supervolting

Cool video! It touches on: Serif's branding, construction, redevelopment of Affinity potential for Affinity Video pricing model single app or seamless handoff Video As a programmer, my thoughts are lots of the code from MoviePlus could be reused, but to his point, even developing with recycled code would be a monumental task. No small feat indeed. He also said, "never say never" (video posted 2018). If I had to guess, they already have engineers working on it either as a skunk works project or with the idea that it would take more time. The video suggested the Affinity overhaul had taken 5 years. I would also think that everything part of the Photo/Design engine that he suggests is the core to their product line, could sit on top of their video engine. There is still a need for vector and pixel editing (text, gradients, etc.) on top of the keyframes. Modifying colors and adding text that scales. The harder aspect is working in the 3-dimensional and time-oriented space. The idea is the current rendering engine is the main rocket, and the video engine/product would be booster rockets. They're different but are used together. My guess is there might be some spillover when they do this to create animated gifs in the Affinity products. Pricing Model It is so heartwarming to know that the customers have been heard. Ashley's mentality is right in line with me and many others regarding the feeling of ownership and at what price. I also share the exact same sentiment if they do have recurring costs that a subscription makes sense; like if they offer online storage. This kind of approach and practicality at his level in the company is how you achieve success. Too many C-suite professionals are too greedy that their eyes on money overlook the spirit of their consumers. Consumers are loyal to a point. Apple is a good example of how even at their lowest, certain consumers kept them afloat due to such loyalty. That loyalty isn't everything but should not be ignored. App Handoff He mentioned one positive was the shared file hand-off, but also pointed out one thing he would change (that he didn't mention earlier in the interview) and that's the transition between apps and programs. It sounds like he's either envisioning one monolith app/interface, or that the working format can be kept in memory, which the other apps can access (no need to save), just a seamless handoff. --- My only hope is that they stay the course and hopefully continue to love what they're doing.

I think I used "affinity video" or "video editing" the results that appeared didn't seem related to Affinity Video feature request and I think were more related to "watch this video". After Walt's initial recommendation I searched again and found the same results. More than likely the error was on my end. I've heard this argument. I've made this argument. I've changed my stance and I'm not sure if I struck a nerve with you or not. You started off with questions but turned aggressive and accusatory as if offended by the term. Why do I consider it gouging? Adobe has bought up competing software companies in order to artificially inflate their price. This does not suggest that Adobe is surviving by featureset alone, but by simply manipulating what's economically available. This also contradicts/discredits(?) the point you made about effort. Undoubtedly, there was effort invested, but a college student was able to make a comparable product that satisfied 85% of what Photoshop accomplished, suggesting that effort alone doesn't justify the price after -- 15 years!? The subscription model of Creative Cloud is designed to eek out every penny from a customer without offending them. There are ways to charge big studios and professional creatives without having to charge the common user or passive creator. Adobe simply seeks not to. That's their prerogative but it doesn't mean what they're doing with their pricing strategy isn't ludicrous. I used to use Adobe. I used Photoshop, I used Infopath, I used Illustrator, and still sometimes use them through corporate accounts. The quality of their software isn't in question; it's the value. You asked, "what constitutes price gouging?" Simple. Price gouging is when a seller increases the price higher than considered reasonable or fair. Who considers what's reasonable/fair? Well, since I made the comment, me in this scenario. I don't consider what they charge reasonable nor fair. You're fine to dispute. A statement I've made time and time again: I'm willing to pay for people's work, even as a passive user/hobbyist. I think I stated that above as I've purchased multiple Affinity licenses just "because". I've begrudgingly paid thousands on Adobe software in the past for the same reasons you've stated above. Back then, Creative Suites (CS2-CS6) were priced high and I made the same assertion that it's pennies to professionals. That was 16 years ago. The R&D should have already paid for itself. The upgrades, tweaks, design, and innovation doesn't justify the increase in price. By your measure, the software should be getting cheaper and cheaper each year. It hasn't. Photoshop alone is ~$21/mo (~$250/yr or ~$750/3yr). That's ridiculous. And if you need all the apps I listed above, you need the All Products package $53/mo (~$1900/3yr) on annual plan. Don't get me wrong, by comparison to old pricing, that seems a fair rate if you're a professional, but that's the sucker you in price. Don't forget that's comparing rental price to ownership price. If after 3 years you stop payment, under the old model you still had access to dated software you could do something with, under the new model you have nothing. It's not a 1:1 price comparison. Where they're really gouging you is year 4-6. You see, in the past, people would pay for upgrades after 2-3 years. Those upgrades weren't pennies, but they also weren't super expensive, but Adobe lacks the concept entirely now. Your monthly rental fee doesn't decline. In 6 years, you are doubling your costs. Why? It's not because the software became just as essential. It's nickel-and-diming and you're renting something you used to own with a DVD. And if you dispute this, what are you doing here? Affinity (Serif) has shown they created software with a low entrance fee that people love. IMHO Affinity deserves more money, but I also think they don't need to go to extreme measures to get it. They can get that $$ by being smarter and not by saying "well professionals... yada yada yada... so everyone". Pedants welcomed And that's fair. I guess I was looking at it from the consumer's perspective. Serif had a line of products (DrawPlus, PhotoPlus, MoviePlus) that they then discontinued, and then in a short few years after offered products that accomplished the same or very similar functionality, with a better engine/design under the hood, and better packaging on screen -- overall better execution that they called Affinity. To the consumer, this looks like an overhaul and rebranding of the same product line, regardless of how they re-engineered it. I don't know what it is similar to; maybe generational differences of cars, like the Ford Mustang v Mustang Mach E? I think you're right, but I don't really care. I praise the Affinity suite. When I ran Affinity Designer on an old Macbook Pro 2011 with 8GB RAM and had a fluid experience w/ multi-layers and no hiccups, I recognized greatness. Even Safari browser encountered the beachball time and again and Photoshop stalled on renders. Hats off (still) in amazement.

Walt, thanks for that. So odd you see all those results. I saw one or two, but nothing too descriptive. I suppose the more the merrier when it comes to a feature request, but it is both perplexing that I didn't see most of those results and also encouraging that they exist.

Is Affinity (Serif) thinking about video editing? I can't imagine this is a new request, though search hasn't turned up any results. I was just watching the Live video again (Affinity Live: 19 June 2019 (serif.com)) and couldn't help but notice all the transitions and zooming in/out, which I imagine they made with Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro. I understand each product -- Designer, Photo, Publisher -- has outstanding bugs and feature requests, but it would be nice to forego all these other price-gouging A-named companies and put full stock in Serif. Serif once had MoviePlus. They were on the scene, though lacked some of the UI/UX elements that the Affinity suite has captured. I hope Serif returns to the (more difficult?) video arena. I imagine if executed well there is more potential to make money in add-ons and training than the other software products. Praise Serif's rebranding and relaunching of its traditional product lines has been something I've championed to friends & family ever since I first learned and purchased it back in 2014. I wasn't at all surprised when it won the Apple Design Award in 2015 and since then I've bought multiple licenses (through Apple's app store and through Affinity's site) for many OS platforms, even duplicate licenses for the same platform. I have advocated to use Affinity for work and production environments -- we're not a design studio -- though I would like the licensing process to be smoother. Needless to say, I'm all for giving money back to a team that has "nailed it" and rightly deserves to profit, especially when that probably means standing firm against potential Adobe/Sony buyout offers. Best

Already have Affinity products on Mac and am thinking about purchasing for Windows. A smart person might just buy it on Windows and use it through Parallels on the Mac, but I don't feel bad about supporting the design & development teams that put so much effort into this. That said, I was curious if there is a bundle price (all products/all platforms) so I don't have to worry about managing licenses. If so, I'm curious if current purchases count towards that price. Thanks a lot!

Nice job! I saw this yesterday, it's not as complete, but definitely gets to the heart of the process. Personally, I like seeing how the shapes are created (the different approach people use) and whatnot. I set your original video to 1.25 and 1.5 speed at times, but it has a lot of good content. This one as well, in its own right.

Allan, that's the one - thank you! Not just for the original tutorial, but sharing it again. I was scanning YouTube for the yellow 9, but I couldn't find it. Then I thought it was a 4 when I looked up production companies. My first thought is it could have been Number 9 films, which looked nothing like our geometric 9 that I remembered, but the Channel 4 looked kind of similar, so thought it was either Channel 4 / Film 4. Regardless, this is exactly what I was looking for. If you cleaned it up a little, I think you could sell it. It has great information and technique. I haven't touched AD in a while, but was looking to get back into it. Your tutorial is amazing in many regards and I was considering the purchase of Motion and FCPX. I'm curious, after all this time has gone by, what would you change? Would you still recommend Motion and FCPX?

I need help locating a tutorial. I watched a tutorial years ago by someone that I think once worked for Film4. The tutorial demonstrated making a vector mask in Affinity Designer, importing it into Apple Motion for some masked animation (videos in the background of text), then did scoring in Final Cut Pro. I can't find the tutorial, but it was supposed to demonstrate something like the Google Play Your Heart Out advertisements: https://youtu.be/lQIFVT80fbo?list=PLGc5GJ9a7RPXDjs8u1S5Vur_43ef4bwEj It might not have been Film4, but I remember the tutorial used scenes from Monster,Inc. and I think Spiderman. It was simple, yet clean and professional. The scoring went to I think Hudson Mohawks, Chimes; which Apple used for its Stickers commercial. The reason I'm bringing it up here is because I'm pretty sure I clicked on a link in this forum (again, years ago) when I discovered it, and I'm hoping someone also remembers it and can help me out. Here's to hoping...

Purchased new Hardware I originally purchased Affinity on my aging MacBook Pro, but recently put a few grand into a new Windows-based system. Do I have to now re-purchase Affinity Photo and Designer for my Windows machine? Thinking about even more Hardware I was also thinking about putting it on another laptop that I just want to leave at another location (so I don't have lug around laptops), do I have to purchase a third copy for that? Cost vs Principle Personally, I think the software Serif has put out is well worth the money and even under-valued. I wouldn't have minded paying more money when I initially made the purchase. However, I am a person of principle and will only be using the software on one machine at a time and I don't want to have to repurchase the same thing 3 times. Of course, I would certainly do it if I were using the computers at the same time, and certainly if I were a business, but I'm a very casual designer.

@MBd: sorry, I did not see your post, it is practically the same question. @Str2: I have an older MBP with an i7/6490M and I don't really notice any performance issues (or need to upgrade), except the graphics are lacking at times compared to other laptops. If using Metal means that older Macs wouldn't be supported, I hope they don't shift too soon. I could see a reason for them to migrate towards it, but the current version works on a lot of older models. @Leigh: I don't see how the current App would be any quicker or more performant without it. The whole point of Metal is to remove some of the middle layer in order to make a better use of resources, resulting in a more efficient application.

After watching the WWDC and seeing how Adobe expects to improve performance by using Metal, I was curious if Serif is currently using it or if it is planning to? AD is already pretty performant, but if I could squeeze more battery life when I'm away from the wall, I would be much obliged :)

Yes well done and well deserved… but that's why I purchased it in the first place :)

There's also "Convert to Text Path" in the layer menu

So I found out if you select the three layers/objects, the narrower one will be the one that moves when you right click and select "Align Center" from the alignment menu. Likewise, tinier one will move when "Align Middle" is selected. This doesn't necessarily solve if the shape you want to move is bigger, though. I didn't check, but perhaps locking the two layers we don't want to move would help this. Still, there aren't any guide/snapping lines that appear, which was what I was looking for, for workflow and productivity.

I wish I had an easy way to show/demonstrate. I don't think I described what I'm trying to do. The circle is not gonna fill the gap, I want it to offset evenly between both rectangles. I'll try to take a screen capture. Imagine both rectangles are horizontal and I want a buffer of space to be between the rectangles and the circle. I don't want the circle to clip to the rectangle. The circle is already created, I just want AD to automatically position the circle midway between the two rectangles. A green vertical line will appear to align it in the middle, but as I drag up or down along that green guide line, I don't see anything to suggest a midway point between the tangent of the circle and the two rectangles. (Mind you this is only an example, my actual objects are much less simple)

I purchased AD not too long ago and I was also looking at Sketch. I read too many issues with bugs and after looking at many YouTube videos, I settled with AD — I didn't realize there was a free trial :) Price Sure AD could be priced a little higher, but I wouldn't pay US$100 for it. I also will say that this was the major factor behind my purchase, so maybe it is adequately priced. I think $69 would be their optimal pricing, though; and $29 for upgrades, $5 for certain plugins (if any exist). I agree with ChrisP, I think Sketch is probably a US$29.99 app. Certainly not $100. Quality/Experience I can't talk about much, but I appreciate the Vector / Pixel options in AD. I will say I've used Photoshop/Illustrator and GIMP/Inkscape in the past and I think AD fits midway between the paid/free. Though, I'm not by any means a power user or artist, so I didn't use all the features Adobe offered and the free softwares are not necessarily buggy, but don't feel as smooth. Other You might be better asking this question some place else. People that participate in this forum will most likely be AD-biased — we all probably have probably purchased it, or had a hand in its development.

Consider having 2 rectangles and wanting to create a circle in between them. How can you snap the circle evenly between the two? I'm looking for the snap lines, but don't see them (and enabled everything under the sun).

MEB, could you make that Vimeo link a sticky for the "Tutorials" forum. That page is better organized and seems to have more content than what I've seen on YouTube.

This seems like it belongs in the "Questions" forum and not the "Tutorials" forum

I'm not sure I would change the pacing at all. That is just my preference and when I don't understand something I rewind and go normal speed to give my brain a little more time comprehend the information. Your video has inspired me to possibly buy Final Cut Pro, though I'm holding off until I have a specific need — perhaps Serif will enter that arena by that time. There is so much I want to learn, such as becoming a better audio scorer and finding good soundtracks, but we all have to start somewhere :)

At first I was curious why you weren't creating a mask layer, then I realized that's exactly what you were doing with creating the black slice, just exporting it so it would be used as a mask in Motion. Well done. I wish I had the patience that you did. I found the pacing of the video just about perfect at 1.5x time speed.

I like, I just don't think it belongs in the "Tutorials" forum. I think this should be placed in the "Share your work" forum

Yes there are many similar applications like this too. The current iPads have two issues: 1. low friction service 2. poor pressure sensitivity When we draw, our brain adjusts to the medium we are working with, but something with less friction requires our reaction time to be that much faster. Something like paper is ideal because the friction gives feedback to our brain and we can react and draw much more accurately for shorter strokes (opposite for longer strokes). The upcoming iPads may have a more pressure sensitive screen, but I'm not sold that it will be what we imagine it will. The watch can tell the difference between a light touch and a deep touch, but I'm not sure what the in-between is and that's what's important. We would like it to be as close to analog as possible, like how a marker or ink pen would work. According to the Kickstarter page, that company has been doing this for almost a decade — I'm surprised I haven't seen one of these in person. This is what I've been wanting out of my iPad; a full-fledged operating system. This would be awesome, except for the price tag. I wouldn't pay them double the price of the laptop. I was thinking it would be a $200-500 cost over top the cost of the laptop, but $2k-3k is absurd! Still, nice product, I'm sure someone that has the $$ would pay that much.

I very much like the moon and black silhouette on the green tones. Well done, especially from the photo you had. I find it difficult to abstract from something I've already seen — I suppose my imagination is easily corrupted. I'm not much of a graphic designer, so I don't have much advice for what you can do with the window. I am thinking a cloud midway of the photo, behind the street might be nice; thinking it might be nice if it was also flat (lighter green) with a darker stroke.

I also would have recommended to start with Inkscape (because it's free!) and it's also a decent Vector program.