Learning

(I tried to post the audio cut here, but it wouldn't let me... so I'll post the edited movie soon)

So it's a learning process, and I'm on to using a new camera. The department just got a new Sony V1U camera, which shoots on HD, DVCAM and SP. I've been using it to gather audio on occasion, and occasionally using the Marantz for some additional audio tracks when I don't want to bring in the video. The V1U has been a great camera to shoot with so far. Small enough to handle easily (though it's always a challenge doing video, audio and still simultaneously), and comes with a hard disk to record to with or without tape which can record as much as 270 minutes of footage. Basically I'm trying a bunch of different stuff and experimenting, which is fun to do when you have the opportunity to do so. Using Final Cut Pro to edit.

Here are a couple of sites I've found helpful as well as I learn FCP in the editing (covers some of the basics). I haven't had any hiccups when using it yet, and have found that moving from AVID into FCP has been a smooth transition.
http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=18
http://webcast.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=123085
(this one is helpful when importing from the V1U in HD) http://ifinalcut.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/fcp-capture-from-sony-v1u/

When I edited together the piece, I listened for audio first, trying to make sure it flows well. From there I make sure the shots are the best ones to use with the audio when I have the option (shots for ambient sound) and layer in photographs of still moments on top that were edited on their own will be the final step. Some bad video is in there for the audio track to be under the stills. Just trying to think about the editing of the multimedia in this sense for now and seeing where it goes.

Happy New Year

I'm currently working on a project on the local Vietnamese community. As a portion of the project I spent the weekend photography New Year festivities. People in the community have been welcoming to me being there, though there are still the normal obstacles to overcome.
I'm also doing this project in multimedia. It's a chance for me to practice and possibly fail. It truly is a challenge, not only in the sense of learning the equipment and a process, but also in that I'm trying it all together: photo, video and audio. It is a full semester of learning FinalCut, Flash, digital audio and video, researching multimedia storytelling and the technicalities of video.

Regardless, here are some images from the weekend.