IN[FOCUS]

This is a short post. It’s short because it doesn’t really need to be very long. As a Mac user for over 8 years and a self-taught cinematographer, I learned an embarrassing lesson that cost me over 2 full days of production time.

In short: We have a a QNAP TS-559 Pro II that we use as a central scratch drive and storage hub for all of our media.  It holds 5 x 3 TB Seagate Barracuda harddrives and has Gigabyte connections to all of our workstations.  It’s pretty cool.

This week – I was working away on a corporate project and found that my playback speed began to suffer significantly. As in – there was basically no playback.  I was furious. I closed everything. Restarted several times. Checked all my connections. Threw things. Called my IT guy. Threw more things. Booked an appointment with my IT Guy. Got angry. Went home for the day. Stayed Angry. Went to work the next day. My IT guy didn’t show up. That made me even more mad. Threw more things. Waited. Then I called an Apple Service guy in town and he came by.

He took one look at my computer and noticed I had Airport turned on. Long story short – the QNAP was trying to communicate with my laptop wirelessly rather than using the network cable that was attached.  The communication between the laptop and QNAP server was less than 5% of the data flow through that I should be getting from my network cable.

Long story short: turn off wireless internet if you’re hard-wired. It will keep you from throwing things.

I hope this helps someone because I was awfully embarrassed when I found out what was actually wrong.

(ps. The IT guy no longer works for us)

See you all in January!
Andrew Sorlie

Andrew Sorlie

Andrew and Emily Sorlie are the owners of Honey & Dear, a successful Toronto, Canada - based wedding cinematography company. They attended their first [In]Focus conference in Austin, Texas in 2010, and it radically changed the direction of their company. With the knowledge and experience they gained, the Sorlies rebranded their now-flourishing business from Sorlie Arts to Honey & Dear. Together, they have filmed more than 80 weddings all over the world including Australia, Dominican Republic, Singapore & Canada.

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Hi there, everyone! Jet Kaiser is here to remind you stay comfortable while you work!

Several years back, when I was first getting my feet wet in the industry, I was looking to save money every chance I got, even if it meant placing time, health & comfort on the back burner. Now that I understand the true value of time this isn’t the case anymore.

We [filmmakers] are the biggest assets to our businesses and we need to treat ourselves right. Sacrificing comfort to save a couple extra bucks is not smart. Our money needs to go where our time is spent.

Most people don’t realize how much time goes into a wedding film. Hours and hours are spent in the same position, starring at pixels during the editing process. How ergonomic is your workstation? Below is a basic list that I’ve conducted to help with setting up your work areas with comfort, health and time in mind.

A big comfy chair.

This is number one. Choose a chair that is comfortable and gives you support. Chairs with armrests that are the same height as your desk helps you eliminate shoulder stress.  I recommend the Ergohuman ME7ERG.

Monitors that are at eye-level.

I’ve seen workstations where the editor has to look up to see the screens (like playing sample video games at Wal-mart). It won’t take long for the editor to develop some nasty neck and back pain. Keeping our monitors at eye level (or slightly below) will help avoid stress in your neck and ensures that we are seeing our images clearly.

Ergonomic Mice.

Luckily there is a nice assortment of ergonomic mice on the market. Be sure to choose a mouse that fits your hand and has plenty of customizable buttons. I have found that Logitech has some great mice for folks with large hands like myself. Your mouse should fill up all the space under your hand.

Wrist support.

This is a big one and is commonly overlooked. Computer gloves and wrist supports keep your wrists at an optimal ergonomic position and helps prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Last year I started using an IMAK computer glove for my mouse hand and it was the best $15 I spent in 2010. Also, when the UPS guys delivers and notices your glove when you answer the door you can tell him that you are training to become a cagefighter. :->

Lighting.

This also commonly overlooked. We moved into our new home studio last year and I designed it so we would be able to eliminate any glare on our screens. I studied how the big studios (Pixar, Industrial Light & Magic, etc.) lit their workspaces and then applied the same principles to our studio. No direct light, only subtle glows.

Shuttles/Controllers.

Whether it is embedded in your editing keyboard or a stand alone like the Contour Design’s ShuttlePro, a shuttle can speed up your editing time all while keeping your hands and fingers in a comfortable position. Check out this post for more information on the ShuttlePro v2.

Have any other helpful ideas regarding ergonomics? Comment below and share your thoughts.

Stay comfy, ya’ll
Jet Kaiser
Jet Kaiser Films

Jet

Jet Kaiser saved up enough money to by his first camcorder at the age of 14 and he's been creating films ever since. He eventually created the Indianapolis-based, Jet Kaiser Films where he collaborates his with his lovely wife, Dani. Together they produce cinematic, story-rich, "motion pictures for those in LOVE™ "

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Hello there friends and family!

Eric Kmetz here bringing you a very special post today.

Recently, I sat down with Detroit-area wedding photographers Melissa Patterson and Adam Czap to discuss the DSLR trend, what gear they use, and how photographers and filmmakers can work together seamlessly at an event.

This is part I of II of our panel. Today’s discussion covers what gear Melissa and Adam use, and their thoughts on DSLR video.

In part II, I’ll find out exactly what these photographers think of event filmmakers, and how to be sure everyone plays nice!

xoxo,
E

Eric Kmetz

Eric Kmetz is the lead filmmaker for Epic Motion, based in Detroit, MI. Named one of the 2010 EventDV top 25 filmmakers, Eric has been a full-time wedding filmmaker since 2009. In his spare time he devotes himself to being as kmawesome as legally allowed. Furthermore, 83% of people agree…he's the bees knees. True story.

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