[Craig Seeman]

I’m thinking the same thing. Flip4Mac can create WMVHD files at about 6Mbps/second or so. I know people using DVCProHD and HDCAM going that route for presentation and high end client approval.

[Craig Seeman]

[toke lahti] “Where do you even need decklink?”

Would Decklink help to do real time downconverts to BetaSP or DigiBeta?
Don’t forget one may need to deliver a high end SD version too. One could buy the Decklink and rent the deck as needed.

Question is what does one do for archival until BluRay recording arrives in the USA.

[Craig Seeman]

Thanks that’s what I need to know. Do you ever bump into compatibility issues with your direct to DVD dubs? Are you using DVD-R or DVD+R?

[Craig Seeman]

The flash frame at the head of a Boris roll is a “known” issue. It’s a flash field field I believe. One of the workarounds is to do a one frame fade up at the head of the roll.

[Craig Seeman]

In one instance it’s a hand moving rapidly across a black jacket. The jacket “displaces” as if it were liquid. In another case there’s the same rippling in the background around a person’s head as she bends down. A golf cart drives behind someone and the skirt she wares ripples as the golf cart crosses.

Basicly this rippling occurs when a moving object passes either another still or moving object. I believe there might be Min Edge Contrast, Low Velocity Correction and Velocity Limit settings that might improve this but the descriptions in the manual and in the Bayes Tutorial DVD are a bit “abstract.” I don’t find phrases like, “magnitude of motion estimation,” “appears incorrect” aren’t too descriptive.

These two are real bafflers.

“If your effect includes Optical Flow errors that are localized to small areas where the image is moves together, increase the Min. Edge Contrast to 200 or 400. If errors occur at motion boundaries, decrease Min. Edge Contrast to approximately 50.”

What does “is moves together” mean? Decrease “if errors occur at motion boundaries” but increase when “localized to small areas where the images is moves together?”

Huh?

and

“If the estimated motion is larger than the actual motion, the image will distort and the motion vector display will show long motion vectors.”

I almost understand this but I thought the vectors are longer as the motion between frames is longer. Not sure how this helps show that it’s overestimating the motion change.

Above from page 559 of BCC3 manual. It would helpful to have a tutorial with before and after pix exhibited the settings change and their impact.

[Craig Seeman]

Just using a DSR-11 deck. Not worth spending a lot of money on a solution since window dubs aren’t very profitable. Would be nice if a deck like the DSR-11 could simply turn off all data but the TC. Not sure if I want to spend $700 for a recorder that’s not all that profitable to me. I’m thinking more like $150 (cheap consumer). For outputting edit sessions I can encode/record to the computer’s burner in what amounts to real time and include a decent menu and chapter markers. I do like the idea of Ch2 TC though. I’ve gotten requests for that now and then. Most of my clients are using stock music, though not all.

How do you price your window dubs, TC Ch2 dubs relative to other dubs?

[Craig Seeman]

There are a few different approaches for this depending on the dub order.

Offer to do it if you can handle the volume and you can price competitively. If you’re not set up to do the volume you may not want to tie your equipment down.

Offer to handle it. Outsource and mark up for your oversight and risk.

Simply recommend a good affordable dub house who, because they’re a dub house, aren’t likely to attempt to steal the client. I often do this. Clients really feel I’m looking out for the interests and I’ve saved them time hunting for a dub house. This is a good way to insure they’ll come back for more production/post production work. Call the dub house and let them know your refering business to them. Some will even mark it up and kick money back to you for the referral. In this way you’re making money based on the dub order but the dub house is handing the client the bill. Of course you can decide to take nothing and the dub house will offer the lower price directly to the client and you still profit by the bargain you’ve gotten for your client and their likelihood for return business.

Web export.
Think about the client’s target market. Dialup, broadband (and the typical range of speed in that region). Is the client pushing a higher priced service/product or one looking for broad appeal? I find entertainment type clients like Quicktime. Quicktime is also good if the potential customers are likely to jog through frame by frame. For most though WMV provides better compatibility since many PC folks won’t/don’t know how/can’t add Quicktime to their computers for various reasons. Some say Flash but the web geek has to know how to integrate it for proper effect.

[Craig Seeman]

Think of it as shooting a TV show where the subject appears to be about the “thing” the product is used for. In your case the show would be “How to Improve Your Golf Game” with xyz Clubs. As the Instructor shows the student, they highlight the features of each club and how they’re so much better than other clubs. Then you create 30 seconds spots selling the club. The intent is that the viewer feels they’re getting an educational show and the spots sell the product they need to achieve the goal. It’s not the only style but it may hold the viewer longer and build the desire to buy.

Hmmm, sounds like a lot like the Home Makeover shows I’m seeing these days. Ever notice how a single “supply” store is featured prominently and many of them include “let’s go shopping to get the supplies” segments.

[Craig Seeman]

[Mark Suszko] “They will be amazed how long the shoot takes to execute.”

I find this and the editing time the toughest to explain to newbie clients. They may jump to someone who submitted an unrealistic lower bid. It happens to me all the time doing corporate work. They go with the bid that fits their incorrect assumptions. This seems to have become much more common with the advent with inexpensive DV cameras. I don’t blame it on the cameras at all. You can do very nice work with a PD-170 or a DVX-100A.

Somebody with a camera and willing to work at a loss because they don’thow to run a business puts in a bid that works out to $250 a day and the client can’t understand why you’re over $1000 (paying for a sound recordist, gaffer and assistant and 2 camera people and you thought you were low balling!).

I had a RFP to a real estate (how to flip) video who thought $300 a day was way to high for a 10 hour day!!!!! Told him I couldn’t come close to a price that low. I found out he hired someone for $150 a day. A few weeks later (after an obviously disastrous job) he put out another RFP with more realisting lighting and audio requirements and STILL CLAIMED $300 a day was too high. He now knew what he needed based on his bad experience so he expected for more at similar rate. He found someone! These kinds of clients are a bane to the industry (and the people working for such rates).

I find if you break down the costs in great detail (what you’re charging for each crew members and their job description) it helps. Many newbies really do appreciate getting the thing demystified and also learning that paying more to get it right the first time is actually paying less in the long run and more profitable for them.

[Craig Seeman]

Avid Media Composer user from 1990-2001. Switched to FCP. I like the basic compositing in FCP much better than Avid. I like FCP’s non modal way of doing things. I like FCP’s scalability and cost. I do not like FCP’s Media Manager.