Randall Raymond
Forum Replies Created
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[Bryan Wells] “I also know I can encode my HD video into a Flash Video format (.flv). And even these files appear to look good; but I cant tell if they look better than my SD camcorder video converted to the FLV format.”
A clear Flash video is going to be just that, whether HD or SD – it’s a down-conversion either way and highly compressed. If the goal is to give the viewer the impression that they are watching a mini-plasma screen of HD content – you can deliver that. But it’s no longer HD per se – just a nice clear picture that breaks down on transitions and lots of movement.
If you increase the bitrate, you’ll have better transitions but longer waits for the video to load – but, they may not stick around to watch it.
If you want to amaze them with full screen content playing off the web, you can, but expect huge files that take a lot time to download and will not play progressively (playing while downloading).
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[Steve Wargo] “We did this for 10 years for a local Ice Skating organization. they actually had an ASCAP-BMI license for skate competitions.”
That license counts for the rink audience, not the DVDs.
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[Todd at Fantastic Plastic] “I can say though that although our music is always paid for and with clear copyright, the particular replication houses that we use (including what I think must be the largest one on the world which happens to be in my hometown) have never once even asked us about music clearances.”
Well, they are doing the COPYING.
The whole thing’s a sticky-mess. BMI & ASCAP have no set up for 30 DVDs of amateur ice-skaters. By the time you add in macrovision requirements, the parents will be paying $200 (or more) a disk to watch their little Suzy.
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[Ron Lindeboom] “David’s basics are spot on but the numbers have changed recently. Today, it is possible to get replicated discs in quantities of 300 at places like discmakers.com and I suspect there are others (but I am not sure of them and can’t recommend them).”
Here’s the problem – no replicating house will replicate unless the music copyrights are paid for and clear. The client needs to be aware of that.
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I would give them a master – those sorts of things never sell the way organizers (or you!) THINK they’re going to sell. Grant them the right to make copies of the master, charge them for the right and be done with it.
If there’s copyrighted music in the background – then don’t charge them because you don’t own all the rights.
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P2 cards have a great advantage – they’re friggin’ bigger! I could care less if they fit in a laptop – neither do my DV tapes. It’s media – that’s all. I can bet you Panasonic is kicking themselves for not making them even bigger – they’d be at 320gig cards without too much fuss. Double thick, triple thick cards? Why not? It’s just media.
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[vjrook] “MY QUESTION: What are some internal changes that you have made (or can be made) in a small business to help maximize profit? This can apply to either the media industry or just small business in general. Practical “tricks of the trade” would be most appreciated…”
The best people to ask that question of are your own employees and principles. They can often point time wasting procedures or bottle-necks that hinder the bottom-line. Brainstorm the problem as if everyone’s livelihood is on the line – which it is… We had a meeting like that while I was at a former employer – it was an epiphany for many though the problems were as plain as day AFTER the meeting.
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Use a tiny frame size and you should be alright at 100kbps.
180×120 or even 90×60 pixels – I know, it’s small, but it won’t look like crap – up the sound quality to 64 so -
[walter biscardi] “So I would recommend you work out some day rates for the shooting end of things. Makes it MUCH easier for you and the client when it comes to billing.”
Yeah, forget the hourly stuff. Give her a turn-key price on the first show you shoot. Then adjust up or down in price for the rest and base the contract on that ‘enlightened’ pricing.
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Bruce, Coliefornians can’t smell your dairy-air from there. Michigan is down wind…