David Roth weiss
Forum Replies Created
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Eric,
The pixel dimensions of 720×480 are the standard for DVD video, which are all playable on both set top boxes (TV) and computers, and there is no reason to use any other settings.
I’m a bit confused when you say, “I’m burning a DVD that contains an AVI video.” Did you mean to say that you were encoding from an AVI file? DVD videos are encoded to MPEG2 from a variety of file types including AVI files, but no video DVD actually contains an AVI file. Not being picky, just trying to figure out what you’re doing and if you need additional help…
DRW
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Snarf More #2 gets me motivated.
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Your demo is nice… Word of mouth is always the best source of new work. Reps and agents are tough unless you make loads of dough. Its a bit of a catch-22 — if you’ve got loads of work, a rep or agent will take you on. If you need a rep or agent they don’t want you. Don’t let thet hold you back from trying though. Google “artist’s representatives new york” and hit the phones.
Good luck,
DRW -
David,
Let’s look at this situation logically. Its a 60-minute video. The client wants you there everyday for 120 days. You’ll average just 30-seconds of usable footage each day at that rate. That makes absolutely no sense, is not at all efficient, and it is not how these types of films are made. More importantly, you’ll be in post forever if you shoot every day, and believe me, at some point the client will freak out and will undoubtedly quit paying.
Keep in mind, clients know what it takes to do what they do, but they don’t understand filmmaking, and don’t realize that it is all about illusion. Part of your job is to educate them about that, and to tell them how you will convey everything they can possibly imagine, but that its all accomplished though the magic of filmmaking and your incredible planning and logistical genius.
Make a timeline of the entire project on paper. Breakout all the essential stuff you absolutely, positively must tape in order to tell the story… Then, breakout the most visual stuff… Etc., etc., etc… If you are creative and selective, you’ll find that you can tell the entire story with only 20 or 30 shooting days, and you’ll still have far more material than you’ll ever need in order to show the entire process in incredible detail.
Then make a shooting budget based on the number of days, add a 10% contingency fee. Bingo, you’re half way home, and the client will think you’re incredibly wonderful…
Good luck,
DRW -
Doogal,
Good for you, you did the right thing. The gut reaction that caused you to seek advice seems like it was right on target. Learn to rely on it, it’ll save you lots of aggravation.
DRW
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I’m with you on this Leo.
The old adage about the snake comes to mind… that is, after promising not to, a poisonous snake bites the woman it asked for help. As she’s dying, the woman asks, “why did you bite me, you promised you wouldn’t if I helped you.” And, as we all know, the snake responds, “you knew I was a snake when you picked me up.”
Clients who don’t value your needs only get worse, they never get better…
DRW
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Matt,
As a rule, I don’t use stickies for anything important or anything with a shelf life, but for things like one time viewing copies, demos, review copies for clients, etc., I think its okay. In the old days when DVD players cost more than $50 I was concerend about gumming them up with labels, but now I’d just buy a new one if there was a problem. Haven’t seen those problems yet anyway.
DRW
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The logo is licensed property — its that simple. There are a zillion ways to rationalize making use of someone else’s property, but that doesn’t make it right. You have to ask yourself, would you want someone using your property without your permission, and without paying for it, even if it was for non-commercial purposes?
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Marlon,
You’ve come to the right place for help, however, its likely that there is more to the problems you are experiencing than inadequate software. Besides recommending new ways to spend your money, consider letting the knowledgeble folks here help you to pinpoint the source of the issues that are causing your problems…
DVD creation isn’t rocket science, nonetheless, there is fair anount of science involved. May I suggest that you tell us specifically what type of source material you are trying to encode, and then tell us a bit about the settings you’ve chosen in Sorenson Squeeze. For instance, is the original DV, or some other source type? Is it compressed or uncompressed in Avid? Are you choosing 720 x 480 frame size as the output from Sorenson or something different? The more you tell us, the more we can help.
Feel free to call me if you want, you know the number…
DRW
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A simple Google search of “Wedding Backgrounds” turned up quite a few vendors.
Digital Hotcakes is a company whose animations I’ve used for other types of things, but they have four volumes of wedding related stuff at https://www.animationsforvideo.com/html/we_vol1_p2.htm