[James Dow]

I like the idea, as well as the analogy. Thanks Mark.

JPD

JPD

[James Dow]

Mark,

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m never a fan of the subtitles at the top of the screen. I’m thinking of putting the talking heads in a “shrunken frame box,” either screen left or right, and putting a graphic in the black space opposite the box…then room for subtitles at the bottom.

Thanks,
JPD

JPD

[James Dow]

My DVR is getting pretty full…haven’t had a chance to view the last several episodes. @Nick…I’m sure it is labor intensive, i.e. expensive, so it might not be mimicked (sp?) much. Still very cool.

JPD

[James Dow]

I usually will watch any new series on Showtime or HBO. I watched the first two episodes of House of Lies and also was intrigued by the effect that Nick asked about. Very clever. I’m sure we will be seeing this quite a bit in the near future. Now, who knows how they did it?

JPD

[James Dow]

I’m usually a one man band production guy. My usual routine is as follows…
HVX200a in a Kata airline trolley bag that I always try to keep with me. Often the smaller regional jets with the small overhead storage bins necessitate the “Green card gate check” treatment. When this happens I remove the camera and my laptop, and carry them on as my personal items. The KATA bag looks like it will last 2 years before needing a replacement. (probably because I carry too much in it…the handle is about to snap off. Hopefully I can just replace the trolley part.)

Sometimes I check a Lowell Rifa light and a tripod. I have had one tripod disappear upon clearing customs and re-checking on United. It showed up a month later, after I had purchased a new tripod. If it would have stayed lost they would have replaced…since it was later returned I got nothing for the inconvenience.

Depending on my destination I will often ship a light kit via UPS. So far this has worked pretty well. A 90 pound ARRI kit can cost $200 bucks to ship, but the client is gonna pay for that, right? I LAO Have a 50 pound Lowell DP kit that I ship frequently. I just gaffer tape the latches and slap the shipping label on it. So far, so good. Since I have several kits I’m usually covered for my shoots while waiting for the return shipment.

JPD

[James Dow]

Not Canada but….

I recently was heading out for a shoot in Guatemala. Most of my gear I carry-on, in a rolling suitcase type equipment case, which the TSA loves going through in great detail. I was going through Dallas, where a TSA employee with an attitude asked for my “paperwork.” Since this was a first, I wasn’t sure exactly what they needed. The gruff TSA dude pointed me in a different direction and said that the guy at “the end of the blue line” would give me all the details. I usually travel with the serial numbers of my gear, and a few of the receipts, but not all of them. I was getting a little nervous, as my connecting flight was less than an hour away. When I got to the next TSA employee he just asked what I was going to be doing. Nothing else. He didn’t ask to see anything. Just sayin’.

JPD

[James Dow]

Phil,

The ambient light issues usually aren’t too bad, as I have them black out the windows if it’s a daytime meeting. I can sometimes kill some of the overhead lighting. The screens that I usually use are 10.5 x 7 ft DaLite (Rear and front project depending on the room)

I also have 12 x 15 DaLite screen for bigger rooms. Sometimes I use an inflatable Sima screen.

Thanks,
James

JPD

[James Dow]

The horror.

JPD

[James Dow]

No worries, Walter…thanks for your reply. We used the DVD playback, and unfortunately the AV contractor had a bad VGA connection going to his main ceiling mounted projector. He ended up running it via an SVideo cable. Oh well.

JPD

[James Dow]

Ditto what Nick said…

I’m based in Central Illinois, and I’m compensated pretty well for this market. I do a lot of contractual work for a firm based in northern Virginia. (DC Suburbs)

I’ve given some thought to relocating there, and figure I’d need at least about an extra 30-40K more than I make now.

JPD