My 1,000th Post

According to the counter this is number 1,000. My first post in the camcorder section was about 2 years ago. Before that, I did a little posting trying to figure out my Sony HD TV and BD player.

Since then, you've taught me things like:

What 1080p60 is...
How to view 1080p60...
What equipment can use 1080p60 and what can't...
What Class 10 means...
How NLEs work....
What presets are...
To not zoom after the rec button is pressed...
To pan very little, unless tracking a moving target....
Concentrate on the audio...
There is an on going argument between DSLR owners and camcorder owners that is not likely to end....
The absolute importance of stabilization....
What AVCHD is...
What containers are...
About Vimeo and YouTube...
What Vimeo and YouTube do to your files...
That random clips are not video....
What lossless and lossy mean....
What an HDC-SDT750 is..
What an HX9V is...
What an FZ150 is...
How using an HX9V can be as pleasing to the eye as using a SDT750 listing at three times the price...

I've shot a lot of clips but only made a few videos. One cherished video is of a granddaughter winning Grand Champion at a chicken showing fair where I learned how to edit with HD Writer. She had never entered a fair. After the show I asked her how she went from knowing nothing to being the winner. She looked at me with a "how do you not understand" look and said, "I watched a YouTube."

Another video is of my brother shooting a replica of a 1776 rifle where I learned to do slow motion with Premier Elements.

My most watched video is about how to make a specific motorhome repair. It was viewed by a few hundred members of an owners club and the procedure was adopted by a repair center.

Most important is that you've given me the tools to coach my two charming granddaughters who are eagerly learning video. One of them figured out how to do a documentary about how "Grandma Makes Beef Stew". It has a title, introduction, special effects, a music track, a transition to a still photo and scrolling credits. She gave it to me for Christmas.

My granddaughters and I have formed "SS&G Productions". The two "S"s are from their first names. The "G" is for Grandpa. Next weekend we will be shooting the family elder explaining the family's heritage at a 100 person reunion. We have an ongoing project with the goal of introducing children to camcorders, story telling and editing.

Thank you all!

Bill Sprague

Thanks.

Two years ago I was very confused. Now, once in awhile, it is fun to help someone else.

Bill

This is a tough project.

The family "elder" talked for about 3 or 4 hours in 5 locations.

My granddaughters and I have teamed up to learn video for over a year. Their skills are surprisingly high. They are 10 and 12. We met to work out a strategy. The older one agreed to be the primary shooter and used our Panasonic SDT750 (like a TM900). She stayed "in your face close" to the elder so that we could get primary video and acceptable audio. Getting great audio was out of the question because the "elder" was not going to wear a mic. Her plan was to talk (lecture) the 80 family members that showed up. Getting video was our option, not her's.

The younger granddaughter agreed to use the HX9V for both video and still "interest" shots. (Is that called "B roll"?)

We agreed that either camera would work in either roll. One granddaughter thought the HX9V would produce sharper video and wanted to use it for primary. Then we agreed the SDT750 might get better audio with it's 5.1 Dolby.

My job was to look for shot opportunities and have a pocket full of batteries.

To answer you question directly, each primary video in the 5 locations were 30 to 45 minutes long. That breaks all the creative rules. Nobody, will watch the raw stuff.

Our plan is to edit the long boring footage into a 10 minute or shorter version of the "best family stories". The idea is to maintain the audio track with the "elder" talking. Mixed on top will be shots from the HX9V of family members that are fascinated with what they are hearing.

To make this work, I set both cameras at an AVCHD interlaced setting of 17 Mbps. Premier Elements 10 will combine footage from both on multiple video tracks while maintaining the primary audio.

After we finish the editing, we will offer it to family members along with all the raw video for anyone that really wants to sit still for three or four hours watching it.

It will still be boring, unless you are a member of the family that drew 90 people from three states for a picnic! They all seem to want to know how their great grandparents showed up in the southeast corner of Idaho, survived and produced 50 or more offspring.

One of the offspring is a traditional cowboy that still rides a horse everyday to look after his 150 cattle that may end up in your Big Mac. His cattle don't grow up in a feed lot. He makes sure they have a life on the open range feeding on wild and native grasses!

Bill
Edited by bsprague - 8/27/12 at 8:22pm

The solution to that comes from taking what you don't understand and turning it into a new thread or posting it to the same thread as a question.

The hardest ones for me to understand were the ones about file formats, containers, bit rates and related stuff.

Asking questions is how I got to 1,000 posts! The answers were very appreciated.

Bill