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Site Launch: Spirit of Peoria

February 27th, 2010

Probably one of the best-looking sites we’ve ever made, the new Spirit of Peoria website has just been launched! This site has a slew of features including a dynamic scheduling application, online ticket ordering, audio and video, custom graphics, 3D animations, and more!

All cruise information is stored in a database and is available in multiple locations throughout the website.

Stage Lighting: Gospel Music of Elvis Presley

February 13th, 2010

Tonight, we handled the lighting for a “Gospel Music of Elvis Presley” concert. The event was sold out and went off without a hitch.

Photoshop Tip: Compressing 24-bit PNGs

January 29th, 2010

Photoshop doesn’t present any built-in compression options when saving 24-bit transparent PNGs (PNG-24), but that doesn’t mean we can’t get the file sizes smaller.

Posterize the image first

One of the best ways I’ve found to reduce the final filesize is to posterize the image (Image > Adjustments > Posterize…) before selecting “Save for Web & Devices…” Posterizing groups similar colors together in bands and can reduce the number of actual colors in the image, thereby significantly reducing the PNG filesize. If done lightly, posterizing will not noticeably affect the image quality.

Here’s an image saved as a PNG-24 directly within Photoshop CS3. Its filesize is 272.3K.

This next image was first posterized with a setting of 16, and then saved as a PNG-24. Its filesize is 132K—less than half the filesize of the un-posterized method!

Experiment with the posterization settings

Higher amounts of posterization do not necessarily equate with smaller PNG file sizes. A setting of 15 (higher posterization) yielded a final PNG filesize of 145K for the former image, whereas a setting of 16 (lower posterization) yielded the smallest final size.

In the end, a good strategy is to increase the posterization until there is a noticeable effect on image quality, then back it off a little. At that point, experiment with the settings (+1, +0, -1, etc) to find the best balance of PNG filesize and image quality.

Smashing Magazine has an article that goes into more depth of why posterization helps, as well as containing a few other techniques to try.

Remove unneeded color correction data

pngcrush is a great utility that can further reduce PNG filesizes. Using the following command can remove unneeded color correction data, further saving us 4K of filesize.

pngcrush -rem gAMA -rem cHRM -rem iCCP -rem sRGB InputFile.png OutputFile.png

Our image is now 128K and looks like this…

Photoshop CS3 tip: Brush stops working

January 28th, 2010

If you have a Photoshop brush that won’t work, or at least stops working intermittently and you can’t figure out the problem, check to see if your Wacom graphics tablet has the Wacom mouse sitting on it. If so, take the mouse off the tablet and put it somewhere else on your desk.

Even if you’re using your regular mouse for painting, the presence of the Wacom mouse on the tablet plays havoc with the current brush’s shape dynamics setting, thus making the brush work sometimes and not others.

Stage Lighting: AC Rock

January 5th, 2010

We did the lighting design for last night’s concert at the Bertha Frank Performing Arts Center. AC Rock, an acappella quartet, was the featured act of the show.

Merry Christmas and Thanks for a Great Year!

December 21st, 2009

One Hat Design Studio, LLC would like to wish its customers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Also, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank God for providing for us through the current economic turmoil. He has truly blessed this business; and we give Him all the glory!

Stage Lighting: GospelFest Christmas

December 12th, 2009

IMG_6338cWe just wrapped production on this year’s GospelFest Christmas concert. One Hat Design Studio provided lighting design and equipment rental. Especially nice were the twelve 36×3W LED par lights we recently purchased. The entire background set was illuminated colorfully by these fixtures.

Tomorrow, we head to Decatur for another Rachel West Kramer concert at the Lincoln Theater.

Stage Lighting: Pine Mountain Jamboree

December 1st, 2009

Set up and ran lighting last night for Pine Mountain Jamboree, a band brought in by the Morton Fine Arts Association. We received many good comments on the lighting. The lighting for this show was not pre-programmed, so we had to “busk it” live.

Stage Lighting: Rachel West Kramer Christmas

November 28th, 2009

IMG_6293Just finished the first of four Christmas concerts for Rachel West Kramer. The event went great and we had many comments on how good the lighting was. For this series of concerts, we’ve made heavy use of LED fixtures that can produce stunningly smooth color changes. When timed with the music, the effect is emotionally moving.

Pictures of this event can be viewed in our lighting gallery.

Graphic Design: Album Cover

November 4th, 2009

jairoWe just finished the cover artwork for Jairo Arvizu’s first solo album: The Perfect Gift. This album will be sent off for printing and duplication next week.

Jairo will be touring with Rachel West Kramer for a series of Christmas concerts, starting later this month. One Hat will be doing the lighting design for this tour.

Congratulations Jairo!

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