This is an update for all you folks out there who read VCAM’s blog post from last August about Jackie Yantachka , the senior from CVU who as of yesterday has completed her Senior Grad Challenge in Broadcast Television at the VCAM studio.
It was a delight to attend her final presentation yesterday. She was in front of a packed house, filled with family, community consultants and a sizable panel of teachers and instructors.
Jackie covered everything from the appropriate use of a lapel mic to the work flow in master control. She employed an impressive Power Point presentation that included still images of nearly every component to the VCAM studio, screen captures of her FCP timeline and bin structure, plus images illustrating the strategy behind the different shots she incorporated. She concluded her presentation with a short segment from her video project highlighting a variety of footage including interviews with moviegoers, film reviews and movie clips. The uproarious applause from the crowded room was indicative of the the quality of Jackie’s work.
It was obvious from the start she arrived at VCAM with a good deal of experience, however throughout her time at the VCAM studio her skills grew even sharper. By the end, her ability to navigate the FCP interface was quite impressive.
As part of her grad challenge, Jackie was also required to write at length about her learning experience in a final paper that she concludes by saying:
For years I’ve been interested in the production of the shows that I see on TV. At the local public access channel VCAM, I was able to take on the challenge of making my own TV show and airing it – something that I have never been able to do with my previous films. VCAM is all about encouraging others in the community to learn the filming and editing processes to make their ideas come to life. For the first time, I was able to film in a studio and learn how to work the multifaceted equipment. For CVU Filmmaker’s Club, the movies I’ve been involved in have always had crews of at least four people, so with my project at VCAM, I felt that I had more control, and there was better communication with my cameraman. I was able to create a show that incorporated footage from the field, studio, and additional movie clips, and then broadcast it for many others to see. Hopefully, I will be able to continue using my skills and explore more techniques for creating TV shows like the ones I have always admired.
There’s little doubt Jackie’s wishes will be granted as she will be attending the school of communications at Syracuse University in the fall. Way to go Jackie!
Thank you for all the hard work and best of luck from all of us at VCAM!
“Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.
The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person’s eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.
The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.”
Check out Rebecca Kopycinski’s opening credits for her new show Burly Song. She designed them using Adobe’s CS3 here at the VCAM studio and in the process she has rapidly become quite skilled at After Effects. Burly Song will feature performances by musicians from our local independent music scene as well as special guest appearances from touring musicians performing in the Burlington area. You can look for Burly Song to premiere on VCAM Channel 15 next week!
VCAM producer Brian Plisko and his partners at Rise Up Vermont traveled to Senegal and Gambia in February to put on the Foreward Home 2008 West African Tour, featuring music by leading Virgin Island Roots artists. They brought with them a camera package from VCAM, and they’re making a documentary about the trip, which will air on VCAM channel 15 upon completion. Brian stopped by the studio today to share some photos from the tour and to thank VCAM for the support, which we were happy to give. Brian writes…
With your camera we were able to document a truly beautiful tour, with the resilient and colorful African culture at the forefront of our consciousness. You have helped us so tremendously bring the beauty and spirit of Africa back to Vermont…
The trip wasn’t all about music, Brian and crew also brought seeds (for farms), solar panels, water pumps and medical supplies for a midwifery called The African Birth Collective.
A trio of British graphic designers spent four days filming themselves running up and down Omaha Beach in Normandy and then composited the footage to create an amazing, on-the-cheap, DIY D-Day scene. Here is the YouTube clip…
American University’s Center for Social Media has conducted a study about the use of copyrighted materials in user-generated video content. When YouTubers take copyrighted content and make video “mashups” and put them up on YouTube, are they breaking the law? The study, which comes from the same institution that published the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, is available for download here. According to the study’s site…
The study, Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video, by Center director Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, co-director of the law school’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, shows that many uses of copyrighted material in today’s online videos are eligible for fair use consideration. The study points to a wide variety of practices—satire, parody, negative and positive commentary, discussion-triggers, illustration, diaries, archiving and of course, pastiche or collage (remixes and mashups)—all of which could be legal in some circumstances.
Fair use is the part of copyright law that permits new makers, in some situations, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying the owners. The courts tell us that fair use should be “transformative”—adding value to what they take and using it for a purpose different from the original work. So when makers mash up several works—say, The Ten Commandments , Ben-Hur and 10 Things I Hate about You , making Ten Things I Hate about Commandments —they aren’t necessarily stealing. They are quoting in order to make a new commentary on popular culture, and creating a new piece of popular culture.
Unfortunately, this emerging, participatory media culture is at risk, with new industry practices to control piracy. Large content holders such as NBC Universal and Viacom, and online platforms such as MySpace and Veoh are already crafting agreements on removing copyrighted material from the online sites. Legal as well as illegal copying could all too easily disappear. Worse still, a new generation of media makers could grow up with a deformed and truncated notion of their rights as creators.
Documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (The Control Room) and TED, the invite-only Technology, Entertainment and Design conference held annually in Monterey, California, are teaming up together for something called Pangea Day, and asking professional and amateur filmmakers around the world to submit short pieces for a world-wide film festival with the lofty goal of building bridges between cultures. The films will be screened in a four-hour presentation in cities around the world and online on May 10, 2008 — Pangea Day.
How to produce and submit your short film:
Pangea Day films are meant to be visual stories, ones that can be understood despite language barriers, and therefore should not rely on dialogue. If dialogue is required, Pangea Day organizers are asking that videos have English subtitles so that all films can be translated. In order to show as many videos as possible, submissions must be 5 minutes or less.
A panel of jurors, led by Noujaim and other renowned members of the film community, will review all submissions and select the winning films to be screened on Pangea Day.
EngageMedia.org has published a lengthy, detailed report on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) video codecs and players. According to the site, “It is a review of available tools for the creation, playback and embedding of online video using FOSS codecs, and a look at the most pressing areas for development to enhance their adoption by social change video projects on the web.”
Non-FOSS codecs and players are plagued by patent issues and proprietary technologies that can inhibit usability and affordability for many video makers. According to the report, as media become further democratized, it’s important that the tools we use do not become locked down and owned exclusively by a small number of technology corporations. This report lays it all out and offers some best practices for video content creators. What follows is an excerpt from the report that focuses on some specific technology recommendations…
The use of two FOSS video and audio codec combinations are recommended:
Xvid/LAME Use of the Xvid codec for video and LAME codec for audio in the medium term as both codecs are well developed and generally well supported but are encumbered with patent issues that mean they may be plagued with legal issues into the future.
Ogg Theora/Vorbis Use of the Ogg format, Theora video codec and Vorbis audio codec as they are patent-free technologies that have seen great improvements in usability and the number and quality of tools available to create and play them is increasing.
There are many good FOSS players of both Xvid/LAME and Ogg Theora/Vorbis available, some more suitable for certain purposes than others. However the recommendation is that Transmission projects promote the use of one player application primarily, VLC, in order to share documentation and training resources more easily by adopting the same software:
VLC Use VLC as it is highly-developed FOSS media player for FOSS codecs available on all platforms.
The following transcoders are recommended to create Ogg Theora/Vorbis video files:
MediaCoder (Windows) Use MediaCoder as it is a very usable and highly-configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
Simple Theora Encoder (Mac) Use Simple Theora Encoder as it is a very easy-to-use FOSS application for creating Ogg files with presets and configurability.
Ogg Convert (Linux) Use Ogg Convert as it is a very simple and usable FOSS application to create Ogg files amongst others.
The following transcoders are recommended to create Xvid/LAME video files:
MediaCoder (Windows) Use MediaCoder as it is a very usable and highly-configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
Avidemux (Linux) Use Avidemux, an easy yet configurable FOSS transcoding application with good presets.
FfmpegX (Mac) Use FfmpegX as it is an simple yet configurable Shareware transcoding GUI application built on FOSS transcoding software.
ffmpeg2theora Install the FOSS ffmpeg2theora on the server to create Ogg Theora/Vorbis files automatically for the user, that can then be played back in the browser with other FOSS technologies
Mencoder Install the FOSS Mencoder on the server to create Xvid/LAME files automatically for the user where appropriate, for download. Alternatively use this to transcode to Flash video for playback in the browser using FOSS technologies.
At the very least this is a solid example of a D.I.Y. alternative to what tends to be an overly expensive production tool if purchased through say….B&H. While it’s easy to question the mobility and durability of the end-product you gotta dig the spirit behind the project…
Burlington filmmaker Nate Beaman has been shooting a bunch of short films with local filmmakers on his tricked-out Panasonic HVX200. He collaborated with VCAM Production Manager Bill Simmon on a short documentary called Digital Pamphleteer, which recently won the Goldstone Award at the Vermont International Film Festival. He also recently shot three short films for Vermont filmmaker Michael Fisher. These films and Nate’s rig are featured on the Redrock Micro cinema accessories website. Nate is Redrock’s “featured filmmaker.” Nate uses a Redrock-manufactured lens adaptor that allows him to use 35mm prime lenses on his Panasonic HVX200 HD camera. The result is an astoundingly shallow depth of field that accentuates the camera’s already very film-like look. Our congratulations go out to Nate for the recognition.
To see the films Nate shot for Michael Fisher and to read all about his set-up, check out the Redrock profile. Bill’s film, Digital Pamphleteer, will go online in a month or two and we’ll link to it here when it does. Stay tuned.
This is an update for all you folks out there who read VCAM’s blog post from last August about Jackie Yantachka , the senior from CVU who as of yesterday has completed her Senior Grad Challenge in Broadcast Television at the VCAM studio.
