[Larry Melton]

When I say “Mpeg2 for broadcast”, I’m specifically talking about uploading to DG Fastchannel for TV spot distribution.
That’s what they’re requesting, at very stringent specs. Thanks for the recommendations.

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

I think the interesting question is in your subject line –
“Are we going to keep taking this?”. Only ONE person has to take this, and I’ll bet that whomever does will be very thankful.

For some of us, this might look like a job that demands too much work, under too many corporate eyes, with too little support from an organization that probably doesn’t even really understand what we do.

But there are a lot of talented folks out there for whom this may be a godsend. Someone with a family who was downsized from some other corporate gig, a freelancer whose clients have cut back their budgets, a hungry young person who’s ready to move up a bit — or maybe someone who really needs medical insurance.

In the best of all worlds, three or four people might be hired for these duties. Maybe until recently, there were three or four employees who handled them….

But right now, this is reality. Are we going to keep “taking this”? You’re fortunate if you have a choice.

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

Ron, that’s a terrific idea. My kids are still in school so I have good relationships with the faculty, and I’m sure they would be able to identify the kids who could benefit from something like that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

Thanks, these kind of responses are pretty much what I expected. Sometimes I just wish that these things actually stopped functioning, instead of being put out to pasture –while they’re still working — as they become outmoded. It would be a hell of a lot easier to dump ’em.

Larry Melton

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

We have had great success playing back from PC using Windows Media HD at 720p. It’s very simple, and looks great. And no special equipment for the client to buy.

We’ve done a couple of trade shows and set this up playing back on a 50″ plasma monitor, from an off the shelf PC with an HD-capable video card. Program Windows Media to repeat and the results are really outstanding. And the compression is so good that the file size can easily fit on a flash drive. You can carry that video around with you and show it to almost anyone, anywhere on your laptop or their office PC.

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc.
Grand Rapids MI

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

This does raise some interesting questions. If we’re all cynical of what “studies show”, then how do we sell clients on the value of what we’re doing? Sure, you can use numbers in all kinds of ways to help support pretty much any point of view. But it would be great if there were some valid research available that we could refer to that quantifies that, all things being equal, video is more effective than other media when used for X purpose. That kind of information would be valuable in so many ways…to qualify leads, to help clients better allocate their communication budgets, etc.

Even though my business is video production, there are times when I want to (and do) tell a client “I think you’re wasting your money by using video for this project”. That kind of thinking is just intuitive, and fortunately my 28 years of experience helps to validate it. But I’d love to be able to pull out the research and say, “let me suggest a more effective way”. I think that kind of service ultimately wins for you in the long run.

I know that in the past I’ve looked around for research like this, but never found anything. Maybe the COW should take this on and sell the results. Ron, you’re not busy for the next couple of years, are you?

Larry Melton
Triangle Productions Inc

[Larry Melton]

3D is a big world. I have learned a little about Zaxwerks – it’s fairly inexpensive, it’s a nice tool for creating 3D logos, etc., and that wasn’t too difficult. But I work with some 3D artists who can create completely photo-realistic 3D environments, and I can assure you that it’s a full-time job for them, and I have no idea how they do it. And for the sake of my own health and sanity, I have no intention of learning.

It’s interesting to me how being an editor is no longer just looking for the most effective ways to cut pieces of video together. The “fix it in post” mentality, combined with the advances in technology and speed, has given us great opportunities to be creative–which can be both a curse and a blessing! But it’s also forced us all to become motion graphics artists, colorists, graphic designers, de facto producers, and the most maddening to me, IT experts.

More to the point, though, is that it can’t hurt to add a little 3D to your arsenal, but I’d keep it simple unless that’s an area you want to dive into full steam. I’ve found that it’s more important to understand how to seamlessly integrate the higher-end 3D work into my programs, and that means mastering chromakey and tracking. Understanding how these can all work together can keep you in control of a project, then you can contract the 3D work and be the guy who puts it all together.

Good Luck,

Larry Melton

[Larry Melton]

Last month I went to Israel and the UK. I did some research on carnets (a lot on the COW), and there seemed to be a general consensus that they were unnecessary, and expensive. I did make up a list of all my gear with serial numbers and had it checked and stamped at US customs.

I was traveling with two clients, and I had four cases of gear plus my suitcase. Each of my clients checked one of my bags, and I paid
the excess baggage fees on the other. I carried my camera (JVC HD100) with me.

I had no problems whatsoever. Nothing was questioned going in or out of any country, or back home to the US. As I write this, I am in Monterrey Mexico with the same gear, and again had no problem
at all flying in.

I’m sure that other countries may have different rules and requirements, but that was my experience. I highly recommend making the list of your gear with serial numbers and taking it (with the gear) to a US customs office. As I understand it, this is primarily to insure that you have no problems bringing your equipment back in to the US, but it also gave me a sense of having an “official” document had anyone questioned me. And no one has asked for it yet.

Have a great trip. If you need any crew in Israel or England, I can tell you who to avoid :).

Larry Melton
Grand Rapids MI

[Larry Melton]

I just experienced this, of course when I was in a hurry to get something done…

I had just worked with Matrox tech support (about another matter) and they had me install new drivers for my ATI graphics card, leading to a reconfiguration of my displays.

When I went to use Matrox or Adobe Media Encoder to export from PPro, I had the same problems you’re describing. Someone here suggested that the window may be “hidden” on another display. I restored my monitors to their previous setup, and there it was. Thanks for the suggestion!

Larry Melton

[Larry Melton]

I LOVE YouSendit (and I think I have to thank Tim Kolb for the recommendation). Most of the stuff I send are TV spots, and I usually send Windows Media files. A 640 x 480 file (1024K Download preset in Premiere Pro) is less than 5MB and the quality is more than sufficient for a client to take a critical look. But I’ve also sent files of about 80-100 MB (12-14 min corp video) and it’s always worked great. I have never found the upload to be slow – you should check with your internet provider to see what your upload speed is. It’s usually slower than your download speed, but it may be upgradeable. I assume you’re already sending lower-res files like Windows Media or MPEG-4, and not full-res files of hundreds of MB – of course that would take a while to upload. In my experience, I can render the file of a :30 TV spot from my timeline and have it completely uploaded in about five minutes.

Also, just wondering if you’re using the free version or if you’re enrolled in a pay version? I’m on the $4.99/month plan, and maybe they provide faster connections for the paying customers. Just a thought.

I’ve had several conversations lately with people about how this kind of technology is really changing our industry, removing geography from the equation. I know that FTP use is very popular and has been around for a while, but I’m a very small business as well and this really democratizes the process. And it could not be easier for the client, not to mention the savings over FedEx.

Larry Melton
Grand Rapids MI