There's no doubt about it--the good old days of linear editing are numbered. Digital video is like a bullet
train hurtling down the track, closing in quickly on the complacent caboose of analog video.
But don't toss out your analog equipment just yet. The digital technology that is available is...
This month's Camera Work is about the naming of shots: what's a long shot, what's a closeup, and why should you care, anyway? When I began this piece I thought, hey, I can almost write this in my sleep--just round 'em up, brand 'em, and ride on outta here.
No...
That title alone may be enough to scare off some readers. If you've gotten this far, please stay with me. I
know the technical side of video production isn't fun for most. It's actually a nuisance when you come to
think of it.
But understanding some of the basic mechanics...
Where's the Hi8?
In response to the December '94 letter regarding Mr. Hankwitz trying to locate Hi8 tapes in
Southern Wisconsin: he claims that it took a dozen phone calls to locate a dealer that could supply him with tapes. Well, I know Wisconsin isn't exactly New York City but...
Traveling for pleasure ought to be an ideal subject for video: exotic locales, colorful people, exciting events, spectacular scenery--how can you lose? So you videotape with abandon, haul 40 hours of footage homeward, and spend days carving it into a carefully assembled program. The result? First we went here...
Of all the technical gremlins that can frustrate a videomaker, poor exposure has got to be the most common. Whether
you've used a camcorder a thousand times or only bought your first one last month, the chances are you've
experienced:
faces that become black smudges against bright backgrounds
overall brightness that...
Q. I recently shot a wedding and at one point I stopped the camera, rewound the tape and checked my
footage. I was dismayed to find the scenes mostly blanked out with snow. If I scanned the tape in reverse,
the image was there without the snow.
My question does...
Fun, Fun, Fun Applications
I was headed for the mailbox to send a letter to Loren Alldrin at your
magazine, since I respect his technical reviews and thought he might be
interested in the video experiences of a strict amateur. As the mail had
already been delivered, it was...
Do your videos include remarks that are pre-scripted for delivery on-camera? If
so, then you need that ingenious gadget that lets TV politicians read canned
speeches while seeming to ad-lib them as they gaze sincerely into the lens. You
need a video prompter. (Professionals informally call them
TelePrompTers(tm), but "TelePrompTer" is actually a...
Have you ever driven through the mountains and suddenly come upon a beautiful
scene, perfect for video? Or perhaps seen breaking news just ahead? Maybe you
just want to get some "on the road" shots for your videos.
In all these cases, the problem is the same: how to capture all these...
