[Jonathan Ziegler]

Here’s a thread on this:
https://forums.adobe.com/message/4573515

One comment from this thread is fonts issues:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-fonts-photoshop-cs5.html – basically, disable a bunch of unnecessary fonts.

Same thread, another comment: might be a graphics card (OpenGL) issue.

From my experience, if you are using a non-Mac mouse, you may need a new driver (or switch it for a Mac mouse). Same goes for tablets – mine has frozen when using my Intuos 2 (its really big), but only rarely and updating the driver seems to have alleviated this matter.

Obviously, make sure your mac is up to date, your Photoshop is up to date, and there is nothing else running, see if the manufacturer has a more up-to-date video card driver. Also, clear out anything from your login items, any unnecessary fonts, applications, check for viruses, free up hard drive space, etc. Try switching out memory sticks – remember to do it in pairs – bad RAM can cause all kinds of hell. In photoshop prefs, reduce the history size, make sure you have enough scratch space to cover your RAM and then some, remove any extraneous USB, Thunderbolt, Firewire, or Bluetooth devices, disconnect from internet (wi-fi and ethernet). Worse case? Set up a new, regular user on your machine and try running in safe mode or try running in single user (root) mode (be careful when running as root).

You have 2 machines listed, too: which one is having issues? The MBP seems like it could hang on you with 4GB of RAM, but I ran with my 3GB MBP for a really long time without severe hanging happening. I have nearly an identical iMac with 10.8.4, 8GB and CS6, but I’m not having the same issue(s). Update to Mt. Lion? Guessing.

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Well, other than reshooting, it sounds like you are doing what you can.

When I shoot against any key (green, blue, white, black), I always put the object well ahead of the key color, light the object completely separate from the key and always remember even a small backlight for the object to help prevent spill from the background – basically assuming a standard 3-light setup. That doesn’t always happen, I know. I do know that the main reason to use green for keying is that the blue channel tends to be noisier than green (there are 2x as many sensors in the green range vs. red or blue and the light info all comes from the green channel). I used to use the Disney Gamma Green from Home Depot for my green – it’s far cheaper than key green and works great (used it here: https://holodad.com/ – the hologram scenes and “interior” ship scenes, etc.), but I don’t think HD carries the Disney stuff anymore.

I know this is for video, BUT the principles are the same, nonetheless.

Since you are using blue, I suggest selecting the blue, but wait on fine tuning – instead save the selection first, then go to the channels tab and isolate the blue channel. Load the selection and then try selecting just the blue areas OR, if the object is mostly devoid of blue, use the blue channel as your selection, add the saved selection and go from there. You can also try subtracting either the green or red channels, too, then re-adding your prior selection.

Can you post a couple of the photos? I could try them and see what I can do.

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Hmmm, after tinkering a bit in AI, I moved over to a couple 3D apps (Blender and Sketchup – both free) and I found it much easier to extrude and twist a few lines than to try the same thing in AI. AI has limited 3D capabilities – though if someone can tell me a way to do it in AI, I’m game.

here’s a down and dirty tut for making spirals:
https://marcoalici.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/spiral-cable-1/

BTW: he leaves out selecting the lines (in your case), then adding the “screw” modifier and fiddling with settings.

If you know nothing of 3D (I don’t know much – only enough to get me through some touchy areas), this might not be so good, but Sketchup might be better, too. Lots of tutorials, instructions, scripts, etc. from both communities only Blender is totally free while Sketchup has a free and a pro version ($600).

Save early. Save often.

Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

I would record a set of macros – one macro for each image size. Then, record a new macro that incorporates all 6 of the prior macros.

This also sounds like a job for scripting:

CS6 Scripting: https://www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop/scripting.html

The following links are on the above page, too:

CS6 Scripting Guide (pdf):
https://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/photoshop/pdfs/cs6/Photoshop-CS6-Scripting-Guide.pdf

CS6 Javascript Reference for Scripting (pdf):
https://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/photoshop/pdfs/cs6/Photoshop-CS6-JavaScript-Ref.pdf

CS6 Applescript Ref (pdf):
https://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/photoshop/pdfs/cs6/Photoshop-CS6-AppleScript-Ref.pdf

AND CS6 Visual Basic Ref:
https://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/photoshop/pdfs/cs6/Photoshop-CS6-VBScript-Ref.pdf

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

I think it can also depend on the reel you’re making. You can make a creative reel using SD footage on an HD reel. I love the way SD footage loses rez in an HD timeline – I deliberately blur it, oversharpen, mess with colors, zoom way in, etc. If you’re worried about resolution, look at how you’re presenting it. I’ve used several SD clips as tiny, layered fly-by clips in AE or Motion. You could also put 6 SD clips on a single HD frame and show 6 clips all at once.

I don’t feel you have to lose your footage when the formats change, but you need to get creative about what you do.

I’m already seeing whispers of 4K TVs and how to integrate HD and 2K footage into a 4K timeline. Take it as a given that the formats will remain long enough for you to make your money and long enough for the manufacturers to make theirs and then they will all embrace a new format and we have to change everything all over again and then we’ll be having this conversation again. 😉

Save early. Save often.

Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Hey there, it would help to know specifically what you are trying to do before trying to offer advice. Also, you will need to do some serious color correction, lens correction (they weren’t shot with the same lens or focal point), and lighting corrections to make it look believable. Without knowing what you are doing, here are some notes:

For the man in the photo, notice he is close to the camera and the angle is something like a web cam. The desk photo has less distortion. You will need to correct the lens distortion of the man to make it look like a longer lens. Also, the man in the photo is fairly contrast-less and dark. The lighting was obviously very low and there is obvious gain in the shadow and midtones. Also, the man looks unkempt and his hair is messy.

The second photo has fewer problems, but still has issues. The distortion is better and is using a longer lens, but was obviously taken from farther away than the first so you will need to make adjustments when putting the man in the photo. You will also need to color-correct the man to fit in the bottom photo so the colors match. Couple this with the weird lighting – the first photo had 2 light sources (the light streaming in the background and a computer monitor), in the second photo, there are at least 3 light sources (the external flash or off-camera light which was too low because it caused some weird shadows and highlights in the background, the fishtank, and the background light on the right). None of the lights appear to be the same temperature and all of the lights have failed to light the middle of the desk where your guy is supposed to go. Don’t forget, when you’re done with all of that, you have to match a reflection in the fishtank and on the disk and fake all the lighting cuz there’s very little on the guy’s face.

Both images have serious issues which would require a very patient beginner many hours to correct. Even an experienced pro would have issues with the laundry list of corrections.

Conclusion: it would take less time and money to simply hire a professional to reshoot both photos or have the guy sit in the actual environment and shoot him there. Fixing this would take me a week and it wouldn’t be cheap. 🙁 Stop pulling your hair out: reshoot the photos.

Save early. Save often.

Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

You could also try using a key color and key it out – like blue or green or pink or red or orange. I’d use a solid color piece of construction paper or felt on your scanner (I use black to scan type from magazines and newspapers so I don’t get bleed through the back). In that case, you may get some bleed through the scans.

Along those same lines, try using Select > Color Range and use your key color – black is a common stamp color, though so it’s gonna be difficult to automate. I think automating the process would require some large-scale intelligence in the script which I’m not qualified to code.

Incidentally, I have thousands of stamps from all over the world from a year ago so I’ll see if I can try a few things later today.

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Sorta. You can do a photo merge in photoshop of all the images. It creates a layered file with masks for each layer. When its done aligning everything up, remove the masks, fill each layer’s blank space with white or black, then save each layer as an individual image and you should be able to use each one as a part of your HDR in Lightroom.

Mind you, I’ve never done this so I have no idea whether or not it will work, but you may be able to steal the individual actions from merging and put it together yourself if need be.

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Well, if the plugin from Adobe isn’t working in CS6 and it’s supposed to, it’s a support issue with Adobe. I hate to say it, but hit the Adobe forums, cuz I’m stumped and it works here. 🙁

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Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293

[Jonathan Ziegler]

What version of Final Cut? May want to post to the FCP forum (this is Photoshop).

First, convert the images from raw or cr2 to JPEG or some other more compressed format. Keep the quality high at the start. I’m winging this as I don’t know anything about the images you’ve captured or if there is any further processing required.

If you have the CS6 cloud suite (the subscription version), you can use After Effects to make the sequence(s): Create a new comp and import multiple files. Drop on to your comp and render out the movie in whatever format you intend to use. Post to the After Effects forum for help with this part.

You can use Quicktime Pro to convert images to a movie, but I think AE is much easier.

Save early. Save often.

Jonathan Ziegler

http://www.electrictiger.com
520-360-8293