[Bob Cole]

[Ron Lindeboom] “You are kidding, right, Bob?”

Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt! But I was serious. Naive, perhaps, but serious.

I don’t do weddings either, so I may be ignorant as well as naive. I was just curious as to why I haven’t heard of wedding videographers getting sued for featuring “the song” from “the dance.”

As far as the morals of the music industry are concerned, your information might also provide the answer to Randy’s question about what happens when people from the music industry get married and want to use “their song”:

“It’ll never happen. People from the music industry love themselves too much to settle for getting married to someone else.”

[Bob Cole]

Maybe the music industry doesn’t want to fight true love. Or, maybe they’re just too smart. Think of the negative publicity: greedy international conglomerate sues to deny newlyweds “their song.”

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Your stance is admirable but perhaps outdated and even dangerous. Who reads letters anymore? And, why would you want to put anything in writing?

I’d just offer to make myself available by phone should someone want to check references. Allegedly, you incur some legal liability for sharing any information that could damage an applicant’s job prospects. Easier to give someone the “drift” on the phone. I’ve heard it — the former boss who says “He did exactly what he had to do,” meaning, “What a slacker!”

I suspect that the person whom you inform of your sealed envelope policy thinks to himself, “Damn! He must hate me!” Just out of curiosity, how many of those people actually give you the envelope?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

David Pogue’s review in the NY Times quotes Jobs and says that Apple is simply adjusting to the facts of life: FW will at some point be dead and is already archaic.

https://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/10/30/technology/circuitsemail/index.html?8cir&emc=cir

For me, FW is “not quite dead yet.” But creative destruction is part of the game.

I was too intimidated by the size of this thread to read it all, but is there a way with the new MBP to use a FW express card?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Ty Ford] “Boom recorder software and the hardware I/O of your choice”

Hi Ty,

Does the trial version of Boom Recorder have any crippling features? I’d like to try it on a real job, but don’t want to mess up the job.

If one doesn’t want the time code recorded, is the “lite” version of Boom capable of handling two real audio channels?

For mics that end in mic-level signals, with xlr connections, what do you recommend for “hardware i/o?” As you know, I don’t even have a field mixer, but could take along a small Mackie mixer. Belt-and-suspenders, I’d love to record to both my little Zoom digital recorder as well as my MBP.

Or heck, why don’t I see if you’re available for the job?????

Bob

[Bob Cole]

I’m not arguing with you about editing HDV; I told him the same thing. I appreciate the advice on how to deal with someone who has already done all his captures and has to deal with HDV. I’ll let him know that he should use ProRes in the future.

Thanks!

bob

[Bob Cole]

[Dave LaRonde] “Sorry to say this, but yes, there is a special trick: don’t do it.

Although the Adobe propaganda leads one to believe that AE supports HDV, it really doesn’t.”

My friend is adamant about using HDV in FCP. My work-around: render out of AE in HDV or DVCProHD, import to FCP, render again to make it playable, export a QT HDV movie. The end result plays fine.

btw — he’s using a laptop – does he have any alternatives for an editing codec? He has no auxiliary input device.

I have a MacBook Pro with a Kona LHe, so I have managed to avoid HDV as an editing codec, which makes me unable to advise him.

Bob

[Bob Cole]

You’re on the right track.

re: lack of adequate fill. With a flat surface like the Photoflex a slight variation in the angle of the reflector can make a big difference. Sit in the chair where your interviewee will be, and look over at the reflector. If you see a bright spot in the middle of the reflector, it’s aimed at you. If not, it’s reflecting the key somewhere else. It is easy for the reflector to get nudged off angle. Also, the brighter the key, the further away it can be, which helps your relatively-closer reflector contribute more. If your key is right on top of the subject your reflector will have to be practically touching the shady side to contribute much.

That reflector can move pretty easily and go off-axis. Alternatively, you may want to try an eye-light (e.g. a low-wattage fresnel, with diffusion) at or near the camera as your fill. To “dial it in” for different faces or degrees of “drama,” you could put a small dimmer on that eye-light. Just look out for multiple shadows on the face. And, whether your fill source is a reflector or another light, don’t “fill” those shadows entirely; let the key be your best friend. Otherwise you’ll get that wonderful “passport photo” look.

[Bob Cole]

[Dennis Size] “Brownie was the name of a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras”

Now I feel stupid! My first camera was an Instamatic but I remember the Brownie. Loved that Instamatic. Which wasn’t “instant” at all, of course.

What a great way to refer to video cameras. Very funny. Thanks.

Bob

[Bob Cole]

[Dennis Size] “the cameramen and their big “brownies””

I love Dennis’s posts — really informative and ingenious.

So I hate to admit, but what’s a “brownie?”

And if you say, “delicious,” you’re not funny.

Bob c