Skylarking

We’re all aware of the use of computers and blue-screens to add backgrounds in the movies and television shows we watch, and — thanks to low-cost digital computers and cameras — now anyone can add fantastic backgrounds to their own photos, and the key is Green Screen Wizard. This software is great for the hobbyist or the professional.

Green Screen Wizard is a software and photo package that makes it easy for you to do professional Green Screen Special Effects (also known as “ChromaKey Effects”) with your camera and computer. And, as they say, it’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Take a picture of someone against the provided 5′x7′ portable green screen backdrop
2. Transfer the picture to you computer
3. Match the picture to a provided background, and Green Screen Wizard does the rest.

Green Screen Test Drive. The basic trial package of Green Screen Wizard costs $79 for the next 4 days. But Skylarking readers can take 20% off ANY PURCHASE at GreenScreenWizard, where it’s easy to get started producing green screen effects for photography and video! Enter GSPP20JUNE during checkout.

The 20% off code expires on 6/30/10.

Green Screen Lite includes:

1. 5×7 Popup Screen
2. 20 Magazine Covers
3. 120 Backgrounds in six collections

Upgrade. Maybe you’re a professional or semi-professional events photographer. If you decide you like the trial package and you want to do more, you can apply $50 from your trial package purchase towards an upgrade. The full package is available as a digital download for $99, or you can have the physical package shipped to you for about $170.

Their standalone photography software runs on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. They also sell Photoshop Plugins that run on Windows and Macintosh computers.

With all the personal digital video recorders available today from cell phones to Flip Minos to digital camcorders and cameras, you’ll eventually wonder if there’s a simple way to edit your videos, and maybe even share them on a CD or DVD.

My personal favorite for editing digital video and making DVDs and editing video on my T-Mobile G1 and iPhone has been Corel Video Studio series. Truth be told, it’s called Video Studio Pro, but don’t let the word “Pro” make you think “difficult to use”. Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X3 is very easy to use, and as verstaile as you’d want it to be. Futhermore, it’s very reliable and Windows 7 compatible.

With VideoStudio Pro  x3 you can:

• Import video from camcorders and DVDs.
• Edit and convert to all the popular formats such as MPEG, Windows AVI and WMV, and MP4 which works on iPods and iPhones. This makes it easy to carry short home movies on your video capable iPod.
• Edit and convert video for sharing on YouTube.
• Burn to DVD and CD in standard resolution or high definition (HD).

Download your 30 day free trial version of Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 today! Give it a try!

Skylarking is gearing up for Black Friday, but you can get an early start with these home entertainment and computer specials from TigerDirect.

SONY BRAVIA HDTVs w/FREE Blu-Ray Player.- (11/9 – 11/16/09) or while supplies last!

SAVE $545 – FREE SHIPPING - Sony Bravia II 40″ LCD HDTV KDL40V5100 w/ Sony BDP-N460 Network Blu-Ray Disc Player Bundle $954.98. I’ve been wanting to get one of these network blu-ray disc players. Hook them up to your home network to stream movies, videos, music, and more right off the Internet from Netflix, YouTube, and more. Plus you can also play and upscale your standard DVDs to near high definition with this player.

SAVE $650 – FREE SHIPPING - Sony 52″ Bravia V LCD HDTV KDL52V5100 w/ Sony BDP-N460 Network Blu-Ray Disc Player Bundle $1,599.98. One more foot of viewing space on your screen with fantastic Sony Bravia features. Too many to list, and, once again, the same great network Blu-ray player as before.

SAVE $750 – FREE SHIPPING – Sony 55″ LCD HDTV KDL55V5100 w/ Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Disc Player Bundle $1,799.98.

BEST SELLERS.- (11/9 – 11/16/09) or while supplies last!

• SAVE $40 – FREE SHIPPING – AOC 20″ Widescreen LCD Monitor with 1680 x 1050 pixels of resolution, a 3000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for crisp images with sharp black and white. Has a VGA connector for use with any PC or notebook. All yours for $109.99.
• SAVE $20 – FREE SHIPPING – ACER Aspire Desktop with an AMD Athlon 2.6GHz processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM (memory), a massive 320GB hard disk drive for storing all your files. All powered by Vista Home Premium. $249.99. This computer is eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade, too.
• SAVE $200 – FREE SHIPPING – HP Pavilion dv2 Notebook with an AMD Athlon Neo 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM (memory), a 250GB hard disk drive (storage) with an external DVD-RW (rewriteable DVD burner). The screen measures 12.1 inches. Comes with Windows Vista Premium $549.99 after $50 MIR, rebate expires 01/16/2010. Plus you can get a Windows 7 upgrade for this machine.
  

  Gateway Win7 Notebook $700

• SAVE $90 – FREE SHIPPING - HP Pavilion G70 Notebook with an Intel Core2Duo T6500 processor with a 2.1GHz clock speed, 4GB of DDR2 RAM (memory), and 320GB of hard disk space. A large 17 inch screen tops it off. With Windows Vista Premium (64-bit) This is a refurbished unit for $579.97. Upgrade it to Windows 7 while you’re at it.
• SAVE $150 – FREE SHIPPING – Gateway Notebook Intel Core2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM (memory), a 500GB hard drive for storage, and a large 17.3 inch LED screen. Equipped with the Microsoft Windows 7 Premium 64-bit operating system for a mere $699.99.