Filling the platform with endless 'stuff to watch' isn't going to cut it if Netflix wants continued growth.
Explain the Complicated by Listening
One of the best challenges in Storytelling is making the complex, simple enough to understand. There are so many processes around us that make total sense to those who understand, yet mystify those who don't.
How do you create a story to explain a process that you have no expertise in? Listening.
Video Production: What's In The (Camera) Bag?
One question I seem to get more than any other is "What's in your camera bag?" From the first time a picture appeared with me filming on the road, folks have been asking what I'm carrying around on my back. Now I’m happy to share a typical setup for my camera bag. With this configuration, I can film interviews, documentary / docu-reality storytelling, training, travel and the like.
"Parasite" Wins Best Oscar. Edited on Final Cut Pro 7
In 2020 "Parasite" won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film was masterfully edited using Final Cut Pro 7 which has not been available since 2010.
Branded Storytelling: Setting Up Your Creative Infrastructure
One of the most confusing and vexing areas for any company starting up an internal creative team is knowing what equipment to purchase. There are thousands of pieces of equipment and hundreds of recommendations on ‘what you need to buy.’ While every situation is different, here’s a basic primer on the types of equipment and how much you might spend to set up a basic two-person internal team.
The "Right Tool" Might Be Your Brain, Not A Specific Camera
Filming “We Are: Brewton, Alabama” for Georgia-Pacific with dual Canon DSLRs and a super cheap Best Buy LED light. The high quality lenses are more important than the cameras themselves in making pretty picture.
Too often I hear from videographers and DPs that “the camera is just a tool, and if you want to shoot something correctly, you have to have the right tool for the job.” In some cases they are correct. When it comes to big budget episodic shows and films, bigger is often better.
But when it comes to digital storytelling and branding, it’s the creative use of the tools at hand that matter more than the ‘right tool.’
eLearning Driver Training Course Completed
It took the better part of a year, but I'm proud to say we've completed a major eLearning project with my colleagues at Interactive Advantage Corporation.
Developed for LazerSpot Yard Management, this multiple part project covers Spot Driver Introductory and Safety Training. Spot Drivers do the 'heavy lifting' at major warehouse sites to ensure truck trailers are moved around the site correctly and safely. Long haul drivers drop off the trailers at the entrance to the site and pick up already loaded trailers at the exit of the site. Spot drivers move the trailers to and from loading docks to the tune of over 100 trailers per day. That's over 100 opportunities a day to make a mistake, damage cargo or worse, hurt someone.
Arri SkyPanels a dream in the field
Arri SkyPanel S60-C.
Today we had an opportunity to take one of the new Arri SkyPanels out of the studio and test it out in the Taste! Café in Georgia-Pacific Center. It was a pretty simple marketing video for a new product and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test one out in the field. First off, how to turn it on....
Taking the Dixie brand to VR by Working Backwards
Filming in the woods of North Georgia
In order to sell a product well, you need to understand the manufacturing process. The entire manufacturing process. GP Studios was tasked with creating an immersive experience to showcase how Dixie products are made to the internal sales teams. Originally it was planned to start with the papermaking process, however I proposed starting at the very beginning, in the forest. That segment introduced a vital message to the sales team, the sustainability of forests is first and foremost in everything Georgia-Pacific does. Sustainability is a buzzword that can be tossed around, but to visually be reminded that this is more than just a word, turned out to be a key takeaway from the presentation.
Trint: Transcriptions Redefined
A friend pointed me to Trint transcription services. They claim to have redefined transcriptions by creating a superior software algorithm to quickly and pretty accurately turn around transcriptions from audio and video files. I was very skeptical having tried software like this in the past. Well, after trying them out, I am quite impressed.
Could 2016 be the year Everything Changed?
In the same week of October, Microsoft and Apple both debuted new products. In past years, creatives, especially Professional Creatives, would drool over the latest slick and cool Apple products. But here in 2016, the bulk of the reactions I found online and through direct communications were all about Microsoft.
Mobile Video: Filmic Pro proves too buggy to use.
Well after singing the praises of Filmic Pro and my entire mobile video setup in my previous post, I took the iOgrapher on a 14 day vacation that included a NASA rocket launch, 7 day cruise and some time at Universal Studios, Orlando. Well, I’m sad to say the Filmic Pro experience was a major letdown.
Mac OSX Sierra. Proceed with Caution.
Thanks to a stupid user error on my part, I found myself unable to retrieve my photos in the Apple Photo app because another machine had updated the library. My Macbook Air was running OS Yosemite and my library had accidentally been attached to an El Capitan iMac. Unfortunately, El Capitan is already history from the App Store so I had to plunge into Mac OS X Sierra.
Adobe moves to support ProRes natively on Windows
Recently security reports came out noting that Quicktime Player on Windows machine is a major security issue. This creates a quandry for those editing professional video using the Apple ProRes codec since installing Quicktime is required to use this codec. Apparently Adobe is now working to natively support ProRes in the application without the need for Quicktime to be installed. Cool move.
Sailing and Filming a Cruise with an iPhone and iOgrapher
The view looking forward from our cabin balcony.
While on vacation recently, I was able to combine two of his passions. Video production and cruising. Just before sailing on the Celebrity Cruises “Silhouette,” to the Caribbean, I picked up an iOgrapher which makes a very useful camera platform for the iPhone and iPad. Featuring interchangeable lenses, cold shoe mounts and tripod mounting points the iOgrapher essentially turns the iPhone into a professional camera giving the videographer great camera stability.
The cruise was the perfect testing platform as I'm looking for new ways to work with video, especially in social media. We’re also testing some new ideas for the upcoming Contemporary Living Network and we can see the benefits of creating original content with this setup.
The one thing I didn’t have on this trip was a shotgun microphone. Since the phone is mounted sideways on the iOgrapher, the microphone on the phone is not great for picking up natural sound and spoken word. Before the next vacation, I’ll be adding a shotgun mic.
I also didn’t know about some additional apps for the iPhone that allow for manual Iris and Color Balance controls on the phone. You’ll see the auto-iris kick in quick in quite a bit with all the bright / dark areas. And the color balance does change from time to time. I'll add those apps before the next vacation as well.
All in all, very impressive to see the picture quality and especially the stability of the images. This entire project was filmed with the iPhone 6. Absolutely NO camera stabilization was added to any of these images in the video below.
Also VERY impressed with Celebrity Cruises and their Silhouette. This was our first time on Celebrity and we were so impressed with the ship, the crew and of course, the food that we booked another cruise on the Celebrity Reflection. Celebrity is just top notch, white glove treatment but without the stuffy attitude. Beautiful ship, wonderful people and a great time.
To read more on the iOgrapher: http://www.iographer.com
To read more on Celebrity Cruises: http://www.celebritycruises.com/
To find those light leaks and many other effects: http://rampantdesigntools.com
If you like the music, that's from The License Lab: https://licenselab.com/
Editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5: Day Three
It’s Day Three of my “real world” editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5 and this is going to be the longest blog yet as I want to show you guys a lot of the “little things” that are making editing in Resolve a pleasure. I know there are a lot of questions still out there whether this is really a professional editor. For me it’s the small things that separate the applications making life efficient and fun for the the editor. I also had a pleasant surprise today. Alexis Van Hurkman, the man who literally wrote the manual on Resolve, called to point out some of the editing specific features that I might not be aware were there.
Editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5: Day Two
Ok, if I’m being honest about this, Day Two was really a continuation of a very LONG day one. Some updates on the issues from Day One.
The need to Transcode to ProRes. Paul Saccone from Blackmagic Design reached out to me and told me I didn’t need to transcode the 4k H264 to ProRes to get better performance. I can use “Generate Optimized Media” instead.
#WallyCam NAB Show 2016. The Casual and Relaxed Tour
It was another fun NAB Show for #WallyCam though this year was decidedly more low key. Fewer videos and most all of them from the Media Motion Ball. It was a much more casual and relaxed time for me this year spending more time actually chatting with folks and less time getting the camera out at every opportunity. So this year you’re getting more of the family reunion, social networking vibe of what it’s like at NAB Show.
Biscardi Creative Completes the "Impossible Project"
The call came in on Friday. “Our client saw the 4k culinary work you did and would like you to create 5 original videos with a mix of 4k and HD formats. And we need it by next Friday. Can you do it?” It became what we called “The Impossible Project” and we were just insane enough to agree to do it
Norway delivers a Vertical Documentary for Mobile Video
The folks at Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) have shot their first full documentary specifically for the vertical format. They’re goal was not to make it look good on the mobile phone, it was to make it look the BEST on the mobile phone. I have to be honest and say I’m one of those who yell “Turn the phone sideways!” when I see folks shooting vertical video. But who knows, maybe they’re onto something here. Video tailored specifically to the mobile audience displayed how they like to hold the phone.