[Bill Davis]

I’m gonna disagree with Tim W. here. In his heart, I KNOW that even he understands that pastel pad tolerance is a noble thing… within the rules.

Yellow pads are perfectly acceptable during the period around Halloween and Thanksgiving and if nothing better is available. However one really should transition to pastel BLUE or pastel GREEN pads when nearing the Easter season, and I personally prefer to restrict myself to pale GREY pads during the holiday months and at least until February. (Consider it a nod to neutral WINTERs colorless landscape) ALL should, of course, eschew the horrid glare of the dreaded WHITE pads. Pastel pads in a Technicolor Dreamcoat array of possibilities — are not unlike subtle scents applied to massage oil – the visual equivalent of AROMA THERAPY – and God knows we all need all the mood calming help we can get as we approach the end of this year!

Oh, By the way, whoever suggested surfing to Craig’s list should re-consider the advice. It seems that since the CL Pashas decided to burnish their public image by tossing the ADULT content creators out of their dank, but at least well-labeled hole – those folks have spread like rats to virtually every “VIDEO” related sub-group – making the task of simply looking to see if there are any vaguely interesting lowball projects in ones area the surfing equivalent of strolling around Times Square in 1980 or so.

Forewarned is forearmed!

[Bill Davis]

Dennis,

Thanks so much for your detailed and informed responses. It’s clear that even at the “top of the game” the changes in technology are making things complex.

I hope the younger guys here are noticing that no matter WHAT level of the industry one works in – the ability to think and adapt and consider alternatives to the way you might have originally done something (or the way you were “trained”) is critical to success in the long term.

The vast majority of my practice here in AZ has been “run and gun” EFP. And so the thought of adapting theatrical lights to field video production has never been much of a “front of mind” concept.

Since I own a small studio, however, I do use a few old-style lekos – primarily for pattern projection. As a final warning to the young guys coming up the ranks who are more used to new technology like color balanced Fluors and LED lights – I did notice about an hour ago when setting a pattern in one that I hadn’t used in about a year, that even if you turn the old guys on for say – 15 seconds with a pattern in the pattern holder – then you try to remove said pattern while neglecting to put your gloves on – you get a NASTY reminder in the form of an “idiot burn.”

Forewarned is forearmed.

Thanks again, Dennis for the info.

You’ll get a laugh

[Bill Davis]

OK.

I’m willing to learn.

I would LOVE to see a photo of how you pack and transport these puppies without the lamps getting knocked from the sockets and constantly bending those fragile leaf steel barn door controls? I’m dying to know. I tried to take my MicroElipse out a few times and even in a pick and pluck foam case, those controls come back bent EVERY TIME.

You’ve got to admit that Lekos were designed to hang on a grid in a theatrical setting. And while I don’t doubt for a second that they CAN be adapted to field production, I’d like to know how you’ve overcome all the little details. Particularly the PACKING and TRAVELING stuff.

A set of Arri Fresnels, for example, can go in and out of a foam Arri Case inset a thousand times and NOTHING about the design will compromise either the fixture, the powercord OR the attached light modifying equipment. Even the “twist lock” lamp holder is immune from disengagement.

I took an elipsoidal on a shoot once after trying to pack it as carefully as possible. And it took me a while return with a pair of needle nose pliers to get it’s exterior beam shaping leaf controls straightened out.

And the power cords were always having to be re-worked since it appeared that they weren’t designed for coiling and travel as, for example the Arri designs.

Clearly you’ve overcome these issues which is excellent. Care to share any secrets?

BTW, it’s probably an aprocryphyl story – but I was once told by a NYC old-timer that Ms. Walters contract SPECIFIED the sizes of the soft boxes that were to be used on her key lights as she grew older.

Even a 55degree leko is going to have trouble filling the front of a 3×4 Chimera from the distance of a common speed ring, isn’t it? How do you get it to fill the front silk? Honestly. At least one enquiring mind in Arizona is definitely open to the possibilities, but I’m having trouble with the concepts.

[Bill Davis]

Bob’s answer is right on and gets you a long way to understanding this.

A simple audio compressor is the tool for reducing dynamic range (the ratio of loud to soft sounds) in an audio chain.

BUT – if the noise floor of the signal with a low output is boosted you get MORE NOISE.

Depending on your budget – go to the Markertek and/or B&H catalogs and search on both Compressor and on Automatic Gain Control and you’ll find a variety of solutions.

What will work best will be dependent on your signal chain.

[Bill Davis]

This subject is virtually NEVER as simple as your post might imply.

While yes, you may be considered the AUTHOR of the work and as such have certain rights to your implementation of that material – that does NOT in any way imply that you are the sole and exclusive owner of that work.

For example, if your work includes shots of their branding elements the corporate logos, signage and/possibly even the architecture – the corporation will very likely will retain ALL rights to those and by protecting those rights can make your video impossible for you to use or benefit from.

Further, if your footage contains images or sounds related to their facilities, processes or business practices they may have a perfect right to claim YOU are in violation of THEIR copyrights even inside of a work YOU personally created.

This scratches the surface of why copyright issues are commonly SPELLED OUT in any agreement worth the paper it’s printed upon when you do work for any legal entity such as a corporation.

Assuming “work for hire” OR assuming your efforts are NOT “work for hire” nearly always puts you on a slippery slope. And you can be assured that nearly any serious corporation has the financial and legal resources superior to yours and can make your life a living hell if you decide to push back on your ownership of work you’ve done on their behalf.

My advice…

Be very careful here.

[Bill Davis]

Wow, I’m a bit confused by this approach.

These type of theatrical LEKOs are designed to throw a hard edge barn-doorable beam in a stage setting – yeah, often with a patterned GOBO which they excell at – but at distances from 15-30 feet. Which is pretty impractical for a video shoot where we seldom have distances like that to work with.

I think that’s a WHOLE LOT more light than you need, and I’ve actually never seen one of these on a video set I’ve ever worked on.

Heck, I have a little Altman Micro-Elipse that I use to throw LOGOS into interviews and I’ve carried it out in the field a couple of times – and every time it’s suffered. These are NOT designed as portable lights. At ALL.

I agree the the DEDO is a better choice – but it’s price point makes it something that only working pros can typically justify.

Ah, the endless world of lighting gear.

[Bill Davis]

This is morphing into a good philosophical “how cheap is OK thread.” Which I personally welcome.

The more experienced folks here keep pushing FOR higher standards and AGAINST “just get it done and get by” work. And there’s a reason for that.

It’s also true that the practitioners struggling to just keep their heads out of the water want to be able to satisfy their customers who are clearly sensitive about cost issues.

But I’ve got to say that it’s not just COST or COMPETITIVE ISSUES any longer. It’s about a headlong rush to TOTALLY devalue video production work overall.

For proof, here’s a little chuckle I saw on one of my rare glances at Craigs List at local video jobs…

ACTUAL CRAIGS LIST POST TODAY>>>
Small Company needs Video Production Intern and Video Spokesmodel

Freelancers Needed: Proactive duo capable of working independently to produce and deliver a high quality video clip for our employment website.
Production intern
*Shoot, edit, and upload video/web clip to our employment website.
*Should have access to studio, production equipment, tools and resources
Video Spokesmodel
* To work collaboratively with above producer to appear in web clip
* Must have strong verbal, public presentation and communication s
Location: Phoenix
it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: $150 each

So congrats to all of us. Our overall work WITH EQUIPMENT is now valued at the marketplace at EXACTLY the same rate as a Standup Talent who might show up, work 30 minutes and LEAVE – however, we must now PROVIDE A PACKAGE THAT INCLUDES THE TALENT as well as our gear – in order to EARN this precious $150 “internship” fee!

Aren’t we LUCKY to be in the video production business in these times!

Too much, is sometimes TOO MUCH.

The ONLY way to keep our industry alive is to all become rational voices that will HOLD LINES regarding wha’ts reasonable and what’s LAUGHABLE.

As long as some bend – EVERYONE must bend, but there’s a difference between bending and breaking – and right now, this industry is breaking down.

Sucks, but there it is.

[Bill Davis]

I too think that you’ve got a problem.

If you bought LEDs in daylight, and you mix tungsten, then you’re ONLY going to be able to do warm backgrounds/fill without losing a LOT of efficiency by doing CTB color correction. That means you’d likely NOT get enough punch out of a 150 – and possibly even a 300 fresnel. So you’ll probably have to lug around a 650. Not fun. Remember one 650 fresnel will draw HALF the available power in a single 15A circuit. Leaving less for everything else. Same with a 750 Omni or similar.

Plus, you’re going to have to lug around a much heavier gauge stinger to power one of those than you can use for EVERYTHING else.

See the issue? LED lights are ONLY soft/broad lights. They can’t do anything else. But they’re LESS soft than tungsten in a bag. They are efficient, but they are NOT cuttable and won’t throw anything like a pattern.

That’s part of why I STILL don’t get why everyone seems to buy their LEDS in 5600k when they’re also available in 3200 which balances MUCH better with 90% of the existing pro-lights on the planet.

But that’s another topic for another day.

[Bill Davis]

Much wisdom in this thread.

During the years I was the main videographer for the National Speakers Association, I did a LOT of convention work like this.

I’ll just say a couple of things.

This business is VERY tricky. Not the kind of tricky that involves dishonesty – but rather tricky because there are so many competing levels of justification for making this kind of video in the first place.

Most often, these programs are a mixture of pure profit motive and ego stroking. The conference management wants to take advantage of extending profit on their event. They know that a certain number of the presenters will create a “Buzz” and that attendees will want to take home a copy. Some presentations will also “bomb” and FAIL to attract the same interest. (There’s even a small market in people who sign up for the conference – go to VEGAS instead (or the like) and wish to get the conference tapes so that they can CLAIM that they were in attendance!)

That puts pressure on the producer to get the tapes out FAST. As time goes by and the power of the presentations fade into memory – so does demand for the discs/tapes/whatever.

As to production, the EASIEST thing to promise is simply “wall to wall” coverage with no editing. And yes, that’s generally a poor product. (Except for the Vegas runners who don’t really care – they’ll just listen to the soundtrack while they drive to work and fast forward if they hit a patch where the audience gets lost in 10 minutes of passing out notes or doing an activity.)

To really edit a TIGHT program takes a LOT of work. I’d estimate that a 1.5 hour program will take at LEAST 6-8 hours to processs properly. 1.5 digitation, 2-3 hours stop and go editing. 1.5 encode. 1.5 master, label, etc. Equipment can compress time on many of those steps, but often less than you think. Some steps (rendering) can be done overnight, but others require you to BE THERE to finish a process or actively engage the next process.

I think your time estimates are pretty short of reality. But that’s a guess. What I CAN tell you is that the client will have NO IDEA of the time it takes you. They will always think that 1.5 hours of tape means it will take 1/5 hours to record and TEN minutes for everything in POST. (Really, that’s what they’ll think. The typical client has NO IDEA WHATSOEVER of the process – and if you asked them to stay and watch the first step, they’ll IMMEDIATELY come up with an excuse to leave the edit suite after no more than 2 hours with their eyes glazed over and complaining of imaginary meetings with people so high up in the company that they simply can’t be ignored.)

Your only choice here, is A) how much do you need the work. B) how much pain can you tolerate. And C) How much do you like and/or respect the clients.

Nobody I’ve EVER met that’s done this type of work wishes they could do MORE of it. It’s usually the kind of work you do when you’re younger and move on from. But perhaps that’s just me.

YMMV.

[Bill Davis]

It’s also interesting, I think, to note how once a particular device becomes popular it’s much more likely that the developers will expend time and effort and resources to improve it.

This has been the way with both the 5dMkii AND with the Zoom H4n.

That does NOT mean that these are necessarily better than their competitors – just that the companies who manufacturer them have learned that it the sales volume they’ve achieved – there’s a business point in continuing their evolution.

We used to get firmware updates every few years on the Pro level Sony cameras I once used. The idea of new updates within months is pretty new. And indicates how closely any new electronics device is to computer roots – rather than to old-fashioned semi-conductor roots where you were stuck with the state of the machine when you first purchased it.