WHAT’S LEGAL: MUSICAL COPYRIGHT PAGE 72
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CAMCORDERS • EDITING • COMPUTER VIDEO • AUDIO & VIDEO PRODUCTION • DVD
Blu-ray Camcorder
First
Adobe Premiere Elements
JANUARY 2008
Reviewed
4.0Reviewed PLUS Handheld
Shooting Tips Tutorial Chase Scenes: www.videomaker.com/tutorials/chase VMA_A7-056T-0
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New Intensity Pro introduces HDMI with analog editing in HD and SD for $349 Intensity Pro is the only capture and playback card for Final Cut Studio 2™ with HDMI and analog connections. Intensity Pro allows you to upgrade to Hollywood production quality using large screen edit monitoring and high quality uncompressed or Apple ProRes 422 video.
Connect to Anything! Intensity Pro includes HDMI and component analog, NTSC/PAL and S-video connections in a low cost plug-in card. Capture from HDMI cameras, VHS and Video8 decks, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and more. Playback to large screen televisions and video projectors.
Beyond the Limits of HDV
Use your Favorite Software
HDV’s heavy compression and limited 1440 x 1080 resolution can cause problems with quality and editing. Intensity Pro eliminates these problems and lets you choose from uncompressed video, Apple ProRes 422 and more, all at full 1920 x 1080 HDTV resolution. Now you can capture in 1080i HD, 720p HD or NTSC/PAL video.
Intensity Pro is fully integrated with Mac OS X™ and Apple Final Cut Pro™, Motion™, Color™, DVD Studio Pro™, Adobe After Effects™, Adobe Photoshop™, Autodesk Combustion™ and other QuickTime™ based video editing and compositing software.
Cinema Style Edit Monitoring Use Intensity Pro’s HDMI or analog output for incredible big screen video monitoring. Unlike FireWire™ based solutions, Intensity uses an uncompressed video connection direct to Final Cut Pro’s real time effects renderer. No FireWire™ compression means all CPU processing is dedicated to more effects and video layers!
Intensity Pro
$349 Learn more today at www.blackmagic-design.com
JANUARY 2008 Volume 22 • Number 7
www.videomaker.com
Features
Contents
32 A Score in Time
All things Audio: Music Creation Software, Music & SFX Libraries, Audio Editing Software Buyer’s Guide. by Brian Peterson
45
Tutorial:
Dynamic Chase Scenes
Introducing an exciting new feature from Videomaker: Interactive tutorials! Every month these articles will link to an on-line training video and clips you can download to recreate the effect or technique. by Peter John Ross
38 Hold On! Handheld Shooting Tips A pro’s look at holding your camera. by Michael Reff
48
45
38 On The Cover Hitachi DZ-BD7HA Blu-ray Camcorder Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0
Columns 4 Viewfinder
A New Videomaker by Matthew York
48 Distribution
Password: 3D
Compressing the Goods by Andrew Burke
72
52 Basic Training The Rules of the Grid by Kyle Cassidy
57
14
Departments 6 In Box Reader Letters 8 Tech Support
Your Questions Answered
9 10 12 71
Quick Focus Topical News Zoom In Industry News New Gear Hot Off the Presses Ad Index
57 Lighting
14
Lighting Car Interiors by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
60 Editing
28
The Dissolve: A Winning Edit by Morgan Paar
64 Audio
Squeezing Sound by Hal Robertson
72 What’s Legal
38
Musical Copyright by Mark Levy
Next Month
Videomaker’s Annual Best Products of the Year Tutorial: 2.5D Photo Manipulation Producer Profiles: Web Producer On Sale January 16, 2008
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RATE VIDEOMAKER’S ARTICLES
Test Bench 14 18 22 26 28
Hitachi DZ-BD7HA Compact Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder Azden 320ULX UHF Wireless Microphone System DVGear DV Dream Matrox RT.X2 Turnkey Editing System Mackie 1402-VLZ3 Compact Mixer Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 Video Editing Software
We want to hear from you! To help us give you, the reader, more of what you want, we’d like your input about this issue of Videomaker. Please visit our January Article Rating Page at www.videomaker.com/rr.
VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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New! Merlin Arm and Vest Kit.
Lights. Camera. Merlin! The Merlin is available from these and other fine dealers: abelcine.com adorama.com amazon.com berger-bros.com bhphotovideo.com calumetphoto.com evsonline.com jr.com natcam.com normancamera.com samys.com showcaseinc.com
The Steadicam Merlin® is action! Get in close. Fly through and around every scene with your camcorder, free of tripods or shoulder mounts— free of bumps and jitters —with the remarkable Merlin. Why do you need a Merlin? Merlin’s award-winning ultra light and rigid compact, ergonomic design evolved from years of development by Steadicam’s inventor, Garrett Brown, with feedback from the industry’s top professionals. Unlike built-in camera image stabilizing that works on small vibrations in two axes, the Merlin controls both large and small motions in all three axes for professional high-quality productions. It’s the difference between a camcorder’s “vibration help” vs Merlin’s full-scale stabilization.
The result? A completely new camera stabilization system, created for today’s ultracompact digital and advanced HD camcorders weighing up to five pounds. And with the new optional Arm and Vest Kit, up to seven pounds. Form follows function. Perfect balance. Compact size. Superior handling. Light weight, rigid metal construction. Fast on-location setup. Absolutely effortless moves and transitions. Sleek appearance. That’s the Merlin! Don’t trust your creativity to anything less than a Merlin. See the Merlin in action at tiffen.com. Then try it yourself at your local dealer.
Innovation starts at Tıffen. The Tıffen Company 800.645.2522 Visit us at tiffen.com
VIEWFINDER
Videomaker empowers people to make video in a way that inspires, encourages and equips for success. We do this by building a community of readers, Web visitors, viewers, attendees and marketers.
by Matthew York
A New Videomaker We have a few new things for 2008 that I’d like to tell you about: new columns, features and departments for Videomaker magazine. • Tutorials is a step-by-step walkthrough of a specific shooting or editing technique or effect. If it’s an editing technique, we will demonstrate it with a specific software package. Tutorials will have video links, so readers can look online to see what we’re describing in the magazine. • Distribution is a new column dealing completely with distributing your video: online, DVD, TV, film festival, etc. Distribution was an occasional feature in the past, but with the proliferation of videos “out there,” we’ve decided it needs its own monthly column. This issue is on Compression, and future columns will be on Online DVD Sales Houses, Festivals, Video-sharing Sites and Publicity, to name a few. • Producer Profiles is an in-depth look at individual video producers and their projects, from all experience levels. Producer Profiles highlights one producer who is making videos in a particular arena, like Web-only, documentaries and one-man-bands. • What’s Legal will rotate with Media Releases and Producer Profiles. For the most part, What’s Legal will run the gamut from musical copyright to fair use and contracts. The more videos people put on the Web, the more questions we get on these issues. Media Releases is as it’s always been: books, tapes and DVDs of interest to our audience. At Videomaker headquarters, we’ve been debating how best to use the Web site, as opposed to the printed magazine. I will share some of our thoughts. The magazine has much higher resolution than the Web site on a typical computer monitor. When it’s important for our audience to view high-resolution images, the magazine is the best place for these to appear.
editor in chief managing editor technical editor associate editor video production associate
John Burkhart Jennifer O’Rourke Mark Montgomery Charles Fulton Brandon Pinard
contributing editors Hal Robertson Kyle Cassidy Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D. Morgan Paar Brian Peterson production director art director/photographer production coordinator design associate
The magazine is a very visible symbol of your interests. A magazine on your coffee table lets you and your house or office guests see what you love. Our Web site, hidden in your bookmarks, is not nearly as visible. The magazine is handy proof of advertisers’ marketing efforts: it’s easy to open up Videomaker and show visiting clients an advertisement. The magazine is suitable for long reading periods. Reading more than a few Web pages is not as enjoyable as reading books or magazines. This may have to do with resolution or looking across a desk. Many of us want to limit the amount of time that we just stare into a source of light, whether it’s a CRT, LCD or any other type of monitor. Perhaps most importantly, when used along with a computer, a magazine serves as a complementary display. Just having a magazine opened up to a tutorial feature article next to your computer is like having another monitor. These are just some of our thoughts. Please e-mail us with your opinions and observations.
Matthew York is Videomaker's Publisher/Editor.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13491 in the subject line.
advertising director advertising representatives telephone (530) 891-8410 eastern U. S. western U. S., international classified advertising coordinator marketing manager marketing specialist marketing coordinator marketing coordinator
Derek DeMarco Melissa Hageman Susan Schmierer Joseph Ayres Scott Memmott Alan Parsons Terra York Nick Strayer Aunchalee Burkhart Kim Peoples Dawn Branthaver Heather Handley Kent Hinesley
manager of Andy Clark information systems IT assistant Lance Olinger director of finance fulfillment supervisor accounting assistant customer service fulfillment assistant fulfillment assistant
Stephen Awe Heather Minton Sandra Wells Elissa Raigosa Autumn Ludington Lisa Rothe
subscription information Videomaker Subscription Fulfillment P.O. Box 3780, Chico, CA 95927 telephone: (800) 284-3226 e-mail: customerservice@videomaker.com address P.O. Box 4591, Chico, CA 95927 telephone: (530) 891-8410 fax: (530) 891-8443 Videomaker (ISSN 0889-4973) is published monthly plus one special issue per year by Videomaker, Inc., P.O. Box 4591, Chico, CA 95927. ©2008 Videomaker, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without written consent of the publisher is prohibited. The Videomaker name is a registered trademark, property of Videomaker, Inc. Editorial solicitations welcomed; publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited material. Editorial-related photos and artwork received unsolicited become property of Videomaker. Single-copy price: $3.99; $5.99 in Canada. Subscription rates: one year (12 issues) $22.50; $32.50 in Canada (U.S. funds); $47.50 Foreign Delivery (prepayment required, U.S. funds). Send subscription correspondence to Videomaker, P.O. Box 3780, Chico, CA 95927. Back issues of Videomaker are available for order online at www.videomaker.com or by calling Customer Service at (800) 284-3226. Periodicals postage paid at Chico, CA 95927 and additional mailing offices. Canada Post International Mail Sales Agreement #40051846. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Videomaker, P.O. Box 3780, Chico, CA 95927. CANADA POSTMASTER: Please send Canadian address changes to: IDS, P.O. Box 122, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 6S8. Videomaker makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the completeness, accuracy or utility of these materials or any information or opinion contained herein. Any use or reliance on the information or opinion is at the risk of the user, and Videomaker shall not be liable for any damage or injury incurred by any person arising out of the completeness, accuracy or utility of any information or opinion contained in these materials. These materials are not to be construed as an endorsement of any product or company, nor as the adoption or promulgation of any guidelines, standards or recommendations.
P R I N T ED IN USA
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publisher/editor Matthew York associate publisher Patrice York
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IN BOX
readers' letters
Multicam Shooting
I just finished reading the multicam story by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D. [July 2007]. I don’t remember reading anything in the article about using the same cameras. Did I miss that? John Roth Salina, KS
Good catch, John. Yes, we did omit that tidbit. John is referring to the suggested policy of using the same camcorder model for each multi-cam setup. If you can’t use the same model, try to at least stay within the same camcorder family and format. This is to keep your colors, filters, chroma and other elements that might be unique to one format or camcorder company as similar as possible. For this same reason, you might also want to consider the same mics and mic types if you're shooting several people conversing in the same scene. —The Editors
VM Reader: Beginner? Or Pro?
I recently received the current copy of Videomaker. I wonder which type of reader you are aiming for? It would seem that most articles are well over the heads of a simple soul, who has just been presented with a camcorder by his nice "Uncle Ned." I like the magazine. Mr. Hilary W. Szymanowski (Member A.S.M.P.T.E. )
Funny you should ask... we get this same question... in reverse, many times, Hilary. People might say the article was too simple, and they wanted more complex questions answered. The answer is, some of the articles we write are focused to the beginner users who are just starting out and want to "up" their videos to make them more enjoyable and more watchable for their family and friends. Other articles are focused for the intermediate user who has been making videos for some
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Address your letters to In Box, c/o Videomaker, P.O. Box 4591, Chico, CA 95927. Videomaker is unable to process personal replies; however, questions of interest to the Videomaker readership will appear in print. You can also submit In Box entries by e-mail: editor@ videomaker.com.
time and is interested in stepping up to a higher skill level with some special techniques. Still other articles are for the advanced users who might want to learn some tricks to streamline their workflow or advanced ways to make special effects, and to reinforce what they know with refresher techniques. Everyone is interested in the gear, from beginner to pro, and while some stories might fit one reader, other stories might be too advanced or too basic for them. Our Basic Training column is always geared towards the beginner, but other columns and features vary on their skill level and user's understanding. —The Editors
- Which should I choose, and why? - Which ones will be compatible with which editing software? - Does the choice of player (at the end of the process) affect the choice of cameras and formats used at the beginning of the process? Man, I’d really like to see you guys do an in-depth tutorial on the whole authoring process, including surveys of top cameras, capture options, editing suites, rendering (including hardware acceleration options), and finally writing to (some kind of) (high definition) DVD. Thanks for considering this. Tom Ballister
I Want My HD DVD!
Trust us, Tom, we’re just as frustrated as you are. For the early adopters like you, where price (almost) is no limit, the technology is out there, but just barely. Like that famous quote by George Santayana, “Those who cannot learn from history are condemned to repeat it,” too many manufacturer leaders remember the VHS vs. Beta Wars and are afraid of going out on a limb just yet. It seems everyone is really waiting for the Format Wars to show a clear winner before they sock a lot of R&D, money and their own necks into the technology yet. Then add the fact that prices are still out-of-the-world for many. Here at Videomaker, we’ve tried to get the devices in for review and have ourselves met with great resistance from some companies. We’d love to be able to review an HD DVD burner and a Blu-ray Disc burner side-by-side and are holding our collective breath, while waiting for this opportunity. When we do have the chance to look these babies over, we’ll bring the details to you. Rest assured that we are pushing to get some products in for review, and each month we eagerly await the arrival of an announcement that one is on the way for review. When we get it, you’ll hear about it!
What’s up with High Definition DVD Authoring? Note I didn’t say “HD DVD,” because, as I gather, there’s a shootout underway between the HD DVD consortium versus the Blu-ray consortium. I’ve avidly followed articles in your magazine as I try to step from years of audio engineering/production into video engineering/production. Overwhelming. But I’m driven: I want that kick-butt 1920x1080 video! I’ve been following cameras (HDV vs DVCPro, etc.) and editing software/systems; have been using Adobe Premiere for some time. So now I’m committed. I’m going to second mortgage my house and get myself equipped to produce HD video. First I spent days learning about cameras, their various formats, features, etc. Then I surfed capture and editing options. Finally, I wanted to know how I actually get a high definition DVD written, i.e., one that I can drop into a player attached to a 52" 1080i screen. Here’s where I’ve gotten a little stumped: how in the world do I write out that 1080 timeline to a DVD that will actually tickle all of my pixels? I’m learning there are HD DVD “writers,” as well as Blu-ray “burners”.
Via email
VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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IN Box
Meanwhile, we have a tutorial planned in the works using our new mag and web tutorial format, watch for that soon. —The Editors
Finding Good Videos on YouTube
Matt York's recent Viewfinder columns talk about his desire to see online movies that have a good story. One terrific movie is George Lucas in Love (http:// youtube.com/watch?v=STRja-ABexU). While it is primarily a Star Wars fan film, and you may need to have at least watched the films for a greater appreciation, I think it is terrific. I just have to say that it is expertly done, and it was obviously not a small, quickly made project. Now a question: Most of your articles that offer assistance with filming events are very much focused on preparation. Now, that's all well and good, if you have time for it. I don't know about everybody out there, but I cannot be the only one out there to have had this happen to me: I am relaxing during a perfect summer afternoon, watching a good movie. It's around 4:00 PM when the phone rings: "Hello. Is this Luke?" "Yes" "Good. I'm so-and-so, and I hear/ know that you film things for other people, right?" "Yes, that's correct. Do you have need of my services?" "Ahh...yeees, I do, that's what I was calling about." "OK, I'll need to ask you some questions about the event, but first I need to start recording this conversation so that I'll be able to remember everything. Is that okay?" "Yes." "Okay: What is the event?" "A [Insert Event]." "When is it?" "In two hours." "................................."
January 2008
Could you help us out? What are your tips for the rushful surveillance of the building? How do you go about payment, and the asking of other particulars for the DVD? Usually you cannot do it before the event, because he/she that wants the DVD is the head organizer of the event, and they are as busy as a beaver. How do you go about discussing with them what they want on their video after the event has taken place? An article on this would be extremely helpful. Luke Letellier via email Use the Force, Luke. Follow your feelings. (Sorry, just had to throw that in!) Actually, the answer, Luke, is be prepared. If you take on spur-of-themoment clients, then always have your gear at the ready: batteries charged, lens cleaned, lights working and everything neatly packed and ready to go. Besides having your gear ready to run, you might think about creating a pre-made contract that states price differences for such an event, with blank spaces to hand-write notes in the Who, What, When, Where style while you're on the phone or when you arrive. Have them sign it and agree to trust you to capture the best of the moment. You might also advise them that acceptance of the assignment is contigent on you checking out the venue upon arrival, in case you might not own the proper lighting, for instance, for a dark concert hall. Above all, know when to say no, that there's no time to prepare or that you can't do it due to time constraints, prior commitments or funding. That's the hardest part for most video producers to be able to do! Look for helpful articles coming up this year on Time Management and Production Planning on a Budget. —The Editors
Videomaker Saved my Bacon
I am a new subscriber to Videomaker. My first issue (November 2007) has saved me. (ed. note: Articles included Marketing and Distributing Your Video, by Mark Bosko and The Reel Deal, by Morgan Paar) I had just prepared a DVD containing all the best videos I have made at all studios and production companies in order to find work. But thanks to your issue, I realized how great of a mistake I would have made. Thank you so much for teaching me something very important. Now I feel even more hopeful. Oscar via email
Correction
Our special winter Videomaker Video Gear issue that came out in mid-September inadvertantly swapped the names of two products with their photos. In the Unsung Heroes Camcorder Support System Buyer's Guide, we identifed the photo of Tiffen's Steadicam Merlin as Jony Jib's Jonyjib2, and the Jonnyjib 2 as the Merlin. We apoligize to both companies for the error. —The Editors
Correction
The December 2007 issue’s review of Tiffen Dfx inadvertently contained the same information for the system requirements for both Windows and Mac OS in the Tech Specs. You can find the corrected stats on our Web site. We also pasted information from a different review into this review in error, under the weaknesses section, “Range may be exaggerated” has nothing to do with this review. We apologize to Tiffen for the misinformation and inconvenience that may have occurred. —The Editors FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13090 in the subject line.
VIDEOMAKER >>> January 2008
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Address your questions to Tech Support, c/o Videomaker, P.O. Box 4591, Chico, CA 95927. Videomaker is unable to process personal replies; however, questions of interest to the Videomaker readership will appear in print. You can also submit Tech Support entries by e-mail: editor@videomaker.com.
tech support your questions answered by Mark Montgomery (with help from over 7,000 forum users) Since we started the Tech Support department in Videomaker Magazine several years ago, the way we troubleshoot our problems has changed dramatically. Many manufacturers have moved their 1-800 help lines in the direction of online support, and we have also focused on better technical assistance with our ever-growing Forum community. If you’ve got
a tech issue, we encourage you to seek help on Videomaker’s Forum. It’s free and it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thanks to the best customer service representatives in the business—people just like you. Here’s an excerpt of one of the many helpful conversations taking place on our Forum at www.videomaker.com/forums.
Premiere Cs3..Best FLV export settings for web? Author Cstina
Does anyone know the best .FLV export/compression settings for web use (YouTube, etc)? I’ve tried, and failed, to come up with the right variables for a quality result under 100mb. Here’s an example of what quality I’d like to have...argh.... (Link to YouTube video) Thanks
virtualscribe Cstina, For delivery to the web you need to export directly to .flv when uploading to YouTube. No one quite gives you the details, but to get good quality you need a dual pass encoder. Both Sorenson and ON2 provide these, currently these are the ONLY companies who provide this. Encode using dual pass rendering at 300-400 kbps into flv format and upload this directly to YouTube. This will give you the quality you are looking for. The CS3 programs you get bundled with Adobe software provide single pass encoding. Check out some of the videos I’ve posted on my front page to see quality. Fast moving content, transitions, water, fur, and vibrations always cause jittery encoding results, but if you have talking head footage like the one in your YouTube media, you should have no issues with a good transcode. ================== Share Your Wedding Online virtualscribe www.wedclip.com
Cstina
Thanks. I’ll look at them today Are you talking about FlixExporter and Squeeze? Those particular products? Do you have an opinion about which format/settings are considered “best” for saving in Cs3 before tossing it into On2 or Sorenson? The reason I ask is, I’ve compressed a 600+mb .AVI to .FLV before with various settings (using Total Vid Converter) and the output was always above and beyond 100mb...and I’m trying to stay under that threshold size. Thanks again.
virtualscribe Cstina, Correct, On2 has Flix and Sorenson has their Squeeze product. Good quality input works best. If you don’t have camera shake, if your lighting is good, and your transitions don’t have too much fade in/out. Your 600MB 720 x 480 pixel AVI file will show a significant decrease in file size when you take it to 320 x 240 pixels at 300 kilobytes per second. I’ve noticed a 12 - 15 times reduction in file size going from DVD quality to online quality delivery. For your 600 Mb file you may be looking at 60Mb after dual pass encode. I find that the first pass reduces file size, and the second pass increases quality and reduces file size further.
Cstina
Great
This thread and your others have been really helpful!
I downloaded SorensonSqueeze 4.5 and the interface is surprisingly user-friendly.... There’s just one aspect I can’t figure out, maybe you know…
We want to give a special thanks to Cstina and virtualscribe for their helpful dialog. You can find answers or post more questions regarding Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, along with other products and video production techniques, at www. videomaker.com/forums. Go there and set your video-mind free.
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Mark Montgomery is Videomaker’s Technical Editor.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13553 in the subject line.
VIDEOMAKER >>> January 2008
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quick focus by Jennifer O’Rourke
Monitor Mounts Kids Competing
in Filmmaking
If you’re like many video editors, you have more than your usual computer and accessories on your desk. You might have the printer, a couple extra hard drives, maybe an audio mixer, your camcorder, special editing speakers and... what else.. oh, yeah, your computer and monitor. Is the desktop getting a bit crowded? Consider wall-mounting your monitors. Companies like Chief create all sorts of hinged, movable, scalable mounts that might just be the ticket to help clear the clutter. www.chiefmfg.com
Recharge with USB and go Green USBcell by Moxia has the answer to two problems with batteries: eliminating the need to figure out how to dispose of them in an eco-friendly way, and how can you easily recharge the rechargeables? Normal rechargeable batteries do save you the disposal concerns, but you have to have the proper charger for the right battery. But the USBcell battery uses one of the most common outlets out there: your USB port on your computer. When your battery loses its charge, simply plug it into any device that has a USB port, including laptops, hubs, games consoles and even keyboards and monitors, and the battery uses that port as a power source to charge. Released a bit over a year ago, the USBcell is now nationwide and a 2-pack sells for about $20. Don’t want to use your computer? USBcell can also be recharged from approved NiMH chargers. www.usbcell.com
Dreaming Tree Films/Chicago has begun producing a national filmmaking competition for teens ages 14-19. Called Samsung Fresh Films, it focuses on offering better-quality films via the Internet for teens to watch and allows them to enter film competitions geared exclusively for filmmakers in their age group. Thousands of young producers entered this past summer’s competition in hopes of being selected to work on one of nine city-based all-teen film crews challenged to create a real festival-quality short film within one week’s time. The competition was judged by such Hollywood notables as actor John Lithgow and producers from Napoleon Dynamite, MTV, The American Film Institute and FilmThreat.com. The teen producers were in charge of every aspect of the film they were making, including production, location scouting and PR for media distribution. The winners of the 2007 competition will be announced in June of this year, and kids can sign up on the Web site to receive an e-newsletter to learn about the next competition. Besides the competition, the Fresh Films Web site also has stories on young directors and screening geared to the younger audience. You can view some of the past films and even use the Fresh Films forums to talk to the producers of those films for assistance on your own upcoming projects. Videomaker applauds Fresh Films for giving youth the chance to learn and participate in this wonderful experience. www.fresh-films.com
Videomaker Festival Page Speaking of festivals, did you know you can now view a growing list of video and film festivals at Videomaker’s own Web site? You can even submit information about your upcoming Festival. You can sort by festival date, location or event. Videomaker supports many video and film festivals all over the United States so be sure to get yours on the list! Check it out at: www.videomaker. com/community/festival
VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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industry news
by Mark Montgomery
Panasonic reveals new shoulder-mount AVCHD camcorder
Azden shows off new SMX-10 Stereo Microphone
Shoulder-mount camcorders give you two notable benefits: authority and stability. Other than that, for most semi-pro shooters, they’re just the big brothers to their handheld-sized counterparts. The Panasonic AG-HMC70 AVCHD camcorder appears to be just that, a big brother of the AG-HSC1 (reviewed in the October 2007 issue of Videomaker). It has basically the same components under the hood, but adds more audio features, a professional viewfinder and a 12x optical zoom. The new AG-HMC70 records 1080i AVCHD to SD or SDHC memory cards, allowing up to 160 minutes of recording time at its highest quality (16Mbps) on a 16GB SDHC card. Those additional audio features include XLR Mic/Line switchable inputs with attenuation, 48V phantom power and manual control over your record levels – just what a pro videographer needs. A price has not yet been set. Expect to see the Panasonic AG-HMC70 shipped in April. www.panasonic.com
Azden makes a lot of microphones well suited for the video hobbyist, because they’re generally less expensive than the competition and, when it comes down to it, they get the job done. The new SMX-10 falls right into that category, going for $100 and featuring a 100Hz to 18kHz frequency response with a -40dB sensitivity. One slightly strange feature is the built-in roll-off at 200Hz that unfortunately can’t be switched off. For most shooters trying to capture dialog, this is ideal, but for capturing sound effects and other ambient sounds, the bass tones might add a lot more depth to your audio, even though you might end up rolling them off in post. Yes, we’re being a little too critical here, as most mics do have some sort of roll-off filter. However, we think giving hobbyists more control is a good thing. In the end, the SMX-10 (equipped with a 1/8" audio jack) is a great step forward for anyone still using an onboard mic. Keep away from those darn onboard microphones – they’re nothing but trouble. www.azdencorp.com
Fabrik announces Pro Series hard drives Fabrik announced its new professional hard drive line that adds an online, off-site back-up feature. The online back-up component isn’t really a new technology, but it’s the first time we’ve seen it matched with hardware, and with a price point that’s approachable for professionals and consumers. Fabrik has a software solution that allows you to back up your data to the new hard drive line itself (locally), as well as use its online data service – called Fabrik Ultimate Backup – to back up your data to a secure, off-site data center. There are actually two services here: a free one with a 2GB storage capacity (which is actually available to the general public) and an unlimited storage capacity that runs just $4.95 a month. What this means is that should anything happen to your drive (say, damage, failure, theft or anything else resulting in the loss of your data), Fabrik will have a copy of it. The new hard drive line consists of three different models: Simple Drive, Pro Drive (adds eSATA) and Duo Pro Drive (adds eSATA and RAID performance). Hard drive capacities range from 250GB to 2TB, depending on the model, with pricing starting at $100. Check out the Fabrik Web site for more details: www.fabrik.com.
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Red Giant launches new Magic Bullet Looks Looks are everything when it comes to finishing your video. If it looks good, it is good. Well… you audiophiles know better than that. Anyhow, Red Giant Software has given the Magic Bullet filter set a makeover, and now we can simply call it Magic Bullet Looks. This update refines the user interface and increases its usability between different editing platforms, meaning that the custom filters you create can be shared with other editors who use different editing software. This will certainly score you some high-fives with your editing buddies. You can upgrade your existing Magic Bullet Look Suite for $99 or jump in head-first for $399. www.redgiantsoftware.com
VIDEOMAKER >>> J anuary 2008
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www.sonycreativesoftware.com
Your Vision. Our Sound. Sony Pictures Sound Effects Series file:
Elephant Growl Low volume 1:
Animals / Natural Elements time:
00:08.2
file:
file:
Ocean Waves And Birds
Flamethrower Burst 03
volume 2:
volume 3:
Backgrounds
Home & Office / Impacts / Weapons & Explosions
time:
00:08.0
time:
00:01.1
file:
Roller Coaster Bys 01 volume 4:
Vintage Cartoon / Sports & Recreation / Vocals & Wallas time:
00:21.1
file:
Military Helicopter Idle Away volume 5:
Vehicles time:
00:21.7
10 CDs. 2,300 Effects. From the audio vaults of Sony Pictures Entertainment, these exclusive collections of essential sound effects represent the best in sound design and field-recorded materials. Volumes one through five contain common elements of the sound effects world such as household items, vocals and wallas, animals, and weapons. Volumes six through ten focuses on the unusual and extraordinary, with over 1,100 incredible samples including backgrounds, horror and sci-fi effects, period vehicles—even 5.1 surround sound explosions with independently adjustable channel layers. A compelling soundtrack is integral to the cinematic experience; put these effects to work in
Box sets sold separately
your productions to achieve higher levels of emotion, suspense, and impact. Your vision, our sound: a combination designed for greatness.
file:
The Hive 01 volume 6:
Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Horror time:
00:17.5
file:
5.1 Explosion Set 04-C volume 7:
Explosions / Combat / Weapons time:
00:11.2
file:
file:
file:
volume 8:
volume 9:
volume 10:
Church Bells Exterior Backgrounds / Weather time:
00:30.0
1940s Phone Ring Period Effects: Devices / Backgrounds / Combat time:
00:30.0
Carriage Constant Period Effects: Vehicles time:
00:29.9
Š 2007. Sony Creative Software Inc. All rights reserved. Sony Pictures Sound Effects is a trademark of Sony Pictures Digital Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. www.sonycreativesoftware.com | 1.800.577.6642
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11/7/2007 10:11:53 AM 11/7/07 11:55:43 AM
NEW GEAR
hot off the presses
Focus’ FS-100 direct capture device is now available in a 160GB version for the Panasonic AG-HVX200. The device can record up to 6.5 hours in 720p24PN or up to 2.5 hours in full framerate 720p or 1080i. www.focusinfo.com Suggested Retail Price: $2,495
Pinnacle VideoSpin is a free video editing application for Windows XP and Windows Vista that includes basic editing tools and also offers an easy way to upload completed videos to the Internet. An advanced codec pack that includes MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 codecs is available for $15. www.videospin.com Suggested Retail Price: free
Focus Enhancements
Pinnacle Systems
by Charles Fulton
Sony’s BWU-200S Blu-ray Disc burner is twice as fast as its predecessor, capable of burning BD-R media at 4X and DVD-R/+R media at 16X. The drive includes CyberLink’s BD Solution software and utilizes a Serial ATA interface.
Sony
www.sonystyle.com Suggested Retail Price: $600
12 248 d5 New Gear.indd 12
VIDEOMAKER >>> Ja nuary 2008
VM12__A7-056T-0
11/7/2007 11:28:50 AM
Introducing the Digital Photo Academy (because instruction manuals still can’t teach this)
• Located in 20 cities across the country • Taught by local professionals • Monthly classes offered in Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced skill levels • Students can bring any brand of camera they want
To learn more or enroll, visit DigitalPhotoAcademy.com or call 1.877.DP.ACAD.1 (1.877.372.2231) Learn more at
246PanasonicSLR.indd 241Panasonic(SLR).indd1 48
9/12/2007 11:19:14 11:03:03 AM AM 11/7/2007
Hitachi DZ-BD7HA Compact Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder
TEST BENCH
A Little Blu by John Burk h a r t Hitachi 1855 Dornoch Court San Diego, CA 92154 www.hitachi.com
STRENGTHS • Blu-ray support • Impressive internal transfer capabilities • Decent manual controls
By and large, it seems that consumers are still very much on the fence regarding the next generation of highdefinition video disc formats. Not the manufacturers, however. They have already picked their sides and are busy building those products, hoping to entice consumers down off the fence and onto their team.
NEW HYBRID CAMCORDERS CAN GIVE YOU THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
In that spirit, Hitachi has released the world’s first Blu-ray Disc camcorder, the DZ-BD7HA. This is Hitachi’s flagship consumer camcorder and is actually a hybrid that also sports a 30gig hard drive. Hybrid camcorders give you the best of both worlds, allowing you to shoot a long time onto the hard drive, and then, with random access capability, burn your best takes onto removable media, in this case 8cm Bluray Discs for archiving and storage. So what does the addition of Blu-ray Disc bring to the table?
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Shooting with the Camera
WEAKNESSES • Poor low-light performance • No headphone jack • Hard to edit HD footage
This model is aimed at the high end of home video hobbyists. You likely won’t be making any feature films with $1,499 the BD7HA – it’s designed for those Underneath the canopy of trees, the wanting to shoot birthday parties, picture looked a bit blue on the autokids' soccer games and other personal white balance. Using a white piece of video. So, with that in mind, we took paper to re-balance cleared the shot the BD7HA out into the field and put it up nicely. The BD7HA Blu-ray Disc through its paces. camcorder also has a full compleThe imager is a single 1/2.8 CMOS sensor. It shoots Full HD at 1920x1080 ment of automatic controls, as one would expect. They work pretty well, pixels in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, to the hard drive or to a stagRear camcorder controls gering array of removable media, including 8cm Bluray Disc (BD-RE, BD-R) and 8cm standard-definition DVD discs (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R). It has some nice manual features, including human control of the focus, exposure and white balance, which come in handy in overriding the circuitry in difficult shooting conditions. For example, I took the camera out into the park to shoot some landscapes. VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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TEST BENCH
Hitachi DZ-BD7HA
with the exception of the auto-focus in low-light conditions, which had serious hunting problems. In these conditions, you’ll want to take control yourself. In a rather strange decision, the BD7HA has a microphone input jack, but no headphone jack. So, while you can use an external microphone to get much better audio (an addition we always support), you have no way of monitoring that audio. This seems to be a poor design decision, because,
IN PRACTICAL CONDITIONS, SHOOTING WITH THE BD7HA IS A SIMPLE PROCESS. if users are going to go through the trouble of using an external microphone, they’re most likely going to want to hear what it sounds like. The included battery lasts for about 45 minutes in real-life use and TECH SPECS
Format MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Image Sensor 1/2.8 CMOS Effective Video Pixels 2,070,000 HDD Capacity 30GB Recording Times HDD (HX 4 hrs, HF 5.3 hrs, HS 8 hrs) BD (HX 1 hr, HF 1.3 hrs, HS 2 hrs) DVD (SX 20 min, SF 30 min) Lens F 1.8-3.0 Focal Length 47-470mm Filter Size 43mm Focusing System Auto/manual Focus Assist None Programmed AE Portrait, spotlight, sand & snow, low light Manual White Balance Yes Image Stabilization Electronic Viewfinder .02-inch color (200,000 pixels)
Left side with 2.7-inch LCD
includes a separate external battery charger. This time-saving feature lets you put one battery on charge and then keep shooting with an additional battery (should you choose to purchase an additional battery) instead of tying
LCD Screen 2.7-inch color TFT (211,200 pixels) Recording Media Hard disk drive 30GB, 8cm Blu-ray Discs (BD-RE, BD-R), 8cm DVD (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R) Audio 2-channel Dolby Digital Dimensions (WxHxD) 3-2/5" x 3-1/5" x 6-1/2" (excluding hand strap) Optical Zoom 10x Digital Zoom 500x Video Out HDMI, Component, Composite Microphone Input Yes Manual Audio Levels No Headphone Jack No External Battery Charger Yes Accessory Shoe Yes, cold
up your camcorder as a very expensive charging station. In practical conditions, shooting with the BDH7A Blu-ray Disc camcorder was a fairly simple process, and our default mode was shooting directly to the hard drive. Shooting at the highest-quality setting, you can record about 4 hours’ worth of footage to the hard drive or one hour of footage to an 8cm Blu-ray Disc. As camcorders get ever more complex, shooting to different formats and media, it can be quite tricky to keep track of all the various modes and acronyms involved. The BD7HA comes with a handy guide button, which is kind of like an electronic cheat sheet that shows up in the viewfinder. It asks you simple questions, and, based on your answers, suggests the proper mode and medium for the use you intend. It’s a very nice feature that we can see coming in handy often – it’s like having a mini manual right in your camcorder.
Managing and Distributing Your Video Media
Capturing your footage is just one part of the equation. You’ll need to be able
15
VIDEOMAKER >>> Ja nuary 2008
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ounge Network With Your Peers Videomaker.com/Lounge One of the most rewarding aspects of attending Videomaker’s face to face events is the development of relationships. Friendships lead people to challenge one another to perfect their video creation abilities. You can connect with people who make video like you do. People that use the same editing software package, have the same camcorder, produce the same type of videos or you can find people that have all three things in common. You can engage in discussions about your favorite genre or about your most admired technique. Our Social Network is not only about making friends, it’s about collaboration. There is space to share videos and to provide/receive feedback on your productions. You will also find a place to share sound effects, stock photos and stock footage. It’s like a MySpace for video creators. ©
Please come and join our new network and become an active participant in the Videomaker Community! - Matt York, Videomaker’s Publisher/Editor
Videomaker.com/Lounge 2818LoungeHOUSEad.indd 48
11/7/2007 2:34:25 PM
TEST BENCH Hitachi DZ-BD7HA
Right-side Blu-ray Disc tray
to show your clips as well, and, in today’s HD/SD crossover world, there are many variables involved in what should be a simple operation. The BD7HA Blu-ray Disc camcorder has a very impressive format transfer capability. It’s pretty much a oneman dubbing rack. The BD7HA has various output ports, including USB 2.0 to connect to the computer and HDMI to connect to high-definition television sets, as well as the typical Mic input on front, right side
Left-side with additional controls and HDMI analog connections. The camcorder can transfer your HD footage to a computer via USB and Blu-ray Disc internally in the camera. It can also downconvert your HD footage to record SD onto typical 8cm DVDs internally as well. So you’re pretty well covered if your final product is to deliver a series of clips on a DVD. This can all be done using the easy to navigate menu settings on the camcorder’s LCD screen. Every clip on the hard-drive or Blu-ray Disc is represented by a small icon denoting the first frame of that video. By navigating around Blu-ray Disc is 7.5 gigabytes, comusing the joystick control on the LCD pared to 1.4 gigabytes for a regular panel to select individual clips, you mini DVD-R. This allows you to can specify which clips get transferred record far more high-definition footto different media and which ones age to one disc. It also allows you remain on your device. drop-in support with consumer BluImporting your video to your comray Disc players that are starting to puter is done through an included make inroads into the living rooms of America. So, if you need an easy and portable way to deliver HD video, this is currently the way to go. THE BD7HA HAS A VERY
IMPRESSIVE FORMAT TRANSFER CAPABILITY. utility called Image Mixer 3 HD Edition. This application is for Windows users only, so Mac people are out of luck. Image Mixer 3 HD allows you to build and organize a library of clips, but little more than that; there are no real editing capabilities to speak of. If you want to edit the footage, it becomes a bit trickier, as you can output only raw MPEG streams to the computer. You will have to convert these clips into some other format before you will be able to edit them.
Conclusion
Hitachi’s DZ-BD7HA Blu-ray Disc/HDD format provides the most flexible shooting and distribution options for the consumer. With the addition of Blu-ray Disc to the lineup, it simply takes this great format and expands on it, to give you more recording time and more disc format options for delivery. SUMMARY
This is a convenient high-definition camcorder with a longevity pending the end of a format war. John Burkhart is Videomaker’s Editor-in-Chief.
FEEDBACk
Blu-ray
So what does the Blu-ray Disc get you? Time. The capacity of a mini
For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13800 in the subject line.
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Azden 320ULX UHF Wireless Microphone System
TEST BENCH
Sound Matters by Jeanne Ra w l i n g s Azden Corp. 147 New Hyde Park Road Franklin Square, NY 11010 www.azdencorp.com
STRENGTHS • Good sound quality • Plenty of channels • Compact and lightweight • Good range WEAKNESSES • No significant weaknesses
$1,075
Azden’s latest 320 series discrete dualchannel system is smaller and smarter than all other previous units. We reviewed four components, finding that the UHF dual receiver is powerful and allows selections of up to 240 channels. For the professional videographer, the flaws we uncovered don’t seriously impact the Azden 320 series, when compared to wireless systems that cost much more.
Kit Overview
Inside our Azden 320ULX kit were the 320UPR receiver, a 30XT plug-in transmitter, a 30BT bodypack transmitter and a little workhorse Azden EX-503L omni-directional lapel microphone. For connection between the receiver and the camera, Azden includes a dual-plug XLR-to-stereo mini-plug output, as well as a stereo mini 1/8-inch output connector for
18 248 C5 TestBench.indd 18
smaller cameras. The five-page User’s Guide kit is rudimentary, but an Azden sound technician quickly answered a cold call about a switch that the specs did not define. Lastly, the kit comes
THE 320UPR IS SMALL AND LIGHTWEIGHT, EVEN WITH THE TWO AA BATTERIES. equipped with its own carrying case. There’s also a 320ULT kit ($995), which replaces the 30XT with another 30BT bodypack, for those who don’t need the handheld functionality.
Small, Light, Compact
Along with its small size, the 320UPR is lightweight, even with the two AA batteries that run this receiver. That’s
a plus for camera-mounted use. UHF systems pull more power, but the DC jack will charge batteries in the camera or from an external source. It’s easy to read the two digital LCD readouts, with channel selection, battery strength and incoming signal status. This is not a diversity receiver, but the flexible high-gain antennas did the job of bringing in two strong UHF signals on 240 selectable frequencies in our tests. On-off switches and cable lock-down rings do the trick. However, the power switches face the front of the camera, which makes it a hassle if you must mount the receiver before setting up mics and channels. For those who prefer detachable sound packs, the camera shoe is removable, and Azden provides Velcro to stick the receiver onto a belt pack slung on your tripod or waist. You’re
VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
VM018__A7-056T-0
11/8/2007 9:40:51 AM
Avid Introduces HD Editing, Integrated Effects, Animation & High-Definition Blu-Ray DVD Authoring Avid XpressÂŽ PRO with Avid Studio Toolkit Bundle $ 00
1,795
• Avid Xpress Pro HD & SD Editing Software • Avid 3D for 3D Animation & Compositing • Avid FX for 2D/3D Effects & Title Effects • Avid DVD by Sonic for DVD & Blu-ray Disc Authoring
This software suite is anchored around Avid Xpress Pro – professional real-time audio, video and film editing software providing independent editors, producers and filmmakers with the freedom to create anywhere. Avid Studio Toolkit rounds out the suite with effects and titles, 3D animation, DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc authoring. No other suite combines this level of features, integration, and ease-of-use. And no other solution makes an end-to-end HD workflow this affordable. • Professional editing with Avid Xpress Pro. Real-time video and film editing for DV25, HDV, DVCPRO HD and more. Advanced media management, color correction, titles, keys, audio editing tools and 2D and 3D effects in a software package that gives you the freedom to create anywhere.
• Jump right in to 3D graphics. Busy video editors can skip the learning curve and start creating stunning 3D animations right away with Avid 3D. Energize titles and graphics with easy-to-use 3D title tools and tons of 3D models that you can animate, light, and customize with lens flares, warps, deformations, and more.
• Break out with Blu-ray Disc authoring. Distribute your productions in beautiful HD quality on the latest generation Blu-ray Disc format. Capture from any HD source, edit, author in interactive HD and burn high-definition discs using Avid DVD by Sonic, a component of Avid Studio Toolkit.
• Output to the web. Sorenson Squeeze Compression Suite is included with Avid Xpress Pro providing the means to output to multiple web and multimedia formats such as MPEG1/2, Real, Windows Media, Flash & more
• Add dazzling titles and effects. Avid FX within Avid Studio Toolkit integrates 1,500 title and effects templates, over 110 image filters, raster and vector paint tools, EPS import, multiple compositing modes, motion tracking, rotoscoping—and more—all inside the Avid editing timeline.
• Create custom music. SmartSound Sonicfire Pro is included, providing the means to create custom soundtracks and easily adapt them to the length and mood of your video production.
Also Available: Avid Xpress Pro PowerPack with Avid Mojo Digital Nonlinear Accelerator This hardware and software bundle includes all of the same great software with Avid Xpress Pro, Avid 3D, Avid FX & Avid DVD PLUS professional hardware I/O with Avid Mojo. Real-time video I/O over a simple IEEE-1394 firewire connection allows you to work in the studio, on-set, at home or on the road. Provides composite, s-video, component (requires additional cable, not included) video I/O and stereo audio with real-time voiceover capability.
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2,49500
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248VideoGuys1.indd 48
WWW VIDEOGUYS COM s 800-323-2325
11/6/2007 2:30:20 PM
Azden 320ULX
TEST BENCH
30XT Plug-in transmitter (mic not included)
still hooked to the camera, so Azden gives you 36 inches of cord with the supplied 1/8-inch output connector to the camera. For XLR connections, unfortunately, you have only 20 inches of play. Both cords send discrete audio output onto separate channels on your tape.
can adjust with a supplied tool stored inside the battery compartment of the 30BT receiver. The 30XT adjustment tool is stored inside the 320UPR receiver, and Azden provides a spare. The 30XT transmitter runs on a 9volt battery and has a convenient muting switch, as well as a power switch. It has a recessed phantom-power switch
The 30BT and 30XT transmitters also have LCD displays for channel selection and battery strength, as well as an indicator labeled AF Level. The literature doesn’t explain, but this readout shows mic levels. It doesn’t work very well for fine tuning. Both mics have recessed level gain controls, which you
TECH SPECS
320UPR Receiver
Frequency Range Type of Reception Oscillator RF Squelch Level Frequency Response Signal/Noise Ratio Audio Out Batteries
UHF 240 selectable frequencies (794-805.950MHz) Dual-channel receiver PLL synthesized 13dBµV 50Hz - 15kHz >70dB “A” weighted MIC level - unbalanced - 3.5mm mini-jack 2 AA alkaline (2 x 1.5V) 3-4 hours runtime 2 AA rechargeable Ni-MH or Ni-Cd (2 x 1.2V) External Power 6VDC @ 0.5A Dimensions 2.87"W x 4.45"H x 1.59"D (73 x 113 x 40.5mm) Weight Approx. 9.17oz (260g) w/batteries
30BT Bodypack Transmitter Frequency Range UHF 240 selectable frequencies (794-805.950MHz) Oscillator PLL synthesized RF Power 15mW Frequency Response 50Hz - 15kHz Max. Deviation +/-40kHz @ 1kHz modulation, MIC Input - 11dBm Batteries 2 AA alkaline (2 x 1.5V) 8-10 hours runtime 2 AA rechargeable Ni-MH or Ni-Cd (2 x 1.2V)
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IF YOU PREFER DETACHABLE SOUND PACKS, THE CAMERA SHOE IS REMOVABLE. for microphones that require them (that information is not in the manual). The lock-down ring at the cable jack is a nice feature. The 30BT unit features a belt clip and runs on 2 AA batteries with a sim-
Dimensions 2.52"W x 3.94"H x 1.06"D (64 x 100 x 28mm) Weight Approx. 4.54oz (160g) w/batteries
30XT Plug-in Transmitter Frequency Range Antenna Max. Input Level RF Power Input Impedance Audio Adjust. Range Battery Dimensions Weight
UHF 240 selectable frequencies (794-805.950MHz) Internal -7dBm 15mW 6k ohms -63dBm to 18dBm 1 9V alkaline - 6-8 hours runtime 1.57"W x 1.57"H x 3.9"L (40 x 40 x 99mm) Approx. 6.4oz (181.4g) w/battery
EX-503L Lavalier Microphone Polar Pattern Frequency Response Max Input Sound Level Power Requirements Output Impedance Output Connectors Pad Low-Frequency Roll-off
Omnidirectional 50Hz - 18kHz Approx. 93dB None, dynamic microphone element requires no phantom or battery power 250 ohms 1/8" (3.5mm) mini-jack connector None None
VIDEOMAKER >>> Ja nuary 2008
VM020__A7-056T-0
11/8/2007 9:41:05 AM
TEST BENCH Azden 320ULX
Top of 320UPR dual channel UHF receiver
ple on-off switch, but it has no muting switch. There are no batteries needed for the EX-503L electric condenser mic, and the frequency response is between 50Hz and 19kHz. We were pleased with the sound.
In the Field
We tested both the 30XT and 30BT transmitters in five physical situations: outdoors with direct line of sight; with and without telephone/power lines; indoors; indoors through one exterior wall (receiver outdoors); and through a second wall. Needless to say, the quality of the signals broke up through the two walls, but it was great through one. Results for the remaining four
THE AZDEN 320 SERIES IS MEATY, EASY TO USE, COMPACT AND LIGHTWEIGHT. environments were very good. In all tests, we put from three to 51 yards between ourselves and the transmitters. We found that the signal strength was equal for both systems, with the 30XT having approximately ten yards more range over the 30BT bodypack transmitter when operating in the ideal condition of direct line of sight without power lines between the units. For the 30XT, the maximum distance for direct line of sight without power lines came in at 51 yards; with
power lines, audio broke up at 38 yards. Through a residential building wall, breakup did not occur until 15 yards. The device became unusable after passing behind the second building wall at 16 yards. For the 30BT bodypack unit, we got the same results, except that the test of direct line of sight without power lines was limited to a range of 41 yards.
Summary
The system has drawbacks: the inability to monitor signal strength independently from the camera is the worst. On the upside, it offers two independent mic channels in one ultra-small package, and you won’t have a problem finding clean airwaves, even in large cities with big media markets. For professionals who don’t always have the need for a dual receiver, the system can add two mics to provide the assurance of an immediate backup, should one of the microphones go down. At $800 (not including the second microphone), the Azden 320 series is meaty, easy to use and compact, and it delivered two clear transmissions over reasonable distances in our tests. SUMMARY
The Azden 320 series is a dual channel wireless system that works great in the field and won't cost you an arm and a leg. Jeanne Rawlings is an Emmy Award-winning sound recordist and documentary producer. Her former clients include the National Geographic Society, ABC and Discovery Pictures.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13561 in the subject line.
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21
VIDEOMAKER >>> Ja nuary 2008
248 C5 TestBench.indd 21
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DVGear DV Dream Matrox RT.X2 Turnkey Editing System
TEST BENCH
Fan-tastic Turnkey by Brian Pete r s o n DVGear 2808 Hoyt Ave, Ste 301 Everett, WA 98201 www.dvgear.com
STRENGTHS • Excellent system design • Excellent engineering and optimization of hardware and software WEAKNESSES • Lack of balanced audio connections on breakout box • CPU limits some HD editing tasks
$5,357
Resistance is futile. HD editing is barreling down on us, whether we like it or not. For most of us, it means either upgrading our current editing computer systems or getting an optimized
THE DV DREAM TURNKEY EDITING SYSTEM COMES OUT OF THE BOX READY TO PLAY. turnkey solution. So, for those of you who don’t want to become your own tech support, we checked out DVGear’s latest workstation. DVGear’s DV Dream turnkey editing system comes out of the box ready to play. We simply turned it on, trans-
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ferred our project and media files, and key video production benchmarks opened Premiere Pro and started editof the DV Dream with a recently uping without a single hiccup. graded system we had on hand. This On the hardware side, the DV other system was running Windows Dream features an Intel Core 2 Duo XP Home on an AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 2.66GHz processor, 4MB of L2 cache, 2.8GHz CPU, with 4GB of 333MHz 2GB of 800MHz RAM and a Matrox RAM, one system and two A/V drives RT.X2 capture card. Pre-installed (all running at 7200RPM). All drives software includes TECH SPECS Windows XP Pro CPU Intel Core 2 Duo 6700 at 2.66GHz and the Premiere Capture Card Matrox RT.X2 DV/HDV, including Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Pro CS3 bundle RAM 2048MB of 800MHz DDR2 running in dual channel that comes with Encore, OnLocaVideo Card nVidia GeForce 8800GTS tion, Bridge and Audio Card Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Device Central. System Drive 250GB SATA 700RPM For real-world A/V Storage Two 500GB 7200RPM drives in RAID 0 tests, we comDVD Drive Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x dual layer pared some Power Supply Antec TreePower Trio 650 watt hardware specs VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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Fans, fans, fans
had plenty of space and were defragged just prior to our tests.
Looks Cool. Is Cool.
With four case fans and three others chill’n the power supply, CPU and even a heat pump, DVGear is taking heat transfer seriously. Cables are neatly run and secured to optimize airflow,
CABLES ARE NEATLY RUN AND ARE SECURED TO OPTIMIZE AIRFLOW. make drive access a breeze and generally look tidy. Even the power supply is located at the bottom rear of the case, a place we’ve rarely seen used in anything less than enterprise-class computers. All of this is clear to the eye, as the left panel is half ventilation grid and half Plexiglas viewing port. So how cool does all this neatness keep important stuff like hard drives and the CPU? After working for more than an hour in a room with an ambient temperature of 69 degrees, the CPU was at 88 and the 3 internal hard drives were only at 71, 71 and 82 degrees. The CPU in our comparison system was 108
DVGear DV Dream Matrox RT.X2
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS (top PCI Express slot), Matrox RT.X2 (below)
and the drives, in a similar three-drive configuration with a dedicated cooling fan, were at 86, 89 and 91 degrees. We’ve monitored systems that did nothing special to optimize cooling where drives cooked along at 160 degrees and higher. Another bonus: even with all of its large high-efficiency fans, the DV Dream is still only about half as loud as our comparison system with its standard 80mm fans. Other tidbits we liked include having the power and reset switches on the top panel, along with one FireWire and two USB connections. Also conveniently located on the top is a small rubberized holding tray for stashing removable media like thumb drives. At the back end, dual monitor support and even dual-gigabit Ethernet give you plenty of output options. Oh, yes, the blue fan-lights pimp the ride complete.
Optimized for Video
One of the reasons to invest in a turnkey system is that you don’t have to spend a half to full day loading software and another several hours finding, downloading and installing updates. All of the key system updates in our DV Dream, such as BIOS and
drivers for video and audio hardware, were up to date. There were a few updates to the full Adobe suite of programs that come with Premiere Pro, but these were very recent releases and the Adobe updater can make updating a fully-automated process. We were glad to see only 20 processes running in the background, consuming a mere 172MB of RAM, to further optimize video editing performance. This shows the DVGear folks have been judicious when installing Windows and the included software. It’s easy to get twice as many background processes going if you’re not careful. In fact, our comparison system had 41 processes munching up 340MB of RAM. On the hardware side, the DV Dream meets or exceeds all of Adobe Premiere’s system requirements. But, since it can really help and because it’s relatively cheap, we’d probably double the installed 2GB of RAM. The system stripes two Samsung hard drives together in RAID 0 that provide excellent sustained read and write speeds. We measured an average read transfer of 67.8MB/s and a 229MB/s burst speed. Finally, the Matrox RT.X2 capture card is at the heart of the DV Dream, supplying the extra horsepower needed to ac-
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DVGear DV Dream Matrox RT.X2
TEST BENCH
Figure 1. Premiere tests Premiere opens to project screen Indexing 84 minute video Conforming audio on 84 minute video Same project load time (w/o indexing or conforming) Rendering 17 minute DVD video from timeline
celerate multiple video layers and some types of effects on your high-definition timeline without redlining. It comes with a sturdy breakout box that has A/V inputs and outputs for composite, component and S-video via a Y-adapter. Rear connectors and PCI slots
Real-time Timeline
How a system will perform depends on many factors all working together, not just a fast CPU. Since we’re video editors, we’ll be looking at how the DV Dream handles day-to-day editing tasks, beginning with the basics. We started our test drive by loading an 84-minute HDV project and related media that contained mostly straight cuts, with some dissolves and simple graphics. If you’ve worked with Premiere, you know it needs to index video and conform audio the first time it sees new media. This took a total of
ONLY WHEN WE ADDED A 5TH A/V TRACK DID THE SYSTEM START TO BOG DOWN. 13:19 on the DV Dream and nearly 21 minutes on our comparison system (see Figure 1). We also captured a few clips in both standard- and high-definition video from our JVC GY-110U. Video on our timeline played back smoothly, even when we tossed in the standard-definition clips on the same timeline. We then stacked three additional HDV video tracks with audio and scaled and moved each over a five-second period. Again, very smooth real-time playback. Only when we added a fifth A/V track with motion did the system start bogging down. Our comparison sys-
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tem could handle only three tracks smoothly. Finally, 7 min. 7 min. we pulled out a known logjam 4:05 min. 5:15 min. – the Three-Way 9:14 min. 15:38 min. Color Corrector effect – and applied 4:24 min. 21:10 min. it to a single layer of HDV video. Our 14:20 min. 16:37 min. playback now had some stuttering, and we lost accurate audio sync. Matrox includes additional real-time effects, such as 3D DVE, blurring and others that perform as advertised. We next loaded a 17-minute standard-definition video clip, to test DVD encoding speed. Using the Adobe media encoder to render an MPEG2DVD file with 48/16 PCM audio at the highest-quality settings and two-pass variable bit rate, our DV Dream beat our comparison system by about 14% (see Figure 1). Matrox has its own flavor of media encoder; however, we did not see a marked increase in encoding speed over our previous test. For about a week, we kept tossing various small projects at the DV Dream and were very impressed with its design and stability. While we felt confident this could handle most of our routine editing needs for high-definition material, for even more blazing speed or more real-time options, you’ll need to upgrade to a faster CPU or another system. Of course, DVGear’s Web site will allow you to customize your machine to fit specialized needs.
DV Dream Comparison system
SUMMARY
A well-built, stable, good-looking and moderately fast turnkey video editing system. Contributing editor Brian Peterson is a video production consultant, trainer and lecturer.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13803 in the subject line.
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TEST BENCH Mackie 1402-VLZ3 Compact Mixer
Solid Sound by Brian Pete r s o n Mackie 16220 Wood-Red Road NE Woodinville, WA 98072 www.mackie.com
STRENGTHS • All-metal case • Excellent signal processing • Great manual WEAKNESSES • Quality issues with some knobs and faders • No test tone
$520 The whole reason to have a mixer in your editing suite is to, well, mix stuff. Most small studios, whether homebased or small business, have at least a half-dozen audio sources that occasionally need to be either captured or routed for different monitoring outputs. Getting all of these sources to blend in perfect harmony is the job of a reliable mixer, like the Mackie 1402-VLZ3.
Layout
The 1402 is a 14-channel mic/line mixer that packs some unique electronic wizardry inside. There are few external design surprises, and that’s not a bad thing. If you’ve used a compact mixer before, you’ll have no trouble feeling your way around this board. Ten channel strips feature the usual suspects of knobs, buttons and faders to tailor the signal. At the top, two Aux Send gain knobs route your signal to outboard effects or additional monitoring or processing. The equalizer section is just below and
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is comprised of three knobs that add or subtract 15dB of gain around 12kHz, 2.5kHz and 80Hz, for your highs, mids or lows respectively. At first, having only three EQ controls might seem limiting, but Mackie handles this by shelving the lows and highs and peaking the midrange. This combination provides very smooth control over the entire range of the signal with just small adjustments. AUX, EQ and PAN knobs The pan knob is below the EQ section and has a nice feature Mackie calls Constant Loudness. When panning, the apparent loudness remains the same, and this is not how all mixers handle panning.
our mixers to feel good to use; knobs should turn smoothly, buttons should depress consistently, even from an off-center punch, and sliders should glide gracefully. Each rotary knob on the 1402 has a central detent that lets you know you are at “unity” or have “normalized” that control, so that it is simply passing the signal through
Feel’n Groovy?
Besides sounding great, we like VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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TEST BENCH
unaltered. We checked out two different 1402 units for our review. The first had six knobs that varied in the way they felt when turning, from nearly frozen to just very stiff. The second unit had two that were notably harder to turn than all the others; the other four did feel quite good and turned very smoothly. The buttons all have a very positive feel, and each is marked with a small white strip at the bottom that makes it easy to tell if it is engaged or not. When our flesh hit the faders, we noticed two things: first, they didn’t move as smoothly as others we’ve felt, and second, they make a little noise. Not noise into the mix, but noise generated from a semi-ridged membrane designed to keep out dust and perhaps even wayward adult beverages. If you are mixing with headphones or are in a live environment, then you won’t hear what we’re talking about. In a relatively quiet edit bay, it may be only a minor annoyance. The six-channel faders from the left control mono sources slide a little more easily than the four stereo faders to the right; a difference that Mackie does acknowledge.
On the output side, ¼" TRS phono jacks provide channel inserts along with Alt outputs and control room sends. The 1402 uses balanced XLR connectors to feed a line-level main output signal to your speakers or, by the push of a switch, even another mic-level device like a second mixer. Mackie folks must have been getting enough feedback about users accidentally pushing this switch on past models, because now it is recessed and requires you to consciously depress it with a pointy object like a phono plug.
Testing 1, 2, 3
We did some side-by-side tests with a Behringer UB1622fx-Pro, a similarly-designed compact mixer, to get an idea of how each processed an identical signal. We first wanted to
THE 1402 INFLUENCED OUR ORIGINAL SIGNAL LESS THAN OUR COMPARISON MIXER.
know how the relative quality of the mic preamps differed, something that arguably separates the good from great The 1402 provides three types of input boards. So we sent a pure sine wave connections: XLR, balanced/unbalsignal that swept from 20 to 20,000Hz anced ¼" TRS phono and unbalanced over 20 seconds, directly to a singleRCA. The XLRs all took connections powered reference monitor (a Mackie smoothly and positively. The phono plugs all gripped firmly and consistent- HR824). We placed an AKG C414B large-diaphragm studio microphone ly, and the RCAs felt solid. two feet from the speaker and ran TECH SPECS that signal into Main Mix Noise (fader down) –101dBu the XLR inputs of Signal to Noise – 95dBu both mixers. All Total Harmonic Distortion (mic pre @ insert) .0007% of the EQ sections Crosstalk (main mix fader down) -100dBu were normalized, Frequency Response (mic input to any output) 20Hz – 60kHz = +0db/-1dB and we captured Phantom Power for premium condenser mics the output using Adobe’s Audition Weight 9.5 lbs at 48kHz. We then Dimensions 12.9" x 14" x 3.2" Power Consumption 120VAC, 50/60Hz, 25 watts did a frequency analysis of each,
Ins and Outs
Mackie 1402-VLZ3
comparing where and how often the signal departed from a smooth response. There were large excursions in both samples, but that was due to other variables like the speakers, mic, room, etc. But when we looked closely, we saw that the Mackie had far fewer and less pronounced variations in loudness across the entire frequency range. This means the 1402 influenced our original signal less than our comparison mixer. We then recorded a voiceover, using the same mic on both the 1402 and the Behringer. To our ears, the Mackie had far more overall warmth, clarity and richness. We heard more of the vocal nuances, distinguishing between fricatives, sibilants and plosives (F, S and P), among others. These can create stridence or muddiness in the signal that poorer-quality processing gear doesn’t handle well. Our comparison system emphasized the mid-range frequencies, lacking the warmth and clarity we heard in the 1402.
Conclusion
The 1402-VLZ3 is an excellent-sounding mixer that comes packed with plenty of Mackie ingenuity, flexibility, robustness and even humor. The wellwritten manuals have become practically a feature in themselves. Check out Mackie’s online description of its Rude Solo light, for an example. While we did find some tactile shortcomings, none impacted the quality of signal processing. If you are looking for a solid performing mixer, the 1402 is a good value and a good investment. SUMMARY
One of the best-sounding and most solidlybuilt mixers on the market today. Contributing editor Brian Peterson is a video production consultant, trainer and lecturer.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13445 in the subject line.
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Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 Video Editing Software
TEST BENCH
15 Minutes to Fame by Greg Robin s o n Adobe Systems Incorporated 345 Park Avenue San Jose, CA 95110 www.adobe.com
STRENGTHS • New interface helps the learning curve • Cool filters and transitions • Simple DVD creation • Good Organizer for media files WEAKNESSES • Some controls are buried in pop-up menus • Waiting for AVCHD support
Adobe entices new users of Premiere Elements 4.0 with this sales hook: “Create fun home movies in as little as 15 minutes.” With a little practice and a very simple video program, this promise enters the realm of the possible. The snazzy new interface with fairly intuitive button arrangements will have the first-time video editor slapping in transitions and adding bold video filters to that wedding footage before cousin Jerry and his new bride make it to the honeymoon hotel. Now don’t get us wrong. That isn’t to say that, after installation, the first DVD will be burning in a quarter of an hour. Each release of Elements embodies a higher level of functionality and features. The learning curve still looms, but it doesn’t loom as large. The entire design (re-design) of the program leans toward helping the newbie . . . at an attractive price.
Through the Paces
To test Elements 4,0 we installed it on a likely “real-world” system. It
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$100 Upgrade: $80 Bundled with Photoshop Elements: $150
was running a Celeron 3GHz CPU with 1.25GB of RAM. The operating system was Windows XP (Service work. Color-coding marks the three Pack 2). main choices: Edit, Create and Share. The program installed in a very The budding director will, of course, common fashion, with a reboot at the spend the vast majority of his time end. As a longtime user of Premiere, in Edit, where the next choices are I found it somewhat startling to see a Media, Themes, Effects, Transitions dark gray screen meet me as the proand Titles. gram came to life. It follows the lead of other home-use editors that have Sceneline view with transitions (below), preview monitor (top left) adopted a color scheme that allows the colors in the on-screen video monitor to “pop” by contrast. There are pull-down menus at the top, as one would expect, but the buttons on the upper right do all the VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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TEST BENCH Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0
TECH SPECS
Operating System Minimum CPU Minimum RAM Minimum Hard Drive Space for Installation Minimum Display Drivers Import/Capture Formats Batch Capture Automatic Scene Detection
Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista Pentium 4 or Celeron 1.7GHz (P4 3GHz for HD or Blu-ray) 512MB with XP / 1GB with Vista (double each for HD or Blu-ray Disc) 4.5GB 16-bit color, 1024x768 at 96dpi or less DirectX 9- or 10-compatible drivers required MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DV, AVI, Windows Media, QuickTime, JVC Everio MOD, 3GP, ASF, WAV, WMA, Dolby Digital Stereo, PSD, JPEG, PNG, DVD No Yes
We must say, though, that simplicity comes at a price. Keeping the basic functions on ever-present, largerthan-life buttons means that the finer settings must be tucked another layer deeper than usual. As the user becomes more advanced and wants to start tweaking things regularly, he’ll find the need for an added mouse click on each adjustment. But it’s a fair trade for the new welcoming interface. After we captured some footage (of a program about miniature trains – fun stuff!), the slicing and dicing commenced. To get one’s feet wet, the Sceneline work area may be a bit friendlier than a traditional timeline. This feature allows the user to drop clips into equal-size boxes lined up chronologically in storyboard fash-
User Interface Timeline, Sceneline, monitor, virtual audio mixer Number of Video and Audio Tracks 99 Audio/Video Level Envelopes Yes Audio Scrub Yes Keyframe Animation Yes Number of Video Transitions 107 Number of Video Filters 89 Background Rendering No Real-time Software Previews Yes Optimized for Dual Processor/Hyper Threading Yes Third-party Plug-in Support Yes Encoding Formats MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DV, AVI, Windows Media, QuickTime, 3GP, WAV, Dolby Digital Stereo, JPEG, PNG, DVD, Blu-ray Disc DVD Authoring Software Included Yes
making this program so quick and easy. The user chooses a menu style, and a Main Menu and Scene Index Menu spontaneously appear. The Scene Index creates a button for each scene (chapter point) in the program. Backgrounds and button names customize with a few clicks. Burning happens in standard DVD or Blu-ray Disc formats, if you should be lucky enough to have a Blu-ray Disc burning drive. For other Sharing options, there is an array of output file formats avail-
THE SCENELINE WORK AREA MAY BE FRIENDLIER THAN A TRADITIONAL TIMELINE. able (see Tech Specs). Many lend themselves to Web and handheld usage. The Adobe promotional materials tout automated uploading to YouTube from a special menu within the program. This feature wasn’t working consistently the first week during Element’s launch. A quick phone call to Adobe revealed that their servers that feed the YouTube interface to Adobe Premiere Elements software was experiencing some downtime. Major bummer. But, they were back up and running shortly Continued on page 69
ion. An emblem between the boxes provides a useful handle to drag and drop transitions. With the click of a mouse, the user toggles New tagging feature for organizing media instantly between the Sceneline view and the timeline view. Playback on this system met our expectations. As usual, the sophisticated transitions and most of the filters needed to be rendered, but the rendering time on most effects was pretty fast. The scene detection and automatic DVD menu creation features contribute hugely to
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VIDEOMAKER >>> January 2008
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By Brian Peterson
As video producers, most of us get energized planning angles, determining exposure, crafting compositions and motivating our talent or interview subjects. But when it comes to creating a final music and sound effects score worthy of our video efforts, too many of us lumber to the closet to paw through discs in a beat-up cardboard box, searching for something that “will do.” It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, when you don’t treat them as an afterthought, music and sound effects can inspire you to think of new visual ideas. But, even when you appreciate the value, coming up with just the right sound can be daunting. The Internet, for all its value, has made this search both easier and more difficult. It has
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Music and Sound Effect Libraries Manufacturers Listing
This is a sampling of companies that produce music and/or sound effect libraries. This is not a complete listing.
2b Royalty Free www.2b-royaltyfree.com
FirstCom Music www.firstcom.com
Megatrax www.megatrax.com
615 Music Library www.615music.com
Flying Hands Music www.flyinghands.com
Music 2 Hues www.music2hues.com
Accent Music Productions www.accentmusiccds.com
Freeplay Music www.freeplaymusic.com
The Music Bakery www.musicbakery.com
American Music Company www.americanmusicco.com
Fresh Music Library www.freshmusic.com
Music Leads www.buyoutmusictracks.com
Associated Production Music www.apmmusic.com
GBA Music www.gbamusic.com
Narrator Tracks www.ntracks.com
The Canary Collection www.canarymusic.com
Gene Michael Productions www.gmpmusic.com
Neo Sounds www.neosounds.com
Catovah Arts www.catovah.com
Ghostwriters Radio Mall www.radio-mall.com
Nightingale Music Productions www.nightingalemusic.com
Crank City Music www.crankcity.com
Hollywood Edge www.hollywoodedge.com
Non-Stop Productions www.nonstopmusic.com
CSS/DAWN Music www.cssmusic.com
IB Audio www.ibaudio.com
OGM Production Music www.ogmmusic.com
Davenport Music Library www.davenportmusic.com
Instant Access Music www.iamusic.com
Omnimusic www.omnimusic.com
DeWolfe Music www.dewolfemusic.com
Jeco Music www.jecomusic.com
Opus1 www.opus1musiclibrary.com
Digital Juice www.digitaljuice.com
Jupiter Tunes www.royaltyfreemusic.com
Opuzz www.opuzz.com
Dittybase www.dittybase.com
Killer Tracks www.killertracks.com
Partners in Rhyme www.partnersinrhyme.com
Elite Video www.elitevideo.com
Lazertrax Production Music www.lazertrax.com
Production Garden Music www.productiongarden.com
Extreme Music www.extrememusic.com
LicenseMusic.com www.licensemusic.com
Pro Background Theme Music www.instantdownloadmusic.com
Manchester Music Library www.manchestermusic.com
Rio Vista Productions www.riovista-media.com
Manhattan Production Music www.mpmmusic.com
River City Sound Productions www.rivercitysound.com
Massivetracks www.massivetracks.net
Shockwave-Sound.com www.shockwave-sound.com Signature Music Library www.sigmusic.com Sonomic www.sonomic.com
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Sound Dogs www.sounddogs.com SoundEffects.com www.soundeffects.com SoundFX.com www.soundfx.com Sound Ideas www.sound-ideas.com Sound Vision Library www.soundvisionlibrary.com Stock20 www.stock20.com Studio 1 Productions www.studio1productions.com Studio Cutz www.studiocutz.com Sweetsong Productions www.sweetsong.com Tele Music www.telemusic.fr Token Media www.token.com TRF Production Music Libraries www.trfmusic.com Triple Scoop Music www.triplescoopmusic.com Twisted Media www.twistedtracks.com UniqueTracks Royalty Free Music www.uniquetracks.com Valentino Production Music www.tvmusic.com Wavtracks www.wavtracks.com Webtones Music www.instantroyaltyfreemusic.com Westar Music www.westarmusic.com Compiled by Charles Fulton
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made it easier by the mere fact that you can download just about anything you want, if you’re willing to pay the price. The challenge now is that, like grains of sand in the Sahara, your options are nearly limitless, and “just right” becomes a beguiling mirage (see sidebar, page 37). Before the Internet and the common use of computers for sound creation, you had three choices: hire a composer to write and musicians to perform the music, subscribe to expensive and often narrowlylicensed music libraries, or take lots of music lessons. Adding to these, we now have music creation software, reasonably-priced
MOST MUSIC CREATION SOFTWARE PACKAGES COME WITH AN ARRAY OF SOUND EFFECTS. libraries and even single-track purchase options. Plus, you can usually preview tunes and sound effects from all categories online before you purchase. But all music, even the tunes you pay for, come with important limitations. So it’s important to first understand how you can use them.
License to Play
All right, we all know we’re supposed to pay and/or get permission for music we use, but many producers have a host of rationalizations. Let’s say you have a popular Led Zeppelin tune that fits perfectly with your video. You’re not planning to make money on this; it’s just for “personal” use, so isn’t that OK? Or, you’ve found a great remix of a classic “old” song that surely must be in the public domain. Aren’t these reasonable exceptions to forking over cash? In a word, “no.” The bottom line: if you didn’t create it, you’ll most likely have to pay for it. For some specific exceptions to this rule, be sure to read Mark Levy’s
Music Creation Software Manufacturer Listing
This is a sampling of companies that produce music creation software. It is not a complete listing. Ableton - Live www.ableton.com
Mackie - Tracktion www.mackie.com
Acoustica - Mixcraft www.acoustica.com
Magix - Music Maker deluxe, Music Studio deluxe www.magix.com
Adobe - Soundbooth www.adobe.com Apple - GarageBand, Logic www.apple.com Arturia - Storm www.arturia.com
MixMeister www.mixmeister.com PG Music - PowerTracks Pro Audio, Band-in-a-Box www.pgmusic.com
Cakewalk - Music Creator, SONAR www.cakewalk.com
SmartSound - Sonicfire Pro, Quicktracks for Adobe Premiere www.smartsound.com
Cycling ’74 - M www.cycling74.com
Sony Creative Software - ACID, Cinescore www.sonycreativesoftware.com
Digital Blue - Mixman Loop Studio www.digiblue.com
Steinberg - Sequel, Cubase www.steinberg.net
FL Studio www.flstudio.com
U&I Software - MetaSynth www.uisoftware.com
M-Audio - Session www.m-audio.com
Compiled by Charles Fulton
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What’s Legal article, Musical Copyright, in this issue on page 72. If you’ve done a little research online, you’ve no doubt run into an array of terms that describe different types of licenses and usage rights such as Public Domain, Buy-out, Creative Commons, Fair Use, NonExclusive, Limited License and many more. One that is a little different is General Public License (GPL). It was created to foster a spirit of sharing. Other terms have similar
meaning, such as Copyleft and ShareAlike. Some have more legal weight, others practically none. But they’re all meant to encourage the free sharing of creative products. Depending on your subject, such as religious themes, you may find a wealth of worthy material. The only caveat is that you must allow for the continued sharing of the creative product, even if you change it. That’s what’s meant by Share (and share)-Alike. But the most common usage category you’ll likely use is Royalty Free.
Royalty Free
Audio Editing Software
The “free” in Royalty Free means simply that you do not have to pay additionally each time your video is shown. Professional organizations such as ASCAP and BMI, among others, police the illegal usage of copyrighted music. And they do their job. Trust us. But with dozens of manufacturers of music and sound effect libraries out there, why worry? While the quality of Royalty Free offerings used to vary from songs obviously hacked from a used Casio keyboard to live orchestral recordings, lesser-quality selections have been mostly squeezed out. Music providers also offer a variety of ways to get the sound you want: single cuts, small collections or complete libraries. You’ll end up paying more for single tracks for a similar number of songs in a themed collection, but you don’t have to worry about getting sounds you’ll never use. For those who don’t know exactly what they want until they need it, most manufacturers sell small collections
Manufacturer Listing Adobe - Audition, Soundbooth www.adobe.com Apple - Soundtrack Pro www.apple.com Audacity Project http://audacity.sourceforge.net Bias - Peak www.bias-inc.com Cakewalk - Music Creator, SONAR www.cakewalk.com Digidesign - Pro Tools www.digidesign.com Freeverse Software - Sound Studio www.freeverse.com Goldwave www.goldwave.com Magix - Samplitude www.magix.com
Mark of the Unicorn - Digital Performer www.motu.com PG Music - PowerTracks Pro Audio www.pgmusic.com Sony Creative Software - Sound Forge www.sonycreativesoftware.com Voyetra - AudioSurgeon www.voyetra.com
Compiled by Charles Fulton
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or sampler packs consisting of as few as For instance, your video opens with one to several CDs or DVDs of their music. the morning sun peeking over purple If you reckon you’ll never swing to country, mountains to kiss a swan-filled pond. there are plenty of companies that offer Your music score template at full intensmall themed collections, from Acoustic sity includes not only soothing violins Ambience to Funk Fidelity. Finally, investbut also cymbal crashes and trumpets. ing in a complete library will keep you Dial the intensity back a bit, and now surrounded by options. you have just a single viola heralding a Even though you’re not paying royalties new dawn, with the same melodic motif. for this type of music, the usage rights do Loop-based packages normally come vary, often in very important ways. Several with a small sampling of more comcompanies have limitations on how many plete themed collections, from Hawaiian copies you can make or even where your ukulele ballads to Detroit Grunge. Most final production can be shown. If you’ve music creation software packages also never read one of those pesky User Licensing Agreements when loading software before, we strongly suggest you do it before you purchase any music, to be sure You have a particular musical artist or popular copyrighted song its restrictions will meet your in mind, but you can’t afford the real thing -- what can you do? production requirements. Several royalty-free music providers have “soundalike” offerings. If
Sounds like…
Hula Loops
searching these sites doesn’t work, do a global Web search with
Loop-based music creation “soundalike” or similar term. You may even try looking for a soundasoftware allows you to create like song from another artist that sounds like your first choice. Try a your own soundtrack with an music mapping service like www.music-map.com to find related artincredible amount of control ists that might spring other searches. And for you Windows users, and simplicity. If you’ve never investigated this category of don’t forget the shortcut “Ctrl+F” to help you find a specific word or music because you think you phrase on any given page. lack the musical ability, you may find that creating your own music tracks is really not as hard as come with an array of sound effects, but it sounds. Several of the major software it always seems like just the one you’re manufacturers have designed the user inlistening for isn’t included. Along with terface specifically with the video producadditional music template bundles, you er in mind. That means you won’t even can also purchase more sound effects. have to know how to edit on the beat to So for your next video production, exlay down great tracks. In fact, some make periment with developing at least a draft sound creation as simple as dragging and music score first. You may find that what dropping a music template onto a timeline you hear will give you a whole new vision with your video to create a perfectly-timed for your production. bed complete with intro, bridge, chorus and ending. Contributing editor Brian Peterson is a video production For those who want a little more conconsultant, trainer and lecturer. trol, most software packages also allow you to scale not only the length but the FEEDBACk intensity of each score as well. IntroducFor comments on this article, email us ing or subtracting certain instruments at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13471 in the subject line. varies this intensity within the same song.
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Hold On! A proâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at holding your camera
BY MICHAEL REFF
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There is an old song that goes something like this; “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go. If you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control.” (38 Special’s 1981 Wild-Eyed Southern Boys album, written by D. Barnes, J. Carlisi and J. Peterik). The song isn’t about camera work, but it should have been. There are a lot of different ways to support your camera while shooting, many of which don’t need the death grip in order to achieve a steady shot. In fact, gripping a camera tightly not only fatigues your arms and eventually leads to the shakes, but it also transfers a lot of vibration from your body directly to the lens. I used to work with a Russian camera operator friend who was very stable when he shot. He always
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Hold On! would say (and you have to use your best Russian accent), “My body is tripod!” The truth is, what he meant to say was that his body was “like Steadi-cam.” He constantly adjusted parts of himself to absorb the shock, shifting his weight, slowing his breathing and changing his grip position. But the first spot the absorption took place was his hands. So let’s start there.
Good
Be the Triangle
When it comes to holding them, there are really two main types of cameras: those with straps and those without. If you have a strap, be thankful. A strap allows you to relax your hand
Bad
REMEMBER THIS: ALWAYS TRY TO BRACE YOURSELF WITH THREE OR MORE POINTS. while still shooting. This allows you to touch controls gently and not drop the camera. If you use it properly, your strap even sets your body up to go into what we at Videomaker like to call the Marx position. This is a three-point holding position so named because it resembles the way Groucho Marx used to waddle as he'd comicstrut across the stage, cigar in hand. If you hold the camera body in your right hand and the lens in your left, then tuck your elbows against your body, you have created a triangle or pyramid, which coincidentally is one of the strongest shapes in the world. This position is based upon Leaning on a tree helps steadiness. This trick is great for windy conditions or if your arms tire quickly. A shoulder mount like the DV Traveler from Varizoom, (below right) will also help you become the human tripod.
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Your wrist and forearms typically don't have as much strength in them as your shoulders and biceps. It's best to cushion the camera closer into your body.
the contacting of three points. Remember this: Always try to brace yourself with three or more points. You can do this by leaning your body against a wall or a tree, by positioning the camera on your knee while sitting cross-legged or by using a professional shoulder mount. Keeping contact is the key. Even if you don’t have a strap, always try to keep two hands on the camera. Using the viewfinder instead of the flip-out screen adds another point of contact. The more contact, the more stability.
Cradle Softly
Cradling is another way to hold your camera. This is sometimes used for lower-angle shots. With your left hand under the camera and your right hand either holding the handle or slipped downward into the strap (controlling the zoom with your thumb), you create a more solid, albeit floating, hand grip. I find that this position is my backup position for when my arms get tired. It is not suitable for standing interviews, because you are not at eye level, but it works well for seated subjects or long hauls of shooting B roll. Again, remember: when your arms
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Hold On! get tired, your shot gets shaky. So don’t wear yourself out. Change grips and positions before you start to feel weak. Changing muscles will make you last a lot longer. Don’t wait too long, or it will be too late.
ing the camera: placing the camera. Remember, though, that placing is a stationary position for a static shot. Moving the camera is not an option. Look for anything solid, the bigger and heavier, the better. Getting the
right height for your needs is key. Don’t put the camera on the ground if you need to shoot a person’s face. Likewise, don’t set your camera on a car hood if you need to see someone’s feet. My favorite thing to use for ad-
Floating Above
I should also mention floating shots, since we are discussing cradling. If you’re looking for a floating camera shot, cradling is the best position to use, while still maintaining visual contact with your flip-out viewfinder. The only difference is that you push the camera away from your body to absorb the shake, thereby using your arms as the shock absorbers and the boom arm. This technique, even though it is tiring, allows you to keep a steady shot while flying the camera up and down, climbing stairs or crossing rough terrain.
Solid Placements
Somewhere along the line, you will just plain wear out, and that is when you move to the third way of hold-
Moving up stairs can be a challenge. Cradling the camcorder at a lower position helps reduce shaky video.
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Hold On!
Bad
This kneeling position will tire your thighs out quickly. Sitting is always better for keeping your shot stable.
Bags can act as a stabilizer for shooting at ground level. Use any natural resources available to pillow your camcorder on the ground.
justing the camera while placing is my wallet. I find that, by wedging my wallet under my camera and either taking stuff out of it or unfolding it, I can raise or lower the angle to the shot I need. Small bags of sand or wooden wedges work well too, but you have to carry them all the time. If you need a lift, just look around – there is always something nearby. I sometimes carry a small ziplock bag. Just fill it up with dirt or grass and voilà: instant sandbag. Just be sure it is as wide as the camera, tightly sealed and not too crushable, or your shot will change before you’re through.
Sit on It
If you are tired but need camera movement in your shot (i.e., panning and tilting), try kneeling or sitting. Be sure to find a solid position, though. Crouching forces you to balance on the balls of your feet and is too wobbly. Use both knees on the ground, and comfortably hold the camera at your waist. Sitting cross-legged can work well too. Place your elbows on your knees and cradle your camera, or use the viewfinder to add extra support. Shooting these different ways allows full control of the camera and the framing, yet still maintains the most relaxed non-tripod position.
Good Use Your Zen
Regardless of how you hold your camera, a very advanced thing to learn to help stabilize your shot is breathing. While most people feel that holding their breath makes for a steady shot, they don’t realize that it makes the body tense. Relaxing is the key to holding your camera still. Smooth, slow breaths slow your heart rate and calm your muscles. Concentrate on finding a pace that is comfortable, even and steady. Once you have the Zen, you too will be able to say, “ My body is tripod.” Michael Reff is a Senior Photographer for Turner Broadcasting.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13799 in the subject line.
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Dynamic Chase Scenes
Introducing an exciting new feature from Videomaker: Interactive tutorials! Every month these articles will link to an on-line training video and clips you can download to recreate the effect or technique. See the end of this story for the link. BY PETER JOHN ROSS
If you make a car chase using only one camera angle, it will be the world’s most boring chase, no matter how fast the cars are going. The key to making chase scenes work is an abundance of coverage. The more cuts in the scene, the more effective it tends to be. Adding the right soundtrack to accompany the visuals finishes off a more effective action scene. Videomaker's first mag and online tutorial will cover the technique of making exciting chase scenes. As a director with any movie, you want to keep your story's perspective in mind. If your story focuses on Veronica, female spy aged 25, then your camera angle choices should
reflect her point of view, or POV. If she is dominant, the lower camera angles looking upwards toward her will convey a sense that she is tall and in charge. The POV, is not always on the perspective of the main character, but you justify what's known as the “God” point of views as how that character interacts with them.
Tricks: Slo Mo, Handheld and Fast-paced Action
In the 1980's, action scenes used a lot of slow motion and were mostly on sticks. Ever since 1998’s Saving Private Ryan, the tendency for action scenes has been a more handheld “realistic”
or documentary feel. This has spilled over to action TV shows like Firefly and 24, plus movies like the Bourne series. Handheld camera angles establish a reckless feeling, and tripod shots feel smooth. The current fad of handheld puts the audience into the story, with a “you are there” feel. For chase scenes, you should use a variety of angles to convey a sense of fast movement. Getting as much coverage as possible gives the editor more control. The concept is that, in an action scene, things happen faster and people will think faster, so it is acceptable to cut faster and convey more information in less time.
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Dynamic Chase Scenes
Car Chase
The Setup: International jewel thief Vivian has just heisted diamonds and police are pursuing her as she races off in her red BMW. For a car chase, you can get shots of all kinds of things to make it visually more interesting
1
and convey a sense of speed, even if you drive mostly 25mph. Make a list of things to shoot that relate to speed and the story. The shots below might comprise only 30 seconds of screen time or less, but they could take half a day or more to shoot.
2
Closeup: Stick shift putting in gear 4
3
Closeup: Foot on gas pedal 5
Wide Shot: Car driving towards camera 7
6
Medium Shot: Passing by other cars 8
10
Closeup: Hands gripping the steering wheel 9
Wide Shot: Police car driving away Here's an action sequence broken down shot by shot. With the right pacing and the use of cutaways and closeups, you can make the action seem faster than it really is.
Inset Photos by Peter John Ross
Closeup: Driver checking rear view mirror
Closeup: Tires spinning
Extreme Closeup: Profile of driver
Other Shots to Consider Closeup: Key turning in the ignition Medium Shot: Driver through the windshield Wide Shot: Side of the car with driver inside Closeup: Speedometer
Wide Shot: Car from behind
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Dynamic Chase Scenes
You’re Out of Order
In action scenes, shooting in sequential order is simply not practical. Shoot all the exteriors in a row, then all the medium shots, and finally all the closeups and inserts. For the wide shots of a car chase, using the zoomed-in shots will make the ground and everything around a car more blurred and appear to be moving faster. Because of that optical trick, you can be moving 25mph and it will look more like 50mph.
be lost, as long as you get those wider, establishing shots that show viewers where the scene is. To finish off a good chase scene, you need the accompanying sound. Sound is 50% of the experience, and that is especially true in action. Adding sound FX to match the picture is essential. The sounds of the tires squealing, the off-camera sound of a police siren, the car behind honking and many other sounds can heighten the tension and make the action seem more real. Ambient sounds of the city streets and the constant revving of the engine
Cutaway shots (image left) and neutral direction shots (image right) afford the editor much more flexibility when editing an action sequence.
AT ITS CORE, FAST EDITING TENDS TO MAKE THE VIEWERS MORE TENSE, EXCITED AND AT THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS. The best thing about the closeups is that you can shoot them while the car is going 15mph and cut them in with the faster-moving footage, and no one will ever know. In the closeup of a speedometer, for example, you can take the car out on a freeway (as long as it’s not the 405 in Los Angeles and you're not driving!), get the car up to 70mph, take a shot of that, cut it into the inner-city footage and – in the audience’s mind at least – the car is moving at 70mph. At its core, fast editing tends to make the viewers more tense, excited and at the edge of their seats. By contrast, if you want an audience to be more relaxed, longer cuts will ease them into the scene. More edits in less time works more effectively in action scenes. Because of the rate of cuts, the more traditional idea of showing a master or establishing shot first can go out the window, because the geography will be established a few seconds later. No one watching will
are all sounds that add a subconscious connection to the visuals. All that, and we haven’t even added the thrumming, fast-paced music yet. Most people understand that music controls the mood and music of a scene, in the same way that the editing increases its pace in an action scene. Music that matches the action and drives the scene will always add to the level of tension and excitement. Your tools for making an action scene more dynamic are shot variety and coverage, fast-paced editing and the sound FX and music that glue the edit together. Peter John Ross is an award-winning filmmaker and author of Tales from the Front Line of Indie Filmmaking.
FEEDBACK For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13484 in the subject line.
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Web Link You can watch our Car Chase scene tutorial and download clips to create your own chase at www.videomaker. com/tutorials
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DISTRIBUTION Compressing the Goods
by And r e w B u r k e
Everybody's doing it. Whether it's for private e-mail to friends, or mass distribution, here are a few basics and then some for compressing video for the Web. You have that great video finished, the one with your finest camerawork and editing, and you want to share it. Now what? Sure, you can make a few DVDs and hand them out. There’s certainly nothing wrong with giving the gift of a shiny spinning disc! But distributing and sharing video over the Web is no doubt creating excitement for a reason: it’s easy, it’s effective and it’s fun. Getting marginal results is the norm, but you, the Videomaker reader, want to do it better. You want your picture sharper and your sound clearer. Whether you simply want to share short videos with family, or you’d like to showcase HD video for your paying client, knowledge of video compression is important. So, if you’re not into video compression, you’re missing out!
Defining Compression
When we talk about compression, we typically mean reducing the file size of a piece of video. Compressing video means more than squishing a big picture into looking like a little one. And it’s more than taking that 5-gigabyte behemoth and turning it into a mere 50-megabyte video file. Compressing video also allows us to change the format of our video, from one that only we can watch into one that a wide audience can view. Consider trying to send an original HDV (or other high definition video) clip from your computer to a friend, over e-mail. Even if the video file is small enough to fit within your e-mail file size limitations, you may be putting your friend in a pickle. Not everyone has the ability to play back the HDV format video you’ve sent. Compress the same video into a more widely-used Windows Media or QuickTime format, and the odds are in favor of your Distributing your video to friends and family via e-mail is friend. So let’s get started, a sure way to get it there, if their mail services can handle shall we? larger files.
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A Moving Target
Recent advances in video compression have redefined what “Web video” means. It used to mean squinting at a small, blocky window that barely played moving images. But viewers’ expectation of Web video has undergone radical changes lately. Most of this is due to better video compression technologies that supply viewers with higher-quality video. A recent advancement includes video compression using H.264, which dramatically changes the landscape of Web video, by allowing video to be compressed into ever-smaller files while maintaining higher resolution. Additionally, the H.264 codec has found its way into Adobe’s prolific Flash Video Player, making it a much more usable codec. As Internet connection speeds continue to increase all over the world, eventually the floodgates will be wide open for delivering high-quality video across the Internet.
Basic Ideas for the Home
For videographers who want to e-mail video and use online video-sharing sites such as YouTube, here are a few ideas for better video. While e-mailing video
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pixels for high-definition video. Keeping your video at 30fps (full-motion video) will create the smoothest motion. If you need to reduce the file size even more, reducing the frames-per-second will help tremendously, but youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want to use it as a last resort. As a general rule, cutting the videos frames-per-second in half, from 30 to 15fps, will reduce the file size in half as well. The resulting video may seem to stutter as it plays, but it may be the only way to send it as an attachment. Web sites like YouTube offer unparalleled capabilities for sharing video with large numbers of people. If you want to Export settings can seem like a foreign send longer videos and to more people language to most. Some applications may have than you can access through e-mail, presets specific to online video-sharing Web consider compressing for a videosites, or you may have to create your own. sharing site. YouTube automatically is private and as simple as attaching a compresses your video for playback photo, some hurdles are present. Current on its Web site as Flash video. Your limitations include how much an e-mail video must be under 100MB, though, account will allow you to send and which means youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to find a good which video formats the e-mail recipient way to get that 1-gigabyte video down may play back. Many e-mail accounts to size. For the best results, aim to top out at 10 megabytes for attachments. compress your video so that it just fits Though it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem like much at the 100MB file size requirement. Many first, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll allow a couple minutes of comvideo-editing applications have the pressed video, enough for a thoughtful tools built in to compress your video video greeting card, the winning goal or to a variety of formats for the Web. If a babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first steps. When compressing you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already have the tools and for e-mail, reducing the resolution in half you want to use the H.264 codec, you helps keep the file size to a minimum. could use QuickTime Pro (available for Use a resolution of 400x225 pixels for a fee at www.apple.com/quicktime) to widescreen DV video, 320x240 pixels compress video using the H.264 setfor standard DV video and 960x540 ting. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not mandatory to use H.264; you could also try one of the other recommended settings found at www. youtube.com/help. At one time, people thought it would be an advantage to compress video into the Flash video format that YouTube uses natively, but YouTube simply compresses every video thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uploaded, whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Flash video or not. Luckily for us, YouTube now letterboxes any Another group of presets may exist for other exporting functions, widescreen video, which such as e-mail (as shown above) or some generic presets for subtracts a step from the Web downloading or streaming. task of compression.
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slices to determine how the larger print will turn out. If there is an error, he's wasted only a small amount of paper. This technique translates when compressing video for the Web. Since compressing video takes practice, you can select YouTube, a popular online video-sharing Web site, has made uploading a few minutes of simpler by automatically letterboxing 16:9 formatted videos. the longer video to compress, as a test. This way, if you compress using a setting Basic Techniques for the Home of 800kbps (kilobits per second), and its To refine the process of compression, visual quality proves unsatisfactory, you weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll take a page from the still photogracan make another attempt at 1200kbps pherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s darkroom. In the traditional darkshortly after. This technique drastiroom, the photographer slices his photo cally reduces the time to make a great paper into thin strips. He uses these
compressed video, since you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wait for the entire 43-minute documentary on your Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WWII service to finish â&#x20AC;&#x153;cooking.â&#x20AC;?
Basic Ideas for the Small Biz
If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found your stride as a videographer, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking to attract paying clients, compressing for e-mail and video-sharing sites doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offer the flexibility you need. Think about starting a personal Web page, where you can include large videos that play back smoothly. Variable bitrate recording (VBR) trumps constant bitrate recording (CBR) in most compression situations. You can find these in the Adobe Media Converter (part of Adobe Premiere 3.0), as well as QuickTime Pro. VBR allows the bitrate to change and adjust for more bits per second for more challenging parts of the visual image. In this mode,
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The World is Watching YouTube has reported that people are compressing and uploading over 60,000 videos per day to its site. If that seems like a staggering number, consider that there are many more who are viewing videos than uploading. There are definite caveats to this type of ‘mass-distro.’ There is a trade-off, though. If you simply want to show your video to family and friends, sharing it with millions of viewers isn’t as private as using e-mail, and the visual quality isn’t great. Web video has received a bad rap lately, no thanks to the online video sharing sites. You know, those small video windows with chunky, blocky characters moving around? Compression doesn’t have to be a negative act. There are many positive aspects to compressing your wonderful video. If you’re sharing video with family, or you own a small biz and need to show off your stuff, the tips in this article will help you find out how to do it best.
you set the maximum bitrate, and the software will reduce the bitrate when it sees it’s not needed, allowing the file size to reduce even more. Two-pass VBR may take up to twice as long to compress, since it typically scans your video once
248 Distribution.indd 51
before going over it a second time to complete the compression. Be ready to fix a snack. Determine what video player your clients use and make something that caters to them, so they aren’t stuck
fussing with an unfamiliar video player. For example, if they’re used to their Windows Media Player, make them a Windows Media file. The same goes for QuickTime and Flash video.
That’s a Wrap!
Distributing video online can be as fun as sharing a video with our high school classmates and as effective as delivering a stunning video to a client. As video compression technologies continue to update, don’t compress your time spent online at www.videomaker. com, where more info on distribution and compression can be found. Andrew Burke works on documentary projects worldwide.
F E E D BA C k For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13468 in the subject line.
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BASIC TRAINING The Rules of the Grid
by Ky l e C a s s i d y
Knowing the technical workings of your camera is half the battle of shooting a good video. Understanding good composition can really give your work some pizazz. If you’ve been reading this column for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about the Rule of Thirds. If you’ve been reading about film and video producing anywhere else, you’ve heard other people talking about it too. It is one of the most important compositional rules in painting, photography and, by extension, film and video producing.
What is the Rule?
As complicated as its history is, the Rule of Thirds is extremely simple for you to follow. Divide your video screen into three horizontal and three vertical segments – like a tic-tac-toe grid. The Rule of Thirds dictates that points of interest should land at the intersection of two of these lines or, in the case of lines, like horizons or pillars, they should fall at either the 1/3 or 2/3 level.
Why Should I Use the Rule?
While it’s easy to explain why other compositional rules such as “look
space” or “chin room” work, it’s extraordinarily difficult to understand why composing with the Rule of Thirds works. For some reason, people simply find it pleasing. This is borne out by more than a hundred years of cinematography. But don’t take my word for it – after reading this article, try an experiment. Go set up some shots with your video camera. In one, have the subject centered, and then shoot a second, following the Rule of Thirds. Watch the shots on your television and see if one of them seems inherently “right” and the other inherently “wrong” — try to quantify your own reactions.
Watching the Pros
The great thing about movies and television is that you have access to the greatest artists in the field with a $2 rental at your local video store. Those among you who live alone and are dedicated to becoming better videographers may try this experiment: Take four pieces of string and tape them across the front of your television set to represent the grid. Remember, you’ll need to move the horizontal ones a little if you’re watching something that’s letterboxed, so that they represent the director of photography’s intended screen. (If you’re watching the 4:3 “full screen” version
The Rule of Thirds suggests that arranging the subject along the imaginary lines (A) will create a better balance than placing a subject in the center of the image (B).
A
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able if you tape string to the television, you can put eight small bits of tape on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the screen and imagine there are lines between them. If your spouse notices and asks about the tape, just say youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
performing an experiment by visualizing the Rule of Thirds in great movies that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve rented. Then it turns into a date and you get points for it. (For this to work, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to have already purchased popcorn and flowers.)
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Recreating the Rule of Thirds on your TV set with string will help you see how the rule works in television programs and movies. You can even put your own camerawork to the test.
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of a film shot in 16:9, shame on you.) Then go to the video store and rent some of your favorite movies. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily have to be films that have won an Oscar for Best Cinematography, though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always nice to check out what people consider the best. While watching them, see how often people, things and points of interest lie at these intersections. Also,
IF YOU'RE WATCHING A 4:3 VERSION OF A FILM SHOT IN 16:9, SHAME ON YOU. pay attention to how often things are centered â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if they are, is there a reason? With the lines actually on your television screen, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to look at things that draw their own lines, like roads and horizons. Do objects in the frame â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a person and a building perhaps â&#x20AC;&#x201C; draw an imaginary line between two intersections on the grid? How are the director and the director of photography using these intersections? How are they using empty space? How much information is in each shot? If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live alone and have a spouse who will make your life miser-
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If you hold your tic-tac-toe plastic sheet away from you and frame the world around you, using your hands to make a square frame as directors do, you’ll soon be “composing” shots in your head every time you look at anything. Your friends and family will either be awed by your plastic sheet and smile and nod knowingly thinking, “Aha, he has the makings of a Hollywood director,” or they’ll be laughing their heads off behind your back, wondering what you’ve been eating lately.
Does Every Shot Have to Follow the Rule?
Some camcorders will have a Rule of Thirds overlay built into the menu that you can turn off and on. Or you can create your own using a piece of transparent plastic.
Visual Aids
Many still and motion video cameras have a Rule of Thirds grid built into the viewfinder specifically for helping with composition, but all you really need is your trained eye. When you are looking at the frame, you should always be thinking how best to tell your story in that limited canvas. Here is an easy way to remind yourself: You can make your own Rule of Thirds visual aid using a clear hard sheet of plastic and a tiny bit of gaffer’s tape. Cut the plastic sheet to the same size as your LCD viewfinder and draw a tic-tac-toe grid with a permanent marking pen. After you’ve composed, focused and set levels to your shot, carefully tape the top of the plastic sheet to the edge of the LCD housing, (not the screen). Check your composition. Do the key subject points fall within the crosshairs of the grid?
Although some shooters may argue that the road's horizon line in this shot should be moved to the lower third of the screen, the Rule of Thirds can often be broken. If it looks good, it is good.
WE'VE ALL HEARD THAT RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN, AND THE RULE OF THIRDS IS NO EXCEPTION. mounted cameras. If he’d chosen to film the whole show that way, people might have gotten motion sickness. Bocho had good reason for going off on his own: he thought the jerky, handheld camera would give viewers a “you are there” feel of being in the room with the police officers. This went along with a gritty, dingy set, and it was successful. It looked like real life and was hailed by police across the country as being accurate, partly because it dared to break some rules. There will be times when it’s appropriate to throw this compositional rule out the window and put your subjects dead center – it’s up to you to know why you are doing it. Contributing editor Kyle Cassidy is a visual artist who writes extensively about technology.
F E E D BAC k For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13485 in the subject line.
54 248_C4 Basic Training.indd 54
We’ve all heard that rules are made to be broken, and the Rule of Thirds is no exception. No one will call your production to task for slavishly following it, but they might wonder about your compositional skills if you deviate from it without a good reason. When Steven Bocho made Hill Street Blues in 1982, he chose to film the opening sequence of every show, the “roll call,” with a handheld camera. He was hailed as a visionary for deviating from the established tradition of sturdily-
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Lighting Lighting Car Interiors
by Robert G. N u l p h , P h . D .
Did you ever notice that in the movies we never have a problem seeing a person’s features while he's driving down the road? Even at night?
The next time you go driving, look over at your partner and focus on the light hitting his or her face. Unless the sun is shining right through the windshield, your partner will be fairly dark compared to the bright light outside the car. At night, you won’t see much at all. Obviously, something is going on here. Good, well-hidden lighting inside the car and a little suspension of reality are the key. In this column, we will look at ways to light the interior of a car, during the day and at night, to create realisticlooking lighting, while making it easier to see your actors’ faces. We'll also talk about some car lighting safety issues.
Daylight Interiors
The interior of a car is much darker than the outside. On a sunny day, if
you set the camera's iris to the right setting for your actor’s face, the window next to the actor will be nothing but a glowing white blob. Even on cloudy days, the light intensity outside the car is much greater than inside. How do you get around this? One of the first steps in creating realistic lighting for your car interior scenes is to determine what shots you are going to use. Will you shoot just through the windshield? Do you plan to shoot singles of each actor in a conversation, as well as the 2-shot through the windshield? Or do you plan to sit in the passenger seat, shooting the lone driver as you tool down the road? Each scenario has definite pluses and minuses, and all take different setups.
One of the most critical parts to this setup is shading the windshield to reduce reflections and glare that the camcorder would pick up. A large piece of black poster board has done the trick.
If you just shoot through the windshield, you have a number of things to handle. First, have you ever looked through a windshield on a bright day? Notice it is really hard to see anything? The reflection off the windshield is intense. The only way to get rid of this reflection is to flag the sunlight from it, which means mounting a flag above the car and covering the windshield with the flag’s shadow. An easy way to hang a flag is by using a C-stand. Now, your crew will probably not be too keen about sitting on the roof of the car holding a flag over the window, especially if you also insist on seeing the driver during a high-speed chase. Another problem will be that the interior of the car needs to be lit by a pretty powerful light to even come close to matching the intensity of the light outside the car. Where do you mount that light? If you must see the car moving down the road, one way – and perhaps the safest way – around this is to have a “camera car” and “picture car” set up. The camera car tows the picture car, and you can mount both the light and flag system from the camera car – or better yet, a truck with a flatbed, so the car isn’t even on the road. Keep in mind you will need some place to mount your camera and the lights, as well as a place for the
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Lighting
pretty fast. A couple of 1000watt Arris or even a couple of 650-watt Omnis with CTB daylight conversion gel and a silk Light will work, if you place them close enough to the windshield. Set the lights so that their reflection off the Figure A windshield is not in the camera shot. Also â&#x20AC;&#x201C; superclean the windshield! Remember, you will need heavy batteries and a converter to power up the lights.
This cool setup comes from Sticky Pod. It uses strong suction cups to attach cameras to all sorts of places in many types of situations.
director to watch the action and the audio mixer to hear the actorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lines. The ideal light in this situation would be a 1000-watt professional HMI light which has a daylight color temperature. However, this will drain the pocketbook
January 2008
Side View
Neutral Density Filter
For shots from the side, you will need the front light setup, as well as carefully-placed neutral density filters on the
Camcorder
Sunlight
Reflector - Bounces natural light onto talent
side windows, to reduce the intensity of the light behind each actorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head. You can mount the camera using a professional door mount or, if you can get one, an old-fashioned carhop tray. To supplement the front lighting, you can use reflectors mounted on stands next to the camera to catch the
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Lighting
natural light and bounce it into the interior of the car. See Figure A. If you plan to shoot your actor from the side in a moving car, you can place a reflector inside the car to reflect the light coming in through the windshield towards your actor. This will take some finesse to get the light where you want it, but it can be done. You can also use small reflectors or mirrors mounted on the passenger side of the hood and reflecting through the windshield at your talent, but they need to be securely mounted and not hinder the driver’s vision. Do not mount quartz-halogen or other typical lighting in the car, because it is too hot for the small space. Kino Flo makes a very nice small lighting fixture that has flicker-free fluorescent tubes, but, for daylight shooting, it will add only a little bit to the overall light.
Nighttime Interiors
You don't need to worry about trying to shoot a moving car scene at night. There are easy techniques to create a very believable car scene without moving out of the driveway or garage. If your budget allows, you can mount the rather expensive but very reliable, cool-temperature and flicker-free Kino Flo Micro-Flo kit on the dash in front of each of your actors and create a very believable lighting on their faces. Or you can buy small fluorescent work lights at the local hardware store and gaffertape them to your dash. Once you have white-balanced the camera, you can add gels to the lights to simulate the color of the dash lights for that car model.
January 2008
For the lights of a passing car, mount two par lamps on a board about three feet across. These become the headlights in the distance. Red gel another set for taillights. Pass a hand-held Lowel Omni light gelled with a blue filter across the car hood at regular intervals to create streetlights. Finally, set up a green-, yellow- and red-gelled par set with switches to make a stoplight. Shining these lights through the windshield onto your talent’s face creates very realistic street lighting effects. Edit your “studio” shoot with some good exterior video of the area, and the scene becomes totally believable.
The Guerrilla Way
For those one-man-band or low-funded productions, there are other ways to light a car interior. Ever see a “tap light”? How ‘bout a “snake light”? Both of these hardware finds work well in tight places, like adding illumination to the floorboards, or to set in the driver’s lap to give a bit more glow to his face. Tap lights are small round battery-operated Plexiglas domes found in linen or hardware stores that you tap to turn on. Snake lights are flashlights that have a flexible handle that a user might wrap around his neck to work hands-free. We used a snake light in a small area to light up the arms and interior of the glove in our Illuminations photo in the November issue. These lights are adjustable and don’t throw off a lot of light, but in a pinch (and with zero budget), they can be effective, if you work with them. Now that you know how to light car interiors, here’s a Videomaker challenge: create your own setup, shoot a car-interior scene and send us some video and photos of the setup, and we’ll get it on our new social networking site, Videomaker’s Lounge. Good luck and happy lighting! Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D., is an instructor of video and film production at the college level and an independent video/film director.
A garage can make a good studio for recreating night driving scenes. All you need is some creativity, some gels and some lights.
F E E D BA C k For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13489 in the subject line.
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Editing The Dissolve: A Winning Edit
by M o r g a n P a a r
A winning hand in the editing game means knowing the right transition for your edit. Introducing the second most popular transition in movie and TV history: the dissolve. After the ‘cut,’ the dissolve gets the most screen time amongst the guild of transitions. We see it countless times, but do we know why and when it is usually used? For consumers, it may not be so important, but for editors, it’s crucial. We usually edit to change the duration of time, most often by shortening screen time of an event or, on occasion, lengthening it. We may condense a two-hour poker match to four minutes, beginning with the dealing of the first hand and concluding with the triumphant winner. In effect, the editor takes out all the non-essential ‘middle parts’ in order to keep the story moving along. The majority of the shots in this four-minute scene will most likely be ‘straight cuts,’ but there could be one or more dissolves. Let’s learn when to use the cut or the dissolve, and why.
Time Stands Still
An editor usually uses a cut to give the audience a new perspective. A cut
shows the same subjects and action as those in the shot before, but from a different position, angle and/or framing. It usually does not try to communicate a change in time. An example might be a wide shot of our four people around a table playing five-card stud. The dealer is passing out the cards, while the person to his left is telling a story of what happened to him at work that day. The editor decides to ‘cut on action,’ as the dealer tosses the second card to the talking man to his left. The initial framing is a medium shot of
Matching action means that the action occurring in the first shot (image left) is consistent with the action that will happen in the next shot (image right).
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the dealer pulling a card from the deck and beginning to throw it down onto the table. When the dealer’s arm is halfway through the motion
AN EDITOR USUALLY USES A CUT TO GIVE THE AUDIENCE A NEW PERSPECTIVE. of dealing the card, the editor cuts to a close-up of the same action, now just the dealer’s hand and card. This does not interrupt the dialog, and the action is seamless. If the editor does it well, the audience does not consciously notice the transition. An exception to this would be a ‘jump cut,’ like those that were used by the French New Wave directors of the late fifties or early sixties, such as François Truffaut or Jean-Luc Godard, who wished to draw attention to their filmmaking process. But let’s stick to the typical Hollywood style of narrative storytelling, where cuts generally go unnoticed.
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To move our character through time and through a journey of emotions, we use our first shot (image left) to establish his winning status, and then we cross-dissolve (center image) to a scene scattered with empty bottles, an empty bowl of chips and a displacement of poker chips (image right).
Time Shifting
Now letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say the film cuts to the man to the left excitedly talking about his work, as he sits tall in his seat. He has towering stacks of poker chips in front of him, a full soft-drink or beer bottle in his hand and an overflowing bowl of chips at his side. The editor then uses a three-second cross dissolve to a shot of the same man framed in
the same way, but now he is slouching in his seat, a look of exhaustion on his face, the top two buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned, four empty beer bottles in front of him; the chip bowl has a few broken crumbs at the bottom, and his towers of chips have transformed into tiny stacks. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need a lesson in filmmaking grammar to know that a fair amount of time
has passed, and this man has lost most of his money. So editors often use the dissolve, a gradual merging of the end of one shot with the beginning of the next, to show a passing of time. Though this transition is more obvious than the cut, we are so used to seeing it that we accept that it indicates the passing of time, and we move right along with the story.
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Types of Dissolves from Apple’s Final Cut Pro 5 Manual It’s not unusual to find many different dissolve transitions in your video editing application. Some of these might be useful, while others act more like a fade, which is completely different from a dissolve. We suggest sticking to a cross dissolve. • Cross Dissolve: Blends the first clip into the second clip. • Additive Dissolve: Adds the two clips so that the first clip fades out and the second fades in. • Dip to Color Dissolve: Blends the first clip into the plain color of your choice, and then blends the plain color into the second clip. You can adjust the speed of the blend. • Dither Dissolve: Dissolves the first clip into the second by removing random pixels from the first clip to reveal the second clip.
Time Fades
In our Videomaker workshops, when we discuss transitions, we often ask our attendees what they think of when we say “fade to black.” The inevitable answer is usually “commercial break” or “end of movie, roll the credits.” But the fade to black is actually a powerful transition denoting a change in time or location. It can also change the mood of the story tremendously. Some directors will
THE FADE TO BLACK SHIFTS OUR GAMBLER TO A BETTER TIME AND PLACE.
A fade moves the viewer in a new emotional direction and compresses time. Here, our poker player wins his final hand and finds himself driving a new car the following afternoon.
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hold the fade to black so long that the audience often is tricked into thinking the movie has ended, but it’s usually just a transition to an epilog or last chapter to the movie. It's different from a dissolve: when we see the time shift, location change or scene change made with a fade to black, we think of
• Fade-In Fade-Out Dissolve: Fades in the incoming clip as the outgoing clip fades out. Reveals the track below the current track in a transition. • Non-Additive Dissolve: Compares the pixels in the two clips and displays the lighter of the two as the first clip fades out and the second fades in. • Ripple Dissolve: Applies a pond ripple effect to the first clip, simultaneously blending it into the second. You can choose the number of ripples, their center point on the first clip and their amplitude and acceleration. You can also apply a circle highlight to the ripples.
a shift that is important and meaningful to the movie. Using our poker game example, we’ve established that our card player has been at the table a long time by the number of empty bottles and snack bags at the table. Perhaps we’ve had him open his shirt all the way and pull his shirttails out, and we've given him an aged, tired look. But now, he’s playing his final hand, and we see a look of jubilation as he lays down his cards: a Royal Flush. We then fade to black for a 2- to 3- or even 5-second pause, then we fade up to a shot of him on a yacht or on the beach of an exotic locale or driving off in a brandnew souped-up sports car. Unlike the dissolve described above, this transition was both showing a conclusion to the tension in that long-played-out poker game and changing the mood from tense to relaxed. The fade to black shifts our gambler to a better time and place.
Talking Heads
Narrative storytelling doesn’t hold all the chips in the dissolve game. In fact,
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A QUICK CROSS DISSOLVE BETWEEN IDENTICAL SHOTS WILL SOOTHE A JUMP CUT. also failed to alter the framing of the shots, thus having an entire hour-long interview of the same framing. Definitely not a good place to be. The interviewee occasionally lapsed into long fits of coughing, which almost blew the headphones off the audio person. The editor needs to remove these coughing segments, but, to her horror, she finds there is no B roll. What comes to save the day? You guessed it: the dissolve. A straight cut would produce a jump cut, which could jar the audience. When this instantaneous transition between two identical or near-identical shots occurs, the subject appears to ‘jump’ within the screen. But a quick cross dissolve between two identical or near-identical shots will soothe the visual ‘jump,’ allowing the audience to continue to move smoothly along with the story. You can watch just about any PBS documentary with talking heads, and you’ll see this cross dissolve used. Though the cut dominates the editing profession with little competition, the dissolve is a transitional player more involved in both narrative and documentary pictures than you may think. When the chips are down and you feel all is lost, try playing your dissolve and see how you fare.
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it can be a lifesaver to the documentary editor. Let’s say a doc producer shot a long talking-head interview but failed to acquire B roll. This producer
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Audio Squeezing Sound
by Hal R o b e r t s o n
With all the buzz about Internet video, YouTube and video sharing in general, it would be easy to forget about audio on the Internet.
I guess in the minds of some, audio had its day, and they’ve moved on to video. Not so fast! Streaming audio, MP3s and other compressed audio sources are everywhere on the Internet, bigger and better than ever before. Using a little imagination and tools you already have, it’s easy to leverage the power of audio on the Internet. Spend the next few minutes here, and you’ll be squeezing sound like a pro.
Tech Talk
Uncompressed audio files are big. The average song ripped from a CD is 30-50MB. While it’s possible to post a monster file like that to the Internet, it would take quite a while to download, making it completely impractical for most purposes. That’s where audio compression comes in. Using a combination of psychoacoustics, math and a little bit of magic, we can easily squeeze large audio files to a tenth of their original size or smaller. Of course, there is a trade off in quality – compressed audio files are “lossy” and don’t sound exactly like the original. There are several types of compressed audio – AAC, MP3, Windows
Media, Ogg Vorbis – and each has its own way of squeezing sound. But in general, they all go through similar processes. They analyze incoming audio for content, and compare this profile to models based on human hearing – what we hear and how we hear it. Then, the encoder decides which elements to eliminate. First to go are extreme highs and lows. Next are softer sounds that will be masked by louder ones. This continues until we have a compressed audio file. Another important decision is the bitrate. For near-CD-quality music, a bitrate of 128KB is a standard minimum. For voice, the bitrate can go much lower. Many syndicated talk shows stream their voice broadcasts around 48KB,
Compression Comparison for a 32-second Audio File
Format
Frequency
Bitrate
Bit Stream
Channels
File Size
WAV (PCM)
48kHz
16-bit
Constant
Stereo
6.28MB
MP3
48kHz
128kbps
Constant
Stereo
540KB
OGG
Quality Setting 5
about 160kbps
VBR*
Stereo
693KB
AAC
48kHz
128kbps
Constant
Stereo
586KB
* The Vorbis OGG file format always uses a variable bitrate. Vorbis also chooses to use quality settings (0-10) rather than exact bitrates for compression.
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a compromise that won’t seriously degrade audio quality. If you’re a complete geek and want to know even more, Wikipedia has an excellent article on audio compression. For the rest of us, the general rule is: the harder you squeeze, the smaller the file and the worse it sounds.
Audio on a Diet
There are many different ways to convert compressed audio files. Probably the easiest is to load the file into iTunes and choose the Convert Selec-
THERE IS A TRADE OFF IN QUALITY: COMPRESSED AUDIO FILES ARE “LOSSY.” tion to MP3 option. As an alternative, most audio editing applications include compressed audio options in their Save As functions. Audition, Sound Forge, Audacity and even Reaper support multiple compression formats and bitrates. Alternatively, you can use a standalone
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In Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iTunes application, you can customize the various qualities of compressed audio file formats for importing music from a CD. This is one of the easiest ways to compress audio.
freeware program like CDex to perform audio file compression. People love to debate the sound quality of compressed audio formats. While methods and features differ among the various types, the simple fact is they all sound pretty good today. When you save a compressed audio file, there are several options to consider. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already touched on bitrate: the higher, the better. There is also the question of mono or stereo. In a stereo file, the bits are divided between the two channels;
a 128KB stereo file is essentially two 64KB channels. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t specifically need stereo, encode the clip as mono, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get a free quality bump. You may also have the option of specifying sampling rate. For this, stick with the CD standard of 44,100Hz or the video standard of 48,000Hz. Most compressed audio formats also allow the attachment of other information and graphics. In the MP3 format, this information is included in the ID3 tag â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Windows Media calls it Meta
1
If your audio file already exists on your hard drive, you can compress it for the Web using Audacity. Open your file in Audacity, click on the File menu and select Export (1). Choose your file type (2) and, under the Options button, specify any custom settings (3). Hit OK and then Save.
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Web sites big and small have utilized the MP3 file format, such as Voice123.com, which stores a database of voiceover talent, including sample MP3s.
Standards, Please How many times have you visited a Web site, hoping to watch or listen to some media, only to find that you need to install some off-thewall codec (and its bloated software bundle) for playback? The only codecs your browser should need are Flash, QuickTime, Shockwave and Windows Media. Let’s face it, MP3 is the compressed audio standard, and it doesn’t take anything special to play it in a browser. If you’re going to the trouble of encoding audio for a Web site or download, make it easy on your listeners and use a standard format.
Data. Information can include the title, artist, year, etc. You can also attach a JPEG or other small image to the file for identification purposes. In some formats, you can also include cue points that will launch a browser window and visit a specific Web site or HTML file. This option alone offers several untapped possibilities. Let your mind wander.
Upload, Download
We’ve looked at the concepts and techniques used to create compressed audio files, but what can you do with them? Try these options on for size. Since 2008 is an election year, many media producers will be creating content for candidates. Compressed Internet audio is useful for speech podcasts, recorded interviews and radio commercials. You can also make an assortment of official sound bites available to the media in the press section of the Web site.
Musicians can benefit from compressed audio. First, e-mailing MP3s to band mates can simplify rehearsal and collaboration. You can upload MP3s to your Web site or MySpace page and stream sample recordings for the visitors. Use compressed audio for online promotional packs and e-mails to venue managers for potential bookings. I haven’t forgotten you, the humble video producer. Consider using compressed audio files when shopping for vocal talent. You can e-mail a script to a voiceover specialist, who can record, compress and e-mail you a finished track. Make sure to use higher bitrates for this type of application. You can also leverage compressed audio for approval on soundtrack music and finished audio tracks. Compress a copy and e-mail to the client. It saves time, trouble and blank CDs. If you produce audio projects on a regular basis, don’t forget to post samples to your Web site – sort of a virtual demo tape.
It’s Your Turn
You see, there is still a place for audio on the Internet. The tools and tech are well established and integrated into applications you already use. While you may not need these techniques every day, it’s nice to have them in your bag of tricks when the client calls. If your entire experience with compressed audio is telling iTunes to rip a CD for your music collection, you’ve got some experimenting to do. Try different bitrates and compression methods, and make your own evaluations. Give it a good squeeze. Contributing Editor Hal Robertson is a digital media producer and technology consultant.
F E E D BAC k
You can use free services such as MySpace.com to host MP3 files, either for your self-promotion or for client approval. Everybody will need a MySpace profile, however.
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For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13490 in the subject line.
VIDEOMAKER >>> Ja nuary 2008
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Continued from page 29 after and the YouTube feature quickly became a great option for sharing your videos on YouTube without having to have a degree in compression settings. The only other significant omission is the support of AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). For those who have the newer consumer HD cameras, this may cause disappointment. Adobe is working on providing support for AVCHD in a future update, but no word as of yet when that will be.
Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0
DVD menu creation with themes
Bells & Whistles
In addition to the whistles and bells emanating from our miniature train program, a load of goodies awaits you in this video toolbox. Some of the neatest are the third-party additions from NewBlue. They contributed dozens of cool transitions and filters (effects). I especially liked the Shake transition that imbues an energetic, caffeinated feel between clips. Their old-movie filter allows you to adjust how “old” you want your home movies to look – very effective. The new image stabilizer features shouldn’t be ignored. Sometimes that handheld, reality-TV look goes a bit too far. This effect zooms in a bit and compensates for the jittery camera work. Unfortunately, it couldn’t correct for the “smear” of motion blur when the shake was severe. Detect Beats analyzes the music in your sound track and places markers to the tempo. It's best with music with a clear rhythm. Premiere Elements then cuts the video to the beat, and you can sit and watch the drama build. Advanced motion features
The Motion Titles feature makes it easy to make your titles roll, creep or even spin and bounce. The new audio mixer gives you a virtual soundboard to adjust the levels on the fly – nice. On the logistical side, the new Organizer does a nice job of handling your media files. You can add searchable keywords, better known as tags, and even “ratings” to your clips, allowing you to find them by subject
THE EASE OF ADJUSTING IMAGES TO FIT THE PROGRAM MAKES THIS VERY POWERFUL. and quality. As expected, they can also be sorted by name, date and file type. At first, this may not seem like a big deal, but wait until you’ve got 500 files, and you can’t remember the name of that one . . .
Integration
If there is one thing Adobe is good at, it’s software integration. You can purchase Premiere Elements 4.0 standalone or bundled with Photoshop Elements 6. To test their interoperability, we fired them both up and got creative. First, we generated a simple still image to insert into the program.
We saved it to disk, imported it into Premiere Elements and placed it in the timeline. Then we went back to Photoshop Elements and altered the still. When we jumped back to the video timeline, the monitor immediately refreshed with the changes. The ease of adjusting images to fit the program makes this very powerful. Then we did the same thing with an animated slideshow created in Photoshop Elements. The update was automatic (and the funny clipart pig was just the touch we were looking for). All in all, Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 packs a lot of features into a $99 program. Fifteen years ago, if you could even purchase such a program, it would have cost as much as a luxury car. We just don’t know how good we’ve got it these days. SUMMARY
The newcomer and home user can get really creative with this user-friendly program. It provides a lot of features for a modest price. Greg Robinson is the owner of an independent production company.
FEEDBACk For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13801 in the subject line.
69
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WHAT’S LEGAL p r o d u c e r ’s r i g h t s by Mark Levy
Musical Copyright
Tips to navigate murky shark-filled waters
The copyright law can be a two-edged sword or, more accurately, a sword and a shield. If it’s your work that you wish to protect, you can register it in the U.S. Copyright Office for $45. On the other hand, if you decide to use the work of someone else, you must be careful not to infringe the other person’s copyright, often referred to as intellectual property rights. To register your video and/or your music or soundtrack, simply download the appropriate form and instructions from the U.S. Copyright Office Web site: www.copyright.gov. You will want to use Form PA (performing arts) for your videos or Form SR (sound recordings) for your original music, if recorded separately. If you fill out the simple twopage copyright form and file it yourself, you can save an average of $300 in legal fees. Consider that a yearly subscription to Videomaker magazine now costs around $12. That means that just this information alone can save you enough money to subscribe to this magazine for the next 25 years, give or take.
Why Register? Once you have your registration, you will have the ability to bring a legal action for copyright infringement against anyone who, without your permission: 1) produces your copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords; 2) prepares derivative works based upon your copyrighted work; 3) distributes copies or phonorecords of your copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending; 4) in the case of musical or dramatic works or motion pictures and other audiovisual works, performs your copyrighted work publicly; 5) in the case of musical or dramatic works or pictorial, graphic or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other
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audiovisual work, displays your copyrighted work publicly; and 6) in the case of sound recordings, performs your copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. If you can’t prove the damages that you sustained due to the misappropriation of your work, you can request statutory damages, which the judge can set at between $750 and $150,000, at his or her discretion. If the copying is especially heinous, the infringer may even spend up to five years in jail. Speaking of remuneration, you also have the right to license your work, in order to receive royalty payments when your licensee makes or uses those copies of your work.
Don’t Step on Toes That’s the good news. But what if you decide that someone else has produced a work that is so good, you’d like to incorporate it in your work? As you might expect, the most common sort of intellectual property that videographers want to use is sound and, in particular, music. In the case of using another party’s music, it’s the other party who now has all of the rights mentioned above. And it’s you who will not be able to make or use copies or derivative works from the original unless you obtain permission from the copyright holder. Bummer.
Having Your Cake but Not Paying for it But what would the law be without loopholes? In the case of copyright law, there are a few that may help you. But before I get to those loopholes, let me suggest that you consider bellying up to the bar and requesting that the copyright holder allow you to use the work. The copyright holder may grant you the right to copy the music for very little or no money. It’s worth asking. Just remember to get that permission in writing.
As for the loopholes, here’s the first one: no work created before 1922 (movies, recordings, sheet music, etc.) can be under copyright. That’s the magic date at which all previous registered copyrights have expired. So you can find old music books or musical scores, for example, and play the music on your piano or your guitar for your videos. You can’t use a recent recording of old music, however, since the performers or their publishers would have rights to the copyright to their specific performance. Here’s another loophole: if you plan to use someone else’s copyrighted work without permission, you can do so as long as your intent is to make a video for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research. That’s called fair use. Unfortunately, wedding videos, school performances and entertaining scenarios do not generally fall within one of the categories above. Here’s a final suggestion: if you have musical talent, compose and perform your own music or hire someone to do it for you. You will need a written agreement with that composer-performer to be sure you own the copyright rights to the work that he or she creates for you. A popular way to obtain royaltyfree music is to purchase buy-out music, available from some of the organizations that advertise in Videomaker magazine. The information in this article has not only saved you money, but has protected you from seeing the inside of a courtroom or, worse yet, a jail. Mark Levy is an attorney specializing in intellectual property law. He has won amateur moviemaking awards in many countries.
FEEDBACK For comments on this article, email us at editor@videomaker.com, use article #13764 in the subject line.
VIDEOMAKER >>> JANUARY 2008
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