Quote: LVcambot says:
I watched the Mcmanus video.
It was great to see a tripod in the second video interview with Mike.
(* I only did one interview with Michael, the other stuff at the cast table was just live and unscripted stuff*)
But I swear.. The first video the camera was shaking like crazy.
(*Well I was being jostled by about 200 fans passing by the table and there was no room to shoot.. Not exactly ideal circumstances, consider it combat filming. *)
With these events you need a camera that has optical image stabilization. These days with everybody moving to HD.. you can get a good SD camera that will allow you a mic input and stabilization. Look on Ebay and get a used one. You can use a low cost wired mic that will give you fantastic results. Also white balance makes a big difference. Find the controls on your camera and set the white balance.
(*I'd have loved to be able to afford one, how about next time you can lend me yours? I used a Canon Elura 100, which ran about $400, and I did have a good remote mic, it cost me $100, on top of all my other expenses. . Michael actually blocked the interview shots himself. We didn't have a choice on where we shot or under what conditions and had no idea until the last minute where it would be. It was windy and loud and there were no acoustics working in our favor. Also, Michael was in a hurry to get it done because Xenia was alone at the tables..so if you have a problem with the setup and lighting, I'll pass it along to Michael since he blocked it for lighting himself..
*)
Look around at your local community college and take a course on how to use a video camera. I know you are a fan and doing this for the love of it. Please take the time to learn the basics of video cameras. That way your videos will look professional.
(*Well since I'm not a professional and not trying to make any money off this video, what's the point? I'm just doing this for fun..*)
You don't have to have your copyright graphic up throughout the whole interview. Put it up for a title card or fade it out after a short time.
(*Hey thanks for the tip, however I had someone else do the watermarks and I wanted it all the way through so the constant blinking in and out would not be distracting to the viewers. I've had problems with people swiping stuff and needed the copyright to be very visible.*)
It would have been nice to see a few close ups of Brian and Michael.
(*I actually have bunches of them. I guess you missed the closeups of Michael at the cast table, and the zoom I did of him during the Lexx panel. I also uploaded tons of vidcaps of all of these at the Michael-McManus.com site...feel free to check out the Megacon pages, I have 6 of them filled with pics. I don't know how much closer I could have shot him without getting up his nostrils. *)
Once again.. a mic! The on camera mic is not good enough for Q&A. Also it might have been nice to add in text of the questions asked.. The audio was just muddy.
(*Well I USED a remote mic, but we didn't have a choice on where to set up, we didn't get a chance to see where we would be filming at all. The sound for the room sucked even in person. The closest we could get was off to the left side, and I had to jostle with 3 other photographers. We literally had 10 seconds to start rolling when we got there. Be thankful we got any audio at all. Last year's interviews were never released due to bad audio. As for the text, it would take a month to transcribe what they said and it would never fit on the screen of the video. Feel free to listen to it as many times as you would like and transcribe it for the fans. I'm sure they'd really appreciate your hard work.*)
If you are going to all the trouble to shoot this stuff.. take the next step to make it look professional.
Unquote:
(*Hey, not a professional, not trying to look like one...this is strictly just a fan video and I think it was fun making it. I don't have a problem with the way it turned out except I'd have liked more.
Well actually I do have more but you'll never see it.
But hey I suggest you can go to Timeless this year and show us all how a ' professional video should look, can't wait to see it !!
As for the cast members, all I can say is they were true professionals, they were delightful and informative and funny and made us all feel at home, and I thank them all for their time..*)
maya x