Compressor-Quick
Reference Guide
Essential Techniques and Shortcuts
Apple Pro Training Series
By Brian Gary
http://www.peachpit.com
- $26.90
Available
in the lafcpug store for $19.79
Review by Steve
Douglas
I'm
a lucky guy. I came home from work the other day to find this
unexpected book sitting on my doorstep. It's not that my work
schedule was empty and there were no editing projects to finish
or products to investigate, but Brian Gary's book 'Compressor-Quick
Reference Guide', part of the Apple Pro Training Series proved
to be a more than welcome addition to my editing library.
This is not one of those eight
pound books with media file discs and tutorial projects that
take all day to work through. This is a concise, 154 page book
aimed at all levels of users of Compressor. It is the perfect
size to carry around in your computer case or overcoat to be
used as a reference source of many excellent workflow and timesaving
tips, tricks and techniques. Compressor, long an integral extension
of the Apple editing applications, has not been the subject of
very many books or tutorial discs. There are some, to be sure,
but Brian Gary's book establishes for itself an important place
in your collection of reference materials. Don't let its' compact
size fool you. Just about everything you might want to read and
learn about the use of Compressor can be found here. I picked
it up, started reading and the next thing I knew I was at the
computer putting some of his tricks and tips in action. There
are twelve chapters covering the basic interface, importing footage,
working with presets and droplets, batch encoding, and encoding
for DVD, Audio, with MPEG-4 and H.264, as well as creating advantageous
workflows, various format conversions, working with frame controls,
the filters, geometry and action panes, and finally, distributed
processing. Companion to each chapter are numerous high quality
graphics to illustrate the text.
This book is easy reading, easy
to understand and easy to apply. As shown by the previously mentioned
chapters, Brian Gary has you working with Compressor quickly
getting you up to speed in a useful and sequential manner. For
the advanced user, several techniques might not be common knowledge
and new knowledge may mean much time and money saved. Granted,
this is a short review for a short book, but, like all the Apple
Pro Training Series tomes I have worked with, it is really an
exceptional book, well worth the purchase. I highly recommend
it.
Purchase in the lafcpug store
Steve Douglas is an underwater
videographer and contributor to numerous film festivals around
the world. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater Film
Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater
Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International
Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan
Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver
of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The
Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's
Atlantis production, and a recent History channel MegaDisaster
show. Steve is one of the founding organizers of the San Diego
UnderSea Film Exhibition and leads both underwater filming expeditions
and African safaris with upcoming excursions to Kenya, Bali &
Komodo in 2007, and Costa Rica and Palau in 2008. Feel free to
contact him if you are interested in joining Steve on any of
these exciting trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com