[Al Bergstein]

You’d have to ask Adobe. Some things that come to mind is that the dollar is so much lower than the Euro, they are equalizing for the profit margin. They might also feel that support costs are higher over in your area. But these are just assumptions made from experiences in the software trade in the past.

I think you’ll find that Vegas Video PRO 10.c is worth the investment as opposed to the expense of Adobe’s products, if cost is an issue. Not to say they aren’t good products, they are. But Sony is offering a lot of value for the money, given having used FCP and Vegas for over a year now.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

Thanks Philip. I’ve found that the DSLR crowd up here in the Pacific NW is a mixed group. So many of the traditional pros still are shooting primarily with shoulder mount ENG cameras sometimes augmenting with DSLR. A good example is some friends of mine who are long time pros and have just in the last six months started shooting with DSLRs. They do have excellent ENG gear that they have always relied on. They don’t have a huge array of lens, follow focus, etc that are specific to DSLRs. (I work with them on projects that require that sort of setup). They are not in the big city so their rates are very competitive. They recently did work for a major boat manufacturer, and it looked very good to me (though it’s not yet on their web site). Champion Productions is their name.
https://www.championvideo.com/cvp-people/about_champion_video_produc.html

While you have the major cities of Seattle and Portland, and they have their highly professional folks, working with lots of companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Nike, Boeing etc. there are many of us that are not quite that ‘professional’, in our approach to getting work from folks like yourself coming from elsewhere. I would say that it’s been my experience that posting on COW and DVXuser is likely to find serious shooters with the skills (and equipment) to get whatever job you need done. I for one, while back in this fray after an absence of many years, shot professionally stills, advertising and some video for 10 years in my younger days. While I don’t yet have the roll that would allow me to feel like I can compete with the pros in Seattle, I do feel I know how to run a production for a commercial field and even studio situation, having done it in the past. I recently completed a three camera shoot, for a

I’m likely not alone given the skills I’ve seen in friends, like Eric Becker in Seattle, a very skilled DSLR shooter that is just now completing a really nice piece of work for People For Puget Sound. You can see an example of his work at
https://vimeo.com/channels/salishseavideos#15256611 Eric has a great eye, and a very unique point of view, very clean and modern.

Laura James is a younger videographer that specializes in underwater videography up here. Excellent shooter & has captured some unique underwater footage.

John Gussman is shooting the Elwha Dam restoration. Very good eye. He is working in DSLR for his project.

Shelly Solomon is a biologist who has done a number of specialty videos on aquatic issues.

I’ve been starting up a Vimeo channel to highlight the unique eyes of our local videographers that are focusing on environmental issues, for example. This channel is at https://vimeo.com/channels/salishseavideos

There’s a lot of specialization depending on what you need. I doubt that any of these folks are highly involved in listing themselves, but you bring up something that I will ask them about. I’ve personally been a member of the IDA but don’t really go looking for jobs on those boards. The vast array of places to post make it difficult to know what is worth spending time in. COW is a great resource that is my first stop of the day.

As you know, the coordination of a shoot where a client is coming in from elsewhere is a very different kettle of fish in regards to planning, expectations, workflow, location selection, etc. Just recently in my area, a film crew came in to do a Coors ad, and brought all their own people, even shot it using film rather than HD. They must have come to the conclusion that it was easier to bring the crew in than pull it together locally. As I understood, they didn’t even hire folks from Seattle, the most logical place to get them.

I’m not sure I would make a lot of assumptions about levels of experience with the DSLR shooters here, maybe anywhere but LA or NYC, and clarify your needs and expectations going in. That will likely lead to the best outcome.

Maybe this is all presumptuous of me, but it’s just my observations. If I lived in Seattle or Portland I might see a different view of this.

Alf

Canon 7D/Panasonic 150
Pocket Dolly
Kessler Crane
FCP & Vegas Pro 10.c
Lighting (hot/cool)
Rails/Follow focus
Zoom H4N and Mixpre field mixers
and also work with local recording studios with full professional gear
Green screen capable

Quick 2 minute ad for Wintergrass, shot/edited/launched on FB in 4 hours start to finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-PIIUJLUJw

check out Voices of the Strait, a documentary funded by the Puget Sound Partnership
https://vimeo.com/channels/salishseavideos#12452315

Alf

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[Al Bergstein]

I’ve been really impressed with the tripod reviews at https://www.dvuser.co.uk/tripods.php. I recently picked up a Lebec RS250 based on their reviews. I would recommend it over Manfrotto. My Manfrotto has been a good tripod, but the ergonomic issues that are pointed out at DVUSER are real. He rates Lebec as 5 star and gives Manfrotto 2 stars. You can find them for good prices for Lebec on Ebay. Try and find a product at a pawnshop, as they occasionally get them and are willing to negotiate (I always put in a lower bid to see if I can get them cheaper). My Lebec as 50% off list. I also picked up a great Pelican case at a pawnshop (different from the one I bought the Lebec at), for a ridiculously cheap price.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

Just make sure you have receipts for all your gear coming and going.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

Philip, can you give us an idea of your company? Are you an ad agency, or what? Where are you located? What’s your companies background? Your profile is empty, so I’m just wanting to understand a bit more about your company before posting our information up here about what gear we all have.

As for me, if you are needing video shot on Canon in the Pacific Northwest, Our production house has a full complement of Canons, lens, gear, lights, dolly, jib, the works. Let me know via connection on the Cow. I’m cautious about giving out specific information as there has been thefts up here in Seattle done by people farming information on companies over the web. Some companies were wiped out of their gear. The perps were members of a Russian mob that hired young meth heads to research companies on the web. You can understand our concern about providing information on our locations, and equipment to someone with a blank slate here on the Cow.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

If you can wait for thunderbolt to arrive on windows, I would. It is a game changer, and should be better than just using esata. Really will require new motherboards, and given that it is Intel, that likely will happen this year. If you can’t wait, desktop systems are pretty cheap, if you aren’t a pro, needing workstation features. My Dell works fine, cost like $700fully configured. I use cineform and love it. But, for simple jobs, I just edit AVCHD raw.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

We are reading this correct, in that you are experiencing the shutdown trying to render this file on BOTH your laptop and desktop? If so, I would not only suspect heat but might make sure you don’t have a virus you are sharing by moving the file around. It’s a very unusual situation that I’ve personally never heard of in 30+ years in the computer trenches. Obviously, John has a point, if both machines are the same age, and if they are old, and if they have been in a dusty environment and not routinely cleaned, and if they are trying to render which puts a stress on the CPU, and if they have inadequate power supplies for this kind of task, which many lower end desktops tend to, and if you have a high end video card in the desktop, etc. etc. then that might be an issue.

Has anything changed in both of your computers lately? Some significant utility you’ve run? An upgrade? W7 SP1 maybe?

But yes, I suspect heat 1st…

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

1st guess is your power supply is failing.

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

No it’s not normal. Check the settings on your transcode software, or FCP. Are the files out of sync in the raw file? Can u play the raw mov files ok?

Alf

[Al Bergstein]

2 GBs RAM is the “bare minimum” MS recommends on w64 which means you are asking for trouble in trying to do anything with that, but maybe it will install. Frankly, I’d get more RAM first. you’ll need it.

Alf