NAB 2011

Ok, I am pissed I could not make it to Las Vegas for this years NAB show. NAB is a trade show in Las Vegas showing video and broadcasting gear, software and everything about the industry. My business would have been able to use it for a write off. I would have met many people I have been interacting with on the internet and I would have met some contacts in the industry.

Fortunately the internet has taken me there with live video and many stories from the show floor in great detail. Anything worth seeing is shown in pics and video’s probably better than fighting crowds and waiting in line to hold something. I am very sure I would have bought something quite expensive, so I saved there too.
All I am missing are the smells and sights of Vegas in all its glitter and flashing lights. Oh and the cards. I love to play blackjack at the table. The internet can not reproduce all of that!
I did promise myself I will put some cash away this summer so I can attend next year for sure and I also promised my wife. It has been at least 10 years since we were last there and I am starting to miss it.

New Commercial Video

Had some fun with this one, actually I have fun with all my videos. This time I tried to tackle a Commercial video or a video that a company would get done for a web promotion or introduction. I just used video and music, but have been thinking we should have had Ken talking in the background describing the bottling process. Next video he gets we can do that.

  Ken Inglis has worked for Years to get his dream of a water bottling plant going. It all started with a local spring next to his property. He just wanted to start filling bottles. The Town of huntsville owned the property the spring was located on and wanted to get rid of the liability of the spring and peoples health. The town sold Ken the Property with the understanding ken would assume liability and build a bottling plant.

  After many years and many hearings, drawings, studies and hoops that every possible government and agency and group could throw his way, he finally was underway. His plant has won some awards for management and water quality. Here is the inside of the plant on bottling day.

Creating Again

I have been busy with photography and video before Christmas. I was working on a self promoting video for my video business. I felt like I was sticking my neck out…way out on a limb and petrified I would look stupid or embarrassed. I know it is important to be transparent, open and real to market in this new era. So I sat down and worked this concept until I was satisfied with the final product.

So have a look and leave a comment even if it is critical. It was fun to make and it took a long time. I need to know how to make my work better. I suppose practice is the best way. I am also looking for companies who need a video for there website or showroom.

 

Why Video?

Chev Duramax

Again it has been too long between posts! Things have been busy here with Video, new truck, TVCogeco , work and getting ready for winter. Cogeco had me do a story on the dog walk for the Animal Shelter, The Rotary Auction, Two Santa parades and Town of Huntsville council meetings and a story on North Words Literary Festival, I found the festival to be very Fascinating! There was a great turnout and I talked to a couple writers and looked around thinking books are not dead and I should read more.

   Oh ya. The new truck! its a 2011 Chevy Duramax diesel. I wont bore anyone with details so I will just say amazing! I did not get the fancy model, rather I got the towing and work options. The RV is heavy and the old Dodge was at its limit. I had to get a 4x4 model this time because there were no 2wd ones at all. It will make selling a truck esier with 4x4 and I have used it a few times and it is a blast.

   A long time ago Randy Mitson from Algonquin Outfitters started planning some web videos. This fall we got it done. I went out to the Oxtongue store on a partly sunny and windy day to shoot 5 videos. Everyone was all ready and we had a plan. I got my brother Dave to give  me a hand. It worked out very well with the gear and the actors and the weather even helped us ok. I had alot of fun shooting. It took almost all day and it flew by. I have been editing off and on now for a few months and now they are ready. We got 6 clips out of the footage and they are quite pleased with the results. They have not posted them yet but it will be very soon and will make another post when they are.

Mountain Bike Adventure

My latest video project was awesome and unexpectedly fun. We loaded up the RV and took off to Haliburton to get some mountain bike race footage and some interviews of local racer Samantha Brett.

 

 

This being one of my first personal video projects I was excited to get going. The goal was to get some creative mountain biking shots and good interviews.  I have found in past and this time it is very hard to get good creative shots during a live event because you just cant take the extra time for fear of missing the action. Getting set up for a shot takes time and bike racers are fast!

 

 

I got a good interview with Sam on Saturday evening after she finished a 72km race that day and a big crash where she hurt her hand. She is a tough woman!

    That night we set up the RV in the parking lot of Sir Sam's Ski Resort where the race was starting the next morning. We had a relaxing evening with some music and prep for the next day.

   Early Sunday morning I got out with the cam as Chico Racing was  setting up for the race. The fog was thick with a damp cold feel and no sun yet. One of the owners of Sir Scams “Chris” was awesome and drove Me and a crew from RideGuide TV, to the best vantage points of the 2 laps around the resort.

   I took a short lunch break then headed up to the finish line at the Halliburton forest. It wasn’t long before the faster riders started to come in. There i got some finish line stuff and a few interviews. Next was the awards that I could not miss because  Sam came in 3rd overall in the woman under 40 class.

Overall I had a fantastic time and accomplished everything I had set out to do. I will be posting more video’s from the weekend.

 

Convergence

I just finished listening to a group of pro’s chatting about the convergence of photo and video. A year after professional still cameras have the ability to shoot HD video.

Link to conversation

It was very informative for me especially since I am embracing the whole video thing. Video is not new to me, I have had a video camera for many years now. Unfortunately I have been a terrible videographer. lately I have been converting all of my family video’s from tape to digital on my hard drive. It is terrible video  but it is all we have.

I have also been playing with my Pentax K7 and my new Canon HF200 camcorder , trying to get good quality shots. In the edit or post area, I have been learning Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects software with reasonable success.

I have been enjoying it immensely , the time flies by and my projects are getting better. I am looking for ideas or concepts to work on. Writing and scripts are not my thing and I find the ideas hard to imagine. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

I do believe video is the next big  thing, if it isn’t already. All websites will soon want video. if not for product sales it will be for transparency, how to video, demonstrations or just entertainment. I would like to be part of it all. Not only for the business and money but just for the love of creativity and to take my photography to the next level. I do think photography and videography are very similar.

New Video Up

I just posted a new video I produced recently. It is not going to get me a golden globe yet. It was fun to play with…I am learning new software. Cyberlink Power Director and Adobe Premier Pro. Adobe is far better and I am afraid I wasted my money on Cyberlink. Adobe is allot more expensive and is going to be allot of work to figure out but the detail and control is awesome. My video was shot with the canon G9 in time-lapse mode.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dqSD-2XJUI

I did get a Canon HV30 and I am very pleased with my purchase. I was fortunate to get to Circuit City when they were closing down and they had one left. I am still going to mainly concentrate on Photography and push myself to get better, but I am going to play with video. I feel learning and being capable with video will only compliment my photography.