It’s hard to believe, but The Blair Witch Project just turned 11 years old. I was fortunate to see it in a packed movie theater in July 1999–ironically, in one of the Ritz Theaters in Philadelphia on opening weekend. It’s hard to believe now, but even with the film’s amazing web presence, it still only opened in limited release in art-house theaters like the Ritz. I’m not a horror movie fan–I admit to covering my eyes a few times–and days later, I was still completely freaked out by the final scene of the guy standing in the corner.
But whether you’re a horror fan or not, Blair Witch is still a great example of thinking outside the box. The filmmakers proved that anyone can make a film, movie, or video and find success. You don’t have to be limited to the traditional Hollywood system. And this was before the launch of YouTube!
Here’s what the Blair Witch filmmakers had going for them:
– No money. The movie was made for $30,000-$50,000.
– No script. Much of Blair Witch was improvised.
– No known actors. No known director or producer either.
– No actual film. Much of the movie was shot on good old videotape.
– No connections. The movie had no development or release deals when it was made.
And yet these folks definitely had a few other tools that were more ephemeral: drive, ambition, and creativity. Long before the days of Facebook and Twitter, they realized the power of the one thing they did have: the Internet. So they set up an online campaign to propagate the idea of the Blair Witch throughout the atmosphere of the web–months before the movie was available to the public. They created their own demand. All of a sudden, the same distributors who rejected The Blair Witch Project over and over were clamoring to release this buzzy movie.
So remember: whenever you feel like you’re up against a huge obstacle–whether in video or anything in life–think of The Blair Witch Project. All you need are ingenuity and motivation! Here’s the original trailer from 1999.
Nothing’s worse than discovering you accidentally taped over important video footage! Luckily, all video tape formats have a way to avoid this calamity: the “record protect” switch or tab. You only need to record over a prize moment once to use this feature obsessively!
On 8mm and Mini DV tapes, this protection comes in the form of a small “rec/save” switch on the opposite side of the cassette from the tape. (See photo at right.) This switch can be moved back and forth at will, so as soon as you finish filming, make sure you move it into place.
On VHS and VHS-C tapes, there is no switch, but a small plastic tab that’s attached to the cassette shell. Usually, a screwdriver works well to break the tab off. Keep in mind, though, that unlike the mini-tapes’ switch, VHS tab removal is once and done. As soon as the tab is snapped off, the tape can no longer be used for recording, only playback. (However, a small piece of tape can be used to cover the hole if you need to re-use the tape.)
And just so you know, Timeless DVD NEVER tapes over any of your footage when we transfer from your tape to DVD!
Although James Cameron would like us to believe otherwise, 3-D is nothing new. In the mid-1800s, a craze called 3-D stereoscopic photography swept the nation. Granted, this wasn’t video, but to average folks in 1850, it was the closest thing.
Stereoscopic photo cards are viewed through a device called a stereoscope. The card, which is placed inside the viewer, contains two side-by-side photos that appear to be the same photo–but aren’t. When the photos on the card were taken, the camera was moved slightly to the left or right, resulting in two slightly different images. When you look at the card through a stereoscope, each of your eyes sees a separate image, which results in your brain interpreting a 3-dimensional scene.
A stereoscope is used extensively in the movie The Blue Lagoon, which takes place in the mid-1800s. And yes, ’80s children, a Viewmaster is an obvious descendant!
Recently, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a fascinating story about stereoscopic photography and Queen’s guitarist, Brian May, who is an avid fan. Check it out, along with classic stereoscopic shots, on the Inquirerwebsite.
Even in this age of memory cards and digital media, many of our customers still use tape-based camcorders for home video – even older formats such as VHS-C and Hi8. And while new VCRs are harder and harder to find as well, VHS tape is still the easiest way to record a TV program and share it with family and friends.
We are often asked, “Which brand of video tape is the best?” Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. But the good news is that the range of quality between the best and worst tapes made by major manufacturers is minimal. Most major-brand video tapes produce similar video quality and provide a better picture than a consumer VCR can record or play back. (This is why Timeless DVD uses professional broadcast decks to convert video.)
With that said, the best advice we can give is to buy the highest “grade” possible. Most tape manufacturers produce tape lines that include grades ranging from standard/consumer to professional/broadcast. The pro or broadcast tapes will usually feature excellent particle density, a durable magnetic coating, a strong binder, and good head lubricant. These are the ones you want, since they will perform the best in your VCR or camcorder and last the longest.
Whatever you do, avoid discount or generic tapes. Video tapes that are cheaper or created by unknown media companies are less robust and more likely to break.
What’s the difference between a video that looks professional and one that screams “amateur”? You might think that filming technique and editing style are the main considerations. But the easiest way to instantly raise the quality of your home video lies in your camcorder settings and how you choose to employ them.
Tally Light
Try an experiment: press the record button on your camcorder. Then turn the camcorder around so it’s facing you. See that little red light? This is called the tally light. Something about this tiny red light makes most people incredibly self-conscious when they’re being filmed!
Fortunately, nearly every camcorder includes the option of turning the tally light off. Your subjects will be far more comfortable and relaxed without that red light glaring. Remember, the less obtrusive you are as a videographer, the more natural your footage will be. Eliminating the tally light is an important step in this direction.
Date and Time Stamp
The date and time stamp is a setting that records the current date and time at the bottom of the video picture. On analog video cameras, such as those using VHS-C and 8mm video tape formats, the date and time stamp is permanently burned into the picture. (By comparison, a digital camcorder records date and time information on a separate, removable video track.)
Many people like to use the date and time stamp because it makes it easier to keep track of when a video was shot. But a permanent stamp looks horrible, whether you are watching raw footage or a carefully edited movie. Turn the stamp off, and mark the tape label with the date instead.
Digital Zoom
All camcorders have an optical zoom, which is a physical function of the lens. However, many camera manufacturers also advertise a “digital zoom,” which seemingly offers zoom lengths far beyond the capabilities of the optical zoom.
Digital zoom is simply a software program in the camcorder that interpolates existing pixels in order to enlarge the image. As such, digital zoom is nothing more than marketing hype, since the image it creates is fake. And moreover, a digitally-zoomed image looks terribly pixilated.
Thus, always ensure that the digital zoom setting in your camcorder is turned off. “Off” is usually the default setting, but it doesn’t hurt to check. If you need to zoom closer than the optical lens allows, move your feet instead.
The Built-In Microphone
While most camcorders have top-notch lenses, most only possess a tiny, low-power microphone. Fortunately, most video cameras also include an audio input, which enables you to attach an external microphone and gain better sound.
A shotgun microphone, which mounts on a camcorder’s accessory shoe, is the best option for consumer camcorders. This type of microphone can make a world of difference in your audio. Just keep in mind that shotgun mikes are extremely directional. They’re great for boosting a single, stable audio source, such as bands playing on a stage or a speaker giving a presentation. But they are not as useful for capturing well-rounded audio in a roomful of people.
Special Effects
In the 1990s, manufacturers began releasing camcorders that could shoot in negative, sepia tones, psychedelic colors, and many other unusual effects. Today’s video cameras have these same special effects and many more. Unfortunately, if you use these settings while you are filming, your video is stuck that way…forever.
Conversely, if you shoot video normally, you can easily add special effects in any video editing program. Your software will also have more effects options than your camcorder offers. So shoot without the special effects–you’ll be glad you did!
Recording Quality
Every video camera has the option of recording video in a high quality mode (SP or XP) and lower-quality modes (usually called LP or EP). SP and XP always provide the best picture quality. However, many amateur videographers often switch to a lower-quality recording mode in order to fit more footage on a tape or Flash memory card.
This is a mistake. LP, EP, and similar modes record video at significantly poorer quality. If you use them, you will regret your choice when you watch your video in the future. In addition, video recorded on tape at LP or EP speeds is tougher to convert to DVD because it is harder to track and requires more complex compression.
Buy a few extra video tapes or more Flash memory, and use the highest-quality setting on your video camera. A few extra bucks spent on an additional tape or card is far better than an entire blurry or pixilated video.
Setting up a camcorder and operating it correctly is half the battle to creating watchable video. Take the above tips into account, and you’ll be well ahead of most amateur videographers!
In part one of this lesson, we discussed adding backgrounds to title screens. Today we’re going to get into the real meat: the actual text.
First, though, we need to address the “title safe” area of the screen. On most televisions, a frame overlaps the edge of the actual screen. For this reason, the very edge of the screen is not visible to viewers. So when you set up a title, you have to be careful to position your text so it is not cut off. To help with this, most video editing programs have a setting called “title safe,” which positions an overlay on the screen that shows how far you should keep your text inside the edges. We recommend turning on the title safe overlay whenever you are working with on-screen text.
Now, on to the text itself! Most titles are comprised of at least three different layers: the primary text, the drop shadow, and effects. A good rule of thumb is that every title should have at least these three layers; you generally won’t see Hollywood productions with fewer.
1. Primary Text Primary text is the actual text that you read. Every title has this layer, if nothing else. The most important thing to remember is to keep it legible. And select a font that is not only easy to read on-screen, but is also appropriate for the movie. For example, you wouldn’t use an Old English/calligraphic font for a sports program, nor would you use an ultra-modern/techno font for a wedding video. At right, the title screen for the movie The Brothers Grimm displays an excellent choice of font, which is both appropriate for the movie’s theme as well as very legible.
Most primary text lines are white, but other colors can be used as well. Just keep in mind the psychological connotations that colors convey. Blue implies coolness, and works well for modern or sci-fi styles. Yellow and red can convey heat or anger. And only use black or very dark colors when your background is very pale–otherwise, your viewers won’t be able to read the text.
2. Drop Shadow A drop shadow is exactly what it sounds like: a shadow version of your primary text, positioned slightly off to one side. A drop shadow helps to make your primary text more readable across a variety of video backgrounds. They work best with white or light-colored primary text. Sometimes a drop shadow is slightly blurred, but stronger, harder drop shadows are often used in video work as well. Take a look at professional programs on television–you’ll catch a drop shadow on almost every line of text you see. The title screen for Before Sunset in particular is a great example of effective use of drop shadow.
3. Effects The third and final layer, effects, is the newest and most expendable (if necessary). Like the drop shadow, effect text is identical to the primary text, but adds some form of special effect to the title. A common example is a vertical blur, which gives the impression of the text being stretched vertically. Another type of effect is moving color or gradient; imagine the color of the title slowly fading from one color to another over the span of a few seconds. The title for Monster House shows how a 3-D effect was added to the text in order to give the title extreme depth. This style works well to convey the notion of the “monster” in the title.
Another way to add a special effect to your title is through motion. This isn’t a text layer, but rather a setting that is adjusted in the software program’s keyframe options. For instance, your title might push in from the side of the picture and center itself on the screen, slowly blur and disappear, or expand via the tracking controls until all the individual characters have moved off the screen. Your software program may even have templates that automatically set up actions for text.
Working with titles can be one of the most fun aspects of video editing. Just make sure your text is readable, and innovate from there!
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to learn expensive, complicated video editing software in order to create an awesome video production. These days, even basic programs like iMovie can produce amazingly impressive results. The key is you: how you use the tools that the software gives you.
Part of this blog’s goal is to help our customers who transfer video tapes to AVI or MOV files to create beautifully-edited videos. So today we’re going to begin at the beginning: with the title. Almost every movie or TV program opens with some kind of title that introduces the show at hand. And every software program out there is capable of producing some kind of title. All you need to know to begin making your own great-looking titles are a few key techniques.
In Part 1, we’re going to discuss the background. We’ll get to the actual text in our next post!
The Background of a Title Screen
All title text sits on a background of some kind. The easiest background to use is solid black, and many title screens–even in professional movies–use a black background. Woody Allen famously uses a solid black background and even the same font in almost every one of his movies! At right is the title screen from Annie Hall, which shows this style. The opening sequence of Lost also used text on a plain black screen.
Solid black works because the ideal background is not the focus of your title screen. The text is. But if you’re not sold on a solid black background, there are three basic types of video effects that can be used to create a title background as well. All three of these effects use actual video that plays underneath the title text.
1. Occlusion This includes blurring the video, distorting the video, or adding a special effect such as scratches, grain, or dust. The 2007 Jodie Foster movie The Brave One used a blurred background for its opening credits (shown at right). Other recent movies to use an occlusion technique for their titles include Blood Diamond and The American President.
2. Color
This includes tinting the video picture or throwing the contrast out of whack. For example, the opening titles for the 2004 movie In Good Company used a gold-tinted shot of New York City (shown at right). Many other movies will either over-whiten or over-darken a picture in order to make light or dark text stand out effectively.
3. Speed
As you might expect, this includes speeding up or slowing down the video. It’s a little hard to find a screenshot that shows this technique adequately! But for a good example, take a look at the ending of Dirty Dancing, in which slow-motion, black-and-white movie footage runs behind the end credits.
Now comes the fun part: experimentation! Try these techniques with your video background, and see what your video editing software offers. It shouldn’t take too long for you to find some backgrounds that inspire you to exclaim: “Hey, that’s looks awesome!”
And check back here in a few days for Part 2 of this lesson: the text!
The golden age of DVD is over–at least where Hollywood is concerned. DVD sales have been dropping on a yearly basis, and the rise of Blu-Ray and streaming video have not come close to making up the missing revenues. However, a few days ago, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report claiming that the state of packaged media is actually not as dire as everyone thinks.
The report predicts that by 2014, consumer spending on all movie outlets–including theater tickets, DVDs, Blu-Rays, and more–will grow to a record $107 billion. (Spending is currently at $85 billion per year.) Pretty impressive, eh? PricewaterhouseCoopers further states that 3D revenue is expected to boost theater attendance, and Blu-Ray growth, short theater-to-DVD timeframes, and low-price Redbox-style rentals will all invigorate home video. Even DVD sales are expected to begin rising–although the report also predicts that digital downloads of movies will triple from the current take of $364 million per year to $1.1 billion in 2014.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a very respected and reputable source, so it’s hard to discount what they say, even in the face of other evidence. But most home video analysts believe that regular movie sales, on DVD or Blu-Ray, are down by double digits, with TV shows on DVD selling poorly in particular. The current recession has much to do with this; spending on entertainment is often one of the first expenses to be cut in a household. And where television on DVD is concerned, most TV shows that people want have already been released on DVD, so they’ve already been purchased. So aside from new releases of recently-ended seasons, it only makes sense at this point in time that sales will slow.
If studios want consumers to purchase more DVDs or Blu-Rays, they have to give people what they want. For new releases of DVDs of movies or TV shows, it’s real, valuable extra features. Too many regular DVDs or TV on DVD sets just include the bare-bones movie or episodes these days–not enough for cash-strapped consumers to want to spend their hard-earned money on them. If that’s what you’re releasing, it better be at a seriously discounted price.
For Blu-Rays, what consumers want is the best video quality possible and truly better special features from what appeared on the original DVD releases. Again, this includes never-before-seen footage and documentaries–features that are of real interest to the fans of that particular movie. You have to give people a reason to re-buy films they already own on regular DVD! If the Blu-Ray transfer was simply created from an HD cable or satellite transmission, that’s not good enough for real quality Blu-Ray. And just adding quirky features to a Blu-Ray that allow you to check an actor’s IMDB listing or watch videos on your iPhone doesn’t cut it (especially when these features often crash your Blu-Ray player at the same time). Nobody buys a Blu-Ray for the interactive features. If you choose to buy a Blu-Ray player and re-purchase your favorite films on Blu-Ray discs (for $35 a pop), you want to see your flicks in the best picture and sound possible.
In this economy, people are renting movies from Netflix and Redbox, or streaming them, or simply watching their good old purchased DVDs. That is why sales have been flat. It’s good news that PricewaterhouseCoopers thinks that sales will improve, because that’s a hint that the economy may be improving as well over the next five years. But if studios want sales to really pick up, they should pay attention to what customers really want from their TV on DVD and Blu-Rays. Then maybe they’ll see an upswing that has nothing whatsoever to do with the current economy.
All it takes is a hurricane, unexpected flooding, or month of solid rain, and your house can easily experience significant water issues. What do you do if your video tapes are a casualty of water damage? It actually doesn’t have to mean the video is lost forever–even if the tapes were completely submerged. But if your tapes are exposed to water, here are some pointers to keep in mind.
First, whatever you do, don’t play the tapes in your VCR! Playing wet or water-damaged tapes can further damage the tape, and more importantly, permanently ruin your VCR.
When you see that your tapes have water damage, move quickly. The longer the tapes sit in a damaged state, the worse the deterioration can become. Get the tapes transferred to DVD as soon as you can. We advise finding a video restoration service that specializes in handling environmentally-damaged tapes, since these folks will have the experience to repair and transfer your tape correctly. One such service is Video Interchange.
If you prefer to handle the transfer yourself (again: not recommended!), here’s what to do. First, if the tapes are still wet, submerge them into distilled water. This will wash any contaminants, such as chlorine, salt, or sewage, off the tapes. If the tapes have dried, skip this step–it’s best to not make dry tapes wet again.
To dry out a tape–either after the actual damage or the distilled water bath–extract the reels of tape from the cassette and place them in a cool, dark location. Ensure that the place also has good air flow; an oscillating fan can help with this. Don’t use any drying method involving heat (such as a hair dryer), since excess heat will cause tape to warp. When the tape is fully dried, replace the reels in the shell and try it out in the VCR. (Carefully!)
And one final note: analog tapes, such as VHS, usually survive water damage better than digital tapes, such as Mini DV.
Water damage to tapes is definitely a scary thing! But the good news is that a video transfer can usually be made from the tapes, preserving their essential video content.
Most of us just use our video cameras to shoot important life events: Christmas, birthdays, graduation ceremonies. But have you ever thought of using your camcorder to tell a story about an unusual part of your life–something that might stir your interest and passions in a unique way?
That’s exactly what Noriko and Don Carroll did. One day, the Carrolls discovered that a hummingbird had built a nest on their clothesline. The Carrolls were fascinated with their new resident, and were inspired to set out on a three-year commitment to film and edit a story of hummingbirds. The result, First Flight: A Mother Hummingbird’s Story, is now an award-winning documentary and book.
You never know what little story in your everyday life might become something incredibly meaningful and memorable. Visit www.hummingbirdstory.com, and watch the documentary’s trailer below.
The Timeless DVD Blog covers video transfer, movies, technology, DVDs, VCRs, and much more. It is written by Jennica Musselman, the owner of Timeless DVD. We welcome relevant comments on our posts!
