It's a Digital Fall!

Digital to your Door is moving along really well, we are expanding into so many different areas of digital interest. The video component is expanding quite quickly with clients needing everything from short commercials for their websites and businesses as well as music videos and recently another Ultimate Fighting Champion signing gig. The fun never ends, last Spring we shot a video of another UFC fighter, George St. Pierre and this time it looks like Rich Franklin. Should be a blast. We recently did a Yoga video shoot in Mexico, it was surprisingly tough work, hot hot hot on the beach but I lived through it and enjoyed it immensely.

Printing is always bubbling along nicely, we have some solid repeat business and I've noticed that the trend to full colour printing is continuing. From one and two colour printing the direction and focus has been changing for about three to four years. The reason is clear, pricing and quality. For example 1000 full colour business cards used to cost $250 or more and took a week or two to get back, now it only costs around $99 and it takes a couple of days.....times are changing.

The websites are always booming, because we design, register and host websites we've seen a number of clients grow in their business and as a result our website team has had to grow to meet the demand. Ed is doing some of the bigger projects and has recently had to add another creative designer to the team, Steve. Steve has done some amazing work already and helped me out on the http://www.melissawest.com/ site with some of the buttons, converting them from Flash to HTML to help with site rankings. Dave is having fun with ecommerce sites and an online apparel company and Martin is churning out websites like crazy in the Real Estate world.

Have a fun time in the digital world

Cheers
Tim

Videography, Tapes and Wireless Mics.

The fun is starting to grow in the videography world. I recently purchased a wireless mic system from "Audio Technica" and it's working so well. Videos are going to be so much easier to shoot now that we don't have to worry about the boom or mic stands getting in the shot. I recently learned so much from a form on using HD Tapes in my HD camera vs using regular Mini DV tapes. Basically it looks like when shooting in HD or regular, the tapes are all doing the same thing.....recording 1s and 0s.....that's what digital means. The difference I have learned is in the quality of the tape. It's not like the old days where recording on metal tape was better than recording on the cheapest tape you could find, but there are some areas to be aware. First it's recommended that people use just one brand of tape. Apparently the oils and composition of the tapes vary from manufacturer and as a result it's best to have your camcorder only use one type. Also it's a good idea to clean the heads every 20 hours or so. Last but not least if the shoot is a one time only and it has to be perfect use HD tapes if not save some bucks and use the regular high quality mini DVs. I use JVC myself and have had no problems at all.....the quality is perfect and I haven't experienced any dropped frames. (Knock on wood).
Cheers
Tim

Happy 60th Anniversary

What an awesome weekend...I had the plesure of shooting more HD Video this weekend for a couple's 60th Wedding Anniversary. The camera was awesome, switching between inside and out for spot interviews and the inside speeches sound quality was terrific. Loving the Sony HD camera. Now I'm editing the footage....thank you Adobe!
Cheers
Tim

New Websites going online this month and lots of printing too!

It looks like May is going to be another terrific month in web design and promotions. Currently Ed is overseeing two corporate web sites, one in audio video and the other in a specific accounting field. Dave is focused on attracting even more High Definition videography and I'm busy with a little bit of everything. I love the variety of the work that we do.

The weekend before last I was shooting HD Videos of UFC former champion George "Rush" St. Pierre interview and autograph signing. He's a famous Canadian mixed martial arts fighter and I can say after having spent almost 12 hours with him that he was an absolute gentleman. He was extremely patient with his fans (500 plus came to see him and get his autograph) and was just a genuinely nice guy. It's always a treat when you see someone in person who is so famous on TV or in a sport and they turn out to be so friendly and likeable in person. The video was shot throughout the day and I'm still in the editing stage. I'll post a link to the site and video once it's finished later this week.

Throughout the week I've been focused on the development of a new flash site (check it out - work in progress), which I hope to have completed later this week as well as helping my existing clients grow their own web presence.

In the print world, the modelling companies which I work with are in full swing. From corporate clients to golf tournaments the models are very busy. (check out Christine's site at http://www.christinainc.com/) We just finished off a corporate brochure for Christine and she was really happy with it.

This evening is going to be one of both print and web edits. A fun filled evening with a very demanding client....my true love and soul mate Melissa...she's a passionate, loving and an awesome lifestyle coach....no bias I'm sure!

She recently completed her Doctorate and is successfully pursuing her true passion of helping people through coaching (http://www.melissawest.com/). I really enjoy looking after her site and I hope that comes through in the design and regular updates. After the web updates are completed her new brochure for wellness candidates is going to be tackled. Should be fun! The images are of the front and back. Finshed size will be 11x17 folded to 8.5x11 in full colour, printed on a glossy 100lb stock...thick and beautiful is the goal.

Cheers
Tim

Web 2.0

Wow... thanks to my subscription to Wired Magazine I read an article about Web 2.0. I get asked all the time what web 2.0 is and now I have an easy 5min response....click here!

It's a You tube video that I have found particularly insightful especially in light of all the websites we're currently growing. Web 2.0 isn't usually the first phase of a website but it can certainly be integrated at the beginning to encourage growth and readership.


Let me know your thoughts and enjoy the video.

Cheers
Tim

P.S. I had the awesome experience of staying at "The Pantages" hotel in Toronto....what a terrific "boutique" hotel...the service was phenomenal...concierge super helpful (he was able to hook me up with tickets for the Queen musical 'We Will Rock You' - must see)... romantic weekend for two....and I got a new pair of shoes!

Sony HDR-HC7 Review

Well first of all I must thank Steve at G&G Electonics in Scarborough for directing me to the perfect camcorder for my semi-pro business. Specializing in web design/hosting and print it was a natural progression to incorporate video. With more and more websites offering streaming video and down loadable videos it became apparent that I needed to invest time and money developing this part of the business.

At first I purchased the HDR-HC5. Basically the same High Definition Camcorder as the HDR-HC7 but without the ability to plugin a headset and non proprietary microphone. I did some shooting with the HC5 and found the quality absolutely remarkable. The colours were vibrant and the sound in a controlled environment was excellent. HDR-HC7 with the ability to take an external microphone really helps the pro side of the business. When just shooting video of my family at the zoo it's not necessary but when shooting a short commercial video of a Yoga routine for a DVD or a Real Estate video the external mic and head phones are extremely handy.

I basically started with a Digital Camcorder from Panasonic and got used to the basics of videography. I learned right away that the best way to get a good shot is to use even a cheap tripod. You can find them on Ebay for $35-75 and the quality of your shooting will go up immensely. Coming back to the Sony HDR-HC7, I have found that the jump in quality from a regular digital camcorder to a High Definition Camcorder is huge. The photos are excellent the on screen Sony functions are clean and easy to navigate and it's super light. I would highly recommend the HC5 for home use and the HC7 for semi-pro use in an instant. If you've had some experience with these items I'd love to hear back from you.
Cheers
Tim

P.S. The guys at G&G Electronics were amazing, I had to switch the item more than 30 days after the purchase and Gerry/Steve were extremely helpful. No restocking fees or hassles at all. On the day of purchase of the HC5 I must have spent more than an hour asking lots of questions before purchasing the camcorder but Steve was really helpful and knowledgeable. If you have to purchase electornics in the Toronto area I would highly recommend their location. The service was exceptional.

First Blog Entry! How to Download YouTube Videos to your Desktop

Have you ever wanted to download YouTube videos and save them for future viewing?

I had a client ask me to download a video which had their business name mentioned. They asked me if it was possible. No problem I'll figure it out.

Step one download the video.

The easiest way to do this I found, rather than searching through your temp folders is to visit

http://www.techcrunch.com/get-youtube-movie/

and enter the link to the video. (Just cut and paste the url from Internet Explorer)

Step Two you need to convert it to AVI. This is probably easiest because you will probably already have a Media pplayer like Windows Media player installed. If you're on a Mac you can download an AVI player.

Conversion is pretty simple. Al l you need to do is download the FREE Riva Encoder from:

http://www.rivavx.com

From their you can just direct the input directory to the file you want to convert and press Encode. If you want it to convert to an AVI just replace the .flv with .avi. and then click on the Encode.

Super simple but really handy.

Cheers

Tim