What started out as cloudy and gray seems to be transforming into lovely and blue. Pomegranate green tea and smooth jazz complement this beautiful, breezy Sunday afternoon. Had to pry myself away from Twitter again this morning. So cool, so many interesting people, so much great information, it’s easy to get carried away, but alas, my “To Do” list runneth over.
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Just a quick update to let everybody know that I’m doin’ the Twitter thang. I know it took me a while, but I finally decide to do it and now that I’m there, I love it! I’ve actually been on Twitter for a minute now, but just realised that I hadn’t told you guys about it. For those who are not familiar, using Twitter (called Tweeting) is a form of micro-blogging in 140 characters or less. Basically, in their own words, “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”
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This is more test footage of a few of my favourite things that I shot a couple of weeks ago from my dining table. I’ve been using it to practise in Sony Vegas. I know the footage is pretty bad, but it’s all I have to work with at the moment. I’ve been playing around with some of Vegas’ features and I’m finally beginning to understand how NLE (non-linear editing) software works.
Things are moving along pretty well with Vegas considering the short time I’ve been working with it (a few days in my spare time). I think I’ve gotten most of the basics down pretty well. Now I’m beginning to get familiar with some of the more advance functions and learn how to set up a proper workflow.
As for the HV30 and filming, things are going a bit slower (what little filming I’ve done has been in “auto” mode). There is sooooo much to learn and it’s moving along, except that my sorry little tripod is killin’ me.
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I finally got Magnum (my new computer) and Gianni (my HV30), both purchased back in early September 2008, up and running a couple of weeks ago. Sad, I know. It’s been a long time coming and now that things are set up, I’m on a roll. This is the very first test footage I shot, edited and uploaded; nothing fancy, just testing my new digs with images of a few of my favourite things.
Unfortunately, the tripod that has served me quite well for shooting still images with Maxwell (my beloved Nikon D50) sucks for shooting video, so the pans and tilts are awful. But hey, gotta start somewhere, right? After much research, I’ve decided which “fluid-head” tripod I want and I’m ordering it today, so I should be rollin’ a lot smoother by next weekend.
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…to bear witness to the off-the-CHAIN stylings of Humpty (pronounced with an Ump-tee). HA! I just had to share this video. This piece is classic!
When Gregory Jacobs, better known as Shock G. (founder and frontman of the hip-hop group, Digital Underground), morphs into his alter ego, Humpty — he rocks the party like no other.
My favourite line of this cut is the opening: “Alright, stop what cha doin’ cause I’m about to ruin the image and the style that you’re used to.” I love it!
It turns out that the Canon FS10 is definitely not “The One” after all. Yep, we fell out of love real quick! Last weekend I went out and shot some outdoor test footage and once I got home and processed the images, I realised immediately that the FS10 is not going to get it done. While Sterling is cute, light-weight and easy to handle, the video quality just isn’t what I had hoped it would be. I guess the quality is pretty good for a camera in its class, but it’s just not going to cut it for me. Needless to say, it is no longer one of my favourite things.
Initially, I though I would just use this camera to begin my learning process and after I got better, move on to something better. Well, after more research and deeper thought, I’ve decided to return the FS10 and step up to a model with a bit more power, the Canon VIXIA HV30.
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After all the researching and agonizing, I finally bit the bullet and bought my very first digital camcorder, the Canon FS10 Flash Memory Camcorder with 8GB Internal Flash Memory and 48x Advanced Zoom. This is just a test post that I am using to determine whether or not I have been successful in my first video upload attempt. I uploaded this test footage to YouTube and now I’m attempting to add it here.
What Did They Say?