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Ok Halloween is coming up and I guess that may be sparking my invisibility thoughts. I have had an idea swirling between my ears for about a week now, much like the first invisibility idea took hold.
I'm going out this morning to shoot it and hopefully I'll have it completed by this afternoon. There are couple of issues I will have to work out but that is the way it always works. Check back later to see if I was successful.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Strange editing...
I stopped in to look at my blog and was surprised that about a third of it was dark and hard to read
although it is still legible if you get close to the screen. I guess it is because I mentioned the name of the company where I get my seeds from. It is in Mansfield Missouri and is a fabulous supplier. Google it and you probably will be able to find it. All of the seeds are Non GMO so the old varieties that have been altered with the genetic updates are still available in their original form. They may not be perfect in appearance but they sure taste like the tomatoes I grew as a kid. Check it out.
although it is still legible if you get close to the screen. I guess it is because I mentioned the name of the company where I get my seeds from. It is in Mansfield Missouri and is a fabulous supplier. Google it and you probably will be able to find it. All of the seeds are Non GMO so the old varieties that have been altered with the genetic updates are still available in their original form. They may not be perfect in appearance but they sure taste like the tomatoes I grew as a kid. Check it out.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Homegrown......
It's almost time for the summer to be gone and I'm going to miss our homegrown tomatoes. This year we didn't have many, but those we got were so much better than the "store bought" tomatoes we bought, that I'm embarking on a new mission. If you have followed my blog you have seen the last several summers were spent in converting our backyard into a studio for any portrait sessions that my pop up this year and next. I have a bit more to do with three small areas but one of them will become "the farm". I have a source for an organic soil that is used by a commercial grower of a vegitable that they will sell me by the pick-up load. I intend to build my garden in one of the areas I have landscaped making a large bed expressly for my tomatoes crop.
It is in full sun most of the day so it is pretty useless for any portrait work but should be great for the plants. I ordered three different kinds of tomatoes seeds for variety, and all are heirloom varieties that have not been genetically altered. The seeds have already come
in and I will have to start them in February inside under grow lights to have them big enough to transplant
after the first frost. I want to get the soil possibly this weekend and will mix it with our "red dirt" Oklahoma
soil and I should get a great bed with good drainage and nutrients for the crop. I'll keep you posted.
It is in full sun most of the day so it is pretty useless for any portrait work but should be great for the plants. I ordered three different kinds of tomatoes seeds for variety, and all are heirloom varieties that have not been genetically altered. The seeds have already come
in and I will have to start them in February inside under grow lights to have them big enough to transplant
after the first frost. I want to get the soil possibly this weekend and will mix it with our "red dirt" Oklahoma
soil and I should get a great bed with good drainage and nutrients for the crop. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Cardiac surprise........revisited.....
As I mentioned yesterday I have tried to load the video up on the blog but there is a roadblock so to speak. Haven't figured it out yet, but in trying to remove my efforts to upload it, I thought I deleted all 426 entries on my blog. Almost jumped out of my skin......That would be disastrous for me.....but it all is safe now....life goes on and I'll keep trying to get it on the blog. Not a rocket scientist....
Try to go to this site to see the video that has kept me stumped....maybe I found the key....
https://youtu.be/SWaJwSrtIFM
Copy the address and place it in your search window and go for it....
It worked !!!! Copy the address, place it in your search engine window and hit enter.
Shazaaammmmm !
This looks like it may be the start to something new as far as direction for me is concerned for me.
Even while trying to get it on the net I've been thinking of other areas where I can make it work with some degree of mystery and thought.
Try to go to this site to see the video that has kept me stumped....maybe I found the key....
https://youtu.be/SWaJwSrtIFM
Copy the address and place it in your search window and go for it....
It worked !!!! Copy the address, place it in your search engine window and hit enter.
Shazaaammmmm !
This looks like it may be the start to something new as far as direction for me is concerned for me.
Even while trying to get it on the net I've been thinking of other areas where I can make it work with some degree of mystery and thought.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Started to play with some video thoughts.......
On occasion I have been lucky to produce video productions for clients and it's been a gas. Great time but it is not just a matter of grabbing a camera and shooting the "video" then editing from there. I always start from a storyboard. then scripting, then shooting, THEN editing. I have had clients that bucked at the process but that is the only way I will do it. By trying to edit from raw unthought out sequences will always leave you with images that are not enough or just unless material. Let me explain the process.
A Storyboard.
I generally do this with the client after a walk through of the needs and desired result of the production. I make an outline of our conversation and then take out my "storyboard. A storyboard in nothing more than pages with what looks like empty TV screens on them, generally three to a page. The screens are on the right of the page and I have a column of scripting lines on the left side of the page across from the "screens. I first establish the words for the script on the left then in the screen on the right I draw what I perceive as the "action". You don't have to be Norman Rockwell to draw what you want. Stick figures work for me. Within the boxes I can draw in a primary shot, on the next, a close up of work being done, whatever the script calls for. When it is time to change the scene I place a dissolve in the next box and proceed to the next scene. This gives me a "road map" for the future edition processes i will have to do as well as a logical map for the scripting that follows it.
Editing
The editing process takes a bunch of time that many client don't understand. Having a storyboard cuts the time down and also eliminates un-shot scenes that are in the script. The editing requires a very long time trimming the shots to get them to fit the script, sometimes adjustments to lighting and color balances, and of course any text that needs to be added to the video. It really sucks up the time.
Music
Sometimes music or narration needs to be added which takes a bit more of a challenge. Any recorded music is copyright protected such as music on albums, Pandora, virtually any source. I am very lucky as I have two very talented musician nephews that create my original sounds for my videos, Tim and Andy Putnam. They are true lifesavers and both located in Nashville.
Narration
The narration is another issue that needs to be solved. I generally will go to a radio station and have the "voice" record the audio there and then edit it in my studio. In the editing process there is a "timeline" that visually lays down the sequences of the scenes on the computer screen as well as the audio lines below it. I can then place the narration where it needs to go as well as the music which is on another line below the audio. On these lines I can also vary the volume of both lines as is appropriate for the situation.
The Final edit
The final edit is critical to the success of the video. In this stage you can tighten up the production and shorten sequences if necessary, and add time if needed to spots in the sequences. I have found that any video for commercial clients, generally speaking, a three to four minute duration is about the max you can hold an audience. Of course this isn't a solid rule all of the time. The longest video I've produced was for a Hospital which ran two storylines concerning patient successes within the hospital which lasted 14 minutes. Hugely successful video, the audience loved it. I produced one for the city of Carthage, Mo. that was 11 minutes long and took a year to produce as we covered the town in four seasons. A very fun video which won an First Place award at a National Chamber of Commerce meeting in Orlando Florida.
I have been thinking of a sequence I would like to produce for over a week and Sunday I figured I'd give it a shot. It was exactly what I wanted as a finished produce....maybe music later....haven't given that issue much thought. As soon as I figure out how to get it on the blog I'll include it. I'm not a rocket scientist......
A Storyboard.
I generally do this with the client after a walk through of the needs and desired result of the production. I make an outline of our conversation and then take out my "storyboard. A storyboard in nothing more than pages with what looks like empty TV screens on them, generally three to a page. The screens are on the right of the page and I have a column of scripting lines on the left side of the page across from the "screens. I first establish the words for the script on the left then in the screen on the right I draw what I perceive as the "action". You don't have to be Norman Rockwell to draw what you want. Stick figures work for me. Within the boxes I can draw in a primary shot, on the next, a close up of work being done, whatever the script calls for. When it is time to change the scene I place a dissolve in the next box and proceed to the next scene. This gives me a "road map" for the future edition processes i will have to do as well as a logical map for the scripting that follows it.
Editing
The editing process takes a bunch of time that many client don't understand. Having a storyboard cuts the time down and also eliminates un-shot scenes that are in the script. The editing requires a very long time trimming the shots to get them to fit the script, sometimes adjustments to lighting and color balances, and of course any text that needs to be added to the video. It really sucks up the time.
Music
Sometimes music or narration needs to be added which takes a bit more of a challenge. Any recorded music is copyright protected such as music on albums, Pandora, virtually any source. I am very lucky as I have two very talented musician nephews that create my original sounds for my videos, Tim and Andy Putnam. They are true lifesavers and both located in Nashville.
Narration
The narration is another issue that needs to be solved. I generally will go to a radio station and have the "voice" record the audio there and then edit it in my studio. In the editing process there is a "timeline" that visually lays down the sequences of the scenes on the computer screen as well as the audio lines below it. I can then place the narration where it needs to go as well as the music which is on another line below the audio. On these lines I can also vary the volume of both lines as is appropriate for the situation.
The Final edit
The final edit is critical to the success of the video. In this stage you can tighten up the production and shorten sequences if necessary, and add time if needed to spots in the sequences. I have found that any video for commercial clients, generally speaking, a three to four minute duration is about the max you can hold an audience. Of course this isn't a solid rule all of the time. The longest video I've produced was for a Hospital which ran two storylines concerning patient successes within the hospital which lasted 14 minutes. Hugely successful video, the audience loved it. I produced one for the city of Carthage, Mo. that was 11 minutes long and took a year to produce as we covered the town in four seasons. A very fun video which won an First Place award at a National Chamber of Commerce meeting in Orlando Florida.
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