Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 [With CDROM]

The Classroom In A Book series is a great way to learn an Adobe application. I got my first CIAB for Photoshop CS2 4 years ago and have been a fan ever since. The lessons are all self contained and very easy to follow. The only problem I have with this book and other books in the series is the creative nature of the lessons. While the skills and techniques that you learn can be applied to your own projects, you won't create anything meaning through the course of this book. Other training books like Derek Lea or Apple Pro Training Series allow you to create interesting and creative works over the course of each lesson, while the Adobe CIAB's usually will just show you how to use the tools. Overall it is a great learning tool and well worth the money. This book gives you the basics and is great for any beginner. Four Stars!

Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 CIB I have used Premiere infrequently over the years since version 5 and it was time for a refresher and to become acquainted with the new features. The last Premiere CIB book I purchased was 5.0 (1998). The book touches on a wide range of key features in a concise manner. If greater depth is needed, the book refers the reader to additional resources. I felt that the range of topics covered and the depth of treatment was good. This book is targeted at beginning and intermediate Premiere users and is not intended to make anyone an expert. I completed almost all of the exercises and felt that the book fulfilled its mission and was well worth the cost and the time/effort. I recommend that when copying the DVD to your hard drive, you place it in the recommended location. I have a separate Books & Training folder on my D: drive and copied the DVD there. Every time I opened a project for the first time the "Where is file" dialog opened. Also, this non-standard location caused some Dynamic Link exercises to produce unsatisfactory results and display the red Media Offline image. Re the complaints by some of the early reviewers regarding the files on the DVD, I recall only one switch setting (p. 262, noted below) which was incorrect. I received my copy March 9, 2010. While some may quibble whether all of the items below are errata, my frustration was sufficient to knock off one star for the book. When the Adobe software is brought into the mix, my frustration would cause me to knock off two stars. I have submitted my errata list to Adobe Press. ================= Errata The AdobePress & Peachpit errata list contains only one item (this was already corrected in my printing [ISBN-13: 978-0-321-57385-8, 9 8 7 6 5 4 3]): Page 252: Step 2 should read "Open the Lesson 13-2 Working sequence." My errata list: p. 34, Retakes: "Add Shot Placeholder" -> "Add Take Placeholder" <br /> <br />p. 104, step 2 (at top of page): The image should show the gap after writers2.avi, which was created by p. 102, step 8. Either that or Ripple Delete needs to be applied to the gap. <br /> <br />p. 191, Order counts: "works from bottom to top" -> "are applied top to bottom" <br /> <br />....Explanation: Either the statement is incorrect as written or I am misinterpreting what "works from" is supposed to mean. <br /> <br />p. 242, step 12: (See errata for p.263) <br /> <br />p. 262, step 5: In the Practice sequence of Lesson 14-2.prproj the Toggle Track Output of the Audio 1 track has been set (unintentionally) to not output the track (i.e., the Toggle is blank rather than displaying a speaker icon). It is necessary to click Toggle Track Output to hear the track. <br /> <br />p. 262, step 6: To duplicate the image shown below Step 6: Note that to keep the audio panned to the right after the second keyframe you will have to change it to a Hold keyframe. The alternative is to create a third keyframe at the end of the clip. Otherwise,

Make no mistake about many of Adobe's breakthrough visual products, they are difficult to master. Contrary to popular, mastering visual arts is not any easier than mastering many complex scientific and technological studies. It's just that our attitude toward mastering the arts is not based in any reality. Powerful applications like Premiere and Photoshop go beyond a "learning curve." They confront the user with a learning *wall*...and a steep on at that. This book helps the user to wrap their head around the exceptional power and capability contained in Premiere Pro CS4. Have no illusions -- this demands rigorous study, but the capabilities available in this application will put the reader at the head of the pack if they are mastered. As always, Adobe's team manages to define everything in the easiest possible terms. The coherent layout goes a long way toward making this challenging tool accessible.

I had never used Permer before and this bood did a great job of walking me thought thr program. I use this book all the time and could not go with out it. In short if you do not know how to use Permiere this is the book for you.

I must be missing something, I don't understand the low ratings on this book. I have several years' experience with Photoshop but am new to the video editing world. I have watched video training on Premiere CS4 to get familiar with non-linear editing and have already done some project work. But I wanted more detail in written form that I could go to as a repeat reference. This Classroom series for Premiere CS4 fills that need VERY well. The writers cover everything from setup of the software through to output with everything in between. I didn't find it too difficult as a beginner like others have mentioned. In fact, it is written in a very understandable style... often I'm reading through sections while not even at my PC and yet I can visualize what's being taught. I have notes and bookmarks all over the book, because it's also quite a good "How-To" reference guide, not just a bunch of lessons. It's obvious the author is passionate about video production because he/she even covers how to best shoot video to then edit later. I've learned a lot about shooting footage, not just "here's how the software works". By all means, don't skip this book if you've made the investment in Premiere CS4. As as for the other gripes/reviews, I'd take those with a grain of salt. I did buy it thinking I would sell it if it wasn't worth keeping. No WAY am I getting rid of it.