[Mark Raudonis]

I can confidently say, “You’re toast!”.

Don’t even think about “recovery”, go right to “Redigitize”.

Mark

PS. This is why we don’t let IT near our X-SAN! Our IT guys are smart, wonderful, and very talented… but they don’t understand squat about how video works. By the way, I couldn’t manage our “MS Exchange” server if my life depended on it, so I guess we’re even.

[Mark Raudonis]

Even though the super secret government programs can pull a “hot” word off of an intercepted cell phone call, to my knowledge, there is no similar program available commercially. There are plenty of “talk to text” programs out there, but the all rely upon “training” the program with your own voice to achieve acceptable accuracy levels. Punctuation is a problem as well. The “dictator” must insert phrases like “period”, “Comma”, or “New line”, to create a readable looking text.

I’ve seen these programs used by a “shadow” dictator, meaning a person wearing headphones listens to a taped interview and simultaneously speaks into the transcription program. This works pretty well with someone trained to do it, achieving “near real time” rates.

Bottom line, what you’re seeking doesn’t exist yet. We spend a lot of money on transcripts every year, and when I find a better way, I’ll be the first to use it.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

How about creating a “two window” picture in picture so you can see both images simultaneously?
Once you’re done, you can “remove attributes”, output each track as a separate sequence, and you should be good to go.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

[Ed Dooley] “If I had helped “invent reality TV” I definitely wouldn’t brag about it, I’d be mortified and apologetic. 🙂
Ed “

So, what are your credits? Care to share with the group?

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

[walter biscardi] “‘m not a fan of The Real World, have never watched an entire episode of The Real World, my exposure is limited to what’s shown on “The Soup” on E!”

That’s OK, Walter.

Reality TV is an acquired taste. Kinda like that cooking show you do. I have to admit that I can’t sit through an entire episode. That guy just natters on and on about this ingredient or that process. Who cares how foie gras is made? “Good Eats?”. Good grief! Just eat the damn dish already!

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

dom,

Well, if you’re gonna hijack a thread, at least get the name of the show correct! It’s called “The Real World”, NOT “Reality World”!

You’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re wrong. Prior to 1991 and the premiere of “The Real World”, reality TV was called “documentary”. The examples you cite are more documentary than anything else. It was MTV’s “The Real World” that was the first to combine documentary production technique with the storytelling style of episodic soap operas, edited in a music video style. Prior to that, no other show had all three of those elements. The flood of imitations that followed only confirmed that a new genre had been created.

“An American Family” deserves recognition for it’s achievement, considering the state of production/post production equipment back in the 70’s. And,if you really want to go far back, then don’t forget Robert Flaherty’s “Nanook of the North”, or “Man of Aran”. And of course we owe a nod to Frederick Weisman for his excellent “verite” work. But none of them achieved the popularity and influence on pop culture and other forms of media like “The Real World” did.

Yes, we did invent “reality TV”.

Mark

PS. Followed up 3 years later with “Road Rules” which firmly established the “reality competition” genre.

[Mark Raudonis]

Mr. Monkey,

What city are you thinking about?

Here in Los Angeles, I’d recommend Wexler video. May not be cheapest, but you’re going to get world class service and support.

There’s plenty of vendors out there. What’s your priority? Price? Service? Knowledge?

If you’re just looking for sources, Google “avid rentals: your city”

mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Eron,

Having spent most of my career on the show that literally created the reality TV genre (MTV’s: The Real World), I think I’m qualified to respond to your question.

Here’s my response:

Why are you trying to bamboozle your “friend” into hiring you for something that you clearly don’t know anything about? Please give me your friend’s name so that I can suggest a dozen other more qualified candidates to hire!

Sure, there are plenty of crappy reality TV shows out there, and perhaps your friend is doing one of those. In that case, good luck! But for most of the shows that I’ve been involved with, editing reality TV is some of the most difficult editing you can ever do. For starters, we expect our editors to work autonomously. That means there are NO producers in the room suggesting what to do. You’re on your own, and you better have a strong enough story sense to know what to do. On top of that, you better know how to construct a scene from a limited amount of material. Inevitably, the most dramatic scene was shot under duress resulting in the worst coverage. Boring scene? Hours of coverage. Exciting scene? Just a few fleeting seconds.

You asked for details… here’s my hint: It’s all about the soundtrack! Cut for dialogue and the don’t worry about the picture. You can always bridge a jump cut, but the audio has to make sense. You’d be surprised at how much “compressing” you can do to speed up a scene. Take out all of the extraneous “ummms”, “ahhs”, “likes” and “you know what I means”, and suddenly a the scene plays well.

Finally, you can kiss your Saturday’s goodbye. If you’re really giving it your best shot, you’re working six days a week, ten hours a day. Your audience doesn’t care that you don’t have the coverage that you need to make a scene work. They just expect it to be perfect.

You’re really doing your “friend” a disservice by trying to convince her that you’re “right” for the job. A true friend would be honest and say, “here’s my experience. I can learn, but I wouldn’t know a stringout from a stringbean”.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Norman,

I agree with Walter. Your sound people are either retards or liars. We’ve been creating OMF’s from FCP and handing them off to our ProTools mixers without issue for years now.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

[Mike Schrengohst] “It may not be a concern to Apple. It is a concern to me. And I am the customer.
“

Then perhaps you should walk into an Apple store, stamp your feet, and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”.

Mark