Multimedia Books

I've been using QuickTime for nearly ten years, and have often been frustrated when trying to explain to people that it is not just for video and sound any more. The frustration stems from the lack of examples and explanations to use these powerful features for non-programmers. This book changes that. It explains clearly and wittily how to use QuickTime to enhance your website or CD-ROM, and take advantage of over 10 years of cutting-edge digital media technology for free.

[Full disclosure - I work for Apple on the QuickTime Engineering team, and know the author - believe me I wouldn't endorse this book if it wasn't great]

This book is a must have if you plan on working with QuickTime to make multimedia content available! I call this book 'a rare find', as it is great for beginner through master, leaving few questions unanswered or stones unturned. The text is a good mix of "how to" information combined with "tips and tricks" to get your implementations to work.

I purchased this book for its material regarding steaming content over the Internet, and learned a great deal in the process. The chapter on QuickTime VR answered my "how do they do that?" questions, and has led me to explore the use of this technique for my upcoming projects.

The QuickTime VR chapter is a good example of the depth of knowledge used to develop this text, as it gives in-depth information on photography techniques that only a mid- to experienced photographer would know.

My only criticism of the book is that it only begins to explore about half of the knowledge needed to set up your own streaming web server, but I can hardly fault the authors for that -- it says right on the cover "A Hands-On Guide for Webmasters, Site Designers, and HTML Authors." It says nothing about being aimed at System or Network Administrators. If your main interest in this book is the setup of streaming servers, you might want to consider another book (or better yet, purchase this book along with another to round out your knowledge).

With the ... QuickTime Pro included, I can say without reservation that this is one of the best computer book values I have ever purchased. The book paid for the rest of the cost by showing me how to trick Microsoft Internet Explorer / Windows Media Player in such a way that it will not try to open your .mov files (great in a Windows-dominated environment)!

Highly recommended, even if you have only a passing interest in QuickTime.

This is an important resource for anyone who is serious about maximizing the potential of Quicktime. At Rayhawk.com we have been using this book to enhance our web productions and the results have been noticable, not only to us, but to our clients (KFC, Taco Bell, BMW, Porsche).

The book is full of useful info and the author is fun and helpful. He assumes we have little prior knowledge with either QuickTime or HTML and by the end of the book, he teaches us how to produce some amazing content.

Mastering QuickTime is essential to quickly and easily building exciting, dymamic and interactive web sites. This book (QuickTime for the Web) is essential to mastering QuickTime for the web. It has saved me more time and energy than any book I've bought in the last two years.

This book is a must have! From how to create VR with interactive sounds and sprites - to getting your video or photos streaming on the web - this book shows you how. As a web master of a site with over 100 different Virtual Reality and QT movies, I found this book (and the free tools and interactive sprites for my use) to be invaluable. I reccommend it without hestitation. Luke Wonderly, Web master - vrbakersfield.com

Sonar 2.0 is such a complicated program. I haven't even messed with many of the features, including MIDI, but have gotten quite good at audio editing. This book made a huge difference. I found it much clearer and easier to follow than the online help or manual that came with Sonar. Highly recommended!

I'm using Home Studio 2002 XL, which as one of the reviewers pointed out is basically just a cut down version of Sonar 2. I had hoped that this book would help me to really learn how to use the advanced features of Home Studio/Sonar, but I was disappointed to find little advice on technique in the book.

It's a very comprehensive overview of the features of the program, but apart from a few small features I'd overlooked there was very little that I hadn't managed to already learn from the included help files (which are pretty good) or previous experience with Sequencers and using MIDI.

In particular I was interested in more information on how best to arrange and mix songs, in particular using aux-buses, but I found that less time was spent on this topic than on explaining the different effects (in more detail than I thought necessary).

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh, and perhaps I'm looking for a different kind of book. I work with computers for a living, so I'm used to finding my way around new software - I guess if you aren't then this is probably a good tour of what the software can do.

I review this book as one who does not own this particular piece of software, but as a prospective Sonar user. I wanted to do a little research to see if Sonar was the way I wanted to go, and I found this book extremely informative. It makes what might be a scary program for the novice very approachable and user-friendly. If I do wind up purchasing Sonar, it's unlikely I'll even need to read the manual with this excellent resource available to me. Outstanding!!

Sonar 2 Power! is an excellent book. It is, by far, the best book available on Sonar, and a must have for anyone who uses Sonar. I have found it was great for intitially getting up to speed on the software. And now that I know the software much better, it is still full of tons of helpful information. Sonar 2 Power! lets you quickly dive right into those features you are interested in. Best of all, the author, Scott Garrigus, is able to make learning quick and enjoyable. It is clear that Scott has a great deal of enthusiasm for making music using his computer and Sonar; he does a very good job of getting this enthusiasm across, which makes the book all the more enjoyable to read. The author has a Website...for his readers.

This is a good book for Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 (and XL) users as well, because Home Studio 2004 is basically the same as Sonar 2 with a few missing features that Home Studio 2004.

I did a comparison of it to my recently acquired 2004 XL upgrade and other than the synchronization function, a couple of UI changes (Snap to Grid button changed locations), and a few effects that Home Studio XL doesn't give you, everything works identical to the Sonar 2 version in the book.

I haven't read the Cakewalk Power Book, but I did notice it looked thinner on the shelves than Sonar 2, and chose to buy Sonar 2 because I thought it was more comprehensive. I've been very happy about the purchase and what I've learned about Home Recording.

Truth be told: there are scores of books "out there" that provide useful tactics for enhancing yourself and, thereby, every activity you experience in every aspect of life. Truth be told: most of those books provide useful tactics for enhancing the author's book sales... and little else. Dr. Pam Brill, however, has deftly managed to intertwine long-held psychological theories with her own practical experiences in a way that guides readers to their own sense of discovering "The Zone."

At her most basic, Dr. Brill identifies and describes how Activation, Attention, and Attitude can be ideally aligned--by anyone--to achieve optimal results in any phase of life.


After having spent enough time to obtain degrees in physiology and psychology, working in both fields, and being a sports management faculty at New York University, I have undoubtedly come across my share of "how-to"/self-help books. Many of these books proclaim to aid the reader in understanding the "Mind-Body Connection." Dr. Brill actually (finally!) succeeds in having written a book that explains the workings of the "Mind-Body Connection," how that connection could serve as a benefit or a detriment, and, then, how to glean the positive results that put the reader "In The Zone."

Ultimately, "The Winner's Way" is not some hodgepodge of nebulous or sound-good-but-not-likely-to-be-achieved concepts. The thing that makes this book so incredibly credible is that the words are placed in front of the reader in much the same way words would be verbalized in coaching sessions.

Ready to move to the next level in your life? Would you like to work with a coach who will give you a simple plan, convincing back-up research, and a sense of being challenged to perform? Warning: Simple as it sounds, this is not easy work. However, Dr. Pam Brill-psychologist, coach, seminar leader, and consultant-will be with you every step.

This is not a book that you can read quickly, toss it aside, and be cured of everything that has inhibited your high achievement. The pages are full of strong content that will take a while to get through. Reading, absorbing, and benefiting from "The Winner's Way" is more of a project than it is a pleasant Sunday afternoon read. If you're ready to make the commitment, investing your time, attention, and energy with this volume will pay great dividends.

The book is organized into twelve chapters, an appendix, endnotes, and an index. Well constructed. The first part of the book introduces the reader to a range of concepts that will help focus the attention on what needs to be done, and why. Brill starts with the idea of being in "the zone," an important part of her work and philosophy. Using vignettes to illustrate her points-and capture the reader's mind and spirit, the author presents the experience of the intensity, the full focus, that enables people to achieve at high levels.

Brill's research "concluded that there are three core elements that, when aligned at optimum levels, hold the power to boost you into and keep you in the Zone: Activation, Attention, and Attitude." Brill explains each of these elements, then works with you to activate these powers to achieve.

If you're not where you want to be, if you're not a winner in practically everything you do, this book can be a tool that will help you move to that special space in The Zone of achievement. If you're ready, I recommend you purchase this book and get to work.

Have you ever found yourself moving through a mountain of work with enthusiasm, energy and error-proof efforts? If so, you were probably operating in the "zone" -- that area where athletes report seeing everything moving in slow motion while they run circles around the opposition.

The opposite, of course, can come in two forms. Either the world seems impossibly fast moving while you feel weak and lethargic . . . and uncaring -- or you feel like everything is an attack on you, and you are angry!!

Dr. Brill dissects the bases behind these three states into the components of activation (your level and scope of response to the stimuli around you), attention (what you notice) and attitude (how you interpret what's going on). She explains that you can use your will power to take control over all three elements. Otherwise, your habits will take over and your body will be bathed in powerful chemicals that will cause you to over or under respond to the situation you are in.

Where many books about managing your state encourage you to do simple things like recreate times when you felt strong, or to do endless affirmations, or to simply meditate, Dr. Brill has developed a more complete and detailed program than I have ever seen before. With this program, you should be able to move away from harmful states faster and into better ones than you are usually able to grasp.

She does this by first helping you understand several extreme cases of people who are overwhelmed (a cancer patient who feels like he has a death sentence, an attorney who resents any dilution of his focus on his billings, and a team leader who senses resentment among her colleagues so doesn't ask them to do anything). Later, she adds herself as a case history for how she overcame bad mental attitudes about her expert witness work and her running. These case histories are continued throughout the book so you can see how they overcame their problems.

She explains in detail how we cognitively deal with activation, attention and attitude. Next, she describes the physiological basis for how these aspects of our mental processes are influenced by our thoughts and bodies. I thought that was a wise thing to do, because it will help people feel less guilty about when they get out of whack. It's just natural for that to happen, but you don't have to leave it at that.

The best part of the book comes in the self-help section in which she provides questions to help you realize what can trigger you into and out of the "zone" you want to be in. From that information, you can develop exercises that will use mental images and physiological changes (tension relievers in many cases) to adjust your state.

One resource that I particularly liked was the explanation of how being in the "zone" should feel and what it feels like to be over and under stimulated. This gives me a guidepost for sensing what I need to adjust in my own mind and body. Very nice!

If you repeat the self-help sections and keep careful notes over time, I suspect that you can achieve a degree of self-control for the good. I don't know of another book where the self-help coaching is as good as it is here.

Now for the bad news: This book will seem repetitive and slow to many. Dr. Brill uses extensive and lengthy repetition to help instill the points deeply into your mind.

You will probably like the book better if you just do a chapter at a time. If that seems too dull, just do part of a chapter. But stick with it until you get to the self-help section that begins in chapter 9. Then, you will want to take it slow because the material is very dense and valuable. You will feel rewarded for your patience with the first 8 chapters.

Float freely to your accomplishments!

How do you elevate yourself to a place where you can achieve anything you've ever wanted in life? Dr. Brill, in easily understood, and in poignant style, illustrates through real life examples what we can accomplish by living our lives in a space, familiar to athlete's, called the Zone.

In it's most simplistic terms, there are three components, Activation, Attention, and Attitude, that when aligned perfectly, makes us unstoppable in achieving ANYTHING.

As a tennis player, I bought this book with a desire to improve my game -- to get in that "place" where the Agassi's and Roddick's of the world operate in, that helps them to consistently win. I quickly realized, however, that sports is just a metaphor for life, and being able to operate in the "Zone" at all times, was what I was really after.

The real value in "The Winner's Way" is the idea that change is not an insurmountable task. Most of the time, only a minor tweak is necessary to elevate ourselves, and the larger issues are accomplished through identifying our shortcomings, and a commitment to achieving what we never thought was possible.

- And Dr. Brill is right by your side to help, every step of the way...

Now this is a book that kept me engaged! Dr. Brill has a writing style that captured my heart and mind--I have read a lot of books in the area of psychology, sport psychology & business (for academic, personal and professional reasons). This was a book I could really wrap my head around and apply immediately. The writing, structure and stories brought the strategies to life and helped me recognize their applicability to my own experiences. To be able to simplify a complex process and to know her tools are grounded in reliable and valid research make the book all the more powerful and usable.

Thank you Dr. Brill! Kudos to your major contribution to the areas of business, sport and life.

Andrea Wieland, M.B.A, Ph.D.
Olympian

Got the program? Need help to use it? This is probably the best reference. I rated it 4 stars because not all of the material is in the lesson. You will have to copy resource material to your computer.

Anyone would easily think that Adobe premiere pro would be such a hard thing to learn how to do. Thanks to Jeff Schell, that problem is over. With easy excercises, this book is the essential tool to help you understand how to use the problem much better. It teaches you the basic tools, guides, and shortcuts that can help you create your own masterpiece (whatever that may be). The book also includes the disc that helps you step by step to create a simple video. I highly recommend this book for those who definitly want to learn Premiere Pro. It's Good Stuff

A book that I can read and understand without breaking into a sweat.
It solved one of my big problems inside five minutes.
You will not regret buying this book.

I would rate myself at the intermediate level when it comes to editing. I was fairly new to Premiere Pro 2 (was using 6.5 before) when I purchased the book. There were some things I knew already that the book described but I didn't know a lot of the shortcuts. It also taught me a great deal about using all of the Audio features, so that was a huge bonus for me. All in all, I thought the book was great. It was easy to work through and follow. It also allows you to skip around throughout chapters easily.

I have used both of Jeff's books (Pro 1.5and 2.) and find them the best on the market in my opinion. Clear, concise, very easy to understand and a great teaching tool. He makes what could be a difficult task, easy!
Highly recommended!

This book was very easy to use. It was just like vocabulary books you had in middle school. You start off learning things like prefixes, root words, suffixes etc. Then they start putting words together. It will help you understand medical terms when you break them down. The flash cards also help.

This is a great way to learn medical terminology. It's easy to understand, interesting and presented in a way that makes it easier to learn than just straight memorization. I am planning on keeping this book and not reselling it, because I think it will be a great reference for future classes as well.

I paid extra to have them delivered in 24 hours and sure enough, they came. Awesome!

Classes started and its not a class you want to be behind on. I odered the book though my school, but it was on backoreder forever. Finally got mad, cancalled my order though school and I ordered book here, paid a little more because I wanted it over night! I guess I'm better off getting the book though amazon. Atleast I didn't get far behind!

In a different school, I took Medical Terminology their book is confusing, This book is GREAT, pic to show where stuff is, and explains. I understood this book a lot more then the old one!

My son finds this book very helpful in his prenursing course which is also entitled Medical Terminologies. It is thorough and comprehensive. The root words are very helpful and the pictures are descriptive.

This book has helped me a lot for the TV commercial to be created in Flash..I thank the author of the book for this wonderfull help..

In order to use the examples in this book you will need a MacIntosh. You will also have buy quite a number of third-party plugins. If you own a Mac and have money for plugins than this is a very helpful book.

But look elsewhere if you only have a Windows computer and want to use only Flash for video work.

An excellent Flash book. It goes through every aspect of the production process, from writing the script to exporting to videotape. It tells you how to prepare your Flash animations the right way, and provides information on the correct project size, frame rate, title & action safe guides, etc. for broadcast. This information is invaluable if you ever intend to submit your Flash animation to a festival or studio, and you have to export your movie out to videotape. I also found the interviews with seasoned Flash animators to be very insightful. You will not regret buying this book.

If you're a traditional animator or a web-based flash animator (all levels), "Flash MX Design for TV and Video" IS the definitive guide to taking your flash animation to video, television and DVD. Not only is this book chock full of animation techniques, it also explores working with sound, flash video capabilities and limitations, visual storytelling and cross-purposing, the process of designing your project with a variety of delivery options in mind. This book is a must-have for every serious Flash Animator seeking to take their flash stories to the next level. We are proud to recommend it to our FlashTV members.

Nicholas Da Silva, ...

Its just a mater time before more quality content shifts from the workstations to the living rooms of the world. This is the definitive guide on bridging Flash content for the Web to Television. A truly indespensible reference for any Flash professional wanting to make the transition.
Janet Galore and Todd Kelsey lay it all out clearly and write in an easy to read style that doesn't skimp on details. The entire book is laden with terrific artwork and helpful screen grabs that support the text. Very undaunting for the visually inclined.
The sections on video exporting, and postproduction effects was particularly eye opening. this section alone cleared a lot uncertainty for me.
While this book won't make the reader a better Flash animator/designer, it most definately will make any level Animator or designer a more informed artist. It will open a lot of doors personaly and in the hands of a talented, creative person, change the ever evolving face of the Flash community indelibly.

This book is a treasure. Sure, there are lots of books and programs around that talk about the importance of bringing the heart and head together in life and work, however Bruce and Doc have documented in scientific language and case studies what many only have intuited.Many of us have"known" the power of the heart, but not had the evidence to back up our gut feelings. From Chaos to Coherence is the first book I know that truly integrates sound practical applications of the intelligence and wisdom of the heart with the power of the mind. I have experienced the results for myself, my family and business. I encourage you to read this book!

every executive, actually anyone in business today, will benefit from the tools described in this book. I've taken the HeartMath program many times, and they have created simple, powerful tools that have made me a more effective leader, a better listener, and much more balanced in all aspects of my life. Even during periods of intense challenge and stress. I handle things much better than I used to. Some people don't need all the research and data HeartMath does but it's great to know they've done their homework. This is one of the most practical, useful business book's I've ever read.

I have been recommending the first edition to friends in the field of management. The authors are admirable in their willingness to make a fair amount of revisions and expand on their book in less than than 2 years. Such is the speed of change! This is a very satisfying and useful book. It is interesting and easy to follow. Given many good reviews, including those for the first edition, I'll refrain from adding more praise or give any summary ideas. As Scott Shuster, the Founding Director of Business Week, has said well in the Foreword: "There is no limit to the potential of HeartMath because at root it is a simple, physical act: a mental formation, a thought with physical effects. It is neither philosophy, faith, nor belief. The essentially physical character of the practice enables its easy application across all the barriers that customarily divide humanity.... Within this potential universality lies HeartMath's immense promise: If everybody did this, what a wonderful world." It won't be surprising if HeartMath becomes as widely known and used as the Microsoft of the world of emotional coherence.

This is an important book. At some level we all know there must be a better way to be in the world. Quite simply this book, and the simple but powerful tools it provides, can help you to transform the quality of your life. It has for me.

The Freeze Frame tool, and its associated variants, can be applied quickly and easily in a wide variety of situations to improve one's performance, productivity and personal satisfaction. These tools are based on the simple fact that it takes only a minute to shift your focus and change your perceptions. From Chaos to Coherence invites you to see for yourself what such a shift in focus and perception can mean in terms of your ability to deal with stress effectively, enhance your creativity or improve your leadership abilities.

Whether you are an employee trying to cope with change and an increasingly demanding work environment, a middle manager who is trying to balance many conflicting forces, or an executive who is seeking to inspire excellent performance this book provides many valuable insights and practical, powerful tools. What's more these approaches have been tested and proven to be effective through careful research in many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies as well as many private businesses.

This is an important book because it presents a simple technique that is so fundamental and sound that I have trouble understanding why everyone isn't already using this approach.

The Freeze-Frame methodology is sure to provide a significant competitive advantage for those corporate leaders and managers who are interested in creating healthier and more productive environments in the information/internet age. God knows we need such approaches to help us keep pace with the demands and changes of our times.

I highly recommend this book, and the HeartMath tools and approach. Bruce, Doc and the staff at the Institute of HeartMath have done a great job in developing and bringing these approaches into the corporate arena. It is now up to us to use them to determine the fruits they can bear in our own lives. I encourage you to buy this book and try these tools and see for yourself what they can do to increase the quality of your life and the performance of you, your team, and your organization.

This CD gives almost two hours of video clips, mostly by Bruce Cryer with Rollin McCraty, who has done much of the research behind HeartMath and Alan Watkins and many others. Though the image is small and resolution poor, it is a great help to attend lectures by these outstanding personalities through this CD. [Bruce seems to use a predominantly left hand gesture in talking. I wonder if that would indicate more right-brain dominance. When he speaks about coherence, he tends to use both hands more often.] Key points are summarised in bigger power-point slides that help you to grasp what is being said. 6 relevant questions on the use of HeartMath and IQM (Inner Quality Management)are answered in video clips by many experts. In the "Tools" section, you get guided audio exercises on Freeze-Frame and Heart Lock-in, various forms for practising HeartMath skills and "Needs Assessment" on when to do what. Internet links are given to the HeartMath websites and for more case studies and a bibliography of 48 books. The section "Getting Coherent" gives you various textual tips on being a coherent: "you", "you as manager" and "your organization". "Deep Content" gives most of the book (first edition) in text. There is a search function for these two sections. In a revised edition, I hope the texts will be based on the new edition. If Doc Childre could also appear in the video clips, maybe playing some pieces of HeartMath music, together with all the other key HeartMath personnel, that would really enhance the heart feeling of appreciation.

All around, yet another hit from the Missing Manual series!

I'm well versed in most things computer, so computer books often either are way under my interest level or are very technical in nature. This is a great mix of advanced techniques taught in a quick and understandable way.

I'm actually using iLife '06, but haven't hit any major roadbumps between the content in the book and the '06 apps.

Great stuff - now I'm drooling over the iPhoto specific book - I want to dig even deeper into that app now that I understand the basics!

iLife '05 is the fifth Missing Manual I've purchased. I find them helpful, informative, and fun to read. The chapter layout is logical and fluid, the index is thorough, and the entire manual is chock full of color (!) illustrations.

The first few chapters will walk the beginner through iTunes and the iTunes Music store. There is even a chapter on managing your iPod.

Next is iPhoto, Apple's image browser-librarian-editor. Like Apple's software, there is more than first meets the eye in these pages.

Section three covers iMovie, from working with your camcorder through producing something worth burning to DVD...leading seamlessly to

Section four, exploring iDVD. Both general concepts and insider-like tips abound.

Section five covers GarageBand. All the above sections are much more accessable and thorough than Apple's Help system. This Missing Manual closes with more than 50 pages of troubleshooting tips for the 5 software titles, and an excellent index.

The whole book is a pleasure to read, browse, or just to hold in the hand (though it's heavy--nothing skimpy about it). I find myself reading some sections completely and diving in for a just a few pages in others. A must have if you own iLife '05--whhich can be had for a song now that iLife '06 is out.

David Pogue's iLife 05: The Missing Manual covers all the major features and functions of iLife: iTunes, iPhoto 5, Garage Band 2 and more. These are all key cornerstones of the Mac's popularity and here are revealed by a weekly computer columnist for the New York Times who is himself a Macintosh author. From producing polished music recordings with no prior experience to using information panels, effects panes, film rolls and other features of iLife 05, you simply can't be without this book if you own the program. The full color screen examples packed throughout make it hard to mess up.

Do you need to harness cutting-edge technology for your own creative expression and entertainment? If you do, you're in luck! Author David Pogue, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that doesn't require you to be a professional working for a media conglomerate to read it.

Pogue, begins by discussing how to use iTunes 4 for managing, playing, buying and sharing digital music. Then, he discusses how to use the iPhoto 5 program for downloading photos from your digital camera, and organizing, sharing, and printing them. The author continues by describing how to use the iMoves HD program for editing footage from a digital camcorder, adding effects, sound, and credits, and then presenting the result. Next, he details how to use GarageBand 2 for composing and recording terrific-sounding songs of your own. Then, the author provides an overview of how to use the iDVD 5 program for burning DVDs containing the movies, music, and photos from iTunes, iPhotos, iMoves, and GarageBand. Finally, he explains how to troubleshoot the preceding programs.

This most excellent book packages iDVD 5, iTunes, iPhotos, iMoves, and GarageBand come in a single package called iLife '05. In other words, if you've mastered all of the preceding information, you have all of the technical background you need to enjoy iLife '05: The Missing Manual.

This is a good book for understanding all of the applications included in iLife 05. Note, however, that iLife 06 has been released with a host of new features, and thus depending on whether or not you intend to upgrade, this book may have a limited lifespan of usefulness at this point in time. As of iLife '06, iLife consists of six components: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb. However, if you intend to stick with iLife 05 for awhile, you couldn't ask for a better guide. Basically, what the author has done is condense his Mac missing manual series of books- iMovie&DVD, iPhoto, iTunes&iPod, and GarageBand - into one volume. I have some of the missing manuals for the individual applications, and I compared the individual books with the applicable sections in this book, and they seem to be equitable in quality. The only thing you are really missing is some of Pogue's insight into using the applications - for example, some pointers on film-making in the case of the iMovie&iDVD book versus this book. There also seem to be more advanced user and customization information in the individual "Missing Manual" books versus this book, so perhaps power-users would be better off buying the individual missing manuals on the applications. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here for the purpose of completeness:
PART 1: iTunes
1. Getting Music into iTunes
2. Getting Music out of iTunes
3. Managing Your Music
4. The iTunes Music Store
5. The iPod Connection
PART 2: iPhoto
6. Camera Meets Mac
7. The Digital Shoebox
8. Editing Your Shots
9. The iPhoto Slideshow
10. Prints and Books
11. Photos Online - and Your Network
12. iPhoto File Management
PART 3: iMovie
13. Camcorder Meets Mac
14. Building the Movie
15. Transitions and Effects
16. Titles, Captions, and Credits
17. Narration, Music, and Sound
18. Still Pictures and Quicktime Movies
19. Finding Your Audience
PART 4: iDVD
20. From iMovie to iDVD
21. iDVD Projects By Hand
22. Advanced iDVD
PART 5: GarageBand
23. Setting Up the Garage
24. Loops
25. Regions
26. Software Instruments (MIDI)
27. Recording and Editing Live Audio
28. Effects, Guitar Amps, and Instrument Models
29. Mixing and Publishing
PART 6: Troubleshooting
30. Troubleshooting iTunes
31. Troubleshooting iPhoto
32. Troubleshooting iMovie
33. Troubleshooting iDVD
34. Troubleshooting GarageBand

I start learning 3DS4 using this book and I found it very easy to understand. Anybody who want to learn 3DS should buy it.

This book is outstanding to learn and to enhance one's knowledge of 3DS4. It is fun to read, and is really quite a page-turner! It starts with the basics and moves logically to advanced topics, all while using easy-to-follow tutorials. The CDROM comes with some nice textures that are good for making your own scenes. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE learning 3ds4!

This book is outstanding to learn and to enhance one's knowledge of 3DS4. It is fun to read, and is really quite a page-turner! It is structured so that it holds your attention - i.e. it doesn't linger for 50 pages on one topic and mention another in passing.

It starts with the basics and moves logically to advanced topics, all while using easy-to-follow tutorials. The CDROM comes with some nice textures that are good for making your own scenes.

Plus, in an appendix, it reviews most of the popular IPAS plugins for 3D Studio R4. This reference is useful to determine what software to spend your money on.

I would recommend this book to EVERYONE learning 3ds4!

This is the best book of 3D Studio r4, in a couple of weeks you can learn almost everithing, starting with modeling, texturing, animating and scripting.

It is an excellent companion to everyone that wants to learns the powers of 3D Studio. Contains many things that help you to understand easy and quick. There is also a very good CDROM companion to this book that has many stuff to look such as materials, images or even some extra demo programs. I am completely satisfied of this book so I higly reccomend it

This is one of the most helpful computer books I have ever read. I not only learned from the numerous examples, I was inspired by their creativity to create content of which I'm proud, and to go from making a me-too product to something people will talk about.

It is truly amazing what the unpublicized, interactive capabilities of QuickTime allow you to make.

I would warn anyone buying this book, use LiveStage Pro on a Mac as nature intended it; the Windows version is quite buggy and more than a little clunky.

By reading this book you may probably notice, that you are wrong and you will be surprised how much there is you can still learn about the subject.
The book covers every aspect regarding interactive content creation with QuickTime
It is a rich source of in-depth information and there is a wealth of ready to use functions. In combination with the many tutorials and samples it is valuable and useful for all who author interactive QT or intend to do.
For experienced users it is a real reference book even if your authoring environment differs from the one (LiveStage Pro) used throughout the book as many aspects and programming technics are transferable.

I just started using Live Stage Pro to author quicktimes 2 months ago and found the software's manual to be helpful but light on insight. In a nutshell 'Interactive Quicktime' is a crucial book to get if you're learning LSP (although the author goes into other methods of working with quicktime too). What can I say? It helps you understand what's going on within the world of the quicktime architecture and walks you through tons of projects to help you get it. I wasn't getting it with the LSP manual. As the author states it would be helpful to know a little bit of applescript or some other programming language but I'm picking it up slowly but surly and I've never written a word of code in my life. It's well worth the price.

This really is an excellent book. The examples that Matthew uses to teach in each chapter are useful far beyond just wired QuickTime. I keep it next to my desk for use in my other development environments as well.

For example there is a chapter on scripted motion which talks about linear interpolation, easing in and out, motion along mathematical functions, circular motion, paths and spline interpolation. I incorporated a few of these animation algorithms into my desktop applications and they work/look great.

Highly recommended.

If you think that QuickTime is just a media player for showing video and listening to audio, this book will make you think again. Delving into the depths of the QuickTime architecture Matthew shows the reader the huge breadth of interactivity that is possible and encourages the reader to think how techniques can be applied in different ways. Each chapter ends with an 'Explorations' section asking the reader to think about various topics that have been looked at, and how they can be applied.

The book is broken up into six main sections covering topics such as sprites- communicating with them, moving them, interaction, modelling physics etc. Other sections include the structure of QT, adding interactivity to existing movies, user interfaces, multimedia and communicating with the world.

Each section is subdivided into chapters looking at a specific area (39 chapters in all), and usually going through several small projects. ALL of these projects are included on the CD, often in both beginning and final forms so that you can go through all the steps or just look at the final version if you are more advanced. Because the book is structured with more complex issues handled later on, even a relative newcomer can work through the book, while the experienced QT content producer can go directly to the sections of particular interest.

There is a 42 day trial version of LiveStage Pro on the Cd as most of the projects are done using it, along with demos of several other programs and examples of the best QT work by other people.

In the introduction Matthew mentions that he often looks at the contents and index of a reference book first, as these tell you a lot about a book. Nine pages of Contents, twenty pages of Index, a Glossary and Appendix S! Even including a list of every file on the CD and many http links.

As Matthew explains how things are done rather than simply showing you the program-specific scripts a lot of the book can be applied to other multimedia environments such as Flash, Director and Runtime Revolution. I regard this book as required reading for all people working to create highly interactive media, whether they use QT or not.

In summary this book will revolutionise how you think of and use QuickTime. By showing what is possible rather than what is commonly used Matthew expands the interactive medium in a way that pushes the boundaries.

Highly recommended, and I found that the author quickly replies to any questions that you ask him by email.