From the Video Suite

In a world where we salute a voice-over artist

2008-09-06T09:55:00.006-05:00

I started my career as a radio announcer. To this day, my voice still fades out when I drive under a bridge. So it was sad to learn that the penultimate Hollywood announcer and voice-over artist Don LaFontaine passed away this week.

Don had voiced over 3,500 movies, television shows, trailers and other projects in his long career. From trailers for Indiana Jones, The Godfather to those silly GEICO television commercials, Don's basso pipes have added the necessary drama and gravitas. His trademark phrase "In a world where...." has been used and copied in productions around the world.

Take a minute and enjoy this wonderful clip of Don, courtesy of ABC Television and Good Morning America.

Cables, Connectors & Adapters

2008-08-25T09:13:00.030-05:00

When training someone to work as a media or audiovisual assistant, they need to learn some basics right away.

At Prairie Lakes AEA, my department provides media support for our many meetings and presentations, so we need to know how to connect various audio and video media devices. Data projectors, PA systems, DVD players and so on. Learning the various cables, connectors and adapters might be a good place to start with a new person.

A connector can be either a plug (male) or a jack (female). For example, you might need a cable that's an RCA plug to an RCA jack.

Here are what they all look like:

RCA plug

RCA jack

XLR (or Canon) plug

XLR (or Canon) jack

BNC plug

BNC jack

Phono (quarter inch) plug

Phono (quarter inch) jack

Mini (eighth inch) plug

Mini (eighth inch) jack

VGA to VGA

I Trust You'll Treat Her Well

2008-08-21T12:23:00.003-05:00

Van Harden of WHO Radio read this on the air this morning, in honor of the first day of school. It is written by Dan Valentine and is something for teachers and parents to remember.

I Trust You'll Treat Her Well
By Dan Valentine --

Dear World: I bequeath to you today one little girl…in a crispy dress…with two blue eyes…and a happy laugh that ripples all day long…and a flash of light blond hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. I trust you will treat her well.

She’s slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning…and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine. Prim and proud she’ll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say “Goodbye” and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.

Now she’ll learn to stand in lines…and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She’ll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells…and deadlines…and she’ll learn to giggle…and gossip…and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And, now she’ll learn to be jealous. And now she’ll learn how it is to feel hurt inside. And now she’ll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. No, now she will worry about the important things…like grades and which dress to wear and who’s best friend is whose. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls. And she’ll find new heroes.

For five full years now I’ve been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and father and friend. Now she’ll learn to share her worship with her teachers…which is only right. But, no longer will I be the smartest, greatest man in the whole world. Today when that school bell rings for the first time…she’ll learn what it means to be a member of the group…with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.

She’ll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud…or kiss dogs…or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms…or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.

Today she’ll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. And I’ll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.

So, world, I bequeath to you one little girl…in a crispy dress…with two blue eyes…and a happy laugh that ripples all day long…and a flash of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. I trust you’ll treat her well.

What is the lifespan of a VHS Tape?

2008-07-02T13:30:00.005-05:00

I just got off the phone with one of the teachers that we serve here at AEA. She had a tech problem. She had videotaped an interview with her father back in 1982 or so, and now she would like to transfer that tape to a DVD. Dad has since passed on and this tape has some irreplaceable memories that she would hate to lose.

Unfortunately, the tape is in bad shape due to age. The sound is intermittent, and the picture is grainy and filled with drop-outs.

OK, as Ross Perot used to say....here's the deal.

VHS tapes were made starting in 1977 when the RCA Selectavision VTB 200 was released as competition to the Sony Betamax. I know, because I was one of the first to buy this $1000 toy, even though I was working as a Disc Jockey in a small AM radio station and earning next to nothing at the time. I wish I had invested that thousand bucks instead....but I digress.

I still have some videos I taped over 30 years ago, and they are disintegrating. The quality of the picture and sound gets worse by the day and there is no way to recover it once it's gone.

Also, videotapes used to be expensive... $25 for a single T120 back in the 70's and early 80's. So lots of people bought cheaper, off-brand tapes. And those have an even shorter lifespan than the brand-name tapes, because they used cheaper materials when they were manufactured.

Now if we're talking about an old Leon Spinks heavyweight fight tape, then I can live without it. (Sorry, Leon.) But if I had a VHS tape of my parents from the 80's, I would want to preserve it.

So the smart thing is to have any precious tapes transferred to DVD as soon as possible. If you want to do it yourself, then there are several VCR-DVD units for sale that will allow you to copy personal tapes. A Yahoo shopping search on "vcr dvd-r" gave me 491 hits for units I can buy for as little as $120. Check your favorite electronics retailer for a good deal if you are a DIY kind of person. Just remember to use a quality recordable DVD disc when you do the transfer. Don't skimp on the blank DVD-R like you probably did with the blank VHS tape 25 years ago.

If you'd rather turn over this task to the professionals, there are businesses like Walgreens who provide this service. I'm sure there are others as well, so ask the photo department at Costco, Wal-Mart, Target or wherever you shop if they transfer VHS tapes to DVD.

For maximum shelf life of a VHS tape, store it upright, like a book in a bookcase. Keep it in a climate controlled room...not in a wet basement or a hot and dry attic. And always keep the dust sleeve on the tape.

But most of all, if you have anything on tape that is 15 years old or older, look into having it transferred to DVD as soon as you can. Ten years from now, you'll thank me for it.

Calibrate your HDTV

2008-06-24T12:21:00.003-05:00

My son called me the other day, all excited because he had purchased his first HDTV. A few days later, I asked how he liked it.

"Gee, Dad...the picture isn't as good as I expected it to be."

OK, that could be caused by a variety of things. After discussing several scenarios, we thought about seeing if the TV was calibrated to his taste. So, what tools can a neophyte use to fine tune a high definition television?

When setting up computer output to a data projector, I use NTest, a piece of freeware from our friends at Nokia. It helps me to set brightness levels, color purity and other things that help to tweak a video display just the way you like it.

While the Nokia is computer software, there are ways to calibrate using your DVD player. If you have a Sony Blu-Ray player, there is a hidden set of calibration screens. Press 7-6-6-9 Enter to access those.

And if you have a garden variety DVD player, go out and grab a new DVD from Pixar. Most all of the new ones have a THX Optimizer chapter in the Set Up or Special Features menu. By adjusting contrast, picture, sharpness and brightness, you are sure to end up with a more pleasing HD picture.

More greenscreen tips and ideas

2008-02-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

Greenscreen, chromakey, bluebox, keying....all different words for a technique used to layer one image over another. And keying is almost as much an art as it is a science.

We've just finished taping about six weeks worth of television and radio newscasts for speech contest, and in the process, we've had about every technical problem possible occur. Right now, I'll concentrate on some things we've learned about greenscreening.

We used greenscreen for weathercasts and for a virtual background for sports and special features, and keyed the background whike shooting (as opposed to keying in post production). These ideas apply to both situations.

1. Lighting. If possible, light the screen separately from the talent. Your goal is to create a flat, even light on the screen. Shadows or light and dark areas all make a clean key more difficult. which brings us to...

2. Distance. Have your talent at least three feet away from the greenscreen. Any shadow that falls on the screen will mess up your attempt to key. So, if you move the talent farther away from the screen, their shadow falls on the floor instead of on the screen.

3. Put your camera on manual focus, and then focus carefully on the talent. The easiest way to do this is to zoom in to the talent, focus, and then zoom back to the desired focal length. This throws the background out of focus, which hides wrinkles and imprefections in the greenscreen.

4. Set your camera to manual exposure. If it's on auto-exposure, then any change in the exposure setting will mess up your key. Something as simple as the talent holding up their script can change exposure, which changes your key, which drives you crazy. So, switch to manual exposure.

5. Wardrobe. I've had good luck with the talent wearing darker colored clothing, but to be safe, I ask them to bring two outfits...if one doesn't key well, perhaps the other one will. Also, stay away from frizzy or spiked hair-dos. That irregular edge will give your talent a green halo.

6. Weather maps or backgrounds should be a darker color. If the JPEG you are keying is white or a light color, any green fringing is obvious to the viewer. A darker JPEG helps to hide fringing.

7. Place a monitor on both sides of your talent. If the camera is at 12 o'clock and your talent is at 6 o'clock, you should have a monitor at 10 and 2 o'clock. These monitors should show the chromakey output, so the weatherperson can see what the heck they ar pointing at.

8. Let your talent practice before you shoot. Pointing out in thin air and hoping you are pointing at Phoenix or Pittsburg takes some practice. Let them get the feel of this virtual world before the cameras roll.

And finally, take your time. It seems like taping a weathercast is one of the most stressful jobs when producing a TV newscast. So don't assume you can crank out a five minute weathercast in ten minutes. Plan enough time to keep your talent (and you) from stressing out.

Student Cam Contest and C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus

2007-08-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

C-SPAN is currently touring the country with a refitted bus that they use to shoot and edit video about the upcoming election. The brightly painted bus is named Campaign 2008, and it draws a crowd wherever it goes.

C-SPAN staff members opened the bus for tours in Iowa recently. Doug Hemmig explained the C-SPAN philosophy of recording the news while it happens. The front half of the bus was their edit bay, with a video switcher, audio switcher, monitors and editing equipment. The back half of the bus could be used as a mini-studio.

After the tour, I spoke with Adrianne Hoar, education coordinator with C-SPAN. And she told me of an opportunity that is available for middle and high school students.

Student Cam is an annual video documentary competition, where students produce a ten minute documentary on a topic of current political interest and then submit it to C-SPAN. Footage taped from C-SPAN or obtained from their online archives must be used. Additional material may be used if it falls under the Fair Use for Education copyright guidelines. Cash prizes are awarded, and winning entries are posted on the Student Cam website.

Adrianne Hoar and Rebecca Stewart, both C-SPAN employees, were knowledgeable and helpful in explaining this opportunity. I will be encouraging instructors to share this with their student video producers. It looks like a great chance to incorporate technology into the classroom while learning more about the political world around us.

Check out this link to learn more about C-SPAN and Student Cam.

Bluetooth is NOT secure

2007-08-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

MSNBC has produced a really frightening news story about people who use Bluetooth technology with their cell phones.

We've all seen the person at the airport with the little electronic dongle in his ear...wirelessly talking on his cell phone. For some, it's a matter of convenience, for others, it's the ultimate geek-chic statement. Sort of the 21st century equivalent of wearing one of those big chronograph watches. They don't really need it, but they think it makes them look fascinating.

What you may not know is that Bluetooth is very easy for hackers to intercept. The small earpieces are fairly secure. What are not secure are the car units that allow total hands free use of your phone. They are constantly transmitting, even when you are not on the phone.

What does this mean? It means that every conversation you have in your Bluetooth-enabled car could be hacked, listened to and even recorded, whether you're on the phone or not.

Click on this link and prepare to learn how easily someone can invade your privacy.

Advertising: There are only 12 kinds of ads

2007-07-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

Some of the schools in this area have an interesting way to introduce media literacy and video production to their students. The assignment: write, produce and edit a television commercial about a product you have created.

This approach requires students to research, write, practice, shoot and edit on a very tight timetable. Skills from graphic arts, reading, writing, acting, narration, photography, and technology use are all integrated into this project. OF course, time management is also needed, because these projects are due on a specific date, no excuses allowed. It's an eye opener when kids discover this.

Slate.com has an interesting article on different styles of television advertising. Author Seth Stevenson and advertising mogul Leo Gunn discuss 12 basic ways that a commercial can get and hold your attention.

You may not agree with the way these ads are categorized, but you will admit that discussing ad styles while referring to Geico, iPhone and other commercials that students are familiar with will grab your students' attention.

What can you do when editing?

2007-07-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Post production (editing) is when you transfer your video clips to the editor and start putting things together. So, what things can you do when you edit your raw video footage?

Remember, you only have two things to work with: audio and video. So, what can you do when you edit?

Audio:

Add music

Add sound effects

Add narration

Adjust volume

Video:

Trim clips to the exact length you want

Add titles

Add transitions (cross fades, page turns)

Add effects (black & white, slow-mo, backwards, etc)

Add scenes in any order you want

Remember that if you shot several “takes” of a scene, you need only use the best take. Also, you can put scenes in whatever order you like. It doesn’t have to be in the same order you shot it.

What can’t you do??

Make a blurry picture sharp and in focus.

Remove the “shake” from a shaky shot

Turn the audio up a lot, so a very soft voice is easy

to hear.

Remove background noise to make voice easy to hear.

Remember you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. To have the best finished product, start out with good video and good audio. You can’t “fix it in post.”

Picture But No Sound?

2007-05-16T12:58:00.000-05:00

This happens occasionally in our Prairie Lakes AEA Lending Library. A school will return a videotape with a Post-In note attached, saying that when they played the videotape, there was a picture but no sound. Most of the time, the sound is there but the school VCR could not find it.

If this happens, here is the “short answer.”

1. Look at the remote for your VCR. Is there a button marked AUDIO (or perhaps SOUND)? If so, press the button.

2. If you don’t have an AUDIO or SOUND button, then you’ll have to access the MENU for your VCR. What you want to do is change the AUDIO output from HI-FI to NORMAL.

Every menu looks a little different, so I can’t post detailed instructions for your specific equipment.

All right, if you would like to know the theory behind what we just did, here is the “long answer.”

On every VHS tape, the following information is recorded:

A: This is the NORMAL (or LINEAR) audio track. Every VCR, even the oldest RCA SelectaVision VCR from 1977 records audio here.

B: This is the VIDEO TRACK. As you can see, the video is recorded as stripes on an angle.

C: This is the CONTROL TRACK. The control track records 30 electronic pulses per second that are used to synchronize the tracks.

For many VCRs, including very old and very inexpensive ones, this is everything that’s recorded on the tape.

D: Most newer VCRs also are able to record and playback audio in high fidelity sound, or HI-FI. The HI-FI track is embedded in the video track. Our illustration shows the HI-FI track in red.

Sometimes, because of equipment failure or operator error, a Hi-Fi audio track is recorded with no sound. (It’s like there is a highway with no cars on it.) When you play such a tape, your VCR senses there is a Hi-Fi track and plays it. But no sound was recorded on that track…it’s just an empty audio track. So you have picture and no sound.

The solution is to tell your VCR to quit horsing around and just play the NORMAL audio track.

If you are lucky enough to have the remote handy, and if the remote has an AUDIO button, it’s a simple matter to switch from HI-FI to NORMAL audio playback. If that’s not an option, then you have to open the MENU on your VCR and find the AUDIO or SOUND command, and switch that to NORMAL.

Unfortunately, we do sometimes discover a tape with this problem in our library. By selecting the NORMAL audio track playback on your VCR, you will be able to work around this problem and show your video tape in class as planned.

Greenscreen tips and ideas

2006-10-27T13:03:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in shooting scenes using chromakey (also known as greenscreen, bluescreen or bluebox), here is an interesting blog that discusses shooting chromakey for post production.

At the 2006 VidExpo this fall, a graphic artist from a Denver television station discussed shooting greenscreen for post production.

Many of us think of using an external box or video switcher to create greenscreen effects in real time. And while this may be the way to go when you are shooting a weatherperson in front of a map, it's not always the best way to go.

You can make some fascinating composite video clips by using the greenscreen capabilities of Final Cut Pro, or even something as simple as an Avio or Casablanca editing appliance.

Take a look at the linked article and see if you can stretch your imagination when keying in your next project.

Planning a video yearbook

2006-09-22T11:50:00.000-05:00

In the old days (back when I was in High School) everyone would get a printed, hardbound yearbook at the end of the school year. You remember those....there would be photos of all the class members, sports highlights, music concerts, plays and a lot of shots of students goofing around.

Here in the 21st century, the old style printed yearbook still is around. However, more and more schools across the country are producing video yearbooks in addition to the more traditional printed yearbook. In a video yearbook, you show the visuals and sounds that make your High School years memorable.

The key to a video yearbook is planning ahead of time. When I work with schools who want to produce a video yearbook, I try to have a planning session with them during the first three weeks of school, so they have an idea of what they need to do before Homecoming and other events occur. It's tough to shoot video of the Homecoming game if it is already over.

You start by thinking of your video much like a printed book. Books have chapters, and so do video yearbooks. What chapters will your video have? Sports? Fine arts? Speech contest? Mock trial? Everyday life in the classroom?

What do schools include in a Video Yearbook?

Senior portraits

Music, drama or other activities

Competitions & Awards

Every day life at school

Teachers

Sports

How will you sort your images into "chapters"?

Example #1

I. Fall Activities

II. Winter Activities

III. Spring Activities

Example #2

I. Sports

II. Music and drama

III. Everyday life

IV. Graduation

Example #3

I. Senior collage part one

II. Football and basketball

III. Senior collage part two

IV. Life in the classroom

V. Senior collage part three

VI. Drama, arts, music

VII. Prom and graduation

Here are the steps I recommend:

1. Make an outline of “chapters” you want in your yearbook.

2. Write down the specific video clips, still photos, sound bites or interviews you want for each chapter. Find out what you may already have.

3. Assign someone to videotape events you need (Homecoming, Class Play, etc). Have shots of as many different students as possible, not just your friends

4. Obtain permission to use any copyrighted music.

5. Gather all still photos needed. Carefully label them so that they can be returned to owners.

6. Log tapes so you know what clips are on each tape.

7. Put still photos in the order you plan to use them in the yearbook. A still photo is on the screen for 5 seconds; so it takes one minute to show 12 photos. Make sure you don't want to show 400 photos in 10 minutes.

8. Write down all titles and credits before you begin editing. Check the spelling of names.

9. Allow enough time to complete the project. Then add an additional 25% to that, because something always ends up taking longer than you thought it would.

Teachers who blog (and the readers who love them)

2006-09-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

In this morning's USA Today newspaper is an article entitled "Teachers speak out of turn." The article discusses how teachers are now writing blogs, and sometimes getting in trouble for revealing a little too much of the "good, the bad and the ugly." If you are an instructor and are tempted to vent your spleen in a thinly disguised diatribe about your school or your co-workers, then you should read this before you join the ranks of the unemployed.

There are also some positives to the article, including a sidebar listing several very interesting weblogs written by educators. Check them out.

Hand holding your camera

2006-09-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

There are some times that you just can't use a tripod while you're shooting video. Yet you still want clear audio and a crisp picture without shaking or distracting camera movement. So, what do you do?

A few years back, I was helping a local high school with a special homecoming project. It's a long story, but this event was newsworthy enough to have some regional TV stations cover it. What a great opportunity to observe professional videographers and ENG crew at work.

If you look at the camera operators in these photos, they are hand-holding their heavy pro camcorders. Their footage looked excellent when I saw it on the 10pm news that night. Here are two tricks they used to make their footage look so darned good.

1. They got close to the subject.

2. They used the wide-angle setting on their zoom lenses.

Hey, these folks weren't shy about getting up close and personal when shooting video footage. So they got within a foot or two of their subjects. That not only let them fill the screen with the action, but there was another benefit. By getting so close, the on-camera microphones did a great job in picking up the audio.

Why zoom back to the wide-angle setting? By doing that, any camera movement or shaking was minimized. Remember that when you zoom in on a subject, you not only magnify the image, you magnify any shake or shimmy as you are taping.

We only have two things to work with when we produce a video...and those are PICTURE and SOUND.

By getting close to the subject and shooting at wide angle, we have good pictures.

By getting close and using the on-camera mike, we get good sound.

Remember you can't made a good video out of bad footage. Using these tricks from the pros let us shoot good footage.

Producing a TV Newscast

2005-12-22T21:51:00.000-05:00

District large group speech competition is just around the corner here in Iowa, and one of the categories is television Newscasting. Students are to produce a 12 to 15 minute newscast where they deliver state, national and international news. The newscast also is to include weather, sports, an original 30 or 60 second commercial and a 500 word special feature. The students have to take ownership of this project, because they are the ones writing the scripts and running the equipment.

Of course, some of the larger schools in Iowa have their own editing facilities or even their own TV studios. In order to help all schools compete on a more even footing, Prairie Lakes AEA helps out by letting students use our facilities.

Today, we had a group of students from a nearby school come in to shoot their TV News for speech contest. We started at about 9am by going over their script, blocking out which cameras will be live when each news story is being presented, and generally looking for problems and challenges in the project.

A new feature this year was our first attempt to use a chromakey in order to allow the weathercaster to stand in front of a computer generated weather map while doing the weather. That in itself was a challenge, as our lady weathercaster had to go shopping at the last minute for clothing that shot well on-camera.
The actual shooting started about 10:30am. The house lights were turned off and studio lights turned on. Two students sat at the anchor desk, other students ran the cameras, the video switcher, the audio mixing board and the computer with our CG graphics and text. One student ran the Kron editing appliance, where we fed the "on air" video and audio signals and would later edit down the project to the final cut we'll use.

After a last minute check of everyone involved, we "rolled tape" and a young student stepped in front of the camera with the clapboard.

"Scene 1, Take 1!" And with that, she snapped the clapper on the clapboard and stepped aside, while the speech coach gave a countdown.

"Coming in 5...4...3..2..1" With that, she gave a "throw cue" to the news team.

During the day, we taped perhaps 65 segments, ranging in length from a couple of sentences to a page or so. There were multiple false starts, blown takes, giggles, mispronunciations and times when someone lost his or her place in the script. No matter how frustrated we were, everyone kept a positive and supportive attitude. We all were there to work and have fun with this project.

Finally, we finished shooting at 3pm. Most of the crew then left for a late lunch at McDonalds, while one student and I started finding the correct takes of each scene and assembled them together. Later, the students will videotape a special feature or two and edit them into the video for the final product.

Guidelines for Use of Copyrighted Music in Education

2005-11-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

At some point, you or one of your students will want to use a popular song as a background in a video production. And as nice as it could be to hear a current song while you are watching football highlights, remember that you are using someone else's property without permission. And that can bring on a heap of trouble.

Remember that it's not "music," it's the "music business." Somebody owns the song, someone else owns the recording of that song. And they all hope to make money by selling what you want to steal.

But, if you buy the CD, don't you own the right to put one of the songs onto your video?

Nope.

Another question that I am asked: is it acceptable if you have a student perform the song in question, instead of using the original recording?

Remember that someone owns that song, the words and the music. So having Johnny perform the song in question is using their property without permission. It's still a copyright violation.

I've heard all the excuses for using copyrighted music:

But the kids really like it.
Who is going to know?
We're a school; nobody would sue us.
I bought the CD, isn't that good enough?

And my favorite:

But I got it on the internet...doesn't that mean I can use it?

I guarantee that sticking to the law won't make you popular with the students who want to use "their" music on a school video. But it will keep you out of trouble, and that should keep you (and your administrators) happy.

Here are some suggestions that should help you along this slippery path. And a disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV. As always, consult an attorney for legal advice.

1. To be 100% safe, don't use copyrighted music without written permission from the copyright holders. Instead, use copyright-free music or buyout music.

2. If you choose to use copyrighted material, consult the Fair Use Guidelines for Music:

a. Use 10% of a song, not to exceed 30 seconds,
and do not show the finished video out of the classroom.
Do not duplicate, distribute, broadcast, webcast or sell it.

b. Proper attribution must be given when using copyrighted materials. i.e.
"I Am Your Child" written by Barry Manilow/Martin Panzer.
BMG Music/SwanneeBravo Music.

c. The opening screen of the project must include a notice that "certain materials are included under the fair use exemption and have been used according to the multimedia fair use guidelines".

d. Your fair use of material ends when the project creator (student or teacher) loses control of the project's use: e.g. when it is distributed, copied or broadcast.

3. If you wish to use more than 10% of a copyrighted song, you must obtain written gratis permission from the music publisher and the record company. This is a long process with limited chance of success.

4. Remember that music publishing firms will litigate schools and institutions who violate copyright laws. Fines can be thousands of dollars per violation.

What to wear when you are on camera

2005-11-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

Please don't wear:

* Large amounts of white or very light pastels
* Large amounts of red or black (jackets, skirts, dresses)
* Very bright, shiny jewelry
* Fabrics with narrow stripes, polka dots, or tiny patterns with high contrast (black & white herringbone)
* Harsh makeup, very short skirts or shorts
* Don't get a haircut the day before the video shoot

Please do:

* Wear pastels, pinks, blues, greens, browns, golds (red, black and white in small amounts)
* Wear regular street makeup
* Wear jewelry that is not very shiny
* Bring compact (powder), blush, lipstick
* Make sure hair is neat
* Bring some liquid makeup in case one of the male cast members has a skin blemish

Creating Titles

2005-11-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

In the old days, video equipment that made titles for TV shows were called Character Generators. Today, titles are Computer Generated. So titles are often referred to as "CG's". Here are some simple tips that will make your CG's more pleasing to the eye.

1. Avoid thin lines.

Because of the way that our NTSC television system was designed back in the 1950's, thin lines will appear to flicker when seen on a TV screen. This has to do with interlacing, odd and even scan lines, and other technical stuff you probably don't care about. Just remember, if you make a title screen with a fine horizontal line, the line will flicker. Don't do it.

2. Computer screens and TV screens are two different things. Be ready for surprises!

When making CG's, some titles will look great on the monitor. When you drop them onto videotape & play back the results, your title might look awful. What happened? The RGB or computer monitor screen is much more advanced than the NTSC TV screen. What looks good on a 21st century computer monitor looks awful on a 1950's designed TV. Sorry. What do we do??

3. Stick with colors that work!

Never use highly saturated or "hot" colors on your CG. Bright red is awful, bright green is worse. Note that the most popular background colors are dark blue, grey and black. The most popular colors for fonts are off white, a golden yellow and grey. If you are using Photoshop or other photo editing software that uses RGB colors, never have your color values lower than 15 or higher than 235 (on a 0-255 scale).

5. Center your text

Don't put a lot of info on a CG screen. Keep the letters in the center, and away from the edges of the screen. Keep text in the "safe area" of your TV screen.

6. Step back to read it

After you make a CG, step back about 10 feet and see if you can read it easily. Look at your finished work the way your viewers will; step back from the screen.

7. And the most important tip ...
steal ideas from the professionals!

You watch the best tutorial for TV production every day in your living room. Multi-million dollar productions are broadcast just for you to pick apart and borrow ideas from. Watch the CG's on the air like a videographer would watch them. Notice the colors of the fonts and backgrounds. See how large the text is. How is the composition? The professionals show you their best work every day; it's up to you to learn from it.

Multiple takes & logging while shooting

2005-11-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

When working on a video project, I always go through the three basic steps:

Pre-production (planning)
Production (shooting)
Post-production (editing)

The key to success in a video production is organization. And I'm a rather disorganized person, so I'd like to skip that part and just keep all that information "in my head." But I've learned the hard way that a little organization during the planning and shooting stages makes life a lot easier when it comes time to edit.

In class, I always do a simple demonstration of logging an interview while taping it, to show students some techniques that make the whole process easier. It goes something like this:

Ed: "I need two students to help with this demo." And I grab a couple at random, asking them to come to the front of the class with me.

Ed: "All right, we're shooting an interview with Jenny. I'll have her stand in front of the camera, and Bret will be my gaffer." With this, I hand Bret a pencil and paper.

Ed: "Every videotape that I shoot needs a name. We'll label this tape as 'Jenny.' So I want Bret to write 'Jenny' at the top of his piece of paper. This is our Tape Log."

Bret writes this down and waits for further instructions.

"I'll start the camera rolling. Remember that we need 10 seconds of pre-roll before the action starts. While the camera is rolling, I'll ask Jenny to say and spell her full name."

Jenny looks at the camera and says, "Jenny Jones. J-e-n-n-y J-o-n-e-s."

Ed: "Very good. Jenny, I'd like you to hold up one finger, because this is Take One of the interview." Remember that the camera has been rolling during this.

Jenny holds up one finger for a minute. We're ready to start.

"All right, everyone 'stand by." This is Take One, coming in 5-4-3-2...."

And I don't say "one" because I want a moment of silence there before we begin.

I ask Jenny a couple of questions, and then I cough or clear my throat while she gives me her reply. Ah. A ruined take. I look at Jenny and say:

Ed: "I'm sorry. Guess I messed up that take. So Bret, would you write down 'Jenny interview Take 1, no good.'"

Bret does this and we continue.

Ed: "Note the camera is still rolling. Tape is cheap, so we don't bother stopping the camera or rewinding the tape between takes. Jenny, please hold up TWO fingers, so we know this is Take 2."

She does so. Bret writes down "Jenny interview Take 2" on his paper.

We do another take of the interview, and we successfully complete it. I look at Jenny and Bret.

Ed: "Were you happy with that take? Was that all right?"

They think it was fine.

Ed: "OK. The camera is still rolling, and we know it's been at least 10 seconds since Jenny finished. I'll turn the camera off, and I'd like Bret to mark 'OK' next to 'Take 2' on his log sheet."

Bret does so, and I thank both students as they go back to their desks.

Ed: "Class, when we've finished shooting everything, we'll take a big stack of tapes into the editing suite to begin putting this project together. At some point, we'll look at our script and want that interview of Jenny."

Ed: "Where do we find it?"

And the students reply, "On the tape labeled 'Jenny.'"

"What take do we want to use?"

Students: " Take 2."

Ed: "And how do we know that?"

Bret: "Because I wrote it down."

Ed: "How do we know which take is Take 2?"

Jenny : "Because I held up two fingers while you were taping to show it was Take 2."

If you use the technique of logging your takes and selecting the "good" take while you shoot it, you save a lot of effort and frustration when it's time to transfer the good stuff to your editor.

Biggest mistakes students & teachers make

2005-10-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Every video project is unique and has its own challenges and problems. However, some hassles and roadblocks seem to pop up again and again. Here is a list of the bugaboos that happen most often when schools are working on an original video production.

Never forget to:

1. Use a new, brand-name video tape at SP speed.

2. Always let camera roll 10 seconds before shooting.

3. Hold the camera still during shooting.

4. Always let camera roll 10 seconds after scene is over

5. Turn off the day and date indicator on the camcorder

6. Use a tripod whenever possible. Don't use the zoom if hand holding camera.

7. Keep your mike close to the subject when shooting audio

8. Write a script before you shoot

9. Budget enough time for the project

10. Tell a story with your video

11. Have your project planned out BEFORE you start editing!

Logging your tapes

2005-10-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

You have shot hours of video to make your blockbuster movie. Some organization right now will make life simpler when you sit down to edit.

To find the video segment you want to edit within the miles of videotape, it sometimes helps to create a video log for each tape you have shot. The log tells the location of every shot you plan to use, as well as a brief description of it. Each video tape you used should have its own log.

How to Log on a VCR with a Real Time Counter

1. Rewind the tape to the beginning.
2. Name your tape. I give my tapes simple names, like "TAPE A" and "TAPE B".
3. Set the counter to 00:00:00. This means zero hours, minutes and seconds equals the start of the tape.
4. Watch the tape, and log the time each scene begins, as well as a brief description of the scene. You might log like this:

TAPE A

00:15:00... Long Shot... Mom and Dad standing in front of their new house
00:23:12... Close Up... Sue shows off her diamond ring
00:47:38... Medium Shot... Dog knocks over Christmas tree
01:15:12... ECU... Hand unwrapping a present
01:18:45... Long Shot... Family at dinner

Note: When logging a new tape, ALWAYS remember to rewind to the beginning, and reset your counter to 00: 00:00 before logging it!

Log only the scenes you think you might use when you edit. You can fast forward through the boring parts of your footage, and spend less time logging. That means you’ll also spend less time when you transfer video from your original tape to the editor.

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Writing on CDs and DVDs

2005-10-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

At the VidExpo in Denver this month, I had a nice chat with a rep from Maxell. We discussed recordable media, specifically recordable CDs and DVDs, and he pointed out a potential time-bomb ticking away in my library.

For final delivery, I burn a CD or DVD and then use a Bravo printer to print the label directly on the face. However, sometimes I get in a hurry and just write the name of the production on the top of the master DVD that I keep on file. And what do I use for this? My trusty Sharpie marker.

The Maxell rep pointed out that most markers are solvent-based. A quick whiff of the marker tells you that some powerful chemicals are inside. Well, when you write on the top of a recordable DVD or CD, that solvent starts eating its way into the disk. And when it reaches the layer where all those ones and zeros are recorded, it corrupts whatever it touches.

So the DVD that played perfectly in the past suddenly stutters and acts up. And, he said this could happen in as little time as one year after you write on the disk.

One year. Ugh.

Office supply stores and mass retailers sell "compact disk marking pens" that use water-based ink. These are safe to use when writing on the top of a disk. You might want to pick up a few of those right away.

What about those of us who print paper labels and stick them on our disks? The rep told me these can separate in time and jam your machine. He said paper labels should never be used on DVDs, because even the slightest imbalance on a DVD can render it unplayable. And let's be honest: how many of us can center those labels perfectly on a disk?

Camcorder batteries

2005-10-18T11:33:00.000-05:00

This has happened to everyone, myself included. You are on location, ready to make the best video of your life, when suddenly, your camcorder battery dies! How can that be, when you have only shot about five minutes of footage, and you charged the battery all of last night? Let's look at the gremlins that ruin camcorder batteries.

Two big problems!

1. We never fully discharge the battery! If your new battery will record for one hour, don't shoot for ten minutes and then recharge it! If you recharge a battery before it needs it, the battery develops a "memory", which means it holds a charge for less time. A one hour battery becomes a 45 minute battery, then a 30 minute battery, than finally a 10 minute battery. The solution is simple: discharge that battery until it won't run the camcorder, then recharge it fully.

2. Don't overcharge the battery! If the manual says to charge the battery for three hours, we usually charge it overnight, "just to be safe". Again, don't do it! Check the manual, and charge for only the time required.

A good tip!

Buy a spare battery. Sounds simple, but the reason most of us abuse our camcorder batteries is because we are in a hurry to start taping again. If you keep a fully charged spare battery, we have the luxury of fully discharging our main battery, and properly recharging it.

Video Blogging

2005-10-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

Will Richardson writes in this month's issue of Technology & Learning about the blog revolution and how some schools and educators are using blogs.

We all know that many blogs aren't much more than online diaries, but now, some educators are using blogs to share information and to increase student achievement.

You can see Will's blog here.