Doug Graham
Forum Replies Created
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Other, more guru-like people will undoubtedly chime in here. Here’s my take on it…
1. Is rendering time with Vegas 7 faster than Vegas 6? Yes.
2. How much of an improvment would I see going to a duo processor than with my existing Pentinium 4, 3.2 Ghz?. Quite a bit. Probably on the order of 30 – 60%, even more if you use a dual processor, Core2Duo system. CAVEAT: Lots of things affect computer speed. A given machine can exhibit horrible performance, based on some obscure bottleneck in hardware or software.
3. Generally I record my footage on exteral USB drives and render back to the same drive. Would it improve performance if I rendered to an other drive? Yes.
4. Will the new internal SATA II hard drives improve performance of rendering? Yes.
5. How much of a factor is ram and how much ram should I have? RAM is a factor. You should have at least 2 GB, and 4 may give you added performance. CAVEAT: Memory must be properly matched to the motherboard and BIOS settings “tuned” for optimum performance.
6. Is there another software program that would be faster as far as rendering? Yes. One of Vegas’ weak points is its rendering speed. Almost anything else is faster. But if speed is really an issue (and with a dozen projects in the cue, it probably is), you might consider a realtime accelerated system, like the Canopus NX or Matrox RTx.2. You’d have to put up with the foibles of a different NLE package, of course.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
They have zero feedback on Reseller Ratings…no track record at all. I’d be very cautious.
Besides, any outfit that bundles anything, including an extended warranty, with the camera is generally NOT offering you the best deal.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
Sounds like one of those worthless questions that only a classroom instructor could think up.
Tell him or her that you asked the largest multimedia user forum on the Web and he managed to stump all the working professionals there with his dumb question.
We’ve got one for your instructor: When are you going to stop handing out assignments like this and have the kids actually make a video?
Regards,
Doug Graham -
“why i can’t play hdv 010100111’s out of a digital deck?”
Because the ones and zeros represent a different set of information. The DSR-11 is a DV deck, and expects DV-type digital video…25 mb/sec, 5:1 interframe compression, 16 bit audio in a certain part of the digital signal.
HDV is the same 25 mb/sec, but it’s an MPEG-2 encoded set of data…variable compression rate, intraframe compression (most of the frames can’t even be viewed until the codec refers back to the last i frame and regenerates them). Different audio, too.
If I can use an analogy, it’d be like trying to play an MP3 audio file with a device that only plays .wav files, or trying to view a .jpg image with a viewer that only handles .bmp files…they’re both digital data, but not compatible formats.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
1. If the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Check out the record of online merchants before you buy, at https://www.resellerratings.com.
3. Deal with a reputable firm, like B&H or Armato’s or DV Warehouse.The DVX-100B is a good cam for what you’re planning, and so is the Sony VX-2100. If you want a big, shoulder-mounted camcorder with a pro “look” to it, find a clean used JVC GY-DV-100U. They can be found within your budget.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
1. You can’t copy-protect DVD-R or +R. If you authored to digital linear tape and had a duplication house replicate (not copy) your material in the DVD (Authoring) format instead of DVD (General), you could pay for and get Macrovision copy protection. Waaay too expensive for wedding work. Just give the bride as many copies as she wants and factor that into your pricing.
You have three choices in duplication:
1. Burn the discs in your computer’s DVD drive(s), and print the labels using an Epson R-200 or similar model. Cheapest method, but a lot of touch labor in moving discs around. Good for low-volume runs like weddings.2. Use a duplication tower to cut the burn time. You’ll still need to print the disc labels individually. A duplication tower with its own hard drive can act as a “stand-alone” unit, burning discs while you and your computer are doing something else. The towers are also good if you specialize in on-site on-demand DVD creation for the masses, for example at a martial arts tournament or a dance competition.
3. A robotic duplicator like the Primera Bravo Pro. This automates the entire burning and label printing process. However, the Bravo does require your computer. More expensive stand-alone robotic duplicators are available, but don’t make much sense unless you are burning hundreds of discs per job.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
Seems to me there are two ways to market documentaries.
One is to pitch the idea of a “video history” to the person it’s about (or their family, or their company). If you make the sale, you do the job. If not, you resume the search for a client.
The other requires that the person have a story that will be interesting to a lot of people. In that case, you pitch the idea to one of the cable channels, like the Biography Channel or Discovery. If they like the idea, they pay for it.
Regards,
Doug Graham -
I suggest you get Hal Landen’s “Video Producer Home Study Course”, available at https://www.videouniversity.com
It’s a short course in how to do corporate video. Hal offers a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied.
Corporate video projects are more than just training videos. Here are some possibilities:
– Internal video introducing new product to sales force.
– Product demo video for potential clients
– Trade Show demos
– Commercials (for a specific product, or for the company as a whole)
– Video of annual meeting or sales convention
– Message from the CEO
– Record of important meetings or presentations
– Company History
– Company video “newsletter”
– “Roast” video for departing executive
– Video documentation of construction project
– Video documentation of product testing
– And of course, training videos! -
I haven’t tried Crash’s filters, but I’ve heard they’re very good.
Here’s a technique you can try that requires no add-ons:
1. Adjust the brightness and contrast of the clip to get the best image you can, ignoring the noise for now.
2. Copy the clip, and place the copy in a track above the original.
3. Apply blur to the copy. Set the copy to be about 30 – 50% transparent.Play with the blur and transparency settings to get the best compromise between eliminating the noise and loss of other detail in the image.
You may or may not see an improvement if you also offset the clips by one frame or field.
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Wedding video is by no means your only option — and if you don’t like it, then you shouldn’t try to force yourself into that mold.
Believe me, there are a lot of shooters and editors out there doing corporate work who couldn’t get a job with CBS or Cartoon Network either. People who have far less experience than you are billing themselves as video professionals, and are making a living at it.
But, as the Wizard said to the Tin Man, they’ve got one thing you haven’t got…an ego. Work on that self-confidence.
Keep right on interning…or at least learning. Keep right on moonlighting. One of these days, you’re going to find you no longer have time to get it all done, and that’s when you quit the day job and go full time freelance.