How to Get a Job with a Small Company

October 31st, 2011

Most advice about job seeking is oriented around big companies. The notion of a standard resume, of mass mailings, of dealing with the HR department–even the idea of interviews–is all built around the Fortune 500. Alas, the Fortune 500 has been responsible for a net loss in jobs over the last twenty years. All the [...]

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Color Temperature and Gels

June 28th, 2011

A Director of Photography’s challenge is to craft the quality and character of light in a scene.  Since the majority of our projects are on-location, I am often working with  a mixture of natural light within the existing scene and the “artificial” light I introduce.  If my goal is to have all light be the [...]

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Three Dimensional Video Production

July 4th, 2010

Bob’s Current Conclusions about 3 Dimensional Video Production In April 2010, Bob attended the Digital Cinema Summit at NAB which was almost exclusively about 3D in production. Bob has since viewed many hours of programming, and spent many days talking to experts about 3D. Bob then let this “percolate” in his production brain. Here are [...]

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Production & Post-Production Tools

May 24th, 2010

Plural Eyes – is a plugin for both Final Cut and Sony Vegas that we use to sync up all of our clips automatically.  Very cool and a huge time saver. Watch this video and see just how easy it is to sync sound with the Canon 5D and separate sound. www.pluraleyesmedia.com www.singularsoftware.com/pluraleyes Syncing audio [...]

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Simplifying Our Lives

March 10th, 2010

1. Simplify Your Life by Reducing your Possessions Modern culture is materialistic, bombarding us with the message that we can find happiness in possessions. In reality, possessions create clutter. It’s hard to feel peaceful or calm when you’re surrounded by clutter. Simple living with fewer possessions will make you feel freer and more in control [...]

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Elements of a Video Production

September 8th, 2009

Every successful production is a result of the execution of each, or a variation thereof, of these elements. Their impact on cost is only a matter of degree. Pre-Production & Preparation This initial & critical phase consists of all initial meetings with you, the client, leading up to field production & editing. We utilize a [...]

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DVD Playability

July 20th, 2009

DVD playability issues predominately stem from dirt, dust, smudges, or foreign matter on the bottom side, (non label), of the DVD. Upon inspection if you find this to be true, clean the disk with water and some dish soap. Do this repeatedly until it is shiny and clean again. Use a soft cotton cloth or [...]

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How to Best Prepare PowerPoint Slides for Video & DVD Production

December 11th, 2008

Many times we have incorporated our client’s PowerPoint slides into their video and DVD productions. Because computer displays and television displays are different, keeping a few things in mind will be of help to both of us. PowerPoint presentations are optimized for computers. DVDs are optimized for television. There are a number of differences between [...]

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Buying a Blu-ray DVD Player for Christmas? What you need to know.

December 6th, 2008

It looks like $225 is the price point for the holiday season and several manufacturers are committed to that entry-level price making them very attractive. However, I really recommend spending a few dollars more to get a player that is firmware upgradeable so you will continue to get all of the cool new features being [...]

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Breaking into the Business

October 28th, 2008

It’s actually not that difficult to break into the business. But you first must have genuine passion for the industry and the craft, you have to have it in your blood. Then it’s just a matter of applying yourself. It all starts with desire, a desire to get into the business. With strong enough desire, [...]

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Corporate Interview Shoot Tips – Clothing

October 8th, 2008

Colors • Avoid the color white if possible. • Bright pastels, especially yellow should also be avoided if possible. • Black is not optimal, but better than white. Mid to dark tones are better. BEST – deeper cool solids that contrast skin color: blues, greens, purples. Coat and Tie- A medium blue shirt is vastly [...]

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Corporate Interview Shoot Tips – Locations

October 8th, 2008

An optimal room size is  25’ x 40’, and empty.  Not that smaller quarters can’t be worked with, it’ just easier for all with a larger room. In hotels, conference rooms work better than guest rooms without a the large conference table in the middle. Large suites are much more workable than a single room.  [...]

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What is a Blue-ray DVD

April 23rd, 2008

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The [...]

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To Drop or Not to Drop – Drop Frame vs. Non-Drop Frame Timecode

April 2nd, 2008

First of all this discussion only matters if you are producing something that needs to be time accurate in NTSC, (standard definition) video. Examples are TV commercials & programs. Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame write address positions for specific points on video clips, tapes, and programs differently. Non-Drop Frame is “frame accurate”, a specific number [...]

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1080i and 720p, What’s the difference?

April 2nd, 2008

If you were painting a rectangular section of fence in 1080i, you would paint from top to bottom, left to right and put two coats on it to make up one frame of video. If you were painting it in 720p you would put one coat on it in the same manner to make the [...]

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