This is the first article of a series concluding a 6 month review of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium for Mac
Where Shall We Begin?
When LA’s The Place & Adobe Systems (es) asked us to take a look and review Adobe CS3 (CS stands for Creative Suite, by the way), we knew it had been around for a while so we panicked brainstormed and thought we’d do something a little different.
Time for Something Unusual
We started working with CS3 a little over six months ago. The goal was to see what we could do with the software and just how useful it would be outside of a design studio environment.
Instead of just reviewing, making a tutorial, or taking a look at the latest features we wanted to actually create something.
180 days later we ended up a whole lot deeper then we could have ever imagined. (Thankfully everyone involved was patient, including Adobe).
Here’s a small piece of the story…
What could we do that hadn’t been done before?
In order to find artistic inspiration and see if we could catch a trend, we headed to Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona has been famous for its art since the 13th century, especially in the last 100 years with such greats as Picasso, Dalí, Miró & Gaudi.
Modern Spanish Style
What we were looking for was a group of willing artists that we could bring into the digital age and share with the web – with some hard work, Adobes help, a little web experience, and not much else.
The Toolkit
Armed with a copy of Adobe CS3, a laptop, no understanding of the Spanish language (which wouldn’t have helped as the people of Barcelona speak Catalan for the most part anyway), a camera, and our sense of humor, we headed into the heart of the city to see what we could find.
We discovered that art is everywhere in this city. There is no shortage of talented people and many are yet to engage seriously with the web, but more on that later.
Meanwhile here’s a little background on the what, where & how…
Our Idea
To produce a real working portfolio of a modern artist using the full range of Adobe Applications available in Adobe Creative Suite 3. This means web work, image manipulation, videos, audio & more.
Testing how CS3 handles the tasks on the road under real life conditions whilst actually trying to produce professional work.
Keeping it Raw
Our intention was not to create a polished studio production, there are plenty of talented people and companies out there that can do that. Anyone in the online design world knows Adobe products are some of the most professional tools out there for producing quality work. (Macromedia could have given them a run for their money. Now Macromedia is a core part of Adobe).
Our goal was to capture something raw and digitize it for all to see.
A (very) Brief History of Adobe
For those that are unaware, Adobe has been around for longer than most of the Internet, (see Timeline). Since those early days Adobe has come a long way.
Although sometimes they get bad publicity, almost every website you will see has been touched (in some cases mutilated) by an Adobe product of some kind. Yes, even the sites complaining about Adobe are mostly built with Adobe products. Gotta love irony.
Think about it, Youtube works thanks to Flash. How much great content would Stumbleupon have without Adobe? How would flickr look without Photoshop?
Whilst we are on the topic of social networks, it is worth checking out the new Photoshop Express which lets you perform basic image editing like cropping, resizing, and storing for free (you will need to download the AIR plugin)
For those of you looking for more professional options, then as far as integrated design packages Adobe Creative Suite 3 is where it’s at.
Adobe Creative Suite
With Creative Suite, Adobe has designed different packages to suit different users, whether your focus happens to be design, video, photography, web or a combination.
Integration seems to be key areas of focus in this latest release.
Something for Everyone
We won’t go into depth about the *other* versions, as the names are self explanatory; suffice to say the Master Collection is the most complete in this case.
- Design Premium
- Design Standard
- Web Premium
- Web Standard
- Production Premium – The one we chose
- Master Collection
Still Too Many Options?
If you are still confused about which option to take, then checkout the product selector and choose what you want to do (the selector will automatically do the rest).
The Software We Choose
We choose to take a look at Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium as we are focusing on video and web production.
This version includes a collection of products designed to facilitate integrated, high quality productions with multimedia as the key focus.
Adobe CS3 Production Premium
CS3 Production Premium is the latest version of Adobe’s multimedia production software.
Put simply, it is a whole load of integrated Adobe products designed for faster working with web, video and multimedia.
The Full Suite Includes
Photoshop CS3 Extended,
Flash CS3 Professional,
After Effects CS3 Professional
Illustrator CS3
Premiere Pro CS3,
Encore CS3,
Soundbooth CS3,
Bridge CS3 (now discontinued)
Device Central CS3
Connect
Dynamic Link
OnLocation CS3*
Ultra CS3*
Features available only in Production Premium include:
Adobe Dynamic Link** and Capture In After Effects**
*These OnLocation & Ultra are only available on Windows versions (though you can dual boot your mac and run windows on it if need be)
**requires Intel®-based Mac
What’s In The Box?
We were surprised just how much is included within the suite. An option to exclude manuals from delivery would be a welcome addition, (environmentally speaking).
The entire package weighs more than a bowling ball (we didn’t actually measure it and we doubt we could bowl it, but it was Heavy). The box contains:
- Full suite software on a set of DVDs
- Help DVDs
- Manuals for each application (makes up the majority of the weight)
Other Key Tools
Of course we needed something to run all this on, so we used:
- A 15 inch Apple MacBook Pro
- TextEdit from Apple (most text editors will use this)
- A compact Nikon digital camera (the kind you are likely to have at home for taking snaps) and a professional digital SLR
- Some willing talent
So Who Are The Artists?
We will be featuring the artwork of talented artists within the Barcelona, Spanish & International art scene.
The artist we are focusing on and his friends (who command significant international recognition in their own right) are collaborating on a number of projects that will unfold along with this series.
Who Are We?
We are independent designers with nearly 10 years of experience with Adobe (and Macromedia) products from working online, and we are not getting paid for this review.
You’ll find out more about us in the upcoming articles too.
The Task
To create an online portfolio for xxx xxxxxxxx (you’ll have to subscribe and grab the next article to find out who we are collaborating with), whilst testing the full range of products Adobe CS3 Production Premium offers. So, if you are looking to design your portfolio, get online, or are just interested in art, stay tuned. You may also be able to pick up a tip or two along the way.
Coming Soon to a Website Near You
Over the coming weeks we will be taking a close look at all the products included in Production Premium, so you can get a good understanding of all the different elements.
We are going to leave you in suspense, but let’s just say that we think it is worth the wait.
The Next Episode
Next episode, we’ll start taking a look at the whole package, then Photoshop, followed by Adobe Premiere, After Effects and finally the rest of Production Premium so subscribe now. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments below and we will do our best to answer them.
Meanwhile, If you want to know more about Adobe or some of the people behind the software then we suggest you start here, if not we are sure you can find something else to do.
About the Author
This is a guest post by Dan Cushley – a web designer who focuses on usable and competitive websites. This is part 1 in a series reviewing Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium for Mac.
