[Mark Suszko]

Look at the fatshark goggles used for FPV flying, see if these might fit the bill.

[Mark Suszko]

Frankly these days you should be glad they archive anything at all, instead of just scrapping the old footage and decks.
It’s more important that the transcoded shots are easily conformed later, at full quality, than how view-able they are in an intermediate step.

[Mark Suszko]

The studio clock/counters made by ESE in El Segundo can have their reset tripped by a simple GPI relay contact closure, like those a switcher does.

[Mark Suszko]

You want the input of your streaming system to think it is seeing one picture, but it’s really 4 PIP’s. Multiplexers like that are common in the security products sections of suppliers like Sony, Canon, and Panasonic. My forst lap ona earch for things like this is always B+H though.

[Mark Suszko]

Set up a template in Motion… Import to FCPX. Create a template project that already has the intro and outro in it, then add the clips to the template?

[Mark Suszko]

There are particular safety and operational concerns shooing in a mine, especially an underground one. (you didn’t specify type) Noise in any mine operation is TERRIBLE, ALL THE TIME. The sound you get on b-roll may not become an issue, but your on the spot live interviews and speeches on location may have to wait for break periods where the machinery is put to sleep while you roll.

Secondly, there may be restrictions on non- explosion-proof cameras, cases, and battery-powered lighting. Your shooter will need to take a familiarization course for safety procedures and emergency protocols.

[Mark Suszko]

Todd, you made me look good this week:

I used your “one-light HMI trick” for a sitting portrait-style interview setup, in a room full of “challenges”. Imagine the darkest shaft in an anthracite mine, sheathed in mahogany. Now add one daylight widow, 6 feet wide by 25 feet high, and no way to modulate it or overcome it. So we’re suck with daylight color temp.

We used a small Joker Bug HMI behind the talent, bounced into a peened metal reflective board from my venerable Lowel kit, on a stand with an adjusting “tota-tilter”. The joker provided a strong rim and hair light from behind, while the bounced light to the front face was soft yet easy to control for strength, and the ladies thought i made them look beautiful.

[Mark Suszko]

I agree with both Nick and Greg. But they didn’t talk much about getting to your “step1”. Getting a meeting with a client is usually harder than any actual job they throw at you. There’s gate-keepers, filters, buffers and bouncers to get past, just to make your pitch. And these days, you’re pitching most of the time and not just sitting by a phone waiting to take calls from clients. You have to pursue the work actively. A good reel or several, each one geared to a specific market, is a must. A “calling card” piece, one that show off the width and depth of what you can do, will back-stop your live sales pitch.

Successful marketers do a lot of research on the potential customer before approaching them for work. Know who’s-who, what they do and don’t do, who their main competition is, what’s the current buzz about them online. Do they have near-future plans you can help them with? Do they need to freshen up an existing product or brand? Are they looking to revive or save a dying product? Do they have training and in-house communications needs, not just exterior marketing, PR and advertising? Do they do trade shows? Is there a big shareholder’s meeting soon, and do they need a video version of their prospectus? Are they recruiting new talent away from competitors, or recent grads from tech schools? Do they need to tell their own side of a difficult story to a news-wise viewership and local and stage governments?

You can make a lifetime’s worth of productions from one or two from that list.

[Mark Suszko]

Todd must be doin’ *something* right all these years – you don’t last that long thru dumb luck.

Congrats, buddy!

[Mark Suszko]

Bob, I’ve been doing variations of your technique since God was an intern. But this is not the situation I’m in. I’ve got a one-camera timeline and a bunch of slides and I just want to be faster and more precise laying them down.