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Solved Greetings one and all

  • kobo
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Greetings one and all was created by kobo

Posted 03 Aug 2014 07:33 #1
Just discovered the site by way of some of your youtube videos.

I have been playing with film cameras for quite a while, vacation stuff, but the only real editing I ever did was way back when I used Super8 movie cameras; when a razor blade and clear tape would suffice in a pinch....things have changed a bit.

I later evolved to a VHS camera, followed by High8, different generations of the Sony DCR-TRV Digital8's, then a much smaller Panasonic Mini DV when a chronic elbow problem forced me to downsize my camera. Despite hundreds of hours of video tape I never got into editing because I really never had the hardware to reliably transfer the video to a computer.

Over the last few years, now that our two boys, 30 & 31, are grown, I have not really been videotaping too much, I have used the video feature of my digital cameras but nothing I felt compelled to splice together. Now though there is a new adventure on the horizon; my wife and I are in the process of adopting a child with special needs and I am looking forward to resurrecting the film bug in me.

With the cost of adoption being so freaking crazy my camera budget was limited so I only bought a basic handycam; it is a Sony HDR PJ350; kind of a cross between their PJ340 & PJ380 with 32GB of memory like the 380 but unfortunately no external audio input. What I really like though is that it has something that seems to be harder and harder to find on consumer grade cameras: threads to accept filters and such; I dont even see that feature in photos of either the 340 or 380. As someone who cared more about a wide angle lens over zoom power I always found myself having to add one to my cameras; although the native wide angle properties of this camera are pretty good so it looks like I might be able to do without adding one; none the less I will use the threads for a good UV/haze filter (my old ones fit!).

Since consumer grade tape cameras are going the way of the dinosaur this camera takes a card, which means importing just got a whole lot easier and I am looking forward to being able to edit again; really my favorite part of film making back in my Super8 camera days, and I have ordered the Movie Maker Platinum Suite 12 to help me accomplish that. I still dont have a powerhouse of a computer to work with for now; which will of course slow things down, but I will work on improving that in time.

Just watching a few videos of yours has peaked my interests; and I am hoping you and others will be able to assist me as I stumble through the learning curve.

Have a Magical Day


K
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Replied by DoctorZen on topic Greetings one and all

Posted 03 Aug 2014 16:17 #2
Hi Kobo and welcome to the Forum.

Thanks for your interesting story.
You don't always have to have the best equipment - learning how to get the most out of what you already have is the real secret to good video.
Many people buy expensive cameras and then leave them in Auto Mode.

If you buy a Analogue to Digital adapter (there are a large number to choose from), you could convert all your old movies into digital video. Then import the videos into Movie Studio Platinum - add some Colour Correction and do some general cleaning up - and then finally create a new montage of videos that can be burnt to DVD or Blu-ray disc. This is a great way to digitize and archive your entire video collection.

Regards
Derek :)
ℹī¸ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
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  • kobo
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Replied by kobo on topic Greetings one and all

Posted 04 Aug 2014 00:17 #3
Hello Derek, thank you for the warm welcome

DoctorZen wrote:
You don't always have to have the best equipment - learning how to get the most out of what you already have is the real secret to good video.


Absolutely; I have fond memories of improvising extensively to get the most out of my limited hardware, and budget. Back when I played with Super8 film cameras every shot had to count; you couldn't review your work (it took a week to get the film back) the rolls were only around 3 minute long & the cost of the film plus developing was expensive on a high school'ers wallet.


For a final project in a film making class I made a film about an interstellar ship returning back home to find a wasteland (this was still in the paranoia time called the 'cold war'). I built the 'Mother Ship' (Excalibur), and 3 different sizes of a shuttle craft (Genesis), from what scraps of plastic, metal or whatever I could find.

The three different sizes of the shuttle were for the purpose of perspective; a 3/4 inch version, a 2 1/2 inch version and a 10 inch one. The 3/4 inch one I filmed, single frame stop motion, moving on the deck of the Mother Ship as it prepared to disembark, the 2 1/2 version I had set up so I could slide it on clear fishing line, again filming single frame, in front of a wall I made of discarded lumber & wall paneling painted black with a hundred holes housing small Christmas lights.

The first stop was the moon and I built a 2x3 meter lunar landscape in the cellar of my home for the 10 inch version of the shuttle to land on. A humorous side note; the landscape was built using soil I discreetly dug from around our yard; sifted, made into a firm mud & then painstakingly etched to give it the form and character of the moons surface. The cellar was sometimes a bit damp and before I could film I had to check every inch of the set to make sure no grass or other plant had sprouted up since I last used it.

Because the handle extending from the bottom of the camera would have prevented it from sitting flush on the surface, to give a POV shot of the landing from inside the shuttle, I filmed the landing with the camera held upside down and pulling it slowly UP instead of setting it down; later in the editing process I turned that segment of the strip upside down and around, to keep the sprocket holes in the right place, to get the effect I wanted.

I smile at how easy it is to make a overlapping transition of scenes with the software on the computer; to get that with the Super8 film cartridges you had to use force to snap a internal lock in the cartridge that prevented it from going backwards, roll the film back a little, then film your next scene; creating a segment of double exposure.

DoctorZen wrote: Many people buy expensive cameras and then leave them in Auto Mode.



Yeah, most people really just need a camera with a big red button labeled "PHD" (Push Here Dummy). Either ego or a slick salesman get them to buy more than they really need.

DoctorZen wrote: If you buy a Analogue to Digital adapter (there are a large number to choose from), you could convert all your old movies into digital video. Then import the videos into Movie Studio Platinum - add some Colour Correction and do some general cleaning up - and then finally create a new montage of videos that can be burnt to DVD or Blu-ray disc. This is a great way to digitize and archive your entire video collection.


Yeah, hopefully that will come in time. Right now our best computer is this laptop I am using; a older Thinkpad x200 with a Centrino 2 vpro processor, 6gb RAM and a 240gb SSD; not a powerhouse, but I will either build or find something later when I can.

Thanks again for the warm welcome

K
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