 3 DVDs on Adobe Live Motion 2 produced entirely on Mac OSX! The Total Training team amazingly put this on the market just weeks after the Live Motion 2 upgrade was shipping. A new face, Steve Holmes gives a smashing performance, and must have obviously been on the Live Motion 2 beta test team to have scripted this so soon after the release.
VIDEO QUALITY
Total Training gets better with each new release. The anti-aliasing of Mac OSX makes type in palettes and menus more readable. I personally feel OSX takes up a lot of monitor real estate with its large menus/palettes, but is perfect for Video based training.
Total Training pans seamlessly between close ups of the screen at the exact perfect moments. I have to give Total Training an excellent rating for their presentation and camera work.
CONTENT
Program 6 is my absolute favorite DVD. It is Steve's tips & tricks and this is where you really learn how to use Live Motion. Other programs cover basic issues which are in the manual.
This series covers mostly beginner to intermediate material, I would have liked to have seen more advanced topics. If I am buying a training series on software, it can be assumed that I have the manual and can read. Though in the future I would recommend Adobe replace their printed manuals with DVDs and to add more detail to the existing html support engine that comes with each Adobe product.
Advanced topics I would have liked to see are:
- Troubleshooting LM2 Common Problems
- Building lean and mean files
- Advanced Animation (Studio Secrets)
- Flying logos and type/banner animation
There really were no examples of advanced text animation just a few basics. The Javascripting DVD is my second favorite and Steve makes it so easy to understand. The creative quality of the samples are excellent and tie-in with the graphics style of using the live motion rocket in many examples. I sincerely believe professional looking creative, stimulates professional training. Not only do you learn Live Motion, but you get examples of creative in the training to invigorate your senses.
Steve showed how easy it is to do a preloader in Live Motion as compared to Flash. I would have liked to see him run and analyze the final preloader though.
THE PRESENTATION
As a trainer myself, I know how difficult it is to give a perfect performance. Total Training must have a system set up where the instructor sees at all times the zoom level that the video is being shot at. Steve always remembers to move and stretch the palettes to center on the important feature being discussed. The flow of his presentation is at a perfect pace, not to fast or too slow. Steve has that British accent and uses terminology like full stop rather than period, but I will have to say, "Well Done Chap" to Steve. Hope to see the next Live Motion Training concentrate more on Steve's "Real World tricks" which taught me the most.
 
Total Training for Live Motion 2 gets 4 and a half cows from me.
Steve Holmes does an excellent job in presenting this video training series, and only misses half a cow for not giving us more of his advanced tricks.
This series has totally changed my opinion of the future for Live Motion in the vector web graphics market.
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PROGRAM 1
Lesson 1 (Our First Look At Live Motion 2)
Lesson 2 (Discovering the Interface)
Lesson 3 (Exploring the Palettes)
PROGRAM 2
Lesson 1 (Color)
Lesson 2 (Layers in Live Motion)
Lesson 3 (Basic Interactivity)
Lesson 4 (Rollovers, Sound, Library, Textures & Styles
PROGRAM 3
Lesson 1 (Introduction to Animation)
Lesson 2 (Do-It-Yourself Animation)
Lesson 3 (Grouping, Masking & Movie Clips)
PROGRAM 4
Lesson 1 (Introduction to Interactivity)
Lesson 2 (Basic Javascripting)
Lesson 3 (More In-Depth Scripts)
PROGRAM 5
Lesson 1 (Integration with Photoshop)
Lesson 2 (Integration with Illustrator)
Lesson 3 (Integration with After Effects)
Lesson 4 (Export)
PROGRAM 6
Lesson 1 (Motion Blur Effects)
Lesson 2 (Aqua Interface)
Lesson 3 (3D Vector Interface)
Lesson 4 (Unique Interface Design)
Mike Gondek
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