Multimedia Books

Great book, if you are eager to make your web searching more productive this is the book for you.

I thought I was pretty good when it came to getting around
on the Internet, but was I ever pleasantly surprised to learn
that I could still learn a great deal . . . and did by reading
THE ABOUT.COM GUIDE TO ONLINE RESEARCH by Wendy Boswell.

You'll also learn, too, regardless of your level of computer
sophistication . . . the material is very readable and
oh-so-informative . . . for example, to find the weather for
where you live, just go to the google website and type-in
weather: then your five-digit zip code . . . you immediately are
taken to a very visual listing that will provide all the information
you need by just looking at it (and not having to click further).

You'll get many tips that I've never seen elsewhere; e.g., this one
deals with how to deal with bibliographies:

There's EasyBib. a free automatic bibliography
composer; Cornell University Library's excellent in-depth article on how
to prepare an annotated bibliography; and writer Diana Hacker's informative how-to tutorial . . . all the specific web citations can be found in the book.

And you'll also find websites galore on such topics as finding crime
statistics, weird news, comparison shopping, job hunting, specific
diseases, and everybody's favorite, time wasting.

Lastly, if such terms as "blogs" and "RSS feeds" still throw you,
you'll no longer need to fear them if you just spend a little
time this most informative guide . . . I'd tell you more, but
it would take away from the time that I still want to spend
on trying just some of the things I've learned from Boswell's book.

This is one of those books that I use all the time. Because this is the first book I've given 5 stars, I'd better explain.

First, I like the way the book organized itself along the lines that the ActionScript editor or toolbox lists the different ActionScript terms. The parallel makes things easy to find. Second, I like the way the examples are used. For instance, the author explains the geometry behind the cosine of an angle explaining the Math.cos() method and then provides an example that draws a perfect circle. That's a lot better than I get in just about any other book. (Maybe that's more than some need, but I appreciated it.) Third, I like the level range. The beginning of the book is only 2 chapters, but it's a good 2 chapters that provide a quick explanation of ActionScript and scripting. However, further on in the book, it also covers more complex things like registerClass() with a detailed examples. The same is true for all of the new objects like LoadVars().

Finally, I have found myself using the last several chapters covering UI components. Before I got this book, I really didn't use UI Components very much, and now I use them constantly. In fact, those chapters (Pt IV, Chs 14-21)are what I find myself using the most. If this book had nothing but Part IV, the book would have been more than worth it to me.

I think the book is worth 6 stars -- 5 for the first 3 parts and an additional one for the last part covering UI Components.

After Flash 5 ActionScript, I didn't think that it would get much bigger. Flash MX ActionScript is huge, and this book makes it available. The author spends only the first two chapters with the basics of writing ActionScript in the context of Flash MX and makes a nice transition from Flash 5 to Flash MX.

Then, from Chapter 3 to the end of the book's 21 chapters, the author decided to follow the order of actions in the Actions toolbox in the Actions Panel. That makes it very easy to find stuff because it's organized along the same logical patterns as the toolbox. Even so I found myself going to both the detailed TOC and appendix to look up terms, and I never had problems finding what I needed.

Anyone can explain the easy stuff like the old gotoAndPlay() actions, and so I went to the new OOP materials and XML socket section. The OOP stuff was mixed with non-OOP throughout the book, and OOP-related methods like registerClass() were explained in detail and supported with a good example using something that made sense in the context of Flash MX. In fact, the whole book was filled with good examples. Some examples extended over several pages and others were little ones that gave you a quick insight. Sanders is an ace with examples. As for the XML socket material, not only did the explanation explain to me for the first time ever what the blazes a socket server was, it provided a URL where I could download a free socket server, which I did. Then I worked the example, and now I have my own mini-chat in XMLSocket. I'm happy.

The last several chapters were in-depth explanations of the different ActionScript terms used with the new UI Components. Each component got its own chapter, and I found it invaluable for designing with the components. It does not cover re-skinning, but I was able to get the look I wanted by changing every element in the components and I am a big user of UI components. (You can change all the little parts of components like highlight, higlight3D, face, darkshadow, etc. without re-skinning.)

There were a lot of little details I liked in the book. The examples were mixed, interesting, and clarifying. Undocumented terms, like onData with LoadVars(), were included, and I found what I needed. One suggestion for people getting this book: buy some of those little colored tab stickem things to bookmark all of the part of this book you'll need to reference again and again.

This book stands out due to the diversity of its chapters. All together, they show a great amount of current research work in different research areas as well as different application domains, all dealing with adaptation issues in hypermedia systems. This diversity helps the reader to see new aspects and generate new ideas.

Everyone interested in Adaptive Hypermedia Systems must read this book. It captures the state-of-the-art in this fascinating field and delivers an one-stop reference volume for researchers, designers and developers of Adaptive Hypermedia Systems

I began trying to use Encore DVD a week ago. Prior to this, I only put together very simple DVDs with DVDit PE. I used a video training DVD from Total Training to become accustomed to Encore DVD, but when I sat down and tried to put together menus for a friend's DVD, I ran into one problem after another and didn't have the video to help. I had this book, though, and found solutions for each problem very clearly explained. By the end of the afternoon I had menus with moving video in the backgrounds, music, and buttons that linked perfectly. Steve Tomich has done a great job. Books aren't always easy for me to use -- I'm a visual learner -- but this was easy and I highly recommend it for people learning this great program.

Just want to share after reading and following the excercises of this book, that it is truly amazing how such a short book (300 pages) can teach you in such a complete manner. It starts from the beginning for the complete novice and takes you from the ground-up to an master level in the DVD production using Adobe Encore. If you have some experience using layers (something pretty basic) with Adobe Photoshop you can integrate both products incredibly. Also experience with Adobe Premiere and After Effects is a plus but not required.

Now I can do any kind of custom made DVD with all the bells and whistles (menus, timelines, chapters, subtitles, audio tracks, menu animations and more). I think you can read this book in just a couple of days even doing the practice on your PC with Adobe Encore 1.5.

Highly recommended, easy to use, step by step guide and everything is illustrated with details.

I was new to video editing so I decided to buy this book. I didn't have time to read through 500 pages of text. This book and CD was just what I hoped for - a visual way to jump start me into the world of video editing. The videos cover the basic techniques. There is a second video that you can purchase directly from the author at Brainsville.com that covers more advanced techniques.

The software is so complex I cannot imagine trying to learn this product just from a book alone, I recommend this method.

I've been fighting with Premiere for more than 5 years.
I've tried to learn to use it A LOT OF TIMES.
Finally, FINALLY, this book and CD got me working with it!
Thanks, Bonnie! Your approach is clever. The .mov lessons
run smootly on my laptop and you are really GOOD explainng
those details I never could grab before...!!!
I hope to send you soon a mini mpeg thank you movie
using the knowledge I've gain in just the first couple of hours!

Best regards from Caracas, Venezuela.

Practical benchmarks, Keen insight, & logical categorization. If you want to know more about the communication paradigm after hype of the concept, brand, this is a perfect and wonderful book

There's a growing belief among ad industry pros that the possibilities of conventional advertising media approaches has been exhausted and new media challenges point the way to a different advertising approach, yet Ads to Icons: How Advertising Succeeds in a Multimedia Age is the first specific guide to modern media advertising which analyzes in depth how the industry has developed these new approaches. 50 advertising projects from around the world are considered in case studies showing different uses of advertising in the post-digital world, making for a solid reference for any college-level business library where advertising and marketing are top subjects.

I have spent the last two years learning and improving my editing skills, but I have always been a little (a lot) intimidated and in the dark (no pun intended) when it came to color correction. I'm still working in FC Express, and thought that this book may be pointless, since Express lacks many of the tools discussed. But I started reading the color correction section today and have devoured every bit of it. Although I don't have the scopes to work with, I have really appreciated the clear, concise, methodical way that the book explains the concepts and procedures behind color correction. The subject is now demystified for me, and I feel confident in applying what I'm learning to the tools that are available in Express. I will eventually upgrade to Pro and purchase a monitor as well, and when I do, I'll be well prepared to take on the color correction process.

Now I am an advanced Final Cut Pro user who has made a living with it for going on 5 years now, but still this book gives me new tips and tricks that I hadn't realized, and an excellent section on color correction which is really why I got the book in the first place.

I wrote my first shake node about 3 months before this dvd set came out, and only recently bought it.

I'm just through the first dvd, and already I've gotten my money's worth. It is produced very well with excellent descriptions of the base classes, as well as major member classes in the SDK. The lecturer is an apple employee and works with companies whom are developing nodes. He has examples beyond the materials that come in the Shake SDK and goes from theoretical to practical application seamlessly.

Normally on training DVDs, I watch them once, and I never have the desire to go back and watch them again, which prevents me from buying many training DVDs. This set is PACKED with information, and already I feel that I want to go back and listen to some parts again.

Be warned, if you do not know object oriented c++, then this is NOT for you. If you don't know c++, go pick up a programming book first.

I only wish that I had this dvd set BEFORE I began learning the Shake SDK.


My only real "problem" with this dvd set is that they only seem to talk about OSX development, if they incorporated more linux based development it would be better...

I cannot, however praise this product enough. If you have a desire to learn image processing, buy the Mac version of Shake 4.1, then buy this, and you'll be in heaven.

I not to experienced in C++ now, but think its very good stuff.
All step by step, with project creating on mac.

And as writen "PC only" - not only!, its DVD Video and can be viewed on big tv screen! Great :)
(text nice sized, and good readable on TV).

At the first introduction of so-called 'art' in the form of videotapes played in museum and gallery installations caused a public response of skepticism: how can something so transient as filmed activity be called Art? The validity of video art is now accepted as one of the more creative venues of artistic expression and that is due to a very great degree to the pioneering efforts of Bill Viola, a uniquely gifted man who now is accepted internationally as one of the most important artists of our time.

This brilliant book as created by Chris Townsend explores Bill Viola's works from the 1970s to 2004 with abundant photographs of 'stills' images from his videos that even in the frozen state of the book page are shatteringly poignant and beautiful. Perhaps for those uninformed about Viola's work this format will not impress, but the book may stimulate more people to seek out installations of his works as they appear in the varied arenas of art around the world. Townsend includes contributions by excellent writers such as Rhys Davies, Cynthia Freeland, Antonio Guesa, David Jasper, Jonathan Lahey-Dronsfield, David Morgan, Otto Neumaier, Elizabeth ten Grotenhiuis, Jean Wainwright - each of whom brings not only artistic verification but also personal response to Viola's many projects.

Perhaps one of the most successful works Viola has produced has been THE TRISTAN PROJECT in which he worked in tandem with Director Peter Sellars, Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Gehry's Disney Hall to re-think the Wagner masterpiece "Tristan und Isolde" in terms of the elements of water, fire, and the spiritual transformation of love - all by adding the element of projected gigantic screens of Viola's models in movement that created an opera production so profound that it is being staged throughout the world to both audience rapture and critical acclaim.

Bill Viola is a living genius and this fine book helps to inform us why. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, November 05

Sixty illustrations, all but five in color, lend to Chris Townsend's compilation Art Of Bill Viola, the first extensive critical appraisal of the works of video and installation artist Vignola. From themes surrounding the relationship of Vignola's art to religions to essays which consider his international influences and reputation, The Art Of Bill Viola is a 'must' for any in-depth art collection strong in video and installation works and artists.

Reviewed by Bette Daoust for Reader Views (2/07)

I want to start with a statement that this book, although aimed at IT executives, contains valuable information for executives in any part of an organization. Project disaster can happen to anyone at anytime. All projects should be on-time and on-budget no matter where they exist. So where do you start? You start by having a copy of this book and read it from cover to cover, make notes, and review everything with your team.

You will begin with your strategy. What industry does not need to define a strategy? Anything from stating the problem, creating a solution, resource requirements, to return on investment, should come into play no matter what the project. IT executives tend to fall into this far more often than any other executive and this book addresses a number of the issues through example. What better teacher than projects that have not made the grade.

It has been said that Edison found thousands of ways that his inventions did not work and those so called failures were the teaching tools for the successes that followed. Any IT executive that has never reached the point of failure still has a lot to learn. Kozak-Holland presents project disasters where the reader may gain experience through learning what did not work, even though the procedures were put in place to prevent disasters. Following the book to the letter will not necessarily help to avoid disaster; it simply provides a road map to guide your judgment. For example, the author talked about avoiding percentages because peak periods are not taken into consideration. If percentages are used, then disasters are more than likely to occur. Good advice!

So what does this book provide for the reader? "Avoiding Project Disaster" is a plethora of information on how problems can interfere with a project and solutions for avoiding most of those problems. The key message is to monitor the project at all times and never let down your guard. The book will guide any IT executive through the project maze. If you are at all involved with managing projects, then this book is a necessary tool for your team. Do not start your next project without it.

When I first saw the title of this book I had to smile at the thought of the big IT projects with which I have been associated that subsequently sank as though they had run into an iceberg.

An example though of how this book approaches comparing the Titanic with an IT project: One way to get an advance notice of an iceberg ahead is to pull up a bucket of sea water and get its temperature -- it's colder around the iceberg. A sailor was assigned to do this. He was observed filling the bucket with tap water, as the rope he was given was too short to reach the sea. The IT meaning - set up tests, but make sure the tests are real and that the results of the tests are based on real data not what is easy to obtain or pre-determined by other means.

This book is an easy-reading, light-hearted approach to illustrating some real truths about how projects (not only IT projects) really work. You'll pick up a few ideas about why the last project was so late and over budget, and perhaps your next project will go better.