CNN Most Trusted News Source: Vanity Fair/60 Minutes Poll

Nonsense. Comedy Channel with Stewart and Colbert win hands down!!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Mary Landrieu: 'I Am Not A Handmaiden To The Oil Industry'

Which means she is a handmaiden to the oil industry.



By merely saying the words, she will forever be linked (h/t Google and others) to those words... and since perception is reality in the political world, she is now certainly a "hand maiden to the oil industry" in her own words.



My rule #1 to clients in Media Training seminars is "never repeat the negative" nor say anything you would not want to see as a headline somewhere. Her handlers must have forgotten that.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Wall Street Journal Staff Renews Pursuit Of Pulitzers

What an ugly front page. WSJ has become a USA wannabee as far as ugly graphic design goes.

But then, ol Rupert is known for sleaze, not aesthetic judgement.



Fail!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Emma Watson Shows Off Her Legs (PHOTOS)

Pretty remarkable... she has two of them. Stop the presses!!!!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Brian Williams Anchors From Gulf Region (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

To my Facebook friends, I had intended the previous post to go to my blog... too many buttons and distractions on these HuffPo pages these days. Way too cluttererd.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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!!

Flip video footage.

Here's an early attempt, taken in Rome, GA last week or so... using the Flip requires a steady hand, if not a tri-pod. Image quality is good, sound not. Won't replace a good Panasonic or Sony HD camera anytime soon.

My First Use of the P2 Card for Video Production

Just completed a two day shoot for AAA using the Panasonic HVX200 and instead of tape, we used the flash memory cards made by Panasonic, the P2. Then to begin the editing process in Final Cut Pro, I just downloaded from the camera to my Iomega Red 500 MB portable drive, brought it home and began editing. No more tape digitizing!!! I may never use tape again!

Here's a photo of the camera. A little dated now, it came out in 2005 but still a very useful HD camera (tho we shot in SD for this project):

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.

Amalfi entry way.

Amalfi back of room.

Amalfi room from front of room looking at entrance doors.

Un-Solicited Testimonial (No, Really)

Client Dale Biron (dalebiron.com) took a minute out from our latest poetry video taping to offer some comments about the elements he considers important when choosing a new media producer such as I.
Video's location is also the subject of a brief tutorial that I am posting shortly.

First Flip Video

Hardly earth shattering but a good practice run to see what this camera (a Christmas present to Kay from work) could do. I am aware of its audio limitations and auto exposure issues, but these things take amazingly good HD images.. so here goes:

Flip HD makes an appearance.

A new Flip camera demanded that I go out and try it... so I made a quick little video to test it and to see what issues I will face trying to work it into my regular workflow, if possible.

It's currently on my Facebook page (search Marv Parker) since Flip Share makes it easy to upload a rather large file... it's an m4v (m4p?) and I am not sure yet about how much compression takes place. Once I work out the work flow, I will post it here.
Great images, lousy sound capabilities, sacrificed for convenience I guess.

Video Lighting Example.
Another two light setup. Background is too close and shows up the wrinkles more than I really wanted. Could have put a light on it, but at that distance it would have been really obvious and too bright. I'll soon be putting up a new Dale Biron example, different set and backdrop to show the difference.
Key light is a Chimera softbox and a Pepper Light for the hair light. Camera is a Sony PD-100A DVCAM, a collectable these days and a wonderful camera. Uses 3 CCDs and no CMOS sensors.
I so regret not smiling more....

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.

My Favorite Quote of the Day:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his West Wing office Friday that the Republican Party's approval rating is "only slightly above the national drinking age."

More fun for the holidays - enjoying the great colors in the trees near us:

This is NOT an Abandoned Blog!!

Despite several snarky comments (you know who you are) this site is alive and well.
Occasionally I have to earn a living, usually by producing new media for web distribution. Such has been the case recently. I can now say that my client, AAA of Northern CA, Nevada and Utah is happy with the final product, the video clips are running on their internal communication system and the DVD I made will be soon entertaining new employees. Now, time to sit back, have a brew or three and wait for the invoices to produce their desired results, which will allow me to do my small part for economic recovery.

In the spirit of the season, here's a sunflower to grace your comuter screens: