[Bob Cole]

[Brendan Coots] “This is why I said corporate video, especially the talking head variety, is a dead man walking – there’s no need to shoot 90% of that in high-quality video/film with weeks of post, especially when viewed from the client’s ROI-driven perspective.”

Brendan, man, you’re scaring me. You too Nick. But only a little, and only temporarily. Because “high-quality” isn’t just the “look” — it’s the experience and creativity of the interviewer and crew, too.

First, to add another data point to your evidence: I recently took in a dozen interviews shot by a corporate client on a Flip. If anything, the production value was worse than Nick described, because the client had attempted to edit them, losing a couple of generations in the process (with recompression artifacts galore). I cropped, color-corrected, reduced the noise, and the client is very happy. The interviews certainly looked authentic!

For the time being, I believe this is a very real phenomenon — even in our own industry. Check out the websites of several of the big vendors (some of them COW sponsors). Whatever light is in the room is the key. The camera doesn’t move. The audio is full of ambience. The talent is staff. And nobody cares. Content is King.

But I believe that eventually viewers will get sick of crappy-looking video in much the same way they turned against amateurish desktop publishing.

When the corporate video business comes back, and I believe it will, things will be a little different. There is already a reaction at the higher end against the beautifully-lit and tastefully-framed corporate interview. With some of the national cable docu shows I’ve worked on, the word from on high is that they don’t want the traditional interview anymore. Either go way over the top with your lighting/set design, or make it look like you just ran into the expert on your way down the hallway to get some coffee. Personally, I enjoy these shoots. They’re challenging, you never know what you’re going to be facing, and the results do seem … zingier?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Thanks Zane.

[Bob Cole]

[Ralph Atkinson] “it can be done, and relatively quickly if you understand what the threshold and ratio settings do and can read the waveform”

I need a tutor. Or a tutorial. I’m sure you are right, and I would like to learn, but where and how can I pick up this information?

[Bob Cole]

Thank you Ken! Levelator is absolutely perfect for this application. You just saved me several hours of very tedious and unnecessary work.

I did a search and found the discussion of this software quite amusing. Of course, the high-end projects merit a more time-consuming, manual approach. But every now and then even the best clients may need something fast and cheap, and a panel discussion does not deserve a ProTools session!

Thanks again.

John, I am very curious about what you said regarding the tools inside FCP. You implpy that if you know how to use them, they’ll be effective. I played with them for a few minutes, and have to admit that they don’t seem to do anything. Am I missing something?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Thanks Sam. Great ideas for the digital recorder. The “hold” switch makes all the difference.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Luckily, there are cases for the iPod which protect the screen from accidental touches.

Okay, I’ll mosey on over to iPod land. Thanks!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Extremely cool idea, Ty, to have digital recording inside a transmitter. I’m going to hold off on spending that kind of dough — I’m thinking that in a couple years this sort of thing may be standard for transmitters, or at least available in a cheaper model.

I really believe that with all of the tiny digital recorders around, there is something great available for cheap.

I have an old iPod Touch (1st generation). My research indicates that if I had a 2nd generation or newer iPod Touch, I could use the earphone jack as a mic input. Do you audio pro’s know about using an iPod as a digital audio recorder, or should I mosey on over to the iPod Forum?

Thanks!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Very cool, Ty, and it makes the H4 look huge.

But I’d prefer something that has more positive action on the switches. You can’t monitor these devices (or you’d be using wireless anyway), so I want to turn it on, put it into the talent’s pocket, and be SURE that it won’t be turned off if he brushes against a table or sits down in a racecar, etc. I don’t mind the lack of XLR, because that obviously just isn’t very likely!

Good try, though, Ty. Please sit down at the drawing board and make a new schematic. You have until… Tuesday.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Chris Blair] “Just look at this thread. There are only 3 or 4 people involved in the discussion. Why? My guess is that other people either don’t know what the heck we’re talking about, or don’t currently see it as a viable option.”

Not necessarily. This is a very interesting thread, and I’m sure there are a lot of people “involved” just by reading, who don’t feel they have anything to contribute – it’s new territory, after all. It would be very cool if the COW provided readership figures for posts, as many other forums do.

My only contribution: I’m glad to see the cloud trend, because cloud computing and the popularity of video should foster the market for faster Internet connections and improved video compression.

My one-year experiment with Mobile Me was a flop, btw. I’m through being a beta tester, but I look forward to a cloud that works ALL the time. I hope the pioneers have a good time with it — let me know when it’s ready.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Timothy J. Allen] “But if they really want to know how far it can fall without breaking, that’s easy too.”

Very nice. Tim, I think you could get hired at any law firm.

(And that’s not meant to be a back-handed compliment, by the way!)

Bob C