| Re: Studio layout graphics packages
As a newly graduated Graphic Designer, I am curious about programs that claim to make designing "fast and easy". I thought I would try the OmniGraffle program that was used to create the lighting diagrams and here is what I found:
1. OmniGraffle Pro (needed for high quality print) costs $199. You can try it for 14 days at no cost.
2. It is not that intuitive and takes some time to learn. While the tools are fairly basic, the interface is awkward.
3. While it comes with a basic set of pre-designed "objects" or stencils, photography and lighting are not among them. You can download user created stencils from a site called Graffletopia but the closest stencils I could find for a photographic lighting setup were "Camera Staging" and "Film Lighting" which were more suited for theatrical lighting for stage production.
4. The stencils used by the example provided by Kevin Kertz were not to be found anywhere leading me to believe they were custom designed and not available to the general public.
5. Creating your own stencils using OmniGraffle is difficult as the included drawing tools are very limited and awkward to use. You can import stencils from Microsoft Visio 2007, it is a PC only program and part of the $500. Microsoft Office Professional 2007 package.
In my opinion, this program is not worth the effort or money. You would better use your time and resources to hire a professional or use the Adobe Creative Suite to produce lighting diagrams.
Jerry
Last edited by Jerry Skrocki : 06-10-2008 at 08:53 AM.
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