Mike Cohen
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I’m happy that I put off viewing this video until now. Made my weekend.
The following are actual words spoken by a paying client:
“Just send me the raw footage. My niece is going to do the editing on her iMac.”
I replied, “Ok, I’ll just make copies of the DV tapes for you.”
“What’s a DV tape? Can you send me Quicktime?”
“What, for free?”
And so it goes…
Mike Cohen
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You could display the picture on a LCD monitor, turn off the room lights, turn off the cell phone’s flash, and take a picture with an actual cell phone.
Mike Cohen
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Oli – Bob’s tone is one of the best parts of this website. He talks that way because, I believe, he hates seeing people make avoidable mistakes.
Mike Cohen
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I am always amused when the bride, strapless or not, is seen on camera grinding with the groomsmen. I realize they all probably hung out in college, but show some respect ladies – this is your wedding.
Maybe a “what not to do on your wedding” video would be a good seller for one of you guys to make.
I have done exactly 2 weddings and it will stay at 2 if I can help it.
Mike Cohen
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I’m always saying that the one thing missing from present day digital editing is a real time joystick controlled effects box like the ADO or the Abekas. Our old ADO is rotting away in a landfill somewhere, but I still have the 5 1/4″ floppy discs.
Mike Cohen
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Get a wheelchair. You can use it to carry your gear, it folds up and has really big wheels. You need two people, one person to hold the camera and one person to push or pull the chair, but it works.
What kinds of shots would you use this cheap dolly system for?
Mike Cohen
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Here’s some career advice – don’t post a message saying you work for the gas company in XYZ city doing their video work, and that you don’t like your job.
Seriously, in this economy, stick with the job that pays your bills, unless there are actual opportunities you can fall back on. Take the security of a paid job to hone your skills. if you are serious about becoming better than your current job allows, invest in a home editing system – need not be over the top, just something to let you get better at your career skills – so when the opportunity presents itself, you will be ready.
Sounds like what you need more than anything is confidence. What better way to develop confidence than to better yourself through perseverance and the will to succeed.
As we have said in numerous threads recently, an employer wants a dedicated employee who can learn new things on the fly and who is good at what they do.
Mike Cohen
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Bob, as usual, makes a great point – keep it simple.
If an A/B switch attached to a monitor does the job, then do that.Back in the late 90’s I helped run a live 2 day conference once a month for 6 months. We had a conference room linked up to two operating rooms, and both DVCPRO recording and VHS playback all going through a Crestron type touch screen control system. It was whiz bang fancy.
But it never worked right.
The company that installed and designed it was later asked by the hospital to not continue working for the hospital. Thus I spent 4 to 8 hours the night before every event manually tracing wires trying to get the system to work well enough to use during a live event. But the designers could have used Bob Zelin, as they made things very non-simple. In fact this was in Tampa, so Bob was probably available.
Another non-simple aspect was the communication between the OR and the conference room. The surgeon would wear a wireless headset mic – with a receiver attached to the Crestron device in the OR. This worked 50% of the time. The tech in the OR who would position and control the cameras and I in the conference room, wore headset telephone adapters, also wireless. In the OR, there was not an extra phone line. There was an extra phone plug behind some heavy equipment in a janitor’s closet nearby, but the system in place when we arrived was to take the telephone from your hotel room to the hospital to get a dial tone, so the techs could communicate. Really.
So I agree with you Bob, sometimes an A/B switch, universal remote or long extension cord is better than $100,000 worth of kit…and often works better.
Perhaps a DVD-R or a basic LAN to your edit system could save a lot of extra expense for playback in the conference room.
Mike Cohen
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Sounds like Mission Control.
Do you do any video conferencing, ie Skype? Maybe a wall mounted web cam and desktop mic with mini jack for a laptop.
Perhaps some power, network and usb ports in the center of the conference table. Nothing worse than being in a suit and having to crawl around on the floor plugging stuff in.
A printer if it is a long walk to the printer room.
Clocks on two walls – keeps people from checking their blackberries to clandestinely check the time, and keeps meetings on schedule.
If using a plasma instead of a projector, make sure it is on the wall that most people seated at the conference table can see without being Linda Blair.
Lighting controls from the table.
Little things like this can make a meeting run smoothly and impress your clients.
We have a little kitchen area in our conference room room – very handy.
Mike Cohen
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In general, if you need to ask, then the answer is either “no” or “maybe” but rarely “yes.”
If, for example, Creative Cow prints a picture of a product in their magazine or website, chances are high that the picture was obtained from the company.
If you want to do a video showing you reviewing a product, and you have the item in hand, then probably it is ok. But if you are using piuctures from the internet that you do not have the rights to use, then probably the answer is no.
But once you get into IP, all bets are off.
And if you are doing a podcast to try to make money, then you definitely don’t want to be using other peoples’ property without their permission.
Not sure what YouTube’s rules are. I know you can download and edit and re-post videos, and plenty of YouTube vids are shown on television and the news, but you’d better dive into YouTube’s website.
The fact that you thought to ask about this rather than just doing it shows that you are acknowledging the fact that the works of others are in fact not yours to use as you like. So you are starting off on the right foot.
Mike Cohen