AdHack Resources

Company Vector Logo Database

Corey Rollins — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:06:16 -0500

So you've got a great new ad idea for an existing company and you need a logo? You should check out the site All Free Logo.

This is a great resource for vector logos from a huge selection of different brands. You can search their inventory by company/brand name and industry.

You might also be interested in checking out their extensive resources section full of tips and tricks for logo design and theory.

Pixlr.com - Free online photoshop killer.

Corey Rollins — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:22:18 -0500

As the resident digital image geek here at AdHack, I was blown away when James introduced me to Pixlr.

Pixlr is a free online tool that requires no registration, no intrusive ads, no long load times and provides users with a web tool that (in my opinion) is better then Adobe's online Photoshop Lite.

After playing around with this awesome tool all morning, here are my favourite key features:

Windows are movable and layout is familiar to Photoshop users.
Awesome fully loaded and tweakable tool box that even has colour trace tool (magic wand). It works great.
No need to register to use it.
Import images from your computer or from any online IMG url.
Image layers. Yes Let me repeat in caps for you. LAYERS. So cool.
Real time effects (blur tool, hue, saturation, contrast, brightness and even effects!).

I could go on and on about how awesome Pixlr is, but you really just need to try it for yourself. In short, it's the power of Photoshop for free and online. Check it out!

Vintage Propaganda and Retro Ad Archive

Corey Rollins — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:51:25 -0400

Ad*Access provides over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.

The site is split up into five main categories:

Radio
Television
Transportation
Beauty & Hygiene
World War II

You can access the archive by clicking here. Here's a sample of what you're in for!

Video Shot List & Shooting Schedule Template

Corey Rollins — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:29:15 -0400

This post is part of the series AdHack Essential Files for Ad Creators.

In the AdHack Blog we posted some Tips & Tricks for Easy, Fast Web Videos. One trick suggested you develop a video script using proper formating.

Done that? Excellent.

Now you'll need a shotlist and shooting schedule to make your video production run smoothly.

A shotlist is simply all list of the shots you need to shoot to create your video. It lets you think of the full process, all the video footage you need to capture to make your finished video.

The shotlist also helps you consider shooting raw footage in a way that makes sense. Not necessarily in the order of the story.

For example: if your video starts in a park, moves to a house, and ends in a park. Shoot all the park scenes one day, and the house another day. That just makes sense.

Unfortunatly, things sometimes aren't that simple and more refined planning is needed. This is when a shot list becomes indispensible. So we've hacked one together to help with the process. Enjoy!

Web Video Shot List and Shooting Schedule

Project Name:
Steelcase/NEOCON Promo Video

Title:
“BAD CONNECTIONS IN THE OFFICE”

8:30am  PICK UP Riel 1-xxx E Broadway (after Windsor)
9:00am   PICK UP Sean Broadway and Maple
10:00am  ARRIVE Ventyroarx Co. xxxx Shellbridge Way

10:00am-11:00am SET UP

Green room
6 different cubicle spaces: head bang, leg hold, headlamp, I can hear you, the emailers (x2)

11:00-12:00pm The EMAILERS (scene 1)

Cast: SEAN, DARCY

WIDE SHOT. Both emailers. SEAN exits left
WIDE SHOT. Both emailers. SEAN enters right
MEDIUM SHOT. DARCY asking for missing file/SEAN’s audio
MEDIUM SHOT. Establish DARCY typing.
MEDIUM SHOT. Establish SEAN typing.
ECU of DARCY’S screen, "Hey, Dennis, I need that proposal over here in Accounting."
ECU of SEAN’s screen as he/she opens the email. Responds, "No Prob. I’ll bring that over right away."
AERIAL. SEAN walking through sea of cubicles.
BACKGROUND NEEDED (Hector, Lauren, James)

12:30-2:00pm CUBICLE SCENES

Cast: BRIA, DON, LAUREN, JASON

MEDIUM. BRIA sitting in a high walled cubical wearing a headlamp, going through documents. A bank of fluorescent lights above her are out and the walls are too high to let any of the room's ambient light in.
MEDIUM. DON bending over to plug something in under his desk, banging his head hard on the desktop.
MEDIUM. LAUREN sitting on the floor in front of her desk. She's trying to pry her high-healed leg free from a tangle of cords. She turns and looks sheepishly/desperately at her co-worker, HANK who has caught her in the act. (think leg-hold trap)
MEDIUM. JASON sitting at his desk on the phone talking freely about how boring the presentation was, or how annoying his co-workers are. Suddenly a balled up piece of paper lands on his desk. He unravels it and it reads “Shut up”, just as paper a airplane lands which reads “We can hear you.” He looks around perplexed (like a Twilight Zone moment), as if he’s surprised that they can hear through the panels. Whispers into phone, “I should go.”

2:00-3:30pm WALKING SCENES

Cast: JN, HECTOR, JASON, LORI, DON, NICOLA, LAUREN, JAMES

CUBICLE CORNER. HANK, HECTOR, NICOLA, round corner with birthday cake (candles lit) And begin singing “Happy Birthday” just as JN comes from other direction, colliding with them. “Sorry Jill.”
HALLWAY shot of DON who banged his head on the desk holding a tissue to his head as he walks down the hallway. He passes a JASON with a big bandage on his forehead who turns and says, "Hey, Stevo, so you installed in the new modem too, hey. Sweeeeet.” JASON backs into LORI/LAUREN as he passes the cubicle intersection.
BANK OF WINDOWS. JAMES walking around near a bank of windows trying to type while waving his laptop in the air searching for a signal.
BANK OF WINDOWS. (TWO SHOTS) JN walks up to long row of windows. 3 or 4 colleagues are on cellphones practically pressing themselves up against the glass in order to get a strong signal. HANK, LAUREN, JAMES

JN: "Hey, are you guys getting a good signal here?"
LAUREN (covering phone): "Ya, we're on with New York"
JN (defeated): "ugh, I gotta call L.A."
LAUREN (motioning): "Other side to the building"

3:00-4:00pm COLLABORATION SCENES

Cast:
Group One: NICOLA, JASON (bandage), DON (bandage)
Group Two: SEAN, HANK

COLLABORATIVE SPACE. WIDE Area with a tiny round table with a sign on it that reads "COLLABORATIVE SPACE". A group of two walk into frame, arms full of laptops, paper, etc just as a second group arrives from the other side, arms full of laptops, papers, power strips, etc. Short pause, "Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?" OR “Roshambo?”
COLLABORATIVE SPACE. WIDE (same shot) Group One is crammed around the tiny table, laptop screens bumping into one another with two power strips daisy-chained and full of plugs from their laptops and phones that are piled up in a birds nest in the middle of the table. An orange extension cord runs off the table and out of screen in a straight line (taut) as if it JUST reaches the plug across the room.
HALLWAY FLOOR. MEDIUM WIDE Group Two is sitting on the floor in the hallway going over a PPT with the orange extension cord running right between them at eye level. A Co-worker walks past, having to step over the group to get out.

4:00-5:00pm BOARDROOM SCENES

Cast: HECTOR, ALL other actors

LARGE BOARDROOM. WIDE SHOT Meeting in LARGE BOARDROOM. Employees sitting around large table. HECTOR is reaching up with a stick, trying to turn on the projector.
LARGE BOARDROOM. MEDIUM WIDE (same) HECTOR is fumbling with the touch screen control panel. Can’t figure out how to turn it on. Looks in behind it and touches the mess of cables spewing from the hole in the table.
LARGE BOARDROOM. WIDE (same) Mess of cables in the around the projector. People trying to connect their laptops to the projector. HECTOR says “Next slide, please.” Someone holds a book/paper in front of the projector. Another lifts dowel to projector overhead.

START CLEAN UP

5:00-5:15pm LOUNGE AREA

Cast: SEAN, HANK

LOUNGE AREA. Group two trying to have a meeting in the awkward lounge area.

5:30 WRAP UP. B**R.

Sample Video Script Template

Corey Rollins — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:08:05 -0400

This post is part of the series AdHack Essential Files for Ad Creators.

In the AdHack Blog we posted about Tips & Tricks for Easy, Fast Web Videos. Part of which suggested you develop a script using proper formating.

So now you've done that, and you have this brilliant idea for a video and the next step is to share your divine artistic vision with others. Who? Well the actors, producers, buyers, clients or anyone else involved with the video will probably want a script.

So to help you out we have a sample script for you. This will show you the basics of good script formating and layout. Just choose your favourite file format below and you're off!

Here's a web video script template in Word.
Here's a web video script template in PDF.

Make Your YouTube Videos Look Better - Compression Tips

Corey Rollins — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:57:05 -0400

Since Youtube introduced their improved video quality, there have been some questions about the best compression method and file formats to upload. We found a great article on WillVideoForFood.com that explains in great detail the ins and outs of uploading on Youtube.

Below we summarized Nalts steps, but you can click here to visit the full article.

First, use the H.264 codec, which is the best “mpeg4 codec” currently available.
Export quality in the best setting you can. If there’s a choice (low to high) pick the best.
Your size (aspect ratio) will normally be 640×480. You may want to experiment with higher HD settings but be careful to select “letterbox” if you use wide-screen videos. Otherwise your video will get squished into a dimension it doesn’t belong.
You DO want to de-interlace your video. Interlace no likely. De-interlace your NTSC or PAL source videos, especially if it’s high motion
If you want to get anal, here are some of the other settings you may see:

Set rate control to 1-pass Constant Bit Rate (CBR). (So no Variable Bit Rate, no Multipass). YouTube transcoders dig CBR.

Set key frames to every 30 frames or less. This impacts file size, so you could go as low as 15.

Set data rate to 10,000 kbps or more, depending on the length of your video.

Set frame rate to 29.97 or 30 fps.

Set audio compression AAC: 44.1 KHz, 128 kbps, 16 bits, stereo.

I don’t mess with filters, but you could experiment with contrast or sharpening filters.

Video Compression and Editing Tips

Corey Rollins — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:52:18 -0400

Compressing your video for web can be a cumbersome and frustrating process to figure out. So to help you out we have posted some recommended settings below. Now, there is no way for us to write a tutorial for every video editing program out there, but you can enter these settings into your favourite program and be on your merry way.

These video settings were provided by Vimeo.com which is an excellent high quality online video host. Alternatively you can also check out this post from XLNTads.com. They use very similar settings, but different none the less.

What do you use to compress your video? got any tips? Reply in a comment!

Note: Sometimes these settings are in ‘Advanced’ or ‘Options’ when exporting.

Codec

Choose H.264 for the video codec. Choose AAC for the audio codec.
Frame rate

This is usually 30, in Europe it's usually 25. If there is an option that says “current” just go with that. Please note that Vimeo converts all HD videos up to 24 frames per second for optimum playback performance.
Keyframes

Every 30 frames. This is basically how often the compressor references your uncompressed video.
Data rate

1800 kbits/sec (for regular video) or 5000 kbits/sec (for high definition). Making this number higher will increase both quality and size.
Size

640x480 (for regular video) or 1280x720 (for high definition). Please note, 1440x1080 videos will not be widescreen on Vimeo, you must compress them as 1280x720.
Deinterlace

Yes. If you do not deinterlace, you will often get weird-looking horizontal lines in your video.
Sound sample rate

44.100 kHz
Audio quality

You want audio with a bit rate of 128 kbps. You can set your audio to really good quality without increasing file size too much.

Single Pixel Color Inspiration From Any Photo

Corey Rollins — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:05:44 -0400

If you’re looking for a new way to find color inspiration in your photos, try this simple Photoshop technique to pull out colors from a single pixel line and create some unique color artworks… there are so many vastly different results from the same images depending on where you select the single pixel line. Try it out:

Photoshop Instructions

Open Any Photo You Want
Use the Single Row Marquee Tool & Select a Single Pixel Row
Transform (CTRL+T) & Stretch to Full Height
Then Use Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush

Here is one I made using fellow AdHacker Nep's Mini Cooper Ad. All I did was take the very bottom pixel row and extended it up using this technique.

If you would like to see more samples, check out this gallery.

Thanks to Kate Trgovac for the great post! visit her blog at mynameiskate.ca.

Example: Applications of Pixel Bars

Okay, so you you made some pretty bars on the screen, now what?

Well you could use it as is and just make it a background fill. But let's use it as a texture to enhance a photo. Turning patterns into texture effects using Photoshop is an easy way to add a different look to your photos. Check out the evolution of this image I created.

I wanted to create an urban hip-hop style stock image for a desktop background, site banner, splash screen, or other application.

I started with a simple image of a brick wall I found using google image search.

I then added this graffiti tag to the wall, also found using google image search.

Just for effect I used a faded black paint brush and added some faded black bars to frame it all up.

Next, I bumped up the saturation (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) and added a faint drop shadow to pop out the tag. You can add the drop shadow by double clicking on the individual layer within your "layers window." From here you can check "drop shadow" and manipulate to your hearts content.

now this is okay as it is, but using the exact same Mini-Cooper inspired green pixel bars above I managed to create this effect.

You can play with the brightness, hue, saturation, layer opacity, and contrast to vary the impact of the effect. Notice how the image below has a much harder contrast in the effect.

To blend in the pixel bars all I did was paste them onto my canvas. Once in place I used my Layers Window (Shortcut F7) to change the blend mode until I found something I liked.(which by default is set to "normal" in the top left hand of the window).

I ended up choosing two. One layer set to "Linear Dodge (add)" and a duplicate above it set to "Overlay" at a 56% opacity. Which gave me the effect you see above.

So there you have it! Experiment with pixel bars as textures and accents. You will find that adding a simple texture to your images will really change the mood and look of them.

And just for fun, here's my final photo, ready to start all over again!

Tubemogul.com: Online Video Distribution & Analytics

Corey Rollins — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:24:30 -0400

Everyone wants to consolidate their RSS news feeds, websites, blogs, social networks, the works.

Well now you can consolidate your online videos, and monitor their analytics all in one hand online tool.

TubeMogul is the first online video analytics and distribution company serving publishers large and small who need independent information about video performance on the Internet and automated upload to the Web's top video sharing sites.

TubeMogul's analytic technology aggregates video-viewing data from multiple sources to give publishers improved understanding of when, where and how often videos are watched, track and compare what's hot and what's not, measure the impact of marketing campaigns, gather competitive intelligence, and share the data with colleagues or friends.

Actor Photo Release Form Templates

Corey Rollins — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:44:19 -0400

This post is part of the series AdHack Essential Files for Ad Creators.

There are precious few absolute blacks and whites in the law, only shades of gray. But in a way, this is not a bad situation. Indeed, if the law were exact, allowing all of us to predict the legal outcome of every event, there would be no need for lawyers. And without lawyers, of course, we would have no lawyer jokes.

You can use a simple agreement to protect yourself from invasion-of-privacy lawsuits brought by your actors (or even bystanders) in your video productions. The agreement is called a release. By signing the release, the person waives the right of privacy and cannot sue you at a later date for copying or exhibiting the tape.

Below you will find two versions. One for when your paying actors, and one for when you ask really really really nice and get someone to work for free.

We recommend you use the "paid work" form if you don't know the people very well, and want a little extra security. Even if you're not paying anyone.

Since courts avoid having to determine whether compensation is adequate, it can hold a contract valid if the performer receives any consideration. Even $1.

So, if you want to include any part of a person (image or voice) or the person's property you should have them sign a release, and when possible give them 1$. (Keep a supply of releases in your camera bag.)

It's well worth a dollar to stay out of court.

AdHack Resources

Company Vector Logo Database

Pixlr.com - Free online photoshop killer.

Vintage Propaganda and Retro Ad Archive

Video Shot List & Shooting Schedule Template

Web Video Shot List and Shooting Schedule

Sample Video Script Template

Make Your YouTube Videos Look Better - Compression Tips

Video Compression and Editing Tips

Codec

Frame rate

Keyframes

Data rate

Size

Deinterlace

Sound sample rate

Audio quality

Single Pixel Color Inspiration From Any Photo

Example: Applications of Pixel Bars

Tubemogul.com: Online Video Distribution & Analytics

Actor Photo Release Form Templates