"Reception" Video

[DanQ]

The first of many ApolyCon '06 videos has arrived. Filmed by event Chairman Daniel "DanQ" Quick, this 04m38s clip documents up to and including the "Welcome Reception" held on July 7th, 2006. In addition to establishing setting, it briefly introduces the audience to some of the attendees. Below is a screenshot from this production:

Outside Holiday Inn Select-Baltimore North

To download, click on the photo above or here. It is in Windows Media format and is 10.3MB in size.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Donegeal]

Oh! You cut me off!

I am NOT a Civ Fanatic! I am... a.. um... fanatic of Civ... er... or something...

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Donegeal
Oh! You cut me off!

I am NOT a Civ Fanatic! I am... a.. um... fanatic of Civ... er... or something...

I know what you meant... which is why I cut you off.

Don't worry, though -- there is always room for bloopers after the fact.

Did you enjoy the video (at least otherwise )?

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[MikeH]

My favourite bit is when you showed everyone your t-shirt and they all went "oooh" "wow" etc, but the camera was pointing at the ceiling.

[Venom]

It was great, I laughed, I cried, I puked. Not really.

Seriously, the production value on that video sucks.

[DanQ]

Originally posted by MikeH
My favourite bit is when you showed everyone your t-shirt and they all went "oooh" "wow" etc, but the camera was pointing at the ceiling.

Originally posted by Venom
Seriously, the production value on that video sucks.

I know that much -- the production value was not intended to be high on this one. Besides, you do get what you pay for...  

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Venom]

If people paid for the meet, you should have put some of the budget towards the video.

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Venom
If people paid for the meet, you should have put some of the budget towards the video.

Had you been a participant yourself or, more importantly, had your criticism been of a more constructive nature, perhaps your opinion would carry a little more weight.

Let's move on.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Snotty]

hey I look great in that video, thanks man!

Cant wait for more

[Solver]

Hehe... the production quality surely wasn't great, but I found the video quite funny. Particularly Dan before entering the hotel, the camera looked as if Dan was staggering drunk, and the bit with everyone excited about Dan's shirt with the camera showing some random part of the hotel's walls .

[Donegeal]

Hehehehe... I just showed my wife the video... she said your filming makes her nauseous... (but just remember, she is pregnant...)

[Addled Platypus]

loved the 360 pan of nothing

watch out sundance

[DanQ]

I got better in filming as time went along... I think.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Wiglaf]

jeez the filming isn' that bad .

its pretty funny you left your camcorder in the back of a cab though. pretty amazing you got it back, too

I tend to leave a lot of **** in cabs but note the keyword **** , never anything valuable

[Metaliturtle]

it was weird reliving that while not half asleep

[padillah]

OK, first look for light sources and stand between them and your subject. Never let a light source go behind your subject. Unless you have a camcorder that you can unlock the Auto Iris it will compensate and close so your subject looses all definition.

Second, don't touch your eye to the camera viewfinder. Most people believe that helps hold it steady, and it does. It holds it so that it moves with your body, which is mostly never a good thing. Hold the camera away from your body (just a little) and let the inertia of the camera keep it steady in space. (Not easy to do with little cameras like ours.) Here's a link to a site that tells you how to make a camera stabalizer for about $14. (EDIT: Found another guy that modified the design and added a real tripod head for stability. )

And third, get a monopod. You may be able to adjust the camera stabalizer above to rest on the floor if needs be but do something. You arm is going to get tired and two things will happen: 1) Your wrist will go first and you'll start leaning to the side. 2) you'll over compensate for jiggle and get severe bouts of whipping.

Oh, and pause as you enter a doorway. Not for very long but half a second until the Auto Iris has adjusted itself. Especially from inside to out or vice versa. This keeps the Auto Iris from having to make several large adjustments to try and find the right setting. Let it get in the area then it can make several smaller adjustments that won't be as noticeable. This pause can be taken out or shortened in post so it's not noticeable.

Other than that, the rest is presentation and that's a matter of taste. I try not to critique presentation and technical at the same time, they are too different and require a thinking shift. Also, that makes the technical issues subject to ad hominem attacks based on the presentation quirks (I like to do narration in ADR, some don't. Your choice).

But, hey! You didn't drop the camera. That's always good! And you didn't get boring, always a plus.

Honestly, you centered people nicely. I know that sounds stupid and trite but its not. Most people, when taking a picture or shooting a camcorder, center peoples faces based on their nose (the center of their face). The problem is that leaves the top half of the frame with nothing of interest. Take a look at some snapshots you have of old and see how much of the picture you could cut off and not remove anyone or anything of interest.

Sometimes it can't be helpped, if the subject is really that far awaay or that big there's nothing you can do. But mostly it stems from people "centering" the subject based on the center of the subject, not the frame of the picture. You had not much, if any, wasted space above people. You took body shots when appropriate (MarkG and his shirt).

Tom P.