Assorted posts from 2002Q3
 

Greetings

I am planning to go out to produce my first video montage/portfolio shoot. I was wondering if anyone had any great camera angles or creative approach to doing this.

The model is a beautiful teenager, and we are going to shoot at a gorgeous park in Raleigh, NC. In the park are lake front locations, bridges crossing stream, all kinds of flowers and trees, ducks and fabulous walking paths with a large virety of spots to shoot.

I plan on using this video as a demo for the growing demand of videos of this kind in my area. This is my first time doing something like this and just want a few ideas. I would like to make something about 5 min. long (longer or shorter)

I will be using my XL-1 and maybe my newly purchased GL-1 (love that $250 rebate). I will have two other vidographers with me to help out (grips).

Returning from server crash... we're back.
 

Okay, after being down for close to 24 hours, we're now back online with a few bumps and bruises. You may have noticed that we've lost about a week's worth of posts... I believe approximately 600 or so. The current count is 14,750 which is down from I think about 15,350. It really hurts but I'm grateful that it wasn't any worse than this. We've also lost track of about 40-something new members; if you're one of these folks, unfortunately you'll have to re-register.

This sort of thing is never predictable and always happens at the wrong time, but I'm working at this moment on finding a more reliable hosting solution with a back-up of the message board database every 24 hours. I've got to leave for MacWorld on Monday and will definitely find a new home for us before then.

In the meantime please accept my sincere apologies for this 40mph crash into a brick wall; the airbags have deployed and we've got a few seatbelt cuts and a broken tooth or two but we'll survive.

If you posted something last week, it's gone forever so if you can remember what we were talking about in this particular forum then by all means say it again!

Still shaking,

rates
 

Hey there! I'm just starting to get into commercial production and I was curious about what everyone else's rates are. I know it varies depending on location, experience, and gear.
I've been shooting and editing for 10 years. In the field I carry an XL-1, wireless mike, and a basic 3 light kit. I charge $600 a day (eight hours) with a half day minimum. I'm editing on a Pinnacle DV-500 PLUS. My editing rate is $75 an hour.
Mainly, I guess I'm curious if I should be billing my clients extra for music (I have the BACKTRAXX collection) and if they should be charged for each graphic. I'm having a moral conflict about charging for render time since it's MY fault for not having realtime 3D animation software.
Thanks in advance for your input.

Carbon Copy Log books?
 

Would anyone happen to know where to find log books for film/tv online?

LA DV Show
 

Didn't see a thread started on this, so I figured I would start one. Anyone else attend the show? The crowd around the Adobe both for info on Premiere 6.5 was amazing. I couldn't even catch a glimps of what they changed. Did anyone get a good view of what we have in store for us Adobe users?

Some good product demos going on Matrox showed the crowd the power of X. I also caught some great product demos from small time vendors. Nothing like DV Expo, but still a lot of fun.

Best,
Big James

For all aspiring indie producers
 

>> Soderbergh Stumbles at the Box Office, Evans Still Strong


(indieWIRE: 08.06.02) -- Among the new limited release entries at the box office this weekend was Steven Soderbergh's mostly DV experiment, "Full Frontal." The Miramax film, which opened in 208 theaters, was clearly a disappointment, receiving mixed reviews and less than stellar box-office numbers. The picture earned $739,834 on 208 screens for a weak $3,557 per-screen opening weekend. Depsite the low figures though, a Variety story pegged foreign sales for the star-studded, lower-budget film at about $7 million. Meanwhile, Mirmax's other DV entry, "Tadpole," earned $193,723 on 47 screens, for a $4,122 average and new total of $721,705.

To Dan Anderson: Stop motion help
 

Hey, Dan Anderson, if you're out there, you emailed me some tips on claymation/stop motion animation a while back, and since that time I have cleaned out everything in my Outlook Express mailboxes, meaning that I accidentally erased your emails. If I can get some of those tips again, that'd be great. I'm mostly concerned with getting my puppets to stand up without falling, and how to secure them for walking and running (so that they don't fall when exceeding their centers of gravity). Thanks.


To Chris Hurd -- I forgot I still had his email address in Outlook's memory, so you can delete this if it so pleases you. It won't let me do it myself for some reason. Sorry for the trouble.

creative use of clear scan?
 

Has anyone tried messing around with the clear scan features on the XL1s or XM2 to get some interesting results? like a strobey effect or something?

Readhead soft bag
 

Any suggestions for a kit bag to carry three Quartzcolor Ianebeam 800 redheads + stands.

The present rigid box is well past its sell-by date and my knees would appreciate a 'soft' relacement!

I will push my luck by adding that I need to be able to buy it in the UK. My finance department freaks if you ask to pay for something other than Sterling..


Ross

Still photogs switching to DV
 

This month's PDN mag has a feature on two still photos switching to DV: Travis Fox at the Washington Post and the legendary Sports Illustrated/Time mag photographer Neil Leifer.

Fox will be one of the featured speakers at the NPPA Flying Short Course this year and I look forward to hearing what he has to say. His video work on the Washington Post web site is a good short course on how to do video photojournalism (his works are featured on the CameraWorks section of the site). His recently completed piece on a sheet metal worker who lost his son in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon and who came to Washington to help in the reconstruction is a great example of how video can be used.

It was a Boy's Life magazine article on Neil Leifer in 1962 that got me into photography and, later, filmmaking.

Note on equipment: Fox won several White House News Photographers Awards last year. All his winning entries were shot on the XL1S (uses now uses the XL1S, GL1 and PD150). Leifer has high praise for the XL1S, which he is using to shoot theatrical films.

Doug

looking for Reputable Australian DV camera store?
 

Hi all. I'm looking into purchasing a XM2 (Pal Gl2) and seeing as they aren't in the country here in New Zealand I need to get one from overseas - Australia being the closest PAL country (I would like to go through the sponsors here but I feel that shipping from the US is really expensive and more hassle if I have problems with the camera and need to send it back.). So what I'm after is the name of good people to buy from in Aussie.

I've found cameraaction which sells the camera for AUD$5300 (USD$2900) with extra battery, double charger and and hard case but I feel that's probably not the cheapest place I can find (Hopefully)

You can email me privately to keep discussion of other stores off the site.

Cheers
Aaron

Lighting
 

Interesting article on lighting.

http://www.cybercollege.com/tvp028.htm

Jvc Sr-vs20
 

I have windows2000 and a SR-VS20(4 of them in a lab) I can record throught the firewire to PC but cannot Print back to the Dv deck. The deck doesn't seem to recognize any incoming video. The PC's work fine on a Sony or Panasonic deck. Does anyone know what could be wrong?
Thanks Steve

One Big Trip
 

onebigtrip.com

I was just watching this DVD and couldn't figure out what camcorder they were using to shoot this. I know it had to be Digital but I was thinking it was shot with one of the small sony camcorders such as the PC110. Firstly because it was sort of a road trip the rate at which how fast they were moving the camcorder seemed to be as if they were using something flexible, and they had night shot on their camcorder. Which the PD150 or more of the prosumer camcorders don't have.

If you haven't watched this video I suggest you watch it. Its very creative and intresting... and is really catching the real world things that arn't lines from actors or celebritys.

Sony GV-D900E Caution lamp flashes - any idea?
 

Hi,
I just bought a used Sony GV-D900E. It works fine, but the Caution lamp flashes, without any other indication on the LCD display.

The only strange thing is that the fan does not work, is that normal?

Please if you have any experience of this, of if you have a Service Manual and can check this up - contact me here or my email!
Thanks from Peter