Let’s cut through the marketing. Adobe has a new, giant box of software. It’s a giant box of software you’re probably going to get if you do visual work. It’s finally a box of software that runs on Intel Macs at speeds that don’t make you feel like your Mac Pro is a blue&white G3. And it does a bunch of stuff that you’ll have to, well, learn.

We’ve got enough of a preview, though, to see that there’s a lot to be truly excited about. Most importantly, Photoshop finally understands time and animation, enabling all kinds of artistic effects working directly with animations and video and painting on frames. And After Effects finally eases some animation tasks, opening up some unique effects with vectors and 2D. For visualists wanting to build better materials for live and interactive production by creating more original footage, all of this opens up some interesting new possibilities. (Disclaimer: what looks great on paper means nothing until you’ve tested this. So consider this a preview until we get out review copy.)

So, getting straight to it, what’s cool for visualists in CS3? We’ll be answering that question over the coming months, but here’s the shortened version, plus the arcane and bizarre ways CDMotioners intend to warp Adobe’s tools beyond their PR firm’s wildest expectations:

Flash, All Integrated Up

1. Native Photoshop and Illustrator import. Finally, you’ll be able to work with full-fidelity, seamlessly-imported files from other tools. Some people love Flash’s own vector tools, of course, but no one won’t love the ability to link up with Photoshop and import, complete with layers. CDMo is excited about: insane, multi-layered graphics for VJing in Flash.


2. Edit audio cues easily. Part of why I’m excited about Soundbooth CS3, Adobe’s new audio app, is that it’s perfectly-suited for editing audio for Flash (and, other marketing ideas beside, I’m fairly certain that’s how the tool came about in the first place). More on Soundbooth over at Create Digital Music.

After Effects, Now Better at Animation

1. Shape Layers. Draw and animate vector shapes in After Effects, without leaving the program. CDMo angle: I could see doing a whole gig’s footage with this feature alone.
2. Puppet. Manipulates and warps 2D images for animation. CDMo angle: Your challenge is to use this without looking like all the other motion graphics artists who are about to overuse it. I’m sure it can be done; I love the impact of manipulating 2D and quasi-3D After Effects.
3. Brainstorm. Generate and preview “animation variations.” Again, AE goes to better animation.

Reasons to get your electronic music career / video directing gigs on track: you get to use enormous, cavernous studios for chroma key shoots with people dancing around in bunny outfits.

Warning: NSFW, sophomoric bunny-on-bunny action. Not that it matters much to me: their shooting studio is what makes me blush.

Keying outfits that nice makes me want to put on a bunny outfit and jig. Sure, most working VJs don’t get to produce footage this way, but … we can dream. Or look for an empty warehouse.

Thanks to the excellent electronic music site Filter27. New Groove Armada album is due April 30. Technically, that’s Create Digital Music news, but I’m guessing the beats will also be useful for keeping yourself going as you work on new projects with Photoshop CS3.

Any favorite new music videos? Send them our way.

I’ve had a bit more time now with my (still shiny, still new) Numark AVM02 - or “Avmo” as it’s been dubbed by my bandmates - and have some more thoughts to offer, if you will hear them. If you haven’t heard the original thoughts or seen the unboxing photos you may like to check out my “First Impressions” review.

Obviously the biggest question I’m going to get is “how does it compare to the Edirol V4″, so I’ll come out straight away and disappoint those who are looking for that comparison: This article will focus mostly on the AVM02’s own strengths and weaknesses, and while some comparisons to the V4 and other video mixers may be drawn, you’ll have to make your own conclusions at this stage. I will be doing a full head to head features-and-quality shootout vodcast in the coming weeks, so I’ll save the serious V4 comparisons until then.

Unit Specs

The AVM02 combines a basic DJ mixer with what I guess could be described as a “DJ Style” video mixer, and is able to combine 4 Video channels and 4 Stereo Audio channels, mixing with independant (but linkable) Video and Audio crossfaders.

Onyx, the lovely open and extensible Flash-based live visualist tool, now runs on Mac as well as Windows. (Next stop, since it’s built in Flash: Linux.) And the latest build has some great new features:

1. Snap to tempo, tempo-synced filters
2. Build your own TempoFilters
3. Mutable bitmap filters
4. “Mix files” for saving multiple layers and filters
5. MP3 visualizations

Lots of new UI tweaks and keyboard shortcuts, as well, plus a home on Google Code. Add that to great features like the ability to use flickr streams.

Sounds like a must-install, even if as a secondary / backup visual tool.

Download Onyx
Demo Onyx

VJKungFu.tv launched almost 6 months ago now, and while Momo isn’t drowning the interwebs in new content, what’s showing up is something CDMo is definitely lacking as a VJ site: Original video content. Of particular interest is their high quality go-anywhere DIY Projector Mount, first steps in Quartz Composer, and some intro videos to VJing with the Jazzmutant Lemur (as extensively covered from a musical perspective on CDM).

Their latest initiative: AV Challenge #1, to create source material to be used beatbox-style for a future challenge.

The last competitions/challenges featured on CDMo were from the now-defunct DVGuru. I hope VJKungFoo doesn’t go the same way!