Media Production

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ALREADY HAVE

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VERY FLEXIBLE TIMING

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ENTERING THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

INFORMATION & EDUCATION FROM THE MIDDLE EAST FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

Be the change in the world of Advertising!

3rd - 5th November 2009, From 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Zabeel Hall, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, U.A.E.

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COVER ART WORK Issue #04 Sept. - Oct. 09 25 AED, 2 KD

DEVELOP A BALANCED PORTFOLIO

TAILOR OWN PROGRAMME OF STUDY

INTENSE

VERY INTENSE

REFESHER COURSES

PRESTIGE

TECHNICAL

SELF-DISCIPLINE

EXCELLENT TIME MANAGEMENT

STRUCTURED TO THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR

GUIDED COURSE STRUCTURE

INDUSTRY-BASED

SHORT COURSES

ENTERING THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY Sept - Oct 09

INFORMATION & EDUCATION FROM THE MIDDLE EAST FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

Institute College University E-Learning

By Media Production Cover Material and execution

by Emirates Printing Press

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Creative Director Ali Sultan

Publishing and Advertising ThinkTank Publishing & Creative House FZ-LLC UAE OFFICE

Dubai Media City Building No. 5 - Office G14 Dubai, UAE Voice: +971 4 4347683 Fax: +971 4 4343926 Email: office@thinktank-me.com Kuwait Office Yousef Al-Shallal Email: yousef@mp-mag.com Printed at Emirates Printing Press, Dubai Distributed by EPPD, Dubai

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NEWS The Media and Marketing Show aims to incorporate every segment of the industry and feature useful tools that can be utilized by industry professionals

Media and Marketing Show 2009 joins forces with O3 Productions

on all levels.

The Media and Marketing Show 2009 is the region’s premier media and marketing event.

Held by the Domus Group, this specialized event for media and marketing professionals will provide innovative and exciting knowledge sharing and networking opportunities as well as detailed seminars and conferences for its attendees. MMS 2009 is the perfect platform for uniting the region’s top media producers, service providers and communications executives.

The media industry has grown tremendously within the UAE and Dubai has developed into a regional communications hub. This will be the fifth edition of MMS and the show has proven to be an effective networking event for local, regional and international media players. This year’s MMS has O3 Productions as one of the show’s partners. O3 Productions

is a specialized production service provider and they are the Middle East’s leading producers and content distributers.

Mr. Fadi Ismail, General Manager, O3 Productions said: “O3 Productions is enthusiastic about MMS 2009 and we are confident that this will be another recordbreaking year for the event. Our organization is committed to the progression of the media production industry and we are pleased to partner with the Media and Marketing Show 2009 to promote and contribute to the advancement of the field.”

Ms. Maysoon Abulhoul commented: “The Media and Marketing Show aims to incorporate every segment of the industry

and feature useful tools that can be utilized by industry professionals on all levels. O3 Productions have been at the head of this recent media and marketing boom and we are delighted to have them on board as a strategic partner for MMS 2009.”

The Media and Marketing Show 2009 will take place from November 3-5 at the Zabeel Hall, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is one of the world’s leading, must attend educational and professional forums for the media field.

SANYO VPC-WH1 and VPC-CA9 EMDI Institute of Media & Communication is a vocational training Institute based in India (Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata) and Dubai Knowledge Village offering courses which serve the Creative, Media & Entertainment Industry.

In India, EMDI commenced operations in 2002 and the curriculum comprises of a combination of full time & part time courses. EMDI India trains in excess of 700 students from its centres in Bandra, Vashi, & Jai Hind College in South Mumbai, and from its national centres in Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata .

SANYO VPC-WH1, is the world’s first waterproof camcorder with 30x zoom camera, and the SANYO VPC-CA9, the world’s first waterproof high-definition (HD) dual camera. The newest additions to SANYO’s XACTI camera series combine state-of-the-art waterproof technology with superior dual functionality, offering a powerful optical zoom lens that can capture up to 9-megapixel images, and HD video capability of up to 1280 x 720p at 30 frames per second (fps).

The VPC-WH1 features a compact design, an easy-to-use interface, and comes fully loaded with a powerful 30x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, 2-megapixel sequential shot system, 1280 x 720p HD video (30 fps) capability and long battery life of up to 200 minutes by Lithium – ion battery. The world’s first waterproof camcorder also features an HDMI output, a pre-installed 12-face detection scanner that can be used for photos and videos, and is available in various colours, including white, yellow and blue.

Since 2004, EMDI Dubai widened its curriculum from Event Management, to PR and Communication, Journalism and Online Communication, Graphic Design and Visual Communication all the way to Radio Jockeying, Disc Jockeying and Music Promotion EMDI courses are based on practical hands-on delivery, using an Experience Transfer Approach to training. For those who are looking to further their careers in Journalism or Event Management for example, they will be trained by professional Journalists or Event Managers.

To find out more about commencement dates, course duration and course offers please contact EMDI at: http://www.emdiworld.com

Epson Stylus Office TX510FN

Epson has announced the Middle East launch of the Epson Stylus Office TX510FN, which incorporates scanning, printing, fax and copying functions into a compact Ethernet-ready business inkjet printer that can produce high-quality laser-like printouts at a maximum speed of 38 pages per minute. The latest model in the Epson line of advanced multifunction devices (MFD), the TX510FN comes in a compact and sleek design that makes it the perfect complement for any home or small office set-up.

Epson V300 The Epson V300 scans all types of documents and photos, including printed material such as books and magazines. The multi-featured scanning solution is also equipped with 4800 dpi scan resolution and a built-in transparency unit specially designed for scanning 35mm film and slides through a supplied film holder. It is also capable of landscape and portrait scanning orientation for easy twoway scanning, while it is also bundled with the Epson Easy Photo Fix software, which eliminates the difficulty in restoring colour, correcting back light or removing dust and discoloration from images.

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GITEX Technology week is the largest ICT platform in the region. We spoke to the organizers about the new trends and highlights we can find at GITEX technology week

2009

GITEX is a well know exhibition for consumer technology. What can we expect this year from GITEX?

As we enter our 29th year we are bringing many new and exciting developments to the show to cater to the demands of the ICT industry.

With technology evolving so fast, it’s sometimes hard to keep track, let alone visualize and understand how it can be integrated into the home or office environment.

To address the challenges of our rapidly changing techno-society, the Consumer Electronics section of GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK will present a complete re-creation

of both a Smart Home and Smart Office environment that will allow people to interact, visualize and experience first hand how technology is shaping our lives on a social and professional level.

What are your highlights for GITEX 2009?

As an organiser we always offer new and exciting features each year, which will help develop education through knowledge exchange, and improve on the value we can offer each attendee.

One of the most important areas of GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK this year will be the GITEX

KNOW WHO WHAT’S ON YUSUF ISLAM GITEX

Global Conference programme entitled ‘Defining the value of IT in a challenging economy.’

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK will also provide Vendor Theatres throughout the exhibition.

These special presentation areas have been designed to enhance knowledge exchange about the new products on display. They will allow for an interactive experience between trade visitors and exhibiting companies. Trade visitors to the show floor can participate in these sessions for free which will offer a valuable opportunity to see showcased products in action.

The GITEX Majlis lounge is also being expanded to provide the best show experience for senior managers and Chief Executives. They will be able to interact directly with the key decision-makers in the industry, in an exclusive environment designed for promoting business.

This year, I think we have an exhibition which will provide a wide scope for exhibitors to showcase their products, including an array of product launches to the Middle East, and generate new business leads with strong return on investment.

Mobile technology seems to play more and more a very important role in our every day life, where do you see the trends?

The UAE telecom industry is one area which expects to record positive growth this year with the market worth nearly AED 30 billion. The GULFCOMMS section of GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, the largest international telecommunications trade event for mobile, fixed lines, IP and satellite in the region,

will provide a premium business platform for companies looking to capitalise on the projected windfall in revenue generated by the communications industry in the UAE. With major telecommunication companies committed to the event, there will be powerful business opportunities.

Special panel discussions will also be held within the GITEX Global Conference to focus on the emerging trends in the telecom and communications industry from experts, analysts, and vendors. Katja Ruud, Research Director and Agenda Manager, Gartner Research will focus on fixed mobile convergence and substitution.

Hilal Halaoui, Principal Global Communications & Technology practice, Booz & Company will be discussing Fixed Mobile convergence, while Neil Manning, General Manager, MobileAccess, will focus on Wireless Broadband.

At a time when many leading decisionmakers from around the world are closely focussed on driving their businesses forward, there is little opportunity for these people to spend time together, share knowledge and discuss the future of the industry as a whole.

The GITEX Global Conference brings these people together in an environment designed to facilitate ideas and discussion on the future trends for the industry.

Where do you see multi- media technology 5 years down the road?

Education is the most important tool to place new consumer products. How does GITEX cater this matter, for consumers and creatives?

One of the fastest developing areas of the ICT industry as a whole is in the field of multimedia technology and it is often companies within this speciality that drive a lot of the market. I think the new Smart Home and Smart Office areas at GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK will help to provide an insight into the future of multi- media technology. The idea of a fully-integrated home or office technology environment is past the design stage and very much part of an overall ICT package.

This is supported by the huge success we have experienced with the GITEX Global Conference. We have modified our Conference programme to provide optimum relevance and benefits to an evolving industry. This is critical in ensuring the GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK remains a strategic sourcing and educational platform to continually promote technology growth in the region.

In the current climate companies are looking for their ICT infrastructure to provide an all encompassing solution for their business, and are demanding much more from the hardware they have invested in. This will empower them to provide a smoother operation to their end user, and drive the ICT industry.

In the Consumer Electronics sector many companies will also be showcasing the latest products which provide a more mobile lifestyle, from handheld devices, to the latest mobile phones, and notebooks.

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r. Ayoub Kazim is responsible for strategically steering the education clusters and further consolidating their status as leading centres of learning excellence in the region.

Heading a proďŹ cient team of top-tier academic professionals, Dr. Ayoub Kazim has successfully ensured a consistent growth in the number of business partners at both the clusters.

How has the educational system grown in Dubai?

TALKING EDUCATION

Media Production spoke to Dr. Ayoub Kazim, the Executive Director of Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), both part of TECOM Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding about the importance of education for creatives.

In the mid 1980s, the Middle East, stretching from North Africa to the Indian Subcontinent, was losing its student population to an education market overseas that would easily absorb the fresh graduates into the economy. The consequences of such a brain drain began to have a devastating impact on a fast developing economy, especially Dubai and the UAE. In addition to tackling the brain-drain, there were also other barriers faced by students of this region when attempting to access international education. These include rising international student tuition fees, tightening of immigration procedures in some education destinations, and the avoidance of overseas study as a result of cultural concerns.

There was consequently a growing demand from regional students for alternative study destinations. Moreover, with job opportunities and growth in many parts of the region, a growing number of students did not want to be isolated from the practices of their local industries by acquiring their skills overseas.

In 2003, Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) was

KNOW WHO Dr. Ayoub Kazim

launched to address this issue by providing quality international higher education

branch universities are selected in a manner to meet the growing demands from nationals

regionally. Dubai’s education system has experienced a tremendous growth since the establishment of free zones, especially DKV and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC).

The free zones allowed quality international academic institutions to establish a branch campus in Dubai and enabled regional, local and international students to pursue their higher education of international quality and standards at a close proximity to their home.

and other resident expatriates as well as international students.

Enhancement of a QES in Dubai The enhancement of a Quality Education System is of immense value to Dubai and this region. The UAE was the first member of the GCC to privatize the higher education system. The advent of foreign universities in Dubai has often meant finding and filling educational niches that are national in nature. Potential university students have long-determined their educational needs using cost-effective analysis – by aligning academic inquisitiveness and economic incentives with institutional reputation and the availability of quality programme offerings.

Today, there are over 38,000 students of more than 100 different nationalities in Dubai pursuing their educational aspirations.

This is a great achievement for Dubai that has seen an exponential growth in student numbers over the past few years. The international branch campuses have made significant changes to the educational system in Dubai and across UAE. They offer extensive spectrum of programmes accredited from the home campus, when compared to other public universities in Dubai. The foreign

At present, Dubai hosts 59 foreign branch campuses from 13 different countries. Dubai Government is increasingly committed to expanding and transforming the higher education landscape.

Sixty-one per cent of the academic institutions in Dubai are located within the free zones, with 77 per cent of these institutions located in the DIAC and DKV. Free zones other than DKV and DIAC aim to attract institutions that focus on priority areas of that particular industry zone. The remaining 39 per cent of institutions are located outside free zones.

As of September 2008, there were a total of approximately 38,000 students studying at higher education institutions in Dubai. Students at Dubai-based foreign universities can transfer their credits across the world. These branch universities are experiencing exponential growth in their student enrollments and the growth will be sustainable once the major player like DIAC accomplishes its ambitious projects including student housing, sports facilities, shared laboratories, and libraries to complement basic facilities.

What is your forecast for DKV and DIAC? We intend to position DKV and DIAC as dedicated clusters to support the training and higher educational needs of Dubai and this region. Although these entities have different set of objectives to accomplish,

The UAE was the first member of the GCC to privatise the higher education system. The advent of foreign universities in Dubai has often meant finding and filling educational niches that are national in nature.

the primary goal remains the same - to lay the foundation essential for the social development of Dubai by elevating the importance of quality education.

Since the launch of Dubai Knowledge Village in 2003, the human resources, consultancy, higher education sectors of Dubai and the region have grown tremendously. DKV provides continuous support to address the increasingly complex relationship between training and human resources and the impact of these relations on national and regional labour markets.

One key factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity to continue to grow and develop job and career enhancing skills. DKV helps equip the employees of this region to handle their employee relations responsibilities competently.

Dubai International Academic City is an exclusive zone that was launched in 2007 to meet the exclusive higher education needs of the region. This enabled us to underline our commitment towards the students, faculties and other supporting communities that complement higher education. DIAC is much more than a free zone.

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KNOW WHO Dr. Ayoub Kazim

Which other universities are you expecting to open in Dubai in the upcoming future? And which new programs are you expecting?

Our vision for DIAC is to create a leading destination for education infrastructure and service provider, enabling academic institutions to develop the highest quality graduates.

The vision of DIAC is the same as that of Dubai and this region which aims to create a world class education infrastructure and promote itself as an international destination for higher education. Infrastructure will be the cornerstone in promoting regional development and consolidating Dubai’s status as an international centre with a competitive advantage.

What are the past experiences you have had that helped you enhance your performance in assisting the growth of DKV and DIAC? My experience in the field of clean energy and environment prompted me to seek

ways to improve the academic environment in the two free zones through optimizing energy and water conservation and consequently achieving better environment and improved air quality. With the assistance of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Department and campus managers, we achieved LEED certification in DIAC from the US Green Building Council. Moreover, with the assistance of the Strategy Department, tools were developed to assess academic credentials of educational institutions that are seeking to establish their branches in DKV and DIAC, as part of our strategy to ensure delivery of quality programmes as well as meeting industry demands.

We are in discussion with many prestigious universities to establish their presence in DIAC. When it comes to programme offerings, we offer the following streams: • Engineering (Biomedical, Civil, Environmental, Renewable Energy, Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications, Petroleum etc.)

• Architectural Studies, Construction Project Management, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Real Estate/ Property and Development, Sustainable Development and Urban Development & Design.

• Hospitality, Tourism, Culinary Arts • Media, Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations and Communication • Arts (English, Communications & Performance Studies, Geography & Environmental Science, Humanities, Communications & Social Sciences, Languages, Cultures & Linguistics) • Education & Human Development • Art and Design (Fine Arts, Multimedia and Digital Arts, Theory of Art and Design, Art and Design) • Social Sciences & International Studies • Law of Business & International Trade

What is your vision for DKV and DIAC for the future?

Our vision for DIAC is to create a leading destination for education infrastructure and service provider, enabling academic institutions to develop the highest quality graduates.

The vision for DKV is to be the top regional destination for human resources management and consultancy.

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In October 2008, Abu Dhabi’s government initiative launched twofour54 to establish a regional centre of excellence for Arabic content creation in the media and entertainment industry.

I

n October 2008, Abu Dhabi’s government initiative launched twofour54 to establish a regional centre of excellence for Arabic content creation in the media and entertainment industry. As part of Abu Dhabi’s 2030 plan, which seeks to diversify the Emirate’s economy and establish the Emirate as the cultural capital of the Middle East.

The name twofour54 is taken from Abu Dhabi’s geographical coordinates, which are latitude 24 north, longitude 54 east. This name was chosen to symbolize Abu Dhabi’s strategic position within the Middle East, which makes it the ideal location for the centre of excellence for content creation in the Arab region and has already attracted several of the region and world’s largest and most influential content creation companies, including CNN, BBC, Thomson Foundation, Random House, Harper Collins, Rotana Studios, Financial Times, Abu Dhabi Media Company, imagenation, Comedy Arabia, C Sky Pictures, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Flash, PyraMedia, Getmo Arabia, Experience Media Studios and Baynounah Media Company. twofour54 delivers its advanced cohesive infrastructure through three key pillars: twofour54 tadreeb (the training academy) twofour54 ibtikar (innovation and support) twofour54 intaj (state-of-the-art production facilities) supported by business enabler twofour54 tawasol (one-stop-shop) One of the most pressing issues facing the region is the need to develop and build

the talent pool, both in terms of numbers and skill set. This is the role of twofour54 tadreeb, whose task is to take existing media professionals and up-skill and re-skill them to the very highest international standards using the latest technologies. As the talent pool grows we can start to develop a sustainable, Arab media and content creation industry.

This will be driven by twofour54 ibtikar who will be working with creative talent from the region to provide the funding and business expertise to help develop ideas into real projects leading to sustainable businesses.

These new and exciting projects and creative businesses as well as existing partners, will require and demand state of the art production and post-production facilities. twofour54 intaj will significantly boost the quality and availability of production facilities and alleviate the current demand in the region.

Twofour54 tadreeb is the region’s premier vocational training academy. It is the first of its kind in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) to offer bilingual media industry skills training courses, from some of the world’s leading media organizations, in a world-class training environment. Its goal is to develop the Arabic talent pool in the media and entertainment industry, both in terms of numbers and skill set. It aims to up-skill and re-skill existing media professionals to the very highest international standards. There are also plans in place to engage with school and college graduates to highlight how sophisticated

and diverse the media industry is and to encourage them to view it as a serious career choice when planning their futures.

Education aspect for creatives training In partnership with three of the world’s most respected media industry organizations, the BBC, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Thomson Foundation, twofour54 tadreeb provides international standard, bilingual training courses across a wide range of media disciplines covering the full media spectrum including Television, Broadcast Technology, Journalism, Digital Media, Radio, Media Business and Production. There are also plans to extend this offering to include Animation, Web Application and Design, Games Development as new training providers are identified. The academy also offers English language courses for international communications, through a partnership with America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST).

Courses offered by twofour54 tadreeb are continuously taking place both at the purpose built academy in Abu Dhabi as well as on-site at clients’ premises throughout the region. In addition to twofour54 tadreeb’s ongoing course schedule which covers a comprehensive range

KNOW WHO twofour54

of media disciplines, the academy also provides bespoke training solutions, tailor-made to suit the needs of individual companies; offering a flexible, targeted and convenient approach to professional training. In order to support this specialised approach, twofour54 tadreeb offers a dedicated consultancy service, which assesses the strengths, weaknesses, goals and needs of media organizations, before creating a training programme which works best and adds to the value of their products or services.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of the year, twofour54 tadreeb has put more than 350 media professionals through nearly 30 courses. About 30% of those students come from outside the UAE. Twofour54 tadreeb offers a wide range of training programs tailored to the specific skill sets of its delegates. Whether students have just started a career in the media industry, or are seasoned media professionals, twofour54 tadreeb’s aim is to ensure that they gain the necessary skills and knowledge in the subject area to ensure a competitive advantage in the workplace. The offered intensive courses are designed in collaboration with world-class media partners and are intended to be handson, practical and up-to-the-minute. Not only does the academy guarantee a high standard learning experience for all delegates, but the

courses offered, are intended to provide tangible benefits to companies, in order to directly contribute to the success of their business.

Results Expected Drawing on the strength of the academy’s partners, classes are small in size to ensure the information is received by the students.

They are outcome driven, industry relevant and vocational. The teaching and learning methods include practical tutorial sessions, real-life scenarios and interactive lectures.

With the twofour54 campus encompassing more than 27,000 square metres of industry infrastructure/technology and a thriving community of media and entertainment businesses, the purpose built Abu Dhabi based academy offers students a training environment, that features international standard studio equipment, dedicated computer labs featuring the very latest learning technology, as well as 40 high-end editing and postproduction workstations.

students with the opportunity to be part of the wider twofour54 content creation community. This means direct access the business pillars that comprise twofour54, as well as the regional and international partners that form part of the ecosystem; making for a truly dynamic, real life and unique learning environment.

Facilities Offered •

• • •

All training programs are specifically designed so that on completion of the courses, delegates will immediately see improvements in their performance and career opportunities, as well as positively impacting on their company’s bottom line. twofour54 tadreeb also provides

•

• •

The twofour54 tadreeb training academy boasts purpose built world-class training facilities, including 27,000 square metres of dedicated space where participants can access state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology.

Some key features of the campus include: A purpose-built high-end recording studio with a dedicated 3-camera, HD newsroom Dedicated computer labs facilitating latest learning technology Mobile shooting kits for video journalism related courses, utilizing the latest HD technology and media management systems 40 high-end editing and postproduction workstations Dedicated news journalism training facility

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IBDA’A Awards 2009 T

hemed ‘Let It Out’, Dubai Media City (DMC), the region’s leading media hub and a member of TECOM Investments, announced on the 15th July, 2009 the launch of the eighth Ibda’a Media Award, the region’s most prestigious awards for emerging media talent. Ibda’a’s aim is to discover, showcase, honor and foster young media talent.

The Ibda’a Media Student Awards were instituted in 2001 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Organized annually by DMC in partnership with the International Advertising Association (IAA).

This is the eighth edition of the Ibda’a awards As part of TECOM’s effort to spread the green concept, DMC has opened online submissions for the entries this year to digitally accept applications in selected categories at www. ibdaa-awards.ae Mohammed Abdullah, Executive Director of Dubai Media City, said: “The Ibda’a Student Media Awards represent our commitment to creating a platform for the young generation to display their creativity and ensure the opening of additional avenues for individual professional growth. The awards motivate talented youngsters to come forward with their creative best and launch into exciting career paths.

“In our committed endeavour to go green, we aim to raise awareness on the importance of being environment-friendly in every sphere of our operations.”

The Ibda’a Awards 2009 will include new components such as road shows in local colleges and universities. Shortlisted finalists will also be part of the road shows and gain an opportunity to highlight their work in malls, schools, universities, colleges and public places for a bigger interactivity with media and mass public.

Over the years, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards has attracted a multitude of entries from the GCC region and around the globe.

Its success is marked by the ever-increasing volume and diversity of entries, and an incrementally higher number of participating countries each year as the previous edition of Ibda’a Awards received more than 2,200 entries from 25 countries including new entrants from Brazil, Poland, Sri Lanka and Sudan. The 42 finalists had their work displayed in a week-long exhibition that generated huge interest among the region’s media professionals.

KNOW WHO Ibda’a Awards

The Ibda’a Student Media Awards represent our commitment to creating a platform for the young generation to display their creativity and ensure the opening of additional avenues for individual professional growth.

The Ibda’a Awards have grown from seven categories in its founding year, to twelve categories this year and had opened to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the 2009-2010 academic year. The awards will accept entries from the 16th August till the 8th of October, 2009. Shortlisted entries will be showcased at an exhibition from the 15th till 20th of November, while winners will be acknowledged during a gala awards ceremony on 19 November.

The • • • • • • • • • • • •

2009 categories are: Journalism (non-news) Radio feature Animation Graphic design Analogue photography Digital photography Print advertising TV advertising Film TV feature Film TV documentary Mobile film Digital designs – new category

Scope Initially, the awards targeted only the UAE and the GCC region. In 2005, it moved beyond its regional borders to include other countries.

Eligibility and Timeline for 2009 Open to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the 2008-2009 academic year, the Ibda’a Awards will accept entries from 16 August - 8 October, 2009.

Shortlisted entries will be showcased at an exhibition from 15-20 November.

Winners will be acknowledged at a gala awards ceremony on 19 November.

The Jury and the Judgment

The process begins with a preliminary screening, following which a minimum of three and a maximum of five entries are selected in each category at the IAA premises.

In the second and final round of judging, the finalists are selected for each of the categories, which are announced at a gala awards ceremony.

The Reward Many of the past winners are currently working with companies based at Dubai Media City, comprising leading media entities that have backed the awards as sponsors and permanently absorbed the students following the successful completion of their internship periods.

The entries are screened by an elite judging panel of prominent media professionals selected by the International Advertising Association - UAE chapter (IAA – UAE).

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You will come to appreciate everything you experience in further education. This kind of education will help you to develop various transferable skills, and these in turn will serve to give you an edge in the job markets of today. Further education can be a giant financial drain, but think about all the future gains. In some instances it is impossible to get into certain fields without further education, so when you have this chance grab it with all your E might and use it AV ADY H ALREthat for everything it has to offer you.

Don’t make things too intense, give yourself some breathing room…

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TIME

It’s not easy to make the big decision of what you ‘want’ or ‘should’ do. If you enjoy photography and illustration or drawing and love to work with technology, you can find a course that will allow you to develop all of those passions (for example a diploma or degree in Graphic Art or Design). While you are developing creatively, your higher education will allow you to gain all the key skills that employers look for: a good knowledge base, excellent communication skills, the ability to work with others, analyse problems and think for yourself.

The environment of the higher education academy gives you the chance to interact with students from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, and in turn will facilitate the development of your social awareness.

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Taking a step forward…

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‘Practice without theory is empty theory without practice, blind.’- Immanual Kant On the surface it would appear to be that a practice based education is more beneficial Y USTRindustries, to the however, there NDcreative I E V I T A E needs to be a synergy between theory and CR practice. Without learning to think and to develop ideas, one is liable to educate all the creativity out of his/herself and merge with the technology/machines that one presumes to use as tools.

Whatever the cartography you choose to create for yourself, keep in mind that competition is fierce and setting achievement goals is essential to your future success.

EXCEL

J

oining the creative industries is a move requiring ardour and dedication.

Standing on a precipice of a fastpaced, post-industrial, techno-landscape will no doubt raise worries and fears, but to manoeuvre through this environment fluidly will require the sensual logic of the creative mind. Set out by considering what it is that moves you more powerfully and deeply than anything else. This answer is not as overwhelming as it appears.

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It is difficult to find the perfect balance, but one must aim for this. Creatives should not have to sacrifice the sensual element of practice.

Lacking the ability to be expressive in practice will turn any work into a mechanical reproduction.

Customize Your Education…

Education has fast become a priority in the Middle East. Most people are turning to local post-secondary education, and rightfully so with the numerous private and public educational institutions churning out home grown talent.

KNOW HOW Welcome To Your Future

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Issue #

There are several venues catering to every educational need. Below is a table summarizing the post secondary education available in the region and what you can expect from each path. For further research check out the following sites: Http://www.mohesr.ae Http://www.mohe.kw Http://www.mhe.gov.sy Http://www.education.gov.qa

‘Practice without theory is empty theory without practice, blind.’Immanual Kant

Education

What to Keep in Mind

Career Options

University

B OP A

GRA N PRO R OW

A Word in Your Ear

DEVEL

TAILO

• Offers Prestige Executive, Director, Management or • Offers an extensive range of creative Production in any of the following: practice options • Allows you to tailor your own programme • Printing and Graphic Arts I find that people, all shapes, colours and of study • Arts and Crafts sizes, bring out my passions and inspire me to • Allows you to develop a balanced portfolio • Entertainment Industry get up to all sorts of creative output.

• Offers an in-depth knowledge of • Museum/Library/Gallery contemporary creative industries and how I also believe strongly that education and creativity can be employed within them resources for learning should be readily • Allows you to develop communication available to all of those who want to learn. skills, life long friendships and There are many people in our world that share professional relationships this point of view and many of those people • Structured to the academic ATED calendar DEDIC have worked together to create free source Technical and • Has strong links with contemporary Director or production in any materials on the WWW. Use these materials D E S Vocational Schools creative industries of the following: RY-BA to enhance any learning path you choose. INDUST • Offers intense industry based courses • You will learn a practical trade and • Arts and Crafts I highly recommend http://academicearth. develop technical skills • Printing and Graphic Arts ENSE org. Academic Earth is a recently launched INTshorter SE • Offers flexible time, courses, night • Entertainment Y Industry INTEN VER website offering free online lectures and courses, weekend courses • Museum/Library/Gallery talks from schools like Harvard, MIT, UC • You can get qualified faster Berkeley, Yale and many others. Subjects • Allows you to ease yourself back into the vary in range from entrepreneurship to job market, change career paths or take philosophy. I want to draw your attention to your career to a higher level two five-minute talks on Academic Earth that • Will help you build up confidence will help you on your way. The first is ‘How • Allows you access to other higher Do You Find Your Passion and How Do You education courses Pursue It?’ By Randy Komisar and the second • RYou SEScan focus on learning specific skills ‘Creativity versus Control’ By Debra Dunn R COU E H S E E-learning • Allows you to ‘Customize’ your learning Production in any of the following: REF and Randy Komisar. Randy Komisar gives • Allows you to access learning any time an excellent simplified solution to the act any place • Printing ICAL and Graphic Arts of trying to tackle the questions that are so TECHN • Offers extensive refresher courses • Entertainment Industry difficult to answer, like ‘What is my passion?’

• Gives you a choice of self-led or Both Dunn and Komisar will present you with guided learning a new perspective that may come to inspire • Offers self-paced learning you to dive in, learn and create!

• Offers long or short courses • You will have access to online libraries

By Nada Al Shammary

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THE VORTEX OF CHOOSING A CAREER With the hot, dusty breeze of the summer that crawled upon us emerges the number of high school graduates ready to venture onto the road of their new career and they have their gear on full speed, ready to enter the wonderful world of colleges and universities this Fall.

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t’s a moment that they have been waiting for all their lives; the decision that makes or breaks a future; choosing one career out of the hundreds of options put forth in front of them.

Ah yes, the freedom of choice, but with this freedom comes the question. Am I choosing my career, my potential life, correctly? Many prospective students are stuck in the vortex of never ending choices that lay in front of them, but a few simple rules may offer better direction on choosing your future career.

Identify You: First of all, you should decide what you are interested in; what skills or abilities you have and what your aim is in life. It is also a good time to ask somebody for a good piece of advice. Assessing yourself is quite subjective. If you want to hear the bare truth

about your capabilities, which is better in these types of circumstances, turn to a close friend or family member and they will offer some suggestions. Be honest with yourself as you consider your options. If your artistic skills are better than your technical skills, then you should look for a major that caters to your speciality. Focus on finding majors that all you to showcase your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.

Another thing to consider is the type of person you are. Your personality will play a key role in choosing your future career. Long working hours versus typical office timings; what is the best that works for you? You might be the kind of person who is more comfortable with directing others, becoming a leader, rather than just being directed yourself. You may be required to work more in a team environment rather than flying solo

on your projects. Can you handle the stress and integrate yourself within this type of workplace? Your personality, behavior, social skills and working style are just as important to think about as the career you choose as this will help you with your choice.

Your choice also depends on your physical and mental abilities. As in the expression “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”, one may be very skilful in designing a house but feel bleak in front of a blank paper and pen with the mere task of writing personal thoughts. Consider all your past experiences in everything you did; personally, educationally and socially and that will help you to find your true calling.

The Bigger Picture: After thinking about the variety of majors and jobs/careers that lead up to your choice,

KNOW HOW Choosing a Career

time, there could also be a big change within the current work system that leads to a lot of people with the same job being laid-off and looking for work. This makes things very competitive as newcomers, like yourself, and experienced employees apply for the same jobs.

You may want to be a sound engineer for a while, working in movies and advertisements but 10 years down the line you may want to teach your own personal experience with your career to other prospective students.

This may lead you to change your path, for the better.

Work – Life Balance:

Never Too Late:

Some people enjoy working long hours, while others like to have a good balance between work and personal times so that they can enjoy time with their families, have a healthy social life or even pursue a certain hobby. As a student, this might not mean much to you at the moment, but later on it could be very important, especially if you have a family of your own. This is also something that you need to think about if you are considering to run your own business, as people with their own businesses often have to give up most of their free time trying to get their company off the ground

Always keep in mind that it is never too late to change your mind. No matter what people may say, at the end of the day, it’s your career; your life, not others. If you feel that you are uncomfortable with the decision you have made in the beginning to become, let’s say an art director and would like to change to become a graphic designer or even a photographer, then go for it! Even if you have attended college/university courses for one or even two years, it is still not too late.

Money Aspect:

and you see yourself doing on a daily basis, your next step is to learn where this job will fit into your lifestyle. As you are reading and learning more about this job choice you might find that certain jobs require you to be transferred to different districts or even different countries. Are you willing to travel, relocate and try different task within the company in various places around the globe?

Is that an option you are willing to venture or is stability more to your liking? These questions pop up mostly during interviews for the different jobs, but it is still important to keep this prospect in mind.

As the job market shifts and changes over the years, this can affect your job choice.

For example, if a large number of people retire in your chosen field then there may be a greater opportunity for you to have your choice of where to work. At the same

Anyone loves a job where plenty of money rolls into their account. Who doesn’t? But the fact of the matter is that some jobs pay more than others. Before heading off to college, you should consider the financial income you will receive when being awarded with a degree. Look at what the market is offering in the field you are considering. For example, the salary of an art director and a graphic designer differ in some digits. This also applies to jobs in different countries.

Money shouldn’t be your only consideration for going into a certain field, but if it is very important to you, try to find out what kind of salary you can expect as you move through this career path. Ask your family and friends about the current salaries for certain job qualifications and again, what is out there on the job market. It will give you an idea of what to expect down the line.

Thinking Ahead: Don’t be stuck in the moment. When it comes to the future, look at the different options your skills and qualifications can get you, even if it is not in the same field.

Options such as higher education; a Master’s Degree or even a PhD are worth considering.

In the United States, for example, many colleges/universities have an ‘undecided’ or ‘undeclared’ major. This gives the student the ability to take general classes while experiencing college/university life and observing the majors they are interested in. If the college/university you choose has that option, and you are not sure of what to pursue as a career just yet, select that option while exploring your possibilities.

As you mature through college, you lean towards something you like and eventually might decide on something you never thought of before.

Any finally, the keyword in these tips is RESEARCH. Time is available and researching options is the easiest solution to avoid disappointment in the future. The start of classes is just around the corner. Remember, you can always be inspired to do something new, something that is not even in the works yet. Take your time and make your decisions wisely. Try not to plunge into the vortex of indecision. After all, this decision should come from the heart and will always become part of who you will become in the future.

By: Arch. Amera Al-Awadhi

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Online Training

Learn It From Lynda

We are challenged with new software updates and new applications every day. Sometimes it gets very difficult to understand, especially when learning how to use specific functions on our apparently so familiar software, in a small amount of time.

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here is nothing to be ashamed of if you do not know everything about media applications, however, sometimes you might need to design something like a 3D still image in 3D max even though you are a graphic designer. For these small jobs, my pride would simply not allow me to hire somebody just to provide me with a simple 3D object or to transfer my logo into the 3rd dimension. For all these small jobs we have Lynda to show us the way!

Yes, there is YouTube, with its many tutorial videos that could help you when you need to fill a minor information gap, but in general YouTube is directed more towards entertaining than educating.

There are many online training websites out there that offer a similar service to Lynda. com but there are some features, which I will introduce later in the article, that make this website unique.

So what has Lynda.com to offer? For me, as a creative designer, I do not want to be limited to a specific niche of software applications. I have obtained my knowledge about how to design material for print and screen when I was in college, but now I am also interested in widening my knowledge with regard to other multimedia software applications.

What I like about Lynda is that I can actually choose from a huge library that is organized into Subject, Software, Vendor and Author.

So, for example, you have been following Media Production magazine as a graphic designer and have become interested in learning more about how to add some movement to your design. With Lynda you choose the subject, which will be ‘Video’ in this case, and Lynda will provide you with tutorials related to ‘Video’ from different software and vendors.

REVIEW Online Training

You can pick what you want to learn about and start the learning process with the tutorial. This is fabulous because, sometimes I face the problem where I want to create something yet I don’t know which software to start with.

So far everything sounds really good, but why would somebody choose an online training website to learn about something when you can find so many institutes all over the Middle East teaching these applications?

Here is where I will have to clarify the educational benefits between online training and traditional training.

I do not think that online training websites are a substitute for traditional education especially with regard to the media industry, however, Lynda gives you all the technical knowledge you need to accomplish a task, but at the same time it assumes you have a basic knowledge of media production.

For multimedia students it is a very interesting resource where they can gain further knowledge in what they have already learned about in their institutes or colleges.

Enough said about education, now let us have a look at the tutorials you can find at www.Lynda.com.

Training What I like about Lynda’s tutorials is the variety of different software available for different levels of knowledge.

Every training course starts with an overview. This is to ensure that everybody is on the same page. The videos are easy to understand and deal with only one feature at a time.

... Online training websites are a substitute for traditional education ..., Lynda gives you all the technical knowledge you need to accomplish a task, but at the same time it assumes you have a basic knowledge of media production.

Another very important difference between traditional education and online training is the simple fact that you just can’t own all the software Lynda is providing tutorials for and you frequently have to experience something for yourself to truly understand how to use it.

During my time as a lecturer at a multi media institute in Dubai I was approached many times by people wanting to learn Photoshop or Illustrator so that they may become an illustrator. My answer was always, “Knowledge of a piece of software doesn’t make you a creative.”

What I tried to make my students understand was that software is the tool, the creative part is you.

So what is so useful about online training?

As I mentioned earlier in this article, online training is perfect to fill the gaps in your knowledge so that you may execute the ideas that you have sketched or just thought about.

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REVIEW Online Training

To keep track on which tutorials you have already watched, Lynda has the function show recently viewed courses.

This gives you enough time to try out the material taught by the time the next video is buffered.

the fact that you will have to create this communication for yourself, whether in your company or within your circle of creative friends.

The sequence of the tutorials are organized very similar to a course program, with a logical running order to it. For beginners I would recommend to follow the given structure, so as not to miss out on small details that are relevant later in the course.

To keep track on which tutorials you have already watched, Lynda has the function Show recently viewed courses. This will help you check if you skipped a session in between that might be important for your learning progress.

The Course Material With its professional lecturers, Lynda.com offers a very high-end type of online training.

The language is easy to understand for beginners and non-native English speakers alike, which is, in my opinion, a big plus.

Technical Quality A nice feature about these videos is that they are all in QuickTime format, with a very high sound and video quality, which makes watching them easy.

I noticed with other online training libraries that the language used is either too difficult to understand because of the heavy use of technical terminologies that not everybody might be familiar with, or the use of dialects that might be difficult to understand from a phonetic perspective.

The techniques demonstrated at Lynda.com are shown instantly on prepared projects so the learner has the chance to understand the lesson in a practical context and this increases the learning experience.

Inspiration Lynda.com includes a section called Inspiration. Here you find creatives explaining their workflow and thus providing inspiration to others. It is a nice feature that shows that creative design is not only linked to computers, hardware and software but also to people. Yet it does not replace

As nice as the video and the sound quality is, there is a downer. The videos cannot be downloaded onto your computer for your reference or put on your ipod for example.

You have to be online all the time to have access to Lynda’s tutorials or alternatively you can purchase training DVDs from Lynda. com directly.

I chose to use the online version for the simple fact that when I want to learn about a specific tool or application, I would have the computer on anyway.

Additionally the annual subscription of $250 is very reasonable as it grants full access to a great online training library.

Check www.Lynda.com and choose the option you prefer to just keep learning!

calling all content creators.

are you

twofour54?

create opportunities The Arab world has an estimated 300 million people hungry for quality content. twofour54, the region’s premier centre for content creation, can help you reach them.

Based in Abu Dhabi, twofour54 is a unique community dedicated to Arabic content creation in the media and entertainment sector. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, someone with a creative idea or an established media company working in film, radio, television, music, gaming, animation or digital media platforms, we will help you target the substantial market opportunities that exist within this emerging region.

create skills We offer the Arab world’s most comprehensive training for media professionals and business to secure a competitive edge. twofour54 tadreeb offers over 200 practical training courses across all media platforms including television, journalism, broadcast technology, radio and digital media. Our courses are designed to ensure immediate positive impact on individuals’ skills and business performance. Each course is led by a highly-experienced instructor, and delivers unique value in conjunction with our state-of-the-art facilities and dynamic global media partnerships with the BBC, Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Thomson Foundation.

create ideas We provide funding that helps your creative ideas reach their full potential. twofour54 ibtikar offers media and entertainment industry funding to entrepreneurs and early stage businesses that require start-up or growth capital to develop their creative ideas. We also go beyond funding, giving you access to the twofour54 media business community, and offering you the management expertise, support and infrastructure required to evolve your ideas into viable businesses.

create content We offer state-of-the-art facilities and unrivalled technical support for content creators.

twofour54 intaj provides media and entertainment businesses with state-of-the-art media production and post-production facilities that are unmatched within the Arab world. Our unique creative campus offers five HD studios equipped with the latest technologies, 22 post-production suites, playout centre, up/down links and the region’s first media asset management and digital archiving service. All facilities are operated by a highly experienced pool of creative and technical professionals.

now working in partnership with some of the world’s major content creation companies, twofour54 is open for business. find us. join us. create with us. destination Abu Dhabi. +971 2 401 2454. twofour54.com

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GRAPHICS

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Adobe Lightroom Processing RAW ďŹ les

The advantage of shooting raw images is that you don’t lose any data through compression or processing like you do with jpegs. If a picture, processed to jpeg, is over exposed for example, you have blown the highlights for good and the raw data is lost.

KNOW HOW Processing RAW Files Adobe Lightroom is an excellent program to process raw image files as well as catalogue your entire image library, easily searchable.

In this tutorial we will show how to recover over exposed photos and how to reduce disturbing effects such as noise and vignetting.

Before

1

Import photos and set profile

Import your photos to Lightroom’s library (File > Import Photos from Disk or Device - if still on camera).

Create a new profile containing the basic meta data, such as copyright information, you want applied to you photos and leave all other options to the default settings.

After

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3 Scale and position

Before we start looking at adjusting the colors of the image we will straighten the image to make sure we have the house in a horizontal position.

Make sure you work in the Develop module. Select the crop overlay (R) and drag the frame to fit the size you would like your photo to be. To rotate the photo hover over the corners until you see the rotation symbol next to your cursor.

Exposure

Lightroom has an excellent tool to show and adjust your highlights and blacks. If you look at the histogram in the Develop module you can see that some highlights have been clipped in our photo but not which ones (yet). If you hover over the arrows on the left and right side of the histogram you will notice certain areas in the photo turning red (highlights) and blue (blacks). These are the areas where certain color information has been lost due to over exposure. You can also click on the arrows to permanently turn on the clipping view.

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KNOW HOW Processing RAW Files

6

4

Recover highlights

5

Noise

The highlight recovery can be achieved by applying a combination of a negative Exposure value combined with a positive Recovery adjustment. If we drag the Exposure slider to the left we can effectively recover at least one stop worth of information, sometimes even two stops. Since changing the Exposure value will make the photo darker in general, we will add some positive Recovery. We move the Recovery slider to the right and will soon be able to see the highlight information that would otherwise have been clipped.

Noise Preset

Once you find an optimal setting for your camera, at a frequently used ISO setting, you can save specifically those settings and apply them to other similar images.

To create a new preset select New Preset from the Develop menu (Ctrl + Shift + N) or select the + sign in the Preset tab. In the New Develop Preset dialog window, select Check None (this unchecks all).

Then check Noise Reduction. Name your setting and click create.

To a certain degree, all digital cameras produce electronic noise (extraneous pixels sprinkled throughout an image). High ISO levels, underexposure and long exposure can increase this effect.

Select the Detail pane in the Develop module. If you are working with RAW files, you’ll notice the default Color setting is 25, and Luminance is set to 0.

Sliding the Luminance slider to the right will affect the chromatic (color) noise and leave details found in the Luminance channel alone for the most part. If you go too far with the Color setting, you won’t lose detail per se, but you’ll compromise color accuracy.

If your image contains monochromatic (Luminance) noise you need to work with the Luminance slider. Go easy and increase the value incrementally. When working on the Luminance channel, you can quickly compromise image detail.

In our case we have a bit of both and a combination of Luminance and Color settings produces the best result.

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Vignettes

Vignetting is a lens defect that causes the edges of an image, especially the corners, to be darker than the center. It is particularly noticeable when the photo contains a subject that is supposed to be an even shade or tone, like the sky in our image. The Lens Correction sliders in the Vignettes panel of the Develop module allow you to correct these apparent lens distortions.

In the Vignettes panel of the Develop module, move the Amount slider to the right (positive values) to lighten the corners of the photo and get an evenly blue sky. To adjust how much the area further away from the corners are affected, move the Midpoint slider to the left (reduce) or right (increase).

By Olivia Zechner

REVIEW Wix.com

BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE IN A FLASH If you need to create a quick, hassle-free website in an afternoon, www.wix.com might be just the site for you.

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his site for designing flash-websites is a fairly easy and straight-forward interface to use, and was created for people who don’t have the necessary software and perhaps also know-how to generate flash websites. No knowledge of coding is required either, which will be a plus for a lot of people. But they do offer the option of getting the code, if you need to embed it after you’ve created it.

You can create your own flash website for free, by offering you different ready-made templates geared towards specific industries or even a blank template, where you can start

from scratch. Generally speaking, if it’s free, there are most certainly limitations and conditions of use involved. In this case, you have limited bandwidth (although it doesn’t state anywhere how limited) and your site will be doing a bit of advertising for Wix. You also can’t use your own domain name and you will continually be linked back to the Wix site.

Wix offers a very basic tutorial on how to use the site and the following steps are listed:

1

First of all, you’ll need to sign up, if you’re not registered already.

It’s a quick process of entering your email and choosing a username and password.

Don’t forget to save your work as you go along. The first time you save, a box

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4 2

To start a new web design project, simply click on ‘Create’ or if you need a bit of inspiration, you can have a look at what other ‘Wixers’ have done by clicking on ‘Explore’. There are actually quite a few funky examples here.

Create your website by playing and exploring with the various toolboxes and the property panel. Since the tutorial is quite rudimentary, you will need to be prepared to explore a bit the first time you use this site. There’s also a content gallery from where you can add clipart into your website. Each time you click on an element of your design, an instant pop-up menu will appear, allowing you to change the properties of this aspect of the design.

You can preview your work throughout by simply clicking on the ‘Preview’ button at the top of the page, which will show you what your website will look like once it’s live. To continue working, click on ‘Back to Editing’.

3

Under ‘Create’, you’ll find a menu on the right-hand side of the page, offering different template options, broken down into categories such as Business, Consulting, Photographer and Personal to name a few. Each of these categories offer a blank template option, as well as generic web templates which have a specific look and feel for that particular field.

Once you’ve selected your template, click on ‘Edit’ and the Wix editor will open, displaying toolbars and buttons around the edges of the page. ‘Help’ is just a click away in the left-hand corner of the page, by taking you back to the Wix Tutorial. There are approximately 350 backgrounds to choose from, 47 fonts and also a wide range of clipart. You will also be able to upload media such as music and videos to your site.

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7

8

Don’t forget to save your work as you go along.

The first time you save, a box will appear asking you to name your wix.

Everything you save will then be stored in ‘My Account’.

Once you have completed your website, you can choose where you’d like to share your site by clicking ‘Publish’. This will offer you 3 options, namely wix site, email or embed.

I tried out this site by making use of one of the Photographer’s templates. I found it easy to use, although I would suggest resizing and cropping your images in Photoshop, before uploading them to your image library, since the resizing options are quite limited within the program. This site is ideal for someone who needs to create a website in a short amount of time, or someone who is a complete beginner at flash-websites and who would like to have a bit of fun with creating their own site. All in all, probably not a bad way to spend one’s Saturday afternoon.

by Lezanne Swart

Wix Premium Upgrade Plans The option to upgrade to the Premium version of Wix is available at 5 different upgrade plans. The fifth being a new eCommerce option, where online shopping facilities will be available for your customers, accepting Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discovery credit cards. Definitely an easy way to set up an online shop.

storage, premium support and the Wix ads will be removed on 4 of the plans. I would suggest making a careful comparison between all the plans offered, before choosing which to subscribe to. You can subscribe on a monthly or yearly basis, and if you should decide to cancel, you won’t be charged any cancellation fees.

There’s also a 14-day trial period, with a money back guarantee if you’re not a 100% satisfied.

Some of the perks of upgrading to Wix Premium include being able to use your own domain name, having unlimited bandwidth with 2 of the plans, extra

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THE DIGITAL DRAWING BOARD Drawing is one of the most important skill an illustrator or animator should have.

Sketching and painting requires a large amount of manual work that needs to be transfered into the digital world at some point.

So why not have an interface that translates the physical movement of the hand into a digital information that can be interpreted by the computer? In other words, “why not have a system that enables you to draw on your screen directly?�

Wacom took this matter seriously and developed the Cintiq family. This generation of touch screen graphics tablets are available in two sizes: the 12 inch model and a 21 inch model both of them designed as actual interfaces for graphics application but with different specialities.

In this review we will introduce the larger model, Cintiq 21 UX, which we will try on digital artwork; observing how well it connects the designer and the machine.

What is in the box?

Cintiq comes with everything you need to start creating right away. After opening the box you see the huge 21 inch screen, with the resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. Attached to the Cintiq is the connector cable with a DVI-I video connection, a USB connection and the power cord. Since my computer has a DVI-I video output I connected the Cintiq directly to the computer. If your machine has a

REVIEW Wacom Cintiq different connector you can choose from two adapters, already provided by Wacom, that let you connect Cintiq via VGA or DVI-D. Now all you have to do is connect the USB and the power cable and you are good to go.

To start drawing, Wacom included the program Corel Painter Essentials, a light version of the well known Corel Painter, the digital sketching and painting software.

Of course you will find the Grip Pen with replacement nibs, pen stand and the nib removal set.

Like a traditional drawing board, Cintiq 21 has a flexible stand that can be adjusted to your needs. By adjusting the Cintiq stand to its lowest position, the pen display unit can be freely rotated on the display stand without touching the desktop. In this position Cintiq emulates a traditional animator’s tablet and gives you freedom to rotate the display unit to any angle for the greatest comfort and accuracy of stroke while drawing.

you might loose some display space when working in mirror mode, especially if your computer screen is widescreen. To increase workspace and make use of the full 1600 x 1200 pixels, I would recommend to have Cintiq as an extension to you main screen.

For long sessions, the bright screen might tire your eyes. For that you can adjust brightness and contrast or tweak the color channels as well on the Cintiq directly, with no need to run a separate application, well done Wacom.

How does Cintiq perform under pressure?

As I mentioned earlier, Cintiq is meant to capture hand movements, to create naturallooking pen, brush and eraser strokes. The 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity translate the pressure applied onto the screen into beautiful brush strokes. To custom the sensitivity to different users, you can adjust the tip feel from soft to firm, depending on how you normally use a pen.

Adjusted to its highest position, the Cintiq gives you a large amount of space for keyboard and mouse, if you are using it as a main screen or for presenting you work to clients and colleagues.

Some input devices can be rotated along their axis and with rotation-sensitivity Cintiq can recognize this rotation and transform it in some applications (such as Painter) into rotating brush strokes.

Setting up

Summary

Once you connect Cintiq to your computer, it is recognized as a second monitor and is configured as an extension to your main screen. Depending on how you want to work with Cintiq you can configure it as a mirror to you main screen as well. Keep in mind that the Cintiq is almost square shaped and

With all the features like the 21 inch screen, the innovative stand and pressure sensitive grip pen and the express keys, Wacom created a great interface to establish the communication between human and machine.

You can choose from two adapters,already provided by Wacom, that let you connect Cintiq via VGA or DVI-D.

You can adjust brightness and contrast or tweak the color channels as well on the Cintiq directly,

Working on Cintiq is like working on an actual drawing board, but with one major advantage, you can undo when you mess up something.

The 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity translate the pressure applied onto the screen into beautiful brush strokes.

In this review we tried Cintiq only for digital art work. I am sure 3D animators, interior designers and architects will increase their creativity and accelerate their workflow using Cintiq, whether it is with the 12 inch model or the 21 inch model.

For us Cintiq is as good as it can get when it comes to actually drawing on in the digital environment, so go and try it. You find new possibilities for creating and expressing yourself.

Cintiq is available at

54 55

VIDEO

Ready for your next adventure.

Introducing the new, robust GY-HM100 tapeless camcorder.

When you’re filming on location, equipment reliability is essential. Our GY-HM100 camcorder is able to withstand high temperatures and demanding conditions, so filming becomes a breeze.

The hand-held camcorder – and its big brother, the shoulder-mounted GY-HM700 – both record native QuickTime files for Final Cut Pro and XDCAM-EX files for other major non-linear editing systems*, allowing you to start editing immediately without breaking a sweat.

In addition, the camcorders record high definition video and audio directly to inexpensive, readilyavailable SDHC media cards, so there are no tape mechanisms or moving parts.

So don’t wait around for file conversion or transcoding. Make a dash for JVC.

GY-HM100

GY-HM700

For further information on the new GY-HM100 camcorder and its big brother, the GY-HM700, please visit www.jvcpro.eu or see us at the IBC2009 show. *XDCAM-EX recording on GY-HM700 currently only possible using KA-MR100 SxS adaptor.

For UAE, please contact Oasis Enterprises LLC at Al Shirawi Group, P.O.Box 93, Dubai.

W: www.oasisppd.com T: +971 42821337 F: +971 42822617 E: info@oasisppd.com For Middle East & Africa, contact JVC on +971 4 803 6210 or email exportsales@jvcpro.co.uk. ©2009 JVC Professional Europe Ltd. Apple, the Apple logo, Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Pro are trademarks of Apple Inc., registereed in the U.S. and other countries.

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The Trainer’s World It can be quite unnerving to stare at a blank page and attempt to summarize what it means to teach a creative skill. It is a metaphorical example of what it is like to stand before minds fresh off high school or other qualifications, eager to grasp whatever ideologies entail the fine art of filmmaking.

W

hen I was younger, I devised a teaching theory based on my own experiences on the students’ side of the classroom. Here is how it goes: “Teach them like they know nothing, and treat them like they know everything”.

Needless to say, my stubborn self has gone on to prove this on my professional playground as a Lecturer at the SAE Institute in Dubai.

A large percentage of the credit for my experimentation goes of course to SAE as they are an institution that holds a strong belief in world-class practical, individual and most importantly ‘hands on’ training, leaving enough room for me to teach in and outside the classroom whilst letting the students stay in charge of their own goals.

While singularly spelled, filmmaking is vast industry in itself. It is thus no surprise that it also attracts students from a kaleidoscopic market. Ethnicities, ages, genders - it is a business that communicates to all. Sure

enough, the education too requires that the course is a package that caters to all these students. This is exactly why our courses address every element and stage of filmmaking. Be it conceptualizing, screen writing, physical production or postproduction - the student experiences all these in balanced levels at the institute. I am often asked if it can become a scenario of too much too soon.

The short answer is no. The longer justification is the trends in the market and the severe need to be a converged creative individual.

It is not just cell phones that evolved into hand held computers. The human force too now needs an extended understanding of the mechanisms in their profession, not only so that the career ladder can be climbed more comfortably, but also because it offers you the freedom to experiment, to challenge yourself and to allow your raw talent to emerge.

What does it mean to teach media? That’s a tough question and one I tackle more often than not. The primary reason being that in present age, the media is not an offering. It is rather a commodity that can be utilized for different purposes. The classic Marshall McLuhan phrase “The Medium is the Message” comes to mind. It proposes that the medium

KNOW HOW The Trainer’s World

(the conveyer of the content) ‘embeds itself in the message’ and thus affects social forces and sets them into motion. Staying true to this, it is only fair to suggest that films too envelope society and while they narrate an untold story, they are in fact writing the story of our lives. Now that, in all its essence, is a scary responsibility which I hand over to students on a daily basis.

Thus, teaching media is akin to leading a non-governmental organization - it is about giving the students the power to speak visually minus the corruption - or perhaps not. For every story told, whether it is a fictional drama or documentary, one perception always stands out - that of the director and his crew. This takes us to the Auteur Theory which proposes that any given film reflects its director’s vision. There is enough debate on this subject for us not to delve into it right now, but my stand is that a director’s vision will posses clarity only if he or she has an understanding of every nook, cranny and screw in the film production line.

The only way this comes is through an all round education supported by self-learning.

While I do my best fulfilling the educational aspect, the hunger for raking in knowledge has to come from within the student. I apologize for being crude but my job is only 50% of a filmmaker’s development. It is a different thing that I offer 10 odd percent free to those who ask and seek. Secretly, that is my favorite part about teaching.

in return. To clarify, media students have something incredibly appealing about them.

Their desire to be at the forefront of telling stories makes them the real teachers to those of us who grow cynical every 24 hours.

With every lecture/tutorial I conduct, I grow more informed, more intrigued and more learned in my own subject. A simple example is the software training I give. While I may know the concerned software by every menu item, it is my students that emerge more daring. Their simple gesture of “What if I did it this way” spins an entirely new equation and bam! We discover a pot of gold. That my dear readers, it the absolute magic of being a lecturer and student all at once.

In the SAE Institute classroom, I draw great pride in being the first in command, but when the moment is right, the eager-eyed students before me must be treated like they already know everything.

Making an educational choice for media training can be tricky and very often confusing. I hope our special issue addressing this sector will give you greater insight into media and its training in the UAE. Should you have any questions, I can be contacted through the institute’s Dubai page or through the magazine Editor. A last word of advice - keep your options open and never have second thoughts about acquiring new knowledge. Good luck!

By Areeba Hanif

With that said, as someone who imparts knowledge, I do not do it for a social cause.

It is a selfish profession. It is impossible for me to give some without getting more

While I do my best fulfilling the educational aspect, the hunger for raking in knowledge has to come from within the student.

58 59

Adobe Premiere Pro Digital Video Compositing

Compositing (AKA keying) is an exciting approach to working with experimental video techniques. The process of compositing allows you to ‘mix’ your digital videos, a technique regularly used for things like weather reports, but more and more appropriated by experimental video artists or VJ’s. Adobe Premier Pro CS4 makes this process straightforward enabling even the beginner to revolutionise what was once a laborious task into a comfortable manoeuvre.

KNOW HOW Digital Video Compositing

The Technique In order for you to get the best out of keying, you should film your subject/s with a brightly contrasted color background. The process of compositing allows you to replace a particular color/value with another video/background. Blue is generally used as ‘removable’ background when the subject is a person; this is because blue is the color that most compliments the flesh tone (did you notice that most people look good in blue?).

You don’t have to stick to that colour; you can even try shades to see what affects you can produce, depending on who or what your subject is. In this case, I am using the fairly uniform water as the ‘removable’ background so that I can produce a ‘trippy’ effect for my boat ride clip.

1

3

Follow these simple steps to create amazing ‘from scratch’ video effects.

2

Open Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.

Locate your background video file and go to File>Import and place it on the Video 1 track. If you have an audio track attached to the video like I do, you either keep it and edit it independently or remove it all together; If you want to keep it be sure that it is also placed onto the timeline.

4

Locate your foreground video file and go to File>Import and place it on the Video 2 track. Once again, if you want to keep your audio, be sure that you see it placed on the timeline too.

Open your project or create a new one where you can import your digital video files.

5

Place your foreground clip (video track 2) in the timeline position you want to have it over the background clip (video track 1); notice that my background clip is much longer than my foreground clip, so I just played around to maneuver it into the spot that suits me; click the eye icon (as with other Adobe software) to make the different tracks visible/invisible.

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KNOW HOW Digital Video Compositing

6

6

7

Go to the effects controls panel and fine-tune your settings for the Luma Key effect.

go to the control panel window on the left of you screen and choose effects>keying>luma Keying; you will drag the luma key affect onto the clip with the removable background, in this case it will be the clip on video track 1.

8

Move the cursor across your video tracks timeline to see the effect of the keying mode; you can see that the background video has become visible in your screen preview.

9

Move the threshold in the effects control window all the way to right and play around with the cutoff until you are pleased with the result.

10

experiment with the results from the other keying modes, if you do use a matt color in your filming you will have a sharp result for a smooth composite, rely on ‘color key’ or ‘difference matte’

11

Once you are happy with your video mix, you can go to File>export> and choose the relevant video format for your desired output.

By Nada Al Shammay

10 11

AUDIO

© 2009 Shure Incorporated

SRH440

PROFESSIONAL SOUND FROM EAR TO EAR. © 2009

The SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones offer an enhanced frequency response to deliver accurate audio reproduction, ideal for recording and monitoring.

For more than 80 years Shure rugged, professional audio products have been defined by a legacy of legendary performance. This passion for audio excellence also drives Shure Professional Headphones. These headphones live by a simple rule: What goes in must come out.

Designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use, they are an excellent choice for music professionals and music obsessives – for recording, monitoring and personal listening.

: enäckerstr. 28, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany ax: 49-7131-7214-14 Email: info@shure.de n America, Caribbean: 1-847-600-2000 US Fax: 1-847-600-1212 Int‘l Fax: 1-847-600-6446 Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Ent. Ltd. P.O. Box 3191, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Telephone: 852-2893-4290 Fax:+971-4-2665244, 852-2893-4055Telefax:+971-4-2626682 Email:info@nmkelectronics.com Web:nmkelectronics.com 68 69

D

uring my online research for some interesting audio effects for an upcoming project, I found a link to a German company called sugar bytes. One of the plug-ins they offer is called Effectrix, which is a step sequencer with 14 effects connected in serial.

With the launch of the MIDI-savvy Artillery 2 ‘effects keyboard’, Sugar Bytes showed that it had a sense of adventure.

With Effectrix, it’s taking effects control to the next logical plateau – this is a cross-platform VST and AU multi-effects plug-in with a built-in sequencer.

Effectrix takes these effects and ties them into a grid-based pattern sequencer that enables the different effects to be activated at various steps. Effects can be layered and synchronized to the host’s tempo.

What a drum machine is for beat designers, is Effectrix for sound designers. The workflow is as easy as it is fast and fun. Simply import an audio loop to your track, insert Effectrix as an insert effect and start experimenting.

Effectrix works in real-time, which means you don’t need to process the effect onto your audio file. You can activate each one of the effects by just highlighting the steps you want the effect to be activated on.

REVIEW Effectrix

To kick start your creativity Effectrix offer a button called CAOS, that randomizes the effect settings. For me this was the easiest way to understand what this plug-in is capable of. After that you can experiment with your own settings to achieve the sound you like.

Each effect sports a smattering of parameters to play with, along with a selection of presets. Better still, a handful of parameters for each process can be assigned the nifty Modulator Tracks.

Each of the effects can be edited separately and offers automation for up to two parameters, depending on the effect. The amount of effect you want to apply, is set with the dry / wet knob. Wet is 100 percent effects heard, and Dry is zero.

To kick start your creativity Effectrix offer a button called CAOS, that randomizes the effect settings. For me this was the easiest way to understand what this plug-in is capable of. course Effectrix includes the function ‘learn from MIDI’ that makes mapping your MIDI keyboard to the functions of Effectrix easy.

Summary See Effectrix as a musical instrument, a ‘Looper’s Heaven’, a ‘Scratcher’s Heaven’, a ‘Groove Box’ or even as a ‘live instrument’, use multiple instances one track, tweak and bend your sound. The limit is your creativity, which expands further while using this tool.

I have tried it even on vocal loops with amazing results.

The Step Sequencer The Effects Taken on their own, the effects range from run-of-the-mill to way out and wild. There is, as you might expect, a reverb, along with delay, chorus and phaser effects. A multi-band filter is in tow, accompanied by a ‘tonal’ delay for pitched echoes.

A trio of excellent looping effects is included too, among them a superb scratch looper.

Stuttering is supported, and you get a vinyl simulator as well. Further lo-fi treatment is provided by the bit-crusher, and there’s a cool reverse effect here, too.

The step sequencer is pretty simple and serves the purpose of creating edgy electronic sounds. The grid can be divided into quarter-notes, quarter-note triplets, eighth-notes, eighth-note triplets, 16thnotes or 32nd-notes.

Effectrix in Use We think Effectrix is most enjoyable when used live. Real-time processing with it is a blast. You can create multiple patterns and assign them to different keys on your MIDI keyboard for interactive pattern changes.

Additionally, playback of the sequencer can be triggered by a MIDI note-on message. Of

What I miss though is some more flexibility with routing or stacking the effects. I would have been nice to be able to change the order of the effects by just dragging them on top of each other, but this might be considered in the upcoming releases of Effectrix.

Compatibililty: MacOSX 10.4.0 and higher, 1Ghz, 128 Mb Ram Windows XP and higher, 1Ghz, 128 Mb Ram Plugin Interfaces: Mac PPC, Intel: VST / AU WIN XP, VISTA: VST Price: 99 Euro / 129 USD

70 71

WITH REASON Reason has been a very popular electronic music production tool for years.

It’s success is based on the simple approach that puts the musician in the driver seat.

Is Record is the same for audio production as Reason is for electronic music production?

W

ith the flexible routing and device stacking system, Reason lets the user control the software and not the other way around.

Further, with an arsenal of instruments, samples and effects, Propellerhead ensures that every user has access to the same library with never ending resources. This way you are able to send tiny Reason files across the internet, without sending all the samples and settings you have used. As long as your songs consist only of the sounds from the on-board Factory Sound Bank or from the Orkester library you basically just send the MIDI file and Reason rebuilds the entire session on an other machine. I think, in order to keep this workflow simple and Reason files small Propellerhead deliberately chose not to include an audio recording feature. This doesn’t mean that Reason is only able to create MIDI based music. The two samplers NN19 and NN-XT are able to import audio samples that can be used as a sampler

instrument, but still the samples have to be recorded in a third party software, such as Logic or Protools.

Although ReWire integrates Reason in ReWire compatible digital audio workstations, I am still waiting to see a full Reason integration in an audio production concept, without having to switch application windows continuously.

Therefore I am very excited to find out if Record is the same for audio production as Reason is for electronic music production?

Let’s have a closer look at Record and find out how it enhances working with Propellerhead software.

The Main Window Where the Reason window is divided into two parts: the Rack and the Sequencer, the Record window is divided into 3 parts: Mixer, Rack and Sequencer. Yes, Record has a pre-built mixer that is not comparable to

KNOW WHO REVIEW YUSUF ISLAM

Propellerhead Record

Reason Window

Record Window

Reason’s Mix16. The new mixer is build after the SSL Super Analogue XXL console, with it’s fully equipped channel strip including a dynamics section, equalizer, insert effects, auxiliary sends and the fader. If you didn’t get the idea of Record, after seeing this mixer you will.

This mixer is amazingly powerful in many other ways, some of which are obvious and others that are less so — although each section of the channel strips is clearly marked with headers. For each individual channel you can: • Select the order of dynamics, EQ, insert FX, and filters; this gives you tremendous power over how you shape the sound of your tracks.

• Apply superb compression/limiting and gating/expansion to your tracks — with sidechain input — with almost no additional CPU load.

• Apply beautiful four-band parametric EQ, with almost no additional CPU load.

• Add a track-specific insert effect, which can be a single effect or a Combinator full of effects • Send your track signal to up to eight aux sends, each of which can be loaded with effects.

• Record automation for any control that moves on the mixer.

Record Mixer

Flip the rack by pressing the ‘tab‘ key

Figure 1

Figure 1

The Rack The rack will be familiar to any Reason aficionados. Use it to install virtual instrument and effects devices, and configure them using virtual patch cables. Wait — you don’t have to configure them; Record does it for you. If you want to tweak, you can flip the rack around by pressing the ‘tab’ key on your keyboard and re-patch signals to your heart’s content (figure 1 and 2).

Record is not only equipped with one rack but three next to each other, giving you plenty of space to add and patch your devices. In Reason for example, all the devices are stacked in one rack on top of each other, and since you can not zoom into the rack, you will find yourself having an organization problem. First you will have an endlessly long rack, for all your devices and second you can not resize the rack window. With a powerful application like Record you will need to be flexible with the application window if you are working on one screen. I am trying Record on my 15 inch Macbook Pro and find it very convenient that I am able to work in full screen.

With the amount of devices you can use in Record, the three racks are a very good solution to help you organize your devices. You could, for example put all your audio tracks in the left rack, effects in the middle one and Record or Reason instruments in the right one. To move the devices simply drag and drop them on the place you want them to be, without needing to re-patch them.

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3 8

4

9 Figure 3

Figure 6

Figure 5

The Sequencer Figure 7

Record put the musician in a professional audio recording environment and acts as the sound engineer.

From all the features of Record, the sequencer resembles the Reason sequencer most. Instruments, effect, and audio tracks are called here devices and are located on the left side. In order to keep your arrangement tidy, you can rename each device by just double clicking on the name (3), further, you can update the device names in the rack as well. For Reason users, I think this function is very familiar and does not need further explanation, therefore let’s focus on what the audio tracks can do (4). The audio device look very clean and organized, at the same time you have access to all important functions you need for your recordings.

For every audio track you create in the sequencer, Record creates an audio device in the rack, that acts like a mono or stereo recorder (figure 5). But don’t worry, there is no need to go back to the recording device in your rack every time you record. The audio device gives you access to an input level peak meter for your tracks, in the sequencer. This display can be switched between peak level meter and tuner, to level and tune natural instruments such as string instruments and wind instruments.

I can imagine that guitarists will benefit from this function most (figure 6 and 7).

On top of this display you find the common functions like ‘Enable Record’, ‘Enable Monitor for track’, ‘Record Enable Parameter Automation’, a solo button and a mute button.

When projects become bigger and more complex, it gets difficult to find where your tracks or audio loops are located in your sequencer. If you are not working with two computer screens, where you detach either the mixer or the rack and place it on the second screen, you will find the new navigation feature in Record very useful.

There are two navigation bars in the sequencer environment. One is located on the right side of the sequencer (8), that let’s you zoom and navigate vertically and one is located at the bottom of the sequencer (9) that let’s you zoom and navigate horizontally.

This navigation system can be found in the rack and the mixer environment as well but without the zoom function.

KNOW WHO REVIEW YUSUF ISLAM

Propellerhead Record New Instruments and Effects

10

The ID8 (10) is the only instrument that comes with Record, and it’s not available in Reason. ID8 gives you 91 standard instrument sounds categorized into bass, brass and wind, drums and percussion, electric piano, guitar, organ, performance, piano, strings and synths.

The sound quality is very good, but ID8 covers only the very basic sound needs. I would have wished for a ReDrum and at least one synth device to round up the sound repertoire.

On the other hand, Record makes the guitarists and bassists happy with a Line 6 guitar amp simulator (11) and line 6 bass simulator (12).

11 12

Track Editing

The perfect take can be elusive. Sometimes all you need is to just keep at it, recording pass after pass.

Record makes it easy to automatically record alternate takes so you don’t have to stop thinking of your music: Just set the loop points, click the loop button on the transport, and start recording. Record saves each take in the same track, with the most recent take being visible and audible. When it’s time to choose the best bits of the best takes, just double-click on the clip to open up the Comp Editor. Set the snap level you want (bars, individual beats, fractions of a beat) and use the razor tool to select the phrases you think will make up the perfect take. Record saves all the original takes, so you can undo and redo your razor selections as much as you want, while you listen to the results.

Time Stretching

On top of the audio device there are two buttons that activate the time stretch function. Record offers two time stretch types; all-round and melody. Either one is always activated to make sure that any tempo changes made in the transport window effect the audio tracks as well. This way, you don’t have to activate this function for each audio track individually and you can change the song tempo in real-time or even apply song tempo automation, with out having to think of which tracks to time stretch and which not. Time stretching artifacts are only audible with extreme tempo changes.

Now here is the interesting part: If you have a Line 6 audio interface, such as the TonePort, POD Studio or POD X3 series you can get it enabled for use with Record. Once you do that, you get access to many more amp models. You can also use POD Farm to create new effects, which you can save as patches that you can load into your Line 6 amp device like a stomp box. If you don’t have a Line 6 interface, you can purchase additional models from Line 6 as iLok authorizations.

Summery Record put the musician in a professional audio recording environment and acts as the sound engineer.

With new features in audio editing, such as time stretching, the incredible mixer and the excellent Line 6 amp simulators, Propellerhead is following the trend of modern audio production.

I liked the fact that many functions and features are similar to Reason, which made working with Record very easy and fast.

With this release though, I have the feeling that Propellerhead is targeting more the guitar based singer song writer.

Vocal effects and keyboard sounds were a bit left out. I missed a nice synthesizer or a bit more sounds for the ID8. On the vocal side, I missed a pitch corrector and a harmonizer, which would have been very useful especially when recording solos or leads from a real instrument.

For bands, solo entertainer and guitar playing singer song writer, Record is a very good solutions for recording and producing music. You get the maximum sound for as little as 299 dollars.

Reason users who are looking to record audio for their Reason arrangements, I would highly recommend to have a closer look at Record. Since I had Reason installed on my computer, I had the feeling that I am working with an audio enabled version of Reason.

I tried this function with a vocal track recorded at 120 bpm, severe artifacts were audible at about 65 bpm, which is a remarkable result.

I can’t wait for the release of Record on the 9th of November and I am looking forward to seeing the next developments in this new audio recording concept.

74 75

FLEX YOUR AUDIO WITH THE NEW LOGIC PRO 9 between those two professional audio production applications was, that Pro Tools offered a very straight-forward and intuitive way of working with audio material, where Logic offered a much more sophisticated way of working with MIDI based material, for electronic music production.

Main Stage 2 Main Stage 2 introduces two new performance tools called Playback and Loopback, that allows you to use multiple audio tracks in sync, live on stage.

Let’s have a look at some of the 200 new features in Logic Pro 9

Flex Time

After the launch of Pro Tools 8, I read many comments on sound engineering websites claiming that Apple has been working on releasing a new Logic Pro upgrade. Some claimed these rumors to be true, some couldn’t imagine a new Logic Pro release.

To be frank, I did not expect a Logic Pro upgrade that soon, since Logic Pro 8 was just released in January 2008. When I received the news that a new upgrade was released, I didn’t really know what to expect. After the major upgrade of Pro Tools, which we covered in Media Production in the May / June issue, I am very excited to see what awaits me in Logic Pro 9.

With Flex Time Logic introduces elastic audio editing. As the word says this tool makes your audio material flexible. This means you can instantly create new phrasing ideas from your recorded material, without a single cut.

With this algorithm Logic Pro 9 realizes Audio Quantization, and Varispeed.

Now you can slow down your tracks to a tempo that is comfortable to record complicated music elements, you could not play in the original song tempo.

before editing with flex tool

I know that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the new look of Logic’s packaging gave me the impression that Apple is changing the approach of Logic Pro. For many years there’s been a competition between Digidesign’s Pro Tools and Emagic later Apple Logic Pro. The main difference

after editing with flex tool

Playback let’s you easily use backing tracks live one stage. You can use multiple backing tracks in perfect sync and mix them during your performance. You can create sections in a song and play them, loop them or skip them.

Playback makes you the musical director for your recorded tracks.

Loopback makes it easy to bring some amazing loop technique into your live performance. The workflow is very easy and intuitive. Just press record and play a phrase. Press record again and you set the loop end point. Redo this and layer as sound as you like to add incredible soundscapes to your live performance.

Watch out for our upcoming issues for an in depth review on the new Logic Pro 9.

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