Lots of construction work going on here so life is a bit hectic but it doesn’t hinder the preparations for the forthcoming seminar run by Ycademy, Shoot – Share – Sell!

As the market expands to mobile devices so must the sites that market products be mobile efficient, whether you sell photography, auto-parts or collectibles.  Semiomantics latest development the EVO – replaces the outdated version from 2 years ago which supported flash, great on desktop computers but not mobile compatible.

Now you will be able to access your new EVO directly from your mobile upload your product then share it on the social networks and direct them to your ecommerce portal. Shoot it, share it, sell it.

Under construction

Shoot – Share – Sell Seminar

As always the Ycademy seminars are run every month online; attend from the comfort of your own armchair and computer of course. Pre-seminar calls have already taken place with some preliminary information regarding the set-up and  materials. I am really looking forward to lots of hands-on workshops and as always lots of fun! When you are wrapped up in what you do – a new website under construction - its amazing how quickly the seminar weekend flies by.

This seminar will be just the begining of this years project for me so there will be more posts and information regarding this topic in the coming months.

Comments  are always welcome. Enjoy!

WordPress offers a perfect backbone for Media Publishing and eCommerce on a single site.

Semiomantics Developments for WordPress assemble the best modules available to offer custom solutions to satisfy the needs of professionals. EVO is a theme base for custom design and development focusing namely on media producers, photographers, graphic and web designers.

Semiomantics EVO

Semiomantics EVO is based and inspired by the work of the best designers and developers out there who take advantage of the latest developments of WordPress, HTML5, CSS3, Java, Ajax and the mobile web.

Code and Scripts have been adapted and modified to satisfy Semiomantics’ highest standards of optimization for excellent publishing, targeting Search Engines and Social Networks.

Semiomantics EVO replaces the flash template Semiomantics Evo and constitutes a second cord on Semiomantics Arc.

Semiomantics Developments

The recent release of XO Edition 2012 remains the blockbuster product of Semiomantics in 2012; however we are working on a new XO which will replace XO 12. A new architecture will allow to eliminate some of the heavy plugins we are using at present with XO namely to satisfy the standards of mobile development.

Shoot, Share, Sell

Semiomantics EVO is the ideal platform for high quality editing, media publishing and eCommerce. Semiomantics Developers and Designers are invited to join the Ycademy February Online Seminar which is held this coming week-end.

Shoot Images and Videos with your camera or mobile device, load them to your EVO (can be done from the mobile device directly) and let EVO share your content with your friends and acquaintances on Social Networks without losing the control over your media or products. The shop is easily accessible, fully integrated and can also be added to your Facebook page for example.

Look out for more soon.

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Pilates will also help your circulation and get your blood flowing to every cell of the body.

You will also find that it can sculpt the body and give you strength to your powerhouse otherwise known as the core.

Anyone that does their Pilates on a regular basis will be less likely to have injuries and have better posture as well as better health.

Joseph H. Pilates founded Pilates and was born in Germany.

He was fragile when he was a child and always had illnesses.

So that he could be stronger and have better health, he played different sports and become a great athlete.  He also served as a nurse in WWI when he was in Great Britain.

There, he designed exercises and equipment that would help soldiers that were injured.

Pilates was also made into a series of exercises that would be used with a mat that focuses on the torso.  These exercise techniques were based on different method from all over the world. They would also include Chinese martial arts and even yoga.

Joseph Pilates thought that mental and physical health was connected. This exercise program that he invented was made with principles to help support his thoughts.

They would include concentration, control and movements that flowed into the body with the right breathing.

There are two types of Pilates.

You can focus on the mat exercises or you can use the machines to help you put strength and more body tone into the way that you look and feel.

Nothing like a Dog Beer on a hot South African day!

Dog Beer

Dog Beer beats social networks anytime: here’s Mojo, the ‘puppy’ from next-door, instantly at the door with that special look in his eyes! Only 6 months old…

Too late…. Holly is flat under the table having a dog dream and wishing everybody a happy dog day!

Here’s to Web Design with Passion – and a difference!

Have you ever seen people with rock hard, six pack abs and wish that you have one like that?  There are people who would like to have a great body without spending too much time in the gym.  With the fast paced kind of lifestyle that most people have, would there be easy ways to get the body that you want?

Actually there are some easy and simple tips that would help you get the six pack stomach that you want.

Avoid eating while watching the television.  Since your mind and focus will be on the movie and television show that you are watching, you would not be able to watch the amount of food that you are eating.  You may tend to overeat while watching television.

Do not skip breakfast.  It is the most important meal of the day.  Upon waking up, the metabolism is accelerated and fat starts to burn.  You would need enough food to cope to cope up with the day.  Calories would burn while you perform your daily tasks.  By avoiding a meal, you tend to overeat the next meal.  Since you would feel that need to make up for the lost fat.

Incorporate good eating habits to your daily routine.  Aside from making sure you eat regularly and not in front of the television,  you need to make sure that good fats are incorporated to your diet.  Some people shudder in the word fats, well, there are fats that are good for your.  Fish oil, flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil are the healthy fats.

Water is good for you.  The more water you drink, the better.  You don’t have to stick just drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water when you can drink more.  But we are required to drink that much water everyday to keep hydrated.  This would regulate fat burning and body metabolic process.

If drinking milk, the choose skim milk.  There are healthier alternatives, all you need to do is make sure that whenever you go to the store to buy groceries, you choose the healthier alternative.

Diet is incomplete if you don’t put some mobility into your routine.  So still incorporate exercise routine into your lives.  Doing a hundreds of sit-ups a day is not good enough.  Think about your whole body and not only about your abdomen.

When aiming for six pack abs,  cardiovascular exercises are a must.

This kind of exercise increase stamina and heart condition, it burn fat in a quick way.  Cardiovascular exercises can be done 5 minutes a day, and can increase it to 45 minutes.  Aside from cardiovascular exercises you can also do some weight training to get the body that you want.

Not all exercises can be done inside the gym, take your exercise outside.  Take a walk, stand straight in a cocktail party, you can even do some exercises during your break time while you are sitting down on your chair.

Aside from proper diet and exercise, getting the minimum seven to eight hours of sleep every night is very important.  Sleeping rejuvenates your body.  It repairs muscular system by decreasing the stress hormone levels.

And last, you need to be consistent.  You may plan or devise your own exercise regimen, but getting your six pack abs just does not stay there.  You must be consistent with the plan or regimen you devised.  That is why diet or exercise do not work, because we lack consistency in doing things.  Six pack abs are easy, as long as you put yourself into it.

2 years ago, about at the same time of the year, we have built Evo, an Action script driven Flash photo and portfolio website.

This time we will make use of HTML5, CSS3 and Java Script to customize Semiomantics EVO, a Semiomantics development for Developers.

Semiomantics Evo

Flash is not anymore a smart option for development for as long as Apple mobile devices are as popular as they are and for as long as mobile Apple devices will not display Flash. Therefore we have been looking for an alternative to produce smashing and eye-catching sites based on HTML5.

Of course the good old Evo Flash driven sites still look great. As a lot of work has been put into them we will try to use namely all the edited images and footage in the new EVO version.

Semiomantics Evo Flash Version 2009

Semiomantics Evo Flash Version 2009

 Semiomantics EVO Version 2012

The biggest changes are:

EVO is now powered by WordPress
EVO does not use any Flash but is a responsive HTML5, CSS3 and Java script theme.

The new EVO assembles the ultimate in WordPress design and features for modern media display. Ideal for photographers, EVO features not less than 6 different Gallery Types. Galleries can be displayed most anywhere and the number is unlimited.

EVO can also display EXIF and location data.

The high resolution background slider will assure clean display also beyond resolutions of 2500 px equivalent.

Custom sidebars for pages and categories.

Finally: the script is eCommerce ready!

Semiomantics EVO 2012 Developer Edition

Semiomantics EVO 2012 Developer Edition Light

Goals of the Seminar

Become familiar with a new generation WordPress Theme and develop on the given bases a personal template for further customization.

Learn how to replace the existing Evo sites with the WordPress based responsive EVO.

(More to come.)

Materials

Licensed Software is provided.

To build the new site, add a sub-domain to your main site (author blog) and call it for example media, photo or portfolio or similar. (We will discuss this at the pre-seminar call on Tuesday February 21, 2012.

Tickets

Ticket price $85, the usual discounts for Ycademy Pros apply. Please ask Bianca for the discount code: bianca(at)ycademy.com.

Click to Get your Ticket

Related posts:
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Enjoy!

Once again, video dimensions and aspect ratios are becoming an issue for me in the editing process on Adobe Premiere Pro… and I am searching for solutions.

Here’s an original image in 1600 x 900 px (16:9) – in fact, for the first time I am not working in frame aspect ratio 3 : 4 but 16 : 9 ! Therefor, all images of the movie have been edited in that aspect ratio (original size attached) to prepare for optimal HD format – at least so I thought:

Video Dimensions

I set the video dimensions to 720p (aspect 1280 x 720 = 16 x 9) – but this is the ‘excerpt’ I get (measured dimension 1298 x 730) – yet significantly cut-off on all sides:

In some pictures – like close-ups – I have no problems…

In others like this one with a carefully designed logo – it really matters. And besides… it’s something I need to understand and know … even without being a numbers’ person.

But it gets even better… I copied/pasted the whole movie (pictures and music) to a new sequence after changing the settings to 1080 (instead of 720… )… and ticking that Default issue in General Settings as was suggested in a forum and related to in yesterday’s post. Perhaps, now I have to untick it again… but one really starts stopping to tick with all these ratios and dimensions none of which giving the desired results. Of course, knowing would help – so perhaps someone out there ‘knows’?

First, however, I noticed that I lost all transitions and video effects within the copy/paste process (… not cool at all!…) … and then: while I now see the entire image, it has a rather large black frame (within the set frame) which I find is totally unnecessary IF my thought in terms of the chosen video dimension is correct. Which may well not be the case…but which one is?

As so much work is involved and I already assume that I would have to redo all video effects and transitions, I will ahve to find the answers before continuing. How to do it the right way from the start, and with slides and images in 1600 x 900.

This SHOULD be possible – or?

Pixel Aspect Ratio

Studying the pixel aspect ratio HERE does help, yet as you will see… these are different dimensions again: “Footage has a 1440 x 1080 or 960 x 720 frame size, and the desired result is a 16:9 frame aspect ratio.”

When reducing my original image to 1440, I get  811 height (instead of 900) – which may be part of the error… but WHY? And HOW?

Duuuuhhh…

Time to get some air in the garden… this is getting a bit mucho… but the good news is: sooner or later, it will be resolved!

As part of the Wedding Website I am currently preparing – and while waiting for my new system to have more punch to edit and render video material – I have just finished a short movie based on Wedding Photography and custom Wedding Video Design. Here is my Logo Design based on the song “One Love” by Bob Marley – a request by the newly weds for this part of their wedding story on their (future) website.

Wedding Video Design

Since this Wedding Lunch took place in another part of South Africa, the challenge for me was to create something out of what I got: in this case a CD of professional photos by Andrew Elliott Photography, in different shapes and sizes, using different filters, and no corrections etc.  While overwhelming in the beginning to say the least… it’s in looking through the material again and again to get a feeling for the photography, the style, the flow, finding those little gems and excerpts and – finally – discover the message one wants to focus on and translate in the video.

ADOBE Premiere Pro

ADOBE Premiere Pro is my preferred editing tool, although there are tonnes of additional studies and learning for me to do.

So far, I am quite happy with the movie itself, however, this time I prepared all in format 1600 x 900 -being fully convinced that this would fill the screen on our PCs and correspond to YouTube dimensions (1280×720) – but again a hurdle to understand and correct/redo: the height does not fully display and while this is not a big issue for many pictures, it is absolutely critical for well-designed images like the ones I am showing here… and there are a couple of sequences.

Whether it’s in the Settings (ticking Default Scale to Frame Size)… or something else that’s missing… fact is, I will be back to the drawing board until this issue is solved as well…

Ta Ra Ta Ta . . .