Customer Reviews

Adobe Premiere Elements 2 in a Snap

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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I have found that books about video editing are either hopelessly basic or designed for folks with an upscale budget. Finally, here is a meaty book designed for the serious amateur video moviemaker. The authors have taken months of personal experience dealing with questions from Adobe Premiere Elements users world-wide and have written a truly useful book.

Like all the Sams in a Snap books, this one has their 'Contents at a Glance' filling the inside cover and very first page -- right where is should be, in my opinion. And a great addition this time are the blue numbered tabs centered on the edge of each page, which correspond to the numbered tasks in the contents. The numbers now are directly under where you put your thumb when you browse to the desired page, instead of at the top where they can be mistaken for page numbers. Finding your topic has never been easier!

Concepts of non-linear video editing are explained and the unique terminology is clearly defined. Steve and Chuck have trumped the competition by including a very useful list of 11 tips to making great videos. This list was obviously put together by someone who has made more than a few movies!

There are the usual and expected chapters on video capture, timeline editing, effects and transitions, exporting to alternative formats and DVD authoring. Many books are simply a rehash of the manual in my opinion. This book goes well beyond. Every software application has rough edges and features that are difficult to understand and set up correctly. Steve and Chuck have applied hard-won experience from the Adobe forums to expertly guide users through typical problems and troubleshooting.

I especially liked the information provided about special effects. Frequently asked questions in the forum, such as how to do a Ken Burns effect on photographs, make a car appear to move over a map, create a Brady Bunch effect, make a person appear to fly, blur a person's face like they do on Cops and create a Star Wars style rolling credits and many more are answered.

The Appendix has a handy printout of all the keyboard shortcuts, which I find especially useful. If you register on the Sam's web site you will find bonus material available including a description of all the available transitions and effects. You can go through the book as a tutorial or simply pick the task or technique you would like to learn. Is it worth the money? You bet! Recommended.

If you're looking for more detailed information and instructions on how to use Premiere Elements 2, then this is the book for you. Although the instruction book included with the software is pretty good, this book tells you everything you want to know plus it's a handy reference guide when you become familiar with the program. I just purchased Premiere Elements 2 but I've been using PE1 for about a year and there is still lots of things I'm not familiar with or know how to do. And you just can't get that information from the help guide included with the program. In A Snap explains effects and functions simply and understandably. I wish I had this book when I first started video editing. It would have saved me a lot of time and fustration, especially when I was trying to learn keyframing and some of the other effects I now use all the time.

I also like that it has an extensive index. This is another thing missing from the software instruction guide. It makes it so much easier and quicker to solve problems. And when you do find what you're looking for, there are great illustrations that accompany the explanations. There's also a list of keyboard shortcuts for the program and a glossary of editing terms.

In addition to the instructions, the book also shows how to do 'cool tricks' with the program like creating a Brady Bunch effect and making a car move across a map. And, it guides you through every step. There's also information on how to create your DVDs and how to export and archive your projects.

This isn't one of those instruction books that will collect dust once you learn Premiere Elements 2. It's a great reference book that you'll keep by your computer. Well worth buying.

This is a great tool to help amateur movie makers take full advantage of all that Premiere Elements 2 has to offer. The book is well written and organized by tasks. Each task is presented in the form of an easy-to-follow tutorial that walks you through the steps.

From basic program functions to advanced editing techniques, this book covers it all. Even though I've been editing video as a hobby for a couple of years, when I recently switched to Adobe Premiere Elements 2 my first reaction was that the learning curve was going to be rather steep. This book helped my get past that learning curve quickly and so that I could start producing good-looking projects with a minimum of frustration.

This book has exceeded my expectations in its ability to cover basics as well as showing the reader more creative project ideas. Steve Grisetti and Chuck Engels have a unique ability to ensure the basics of capturing; editing and burning a video project are covered in the proper amount of detail. Additionally, further on in the book they detail the more advanced and creative ideas (Brady Bunch effect, moving car on a map and chroma key effects) in such a way that makes me experiment and learn more about Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0.

The format of the book and the easy references to other parts also make it a valuable reference book complete with troubleshooting tips. Although I read the book from beginning to end while waiting for my Premiere Elements 2.0 delivery, I have been using it as a book to pull off the shelf for reference when trying something new. Usually, I don't read software books from beginning to end because I want to dive right in. In this case, I recommend reading the entire book so that when you get into your project you can remember some of the great ideas articulated - then pull the book off the shelf and try some! Or if you get stuck on something basic, you can go directly to the area of the book that will help.

I have used Premiere Elements 1.0 for almost a year, and some of the features I was familiar with and some others I probably should have known but didn't. Reading the tips, notes and "see also" sections have shown me how setting "in points" and "out points" can work, the "snap" function on page 125 and, well, basically all of chapters 8, 9 & 10! Then chapter 12 "Cool Tricks" is icing on the cake!

I completely recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how to work with Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0.

The book provided with the software may be good if you are inclined to start with page 1 and read the entire book. The Premiere Elements 2 in a Snap is the book to have beside your computer when creating your video projects. The Contents at a Glance lets you find answers and step by step instructions. There are also 33 pages of index. It is a great value.

Premiere Elements 3 users, this book is for you too! Being new to video editing, I was wary of a book that was not version specific. No need to worry, this book works well with version 3. Whether you are a beginner or advanced this book has it all. The format makes this book superior to others. The inside front cover has 'Contents at a Glance' index that directs you to the section for a specific task eliminating wasted time searching or reading unneeded info.

Just pick a task and go straight to that section. Each section has a guide on what to read before you begin and other related topics, key terms, tips, and best of all step-by-step instructions with illustrations.

After reading the dry manual, it was wonderful to have an easy to read, concise, and informative book. This book takes the frustration out of video editing and puts in the fun. The authors also have online tutorials that make a good companion to the book at [...].

A good Book in general but I did find the photos of the screens could have been larger (print was hard to read) and in color. It would have been nice to have a DVD or cd with a tutorial to follow. Tricks section was good and more would be even better. In general it was clear and easy to follow but some of the sections needed to be beefed up a bit. Better book then Adobe Premiere elements for Dummies (which is only version 1 not 2). Would have liked to see a section on "Moving on to Adobe Premiere Pro" - difference, advantages and learning curve expected. Also more on how to use the multiple tracks.

Buy this book if you want to learn how to use Adobe Premiere Elements to get film out of your video camera and make a movie everybody can enjoy.

Don't buy this book if you want:

Charts, graphs, and meaningless statistics.

Professional jargon without explanations.

Three pages of information expanded to three hundred pages.

Chuck Engels and Steve Grisetti are both professionals who have worked in the big time. They put together Premiere Elements 2 In A Snap to take you step by step through each phase of home video production using Adobe Premier Elements. The way they do it is very refreshing and, although I am an experienced user of Premiere Elements, I found it hard to put down once I started reading. Get lost? No problem, each chapter tells you where you can review information and if there is any of that "insider jargon" it's fully explained.

The only assumption Chuck and Steve make, is that you already own the Adobe Premiere Elements program and possibly its companion Adobe Photoshop Elements. If you are a professional, an experienced amateur, or a first-timer, this book will get you going and serve as a reference you can go back to time and again.

I've been using Premiere Elements for about a month. Until yesterday I've been slogging through the user manual and the help screens. I struggled to do the very basics--creatung slide shows, capturing video and gluing clips together, saving the output to DVD. Nothing fancy at all.

After spending some time on Adobe's Premiere Elements user forums, I kept seeing mention of this book, so I decided to order it. I can't believe how many cobwebs this book has swept away for me! It's organized well, with an extensive index, helpful contents at a glance, and plenty of screen shots. It contains beginner-level instructions, but also contains enough advanced level ideas and techniques that my head is spinning with new possibilities. I can't wait to modify the amateurish home movies I made before owning the book.

My heartfelt thanks to the authors for letting me USE Premiere Elements rather than fighting with it!!!

I have brought a couple of books about premiere elements 2 and this book is so much better. It goes into alot of detail on the HOW TOs of doing things. I highly recommend this book