Videocracy Blog

I’m working on a new video for a client, and I’m always interested at the different dimensions that are added, and how much richer it becomes.

I have edited a rough cut of the video, using my own voice for a temporary narration… and I was not born with a radio voice, not in the least.  I once tried to use my own voice for a project… and had to re-record because I didn’t have the dynamics I was looking for.

I started looking for a voice over talent, and I looked into using the site Voices.com… it’s a great site, I started a “project” gave my project specs, and a 2 paragraph sample of the script… within minutes of getting my “project” approved, people started sending me auditions, with my script… So now I was actually hearing great sounding voices, reading the script I had put together… and in one particular instance, one audition had background music to act as a watermark… so I laid that track down to my edited rough cut, I muted my own voice and hit play… suddenly my video was taken from being  boring (cause I think my voice is a little boring) to dynamic…

The hardest dimension I have is music, I’m having the hardest time picking the right background music for the piece… some of it sounds so dated, some of it is just too upbeat for what I’m looking for.  I don’t have the time or patience to try and put something together using loops… and it’s still faster, and better in the long run to just purchase someone else’s work… it’s there so why not… it’s going to be better then anything I have put together.

It’s all about Dynamics…

I’ve heard video professionals say that to create the best titles in Final Cut Pro, use Photoshop…

That’s usually said because the title creator in FCP is actually really poor… it’s fine if  you wanna do simple titles, but if you go beyond that, like change the color of every other line in scrolling text, or change the size of some words vs others… it just doesn’t do that sort of thing…

I did create my scrolling titles for the first time using Photoshop today (Before I’ve just used basic  black on white scrolling text).  And I keyframed it’s motion in the keyframe editor in FCP… it worked out well, usually I don’t do it that way… and I am glad I got to experience something new.

Here’s an interesting article about what it takes to create a web series… something I’ve thought about doing because you can have a complex storyline span out over a few episodes, while at the same time keeping it short and simple to produce…

Plus distribution is much easier then ever before thanks to YouTube…

Check it out it’s  a good read…

http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.php?articleId=196604185

3D seems to be on an upswing in popularity these day, I went to the movies last weekend to see Wall-E, and there were two movie trailers that featured movies in 3D… and from a lot of the reading I’ve done, I’ve noticed that one of the hottest items at this years NAB was the 3D cameras.

in 2008, we saw the release of U23D a U2 concert in new Digital 3D.  Jules Vernes’ novel Journey to the Center of the Earth has been adapted into a 3D movie starring Brenden Frasier.  There are several more being released this year.  Also there are movies being redone in 3D as well… Nightmare Before Christmas is coming out again around Halloween in 3D, and I had heard rumors that George Lucas was planning on redoing Star Wars in 3D…

Why are we suddenly interested in seeing movies in 3D?  I went to see Beowulf in the theatre, which was all in 3D, and I couldn’t get past the 2 dollar “Rental Charge” for the glasses… and then on top of that… I found the 3D disorienting…

I’ve always been interested in seeing movies in 3D, but I feel as though the new Digital 3D is a little harder to watch because of the disorienting factor…

I loved watching House of Wax with Vincent Price in 3D… that was a fun movie…

And not to mention Captain Eo starring Michael Jackson…

But again, I ask, why all of a sudden is the popularity of 3D movies on an upswing.

More to come I’m sure.

The Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group has set up a wiki for frequently asked questions on anything related to the Final Cut Suite, I haven’t had a chance to use it too much, but I wanted to make sure and share this great resource.

http://www.lafcpug.org/faqwiki/index.php/Main_Page#Troubleshooting

A friend of mine asked me and another friend what kind of camcorder he should get, and he can only spend less then 200 bucks.

Now, 5 years ago, this probably wouldn’t have gotten him anything… But I think with cell phone cameras getting better and better, and tapeless recording getting better and better. We are seeing cameras that are cheaper and smaller then they ever were. Also, with the popularity of HD increasing, things like Mini-DV… the small tapeless cameras that I just mentioned are becoming cheaper and easier to find.

I’m not sure I wrote about my small Aiptek camera that I have, but with the 1 Gb, SD card in it… I can record up to 50 Minutes of video, plus I have the ability to use it as a sound recorder, a still camera… and an MP3 player.

I just read an article today about the “Flip Camcorder” I saw these come onto the scene a few months ago, and I thought they were quite interesting… The reason they are called “Flip” is because the USB connection that goes into your computer, flips out from within the camera. Part of the reason I like this, is because I can never find my cables for transferring files (that’s why the universal card readers are also handy, just leave them plugged in…).

My friend asked me to recommend a camera for him a few months ago, and he still hasn’t gotten one yet… And the purpose of this camera, is for viral videos, something you can quickly and easily put on YouTube videos on the web… That’s exactly what my friend his hoping to do with his camera… So every time I see a new camera similar to this one, I think of him… and I’ll probably recommend this one to him as well…

Now days, not only do you get a simple camera like this to put your videos on YouTube, but there are also online video editing websites that can do simple edits for you…

Media has become a portable thing…

Here you can see the Flip Camera…

Amazon
Here is one of those online editing websites…

Jumpcut

I just read today, that the Netflix boxes that I previously wrote about are sold out… The company that makes them, have sold out of their entire stock of set top boxes.  They said that it will be 8 weeks before they fulfill new orders…

I didnt’ think these things would do as well as they did.  I guess it’ll be a few months before I think about getting one.

Great article worth sharing about choosing a Microphone…

http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.php?articleId=196604109

It includes a chart with a listing of Microphone options…what mic to use, for what situation…

Here’s an interesting video, it’s a glimpse into how Short films are seen by distributors at the Cannes Film Festival…

Comes from an interesting site too… www.FilmSpecific.com

http://www.filmspecific.com/public/658.cfm

I saw something I’ve never seen before, a new form of intrusive advertising…

I was watching a TV show yesterday, and an ad for a different show appeared at the bottom of the screen. And I’ve noticed that as time goes on, these ads have gotten increasingly larger, and in this particular case… the ad overtook the entire screen, and I couldn’t even see what was happening. And then to make matters worse, the ad actually “Paused” the show I was watching, and made an announcent about their own show. Basically the ad popped up, a character from the show from the ad, used a remote to “Pause” the show you are watching, make an announcement…and then the show commenced.

I’m sure the people at the network found this clever… but I found it obtrusive, and obnoxious. This is why I don’t watch television… because there are too many advertisements.