[Jeff Carpenter]

So all this talk about how you can edit HDV with firewire is a bit misleading I guess! I’ve seen it said that you can edit HDV with firewire but if you can’t put it BACK to tape with firewire then I’d hardly call that a usable solution. (I guess all these articles are assuming you’d be capturing to some other non-GOP codec like iMovie does?)

[Jeff Carpenter]

I don’t think Disk Utilities will allow repair permission on anything but your mac internal hd
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Essentially right, but it’s not the fact that it’s internal that matters. It’s whatever drive you’re running OS X off of that you can repair. It’s actually an OS issue, not a hard drive issue.

[Jeff Carpenter]

iMovie saves the media where you save the project. As soon as you open the program, “save as” in the place you want the media to go. It makes a folder and puts everything you do in there.

As far as I know it uses the exact same DV codec as FCP does. It’s HDV that it does differently.

[Jeff Carpenter]

You don’t say what kind of Mac you have. Here’s the likely solution if it’s a Powermac G5:

https://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Battery.pdf

If that’s not what you have, take a look at that anyway. That’s what you need to do, you’ll just need slightly different directions to know where to look. Go to this page:

https://www.apple.com/support/

…find the type of computer you have and search for instructions on that. If you can’t find a specific document about it, look in the user manual for your computer. (The manuals are available on that page too.)

[Jeff Carpenter]

Well, yes and no.

Yes, I think it’s ok to use digital tapes more than once. They’re not like BetaSP tapes where you can start to see problems the second time around. Digital tapes are good to be re-used until you start seeing glitches in the video. How long is that? I don’t know, but I’ve always felt safe with 3 records on a tape. (Certainly DVCAM tapes…cheap DV tapes from the grocery store…maybe not.) Sometimes I use a tape more thant that if I’m just using it as a test for a print-to-tape and I’ve actually recorded many more times than that on one tape with no problems. But when it comes to shoots, I make 3 my limit, just to be safe.

Now, on to the “no.” I DON’T think you should re-use tapes in this case because you should always keep ALL of your shoot tapes until a job is edited and delivered to the client. It’s always possible for a hard drive to crash and you need to have that source tape as a backup until you’re absolutely certain you won’t need it any more. So in this case I’d think you’ll need a seperate tape for each performance.

Once that job is done, feel free to use those tapes for your NEXT job, but I wouldn’t be re-using it day to day.

[Jeff Carpenter]

The only step I take is to duplicate the project file and open up the copy. That way the original is intact should I need it.

I’ve never had any problems, though, so maybe I’m just lucky. I don’t know anything about needing to un-mount the media, but I’m guessing whoever came up with that did so for a reason.

[Jeff Carpenter]

I appreciate the need to save money, but here’s what I’d get if I were you:

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[Jeff Carpenter]

When you set up a booth… Do you provide it or does who ever is putting it on provide the actual booth? Also… Should one try to jazz it up and make it attractive as possible to attract people?
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Depends on the show, I guess. The one I’ve been to gave you a folding table and that’s it. You’d want to ask ahead of time what you get, exactly, so you can at least bring a table cloth to cover it up. Other decorations are nice, but you don’t need too much in the video business. Having a nice-looking, large, flat-panel TV can really draw attention. There are usually places that rent large TVs and it might be worth the cost to get something really nice to show your demo on. Don’t get an HD set if your work isn’t HD, though…it will only amplify the flaws in your video. But something narrow and large to catch people’s eyes is good.

[Jeff Carpenter]

In my experience, the people who attend the shows remember VERY little of what they see. They’re just overwhelmed with information. Because of this, you have two goals:

1) Put something, anything, into their hands. Some kind of half-sheet flyer is good. I’d go for glossy, color printing. It’s more expensive, but the way people are going to call you is when they’re shifting through tons of papers later that weekend and they come across yours.

2) Be as friendly as possible. Hopefully you can make enough of an impression that they’ll remember you for the next 18 hours and think about how nice you were when they find your flyer later that night.

Of course, you have to have a demo running at the show just so people know your videos look nice. They won’t actually JUDGE the video, it just answers the question “Should I take a flyer from this guy?” That’s ALL the demo has to accomplish.

As for giving out demos…I don’t really like demos and try to schedule meetings 1 on 1, so I’ve never worried about them too much. But if you’re just going to send out demos later to anyone who calls you anyway, you might want to consider giving them out at the show. I’d get the mini-CDs and put a Windows-Media and Quicktime file on it. That might be a good idea although I’ve never done it myself.

Don’t count on any bookings. You’ll probably see several hundred people for about 15 to 25 seconds and probably about a dozen will stop and talk for 5 minutes. Those dozen are your best leads, but any of the other hundreds may call you later too, so don’t worry too much if people aren’t spending too much time at your booth.

And finally, check the shows to see if they have a system for prizes. Sometimes they do show-wide raffles and you can offer something like a “free photo montage” or “$200 of any package.” Have a sign up about it and people will come over to drop off their info about it. This gives you a LOT more chances to put flyers in peoples hands.

And the great thing is, whoever wins would have to actually hire you to claim that prize. So you win, no matter what happens. In fact, you could print “free photo montage” on ALL the flyers you hand out. Something like that, anyway, that’s only a little more work for you but would generate a lot more interest from brides when they’re compairing flyers the next day.

[Jeff Carpenter]

If the ‘net isn’t big in your area find out if there are local bridal shows and just attend one by paying to get in. Walk around picking up whatever is handed to you. You’ll soon have a big bag full of flyers and magazines.

When you get home, take a look at whatever’s in your bag that contains advertising and call them up and place an ad in it! If you can afford to put yourself in the next show, great, but getting in the local bride magazines is a great start.

If you do get a web page check out http://www.theknot.com as a place to put a paid ad. I’ve gotten a fair amount of response from my ad there, although people around here do a lot of internet research. If you don’t think it will help you where you are, don’t waste money on it.