Eric Nicastro
Forum Replies Created
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Do you know anything about using bus powered external drives? I was looking at the Lacie Rugged 500gb 7200rpm drive. I already have a back up system in place to copy files to prevent loss of data if my edit drive crashes. But I like the setup you’ve got.
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Sorry, I guess I was just so happy that I figured it out so fast that I went right into working. All I did was import the bin from the project that had the footage I needed. It is honestly that simple. The bin opened up along with everything else I had in it of course and presto, I had the footage from another project.
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I figured it out.
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That’s it, perfect! Thanks!
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The funny thing is she was about 20-21 years old and showed no signs of being nervous about being on camera. I knew my microphones were sensitive, but not this sensitive!
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I actually just realized that I can add the source timecode for A1, which is where my audio clip is, to my timecode window. I place the playhead at the beginning of the audio clip I want to add my video back too and it’s the exact point I need to go to in the clip that’s in the source monitor to re-sync it.
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I know there isn’t a magic fix button for a problem like this. I’m just not that familiar with Avid’s audio suite and didn’t know if there was something within it that could help me other than the EQ. I tried that, didn’t work well. Unfortunately the wind was only bad when my talent spoke, go figure, haha.
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The main reason I ask is I know I can do minor fixes and make it somewhat better when using Apple Soundtrack, but I don’t have access to that anymore. I don’t know much about the audio suite in Avid so I was curious if there was anything I should use. I’ve played with the plugins, but nothing made it even tolerable.
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Jensen don’t take any of the things we’ve said the wrong way. Yeah some of the information isn’t exactly what you wanted to hear, but it is the truth unfortunately. But what you have to learn to do is be resourceful and, for as much as I hate this phrase, think outside the box. If you see a local company with a commercial that you think is terrible and you have a better idea, approach that company, ask about their advertising needs and budgets, tell them you can make something better, find out if they use an ad agency, approach them with your better idea. If you do that, make sure when you make the full pitch of your concept with treatment and visualizations you have anyone in the room sign a non-disclosure agreement so they don’t take your idea and have someone else do it (trust me, it happens a lot, you have to protect your intellectual property). Tell that company you’re willing to work for free on this one spot, and make sure they know that it is just this ONE spot that is free. If you’re not specific and it’s not spelled very clearly in your contract, they will take advantage of your free service and expect everything else to be free or incredibly cheap. If you don’t have your own gear, ask them if they’ll just cover the rental fee. Or you can do this on a contingency basis. If they like it, they can buy it. If not, you have something to put on your reel.
What I’ve seen a lot of filmmakers overlook is that this industry is a business and you have to be able to sell yourself. Everyone that comes out of film school just wants to make films. But you have to remember that making films is the end product. You have to have sales and negotiating skills to get someone to buy your film-making skills. From some of the research and stories I’ve read though, it is usually the filmmaker that goes into commercial production, not the other way around. But you can take any path you wish.
If you really want to test your film-making ability, try making wedding films. I know everyone cringes at the the thought of having to shoot a wedding. Every time shooting a wedding is brought up, everyone pictures terribly shot, extremely boring hour long video. But you can be very creative with it. Many filmmakers are using their cinematography skills to really change how weddings are shot. Just look at what this company is doing https://www.pacificpictures.net Cameras are getting cheaper and with DSLR’s that shoot video, you can get some beautiful images.
These are all suggestions on how to be resourceful in this business. Nowadays, you can’t limit yourself to just one skill set or focus only on one job. Find alternative ways to use what you know and expand your knowledge.
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Jensen, it’s good you’re taking the initiative to break into the professional world of commercial production. I am here to offer you a unique perspective on local commercials from cable company’s and TV stations. Why is it unique? Because I work for a local TV station that makes those terrible commercials. I’m not here to defend myself and say our work is not terrible. I agree with you 100% on just how bad TV station commercials are. I’ve voiced my opinion many times to my station management. But they don’t care. All they care about is filling that 30 seconds of airtime. If you could see some of the spots we’ve done and let air, you would be speechless! Audio sounding like crap, video not white balanced, graphics looking like something from the early 90’s, zero lighting and nonexistent direction. We are airing some of those spots right now as I’m writing this! And it drives me crazy that there isn’t any quality control or oversight or even someone to say, that looks or sounds bad and should be fixed. I’ve voiced my words, but they don’t care. I’ve even heard that words, “I don’t care how it looks, just get it on air.” I’ve had spots scheduled to run the following day before anything has been shot or edited. And what’s even worse is our creative decisions do not come from a creative director, we don’t have one of those, they come from the media sales consultants. The sales department! The people that convince local businesses to buy airtime. These people, at least at my station, have no creative background whatsoever. And many of them hardly have any idea of how long a spot takes to create or know anything about the production process. Only one out of 12 has touched a camera before. They all think it takes 10 min to create something.
I’m a person that takes great pride in my work and do not feel comfortable letting something go to air without my approval. Have some of my commercials fallen into those categories mentioned above? On occasion yes. Have I been upset about it? Oh yeah! But the reason why so many companies have commercials made like these is one word, FREE. We do not charge production rates unless it’s a big special project; basically anything over a 60 second spot or for non-broadcast use. There are very few production companies in my area that cater to local businesses because of this. We have many ad agencies but hardly any with full TV production services.
So here’s what I’m trying to get at. If you have to work for one of those stations doing their crappy work, do it. And here’s why. Robert Rodriguez, the famous director and author of Rebel Without A Crew said make as many movies (or in your case commercials) as you can. Do it now because everyone has bad movies (commercials) in them and needs to get them out of their system before they can start making good ones. And it’s true. I’ve been with my TV station for almost two years now and in the hundreds of spots I’ve done, about 170 last year, I see a huge progression in my style and my quality of work. I can see a change in what I’ve done for the better. I’ve finally been able to convince my sales reps to give me more time on my spots, meaning not to start the schedule the following day of the shoot. I’ve showed them what I can do with extra time and with only two hours. I mean literally, I showed them what two hours of my work looks like versus a whole day or two days looks like. I took the initiative to make a change at my station and it’s finally starting to happen. However this is only for what I make, I can’t speak for the three other commercial producers.
So just get out there and make commercials. If you have to do a couple for free at first, do it. If you know you can make better spots than what the cable or TV stations are offering, go there and show them what you can do. Make them see what you’re capable of. Yeah I know it’s the not the ideal place to start, but it’s a start. And to break into this industry is tough, especially when you’re on your own without any equipment.