Learning to Use A New Camera

Being a proud owner of a HVX 200A, I now have the task of getting up to speed on it in time for a new video shoot next week. The biggest advantage in my opinion is the use of memory cards (P2 in this case) discarding the need for tape!! Totally tape free video production at MediaMarv now available!! So what, you say? Well, anyone who has lost a take because of a strange glitch either due to iron oxide drop out or mishandling the tape by the loading mechanism, will appreciate my excitement. I'll have some video footage soon to demonstrate the camera's functionality and quality. Stay tuned.

Very Informative Article About Content

Read here

Social media does have some rules, tho it may not appear so. Search Engine Optimization is not the end game... real content is.

Trusty Sony PD100A Goes to the Fair!!
Yep. at the Gravenstein Apple Fair I used this DV-CAM format camera to record Twang Ditty's 45 minute set of music!! With help from my audio expert, Lee Lusted, we took a wireless feed off the stage mixing console into a mixer for two channel stereo, then fed the camera via the external audio mini-jack connector. Sounded good and the band was thrilled with the result. I shot in the 16x9 format, which unfortunately is not as good as the HD version, but as long as the image is kept to 320ppi, fine for web use, it works ok. Would have used my Flip HD Mino camera, but as is well known, it has no audio in.
Notice the tripod and earphones: necessities for pro video standards.

Shallow Focus Works When Appropriate

I have seen way too many photos using a Photoshop plugin to create the illusion of a shallow depth of field. Especially overused in food photography, this trendy apparition calls attention to itself and distracts from the picture's content, in my opinion.
Some times it is really necessary, even essential, when stressing a certain portion of an object. I recently did this to accentuate the face of a thermometer which is rather small. I didn't need to use a filter or digital FX, just plain ol good technique made it possible. I used my Nikon D70, the usual 80-200 lens greatly zoomed in, a Bogen tripod and, the real secret, a fast shutter speed and a wide open aperture, which gives you the shallow depth. Mere physics!!
Here's the result:

Great Time Editing Twang Ditty Music Videos

Here's one of the videos, after many compression tests, on Youtube. Shot on my Sony PD-100
a in 16x9 mode, which I do not recommend. DVCAM is great, but it is not HD.

The band's performance more than makes up for the less than ideal video quality, in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouysfLOaKFc

MediaMarv now on Tumblr

Yep, just when you thought the whole social media thing might be waning, here comes another site to play with: Tumblr.
Setting up the blog now, so there is not much to see as of yet... but it's a good way to get an additional link going back to this page, and Google loves links!!

www.mediamarv.tumblr.com

My Site of the Day:
http://www.bprepublicans.com/page/content/bprepublicans
Notice that this site contains Facebook and Twitter links. That's a sure way to get your message out these days, plus, all the links coming from diverse sources increases the chances that it will rise to the top of a Google search page.

If you have any sort of public interest web site, for or non profit, this is an excellent example of how to maximize your exposure.

And your site could contain video, possibly from a Flip camera.

New Business Card Released

Reflecting the changing world of an experienced cinematographer like myself, just calling your self a photographer, videographer et al, seems old school. So now I have created a new business card that more accurately reflects what's happening in the image collecting business. Using the new cameras, like the Flip Mino, the Canon T2i or even my Sony DVCAM (which still uses Mini-DV tape) require a wider range of abilities and fortunately my 30+ years in the business has helped me make the transition.

http://bit.ly/deS2yy is the new shortened version of my blog address.

However, there is nothing new so far today on my blog... but I'm working on it!!

Those exciting videos below were for a meeting that took place last week in SF. Using my blog as a repository for clips which clients can see quickly. I will be using vimeo in the future so as not to contaminate the purity of this "video how-to" information stream.

New Changes Here on the Blog and New Video Productions in the Can!!

Due to some intense demands on my services, I'm turning my attention more to demonstrating how non-professionals can get the quality, eye-catching videos they want and need in the highly competitive world of Web video. As an example:

Dale Biron, consultant, speaker and poet has begun the next series of videos for his website, dalebiron.com. We used two locations and different lighting techniques, seen below in some production stills taken by Video Editor Richard Berkvan on his Canon G7 digital still camera.

Couple tools that make a significant difference in quality are a trusted light meter and a good monitor, visible at the bottom of the frame.
I'll explain why in a later post since I want to get this story up quickly.









Locations can be varied, as in the case of these two production sets; one in a garage with backdrop and the other in a spare room in Dale's home.


Having a good Lowell lighting kit makes it easy to get broadcast quality lighting and video, but not absolutely necessary, as I will demonstrate in an upcoming segment.

New Promo Video for MediaMarv Communications
Comments from a client following a successful project:



You can see Dale do his own work at dalebiron.com.