Al Bergstein
Forum Replies Created
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I agree with everything that Bill says. The statement that your headphones are experiencing noise while the recordings don’t point to some possible issues that Bill didn’t state. On many low end consumer or prosumer devices (some that would surprise you!) the headphone jacks appear to be the cheapest quality. It’s a problem of the headphone pre’s. No answer but to buy better quality gear, I fear! It should be a feature that you check before buying, or if online, return the unit immediately for a better piece of gear. I’ve not found too many pieces of gear these days that give me that problem, from companies like Zoom, Tascam, Sony, and never expect it from Sony or higher end units like Sound Devices for example.
I would certainly start and find out where the buzz in the headphones is coming from. Are you grounding your entire plug in chain from the wall out? Are the headphones defective? you did try swapping them out and the problem continues?
Back out each product until you isolate it. Then you can proceed.
Al
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Stephen, I also agree with Todd. I would simply send a well worded email, stating that since at the time you did the original work, that you were not requested nor paid to archive the footage, and that because it wasn’t specified in the contract, you didn’t. Explain politely that archiving not only costs money in use of hard disks, but also time, in terms of cataloguing, storage costs, and legal responsibility (your lawyer client will understand that). Offer them the ability to do that in future contracts, at a price up front, so that there is no misunderstanding.
All lawyers I’ve always worked think that things are too expensive, as do most doctors. Other clients just are clear that they don’t have the budget to do certain work, rather than rail that I’m too expensive. They assume I know my business. Just ignore his complaints, as you understand your costs and charges as it relates to your competition. Be polite but firm, only apologize for the fact that they didn’t understand nor ask for archival services, and say that you look forward to working with them again in the future. Explain that it will be very clear as to what it costs to archive work in future contracts, now that both you and them understand that it might be needed.
If you need further ammunition, take them out to lunch and you might mention that most big budget Hollywood films of the sixties and seventies were not archived, their film stock deteriorated and the films are in terrible shape. Now, decades later, the movie executives are realizing the mistake of not paying for that process as the value of the work has increased due to the internet. Clint Eastwood is one of the stars leading that campaign! It’s an easy issue to misunderstand and ignore! I tell my clients that I don’t archive my footage and if they want it for future use, they should request it and give me a hard drive to put it on. I don’t pay for the drive, they do.
Al
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Just to add to why you might want a Ninja, it’s really nice, depending on your assignment, to have a larger monitor to assist with focus. Not sure the Ninja Prores output is going to be “better” than the AVCHD or MOV internally, but having 500GB of storage to spool to is really a nice feature. I don’t have to worry about running out of storage, and I often plug it in if I’m shooting an event.
Al
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So I’ve not experienced any problems cropping 4k footage on my GH4, but haven’t tried in dark locations. Could it be the shutter speed? If folks are moving, and you are shooting at 24fps it could be the issue. Also, turn off noise reduction to see if it affects the artifact issue. If it does, buy a plug in and deal with it in post.
I’ve been not wild about the noise in the GH4, and apparently from reviews I’ve read, the newer model, not sure I’m remembering whether it was the GH7 or 8, does better with noise. Question is whether Panny is going to do a software upgrade to the GH4 to improve it or whether a newer model will be the answer.
When I worry about shooting in low light, I reach for my 5Dmkiii. While the overall image is not 4k, the quality at higher ISOs is always better. I can also plug in the Ninja to it and get right off the sensor. Which reminds me, have you tried going direct to Pro res on a Ninja? You could rent one for a weekend and see if it improves your output.
Al
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Right. Thx.
Al
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Would he be ok using a shotgun pointed directly down at the talent from a boom? Or is the lav always the right way to go?
Al
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I have not had any problems with MTS files, and have been using it quite a while.pls explain.
Al
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Sounds like you would want to be targeted marketing particular type of clients. For example targeted at event producers. What are the trade mags they read? You might want to investigate advertising on linked in Google ad words Bing ad words etc. and strengthening your linked in profile. You might also want to write an article that could be distributed free to prospective clients I’ve seen that used effectively.
Al
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Right. I wasn’t being clear. That’s what I do also.
Al
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Yes, understood. Good to know about the SD orange. I didn’t give that a thought. I’ll stick with digital and learn it’s limits, as I’m spoiled with SD meters and just find VU so limiting…ah well. .
Al