CasablancaExpert

Casablanca Virtual Workshops - A Cool Way to Learn!

With the first session of both the Novice/Intermediate and the Advanced Casablanca Virtual Workshops complete, I am happy to share that the attendees really enjoyed the classes!

Several of the participants have been with me at my hands-on (live) workshops, which they have told me they also really enjoyed, but there is something unique and special that makes these Virtual (online) workshop a precursor of perhaps the way the majority of teaching & learning for adults may be in the future.

It is a very convenient and efficient way to share teaching & instruction across the miles, without the participants having to take the time or expense for travel.

I also like the idea of breaking up the class into segments, giving the learners time to practice what we're covering and then the opportunity to share that and ask questions the next session.

Based on the initial response and the inquiry from others who were not able to attend these January/February sessions, I will have other virtual classes starting in April 2011. More to come on those future workshops and classes.

Casablanca Virtual (Online) Workshops -- Register Now!

I am excited to announce the opening of registration for my first Virtual (Online) Hands-on Casablanca Workshop! 

 We'll join together using the latest in internet technology  (using the GoToWebinar services) and learn directly from yours truly.  It will be a _live_ class where you will be following along as I lead the class in the same exercise... the class will be divided up into four 3-hour segments, with time between each class session to practice what was learned and really move your Casablanca editing up the competency scale!
 
Participants will receive a printed work-book along with the class video projects (on disk transfer DVD).  So you'll follow along watching & using the same video scenes Chet has on his editing menu. "I am holding registration for each of these classes to only 12 learners per session -- I expect them to fill up fast"
 

Workshop Dates/Times Are posted below -- click on the link (or the picture/graphic) to read the complete agenda and to register online today!

 

 

Casablanca Online Workshop: Intermediate
Tuesdays - January 11, January 25, February 8, February 22
3:00-6:00PM Pacific / 5:00-8:00PM Central / 6:00-9:00PM Eastern

Casablanca Online Workshop: Advanced
Tuesdays - January 11, January 25, February 8, February 22
11:00A-2:00PM Pacific / 1:00-4:00PM Central / 2:00-5:00PM Eastern

 

North Carolina Workshop Recap

The 'Class of North Carolina 2010'
A great group of folks who took part in the Casablanca Hands-on Workshop 

We had a wonderful time in Hillsborough, North Carolina this past week as folks gathered for the Casablanca Hands-on Workshop.  Thanks so much to Nancy, Nels and Nancy Lynne Anderson of Interactive Learning Systems, Inc. for demonstrating true Southern hospitality! 

They had a great classroom set-up (on their 70-acre historic farm) and fed us lunch and even supper!  The weather was so nice we even ate outside overlooking the beautiful countryside. 

I put the learners through the paces of the efficient tips and operations in the latest OS versions, did some creative titling, produced some cool collages and animations using Photo Studio 2, practiced insert editing, audio mixing and worked extensively through DVD authoring with Arabesk 4.

In addition to the learning that goes on at my hands-on workshops, I love that folks network, share business and production ideas. I always come away learning some new things as well! 

Thanks to all participated in this 2-days of Casablanca learning and again thanks to our gracious hosts - the Andersons.  I look forward to a 2nd Annual North Carolina Casablanca Hands-on Workshop next Fall!  If you'd like to join us then, please contact Nancy Anderson via email at [email protected]

New! Online Casablanca Expert Workshops

 As you may know I have offered my hands-on workshops in a number of places around North America the past 1-1/2 years.

 I am pleased that I continue to receive very positive feedback from those who attend the workshops: 

"It was worth every penny"..."Chet is an excellent teacher"...
"I learned SO much"

 But I have heard from a number of folks who said they would love to learn from me but either cannot take 5 days away from their business (or other job/s) and also when they add up all the travel expense, it becomes too expensive.

So I got some smarts (actually there were two members who also encouraged him to do this) and has planned two different online workshops!

This will be an opportunity for folks to learn from the Casablanca Expert but in the convenience of your own studio/home/office. 
 
 We'll join together using the latest in internet technology  (using the GoToWebinar services) and learn directly from yours truly.  It will be a _live_ class where you will be following along as I lead the class in the same exercise... the class will be divided up into four 3-hour segments, with time between each class session to practice what was learned and really move your Casablanca editing up the competency scale!
 
Participants will receive a printed work-book along with the class video projects (on disk transfer DVD).  So you'll follow along watching & using the same video scenes Chet has on his editing menu. "I am holding registration for each of these classes to only 12 learners per session -- I expect them to fill up fast"
 

Workshop Dates/Times Announced Here Below
(complete agenda & online registration to be posted November 6, 2010)

Casablanca Online Workshop: Novice/Intermediate
Tuesdays - January 11, January 25, February 8, February 22
3:00-6:00PM Pacific / 5:00-8:00PM Central / 6:00-9:00PM Eastern

Casablanca Online Workshop: Advanced
Tuesdays - January 11, January 25, February 8, February 22
11:00A-2:00PM Pacific / 1:00-4:00PM Central / 2:00-5:00PM Eastern

 

Again, complete agenda, registration info, pricing, etc will be published November 6th

Three Weeks Until North Carolina Workshop!

Chet Davis is coming back to the southeastern U.S. for and will provide you with an opportunity to be coached in intermediate Casablanca skills and techniques! 

Our October 2010 workshop will be at a beautiful retreat like setting in Hillsborough - just between Greensboro and Durham, North Carolina (nearest airport is RDU -- Raleigh/Durham).

The workshop will take place Tuesday October 26th and Wednesday October 27th, 2010.  Our gracious host is Nancy Anderson from Interative Learning Services.  You can view the full agenda, get more workshop details and even register on-line today at http://hillsborough.eventbrite.com/

Here's a short video to highlight this event:

 

Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010 - in summary

I thoroughly enjoyed the Dallas Casablanca Workshop & Conference 2010 this past week. It was great to hang-out with colleagues... to connect with old friends & make some new ones, to share my knowledge & passion for this craft of video editing, and to enjoy great food all week

Thanks to all those who took time in their busy schedule to participate in the Dallas Casablanca Conference. Thanks to MacroSystem US & Eric Kloor personally for participating... and a HUGE thanks to Seth Hampton and CAM Audio for their generous hosting of the events this week.

Looking forward to the possibility of the next Dallas Casablanca Conference!

Regards,
Chet

Casablanca Conference - Day 3 Wrap-up

We began this 3rd and final day of the Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010 with Ken Smithers (Picture This Video) presenting an introduction to the power of Pro Show software to create great photo/video collages.  I will definitely be using some of the techniques/operations I learned this morning to make more impactful montages. 

Then it was a Vendor Fair where factory representatives from Canon and Bogen-Manfrotto were on-hand to answer questions and to provide up-close demos today with the latest tools & technology. I got to play with the newest Canon HD-DSLR cameras and a range of other HD/AVCHD camcorders. The Bogen rep had this awesome shoulder mounted camera brace that has matte box and really yields very creative camera movement.

After _another_ great lunch (this time the State Fair BBQ -- a great collection of Texas BBQ food, capped off with a great warm Peach Cobbler) Chet Davis presented some additional audio mix functions, specifically with the Audio TimeLine interface.  Then Chet spent an hour sharing some PC/Mac technology that work well in concert with our Casablanca editors -- like services for transmitting large files to clients/partners, etc. Chet also presented his perspective about the ripe potential of Facebook for social media marketing.

In our last session of the day, Chet shared three new editing effects and de-constructed them to show the Conference participants how they could create these same cool effects combinations for their own projects.

Then it was door prize drawing time once more!  In addition to gift certificates for Casablanca software from Macrosystem US and several certificates for $99 from CAM Audio we had several major prizes...

Lowell Brockway won the Casablanca Expert Private Tutor Package with 6-hours of private instruction with Chet Davis; Roy Connell won the Elite Video Proc-Amp; Russel Adams won the 3-night extension at Harbour Village Beach Club on the Island of Bonaire in the Dutch Antilles; and Ken Smithers won the 3-1 CAM Audio DVD/CD Duplicator.

It was Muriel Anderson-Spychala who won the Grand Prize... the Casablanca S3000 Digital Video Editor.  She'll be adding that to her new edit suite with an S4100 and their Prestige.

Thanks to all who participated -- a great Casablanca community event!

Casablanca Conference - Day 2 Recap

 

Day two (of three) was another day filled with Casablanca learning... Chet kicked off our morning session with a lesson on the new Casablanca Title Studio software.  This great new piece of software - only available for the Bogart series of Casablanca editors - was well received by the Conference attendees. 

Probably the coolest feature is the ability to not only select single characters for style modification but the ability to even edit your own fonts & characteristics within the program )members at CasablancaExpert.com can view Chet's comprehensive tutorial - a series of 7 streaming videos on the website here: http://www.casablancaexpert.com/articles/TitleStudio.

Seth Hampton from CAM Audio, Inc followed with a presentation on DVD authoring & duplication, fielding several questions from the group.  CAM Audio duplicates literally hundreds of DVDs and CDs each... it's great to have a presenter with firsthand experience about a topic who is available for your questions!

In the last session prior to lunch Chet Davis pulled out his 'magic bag of tricks' and demonstrated several helpful tips. First he showed how to use the Advanced search functions in Google Images to find and use images (JPEGs) for your video projects - completing the cycle, he exported the file and then brought that into a project in his Casablanca using Photo Studio 2 (cropping the image for perfect use in his 16:9 video)  Chet also showed use of the Bump effect to create what he calls 'video wallpaper'. 

  Day two lunch was yet another awesome buffet!  The theme was Italian.. and it was favoloso!  Several people remarked how this hotel's banquet food was superb.  I loved the tortellini and the chicken parmesean but they also had an Antipasto salad that had more a large contingent of folks coming back for seconds.

After lunch Eric Kloor, MacroSystem US President, presented to the conference attendees.  Erick (the founder of Draco Systems - predecessor to MacroSystem US) shared news of the parent company in Germany, info on some forthcoming software (like 3D Editing, Smart Edit 10, Bogart V4).  He also provided an insight to the new S3000 and S6000 editors -- due in North America in the next few months.

Chet then shared some of his favorite operations in the Audio Mix menu.  Some of what he shared has been a function in the Casablanca for years (but often most folks are unaware of these capabilities) -- he also showed some of the new Sample generation functions right in the Audio Mix menu that are brand new in the Smart Edit 9 and Bogart 3 Operating Systems versions. 

The final session of Day Two was the highly anticipated presentation by Bobbie Evoy (Memories on Tape Video) who opened up our minds with the capabilities possible using Blue Box and BlueBox World software in the Casablanca to perform chroma key effects.

Bobbie not only distributed step by step instructions & tips but also (thoughtfully & generously) passed out a DVD with sample video clips.  Chroma key possibilities were made all the more clear through her presentation and one effect I had never seen or used is the ability to take a subject and use them on-screen as a shadow to your primary video... very cool (thanks Bobbie!)

Bobbie set up several green screens and she directed/choreographed the participants in short sequences that will be edited later in a special music video that Bobbie will weave her magic with.

Dinner on this 2nd Conference Day was at Spring Creek BBQ -- man, I love their food.  A great BBQ dinner capped off with the freshest, most delicious Peach Cobbler (ala' mode) I have ever had -- well, since the last time I was at Spring Creek last September.

 

 

 

Casablanca Conference - Bobbie Evoy BlueBox Video Preview

I am SO looking forward to not only presenting at the Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010 next week - but also to sitting back (with notebook) to learn as well as teach!  One of the sessions I am most excited about is the 'Blue Box & Blue Box World' presentation by Bobbie Evoy of Memories on Tape. 

Bobbie is well known in the Casablanca Community as extremely knowledgeable and incredibly creative.  Here is a short video she put together to tease her Chroma Key presentation...

Dallas Promo Video for BLUEBOX from Memories On Tape on Vimeo.

Come to Dallas and have fun learning! Tips will be offered for BLUEBOX and BLUEBOX WORLD and several small tokens as mentioned will be available FREE for those attending!  Participants will also receive a free copy of the 'BLUEBOX EDIT FORM' I used to put together this video!

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Bobbie will be presenting both on Tuesday September 28th and Wednesday September 29th. View the complete agenda, workshop details and even register online here:  Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010

 

Dallas Conference 2010 Preview Video

The Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010 is just days away... next week at this time I will be amongst colleagues at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center in Dallas, Texas in the midst of great & creative minds as we explore all things Casablanca.

You can find out all about the event and even register online here: http://dallasconference2010.eventbrite.com/

Here is a short video to highlight the Dallas Casablanca Conference 2010: