/path/to/output.flv”, :resolution => “640×360″})
    •   rescue TranscoderError => e
    •   puts “Unable to transcode file: #{e.class} - #{e.message}”
    • end
  • If the job succeeds, you can access the metadata of the input and output files with:
    • transcoder.original     # RVideo::Inspector object
    • transcoder.processed    # RVideo::Inspector object
  • Even if the file is processed, it may still have problems. RVideo will populate an errors array if the duration of the processed video differs from the duration of the original video, or if the processed file is unreadable.

Avid’s Script Sync tool sounds great.  But it appears the script has to be in a certain format.  Can CeltX-exported scripts be imported?

You can see and comment on a number of scripts, some pre-production.

• http://www.imsdb.com/
  •  e.g. as of August 2011 it has a script for “Adjustment Bureau, The”
• http://www.facebook.com/ScriptSyncFans
  • This is where I first found out about it.

Windows 7’s System Restore utility (GUI): The .exe file and how to run it from commandline/script:

• http://www.ditii.com/2010/02/14/system-restore-point-using-two-clicks-in-windows-7/

The DVD Spec defines a scripting capability, allowing such things as:

• Variable play order
  • Random - e.g. for public display - though”random” does not guarantee “different track each time”.
  • Inferred from user-input - e.g. questionnaire
• Simple quiz games.
• Passcode-protected content (not secure but at least some kind of disuasive barrier).

Some useful tutorials, doesn’t matter that they are for a specific DVD authoring product:

• Based on DVD Lab
  • http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/tutorial/quiz.html
  • http://library.creativecow.net/articles/alexzander_alex/code_lock.php
• Based on Apple DVD Studio Pro
  • http://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2008/08/scripting_in_dvd_studio_part_3_random_play.php
    • Has links to further articles on script fundamentals, parental controls,  etc.