[Richard Herd]

It sounds like your hands are tied until you get legitimate photos to use. However, to show your client that your code is working properly, you can use other photos but be sure to watermark them as DEMO or something that renders them useless.

[Richard Herd]

The client actually said, “I don’t want the footage to match the other footage.” He paused. “I want it to look unprofessional,” he said.

AND he needs a vendor to blame.

This should be a fun contract to write. I don’t think the legal department will approve the contract because in effect it will read I get paid whether you like the finished product or not and it will include some kind of disclaimer “client understands footage is not captured in a professional manner or format.”

[Richard Herd]

It’s an old client, same contact, with a new project and workflow. It’ll be very interesting to read the new Service Agreement.

[Richard Herd]

Yeah.

But you have to state that at the get go and then stand firm on their complaints. You will probably say the following sentence often: When the check clears I will immediately send the deliverable.

[Richard Herd]

It’s not their footage until they pay for it.

[Richard Herd]

What a weird business this is. Could you imagine restaurants operating like that?

Last night I ate at the Mexican restaurant. Today the Chinese restaurant called the Mexican restaurant with a heads up they don’t serve poached salmon.

[Richard Herd]

Both of those vids look very similar. You can also shoot at different times of day for different lighting effects. Most people prefer very early in the morning. The light is awesome but also all the dust has settled while folks were sleeping.

Regarding which camera to choose is complicated and detailed. I would think the Canon you pointed to will be a fine camera for the purpose of making that style of video.

Seems like you over used the pan, by the way. In addition to panning, you can also tilt, rack focus, dolly. You can also use Wide Shots, Medium Shots, and Close Up shots. Purely doing the math, you can put your tripod on the ground and get 9 shots, from right there.

Regarding composition, I like to have a clear subject for every shot, Wide Shots are tough for that because there’s so much to look at. I also like to have a foreground element and a background element.

Compound camera moves are really fun. For example, start off with a rose in the foreground, slightly out of focus while the lodge in the background is sharp. Pan toward the rose as you rack focus to it. You’ve really lead the viewers eye to notice a specific detail.

Will that camera/tripod make those moves? Yes.
Will that camera reproduce the color? Yes.
Do you have the eye for it?

[Richard Herd]

Yeah. I’m a teacher. I teach high school Media Arts, currently. And before that I taught composition at a University.

Pedagogy is the fancy word for teaching philosophy.

In working with the administrator, it’s wise to ask about the syllabus and see if you can have the one from the previous teacher.

You should also clearly define your learning outcomes for each day of instruction. I write it on the board. Try to keep it to one clearly defined lesson. For example, importing footage. And that’s it for the day.

Calibrating the lesson and learning outcomes for the particular class is more of an art. In that way, you want it to be challenging, and different groups of kids have different levels of competence and practice. Assessment is tough, especially in an art class, so I assess the process, and try to avoid assessing the aesthetics.

The next problem is critique, which is appropriate for art school. The goal is to create technical vocabulary in the students and that builds aesthetics.

[Richard Herd]

What software are you using? The “button” is different for each software. But generally speaking you do not need to render a clip. Just syncing them is enough.

Traditionally, in order to sync you need a clapper and a picture of it. Then you line up the loud clap with the frame of video/film where the clap is shut. Everything after that is in sync, until the director says “cut.” The camera stops. The audio stops. Then you start all over again.

It’s also why someone on set says “Scene 1 take 2.” So you can find the piece of audio. Then the camera is taking a picture of the clapper that displays “Scene 1 take 2.”

Yep, this is detail oriented work that has to get done before you can cut the story.

[Richard Herd]

I watched the video. That’s probably just a very high resolution still shot. Or a 3D model.

Be sure to check the lens’ minimum focus distance to make sure you get the look you want.