Steve Crow
Forum Replies Created
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Yeah never let the card completly fill up that way – it doesn’t close the file properly. Basically it crashes. Some have had luck recovering files using data recovery software but I can’t recommend any specific apps for you
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
It seems fine, MPEG-2 is the correct format. I just did a quick search on Google and apparently iDVD is known for choking on MPEG-2 files as a source file format unless all the specifications are exactly correct – including audio. iDVD is designed to CREATE mpeg-2 files for a DVD but has trouble accepting them as input, strange.
So what I suggest you do is research what input formats work best for your version of iDVD, a simple Google search should get you started – I haven’t burned a DVD in years so I am not a great source of info
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Honestly I am not sure why you are getting letterboxing unless the original footage was letterboxed…other than that you’ve got me! 🙂
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
If you export your 16:9 footage as is to 4:3 or convert your video to 4:3 then my assumption would be that black pillars would be added to the side of your video frame automatically – not my favorite look.
Instead what I would be tempted to do is to go back into my editing program and set up a new project/sequence as 4:3. What should happen is that your footage should be conformed to the new settings and you would not have those black pillars
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I am not understanding your question, simply put, why not just give him PAL 4:3 if that is what he is asking for?
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Hmmm, I am not sure I should be posting this but please take this in the spirit it is intended.
The first piece of advice I would have is that in order to make a mark in this crowded market you are going to have satisfy several no-compromise points to get our attention:
1. The quality of your materials and workmanship are top notch (no cheap plastic parts) and are of standard sizes so that they mix and match well with other manufacturers products
2. You can offer most of what the larger manufacturers can in terms of the gear’s capability
3. That your company is reliable in shipping and customer support
4. Innovation – besides cost, give me a reason to choose your gear over a brand name I am more familiar with
5. Do all this cheaper than your competition – sell me on the VALUE of what you are offering! (I recall hearing in a business class once that value is the relationship between price and quality, in my mind a low cost solution that is also low quality isn’t much of a value, it’s just cheap. I know such gear will last for one or two jobs maybe and then I will have to replace it)
Zacutto, for instance, sets its prices high and is unapologetic about it. It works for them because their gear has a solid reputation and although customers moan and groan about the pricing (people like ME I mean!) they are constantly innovating and producing high quality stuff while positioning themselves as somewhat of an aspirational brand – meaning “one day when I make some real money I will replace all my cheapo cheesy-cam gear with Zacutto and Arri stuff and BOY will I show it off to anyone who cares (not my clients, they almost never care)” Look, I am not saying I am some marketing or business genius here because that would be a big fat lie but you asked so I’m responding!
Ok, all that is common sense right and applies to any manufacturer! I took a very QUICK look at your home page and your DSLR Kit (Basic) and here’s what I noticed right away
* You absolutely must re-do the video of you putting together the rig and get rid of the music. I don’t really learn all that much from seeing you put the rig together – instead why are you not showing me why I should buy this product? What are the benefits, features and how do I use it? Show me the quality of the material and workmanship, show me you understand what a pro or semi-pro shooter is looking for and then you will have a strong leg up on the competition.
* A couple of quick things I noticed about your cage:
The cage doesn’t appear to have any or maybe just a few tapped mounting holes on the sides which, if present, would offer increased usability – also the handles look cheap
* Most everyone is doing the full wrap around cage, yet Arri and a few others are doing a neat thing where you can buy each side of the cage separately. Imagine 2 C shaped pieces that can be joined together if desired or I can just have the left or right hand side. That’s the kind of innovation I am talking about
OK I am shutting up now, best of luck to you guys!
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
I feel a Canon 6D would be a great choice, an affordable (relatively) full frame camera that can do most of what your 5D MII does for you now. Of course, sticking with Canon is a good idea so that you can effortlessly share lenses between the two camera bodies but it seems you are already on board with that idea.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Absolutely agree, one Vari ND filter to rule them all! 🙂
There are many articles on the web talking about different brands of ND filters, yet I have rarely heard the Tiffen to be on the recommended brands. Having up to 8 stops of light reduction is so very convenient and can be a life save in bright outdoor settings.
Shooting outdoors can be very challenging…you’d think it would be the easiest setting but that hasn’t been my experience – as you mentioned, tools to soften or to cut light are essential to the whole shallow depth of field thing when filming in bright, sunny, outdoor environments.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
One more thing, I maintain a channel of Vimeo videos that I find particularly inspiring from a technical and artistic point of view, several of them are documentary style profiling craftsmen and people who work with a variety of machinery, tools etc. You may want to study how some of these films handled sound in noisy environments for hints:
https://vimeo.com/channels/filmsthatinspireme
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Uhhhh, bad news: no such thing as far as I know, certainly nothing in your budget range. Lavaliers still pick up plenty of background sounds – so would any mic. You could maybe try hanging a very directional shotgun microphone off a mic stand just out of frame – at your budget level you would be looking at renting the audio gear you need not buying.
If you record a few seconds of “silence” at the start of each sound clip you may be able to use that noise profile in an audio editing program to help remove some of the background noise during post production but really the simple answer is “don’t do the interview there” – you can always film b-roll there for a little color. In fact, it’s a cool technique when filming an interview with someone who works with machines, computers etc to film them separately interacting as they work and then use that as B-roll while continuing the interview audio and then switching back to the primary interview location without a break in the interview audio.
I never do this myself but I guess you could film the subject in a quieter environment in front of a green screen and then composite in the original noisy location in post but that’s a lot of work and can look fake. This way you could record the machine room sounds separately onto another track in your video track and have very precise control of the background sounds.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com