Gelbach Designs Inc.

Let there be no confusion: All digital pictures, and many renderings or designs, benefit from sharpening as part of the work flow. The few exceptions are when low contrast or softness is desired for an artistic effect.

There are many ways to sharpen an image in Adobe Photoshop. Most Photoshop users use the simple sharpen commands in the Filters–>Sharpen menu, such as Smart Sharpen or Unsharp Mask. However, most professionals tend to use less intuitive processes ending with better results. This is a description of one of the simpler methods, High Pass Sharpening.

For this quick tutorial, I have chosen an old scan from a developed disposable camera. This is an image of some work we did years ago that will provide a great example for the potential client that just called about turning his pool and carriage house into a pirate scene (you would do it too, if you had the cash, don’t lie). This small rough looking image is the only proof that remains of our participation in this attraction.

Today at Gelbach Designs we have a naked news desk, a new banner, and some 3d going on. The News Desk is currently being covered with laminates to go out with a broadcast studio set design. The banner, after 15 revisions, looks great and will be on it’s way to the client in the morning. The 3d image set renderings we are creating for WGBH Boston are really shaping up. Design, print, and building. All in a day at Gelbach Designs.

We have been intending to drive to a studio set design that we created and fabricated a couple of years ago. For those two years, here at the shop, we have said, “Y’know… we still need to go take pictures at The Living Church of God”, about once a month.

Lucky for us, our very own Marcus Ward found images online. Now that the client approved us using the images, we finally get to show the world (pun intended).

This set was created for The Living Church of God, which can be found on the web here.

Good news We are in the process of making the process of bidding out TV set design easier for everyone. Tvsetdesigns.com has been launched and will continue to be updated with new components for studio set props, walls, desks, and furniture for broadcast, along with general pricing. This will make it simple to get a ballpark price for your project without the back and forth, speculative design, and general lack of clarity common in initial pricing of custom broadcast studio sets.

Over the years, we have seen a shift in how people use funding to present their company to the public eye. Years ago, almost all of the custom business coming to us was for trade show booths and exhibits. Now, as the internet and self-syndication mature, we see custom broadcast studio set work more often than anything else.

The initial call we get from prospective clients is always a bit confused as there is no single resource describing the process for new studio owners. With the tvsetdesigns website we set out to focus on broadcast set design from start to finish, along with tutorials, pricing, links to resources, and more. This way, even the most novice broadcast company would have all of their answers without even picking up the phone.

We are still adding to the site, and the design needs some touch up for sure. However, if you would like to take a look, check out http://tvsetdesigns.com/

Companies like ours need a way to move around large files. The file sizes needed for print-resolution designs can be obscene, especially when were talking about a building sized print. In the beginning it was burning CDs at a whopping 2x speed; later came DVDs and flash drives. Often times these had to be mailed or sent by courier. This reeks of inefficiency.

Enter internet. Many of you have experience with FTP, but not everyone. Many servers are set up differently, making a common setting for any FTP client difficult. This method reaches inefficiency only because it’s a pain in the rumpus. Is there an FTP client installed on this computer? What is the address, password, and login? Passive mode? What is a Filezilla? The very worst of these creatures being a proprietary system that requires you download and install their program just so you can get a large PSD from a client.

Finally, we get to web-based file transfer. Services now allow you to easily send a link that will provide the end client with a download button. Life is good. Oh… well. It turns out all of these repeatedly slap the end client in the face with their branding, delay downloads with ads, or even require a software download and install. For years, I have been searching for a better way.

Well, I finally found it. I’m overjoyed to the degree that I want to type in all caps, but I will attempt to contain myself. You (or who you have set it up) will need a little knowledge of how the web works (server space, slight php knowledge, html), but for me it was super easy to set up, no branding except ours, free, intuitive, and functional. I know this sounds like an ad, but it has just been such a long time coming.

Without further ado, here’s the link: Ajaxplorer

It’s always a good idea to donate something to the creators of open source projects. If you have any questions or problems, just comment on this page; I will see if I can clarify. If you found this post useful, subscribe! Now for a couple more screenshots