From the Wilderness of the Beaver State

[Steve McDonald]

I've been a hardcore videocamera jock for 15 years. I started in order to make videos of my various professional and recreational activities, but I got hooked on the media and do more of that than the other things now. I shoot athletics, cultural events and musical performances, but my big personal interest is in wildlife video, especially of birds. The new GL2 with a 40X telextended lens is my answer to being too lazy to stalk them up close. See my profile for the other gear I have. I use VCR to VCR editing---it's quicker, cheaper and less problematic than NLE and the anachronistic aspects fit my lifestyle. I also have captured thousands of video still pictures from tape onto Zip and Floppy disks. I use Olympus C-2100 UV and D-360Z digital cameras. My ambition is to do a production of the wildlife and landscapes of the Outer Hebrides of Iberia where all my grandparents were born. The wildlife includes the Scots, of course. I'm studying a bit of the Gàidhlig language, to make the experience better.

Beannachd Leat

[Rob Lohman]

A bit late to say welcome aboard, but thank you for the
introduction. Were not hearing much about analog editing. Why
do you find digital less easy?

[Steve McDonald]

Rob, I do all my editing in a digital format now, it's just VCR to VCR, instead of computer-based. I use my analog VCRs to play the older source tapes I have, into a digital deck, for editing and mastering. Until last year, I was often using ED-Beta, Super Hi-Band Beta or 3/4-inch for some editing, but as good as they are, my Digital8 and DV VCRs do a better job. I don't need to elaborate on this, as everyone on the group knows why it is so.

Most of the longer things I do are athletic events, which I cover with a single camera. I am often able to watch my shooting carefully enough, that little or no editing is required. I never use any fancy graphics or special effects, as only the action on the field is important to the production. Instead of “fixing it in post”, I try to do it the right way in the field with the camera and these factors make NLE an unnecessary expense and bother. I'm a shooter and hate to be stuck indoors editing and trying to make a computer behave. I spend about 6 hours a day packing a camcorder around outside. If I got into a type of video that required heavy editing and computer processing, I'd have to give up being such a wild man on the loose and become too civilized. But, when they develop an optical disk or solid-state recording medium
that is low-cost, high-capacity and carries the full bit-rate of DV, I'll be more interested in shifting to NLE.

[Ross Milligan]

<<<-- Originally posted by Steve McDonald : My ambition is to do a production of the wildlife and landscapes of the Outer Hebrides of Iberia where all my grandparents were born. The wildlife includes the Scots, of course. I'm studying a bit of the Gàidhlig language, to make the experience better.

Beannachd Leat -->>>


I wish you well with your ambition, I guess I am lucky - a holiday in Orkney this year and Lewis, Harris and the Uists next year(hopefully).

Welcome from another new boy.

Ross

[Alexander McLeod]

<<<-- Originally posted by Ross Milligan : <<<-- Originally posted by Steve McDonald : My ambition is to do a production of the wildlife and landscapes of the Outer Hebrides of Iberia where all my grandparents were born. The wildlife includes the Scots, of course. I'm studying a bit of the Gàidhlig language, to make the experience better.

Beannachd Leat -->>>


I wish you well with your ambition, I guess I am lucky - a holiday in Orkney this year and Lewis, Harris and the Uists next year(hopefully).

Welcome from another new boy.

Ross -->>>

Are the Scots taking over here?
Sandy

[Rik Sanchez]

It seems like the Scots are catching up to the Texans on this forum, luckily I can lay claim to both groups, my great-great grandfather was scottish. Pretty far off but I still have his name; Cambell.

Always nice to see people still keeping some ties to the analog world, did all my stuff vcr to vcr through an effector for years before I got a computer based editor, you never know when you have to do things the old school way. A lot of people I meet here have done video work only in the digital way, they wouldn't know how to work the analog way if their life depended on it. their laptop goes down and so do they.

Good luck on your project, I gotta get off my butt and look more into my scottish roots, how can we know where we are going if we don't know where we've been.