October 2012 - Photoshop & iMovie Project

Adobe Photoshop CS5 is an image-editing program that allows you to create and modify digital images. CS stands for “creative suite.” You can create original artwork, or edit existing images, adding filters, changing colors, adding images or shapes, retouching photographs, etc.

A digital image is a picture in electronic form. Photoshop includes many tools that you can use to manipulate digital images and text. You can also add text (font of choice) and format it. You can add "Blending Options" - like we already practiced in class (to add shadows, inner or outer glows, patterns, embossing and many other options). You double-click on the right side of a layer to get the Layer Style window. You also learned to duplicate layers and organize layers.

How do you open or import an image (picture) in Photoshop? There are several ways to do this:

1. You can open the Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop CS5) application by going to Applications (Finder Window) and double-clicking the Photoshop icon. Then go to File - Open and find the image (wherever you have it – on the desktop, or in My Pictures, etc.) You can also click Command-O to Open and find the image.

2. By clicking the Photoshop icon on the dock (if you already have it there). Then go to File - Open and find the image (wherever you have it – on the desktop, or in My Pictures, etc.)

3. By dragging the image directly onto the Photoshop icon on the dock.

4. By launching the Mini Bridge on the Photoshop Toolbar and finding the image. While not as powerful as the Bridge, the Mini Bridge can be used to easily filter, sort, locate, and open files from within Photoshop. (Click the launch Mini Bridge button on the application toolbar).

5. By launching the Bridge on the Photoshop Toolbar and finding the image. The Bridge allows you to see all your images and can be used to rate, sort and label your images. There are four views in Bridge (Essentials, Filmstrip, Metadata, and Output).

First tools to learn: 

Move Tool 

Magnetic Lasso Tool 

Magic Wand Tool

Crop Tool 

Brush Tool 

Paint Bucket Tool 

Rectangular Marquee Tool 

Eraser Tool 

Eye Dropper Tool 

First Keyboard-Shortcuts to learn:

Command-O (open a document)

Command-N (create a new document)

Command-J (create a layer)

Command-S (save)

Command-Z (undo)

Command-T (Free-Transform, to resize objects)

Command-D (deselect - after making a selection with the magnetic lasso tool or the Rectangular or Elliptical Marquee tools)

Command-U (Hue/Saturation window, to change colors, saturation and lightness)

Command-Shift-U (desaturate - to change a picture or layer to black and white)

You already started to learn the "basics" of the Adobe Photoshop CS5 application. You created several exercises, learning how to import an image in Photoshop, how to duplicate layers, add filters, change the color of images, use the Magnetic Lasso Tool, use the Magic Wand Tool, change the sizes of images, etc. I must be able to find in the Server, in the Digital Applications Folder and under your name a DA First Quarter folder with at least three JPEGs of the exercises we did in class. You already learned how to create JPEGs from a Photoshop document (File - Save As - select JPEG under Format). The next exercise is the "Magical World" exercise. By now you should have: two flower exercises, with flower layers and 'black and white' background (with filter); and one with the flower or flowers and an extra image (i.e. fairy). One Coloring Page exercise, where you selected a coloring page and learned to use the Paint Bucket tool. One exercise with a background of your choice, an image (flower or other) and text. A total of at least 5 photoshop exercises. Check the folder in the Server to make sure you have all of them. You should also have there the PDF of the iPhoto Book you created in class, the iMovie of your choice you created in class and converted into a QuickTime movie and the Sgraffito Technique iMovie (also converted to QuickTime).

Mrs. Feld will give you the instructions of the Magical World exercise. You can get very creative with it! You can pick your choice of background (magical forest or other), change the color, add filters, and later add at least six images into your background (placing them wherever you want). Use the Magnetic Lasso Tool to select the images (if you want, you can change the "feathering" - look on the Toolbar, and before you make the selection with the Magnetic Lasso Tool, change the 0 to 1 or 2, then select the image and move it to your background with the Move Tool, the edges will be a little lighter). Look at some of the samples under Students Work in the 2nd Quarter Exercises' folder (last year the students created this exercise during the Second Quarter), or look online for some interesting images, and check the following site for inspiration: surreal (click on this word for the link). Some of the instructions in this tutorial are too advanced, but you can start getting some good ideas of the interesting work you can create using Photoshop. You can also check: tutorial (click on the this word for the link). When completed save the Photoshop (psd) document in the Server and 3 or 4 JPEGs with different colored backgrounds too, like I explained in class. Any questions? Ask Mrs. Feld. Get creative and have fun!

DON'T FORGET TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR LAYERS - CHECK WHICH LAYER IS SELECTED BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES.

iMovie Project: "The Story of My Life"

This week (October 8th) you can start working on "The Story of My Life" Movie. Mrs. Feld will give you the instructions. The idea is to create a fun iMovie with pictures of yourself when you were growing up (Baby Pictures and Others, ages 0 - 17 or 18), and hopefully to make you reflect on your life, your story (to date) and the story you want to create for yourself (what strengths, talents, weaknesses and dreams do you have?). I believe that all of us have the potential to create our own lives with our thoughts, our dreams, our intentions, our behavior, our motivations, our desires and our attitudes. Hopefully, you will always embrace a positive outlook on life and believe in your dreams (I really hope so...) It's up to you to create a wonderful life for yourself! No matter what! And self-knowledge is a person's most valuable asset - to live a full life.

So, ideally, you should have at least 15 slides (clips) in your iMovie (including black or color screen with text). If you  check the Rubric, you can have a better idea about what information goes on each slide. The first slide should be a Title Slide with your name on it ('The Story of My Life" and your name). You can put a picture of yourself on your Title Slide if you want or one of your Photoshop creations. You can also create collages with your pictures and use your pictures more than once (it's easy to create a collage using PowerPoint and then you can use the Command-Shift-No. 4 keyboard shortcut to take a picture of your collage-slide - the picture will be created on your desktop) or a collage created in Photoshop. Just get creative! The pictures in iMovie must be JPEGs; if you download a Photoshop image (extension ".psd" into iMovie) the image will be red.

The final movie must look very professional. Add music of your choice and convert into a QuickTime movie when completed - like you did before with the other iMovie exercises. Trim the music and ask for help if you need it! Your classmates can help you too.

Also, please be careful with your timings. Make sure you have enough time to read the text and to see your photos. Also pay attention to your transitions, they shouldn't move too fast!

Ask Mrs. Feld any questions you have and also ask her how to scan your pictures. There are two different type of scanners in the Mac Lab and they work differently. The project is due Friday, October 26, 2012 (hopefully!).