Mike Cohen
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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Vantage Point looked good in the preview, but Forest Whitaker ruined the movie – although the end was pretty good.
This concept reminds me of Lost – the show starts with the plane crash. Then over 5 seasons, using flashbacks and nonlinear storytelling we see how everyone fits together, and we always wind up back where we started.
Mike Cohen
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The danger of 3D is that, like CGI, Blair Witch Project and the like, there will soon be too many producers creating 3D content, ranging from terrible throwaway movies to Avatar clones to the few Avatar quality pictures. Yes, it comes down to talent. And as we know, talent means many things in Hollywood and in the real world. Just because there are going to be 3D tv channels and lots more 3D theaters does not mean everything should be in 3D – but it seems some of the folks making programming in new formats don’t get this.
But any time a movie makes zillions of dollars, a slew of copycats are made – mostly of bad SyFy channel quality or worse. I guess there are people who like such things or they would not keep getting made.
But the cream always rises to the top. Let’s hope Jim Cameron releases another masterpiece, probably around 2019.
As for 3D in the home, I agree that there is a use for 3D. As it is now, looking at our local weather guy in HD is plenty of realism for me – seeing his nose hairs and tweed jacket in 3D would be a bit much. I cannot think of any broadcast shows that would be better in 3D. You can’t just do it for the sake of doing it. Let me repeat for the Hollywood producers who might Google 3D public opinion – don’t do 3D just to do 3D – do it for a reason.
Now on the other hand, if Angelina Jolie were to appear in 3D in my living room, possibly with the television turned off, that would be worth the price of admission.
Mike Cohen
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Here is what look like the deduction Steve mentioned, with a handy calculator. Obviously make sure your CPA does the actual figuring:
https://www.crestcapital.com/tax_deduction_calculator
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Walter and all the other leaders and members are to be commended for giving and receiving with humility great advice this past year. i feel that this forum in particular has really become one of the most interesting places to visit on the internet.
It was for us too a busy year, with 2010 promising to be exciting and full of new challenges and opportunities.
Everyone stay safe tonight and enjoy the new year.
Mike Cohen
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I’ve said it before – charging hourly for production services is a lousy way to make a living. Charge them a project price – even if you have to break it down into line items for them. But charge enough in the whole project price to cover your time, and just put in your proposal “travel and lodging charged at cost.”
So if it is a 2 day shoot and a 20 minute final video with your usual style of graphics, narration, effects etc, you know that you want to make say $10,000 gross. You will have already figured out your actual costs and estimated time, to know how much net profit you will realize. Then break that down for the client as you see fit.
All of our jobs are out of town. Few clients get hung up on travel expenses and time – they just want the final product.
Pay yourself first.
Mike Cohen
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Alternatively a flash audio recorder, such as the Zoom h4n. I have found that people prefer a “record” button vs learning software. Plus you can take the flash recorder into a quiet room, away from a computer, and get decent sound. I once suggested audacity to someone who wanted to record his own voice over. He was very frustrated as a result. You want to make it easy for your client.
Mike Cohen
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To backup what Paul said – MPEG-2 means many things. Editing m2v files ripped from a DVD, not so good, but workable if necessary – but dropped frames are common. MPEG-2 I frame is supposed to be designed for editing – Panasonic DVCPRO HD on newer cameras offers an I frame codec.
I have only used the Tricaster twice – once as a demo and once in a rented studio. Both times I found it to be clunky and not exactly what was advertised. But this was early in its life – presumably they have improved things.
In my opinion, if you want to do a live switching shoot, rent a switcher and record ISO’s to tape or flash media. You could record a switched feed, but then capture all the raw video and edit in the usual fashion. Earlier this year a crew at a convention center did a 3 camera shoot – traditional switcher, no ISO’s, the switcher feed
was recorded to AVI on a removable hard drive, with a backup switcher recording to VHS. Yes, VHS. In fact, due to an audio interference problem on the AVI files, the only usable audio was on the VHS tape. And to make matters worse, the last 30 minutes of the event was not recorded at all. I had no hand in this shoot, was only sent the AVI files after the fact to edit.This proves that the weakest link in any setup negates the benefit of all other high tech gear. In this case, the highest-tech gear was also the weakest link. But the crew members can also be weak links.
Mike Cohen
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Mark – I don’t suppose you were a fan of the Zork games?
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While we do not have an official VPN, we have a dozen or so networked apps, mostly custom creations, to manage information. Some live on the internets, others reside on internal servers. But all do one thing – they collect data and provide a quick snapshot without maintaining office documents manually. In other words, we use mySQL databases to manage a lot of the information within our various divisions. All of these apps are accessible via remote login and constitute our proprietary content management system. In many cases, the “content” is data, rather than media. But it’s all digital anyway, so who cares if you are managing video files or contact information. “It’s the data stupid” to paraphrase a former world leader.
Most of these systems were put into place because we recognized that “there has to be a better way to do XYZ.”
“Necessity is the mother of invention” my grandpa Izzy used to say as he reassembled a washing machine or rewired his house (at one point if you rang the doorbell the dishwasher would start – they always had clean dishes! Seriously, he ran the parts department at a GE plant, supplying replacement components for power generators around the world in the 1960’s and 70’s.)
To paraphrase Izzy, “if you can’t find something to do the job, make something yourself – build a better mousetrap.”
Mike Cohen
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Industry Predictions:
As flash media becomes nearly free, the cost of SxS cards and P2 cards will actually increase, making people go back to tape. Used Z1’s go for $10,000 on ebay.
Given the cyclical trend of retro styles, the five computers in my basement ranging from an 8088 to a 486 processor will become very valuable. Wired Magazine will buy my Dell Pentium 133mhz machine for a cover story on why fast computers are overrated.
Along the same lines, analog video purists will talk up the warmer feel of 1″ tape vs the cold digital nastiness. Again, the miles of 1″ tape in my basement becomes a hot commodity.
Seeing a trend here…?
As the youtubification of the world continues, Google will release a free editing app that combines the best of FCP and Premiere. And since it is open source, the video enthusiast programmers of the world release thousands of free plugins.
The US Postal Service goes bankrupt, making online video delivery more relevant than ever. FedEx and UPS start online video sharing services to facilitate delivery of spots to the networks and local affiliates.
Seriously, I think the best prediction to make is:
Small business owners will further capitalize on the changing business world’s needs, becoming more creative and useful than ever before. If you run away from bad economic times, you will not be prepared for the recovery. And if there is no recovery, you make opportunities with the reality that you are faced with. It will be scary for some, a challenge for all. Welcome to the 21st Century. This world of tomorrow feels a lot like the past. The Carousel of Progress moves slow sometimes.
Have a Happy New Year.
Mike Cohen