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Why you could really use my services.
Simply stated, hours of vacation or wedding video is hard to watch:
Anyone with a video camera knows that the temptation to take a LOT of video is overwhelming. We bring along many spare tapes and batteries because we're afraid we're going to miss something important. Then we get home just to discover that we've taken 4 hours of raw footage which, as you know, is nearly impossible to watch. We want to show our neighbors, family and friends our great vacation or our daughter's wedding, but we know that in order to maintain their interest, we're going to have to do a LOT of fast-forwarding and explaining of certain scenes. We perpetually pause the video so we can "set up" these scenes. This simply frustrates our viewers and makes them want to leave even quicker. They start looking at their watches and making up excuses why they can't stay. I will make it my personal mission to turn your 2-4 hours of raw video footage into 10-30 minutes of fabulous, entertaining, interesting, easy-to-watch video.
So you purchased a Mac and video editing software so you can edit your home video:
The Mac sales person showed you how fun and easy it is to create videos with your new PowerMac©, but forgot to mention that it will take literally dozens of hours of editing and rendering to turn out a professional looking DVD. So now the problem is, where will you get the time to edit this video!? I have produced many videos over the last 5 years both professionally and for my own pleasure. Anyone who has produced (or tried to produce) a video knows that, even with the best tools, video editing takes hours and hours. It is not uncommon for me to take 50-100 hours to turn raw footage into a funny, entertaining, polished production. Nobody has that kind of spare time or interest.
Why I have the time and why you should hire me:
This year (2008) I decided I would persue purely entreprenurial endeavors (read: no "regular" job). This allows me time to take my time to meticulously produce your vacation or wedding video. I am a consumate perfectionist and really enjoy the art of editing video. My emphasis is on emotion. My videos ALWAYS evoke emotion, whether it be laughter or tears.
My qualifications:
I'm not one of those guys that went out and purchased $5,000.00 worth of video editing equipment to persue my "dream" as a video editor. Video editing is a skill I developed by producing dozens of videos (some early ones were pretty bad). I have been a professional cameraman, working for both Channel 7 KOAT T.V. and ESPN. So I understand camera angles and what looks "natural" and what doesn't. I work in the film industry as a
Set Lighting Technician,
so I understand lighting. I also own my own
sound company,
so I not only understand the importantance of good audio, but I also know how to mix audio for optimal results. Poor audio is one of the worst production culprits in home video. Nobody can fix a distorted audio recording, but I can massage levels and augment audio tracks to elimate annoyances like loud crashes, loud voices, or inaudible comments. Nobody ever notices good audio. But you can bet your paycheck they'll notice bad audio.
What I need from you and what I give back:
All I need from you is your raw video footage. An outline or synopsis of what you would like your final DVD to look like can be helpful, but is not necessary. I will edit your video with a third-party persepective. I will show no bias to any particular subject, but will paint an overall excellent picture based on the raw footage given to me. If there is any subject that is of importance to you that might not be interesting to third parties, you can make notes so that I can make sure the subject YOU hold dear makes it into the final production.
What I will return to you is a DVD (with a menu system if you wish) in a DVD-R format (the most popular format). I will make up to 3 copies for free. Subsequent copies can be made for a small fee. I will store your DVD in an archive that will allow me to make copies further down the road. Before I burn final copies of your DVD, I can provide an interim DVD for your viewing discretion. You make notes of any changes you would like made and I'll make the changes. This insures your final video is exactly what you want it to be.
Extra services I can provide:
Many times we make a video and then wish we had made a comment during a certain scene or situation. I can record your comments and edit them into the video. In some cases I can make the comments sound like they were made during the initial taping for a more natural feel.
I almost always add background music to videos to help set the mood. If you have a special song you would like to see in your wedding or vacation video, I'll be more than happy to make it part of the background music.
If you have still pictures, I can add a still picture presentation at the end, beginning, or middle of your video. Adding a pictoral presentation at the end of a wedding video has been a very popular option.
I can add sound effects like background laughter or tires squealing or a Harley taking off. The possibilities are ALMOST limitless. We can even record our own sound effects if you wish.
I offer many options to make your video available via the World Wide Web. I have my own web server with a 1 Mbps upload capability. I can make available LARGE, high-resolution versions of your video, or more download-friendly medium or low-resolution versions of your video. I can even make streaming versions of your video available via youtube.com.
Here are some examples of my work - .wmv files
This first video is a simple vacation video. Please be aware that, since this is a personal video, some portions of this video is rated "PG." 95% of this video is rated G.
Facts about this video:
Video is 41 minutes long (probably too long).
It was derived from over 3 hours of raw footage.
I shot 99% of the raw footage.
The entire video file is almost 200 Mb.
This video was shot in "Widescreen" format, so it will probably look enlongated on your monitor since Windows Media Player isn't smart enough to recognize the Widescreen format.
The intended audience is the group of friends that went on this trip.
The first 24 seconds shows the DVD menu.
Camping at the Gila.
This next video was done for the Montebello Senior Living community's 20 year anniversary. The entire video is rated G.
Facts about this video:
Video is 25 minutes, 30 seconds long.
It was derived from about 1 hour of raw footage.
I shot 100% of the raw footage.
The entire video file is a little over 105 Mb.
This video was shot in "Fullscreen" format, so it will look normal on your monitor.
The intended audience is employees and residence of the Montebello and their friends and family members.
This video includes a DVD menu system, which I chose to not show in this clip.
Montebello 20 year anniversary video.
Pricing
My pricing concept is pretty simple:
I charge $20.00 an hour for my services. Expect your video production to take 50-100 hours. The clock starts when I start moving your raw video footage to my hard drive (assuming you simply drop off the raw footage) or if I go to your house to view the raw footage and talk about what you want. The clock stops when the finished DVD pops out of my DVD burner.
The first 3 DVD's are free. I can make subsequent copies for $10.00 each. Time-wise, DVD copies are a 1 to 1 ratio. So a 30 minutes video usually takes about 30 minutes to copy.
I can make your video available on-line in either high, medium or low-resolution formats for $.20 per megabyte per day. Video files take up a LOT of space on my web-server. This is the reason for the fee. I can set your video up as streaming video or simply as a large file available for download. You will need broadband to access these files.
I can upload your video to another web server or file server for $.20 per megabyte. Because uploading large files will monopolize my web server for hours, upload will occur during the wee hours of the morning.
I will consider the following equipment for trade:
Video equipment like prosumer-grade cameras
Audio equipment like Allen and Heath mixing consoles, dbx compression units, QSC power amps (Powerlight series only)
Computer equipment like higher-end duo or quad core systems or a G5 Dual Core PowerMac.
Final Cut Pro video editing software.
A smaller, four-wheel-drive wagon like a 1990 or newer Outback
Final thought
Over the last decade I have spent many hours recording raw video footage. I have produced dozens of videos over the years with nary a disatisfied customer. I have video production down to a science. I know what's interesting and what's not. I've learned the "dicipline" of video editing. It's not easy leaving hours of video on the editing room floor, but it's even more difficult watching hours of uninteresting video. It is my goal to return to you a video production you can be proud to show anyone for the rest of your life.
This page is up as of March 30, 2007 - 12:30:PM.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, or need a video engineer that can unlock the full potential of your wedding or vacation videos, please...
...e'mail me
Or leave a message for Donnie at: 505-271-6880
Digital pager: 505-857-7751
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All pictures & material Copyright © 2008 Donnie Frank
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