Your Video Expert Blog

Filmaker's Panel at Sundance Film Fest provides unique insights

There was a panel discussion last week at the Sundance Film Festival where the Adobe Company invited four filmmakers - Sharlto Copley, Rob Legato, Jacob Rosenberg and Jason Floret - to share some of their thoughts on where all of this new technology is taking  filmmakers.

If you've ever wanted to 'pick the brain' of a successful film-maker this is a great opportunity to sit in the convenience of your home, office, or studio to listen into a conversation about the state of the industry and where technological developments are leading us.

Vincent Lafloret shared this "We had a great discussion on where technology is taking us, some of the challenges and successes we’ve experienced as filmmakers, and I think most of you will find some very good nuggets of wisdom in the video as well.  I know I had a blast being part of it and can attest to it being an unusually good panel in terms of the content that was shared. "

The POD - cool camera suport accessory

The POD is a unique product that a friend recently turned me on to... it's essentially a bean bag with a camera mount. This allows you to set your camera, whether its a smaller video camcorder or a combo digital video/still camera.

I have used all kinds of things in the past that were at hand when I did not have the 'right' thing and this would come in very handy.  It's not something to replace your tripod, but can be very useful to kee p low angle shots, shots from table tops, etc. 

This can be an important accessory as tripods are not allowed into museums, and other public places.

The POD comes in one of several different models - with different sizes and placement of the mounting screw (for folks using a Digital SLR with long lenses, you would want the thread off-set).  The RED pod is their original model and sells for $20.99 plus shipping. 

The POD has it's own on-line store on the web which you'll find here:  www.thepod.ca

Convert Minutes into Hours

I am nearing completion of this monolithic tutorial video...the longest I have ever produced and checking my time-line/storyboard I wanted to get a gauge on how many DVDs I am going to need to produce to capture the full length of this valuable teaching.

So the technology nerd that I am, I figured there must be a web site that will help here... and sure enough there is!

I found a site called minutes to hours.com. It's a very simple web site where you plug in the number of minutes and click the 'convert' button and in a matter of seconds you have your answer.

(This was near the end of my production... it ended up being 627 minutes long, if you're curious)

I thought since it was useful to me, perhaps it may come in handy for you as well!

Any other helpful, simple utilities you have found on-line? Please share in the comments below:

A Year in the Life - Short video clips sewn together to re-create 2011

This is such a cool idea.

I have seen several projects in recent weeks and months where folks have - either on their own, or using one of the applications on their SmartPhone - captured one photo a day for a year or many years to present a snapshot of their lives.

With a new twist on this idea - Madeline, a young woman who lives in Los Angeles, California with a Vimeo Channel named 'hey_rabbit' edited together a few seconds of video from every day last year (2011) into a montage that presents her life in the year, or one year of her life.

I find it incredible and so intriguing that video entertainment (movies and television programs) used to be stories written by professionals and created by professionals, and shown only on the TV networks or the big screens in theaters, and yet today = more and more we are seeing videos becoming popular that are the everyday stories of everyday people, accessible by all (or most of the world) via this thing called the internet.

Create Your Own DVD Labels & Album Covers - On-line Class from Your Video Expert

Join Your Video Expert Chet Davis for this on-line class where you'll learn the fundamentals to create your own labels and album covers for DVD video projects.

Chet will presents several software applications for creating the graphic finishing touches for your own DVD projects, and suggestions for the DVD labels and the 'wrap around' covers that go inside the plastic DVD albums.

Software to be presented: Epson Print CD, Discus by Magic Mouse, and Ashampoo Cover Studio. Chet will also share suggestions for using PhotoShop/Elements and basic word processing software.

Gold and Silver Ticket members at YourVideoExpert.net can register for free with the registration link sent to you earlier today. All others are welcome to pariticpate via the Pay Per View link here: http://videoexpertjan18.eventbrite.com/

Beautiful Video Footage Inside Monster Waves - from a very expensive video camera

I love the ocean, and have shot a lot of video by the seaside, but I have never (yet) gotten this kind of quality. This short video of massive waves in Teahupoo, Tahiti taken last August (2011) show beautiful perspective inside these monsters.

I looked up the camera the shooter used and here's the info:
"The Phantom HD Gold is a high speed digital video camera that carries a hefty price tag of $118,000 putting it in to the professional end of the market. The camera has a resolution of 2,048 by 2,048 and at that high resolution it is capable of capturing video at 555 frames per second."

That's quality about twice what many of us are capturing on the current High Definition video cameras, and at a significantly higher frame rate then the standard 30 frames per second of 'regular' video.

That explains why his ocean footage looks a little better than mine :)

And for the record, I have tried surfing and I thought the waves I learned on (just under one meter) were big enough for me!

VIMEO announces new mobile apps for Android and Windows Phone

At The video sharing web site VIMEO has a mobile App for the iPhone that's been out since April of 2011.  They have just announced a version for the Android and Windows phone platforms.

From the official VIMEO Staff Blog "Vimeo, we've seen first hand the increased demand for mobile video: traffic to our mobile site is up more than 100% percent since last year at this time. We're not going to sit back in our beanbag chairs and watch the numbers go through the roof. Instead, we're making it easier for smart-phone toting citizens to enjoy Vimeo from anywhere through a sweet suite of new mobile apps for Android, Windows Phone, and, coming in a few months, new versions for Apple iPhone and iPad."

Here is a highlight of the features of the new Vimeo Android and Windows Phone VIMEO App:

• Compatible with all Android devices running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and above, Amazon Fire and Windows Phone devices running Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) and above
• Watch and manage all your Vimeo videos and download them to your camera roll
• Watch videos from your Vimeo inbox, Watch Later queue, and videos you like
• Easily like videos, comment on videos, and add videos to your Watch Later queue
• Discover new and interesting videos curated by Vimeo Staff
• Easily upload your raw footage or previously edited creations in HD or SD
• Pause/resume uploads and get reminded when a video is paused
• Replace existing videos
• Edit titles, descriptions, tags, privacy
• settings, and credits

  

This app is free to download from the Android Market, Amazon App Store for Android, and WindowsPhone Marketplace

 

 

Shine On, Videographer: Lighting Buyer's Guide

Videomaker magazine on-line has a helpful on-line article that provides a good foundation for video lighting.  This 3-page article reviews the types of light kits to consider along with a variety of video lighting accessories.

And as a bonus there is a one-page PDF document you can download which lists the video lighting manufacturers and the types of lighting gear they provide: Filament, LED, Fluorescent, Arc, or Halogen.

 You can read the Videomaker article here: Shine On, Videographer: Lighting Buyer's Guide

 

A Good Explanation of Three Methods for De-Interlacing Your Video From Videomaker

 You may know that traditional video and television was (is) transmitted and then for many years recorded (and edited) as an Interlace signal, that is two separate fields that make up one frame of video.  Many of the newer flat-screen monitors don't play interlace video well at all, and computer monitors don't do interlace well either - which means all those internet delivered videos don't look as good as they might when they're in the Interlace format.

That's why I continue to recommend de-interlaced (or decombed) video for these increasingly popular delivery and display methods. Here's a helpful short video on the Videomaker website that provides a definition of the problem and an explanation of the 3 most common methods to deal with the issue: How to Deinterlace Footage

Free Sound Effects... Good On-line Article from Videomaker

There comes a time when most every video producer has the need for one or more sound effects to finish out their latest production.  Hal Robertson with Videomaker has a valuable post on this topic in the Videomaker  magazine on-line, here's a snippet:

Many many people are looking for sound effects for free and if you just Google "free sound effects", that would bring up tens of millions of hits.

However, you'd have no idea which were useful, let alone legal. The pirate sites are off limits so you need a way to sift through all the free sound effects downloads to find those that fit your budget and criteria. Free sound effects are out there, but it's important to find the ones that are truly free, of good quality and meet the needs of your project, all at the same time

You can read the entire article in this Videomaker on-line article: Free Sound Effects.