Communication Breakdown between Client and Artist. (happens everyday)

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Poster

Hi

I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.

Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone... possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs

squashed by a vehicle, calling out "Shannon, where are you?"

Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

I never said I don't like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham 'Choose Life' t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two

inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat. Attached poster as requested.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie poster and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

That’s just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in color please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to

overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions. Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,

I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to

feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn't have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.  I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge

neighborhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit.

Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

How Can Videos Save Your Website And Business?

Most small or large businesses who use videos don’t have the time or the tools to host their videos on their own server, so they choose Vimeo or YouTube and using the embed code. If you really don’t have any other options, it’s still better to have something on YouTube than nothing at all. So here’s a list of tips and tricks.

1. QUANITY. The more of this type of marketing videos you can accomplish, the better off you will be in placing your content where the search engines will find and display it.

2. GIVE YOUR VIDEO A GOOD TITLE. Use keywords. Make it compelling. No one will watch, nor will they search for “January 18_video.mp4” But they will watch “How I Saved Money and Solved My ——- Problem In Three Easy Steps.” Get the picture?

3. PAY ATTENTION TO THE DESCRIPTION FIELD. The very first thing should be http:// and your website. Not just your homepage, but a page that gets the viewer closer to doing business with you is what we all want.

4. UPLOAD A TRANSCRIPT / CREATE CAPTIONS This is a relatively new feature, but it is possible now to upload a transcript of your video to YouTube. There is also a feature that will let you create captions so the video can be watched, instead of heard. There is an entire list of best practices for these actions themselves, so ask for help, or search for tutorials. Big hint: don’t use WORD to create your files. Use WORDPAD so you can save them as .txt files without all the format encoding. Or, if you understand video time code, create a .srt file and you’re able to more precisely control your captions. The ability for the search engines to read videos due to transcripts is really a game changer.

5. CREATE A NEW PAGE FOR JUST THE VIDEO If you can whip up a single page on your site, and embed the video, surrounded by keywords and phrases that would be great. Then you can put THAT URL into the YouTube description field. If you have one video optimized for a key phrase, and a different video optimized for a different key phrase, you have increased your chances of being on top of a search and having that search lead back to you.

6. TELL EVERYONE. Put the YouTube Share code on every social network you can. Your promotion needs to run like a good ad campaign. Maybe not everywhere all at once, and maybe some places more than once. But get it out there and create some talk. Ask folks to share. Ask for comments. Ask for subscribers.

7. BRANDING. FYI, as part of it’s newly launched “In Video Programming”, you can upload an image that YouTube will use as a “bug” in the corner of your videos. You can also pick which corner of the video it appears in, and for how long. There is also a seldom used workaround for the YouTube embed code that removes YouTube branding.
Some folks don’t want to be associated with YouTube because of its “pedestrian” image. But
YouTube is the second largest search engine. It’s a great place to put your videos. And by following some simple steps, it can be another tool in your arsenal for getting noticed.
–Roar.

I just watched Detropia. Great film very well thought out, good tracking and visual images. Here is one of the greatest cities of our lifetime rotting away to nothing. Is this going to happen to all our cities? Is this our fault? How could a city that 20 years ago had 1.7M people and today has less then 700k? George the union president had the most profound thing to say. He said, "Is the greed our fault?" "Shouldn't we all take responsibility?" I say yes, if you ever signed your name to a union card then YES you are at fault. You want to know why China is selling their cars at half our price? NO greed. In it's heyday Detroit was living it up we can't be stopped. Greed will bring a big city, business or an individual to their knees. I'm feeling for the people of Detroit. But this is an American idea.... what can I get, how do I get a flashier car then the next guy? How much bling can I wear more then you? Face it you want to tell me the products that came out of our industry in the 80s and 90s were the best quality? Honda ran circles around Detroit with their quality? Why couldn't we put out quality? The big three had to spend too much money to salary's, all around. From the top down.
This is a very good film and it has inspired me to follow a few stories that I want to tell.

So, stay tuned.

FDP Films, Inc editing The Wake Of The Red Witch trailer/tease. This film is being produced by Mike Marvin. Mike has produced some of the biggest films in Hollywood in the last 30 years. This is a sexy sexy horror film. It will be very cool.

DSLR fight

Most camera makers continue to build mediocre video capability into their still cameras. Why? Because they can. It costs them next to nothing. A DSLR with live view and some appropriate firmware becomes a video camera. Go for it, if you wish.
But Sony and Panasonic are also in the professional and semi-pro video camera business. They looked at Canon's success in the movie / TV industry with the 5D MKII and were faced with a quandary. They could easily make large sensor video cameras based on their DSLR technology, but what would this do to their traditional pro video products?
But capitalism has its greatest strength when commercial competition becomes inevitable. No one wanted to be the first to blink, but slowly over the past year or so both Sony and Panasonic put their toes in the water, and now the flood gates are opening (if you'll excuse the mixed metaphor).

Sony NEX VG10

First out of the block was Sony with its VG10 video camera, based on the new NEX series. These use an APS-C sized sensor. As I noted in my initial review, this isn't that exciting a video camera. It had a lot of potential, but clearly Sony was nervous about cannibalizing its pro video cameras, so they clearly crippled the camera's capabilities so that it wouldn't be a threat.

Panasonic AF100/101

But then shortly thereafter Panasonic announced the AF100 / 101. This camera broke the log jam. A high specification AVCHD encoder, full semi-pro video features, and a Four Thirds sized sensor with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount able to take just about any lens, including PL mount, Leica M mount. Zeiss, etc. The icing on the cake was an announced price of under US $5,000. Now you're talking!

Sony's immediate rejoinder was its pro-grade CineAlta F3. This uses PL mount lenses and a Super 35MM sized sensor (similar in size to APS-C, and somewhat larger than Four Thirds), but is a bit out of our league in terms of price (US $23,000) and specification. Nevertheless, it was a signal that Sony had bit the bullet and decided to play.

Sony Super 35 NEXCAM

Surprisingly, and showing that they aren't simply willing to compete by halves, not long afterward, in late November 2010, Sony announced a Super 35 NEXCAM camera that uses their NEX E lens mount and a top of the line AVCHD codec. This is the camera that the VG10 should have been.

---

FUD – Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
There is no word on the price (rumoured to be sub $7,000) of the Sony Super 35 NEXCAM, exact specifications, or model name. Delivery is simply mentioned as mid-2011. So, what is this about? Why announce a product more than half a year before it is due, and while it's still in the development stage. This simply isn't Sony's usual MO.
If you ever worked in the mainframe or mini computer industry you will know what I mean when I use the phrase Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. FUD was IBM's tactic whenever a competitor announced a new product due to ship in a short while. IBM might not have anything even close to ready to compete, but they would announce that they had something coming, and would detail some rough specs and a delivery date.
That was all it took to derail their competitors from grabbing too much market share. Since "No one ever got fired for buying IBM," as the well known phrase went, simply knowing that there was something coming from Big Blue was enough to cost competitors sales, while many customers waitied to see what the guys in Armonk had coming for them.

Which brings us back to today and the nascent large sensor video camera market. Panasonic is about to ship the AF100 / 101. As this is being written in mid-November 2010 this exciting new camera is scheduled to start shipping within a few weeks. If initial commentary and response is anything to judge by the AF100 will be a resounding success for Panasonic, especially at its aggressive price point of under $5,000.
Sony's CineAlta F3 will be available soon as well, but at 4X – 5X the price of the AF100 it is targeted at a much more elevated market segment than the Panasonic.
All of this makes sense given the two company's market positions. Sony is a major player in the broadcast industry while Panasonic's involvement in video stops at the top end of the indy / prosumer market. Sony has a lot more to lose than does Panasonic by the large sensor interchangable lens video revolution.

---

So What?

If you are involved professionally or personally in the video segment of the market I assume that the above will have been of some interest – pointing out some of the exciting products that are coming our way in the weeks and months ahead.

Needless to say, the traditional small-sensor pro and semi-pro camcorder business is about to be whacked up-side the head. While deep DOF small sensor camcorders are desirable for some documentary work, anyone doing narrative movie production at any level – from Hollywood films to New York TV shows to Indy producers are going to fall all over themselves over the shallow DOF capability of this generation of large sensor interchangeable lens cameras.

And while the massively shallow DOF of the full frame Canon 5D MKII is oh so attractive, many film makers find it hard to work with. It's actually too shallow for day-to-day shooting, and if one stops down to reduce DOF then one needs to add more light to the scene, which is contrary to the gestalt of current film making, let alone today's constrained production budgets.

The smaller (but still large in cine terms) APS-C and Four Thirds sensors are at the sweet spot; small enough to allow shallow DOF when desired, yet not so shallow that a moderate aperture presents lighting issues. Indeed the Four Thirds sensor's size is isn't that much smaller than traditional 35mm motion picture film.Thus we will have both Sony and Panasonic with their new video cameras having sensors aimed at the DOF sweet spot.

All of the begs the question – is there room for video DSLRs in this new brave new large sensor video camera world? The answer is likely both yes and no. At the pro level there will always be those cinematographers who love the small size / big picture that a DSLR offers when shooting video. But for anything other than shooting in incredibly tight quarters, DSLRs make truly terrible cine cameras.

To be usable they need a range of handling accessories that increases their bulk to that of a proper video camera. They also are completely lacking in terms of obligatory video features such as built in ND filters, zebras, peaking, under and over cranking, live EVFs, wave form monitors, and the like.

I therefore think that over the next year or so the video DSLR revolution, begun by Nikon with the D90 and brought to a peak by the Canon 5D MKII, will have run its course. Naturally all DSLRs will continue to offer ever-improving video capability, but they will essentially remain stills cameras that can (Oh, by the way) shoot video, while the new generation of large sensor video cameras such as the AF100 and Super 35 NEXCAM become the tools of choice for Indy film makers and other budget-oriented producers and cinematographers.

At the high end we will have Sony, with its new CineAlta F3 and successors. Whether Panasonic will decide to play in this more rarified segment remains to be seen. This is traditionally Sony CineAlta, Arri Alexa, and RED territory.

Z96 LED Light

LED lights have hit the industry by storm and why not? There are many advantages to using LED lights and not quite as many disadvantages. An LED light produces almost no heat at all making it comfortable for you and your subject. They produce an excellent color balance for either 3200k or 5600k temperatures and, at the same time, they are dimmable without affecting the color temperature. Another advantage is that most LEDs have an exceptionally long lifespan of up to 100,000 hours. Depending upon their placement, they are excellent for close up interviews without creating hard or distracting shadows, especially when using a diffuser.
F & V has produced a light weight, camera mountable LED light in the Z96. The HDV-Z96 is fairly small at 5" x 1.77" x 3" and weighs only 6 ounces without the 5 AA regular or rechargeable batteries that power it. Without the white diffusion or red color filters that come with it the Z96 light produces a very clean and natural color at 5600k.

What surprised me the most was how powerful this light was when compared to similar models of small LED lights I have reviewed here in the past. Utilizing 96 small LEDs the Z96 produced significantly more light than others I've seen and works well with the 16x9 format when shooting video whether on a camcorder or DSLR. A mount for the light comes with it for easy placement on the shoe mount of most any camera. The mini ball head can be tilted to most any degree you wish. The Z96 LED light can also be mounted onto a separate tripod or other stand.

The firm white diffusion filter, as well as the red filter, have small magnets on each of their four corners for a very secure attachment to the light's own 4 magnets. This is a cool feature as you don't have to worry about flimsy plastic diffusion filters slipping out of their holders or falling unnoticed by the way side. These filters are solid and will not fold, tear or fall off.

Additionally, a single link plate is included which will connect multiple Z96 lights to be connected together when more light is needed.

All LED lights are fairly directionless; their light tends to have an even throw, preventing shadows and harsh contrasts. This characteristic, however, is not always what you may want as there may be times when shadows are an important part of the ambiance you are trying to create. Thus, LED lights are wonderful to have but are not necessarily the type of light you will need for all occasions. Additionally, there is a greater light 'fall off' as you move the light further away from your subject. The diffused nature of any LED light shortens the throw of the light itself. With a shortened throw comes the need for even more power output. The rule of thumb here is that you need to literally double the light output when moving the light from a distance of 3 feet from your subject to 6 feet and quadruple the light output from 6 to 12 feet. Clearly, a small cam mounted LED like the Z96 will not have the power output to satisfy your lighting needs in this type of situation.
However, for run and gun filming, close up interviews and hidden fill light needs, I found the Z96 to be superior to other small LED lights I have used. You can use the Z96 almost all day without the batteries going dead on you, they run cool, maintain a consistent color and will deliver that softness to your subject's facial features that makes for a good interview. It's build quality feels sturdy to hold, the two diffusers are solid, and even the back power dimmer knob is built in to the rear side for easy adjustments. What's more is that the F&V Z96 is both compact and lightweight and won't take up too much room in your gear bag. There is no tool that will fit all needs, however, you will find that the Z96 LED light will fit many of them just as you hoped it would.