Posts from — January 2007

A wedding is supposed to be one of the most memorable moments of your life. And with today’s technological advances, you will want to capture every moment of that special day.

There are several ways to go about filming a wedding. A bride can find a Panasonic nv gs400 or the latest review on digital camcorders online to get the best deal. Then, buy it and hire a friend or family member to record the ceremony. Next, they’d have to edit it themselves or have another friend do this for them. Or they could hire a professional. Wedding videography has become an international business.with it’s own offical association called WEVA (Wedding & Event Videographer Association).

According to WEVA, a wedding video could cost you from $1000 to even $10,000+ to make. They speak highly of the “digital revolution” that allows for the creation of quality DVDs. So when you hire a videographer, you are really hiring a skilled cameraman & editor to make the best record of your wedding.

Camcorders are very useful for other professions besides entertainment. A camcorder can be an essential teaching tool. Many schools and universities use camcorders in various methods. They are great to record events or experiments to be shown to a class. Or what I found to be very interesting is to use camcorders to record lectures and discussions.

Retire that old tape recorder and technologically update the classroom with video-taped lectures. At UCLA Medical School, they record lectures for resident medical students. They encourage the students to not miss a lecture, but if they do, there is a tape of the discussion. They even can post the lecture on the internet, making it more accessible. They can use a Panasonic PV GS300 or even a dvd camcorder to capture the essential details of a lecture. They don’t even need a cameraman since camcorders are so easy to use. All they need is to set-up the tripod and it’s ready to go.

PTA meetings, school plays, and school board meetings are other educational events that are recorded. The DCR SR80 is an excellent model to use if you are on a modest budget. It’s very compact so even the most non-technical teacher or volunteer could use it to tape a special event.

And online courses use camcorder recorded content to teach students. The camera can record a lecture or demonstration that is essential to the learning process. Not all things can be learned by reading or dialogue. Sometimes you need a visual and aural representation.

Sadly, camcorders are sometimes an investment that not all schools can make. And some professors don’t allow cameras or tape recorders. They believe in the traditional lecture and learning process. Still, camcorders are becoming more prevalent in our fast-paced world. They work well to provide a re-cap of events and lessons.

I have been researching camcorder technology from a straight narrative point of view. I know that camcorders work great to tell a story with actors, locations, & scripts. Or at the very least, camcorders are perfect for capturing real-life moments. Think school plays or sporting events.

But what about animated features? Plenty of people make amateur animated films. Several of my favorite TV shows are on cartoon network. Most of the Adult Swim programming seems to be very low-budget animation. Some of it is drawn, traditional animation. While others like “Robot Chicken” are made using stop-motion effects and digital camcorders. I don’t know which camcorders the show uses, but I’m sure it’s not a very expensive camera. Even a Sony Dcr Sr40 would work for most beginning animators. This show is not doing extreme claymation stunts or anything that requires tons of skill. And it has succeded because most of the humor comes from the dialogue & absurd character situations. It’s all about the writing and not the effects.

I found some suggestions and quick steps for animation with a camcorder. Mostly, you just need a camcorder with stop motion or “snapshot” capabilities. Or instead, you can just record one second of action with a regular camcorder. The rest of the work is done in post-production.

Today, people have expanded animation with the use of 3-D or CGI images. But there are still plenty of short films & shows done with more traditional animation skills.

After perusing the nominees, there weren’t too many surprises in there. Maybe Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) was a bit of a shock. Still, I am happy with most of the nods like Leo DiCaprio, Forrest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Scorsese, Pan’s Labyrinth etc. I’m sorta glad Dreamgirls got shut out of the Best Picture category. We don’t need another Chicago-type win. I wonder if it’s Marty’s year yet. But it’s not up to me, so who knows. My favorite movie of last year after The Departed was not even nominated for anything (The Fountain with Hugh Jackman & Rachel Weisz).

Most of the nominated films were shot on 35mm or at the very least 16mm. So even though camcorders compare in price to be the best deal, film still wins out. Borat was the only fictional movie shot on DV that received a nomination. And that was only for screenwriting! DV remains prevalent with the documentary category, but it’s not always the dominant format. An Inconvenient Truth used film, DV, and archive footage.

So for those Oscar hopefuls armed only with a panasonic gs200 digital camcorder, perhaps you should get involved in the documentary or short film community. Then, at least you would be on level playing ground. Camcorders are great devices because they can be used by almost anyone. An Oscar is the highest achievement in film that one can attain (besides financial success that is). It’s a unique gift and skill that the award is (supposed to be) recognizing.

I think we are a long way off from rewarding a movie shot on DV with a best picture nomination. The film community is just not ready for such a revolution of thinking. I believe most Oscar voters recognize that DV has it’s place in certain genres. But that’s about it.

Several movies, whether they were shot on 35mm or not, have behind the scenes segments on the dvds. HBO has an entire, “HBO: First Look” series that follows the production of major films. I just watched one the other day for Pan’s Labyrinth. These programs are just another marketing tool to promote the film. It helps build the hype and put the movie in the mind of the public. Most of these feature shorts are shot on digital camcorders.

The behind the scenes producer is sometimes the actual cameraman of the short. He/she just needs an affordable camera, like a Panasonic PV GS250, and access to the set. Most panasonic digital camcorders are easy to use and are very compact. So they work great on the set where they can quickly grab interviews without setting up tons of equipment. The producer simply hangs out on set, very similar to the idea of a set photographer, and shoots footage of interesting moments.

Other behind-the-scenes segments feature a certain aspect of the filmmaking process, such as the role of the composer or the special f/x team. These type of shorts are “extras” to add to the dvd release of the film.