The joys of a tight deadline. at DVinfo.net

Ian Slessor · December 22nd, 2005, 09:18 AM

Hi gang.

No question, just relating my little experience.

Last week I was priviledged to film (yeah, I know, video just sounds...wrong) a presentation of The Nutcracker in our quant little town and it was quite good.

I was there for both evening shows and because they used pre-recorded Tchaikovsky it was easy to sync the music and hope that the dancers hit their marks which they did about 90% of the time. It made it a breeze to edit.

So. After the Friday night show I have to work 3 night shifts, that's Friday, Saturday & Sunday getting home at 7am Monday morning which is when I start cutting...after 5 hours sleep.

The director of the dance studio asked if I could have the DVD done for Thursday at 4pm. Yup. No problem.

You know what comes next, don't you? hehe.

I'm up until 2am Thursday morning burning the 25 DVDs I need and printing the labels (printable DVD).

It's all good. I'm done. I check every 5th disc or so on our home DVD player and apart from a couple of jinky menu links - which are very minor and not worth the fix - it's all good.

Then.... I check the last dance. The most important one. The Dance of The SugarPlum Fairy.

Aw, crap. Somehow during my checking I didn't check the most important dance and the audio track is off by a VERY noticeable two seconds.

So. The score?

25 printable DVDs - $15.00
Ink - $5.00
Time - late nights
Coffee - lots and lots of coffee
The look on my face when I realize I have only 6 and a half hours to fix the edit, render, author, burn, print DVD, print cover and deliver the program?-------PRICELESS... To my wife. hehe

Well. Back to the job at hand.

Thanks for letting me vent.

sincerely,

ian

Ben Lynn · December 22nd, 2005, 10:42 AM

Keep us posted on how it turns out! Nothing like hitting that point of no return when any mistake will cost you the entire deadline. Go for it!

Ben

Ian Slessor · December 22nd, 2005, 06:51 PM

It's a Festivus miracle!!!

With assistance from my lovely wife Julia we have put this baby to bed.

As agreed with the studio we showed up at 4pm and dropped off the DVDs.
We were burning and printing right up until the last minute. Literally. While my wife burned and printed the run over again I ran into town (20 minute drive) hit Staples, printed our covers, trimmed and was home with time to put the packages together, pick up the kids from school and be there as the clock turned 4pm. And we got two more orders out of the deal.

There were a lot of lessons learned today.

Don't agree to a very short timetable unless you're equipped to do it. We are...kinda. Well, we are NOW. hehe.

When we do recitals we will have our full edit with menus, DVD labels and case covers ready a minimum of one week before delivery date to ensure that all the bugs are worked out.

I WILL NOT allow this to happen again. *Knocks on head* (The nearest thing to wood right now) ;-)

My wife shouldn't have to see the air turn blue around me when it all goes to sh*t.

Thanks for listening to my little "stream of consciousness."

Another job done and done well.

Now to spend Christmas with the family.

Happy Festivus! I'm ready to air my grievances!
Merry Christmas! Who's this about again?
Happy Chanukkah! It ain't just a candle stick.
Peace and contentment to you all!
Athiests! Have a nice day and all the best!
Martians. May the all-seeing sponge absorb all of your worries and ooze mercy and love all over you.

I think I covered everyone.

sincerely,

ian

Carpe diem.

Dante Waters · December 23rd, 2005, 06:35 AM

Couldn't agree more...

Never set dates all kinda madness can occur and then we're running all over town wondering "what am I going to do." Lesson well learned.

"Study while others are sleeping, work while others are loafing, prepare while others are playing, dream while others are wishing."

Yi Fong Yu · January 2nd, 2006, 06:46 PM

well, i've learned that lesson before as well (for a church-sermon project). the biggest thing (imho) is to check the first master. once the master DVD checks out OK, the copying is easy =).

December 22nd, 2005, 09:18 AM	#1
Ian Slessor Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South-Central Ontario, Canada Posts: 216	The joys of a tight deadline. Hi gang. No question, just relating my little experience. Last week I was priviledged to film (yeah, I know, video just sounds...wrong) a presentation of The Nutcracker in our quant little town and it was quite good. I was there for both evening shows and because they used pre-recorded Tchaikovsky it was easy to sync the music and hope that the dancers hit their marks which they did about 90% of the time. It made it a breeze to edit. So. After the Friday night show I have to work 3 night shifts, that's Friday, Saturday & Sunday getting home at 7am Monday morning which is when I start cutting...after 5 hours sleep. The director of the dance studio asked if I could have the DVD done for Thursday at 4pm. Yup. No problem. You know what comes next, don't you? hehe. I'm up until 2am Thursday morning burning the 25 DVDs I need and printing the labels (printable DVD). It's all good. I'm done. I check every 5th disc or so on our home DVD player and apart from a couple of jinky menu links - which are very minor and not worth the fix - it's all good. Then.... I check the last dance. The most important one. The Dance of The SugarPlum Fairy. Aw, crap. Somehow during my checking I didn't check the most important dance and the audio track is off by a VERY noticeable two seconds. So. The score? 25 printable DVDs - $15.00 Ink - $5.00 Time - late nights Coffee - lots and lots of coffee The look on my face when I realize I have only 6 and a half hours to fix the edit, render, author, burn, print DVD, print cover and deliver the program?-------PRICELESS... To my wife. hehe Well. Back to the job at hand. Thanks for letting me vent. sincerely, ian

January 2nd, 2006, 06:46 PM	#5
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	well, i've learned that lesson before as well (for a church-sermon project). the biggest thing (imho) is to check the first master. once the master DVD checks out OK, the copying is easy =). __________________ bow wow wow

December 22nd, 2005, 10:42 AM	#2
Ben Lynn Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 636	Keep us posted on how it turns out! Nothing like hitting that point of no return when any mistake will cost you the entire deadline. Go for it! Ben

December 22nd, 2005, 06:51 PM	#3
Ian Slessor Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South-Central Ontario, Canada Posts: 216	It's a Festivus miracle!!! With assistance from my lovely wife Julia we have put this baby to bed. As agreed with the studio we showed up at 4pm and dropped off the DVDs. We were burning and printing right up until the last minute. Literally. While my wife burned and printed the run over again I ran into town (20 minute drive) hit Staples, printed our covers, trimmed and was home with time to put the packages together, pick up the kids from school and be there as the clock turned 4pm. And we got two more orders out of the deal. There were a lot of lessons learned today. Don't agree to a very short timetable unless you're equipped to do it. We are...kinda. Well, we are NOW. hehe. When we do recitals we will have our full edit with menus, DVD labels and case covers ready a minimum of one week before delivery date to ensure that all the bugs are worked out. I WILL NOT allow this to happen again. Knocks on head (The nearest thing to wood right now) ;-) My wife shouldn't have to see the air turn blue around me when it all goes to sh*t. Thanks for listening to my little "stream of consciousness." Another job done and done well. Now to spend Christmas with the family. Happy Festivus! I'm ready to air my grievances! Merry Christmas! Who's this about again? Happy Chanukkah! It ain't just a candle stick. Peace and contentment to you all! Athiests! Have a nice day and all the best! Martians. May the all-seeing sponge absorb all of your worries and ooze mercy and love all over you. I think I covered everyone. sincerely, ian Carpe diem.

December 23rd, 2005, 06:35 AM	#4
Dante Waters Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: NY, NY Posts: 217	Couldn't agree more... Never set dates all kinda madness can occur and then we're running all over town wondering "what am I going to do." Lesson well learned. "Study while others are sleeping, work while others are loafing, prepare while others are playing, dream while others are wishing."