Midnine Productions

Protected: Client 16

Victor Garcia — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:11:32 +0000

Protected: Project – Revenge

Victor Garcia — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:54:01 +0000

Protected: EventDemos

Victor Garcia — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:27:38 +0000

Protected: Client 15

Victor Garcia — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:51:14 +0000

Protected: client14

Victor Garcia — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:50:31 +0000

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Victor Garcia — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:29:41 +0000

Protected: CLIENT12

Victor Garcia — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:32:47 +0000

We are crashing the Super Bowl this year!

Victor Garcia — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:29:07 +0000

Doritos is having a the Crash the Superbowl contest again this year and is bigger than ever. We decided to enter and see if we have what it takes to be at least on the top list and maybe win the big one; 1million bucks. Anyways I will let you be the judge.

Here is our entry:

Crank the crane!

Victor Garcia — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:38:41 +0000

Throughout cinema history, the crane has been an integral part of movie making. The crane is an instrument that, with out it, a film would not be complete. To show what I am talking about take a look at this video I made with my own crane.

[youtube buZS3o6j4jY]

The crane, also known as a jib, ads that perspective that you cannot achieved if you operate the camera with you hands and definitely not using a tripod alone. The jib operate like a see saw going up and down, and with sturdy support system, you can also go side to side and the camera movement possibilities are endless. The way the crane is configure is that at one end you have weights to counter balance of the camera that is on the other end of a long support beam. And in the middle, there is a support system such as a tripod (picture shown from CobraCranesUsa.com). Cranes come in different length for greater heights and made of heavy or light metals depending on the camera you are using. Cranes are great to get shots overlooking a crowd or to shot from a top perspective straight down. Several manufactures like Cobra Crane and Kressler Cranes will sell you an affordable crane from less than $300 and as much as a few thousand to even several hundred of thousands of dollars . With the competition being as is, you can navigate EBay and find a decent crane for under $200 that can hold a camera that weight about 10lb to 15lb. Also, if you are handing with a hammer, you can Google DIY jib/crane and you will find several video from people that were able to successfully build their own crane for very little money. So for you enthusiasts that want to add a very useful tool and upgrade the look of your videos, a crane might be the device you’ve been looking.

Tips On Hiring An Event Videographer

Victor Garcia — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:38:08 +0000

Shopping for a video production company to film your event can be tricky. People complain most about the quality of the video like “It’s too grainy” or “too dark” or “barely can hear what is being said”. These are the things you need to look at to avoid having this happen to you. Most event Videographers will have packages explaining what is included but most of the time the specifics of the equipment being used is not mentioned. Here are a few tips to help choose a videographer that is equipped to deliver a quality product.

o Ask about the camera- There is a miss conception that the bigger the camera the better video quality. The reality is that today’s pro level cameras are more advance and they come in different sizes. But, there are key differences between a pro level camera and the one you buy at your local retail store. A pro level camera is very sensitive to light and this is a good thing. Light is measured in LUX raging between 11 or higher and 1.5 or lower. The lower the number the better. Also, you may have heard of CCD or CMOS. This refers to the chip type inside the camera and they both have their pros and cons. The question is, how many they have inside the camera and what is the size of the chips? The normal setting would be 1/3 inch 3CCD or 3CMOS. They do make camera with even bigger chips like 1/2 inch but they also make them smaller like 1/4inch and smaller. The rule of thumb is the bigger the chip the better picture quality and 3 chips is standard on all pro level digital video cameras. Why 3? Each chip is made individually to handle one of the 3 major colors that make all other colors and they are RED, GREEN, and BLUE or also referred as RGB. Having 1 chip means that all colors are handled by that 1 chip and that is mostly found on consumer level video cameras. An example of all this gibberish is my personal Video camera. I have a 1/3 inch 3CMOS Sony HVR-Z7U which has a light sensitivity rating of 1.5 LUX. Now in days, there are consumer cameras that have 1/3inch 3chips systems inside but usually lack some or even all pro level features like a pro lens with rings that the Videographer can control exposure, zoom, and focus on the fly. It can also lack white balance control, shutter control, gain control, ND filters, and microphone inputs. If you like to see HD quality sample of videos made with 1 or 3 chips visit www.vimeo.com and you can also type in the camera models in the search box and see samples for different camera as well. The people that upload videos to this site usually write in the description what camera they used to make the video. Also visit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/1881/Professional_Camcorders_Pro_Camcorders_ENG_.html and see what pro level cameras are being sold today and take time to read the reviews to see what people are saying about a particular camera.

o Lighting- Sometimes having a camera that is sensitive to light is not enough. The camera needs some assistance and that is through an on camera video light. Of course, the brighter the light the better. But the question is how much battery time? Usually portable lights are very power hungry and pro Videographers should have hours and hours of batteries time if needed. You don’t want to have a Videographer start to film in a low light situation and come up to you and say “Sorry I ran out of juice” Oooo outch! o Microphone. There is a difference between on camera microphone and a separate microphone. The on camera microphone may be good enough but it will, most likely, catch more ambient noise, anybody talking that is close to the camera and any other noise that is between the camera and what is being said. This may be acceptable to you. The alternative is to have a separate microphone away from the camera and closer to the person. That way, there is less ambient noise and any sound between the camera and the person speaking will be minimized greatly.

o HD vs. SD- Videographers will offer to shoot your event in HD or High Definition quality, and that is a good thing, but unless you tell them you want a blue-ray disc you will not get HD. I am not saying that SD or Standard Definition is bad. Is actually normal and you experience it all the time when you watch a DVD movie. Now in days, you can buy DVD players that can up-convert your DVD movie to an HD signal if you have an HD ready TV. The reason why Videographers shoot in HD is that the quality is so great that down converting it to SD does not affect the picture at all. Just be aware, the Videographer may shoot in HD but most likely give you an SD DVD disc. If you want a blue-ray disc, which is a full HD format, ask your Videographer if they offer that service.

I hope these tips may help you understand how to better shop for a Videographer. If you looking to film your event that means it is important and whoever you hire to film it should understand that and make it important to them too. Written by Victor Garcia – Midnine Productions, LLC