Greetings from Frisco, Texas (North of DFW)

I'm a screenwriter turned writer/director/producer. Tired of beating on agents doors so I figured I'll write, produce and direct as much of my own (and possibly others) work to gain more experience. I've REALLY enjoyed learning my camera (VX2000) the fine art lighing, audio and other elements that make a production work.

Best book(s) I've read:
Rebel without a Crew. Robert Rodriguez - I've amazed myself what is possible with some inexpensive lighting, a cheap tripod turned mini-jib/mono pod/steadicam (really!) and a large roll of duct tape.

Story by Robert McKee - You know what? It IS the story...

Always enjoy conversation with other creative types.

Wayde Gardner
Right Field Films
www.geocities.com/rightfieldfilms/index.html

Wow, I can't even find Frisco on my Rand-McNally map, Wade! And I thought I lived in a small town -- we have some family in Carrollton -- or are you fruther north?

I get that a lot.

Frisco is straight up Preston Rd (Hwy 289) and 5 miles north of Hwy 121. Frisco was really a road bump until 5-6 years ago. I moved there in '91 (pop. 3900+) Today, it's the fastest growing city in Texas and I think #2 in the nation.

We've gone from a 2100sq.ft. grocery store to at least five major stores and a 1.5M sq.ft. Mall. Population today... about 45,000. No kidding.

This Spring they (Frisco and developer Tom Hicks) will start construction on a minor league BB facility and the Stars new training facility. Who'd a thunk?

Hello Everyone

I didn't want to title the post "howdy y'all" because that would have been too obvious and besides, I'm originally from New Mexico - Texas is just my adopted state.

First, I'd just like to say "what a great site!" - and very much needed. I've always benefited so much from on-line communities because they're such a great way to share information and do collective trouble-shooting.

I've been in the video biz for about 15 years, mostly in the corporate world. I started editing (professionally) in 1989 the old fasioned way - in a roomfull of equipment and tape machines. It still totally blows me away that I can do more with video now on the desktop than I could 10 years ago with a half million dollars worth of equipment!

After my corporate linear editing experience, I delved into non-linear with the Media 100 when I started my own business. My partners and I had the first Media100 sold in the Dallas Ft. Worth area (Media 100 version 1.1)! Also did a lot of freelancing - a few commercials, a little bit of sports and a lot of corporate work.

After about 5 years of that I came back to the corporate world full-time. I'm a much better editor than salesman and I'd rather worry about doing good video while I'm at work instead of how I'm going to pay the bills. I'm still using the Media100 and a Sony Betacam rig but we decided to purchase an XL1 recently to complement the Betacam. It's nice to have a smaller, lighter camera that can be used on a steadicam rig that we can afford. Also It's good to have longer record times in some situations. I'm still so impressed with the image guality of the XL1 and anxious to delve into some of the more advanced features of the camera like frame movie mode and the intervalometer for time-lapse videography.

Hope to get to know y'all.

Mark Smithhisler
Dallas, TX

Wow... That is a lot of experience. ( I am a resident newbie) The funny thing is that I was in an editing room once and like you said it is amazing how much can be done now. Gotta give credit to the rise of computers, eh?

Welcome and I, and when I say "I" i think that I speak for everyone, will look forward to hearing what insights you have from the world of corprate video!

Dennis

I'm a five-hour drive away but there may be enough members from the Big D area now to warrant a BBQ weekend at some point in the near future. Anytime in the summer months (February through November) is good for me. Welcome aboard,

Sometimes I wish I lived in the US... Perhaps I can join some of
you guys on a vacation one day. BBQ is always nice!

Welcome aboard Mark! There are a lot of people on this forum
who come from linear editing etc. Also a lot of "newbies" like
myself. Good to hear that you like your new camera!

Again, welcome.

Rob, you are always welcome to come down to "Big D" for vacation sometime... Mark and I will get you a Stetson hat and a pair of Justin Ropers so that you'll look the part from head to toe.

Well, I'm certainly up for the barbeque but stetsons and Justin ropers were never my style. I'll just show up in my jeans and tie dye T-shirt.

Mark

Gee, I haven't visited Dallas since the early 1980's. Ring the triangle and I'm there!

Mark --

Come on down to Austin then... where shorts, flip-flops and tie-dyed T-shirts are the uniform "du jour."

Awwww.

Not only do I feel left out, but you're making me homesick for Austin. What I wouldn't give for a plate full of Stubb's BBQ...or better yet, to head out to the Salt Lick or Woody's. Mmm--mmmmmm.

When you guys have your BBQ weekend, can you pack some in dry ice and ship it to Tokyo?

Howdy. James Canchola from San Marcos, TX and Austin TX.
Worked broadcast in Austin and Miami, and did 3years commercial editing in Miami. I'm back in Central Texas and available. Just produced, wrote and edited a $5K pilot of 30-minute entertainment news magazine program The open is on the XL-1, the rest on Sony's DSR-500 DVCam. I'm shopping it right now. If y'all have any ideas let me know. I produce great, but shopping is a bitch!

Hey, nice to see you here, James! Thanks for coming aboard and welcome to ya (James is holding down the fort at Media Design, the production studio I helped to start with Dave Newman back in '95).

By the way James we have a Business practices forum you might be interested in at

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=40

which might interest you... how to shop a project would be a good topic there.

See you in town,

Glad to have you with us. One day you'll have to tell us how in the world you managed to make XL1 and DSR500 footage live in peaceful coexistence on the same project. 1/3" ccd's -vs- 2/3" ccd's. Must have been quite a chore!

I've seen this piece, Ken...

(Hey James, the other day Dave Newman grabbed your demo reel out of the studio and showed it to me over at his house)

James edited it and it's really a superb job. The XL video provides the intro piece under opening titles. James cut it very fast, very snappy, so that although you can see all these various nightlife scenes on the city streets, nothing lingers long enough to reveal that's it's not the top-end Sony.

I didn't know just how good an editor James is until I saw that, and it took Dave by surprise, too. Media Design is very lucky to have him!

Welcome aboard James. Very good to have you with us! And I'd
love to hear more about that movie as well. Sounds like you did
an amazing job!

James, I envy you, wish I could find a way to get back to Texas. Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi, anywhere would be alright, even Abilene, well, I don't know about Abilene. Not quite that desperate.

I’ve been lurking about for a couple of months and even responded to some screenwriting posts. Now that I’m learning enough to have questions of my own, I thought I’d introduce myself and see if I can move from Tourist to New Boot. My name is Philip Boyer. I currently work as a technical writer in Lewisville, Texas (just north of Dallas). I am extremely new to digital video and own no equipment, except for my Sony TRV-25 and a $24.99 tripod from Wal-Mart (great for those jerky camera moves).

I’ve written about a dozen screenplays (none optioned, none sold). At the moment, I’m trying to convince my wife that wanting to get the equipment to shoot my own screenplays, both short and feature-length, is not a midlife crisis (I’m too young for that), or, if it is, at least it’s a better one than getting a sports car or a trophy wife.

I’ll be attending the free DV Reveloution Seminar when it rolls through Dallas on March 3 (the 10-12:30 time slot, anybody else here attending that one?) and plan on taking at least the first day of their three-day course when it comes back to the Dallas area.

Hello, Philip. Another writer!

It's amazing how many people are from Texas here on this forum. At least with their posts, I don't have to squeeze my ears in order to decipher the heavy Southern accent! I just spoke to one fellew from the Texas Panhandle last Sunday. I didn't think I could squeeze my ears for an hour and a half! Welcome to the foums.

Howdy, Philip, from another Texan. Don't pay these Canucks any mind...they're harmless.

Please keep us posted on developments of your upcoming projects (go ahead and get started with the equipment you have...I'll bet your wife will get equally hooked on filmmaking once she sees some results...plus you'll be getting the first few bad filmmaking attempts that we all supposedly have in us out of the way before you get your XL1s).

Good luck. When you get some footage, be sure to post a link for us to check out.

Bienvenidos Amigo,

Lot of us writers and filmmakers from Texas. (I'm in Houston).

As to whether or not filmmaking is a better mid-life crisiis than a sports car or "twinkie" -

Well, I've got a script on that one...

Bill

Welcome aboard Philip! It is great that you join us as writer because
I don't think we have that much of them here (yet). Anyways,
welcome, and enjoy the place!

Hi Philip, my wife's family is from Carrollton, just south of you. Let's hook up for a beer next time I'm up there. Welcome aboard,

I live in Carrollton (work in Lewisville). Let me know when you're in the area and I'll even buy the beer.

Hi, Philip. I'm just a few miles up the road in Denton and work at UNT. I have three XL1 rigs for shooting music events in a concert hall here that has fabulous acoustics. We also do surround sound in that space. You are very welcome, as is everyone on this list, to come for a visit. Be in touch.

Richard DuPree, Manager
Music Media Services
College of Music

I live in the Harlingen area of deep south Texas. Anyone else down here by the border?

Hey Tom,
I'm in Brownsville, Texas, and about to purchase a Panasonic DVX100 for some indie work. I recognize your name from somewhere.....do you know Brodie O'Brien from Harlingen?

No.
Did you go to TSTC?

Nope, went to SJA and then to UT-Austin for film school and now I'm back in the Valley starting up www.southtexasfilm.com. Today was actually our first day working on some projects..one in harlingen and the other in downtown Brownsville (that Mexican film you probably heard about).

Do you have Yahoo messenger?
We should talk.
If not, my email is rainman748@yahoo.com

NO, i tried it several times and didn't like it too much. I only use AIM. Sure, email me if you want: nickm AT rgv.rr.com

What a great site this is. Just wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to be a new memeber here.

I'm a chiropractor by trade in my 7th year of practice. I'm about 40 mi east of Dallas since I'm sure most will not know where Greenville is.

I got into DV about 2 years ago when a couple that I know wanted me to shoot their wedding as their "present" from me, since their budget was tight. I had dabbled in editing a little. I was using the old "EditDV" at the time to put together more interesting vacation videos for myself and friends.

Not knowing anything about wedding videography I ended up doing a pretty respectable job. I'm embarrassed to say that I used a 1st gen. 1-chip Canon Elura backed up with my parents old 8mm for my second angle (the humanity, I know).

Well two, years and four unsolicited weddings later my friends and family have convinced me that in addition to seeing 200-250 patients a week in my "real" job I need to try out the wedding video business "for real" as well.

I've graduated from EditDV to Final Cut 4, from iDVD to, DVD Studio Pro and from my old, but trusty, Elura to THREE GL2s.

So from now until January I'll be doing research, creating demos, acquiring all the necessary pro equipment, promo materials, website, getting the legal part of the business set up and generally getting my name out there for a 2004 startup.

I've already found a wealth of knowledge on this site and I'm confident it will be an invaluable tool on my road to success in this business.

Again, glad to be a part of the site and hopefully I can get a chance to talk to many of you on a variety of subjects!

Sincerely,

Dr. Brad Carrier

http://carrierchiro.chiroweb.com/

Welcome!

3 GL2's, wowzers!

What I can recommend to add to that list is some good audio gear, ecspecially wireless.

Practice is good, and you've already done 4 weddings, so you got some experience doing it, but doing it as a professional, with this nicer gear, i'd recommend to keep your prices cheaper then most around the area, while starting out, and possibly do your first one or two for free or really cheap, to get the hang of it.

Oh yeah, you'll also need 2 other good camera operators, of course. :D

Good luck.

Alex -

Yes, after the first couple weddings I figured out pretty quick I needed some wireless lav mics. Experience has also led me to invest in other critical equipment such as a good tripod & head, video light etc. I do plan on offering more and charging significantly less than others in the area just to gain experience and build a more impressive demo reel for the future.

Hello from San Marcos, the home of the incredible Chris Hurd, whom I had no idea was so famous in this circle until reaching DVinfo.net!

My name is Clay Stansberry and I am just getting into the DV world, and just realizing how awesome and fun it can be! I have been overwhelmed at the enormity of information there is and the incredible displays of creativity in shorts, commercials, and off-the-wall whacky stuff and am eager to be a part of it.

By day, I am am a High School and Junior High Band Director, and by night a DV junkie! Have been on here lurking about for a while and decided it was time to jump in head first and see how much more information I can fill my head with. I shoot with an XL-1S everytime I can get my hands on one and will be editing with FCP as soon as my G5 arrives. I bring to DV a background in Photography (the last 8 years)...have been doing it on the side, but this is just way more fun.

I am happy to be here and I hope I will learn from each and everyone of you, and who knows? Maybe I can teach as well...let me know if you need help controling 150 students in a shoot! I look forward to talking with as many of you as possible and making some new friends in the process. Thanks to one and all in advance.

Sincerely,

Clay Stansberry
San Marcos, Texas

Welcome, Clay!

I'm also an ex-resident of San Marcos during my years at "the university formerly known as SWT." San Marcos is a beautiful place to shoot...hope you'll share some footage with us someday.

Happy shooting.

Hi Clay,

I'm actually a little bit outside San Marcos now, but it's still home as far as I'm concerned. Nice to see someone else from the Heart of the central Texas Hill Country! There are a few other San Marcosian members lurking around here somewhere, not including the transplated John Locke. Feel free to drop in on my old stomping grounds at Media Design downtown on the Square at the corner of Hopkins & Guadalupe, right across the street from the old "Beacon City Bank" building from that 1972 movie The Getaway with Steve McQueen. As you know a lot of movies have been shot in our town! Anyway those guys can give you a hand if you ever need VHS or DVD duplication done locally. I know they've done some work for the ISD before, so you might have met 'em already. Welcome aboard, we're all learning around here -- see you at Palmers,

Welcome, J! A DV junkie at night, eh? I spend most of my evenings duplicating VHS tapes, but I managed to take a few pics this afternoon. I got back from downtown, buying some film and a filter, and I saw this women pushing a baby carriage. There was no baby in it, though, but a small cute dog all stretched out enjoing the ride! Luckily I had my camera with me. :)

Welcome aboard brad and good luck with your projects!

Just giving a loud and rowdy howdy from D/FW. I live in Aubrey, work in Denton, and I've seen people on these boards from many surrounding cities (Carrollton, Lewisville, even Greenville (my birthplace!), etc...) I just bought a GL2 and am trying to get established in small audio/video production with my buddy, who also has a GL2. We have a few weddings under our belts and a few other A/V gigs. This site has been an invaluable resource for all of my learnings.

The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know!

Anywho, just saying hello. Thanks for this great community.

Welcome aboard Bobby and good luck with your "company"!

Hey Clay,

A belated welcome to the group. I got my degree at SWT back in 88 and loved San Marcos. I guess its got a new name now that sounds like a made-up school in a movie. DOA with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan was filmed there my last summer.

Welcome aboard.

Tom

Easy does it on ole' Abilene town. Some of us ex-San Marcosites now live out here in West Texas! Abilene might not be much to look at, but the people out here are awesome! Kind, good-hearted, honest... it's a slower pace out here and after parking lot traffic jams on the I-35 corridor, having a 10 minute maximum traffic stoppage is o.k. by me.

By the way, James, welcome. I'm brand new here myself. My wife and I moved up here to Abilene a couple of years ago from San Marcos where I had worked at SMBA. We sure do miss our friends and the scenery, but not the traffic! You've got some big shoes to fill, following in Chris Hurd's footsteps... but I'm sure you'll do great.

Thanks for letting me defend my dusty West Texas town a little bit.

Jeff

Hey all!

Just popped in here to check out the stuff and found tons of info! What a terrific place!

I'm in the McKinney area which is just north of Plano (made famous by Shane Carruth, maker of Primer (http://www.primermovie.com/index2.html)

My current project is a short film/demo reel titled escape (http://www.morgankeithstudios.com/escape/index.html) which I'll be shooting with a GL2.

If there are anyother Texans around be sure to post a note!

<<If there are anyother Texans around be sure to post a note!>>

This could be a long thread, Patrick. You'll be surprised how many Texans there are here... including transplanted ones like myself.

Anyway... let me be the first to say howdy and welcome aboard. I went to school in Commerce for a spell, so I'm familiar with your stomping grounds.

Good luck on your project.

P.S. Cool green screen sample on your site!

Did someone call out the Texans?

welcome aboard Patrick. I'm sure you'll like it here.

I'm also a fellow Texan, from El Paso and now I'm living 3 hours south(as the bullet train flys) from John.

Hi from Fort Worth! This is a great place, lots of info and some very talented people.

Howdy everyone,

I'm Jim Underwood, and I live/work in the Houston, TX Clear Lake area. I'm brand new to pro or semi-pro videography, and to this site/forum. My main interest now is wedding/event videography. I apologize if this is too long -- turned out longer than I intended.

Well, I'm probably an orange (or pear) among apples. :-)

I'm a systems engineer by genetics, education, and experience. The only "talent" that I have that comes close to artistic is photography/video.

--------------------------------------
THE COLLEGE YEARS - GETTING STARTED
--------------------------------------

When I was in college (a hundred years ago) working on a degree in Aerospace Engineering, for some reason I became interested in photography -- don't really know why. Saw an inexpensive 35mm camera kit at a local store for about $200. Didn't know the first thing about cameras -- it was just an impulse purchase that I got lucky on. My family banker gave me a "long term loan" (I was a poor college student) to buy the camera. This was back in the days when banks gave real service. I called up our banker (a senior VP), and he said just write the check and I'll cover it. :-)

So I started taking pictures of everything in sight. In particular portraits, landscapes, and existing light scenes. My best shot is of a winding mountain road with a split-rail fence, printed on real canvas. To most people it looks like a painting. It was taken on a hazy Thanksgiving day in the mountains of Tennessee.

I am completely self-taught. I bought every book and mag I could find on photography, and experimented with everything. That's the key -- trial and error. The single most important thing I ever learned about photography is that for every great shot you see in a book/magazine, the photographer took at least 10 other shots that were culled. I also discovered that I had an eye for composing/framing a shot. Paid attention to detail. Learned quickly the only way I could afford all this is to use slide film. Prints were way too expensive.

This continued throughout my college career and the first 10 years after graduation. I always had a camera with me -- in the car, on the plane, everywhere. A group of my friends started kidding me -- calling me "Cecil B". Of course I was no where near that - I was just an enthusiastic amateur who always had a camera on hand. :-)

---------------------
DISCOVERING VIDEO
---------------------

Then I discovered video. Like someone said, still photography is great, and can be beautiful and dramatic, but it doesn't capture the feeling and the personality of the people like video/film. So I saved my money till I could afford a two-piece VCR. Camcorders weren't available to consumers yet, and even a VCR was very expensive. The VCR I bought had two units: the recorder and the tuner. You hand to buy a video camera (very expensive) separately. Never could afford the camera -- always rented one when I needed it.

Finally the price of camcorders and my income met so I could afford one. Bought a Hitachi VM-500A high resolution camcorder. Still have it. The battery on it is larger than the entire camcorder used by a lot of consumers today. :-)

But I had great fun with it. Nothing pro -- just family and friends stuff like vacations, parties, Christmas, etc. Learned a lot. Always tried to tell a story. Wanted to get into video editing, but the editing equipment cost thousands of dollars then -- too much for my budget.

Ten years later I upgraded to a mini-DV camcorder -- Sony DCR-TRV9. A great consumer camcorder. Experimented a lot with it, but nothing special until I was asked to produce a video for the wedding of the son of a friend. I said OK not really knowing what I was getting into.

------------------------
MY FIRST WEDDING
-----------------------

This led to an intensive research phase on production and editing. Couldn't afford what I really wanted, and had to make do with what I had. Bought a couple of cheap wireless mics (intuitively knew audio would be important) and of course a tripod, etc. Put the mic on the groom and it worked great! It picked up him and others near him quite well, and he soon forgot he was on tape. :-) Captured some very cute and funny candid moments.

Worked my butt off at the rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception. Had plenty of tapes and batteries, and everything pre-labeled for quick access. Asked a groomsman and bridesmaid to be MCs, and that worked out extremely well. You couldn't have written a script for them any better than what they did naturally. Everyone responded well.

Finally it came time to edit. But what software? And did my computer have enough power? A little bit of research revealed that Pinnacle Studio 8 was a decent low-end non-linear editor that is relatively easy to use. Got lucky again. Bought Studio 8 at Fry's for free after rebate. Loaded it up, and fortunately my computer swallowed it without choking. :-) It actually worked quite well. The only slow part was rendering for the DVD -- took about 8 hours.

But I produced a DVD that the B&G were very happy with. No where near the quality of a pro, but much better than you usually get with "Uncle Bob". :-)

I loved it. Especially the NLE. I was amazed what you could do. I never did get into using the darkroom in still photography but everyone always said that's where the real power is. Of course the source has to be good. But it's amazing how editing can turn a so-so video into an interesting story.

--------------------
TURNING SEMI-PRO
--------------------

Now I want to do it for real. I'm turning semi-pro (keeping my day job till I see how things go). I taking two classes this fall at the local college:
1. TV Field Production (nicknamed "Movie Makers Academy")
2. Non-Linear Video Editing

If these work out well, I'll probably take some more. If I really get into it, I might even go for a degree. I'm a great believer in the combination of formal training and hands-on experience. While you can learn with just experience, good training can greatly accelerate the learning process.

I plan on buying a Canon GL2 as my first "pro" camcorder. Everything I have read about it sounds great. Would anyone suggest another camcorder for me to start with? Please let me know if you know where I can get a good deal on a GL2 (new or used). I'm aware of the site sponsors.

I think this site and forum are really great. I've already learned a lot just by lurking in the forums.

I look forward to getting to know you all.

Welcome aboard Jim and thank you for your introduction! It was
a great read and you seem to have had an interesting experience
in both photography and videography.

Both your statements regarding trial & error and theory & practice
are very true in my opinion. I live by them!

Regarding a camera it would be best browse the Open DV
Discussion forum since it has been asked a lot already. Or if
you want to know more about what people are using for
weddings and the GL2 check out their respective forums here.

As you know our sponsors have good service and fair prices.
Please do check them out.