Oh yes !  It is time yet again for me to waist time capturing video and editing it along with some music.

You know that song Carmina Burana . . . you know . . . the song that they use in everything from Lord of the Rings trailers to GatorAid commercials.  Well you’ll remember it when you hear it in the little video I edited tonight. 

I’m also working on a video review (to perfect the Voice Over recording part of my  Vegas skills) hopefully to be completed by the end of the week.

I believe all the footage is from two multiplayer games I played with Mage Celts . . . it may have been three matches but I’m pretty sure it was just two.  It was less then 25 minutes of play time and I got SOOO much good footage. 

Take a look . . .

www.arackas.com/video/BFBCMusic.wmv

Sometimes a nice dump is just what you need to lighted your load . . . .

Bad poop jokes aside, I have several sites that I have my RSS feed reader check hourly and some of them have some pretty interesting info. 

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Staff bonding time . . . ah the ritual bonding time we as staff take to . . . well to bond.  I wasnt looking forward to this Staff Night Out too much mainly because I had almost forgotten about it and was in the middle of several things at the house.  Read more

First lets talk about Quake Wars.

I wanted to like this game.

I got the demo, saw that the graphics were last gen, and I still wanted to like this game.  So far, it makes me sad.

I’ve read about the Mega Texture (I believe it’s called a Mega Texture) where the terrain doesn’t repeat.  The idea is that yon’t see square after square of the same grass, you a HUGE square of grass that’s layed over a large area . . . but the poly count is so low it just looks like a big (but low res) texture is layed over a low poly count ground. 

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It’s here !

Vegas Pro 8 is here ! 

This makes me SOOOO happy !

For those of you who think I have a gambling addiction, Sony Vegas Pro 8 is a video editing program that is actually quite powerful.  It’s no Adobe Aftereffects, but the academic price (which is church pays as a non prophet) is less than $400.  Compared to a few thousand, this is a deal. 

We have been using version 4, which was on a computer that we inherited.  That machine has started to wig out here lately (well, it has been for years actually) and I don’t have a Vegas install to put on my new laptop (not to mention I don’t think I could transfer the lenience from the dying machine to the new laptop).  So I’ve been stuck.

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Well, it’s what I’ve been working on for the past few days.  The mens ministry video.  No, nothing special, nothing ground breaking, nothing super cool.  Just a short promo video for Sunday. 

Every time I do a video, I try to learn a little more, use a different style or plug in (to learn about it), to make it look a little better then the last time. 

So what’s new this time ? 

Well I (and this is a bit difficult to explain) . . . I found out how to place things exactally where I want them in the frame.  Such as the little logos and colored boxes the text appears infront of.  At one point I could only put them inside the middle half of the frame (no more then half way towards any edge) especially if I shrunk the logo . . . which was very frustraiating to me if I wanted a logo or text at, say, the bottom of the screen instead of the friggin middle of the screen.  Well I found out how to put it at the edge . . . which makes me very happy.

I used a slow motion effect (re-render the clip at 0.25 normal frame rate). 

And I tinkered with increasing the sound quality even if the video quality is low.  Though I didnt get the explosion sounds as clear as I wanted.

I’m posting a low quality version of the video.  You cant read the logo very well (untill the end when it’s big) but you’ll get the gist. 

Is it exciting ?  No. 

Is it funny ?  Kind of. 

Will it enrich your life ?  I dunno.

But I figured it might be interesting to some people out there to document my learning process.  It’s the little things about video that can make the difference between amature looking and professional looking.  Things like logos and boxes that display someones name (though I know it looks a bit cloogy).  Having sound effects for the ending logo sequence makes it have a better impact, makes it work.  I’m not professional looking yet, but I’m getting there.

Watch CNN (or BBC) sometime and pay attention to the little logos and short intros and outros to segments.  They are just little graphics (usually with sound) and you never notice them.  But they make a difference.  That’s my inspiration for the next few videos.  Have good intro and outro graphics.

Now I know this video starts with static, but that’s to get peoples attention since we will be showing it at the very begining of service.

Anywho, enough rambling.  It’s late.  Here’s the link to the video . . . . www.arackas.com/video/MMTNTlow.wmv

I have been doing some testing to see how well the new laptop renderes video.  So far it’s pretty fast. 

 I did a few test videos at different qualities and I have to say I am pleased with the results !

 Here is a low quality version of one of the test videos . . . just because it was funny to me.  It may not be to you, maybe you just had to be there  . . . I dunno. 

Here is the link . . . www.arackas.com/video/VideoTest.wmv

     The Fish of Death has visited the tank in my office.  This tank, which I have had for a few months now, has fish in it that I’ve had for years.  Previous tanks (that held the same fish) had horrible problems with algae.  And while the fish munched on it, and it seamed to actually keep the PH, Ammonia, and Nitrites under control . . . the algae covered every inch of the tank . . . and no matter how much I scraped it off it ALWAYS came back. 

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On Weddings

I’ve done sound and lights for . . . well I’m not sure how many weddings in my 11 years doing sound here at the church.  We average three a year I guess . . . so about 33 total I suppose.  And while the ceremonies have varied from very simple to very complex, very elegant to very relaxed to . . . well . . . to lets turn the lights on and get this done so we can get legal and  leave. 

Here are a few things I have learned about weddings . . . at least ones here at the church.

- Dripless candles are a lie.  One wedding I saw them work as they were suppose to, the other times they either burned a hole in the side and dripped or went out 1/3 of the way through the ceremony . . . or just dripped wax everywhere. 

- When they tell you early on that they just want to play one or two songs from a CD . . . that’s a lie too.  Because the more people get involved, the more someone wants to sing at your wedding . . . so by the time rehearsal time comes along the day before there are no less then 4 CD’s and no less then two different people singing / playing.

- If someone says they don’t need to rehearse a song, don’t let them sing . . . at all.  Make everyone practice with your equipment.  Make them. 

- Plan B comes into play more often then you would think, so have a Plan B for all the songs (i.e. be able to play the Demonstration track if the singer cant sing).

- It’s the Brides day.  Second on the list is the family.  Last on the list is the groom.  If the groom wants something, ask the bride if it’s ok.  If she says no, then the answer is no.  She been planning this day since she was 5, he just needs to not lock his knees and repeat what the pastor says and he’ll do fine.  Let the bride have her day or you could loose a limb.

- If a wedding starts on time, then something is wrong

- Photographers generally come in three types:

1.) the type that wants to work with you and get the job done in a professional manner . . .

2.) the type that thinks that you are there to work for them and only barks orders at you . . .
3.)and the type that has no idea what they are doing because they are someone’s cousin who ‘does weddin’s and stuff for pretty cheep’. 

- children in the wedding party usually don’t do what they are suppose to, but that’s cute

- Do not, under any circumstances, let the wedding planner / decorators in the church with out making SURE they know what can and what CANT be moved.  Colored tape and a map are usually helpful.  If you let people move your equipment, you wont ever see it again . . . at least not in working condition.

- make lots of notes at rehearsal . . . lots of them.  Type them out.  Check and double check to make sure you understand when something is going to happen.  Then check again the next day.  This could save you from being found dead the next day.

- it still amazes me how the lungs and vocal cords of one screeming child can produce more sound then $30,000 worth of sound equipment. 

It’s HERE ! 

 Here is a picture of it’s first boot !

Now that I have taken off all the crap that comes on a commercial computer (google desktop, Dell wifi connection assistant, ect) I am dumping all my files to it.  I didnt realise that my outlook .pst file was up to 250 megs plus now.  I may have to archive some of the old mail . . . unless that just moves it to a different part of the .pst file.  I bet it does.

No matter !  The new laptop is here ! 

 Ooooooh !  I just paired it with my phone via Bluetooth ! 

I’m going to mess my self I’m so excited !