Month: April 2010

As we will all find ourselves in this class, we draft an idea, make a story board, create a music list and find a cast for a video we decide to create. However in the third installation of “Edit The Plan“, we are presented with the always annoying problem of not having it come out the way you had hoped.

In major motion pictures the hope of having an editor on set while shooting to get the needed shots for he/she t work with while making the final cut is not always the situation. It is also similar to many students here who have little experience and find ourselves coming up way short of our expectations of the soon-to-be greatest video production movie ever!

In saying, this little piece of writing tells each of us to be flexible and work with what we receive. Each of us directors will find a time and we have to work through our mistakes and we will be able to possibly make a piece which makes the planned shoot look bestial in comparison. I end by quoting the article in saying “This is the real-world situation we’ll talk about…” and you must plan for the unexpected!

wWhen I saw the article “Nikon D3S DSLR Reviewed”, I was really excited because being a Nikon fan, it showed that they had come out with a new camera that takes magnificent still photos, but also HD camera capability. The article talks about how the set up for the D3S is identical to the D3, but there are a few additional buttons. Personally I prefer the set up Nikon has for many of their cameras better than the set up that other camera companies have such a Canon. The set up is very ideal for both still photos and video. One key thing that is really ideal that the D3S has is the horizontal grip, and the additional buttons the camera has. This allows photographers to hold the camera vertical, and hold the camera as if it were horizontal which is very very good for stability. The D3S is a professional camera that most people might not understand unless they understand such things as aperture and shutter speed. The camera is very good for still photos, having a megapixel of 12.5 allows the resolution to be very good. The camera also allows night video shoots with the extremely high ISO that the camera has. The camera can go to an ISO of 102,400 which is EXTREMELY high where my Nikon D40 only goes to 1,600. So comparing the two cameras the ISO is very high and allows more photography and video in darker lighting. The camera while it is a still photo camera, also allows the video portion of it to have additional sound functions which is very handy. On top of that the seal over the plug-ins are waterproof which allows people to relax a bit when there is a camera in the rain. The camera is very big, which is slightly annoying but a very good camera can weigh a lot. Only professionals would want this camera, or someone training to be a professional. It would just be ridiculous for people who don’t know the technical aspect of photography, or are not trying to learn photography to have this camera.

This article is all about how to make an informed decision when you are going to buy new equipment for making videos, I.E. cameras, mics and editing systems.

• Research is the biggest thing you can do, it will help you find the best reviewed and prices.
• When you might find what you are looking for the seller that you are buying it from might not be legitimate, find info on the seller.
• A cheap buy might not be the best buy. Some of cheap sellers might sell overseas and that will make it so that you don’t have a U.S. warranty. Others might not give you all of the equipment. Read the Fine print.
• Buy what is needed. Do you really need all that extra stuff for one shot, no. Don’t go overboard with what you are buying.
• Buying used is always a good idea. It will be cheaper and might still be in good condition. Just buy from someone that you know didn’t break anything on what you are buying.
• Wait a little while, don’t go rushing into the buy, if you wait you might find a better deal or a better product that is suited for you.
• Be informed and have a little lea way with your spending money.

This article was good because it shows what it takes to find the equipment that you want and to not regret buying it. So the next time the video class needs to buy something new that is what you should take into account.

-BigBerry

So Evan and I actually filmed another music video scene today! Ryan and Sarah being a cute couple on the grass with flowers and lovely good life things. All that’s left to get is the Rylan scene and the dog scene. Then we can print off our still frames and do the mantle stuff. Because the deadline is May 1st and we’re GOING TO GREECE IN 5 DAYS so we gotta get this donnneee.

So I was eating dinner last night with the family, and my mom found a copy of Hidalgo, and said something along the lines of “I love this movie” and put it in the DVD player. There was nothing else on, so I figured that it couldn’t be that bad. I was wrong.

The movie starts out with this guy who owns a horse, who does long-distance endurance horse racing for a living. He rides a mustang, which is considered a piece of junk back then. (Late 1800’s.) Horse is named Hidalgo. What a surprise, right? So apparently, the guy is really sensitive about his horse, and he loves it, and so on. At one point, he has to deliver a letter to a bunch of U.S. troops occupying an Indian village. The orders say to move the Indians off the land, so they don’t rebel and attack the nearby towns and cities. They start disarming the Indians so there’s no chance of an attack, and one of the Indians doesn’t take too kindly to that. He attempts to shoot one of the men, but instead fails miserably. The troops open fire on the Indians, killing every last one of them. The main character feels responsible for some reason, and decides to drink himself into a stupor every day. Three months later, he’s working in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show (which is awesome), when suddenly a Middle Eastern guy shows up and demands that Hidalgo’s rider (his name isn’t ever mentioned, or not that I caught) have his title as the fastest horse rider in the world or whatever revoked. That can’t happen, so he goes over to the middle east and does this huge race across the desert for glory and cash monies or something like that.

I honestly had no interest in the film whatsoever, but I was determined to see it through to the end. The characters were hollow, the action was droll at best, and there were no special effects to speak of. The camerawork and audio were very well done, so that’s saying something, at least. I would give it 2 stars out of five, simply because the actual filming was done very well, but the actors and the plot were hollow and nonexistent, respectively.