ImageCutter

Recently, I attended an excellent HD Workshop & Mini-Expo presented by Digital CONNtent Creators http://www.digitalct.org/ at Tripeg Studios in Hamden, CT. This event was very informative and I am still amazed by how rapidly the technology in our industry evolves and grows. There is no question that in order to survive these changes you must understand and embrace them, so thanks to Keith Larsen and the rest of the crew that put this show together. This November marks my 25th anniversary in this industry and throughout my career I’ve witnessed the many changes in the tools we use to do our jobs, but how we do it remains the same. The expertise we employ, lighting directing, scriptwriting, producing, editing have changed little over the years, and it is these skills that we need to be continually honing and refining. While it is important to remain current with the tech used in our industry, knowing how to effectively apply our talent and creative nature to the project is still the...

Lighting is a key element in creating compelling images. The most effective films have always used lighting as a tool to evoke emotion. This video features many of the best in the field of cinema lighting and is full of illuminating commmentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6snm0mHkfSE

There are three elements to a good media project. 1. A Good Story 2. Good Images 3. The Right Music A good story should tell itself. Don't allow yourself to force parts together that don't fit if the dialog isn't there. Use narration to bridge caps and make connections between thoughts, but only if needed. Good images are well lit and composed. They tell a story all their own. The right music is probably the most important of the 3. You can set moods and generate emotions with the right music. You can set the pace of the story with the right rhythm. If you are not having a custom score created than the most important skill to develope is the ability to hit the beats. Here is a great tutorial on how to do just that. Edit to the beats It is the editors job to weave these parts together and hopefully bring the clients vision to life.

A long time collegue, Director Tom , taught me years ago the power of the transcript. It is the single most important step in producing an unscripted, interview based video. Anyone who has had to shutlle back and forth through hours of raw footage, trying to cobble together some kind of a message, will certainly appreciate the advantage of a timecoded transcript . The most obvious benefit is having the client highlight the important points and strike the irrelavent and erroneous ones. Now you have a timecoded list of all the pertinent statements to digitize and work with, saving you hours of hunt and peck editing.

Are you ready for adventure? Interested in discovering lost treasure? Prepared to unlock the secrets of a lost civilization? Then grab you bull whip, don your fedora, and climb aboard your keyboard as we set out to discover those gems of insight, thought, humor, and education buried deep within the layers of electronic gossamer which make up the internet. But unlike archiologists of the past we do not have to physically travel the globe digging through ruins to unearth these treasure. They are all here in your laptop. Yet finding the jewels that interest you buried beneath a mountain of data is just as daunting a task. And instead of picks and shovels, we use googles and yahoos.  But as with those diggers of old a keen mind and instinct are still your best tools.  And the treasures of which I speak are blogs.  But let me switch gears here for a moment and explain how I see the internet. I have said in earlier posts that I believe that the internet is the new age of broadcasting, and ...

What we need to remember is that at the end of the day what we do as editors is tell stories. It is our responsibility to connect the client and the target viewer with a clear and focused message, because every story has the power to bring about change. Change to the audience and the world around us. We need to make sure that our clients message is understood, and that the viewer is moved to action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Enk5l7LUw&feature=channel_page

There is little doubt that the internet is fertile ground for advertising. It is hard to find a link or page that doesn't have an ad or pop-up. Videos are the next big trend but targeting them to your market can be hit or miss. Research is indicating a way to maximize your reach through the blogger community. Here is a link that explains this well. corporate-eye What do you think?