Do it Yourself photo and video production software, learning the basics just got harder.

As I was watching the 2010 Winter Olympics on NBC, I saw a flurry (no pun intended) of commercials for coming soon movie releases. I was shocked to see that every promo had computer generated animated characters mixed in with the real ones.

In the past couple of years I've truly come to appreciate the reruns of the television show Seinfeld. The combination of everyday topics, biting but thematic dialogue with virtually no filler thrown in, and no special effects, has real staying power. The music riffs don't hurt either.

As I compared the power of Seinfeld re runs with new wave filmmaking technology that is ultra heavy on computer digital software "innovations", I began thinking of three classic but not that well known films from the 80's. The 80's seemed to have been a rest stop between the high drama, police pursuit, mafia maneuvering, sci fi 70's, and the buddy movies, action packed, sequel driven films of the 90's.

Three of my favorite 1980'ish films include Breaking Away, The Stuntman, and Diner, which came out in 1979, 1980, and 1982 respectively. While all three films could nowadays be labeled as "white bread" films because the casts were virtually 100% caucasian, the actual characters and plot lines of the movies can cross over and become enjoyable for any ethnicity to experience.

But more to the point, those three movies had NO digital effects of any kind. While the Stuntman had creative, by the book stunt effects mixed in throughout, all three films relied on people being people, having thoughts and ideas and thankfully acting out those thoughts and desires for us to experience.

It seems to me that the more we embrace digital technology in our own lives, the less we embrace the actual ground we stand on. As we become more aware of what our friends or acquaintances are doing via digital means, we seem to becoming less aware of where we actually are. Where we are has become less important than where we wish were digitally, and the films being made now seem to be reflecting that same sentiment.

Yet I wonder, as we learn to escape deeper within a digital existence, how come our movies don't counteract that by being less escapist? Aren't movies supposed to contradict our own existence? As our own existence is invaded by all things digital, why don't the movies become more like they were in 80's?

I feel like we are experiencing digital inbreeding, the more our lives become digital, the more we are force fed digitalized movies inbred with creatures we would probably never actually invite to the dinner table.

While movies are supposed to be "escapist" to a certain extent, I would suggest renting the movies Breaking Away, The Stuntman, and Diner, and reminding yourself how great plain movies can be. All I ask is if you rent these movies, please consider not being interrupted by cell phone calls unless they are related to the health and welfare of the person calling, and don't look at your watch thinking of what you will be doing 90 minutes later.

I hope that avatar type films become a partial part of the filmmaking landscape rather than the norm. I fear that Hollywood has been swept up trying to keep the higher paid digital effects companies employed and in keeping true to that employment paradigm are making movies that require gizmodial creature sweeteners to supplement basic story telling techniques.

How does this relate to "do it yourself photo and video production software?" Don't be fooled by digital technology that claims to make the art of creativity "easier" or all encompassing. At the heart of most worthwhile stories are stories worth telling.

If the do it yourself photo or video production technology you are learning consumes all of your energy just to master, you have been led astray by technology that is indeed to good to be true.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more

commercial critiques

by Alessandro Machi at

Super Bowl Consulting

Yes, I plan on doing something really crazy with Alex Logic dot blogspot dot com.

I think I'm going to offer a 900 number for anybody who has a film or video production directly with me. Let me explain why.

My attempt to profitably run a video production and editing company for well over a decade met with many production successes. However, being successful at creating productions while remaining profitable is an area that is far more difficult than many might ever imagine.

The actual fine tuning of a production can literally double the editing budget. Many times I just did many of the little extras that I knew would make the production solid, and just took the time off the session so we could stay within budget. Since other places don't necessarily go to the same extreme, I can't force someone to pay for "the little things" that can make a big difference. Hence, my profit margins many times were break evens at best, worse when I added in unexpected video equipment repair delays and the ever increasing video formats.

My film and video production and editing experience and studio can help the newbie by observing how actual video equipment works. I can also help those just needing quick guidance via a phone call as well.

I will use the Alex Logic Blog to explore the inner workings and strategies of the over one hundred projects that I was a involved with. In many instances, my responsibilities carried over into several adjunct positions, including producer, director, camera person, editor, scheduler, technical trouble shooter, project negotiator, billing and production assistant.

The experiences I went through, if interactively shared with others, might accelerate the process of learning by having the right experiences rather than random experiences.

--------------------------------------

The mechanic in the Seinfeld clip below is reminiscent of me, at times, except I'm not as tall, and I give my clients more safe space when we are confined in the same editing room.

I'm not necessarily the mechanic who drives off with Jerry Seinfeld's car, but I did make sure that when I finished working on a video project, the edited master was ready for duplication and mass release.

Let me also add that I am on Jerry Seinfeld's side in the video clip above but I understand the mechanics desire to make sure Jerry's car is in tip top shape. The biggest difference is I never milked a job.

--------------------------------------

I believe I have experiences that will help accelerate your learning curve forward in the world of film and video production. I will share how it is possible that the effort you put forth may or may not result in a positive result.

Imagine doing a demo for a corporate sales person who wants to try out for Home Shopping network, the sales person makes it to the next round because of the demo I made for them, is then offered an on air job, AND DOES NOT TAKE IT BECAUSE IT WILL MEAN A PAY CUT!

It's kind of funny. Imagine if this client had taken the job, pretty nice feather in my cap. Same with another client who was offered a four deal on Channel One after we had a very fascinating experience putting her demo tape together.

There are at least half a dozen and perhaps as many as a dozen success stories in which the person I helped didn't completely follow through with the project after it was completed, for a myriad of provocative reasons as the ones described above. There are no hard feelings on my part because I have a lot of semi interesting stories to tell as a result, but I do wonder what might have been if just a couple of the many people I feel I helped, would have actually followed through with a bit more intensity than they did.

There are several dozen behind the scenes stories that I will be sharing as well as this blog develops over time.

One such example is the cancer video I worked on where out of the crew of 9 that worked on the video, 8 SMOKED. (I was the lone exception). Or the time I was in film school and I got five of us hired to work on a Rebe Jackson music video called Centipede, as production assistants. What was our job? Picking up cigarette butts. I kid you not.

Being able to keep the location looking within 10% of the way it looked when we first got there meant the production company had succeeded, even if the footage came out badly, they still could consider it a success if they hadn't thrashed the place!

I will keep adding more and more images and stories of all the film and video projects of note that I have worked on in my own world of truly independent, low low budget, NO WEDDING VIDEO, film and video productions throughout the late 80's, the 90's, and into the new century.

There is one rule that I believe I never broke from early on on any project that I edited. I would not release a technically inferior edit master to a client. As a result, I can take a 10 to 15 year old betacam sp edit master, put into a betacam sp player, and not be embarrassed to show it. I am very proud of the quality control aspect that I have put into all of my productions as nowadays I realize filmmakers have one huge disadvantage versus the generation that came before them.

In the 90's, we were FORCED TO INTERACT and work with each other whereas nowadays, you get to learn how to do it yourself. I realize now that many of the experiences I had years ago when I was working 10-15 hour days on projects that required more cooperation among other people make them richer experiences than many of the present production experiences that seem to be about mastering a new format or learning an improved technology rather than about the people, places and things that are being documented.

Why will I be offering a 900 number? I figure by the time I have this blog filled with several dozen production stories along with the imagery on the sides of the blog that is sure to elicit more questions than they answer, along with what I hope are bits of wisdom mixed in, paying a couple of bucks a minute to ask me pertinent, direct questions just might be worth it to somebody on the planet.

If you think I'm being greedy for offering a 900 number so you can talk directly to me for a relatively small minute by minute fee, I have already donated literally 5 thousand hours of my time in the past 10 years on various forums, blogs, and websites. To this day I still donate my time for free to All Experts and most of what I have written still exists on the internet.

However, one thing about the internet that I find both rewarding and frustrating at the same time is that there is too much information. And that's where my 900 number comes in. You can cut through hours of conflicting albeit "free" research, and just ask me specific questions that relate to the nuts and bolts of film and video production from a somewhat unique experience.

Imagine being the one person who MUST finish each and every job, and then imagine the learning curve that must go into being able to deliver a project to someone and have them accept it when they paid 1/5th the going rate yet expected 5 times the value. You don't have to imagine it, I'm your guy.

If nothing else, I will have at least documented my absolutely crazy intensity to make my clients film and video project be watchable when completed, no matter what the budget was that they had to spend.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more

commercial critiques

by Alessandro Machi at

Super Bowl Consulting