Creating Hollywood-Style Movies with Adobe Premiere Elements 7 (Paperback)

by Carl Plumer (Author), Paul Ekert (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Creating Hollywood-Style Movies with Adobe Premiere Elements 7 is a book that will help users get to the next level in video editing, and that next level goes beyond simply splicing together clips and creating simple titles. In no time readers will be overlaying multiple tracks of videos and adjusting transparency; creating Picture-in-Picture overlays; using key frames and motion paths; setting and refining greenscreens and bluescreens; using color effects for emotional impact; and a whole range of other special effects to help them tell their story. Readers will also discover how to use new features, such as adding Smart Tags, using Adobe Videomerge to place a subject in a new setting, and harnessing the InstantMovie feature for the most creative results. What sets this book apart is the author's expertise in carefully showing readers how to execute each of these movie-making techniques step-by-step in a clear and friendly writing style. With this book, budding film-makers of all levels will find how to create better-looking movies and have a lot of fun doing it.

About the Author
Carl Plumer has worked professionally as a writer, Web developer, multimedia designer, Help systems developer, and documentation manager for high tech companies including Oracle, Computer Associates, and Avid Technology. At Avid, the company that makes the editing system on which many Hollywood films and television shows are edited, he helped design one of the very first home video editing applications, Avid Cinema.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 Pap/Dvdr edition (April 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321606213
• ISBN-13: 978-0321606211
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,339 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the same, May 7, 2009

By	Lance A. Hobday (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had purchased a similar book by the same author for an earlier version of Premiere Elements. I believe it was for version 3.
So when I upgraded to Premiere Elements 7 I decided to buy his latest book thinking it would contain new projects and new information.
Alas, most of the projects are exactly the same or nearly the same as the projects in the previous book.
So, if you don't have this author's book for an earlier version, then I can highly recommend this book. But if you have the previous book and are looking for new projects, then I would pass on this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Creating Hollywood Style Movies" for PE7, May 12, 2009

By	Edgar R. Furse (CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A couple of years ago I purchased "Hollywood Special Effects" for PE3. I love this book it has the greatest tutorials. I have used it over and over. Carl Plumer you are the best!
A month ago when Amazon was selling pre-release copy of Carl Plumer's "Creating Hollywood Style Movies" for PE7, I said, I must have this. I wanted to see what NEW tutorials, NEW material I could discover with this NEW book. I was all excited.
Then I received the book earlier than Amazon estimated (Amazon is great).
I opened the NEW book and to my amazement I discovered that "Creating Hollywood Style Movies" is virtualy the identical book as "Hollywood Special Effects". Same book but with diffect Title and different Cover. This new book should have been called "Hollywood Special Effects PE7 edition". No new material unless you only care about PE7.
My recomendations: If you own "Hollywood Special Effects" Save your money, skip buying "Hollywood Style Movies". It will just gather dust.
If you DO NOT own "Hollywood Special Effects". DO buy "Creating Hollywood Style Movies. It should be a great book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book by Carl Plumer, but I was disappointed, April 21, 2009

By	Kevin R. Araki "Computer instructor" (Juneau, AK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let me start this review by stating that Carl Plumer's prior book Hollywood Special Effects with Adobe Premiere Elements 3 (HSE PE3) is my favorite software application "How-to" book, ever. If there was a 6 star rating I would give it to the HSE PE3. When I first heard about "Creating Hollywood Style Movies with Adobe Premiere Elements 7" (CHSM PE7) by the same author, I bought it without any review, because I thought, if it was anything like HSE PE3 with new effects it would be worthwhile. Because the book had a slightly different name and due to the fact that the cover photo was not like any effect in the previous book, I was hopeful that this would be more like a Vol. 2, rather than a rewrite for PE7. If you haven't guessed, that's the disappointment, it's a rewrite. Now, don't get me wrong, there are new effects in CHSM PE7; just so few, that for owners of HSE PE3, you may want to save the $30 (especially in this economy:-)).

However, I'm happy to say though that the new version is as richly illustrated as that previous version (obviously for Premier Elements 7). The literal 1, 2, 3 stepped version points out for virtually every step, and doesn't assume you know or remember a technique that you learned in a prior chapter. So, if you don't have HSE PE3, and are looking for a great step-by-step guide to PE 7 this book will fit the bill.

If you can make the PE3 to PE7 transition (by the way, there is no such thing as Adobe Premier Elements version 5 or 6, so it is not such a dramatic change as it sounds from the last book) it is pretty much the same book for the user. To Carl Plumer and Paul Ekert's credit, all the illustrations and graphics are different (after all it is a new version), and I'm sure the authors felt like they were creating a new book. But a side-by-side comparison shows the similarity between the two books:

CHSM PE 7 -->Same as HSE PE3
Ch. 1 Adding a WOW Factor -->Ch. 1
Ch. 2 Using Color and Motion -->Ch. 2
Ch. 3 Narration, SmartSound, and Sound FX -->Ch. 2 (end)
Ch. 4 The Star Wars Title Effect -->Ch. 3
Ch. 5 Creating the PiP (Picture-in-Picture) Effect -->Ch. 11
Ch. 6 Using Preset Effects -->Mostly new some Ch. 8 & 9
Ch. 7 Custom Building a Movie Look -->Some new, some Ch. 2 & 9
Ch. 8 The Passing of Time Effect -->New clip, same as Ch. 4
Ch. 9 Fast Times -->Ch. 5
Ch.10 The Power of the Force-Reversing Time -->New clip, same as Ch. 6
Ch.11 The Hidden Identity Effect -->New clip, same as Ch. 14
Ch.12 #$% Word Removal-The Bleeping Effect -->New clip, same as Ch. 15
Ch.13 The Night Vision Effect -->Ch. 13
Ch.14 The Beam Me Up Effect -->Ch. 12
Ch.15 The Sinister Ghost Effect -->New clip, same as Ch. 17
Ch.16 Working with Clones! -->New clip, same as Ch. 18
Ch.17 Lighting Up Light Sabers -->New!
Ch.18 The Enchanted Elf Effect -->Ch. 16
Ch.19 The Nightly News Effect -->Ch. 10
Ch.20 The Super Hero Effect -->Ch. 19
Ch.21 Creating a Movie Trailer Using Instant Movie -->New!

The "Look Inside" preview was not available before I purchased this book (now it is), but all in all, this is another fine book, and if I didn't already have Carl Plummer's HSE PE3 I would have nothing to complain about. But, because I would have rated HSE PE3 a 6 star, and I probably should rate CHSM PE7 a 4 star, the two average to a 5 star for both.