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Recent Posts
- Our Truly Amazing TV Debut: Behind the Scenes
- Holi in Bangladesh Part 2: the Ruined Roll
- Holi in Bangladesh
- Hashing Out Old Dhaka
- The Blog is Back: First Impressions of Dhaka, Bangladesh
- A Few Words About My Father
- The Sky is NOT Always Blue in California
- “Artisans” documentary series – final (?) episode
- Every Day is a Surprise. Also, People are A$$h0Le5. (part 2)
- Every Day is a Surprise. Also, People are A$$h0Le5.
Category Archives: Video Shooting, Editing and Production
Our Truly Amazing TV Debut: Behind the Scenes
A few months ago, we got word through the Dhaka expat network that someone was looking for “foreigners” to play roles in a Bangladeshi television show. No acting experience or Bengali language experience required. It turns out that this “someone” … Continue reading
Posted in Bangladesh, Video Shooting, Editing and Production
Tagged Bangladesh, magazine show, sanket, television
1 Comment
New Project: Mini-Documentaries on Madagascar’s Informal Sector
I’m excited to be working on a new and admittedly somewhat ambitious project: a series of short documentaries examining some jobs in Madagascar’s informal sector. I plan to describe the work itself, but also spend some time thinking about why … Continue reading
Posted in Video Editing
Tagged artisan, blacksmith, brick maker, documentary, informal sector, job, project, trades, weaver
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When 2000 Giant Ganesha Idols are Immersed in the Sea
My Indian friends who grew up nearby tell me it wasn’t always like this. They say when they were growing up, during the festival Ganesh Chaturthi, they would have a small clay statue of Lord Ganesha, one of Hinduism’s most … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Video Effects
Tagged Chaturthi, Chennai, deity, festival, Ganesh, Ganesha, idols, immersion, India, potato stamp, Vinayaka
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Drones, Kingfishers, and Joey Cook’s Ukulele
Goa, India’s diminutive state on the west coast, enjoys a certain reputation as a party destination, full of backpackers and bikinis, in search of yoga or outdoor sports. But it also has its wildlife – especially birds. I wrote about … Continue reading
“Blessed:” My Entry for the “India Is” Video Contest
All living things love their life, desire pleasure and do not like pain; they dislike any injury to themselves; everybody is desirous of life and to every being, his life is very dear.” – from the Yogashastra (Jain Scripture), from around … Continue reading
Posted in Video Contests, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged Chennai, documentary, india is, Jainism, Jains, Marina Beach, pigeons, Video Contests
4 Comments
It’s always hardest cutting your own video…
Why, other than a few hardcore fans, is a film’s director the only one who likes the “Director’s Cut” better than the movie that was released to the public? It’s hard to delete the footage you worked so hard to … Continue reading
Driving in Chennai: Timelapse
In time-lapse photography, it’s common to keep the camera pretty still and let the subject do the moving – or if at all, to move the camera very slowly. But it can also be fun to do a moving camera … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Video Editing
Tagged Chennai, driving, India, timelapse, traffic
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What is it with computer company customer service these days? (I’m talking about you, Toshiba and Dell!)
I’m seeing a lot of reports these days lamenting lagging computer sales, and theorizing why that might be. I’m of the opinion that a big part of the reason is customer service. These days, it seems that more and more, … Continue reading
Posted in Gear, Video Editing
Tagged Alienware, cancellation, customer, defective, Dell, DellCares, exchange, hard drive, Qosmio, returns, Toshiba
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My Destination’s “Biggest Baddest Bucket List” and Namibia
Here’s a great idea for a video contest: make a 3 minute video about a favorite destination, write a few hundred words about travel, and send three photos. What can you win? a six-month, all-expense-paid trip around the world, and … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Video Contests
Tagged BBB, bucket list, contest, My Destination, video
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How to Get #CNN iReport to Feature Your Video
It’s kind of an ego thing when CNN – or any other real news outlet, chooses your video as its daily feature, from what are probably thousands of videos they receive every day. This creative videographer decided to enlist the … Continue reading
Posted in Tips and Tricks, Video Editing
Tagged CNN, ireport, peanuts, squirrels, TAZM Pictures
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Meh. Who Needs Pixar?
Remember the technological wizardry, engineering know-how, and computing power it took to make Toy Story? Well, a couple of teens (and a whole bunch of their friends) decided to see if it was possible to make a “live action” version. … Continue reading
Free Jungle Sounds
Every now and then I come across some sounds that might be of use to other video hobbyists. These are pretty clean, high quality recordings taken with a Rode Videomic. Feel free to download the sounds and use them for … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar, Music for Video, Sound Effects for Video, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged free, frogs, indri, jungle, lemurs, Madagascar, sounds
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The Right Music for a Video. But Not Quite.
Sometimes finding exactly the right ‘feel’ music for a video is the most fun part of video editing, and other times I dread it. Because I already know that it’s going to be impossible to find music that won’t be … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar, Music for Video, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged choosing, Music for Video, sound
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Tired of Shelling Out Ten Grand to Sing “Happy Birthday”?
What’s that? You’re not paying Time Warner, the copyright holder, for the rights to sing “Happy Birthday to You” in a public place? You could be opening yourself up to a lawsuit! That’s apparently what they charge. It’s probably just … Continue reading
Posted in Contests, Other, Legal Issues, Music for Video
Tagged contest, copyright, Free Fusic Archive, Happy Birthday
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Underwater Videography: Things I’ve Learned
If you’ve ever managed to take along a camera snorkeling, you probably had the same reaction I did when you got your finished footage home to the computer: “It looks nothing like it did when I was actually snorkeling.” Colors … Continue reading
Posted in Madagascar, Music for Video, Video Editing
Tagged Madagascar, Music for Video, post, snorkeling, underwater
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Madagascar on 12.12.12 part II: the Snake
For my second installment in the “One Day on Earth” project, in which filmmakers around the world are invited to contribute footage which may be used in a feature-length film, I was also in Madagascar’s Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Technically, we … Continue reading
Posted in Cool Stuff on Vimeo, Madagascar, One Day on Earth, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged boa, constrictor, eating, frog, one day on earth, snake, swallow, tree frog
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Madagascar on 12.12.12 part I: the Lemurs
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I have been pretty excited about 12.12.12. Why? Because that’s the day the third “One Day on Earth” film is to be recorded in every country around the world. The first … Continue reading
Posted in Cool Stuff on Vimeo, Madagascar, One Day on Earth, Wildlife and Nature
Tagged indri, lemurs, Madagascar, one day on earth, sifakas
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12.12.12 is Almost Here!
12.12.12 is almost here! Why is that important? That’s when you need to film your contribution to “One Day on Earth“, a global movie all shot on the same day! I’ve blogged about it before. What else can you do … Continue reading
Free Animation Course by Bill Plympton
Want to learn more about animation from one of its masters? Bill Plympton is an animator who hand draws all of his frames – a dying art that has almost been completely replaced by Pixar-style computer animation. Don’t get me … Continue reading
Still Needed for “One Day on Earth” by 12.12.12
I’ve blogged before about the exciting worldwide film project to be filmed on 12.12.12 – see One Day on Earth’s website for more details. As we approach the final few days, please spread the word that the organizers still need … Continue reading
Posted in One Day on Earth
Tagged 12.12.12, one day on earth, OneDayOnEarth, worldwide film project
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A Day in Lüderitz – Two Different Soundtracks
Recently my daughter and I took a trip to the small, somewhat odd Namibian coastal town of Lüderitz. I say it’s odd because we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, after driving a long, winding road which seemed unable to keep … Continue reading
One Day on Earth: the 12/12/12 trailer is here!
On 10/10/10 and 11/11/11, filmmakers all around the world collaborated to create a film that captured life on earth on those specific days. The trilogy is going to be completed on 12/12/12 and the best news is that you can … Continue reading
Posted in One Day on Earth
Tagged collaboration, film, one day on earth, OneDayOnEarth
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My Entries in FVAP.gov’s Video Contest
I decided to go out on a limb and enter another video contest after a long break. FVAP.gov, the federal absentee voting site, is hosting a contest wherein people can win $1,000 in five different categories. Unfortunately (but fortunately for … Continue reading
Posted in Video Contests
Tagged absentee, ballot, contest, entry, fvap, government, voting
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2012 Project Reason Video Contest Winners
Check out this year’s winners of the Project Reason video contest. I worked on en entry for this a few years ago (when the contest first started and there was still a chance of winning) but now the entries have … Continue reading
21 Sunsets – a timelapse project
I love doing timelapses – especially of natural phenomena. But I admit it can be a lot harder than it first appears – if you want to do it right. But moving to Namibia and finding housing on a westward-facing … Continue reading