Lightroom 4 [Beta Version]

Adobe has released the Beta version of their latest software upgrade, Lightroom 4.

They are offering the beta version for free, however, it will only be available for use between now and March 31st, so get it and use it while you can.

Download and Discuss

• Download Lightroom 4 beta
• Discuss Lightroom 

This is particularly great for those who [1] already own a previous version of Lightroom and are not certain they'll want to upgrade, or [2] one who has never tried Lightroom and wants a good opportunity to see what the hype is all about. If you fall under either of these categories, I highly suggest you go the download page and take the beta version for a ride.

I've already taken the plunge and am currently waiting for the Beta version to finish installing. I'm in the process of editing thousands of photos that I haven't gotten around to over the last few years and I'll see how some of them turn out using the new Lightroom 4 Beta. Expect a follow-up post for my personal review and examples of what I was able to accomplish using this new release. Meanwhile, here's what Adobe has to say about Lightroom 4:

"Lightroom 4 beta builds on the vision of the very first Lightroom beta. From day 1, Lightroom was designed for photographers and by photographers to help them focus on what they love—the art and craft of photography. Lightroom provides photographers with an elegant and efficient way to work with their growing digital image collections, bring out the best in their images, and make an impact from raw capture to creative output, all while maintaining the highest possible quality each step of the way.  

For the development of this latest release, we've focused on further maximizing image quality and expanding output options. New tools let you extract more detail from highlights and shadows, make a wider range of targeted adjustments, and easily share your images and video clips on social media and photo sharing sites.

New Features in Lightroom 4 Beta 

Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights.

Photo book creation with easy-to-use elegant templates.

Location-based organization lets you find and group images by location, assign locations to images, and display data from GPS-enabled cameras. 

White balance brush to refine and adjust white balance in specific areas of your images. 

Additional local editing controls let you adjust noise reduction and remove moiré in targeted areas of your images. 

Extended video support for organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to video clips. 

Easy video publishing lets you edit and share video clips on Facebook and Flickr®. 

Soft proofing to preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers. 

Email directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice. 

Watch the What's New in Lightroom 4 beta tutorial videos for additional details 

The Lightroom 4 beta program is available to the public. Anyone with an Internet connection can download it and start putting it to the test. You do not need to own (or have tried) a previous version of Lightroom. You can download the beta and use it until the product expires on March 31, 2012."   - Adobe

Don't miss out, download the beta version today and subscribe to my blog (on the left) to be notified by email regarding my Lightroom 4 Beta experiences.

Have a good one,
[E] 

Unexpected Award

         I found out, just earlier today, that a video I shot back in college -- at the college, in fact -- has just won first place in an international multimedia competition. I was never even aware that the video had been submitted into a competition, so it was a great surprise to find out that it was awarded 1st place! The college wrote a small little spotlight article on their main page, which I attached below for those of you interested in reading it:

Stay tuned for two related videos after the jump!

DevOcean Music Video

             I just got back from a trip in Maui and have been diligently working away at the footage I shot while I was over there. It's a photographers' paradise! While I was over there, I met a "blues" man who has some interesting old Super 8 footage of the island from back in the early 1970's that he had shot and we're in early talks of getting a documentary off the ground in time for submittal in the 2012 Maui Film Festival!

             While I was off in Maui (keep an eye out for an upcoming post with video from my trip!), my friend and editor, Scott Freund, was hard at work piecing together the remainder of the DevOcean music video that I mentioned in the previous post. He ended up getting some live footage of them at one of their shows, as well as adding some b-roll clips that he shot around San Diego. As promised in my last post, I've embedded the video below, but if you'd like, you can check it out over at Scott's vimeo page by clicking the link on the video. For best results, watch full screen in HD. (unless you have a low-performance computer; standard definition will suffice over laggy buffering for those individual.) Check it out below and let me know what you think:



This video was edited by Scott Freund.
You can check out more songs by DevOcean at their Myspace.
Keep an eye out and two ears open for DevOcean's upcoming LP, as well!

Special thanks to Danny Chau for lending a hand and taking some great behind the scenes photos for us!

[Eric Sever]

I met & filmed Ben Stein today

Today I met and filmed Ben Stein & Ray Lucia speak at a forum as they spoke on their expertise and the current climate regarding business, industry, and the economy. The following video was a follow-up interview after the forum:


BEN STEIN & RAY LUCIA @ North County Business & Industry Forum 2011 from Eric Sever on Vimeo.

Union Tribune Article

Here's the movie clip that first introduced me to Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off:


But he also had his own show titled Win Ben Stein's Money:



I intend to post the entire forum in a video post when I get the chance. Stay tuned!
[E.]

'The Jerk' Homage

     Last week, a friend of mine asked Danny Chau and I for a hand in producing a short, campy remake of Steve Martin's  fireside ukulele scene from 'The Jerk,' as somewhat of a video-card for his grandma's 80th birthday.

The Original:




Grandma's Version:

DevOcean Video Shoot

A coworker and buddy of mine, Scott Freund, asked me to help him with a music video for his friends' band, DevOcean, which we shot last Saturday, April 2nd.

I invited friend, fellow shooter and music enthusiast, Danny Chau, to join me to help out with set-up, as well as to meet the band. Lucky for me, Danny came equipped with his camera and lighting set-up and was able to shoot some BTS (Behind The Scenes) photography of the shoot, as well as some fun staged photos of the band!

You can find Danny Chau's images from on set of the shoot here.

Stay tuned for an additional post containing the completed music video!

Meanwhile, check out the Reggae/Ska/Punk band DevOcean on myspace music. If you're diggin' their music, come on down to their show in Pacific Beach this Saturday and see them in action!

[Eric Sever]

'Get Reel' Project

           I've worked within the broadcast industry for several years now, mostly in educational television, as well as on my own personal projects, but I still do not have enough of what I consider impressive footage for an all-out-spectacular reel! So, I have proposed a project for myself, for the year of 2011, to document my technique experimentation and progress in building an eye-catching reel to promote myself in attempts to land a job with a travelogue production crew (e.g. Globe Trekker (Lonely Planet/Pilot Guides), The Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the like...).

            Over the next year, I will be testing and reviewing new gear and techniques as well as documenting my adventures and keeping a production blog of other gigs and projects I become involved with. It is through my efforts throughout this next year that I expect to enter 2012 with an impressive, eye-catching reel that will put me ahead of the game and help me land my dream job. I affectionately deem this my 'Get Reel' Project. I welcome you all to follow along, suggest projects, and review my progress over the next year and, what I hope will continue on to be a career of learning and growing within the field. Stay tuned!

[Eric Sever]