[Daniel Schultz]

Question about the video mic pro.

I own the video mic (non-pro) and it has it’s own shock mount…pretty bad one at that.
But since it’s all one piece, I don’t think there’s a way to mount the video mic onto a stand-alone shock mount. Is the video mic pro the same?

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Okay, so it seems the three recorders in the $300 range are:
• Tascam DR-100
• Sony M10
• Zoom H4n

Anyone have thoughts on how those three stack up? (Or any others in that price point)

Thanks again,

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Thanks to everyone for all the very helpful ideas.
Very helpful!

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

I fine-tooth-combed it, and guess what?
You were right! (Don’t you love hearing that?)

It worked. Thanks to both of you!

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Thanks for the help.
Ok…I think I did everything you said.
But the lower-third came into FC with a black background…wanted it transparent.
I set the background on the AE composition to white (#ffffff).
What did I do wrong?

PS, I’m in Final cut studio 3

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Oh, and could you describe the rule of 3rds?

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Thanks for your comments craig. Can you suggest a softening filter for closeups? For some reason I do seem to lean towards closeups. I have to remind myself to back up for medium and wide, etc. I guess I like the way the head divides up the 16-9 aspect ratio when it’s so close.

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Todd, thanks so much for all your time and help.

I thought of your ‘zoom philosophy’ the other night when watching the movie “Cyrus.” They over-use the zoom, clearly deliberately. I figured they were going for the home-video look to help it seem more “real” and less hollywood. I think the technique was effective in this case, especially considering the storyline. You think?

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

I guess I meant “where the forum is?” (Since this is the FCP technical forum)

Dan S.

[Daniel Schultz]

Wow. Really appreciate your time and comments!

I agree with everything you said. Funny, I was thinking the same about the lighting–a bit harsh, but kind of interesting. If I double-diffused the key during the talking heads, it would have softened and knocked it down a stop or so, right? How would you reduce the harshness? It was the 800 joker bug passing through a single 5-in-one screen with a bounce on the left for fill.

Also, a question when dealing with different skin tones in the same lighting setup: Do you keep exposure the same and adjust lighting, or vice-versa? I’m used to panasonic with wave form monitor, and was (obviously) not as adept with the zebras.

Yes on the backlighting. Like the one-HMI-bounce as key and backlight idea. Though I had a bunch of 650 Fresnels with me. Coulda thrown one up in two minutes for backlight.

And the off-center talking heads–shoulda known better.

I will re-think the zoom thing… comments appreciated. The lazy novice way to try imitate a dolly shot with a servo zoom…um I guess it doesn’t work.

Thanks again!

Dan S.