Annoying Things in Life

[Texas1911]

I just got in the new forum toy ... a Canon HF-S200 HD camcorder. I go to charge it, that goes well, I make some changes, that also goes well, walk around the house, that goes as expected, now ... I can't get the damn video off the camcorder! I need a flash card reader.

I hate buying shit, especially expensive stuff, that doesn't come with all the necessary bits and pieces. I suppose I have only myself to blame, but in the day and age of laziness I would presume that it'd come with all the parts necessary.

High Definition 1080P How-Tos and Videos will have to take a backseat for a day.

 

[Texas1911]

Nevermind ... I'm just dumber than the machine. It was behind secret panel number 82.

 

[robin303]

Silly dang instructions.

 

[308nato]

Yeah you generaly loose a lot in the translation to english.

 

[txinvestigator]

Nevermind ... I'm just dumber than the machine. It was behind secret panel number 82.

HAAHAA. I actually went out once and bought a cord, then discovered the secret hidden on board connector. lol

 

[Dawico]

Instructions are for sissies. Just never admit that you screwed something up because you didn't read them.

 

[Texas42]

I hate having to memorize unimportant facts. . . like how Herpes viruses are dsDNA virus (I can look it up if I need it), or about the Mechanisms of drugs that no one ever uses anymore. . . buts its on the test that determines what I can do for the rest of my life.

 

[Texas1911]

HAAHAA. I actually went out once and bought a cord, then discovered the secret hidden on board connector. lol

LOL, but it's cool, you can just write that off as "it's my back-up". You're just being prepared!

 

[Texas1911]

Instructions are for sissies. Just never admit that you screwed something up because you didn't read them.

Instructions, we don't need no stinkin' instructions!

 

[Texas1911]

saul good now...?

Yeah, I've officially filmed something, and it reminded me I won't be the next Spielberg.

Once I get this thing figured out, we'll be in business! I give it a week or so. I'm going to take it to work and see how the film turns out there. I think I'm going to have to do filming outdoors to get good consistent quality. No biggie, I got a one year membership to Lone Star.

I also need a damn external hard drive now ... my case is full, and I got no space left on this machine. Just the short 30 second movie I made took up 320 Mb on 1080P.

 

[Texas1911]

that's quite a big file...

Yep, in short, I plan to keep all the videos under 2 minutes in length anyways, post editing.

I know if I won't watch a 30 minute video, I'm not going to make a 30 minute video.

 

[Texas1911]

hahaha, i have watched some that were very long... long enough it could have been brought down to about 7-8 mins with out all the ummms, uuuhs, here we go's, no wait that's not it...

etc etc

Yeah, I'm going to write out my videos first so I have less of that.

 

[swsmailman]

What kind of how to's are your planning on doing?

And don't know if you already have one or not, but use a tripod or build one of these.

Homemade Steadicam Costs About $24,990 Less Than The Real Thing

Because a shaky camera makes a crappy film!

 

[Texas1911]

I have a tripod that I am going to use, and depending on the video, I am going to probably opt for some sort of lightbox.

 

[Wolfwood]

grab a terabyte HD.

and dump your raw video on that, theny ou can recompress the video down to a reasonable size.
but yeah, raw video files are heavy!
congrats ont he new buy.

i expext to see some shooting vids pronto.

 

[kerryp]

might wanna be careful if your planning on filming in the indoor range, i would be a little worried the extreme noise from shooting could damage the mic, but I don't know enough about them to know if that is a concern or not....just a thought...

 

[Army 1911]

Script your planned vids and storyboard them as to shots etc. Proper pre-planning prevents pathetically poor preformance. It also makes post production easier too. Use the zoom to frame shots and don't zoom while filming (can make folks see-sick). Good tripod a must. As a still photographer, I have no less than 5, all will hold a heavy camera rock steady. Manfroto makes some good ones. You can also get some very good video tripods used. Some of the old wooden movie tripods are excellent values. If you are looking for lighting, look at Lowell lights.

Don't mount the light on the camera, that is like taking pictures from the viewpoint of the sun. Lightboxes are great but for portability, umbrellas make more sense. White to shoot the light through, and relfective silver for bounce.

I don't know how involved you want to get but there are some Ideas for your consideration.

 

[wrtanker]

Just one more thing to add from a guy who has been there. I made a number of videos (mostly indoor educational/promotional) for a company I was contracted to. Other than all of the things mentioned already my biggest headache was sound. The mic on the camera just wasn't up to the task if I was filming a group of people or if they weren't right next to the camera. I finally got a remote wireless mic that I could clip to the person(s) speaking. Even then it was dicey at times. Good luck with your project!