Adobe Premiere Elements 2 in a Snap (Sams Teach Yourself) (Paperback)

by Steve Grisetti (Author), Chuck Engels (Author) "It really is pretty amazing when you think about how far video technology has come in such a short time..." (more)
Key Phrases: opening keyframe, foreground clip, work area bar, Chroma Key, Ken Burns, Photoshop Elements (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Adobe Premiere Elements 2 In a Snap is an effective guide to getting things done quickly in Adobe Premiere Elements 2. Our In a Snap format allows you to easily jump in anywhere in the book. You can focus on only the tasks that you want to learn about. Organized into a series of well-organized, bite-sized tasks, the book covers key techniques that will quickly improve your editing skills. In addition to this coverage, the authors will provide you with guidance on how to imitate the editing styles of the masters.

 

Chapters include:

• Working with Stills and Graphics
• Using Transitions
• Adding Spice to Your Video
• Special Effects
• Adding Text, Creating Titles, and Making Credits

About the Author
Steve Grisetti (Wauwatosa, WI) and Chuck Engels (Dallas, GA) both have roots in the television and film industry. They bring several years of hands-on video editing experience to bear in their coverage of Premiere Elements. They've learned how to trouble-shoot and assist beginning (but not naïve) users through their connection with the Premiere Elements forums. Both are well known in the community. Steve is in the graphics department at RW Baird securities. Chuck works with the media department for a large church and is in the software development department of AFC Express.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (November 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672328534
• ISBN-13: 978-0672328534
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,843 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Designed for the serious amateur video moviemaker, December 10, 2005

By	Kenneth Jarstad - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent instruction and reference book, December 20, 2005

By	sports mom - See all my reviews

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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized - easy to find information, December 22, 2005

By	Andrew M. Grobengieser "Grobie" (Stevens, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.