[Mark Suszko]

I enjoy that guys’ how-to videos, but the use of the slider here makes me want to comment.

Sliders and dollies give an amazing look. But it’s not always appropriate, and these days, the ease of using sliders can lead to their over-use or inappropriate use. Most especially in situations where it’s left on full automation and looping mode. Doing that for an interview setup kinda makes me cringe a little.

It’s highly situational, but what I’m getting at is, there are times you really should keep the shot(s) static, and not leave it to chance and automated sliding moves. One important factor is knowing what is going to be said in advance. If the remarks are scripted, then you have a better sense of when the camera move is appropriate and can program it to synchronize timing with the sound bite. Also, in the initial phases of an interview, where the stuff being talked about is introductory in nature and less important, slider moves are okay IMO. Though they can complicate your edit if you need to telescope down and shorten the narrative; suddenly, you have moves maybe happening in opposite directions and distracting in the middle of the sound bite and if you don’t have a static “B” or master camera to cut-away to, your edits could get awkward or unusable.

If your whole point is to shoot a short “one-ner”, then the slider is a nice way to add some production value and visual drama. But in a more complicated edit, it can bite you. What I would try to do is take the same question twice; once with the slider on, and once without it. This gives me more insurance for the edit.

The time I don’t like sliding the camera is when I have no idea what’s going to be said next, or how long it’s going to take to get the narrative out. Also, when the discussion’s focus is first-person or third-person makes a big difference. The chances then are good that the slide, especially an automated one, will be more distracting than helpful, and then in those cases I think it’s time to go back to static camera shots where the moves happen unseen, between the cut-aways, and not in the actual takes. I prefer to use cutting to punctuate the narrative and put the emphasis where I want it, not where the servos ended up randomly putting it.

Then again, I’m old. I had to laugh at the start of the tutorial video, because the crew all looked to me like a startup boy band, lol. And where’s the women? Not one crewgal in the bunch?

[Mark Suszko]

Well, the point of proxy media is to cut the show in the low-rez, low-overhead proxy codec, then apply that project file to the original footage, hit the render button, and go grab lunch,. maybe dinner, come back and it’s all good. Proxy is not meant for a final output except in some experimental type of work that was only meant to ever be seen in draft mode to start with.

[Mark Suszko]

I’d like to know what kind of camera/recording setup was used, in order to make a better diagnosis. At a glance, I’d guess the original footage *may* be okay, but it’s gone thru a mis-step in the conversion process somewhere that’s disrupted or mis-matched the color timing information.

It almost looks like an old tube type analog camera with a genlock/color phasing problem… but that’s unlikely. Hopefully you still have access to camera originals.

Failing that, you may have to quickly get familiar with the folks in the FFmpeg and DSLR COW forums – ffMpeg may be able to perform a re-interpretation of the color information and encoding of your footage. Best chance is to get the shooter to re-send you their files, this time with proper formatting.

[Mark Suszko]

So you’re saying they used your stuff last year without your permission? And you own it? Send a DMCA take-down notice to them immediately.

[Mark Suszko]

Illinois’ gubernatorial campaign stands to become the most expensive in the nation; the incumbent’s a multi-millionaire, and the challenger is a billionaire, and they’ve already set records for campaign ad spending, just in their primaries. Citizens United led to this, and I consider it the worst USSC decision since Dred Scott. Though it is making the TV stations exceedingly wealthy right now.

[Mark Suszko]

We have a local charity called Computer Banc: they accept old computer hardware, clean and fix/restore it, and give it to schools, churches, the poor, and charitable institutions that can’t afford computers… even nursing homes, where the oldsters can use it for web surfing, video conferencing with remote family members, games, etc. What the Computer Banc can’t use, they responsibly recycle. I’m sure you have something similar near you somewhere and can possibly get a tax credit for it.

It has become harder to donate to such outfits as they tend to like and need stuff that’s windows-compatible and relatively new. They can’t do much with an old VAX or your IMSAI from high school. And donating to schools directly is problematic, as their struggling IT departments really want stuff that’s closely compatible and standardized, not a mish-mash of incompatible hardware and operating systems that are obsolete and which their students do not wish to learn on.

There’s always ebay I guess. Somebody may want it for the cost of shipping, for the nostalgia lulz, as the kids say.

[Mark Suszko]

Parade on a public street? Fair game, especially if you’re not spending an inordinate amount of time dwelling on one person in close-up.

I have to shoot parades often in my job. One time, a mom stopped me to say her kid was a state ward and in a custody battle situation, she asked that I not photograph the child, and I made a judgement call to record over the shot, to be nice. But generally you can shoot anything at a public parade.

As for the school aspect, most schools now have some kind of form the parent sign at the beginning of the year that’s a blanket permission to be photographed in school-sanctioned activities like sports games, yearbook, assemblies, graduations, student plays, etc., and there is usually an “opt-out” slip the parents have to send in if they don’t want their kid involved in something, and then the kid goes to study hall or something like that instead. If you have documentation from the school giving you permission on school grounds, I think you’re safe.

The hotel thing, your permission comes from the people holding the event; they have to tell the attendees they are consenting to be photographed. Not the hotel, but the seminar organizer. It’s usually a notice printed on their ticket or their application to be at the event. A good thing to have though for occasional semi-public cases, as extra insurance, is a sign on a portable stand you can post, saying that if you enter this specific area you are consenting to be photographed, and that if you do not wish to be photographed, do not stay here.

In cases where one or two people object to being photographed, I’ve negotiated with them to define a corner of the room or a space immediately behind my tripod that I won’t shoot, and if they stay there, I’ll honor their wishes… but this is something I do out of courtesy, cooperation, and a desire to not be a jerk, more than out of any obligation.

[Mark Suszko]

A: as much as you dare.

[Mark Suszko]

Meh, put the old computers to work mining bitcoins; everybody’s doin’ it 🙂

[Mark Suszko]

Depends what the file names on the pictures are. Usually they are just alphanumerical, but if your pictures have actual place names as part of their titles, perhaps you can arrange them alphabetically, make an alphabetical list of map graphics, and now you write an action that pairs them?

Or find a whiz at Excel:-)