Did I mention that I'm still alive?

Because this website doesn't show it.

Sorry about that.

I would promise to fix it soon, update more, etc ... but ....

LLC

Alright! It doesn't get much more official than this... I've been working in video for near to 7 years now and finally have done the 'grown up thing' and gotten my LLC, as well as started an official RBedford Productions, LLC bank account.

And since I now have the 7D:

Current WISH list:

1) This Timer for time lapse shooting. (Canon TC80N3)

2) This lens for zooming. (Canon EF 70-300 IS USM)

3) This ... dream. (A Philip Bloom Kessler Crane - Pocket Dolly)

4) Need to work out my mic solution; some type of decent wireless lav linked to an... H4N?

Current Project List:

1) Figure out what it takes to become an LLC in Bozeman, MT.

2) Figure out what small-business insurance looks like as an LLC in Bozeman, MT

3) Set up an FTP for uploading/downloading of footage (to & from clients)

4) Edit Sun Ranch videos taken thus far

5) Complete edit for Backpacking Light

6) Complete edit for gotoBilling

7) Edit Bedford wedding footage

8) Begin working on future shoot/edit with Jared Joyce - Inventor extra-ordinaire

9) Update and distribute a new demo reel

10) Begin learning more on audio sweetening

11) Update blog / work websites with new information/equipment/skills

... its a good list.

Canon 7D

Yeah. Got it. Also sold my Canon 50D for a decent price. Included my old zoom lens, so I'm sans zoom for the next little bit. I have my goal set for a GOOD zoom lens for this camera, as glass is so important to what I'll be doing with it.

Now I just need some projects to shoot!! I have one that I will be working on over the course of the next year, but I'm so busy at Vann's right now I hardly have time to breathe, much less travel for an hour to get to my videography project destination. :(

I'm not sure what my order of "kitting out" my camera will be. First will probably be an exceptional zoom lens, then some type of external audio recorder for sure (or at LEAST a little mic to use with it); I have a tripod available that is quite nice, albeit heavy. It'd be nice to have some type of glide-cam for it, I should look into the Philip Bloom pocket dolly... oh, nevermind, I just did and its $1k :-P

Anyway, its Christmas and life is busy! Hope you all have a great season.

Current Project

Tightly fit in between my full-time sales job, I have a couple video projects going.

1) Working on a ... documentary style shoot for a ranch in Southwestern Montana

2) Putting together web videos and possible DVDs for my friends at backpackinglight.com

3) Got to edit a little video that my workplace uses demonstrating the awesomeness of Panamax Powercenters. (we catch a regular surge protector [read: socket extender] on fire)


I'm hoping to be shooting a video this summer that could involve some hiking through a fairly remote area of Yellowstone Nat'l Park. This project has been a couple years in the making, so we'll see....


~rob

Helena, MT... eh?

Anyone hiring a Videographer / Editor? Or heck, even an Apple systems admin or something. I _DO_ have my ACTC.... ;-)

If you wanna see...

a project I got to work on, click here. I shot this awhile ago for use on their QVC special. The demo-video parts were shot with my HVX200. I didn't get to do any editing, just sent them the raw HD footage. And if you're wondering, yes, that's my wife that's using the Jackclamp to lift the couch and vacuuming! :)
Its a long-ish video though, mostly QVC in studio footage, of course, but my stuff is hidden in there!

~Rob

Quite a bit of electronics & goodies have come my way...

Electronic Goodies and Things for Sale!

Let me know if you see anything you're interested in. Prices are negotiable, of course, but I've tried to research everything to make sure that the price reflects a semi-fair used market.

Rob

Weddings:

Shot one, editing it a little bit. It turned into a surprise one-cam shoot, when it was supposed to be two. (Oops!) Thankfully I tend to over-shoot things and have some great footage that'll make this one-camera wedding look excellent!

QVC - BRoll Project.

Current work: QVC BRoll for jackclamp.com. Pretty sweet tool!

Also working on some pre-wedding video for a friend of mine in Spokane (short clips of 'how we met' similar to When Harry Met Sally). Finishing up on the drama sequence for Peacemaker's once JR sends me back the mastered audio! Basically I'll just be laying down the mastered audio and re-exporting at DVD quality. (OR something else, depending on what Mr. JR desires)

If you're in Spokane,

you should check out some of my friends there, specifically Mortimore Productions. I've been able to work with them on many occasions. Great people, Great video work! I'll be the first to admit that I've gotten much of my shot composition and set lighting skills from Dan Mortimore, the man behind the company.

I'll be heading back up to Spokane this wednesday for a week or so, to finish up on some personal projects in the area. I'll be taking my editing gear up with me so that I can finish a project I'm working on for Peacemaker Ministries. Its a drama production that's turning out quite well, and has been a blast to edit together.

I've been hearing rumours about a new FCP that may (or may not) be released when the new OS comes out, so I'm definitely wishing for that. I've also seen that Panasonic is releasing some much lower cost P2 cards, which is great. I love using the Firestore, but it's quite prohibitive in run-and-gun situations as the firewire cable is quite easy to unseat, thereby ruining whatever clip you were shooting. :(

Volunteer work

for the Special Olympics in Bozeman, MT. I'll be on the floor running one of the cameras for the opening ceremony.

ciao!

/rob

Still looking...

...for video work in Bozeman. I've dropped off my demo, gotten a couple nibbles but no big bites yet! I have a few possibilities next month (May) that are looking good. Both will involve some travel, but I'm definitely geared for that.

I've recently subscribed to TV Mole and Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis on advice from JR. They've had some advice on defining your idea and then presenting it to producers and backers. It seems like great advice for having all your ducks in a row before presenting ANY idea. There are also some help-wanted type ads, so I'm checking those constantly.

I'm hoping for a couple more Bozeman-area meetings this week that could lead to some work or at least to more networking.

During this down-time, I've been working on my After Effect skills through a couple websites that absolutely rock: Video Copilot and AE Tuts+. Both sites offer some great instructions on crazy-cool stuff and getting the most out of After Effects.

Distribution

Currently researching distribution strategies for feature length (108min) video. Documentary style, shooting in HD aiming towards end product being viable for blu-ray.

Any good 'sites I should know about?

The Camera behind the production:

Currently Using:

Panasonic HVX200
$6,310 list price

what I wish I used:

Panasonic HPX500 (interchangeable lenses and 4 p2 slots, not to mention 2/3" CCD)
$14,000 list price

"The" Editing System (Capital T)

First, just to set the idea behind all the equipment choices, I'll be basing the system off of Final Cut Pro. Yes, Adobe does make Premiere for the MAC, but I've been using FCP almost exclusively now for 5 years, so I'm a bit more proficient with it. (Although, I've been spending some time lately on After Effects and I'm definitely enjoying that.)

So, to begin:

_SOFTWARE_^^

Final Cut Studio 2 (although rumor has it they're releasing a new version in late April)
------ $1,299
Adobe After Effects CS4
------ $999
Adobe Photoshop CS4
------ $999
Roxio Toast Titanium 10 Pro
------ $129 (after $20 mail-in rebate)
NeoOffice (because its awesome & free)
------ $0
Celtyx (great script writing program)
------ $0

Now we get to the HARDWARE!**

MacPro 8-Core
------ $5,248 (added: 2x 2.66 Quad-Core, 8GB RAM, ATI HD video card, the rest: aftermarket)
4x Seagate 1TB internal drives
------ $360
2x 24" Apple HD Monitors (I'm going with the apple monitors because I know they're good)
------ $1,600 (I wish they still had the "old" silver ones.)
Aja IO HD
------ $2,769.95
HD Monitoring TV (For client monitoring & colour check, also has built in DVD player)
------ $735.90

**Need to add an audio monitoring system.
**Also a decent Printer for DVD labeling.
^^FCP Plugins are a good choice, too.

*****************
Oh, and the total on that setup is approximately: $14,139.85
(ordering from montana = no sales tax!)
Since I already have the Adobe CS3 Suite, I could save almost 2k.
I also have Roxio, so that's $129.
AND I have one 24" Apple HD monitor already, so that would save another $800.
All bringing this package down, personally, to $11,210.85
*****************

Adobe After Effects

Classroom in a Book for Adobe After Effects now belongs to me! I figure its time I really start to delve into this program, I've seen it used in so many ways and I've been really impressed by its versatility. The first few lessons have been really easy as I've already used the program to a degree and I'm looking forward to things getting more complicated.

GFX FTW!

Quick word of advice:

#rant

If you have any sort of mac that has been at ALL keeping up with the OS updates, do NOT.. I repeat, do NOT buy Sans Digital, (Specifically the TR8M in this case) or expect an e-stata card with a Silicon Image 3132 chip to run your RAID system. (Have tested both the one that comes with the TR8M and a LaCie SATA II card) It crashes continuously. Oh, and PS: The fine print says "Works with mac osx up to 10.5.1" .... any updated system is now up to 10.5.6

#endrant

Heading back up to Spokane

I leave today for Spokane for a month and a half to work on some projects with Mortimore Productions. Not to mention working on the house and finishing up the bodywork on my production vehicle. ('94 4Runner) I'm picking up an advanced Final Cut Pro book for "fun reading" and to see what little tricks and tips I can pick up. I also need to develop my After Effects skills. Some of the 3-d titles I've seen recently are impressive and I'd love to be able to kick those out.

I'll be posting some :30 / :60 commercials in the next week or so. I'll make another demo DVD that will have those on it. I'm still relatively unsure what the niche in Bozeman would be. Longform videos or Commercials or a mix of both, perhaps?