GenArts Inc., the premier provider of specialized visual effects software for the film, television and video industries, announced today a definitive agreement to acquire particleIllusion™ and all related products and technologies from wondertouch LLC. The acquisition includes particleIllusion SE, all Emitters and Pro Emitters, particleIllusion for AE, and all additional intellectual property from wondertouch LLC. As part of the acquisition, Alan Lorence, the former CEO of wondertouch and creator of particleIllusion, will join GenArts as a full-time developer. Read the rest of this entry »

The wait is over, Adobe has announced the immediate availability of CS4, the largest release of software in the company’s history. Adobe has pretty much updated all their flagship applications, the new features of which, you can find out in our previous post. The Production Premium bundle will be of most interest to Videomaker readers, with new versions of Premiere, Encore, Soundbooth, On Location, After Effects, Photoshop, Flash and Illustrator ready to go out the door today.

We’ve been playing around with the Beta for a while, and we’re taking a look at the final versions right now, and with so many apps to review, it looks like we have our work cut out for us.

Read the Press Release Below:

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It’s been a busy time at Adobe lately, as they’ve released today new versions of just about every piece of software that they make. But for Videomaker readers, lets break down their new Creative Suite 4 Production Premium bundle, available in October for $1,699.

We managed to finagle a beta version of CS4, that we’ve been playing with for a while now and I’ll go through some of the new features of each part of the package below. But first off, a broad overview is in order. As you may have heard already, there’s been a shift to a new interface across the board for all apps. This common interface makes working in each individual program a lot easier, especially as most users might not be as savvy in one app, as they are in another.

Talking with Adobe about CS4 in a general sense revealed that this release was all about stability and work flow enhancements, rather than new features. That’s not to say there’s not anything new (I highlight these below), but I applaud the effort in refining the core usefulness of the programs. Many people make their living in Adobe applications, and solving work flow issues is by far more important on a day to day basis than the latest effect.

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