Jeff Linderman
Forum Replies Created
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Just F.Y.I., I tried something at a recent show that worked out pretty well.
My stuff wasn’t shot and edited in the same exact format, but the situation was basically the same, meaning shooting and editing in HDV and ending up with a SD DVD.
Anyway…I had two monitors at the show. On one, I had a simple home DVD player hooked up to it, with a completed wedding DVD in it. This was mainly to show the menus and what they would look like, and it also gave visitors a chance to actually ‘play’ with it to get a feel for interaction, etc. I left this one on either the main menu or chapter menu page, which were both motion menus.
My main monitor was where I wanted a loop to be playing that people would see as they passed by…which is the one I wanted to look REALLY nice to draw people in. What I did was edit the collection of stuff I wanted to show, which ended up being about 15 minutes. I then took that and exported it straight back to an HDV tape, and then repeated that step and ended up with 4 ‘copies’ of it on one 63 minuted tape.
At the show, I took my deck and hooked that up to my monitor (Samsung 26″ LCD), as well as speakers, and simply played the tape. Yes, it involved rewinding, but only once every hour and it took less than a minute to do so. The stuff looked great and the plan seemed to work well.
Had anyone asked, I would have been honest and told them how it was set up, but the only ones that did were other videographers at the show!
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Wow! Here I was, all jazzed up after my first big bridal industry trade show…totally excited about my brand new venture and all of the perspective clients I had the chance to meet, as well as all of the positive feedback I had received on my work. So I come home and log onto CreativeCow to do some reading and perhaps share some of my excitement, and what do I read first? Mick’s tirade!! What a giant buzz kill!!
No, just kidding. I wish you the best of luck in your new direction, and it sounds like you’re making the right call. I especially loved your line about ‘looking like a moron with your steadicam rig’ and the ‘matching wal mart vests’! Too funny! (do people really wear those to shoot weddings??)
Anyway, like Jeff C. said, there are many of us out here that share your outlook. That was one big reason I decided to get into this after several years of television production…I saw some of the ‘riff raff’ that was out there, and some of the work they were passing off as ‘good’, and, most importantly, what they were charging for it!
So, know that there are many of us out here that will continue to fight the good fight. We are over ourselves, we have actual offices and studios with thousands of dollars worth of ‘real’ gear in them (although I still don’t refer to it as ‘state of the art’!), and we produce creative and innovative work while avoiding steadicam rigs and wal mart vests! (OK, OK, OK…I must admit that I fall into the ‘outlaw’ category when it comes to the music thing…but that’s the only item on your list! It’s also a whole other ‘can of worms’…I’m also a musician as well as a huge music fan. Let’s just say that I understand the law and I understand that I’m breaking it. I will continue to fight to have it changed, but in the meantime I’m comfortable with my rationalization. If a giant record label wants to come after me for including a copyrighted song (off a CD I purchased) on 4 copies of a DVD I produced for a bride and her family, then more power to them! I’ll deal with it and accept full responsibility.)
Again, best of luck with your new direction. Hopefully after some time you’ll be able to look back on the fond memories of the past 20 years.
Happy Sailing!!
Jeff Linderman
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Hi Steven,
I was searching for some web based video help, which brought me to this thread.
I just wanted to comment on your videos you have posted on your site. First of all, they’re all cool and the information was very helpful to me as I go about learning and trying to figure this stuff out.
Second of all, I had to mention that I was totally mesmerized by the ‘Athens traffic’ clip. The thing that really caught my eye was the way the motorcycles got to constantly ‘cheat’ their way to the front of every light change! Totally unfair! That, coupled with the people walking ‘against the current’ (probably panhandlers) was really fun to watch.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing.
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A slide ‘slides’ the incoming image over the existing one. So, as the transition is happening, the existing image stays in place and is eventually ‘covered up’ by the new image sliding over it.
With a push, the incoming image ‘pushes’ the existing one out of the way. So, during the transition, you will see the first image moving as it’s pushed.
With either transition, changing the direction is easy. Open your effects panel, and look at the little ‘A,B’ display at the top (smaller one). Around the edges are little arrows. You can click on these to choose which direction you want the transition to follow. North to South…South to North..East to West..etc.
Hope this helps.
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I like to own as much as possible as well. Renting is just a great way to try stuff out and help the decision making process.
For instance, to get set up with a lightpanel rig is going to be in the neighborhood of a cool $1,000. I’d hate to lay that cash down only to find out I don’t like it! It makes the $40-$50 rental well worth it.
Good luck!
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I’ve rented the LED lightpanels for this type of event, and I’ve been totally happy with the results.
The dimmer is key, because you can ease into it rather than hitting people over the head, and I also like the fact that they’re self powered. The only bummer is that it probably doubles the weight of my camera (V1U)!
Something else I’ve noticed…while the lights can sometimes be obtrusive, I’ve also found that it sometimes works in my favor, especially at a reception setting. People get a few cocktails in them…see the bright light on them while on the dance floor…then proceed to get whipped into a frenzy and put on quite a show.
Makes for fun editing and can add a lot of flavor to the finished product.
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Unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re looking for, you should go to the effects panel>Video Transitions>Dissolve>Dip to Black.
Then simply click and drag that to the end of your sequence. From there you can adjust the duration in your effect controls panel.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for the info, very interesting stuff.
On the UFF vs. LFF issue…I’ve noticed that and have had to deal with it. Is it mainly a matter, as you say, of complicating things, meaning you have to be aware of it and make appropriate settings, etc. or is there some sort of advantage or difference with LFF?
Just curious. Thanks again for the input.
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Thanks Harm and Vincent…
Couple of follow ups. First, Harm, let me rephrase that last question and redirect it to you. Are you comfortable enough with the CS3 encoder to use it exclusively? Or, would you feel better using something else?
Vincent, would the Cineform Aspect HD help with the editing speed only? Does it have any impact on encoding?
I’m using a Matrox RTX2 in my system, so up to this point I’ve been happy with the editing speed. (Harm, I know from extensive forum searches that you’re not the biggest Matrox fan! Feel free to offer any opinions. I’m new to just about everything and not anywhere near being set in one particular way. I’m always happy to gather as much info and as many opinions as possible.
Right now I’m simply trying to get my HDV footage from beginning to end looking as good as possible.
Thanks again!
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Well, I’m pretty sure that I’ve kept everything in 16:9, but it’s the anamorphic part I’m not sure of.
The image is 16:9 throughout the editing process, and when I play the DVD back on my 4:3 set, the image is letterboxed properly. It was also properly sized on the widescreen test, as far as not being stretched or squeezed, but it just looked a bit blocky and not as crisp.