“Green” with envy over your friends super slick packaging? Thinking “gosh, that’s cool, but I really don’t want to spend that much per piece!” Introducing the best kept secret in wedding packaging … Kraft and Jute!

Kraft and Jute is a Pennsylvania based company making simple, beautiful eco-friendly packaging solutions catered to fit your business needs. Their main focus is for photographers, but many of their products I’ve used for wedding films. They have also customized products I’ve sketched on napkins and helped them design!

For what they offer, their price point per piece is very fair. Their customer service is off the charts and their facebook page is loaded with images of products. You will want one of everything when you are done browsing their online store. The best part is, you can dress up or dress down the “eco friendly” kraft look to be more modern or more earthy. It’s really a versitile style that many companies could implement… just see for yourself.

Filmed by my “high school  helper” Alex (more about interns/helpers in this post, here.)

Images and Stitching Video Clips by Kraft and Jute. Follow them on Facebook here, and Twitter here.

Music provided by: The Music Bed (Untitled by Ben Rector)

Meg Simone

Wedding filmmaker, avid skier, and travel enthusiast!

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Click here to view the embedded video.

With DSLRs, getting the right lenses are an important investment. And naturally, it can get expensive fast! In this video, I dissect how it’s possible to go off the beaten path and purchase some great lenses without breaking the bank. Of course, everyone knows Canon L lenses are the best, but not everyone (including Life Stage w/ 3 teams!) can afford ALL the best. This video breaks down what lenses you might find in our gear bag and WHY we use certain lenses in specific situations. 

I mention…

Tokina 11-16

Canon 100-400L

Sigma 85mm

and the staples such as Canon 24-70L, Canon 70-200L IS and Canon 50mm

Matt Davis

Matt Davis (coaching at lifestagefilms.com) of Life Stage Films has been described as the “head coach of wedding videography,” providing one-on-one business coaching as well as group coaching webinars. A featured speaker at both WEVA 2009-10 and IN[FOCUS] 2010-11, as well as a multiple CEA award winner and 2009-10 EventDV 25 All-Star, he is based in Wilmington, N.C.

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G’day, blog followers!

Jet Kaiser here today to share a little time/money saving technique for us event filmmakers.

Those that are using DSLR’s know that it can be a pain to locate clips and stay chronological when editing from multiple cameras. When you transcode your footage, the original date created time is terminated since it is a newly created clip, making it impossible to view the clips chronologically once in FCP. Batch renaming your clips prior to transcoding will ensure that your clips stay together just as they were shot. When you are editing, you will have all you ceremony footage together and the toasts and dances from all angles will be sequentially and chronologically numbered to the precise second.

Batch renaming workflow is as follows-

1. Back up the footage!
2. Place all of the footage from all your cameras into one folder (some might choose not to include prep footage with the batch considering their might be footage from 2 different locations that you might not want to be sequenced together).
3. Using a renaming program, batch rename all the clips together while the files are arranged under “original date created”. Renaming a file does not change the date/time created (shot), only the name.
4. Transcode files as normal (MPEG Streamclip, Compressor)
5. Import in FCP

First and foremost, this workflow has increased our delivery times and has saved us a lot of time searching within our FCP browser to find related clips. Batch renaming clips might not be for everyone, especially those using the EOS plugin within FCP. I have not found a way to log and transfer renamed clips using this plugin.

Download Many Tricks’ Name Mangler

Thoughts? Comments? Am I out of my mind? Let me know (in the nicest way possible) by commenting below.

Bye!
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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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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As HD video has become the norm, it has become a struggle to make our clients look their best without spending 100+ hours in the editing room.  I’m sure we have all wished for a video version of a Photoshop action to take out wrinkles, scars, zits, and any other blemishes that our clients surely wouldn’t want to see on their 60″ HD TV.

Well, look no further than New Blue FX‘s Video Essentials IV! This thing is LOADED with tools we should all have in our tool box (as you have heard me say before).  But this “Skin Touch Up” tool has truely floored me on how precise it is, while at the same time not ruining the look of my video by making it look fake.  It is easy to apply and quick to render.

Watch this tutorial above that the folks over at New Blue Fx‘s did on my recent Trash the Dress video.

Enjoy! Your clients will LOVE you!
“Head Coach” – Matt Davis

Matt Davis

Matt Davis (coaching at lifestagefilms.com) of Life Stage Films has been described as the “head coach of wedding videography,” providing one-on-one business coaching as well as group coaching webinars. A featured speaker at both WEVA 2009-10 and IN[FOCUS] 2010-11, as well as a multiple CEA award winner and 2009-10 EventDV 25 All-Star, he is based in Wilmington, N.C.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Throughout this video, I present some of the pros and cons with using teleconverters.   One must personally weigh these pros and cons to determine if teleconverters are right for their project. If used under the right circumstances, teleconverters can greatly enhance  the emotional impact of a production. Be sure to comment and let us know what your thoughts are on teleconverters and feel free to share any stories with using them.

Thanks for watching!
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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Dead Pixels are frightening. It’s not if, it’s when. When will your camera, whether it be an older 3-chip camcorder or a brand-spanking new DSLR, lose one of it’s many precious picture elements?

Back in October 2009, I was excited about the release of the Canon EOS 7D and I purchased one right away. It was a perfect new addition to our camera family but after 3 months of using it something dreadful happened. Three white, stuck pixels started to form during an all day wedding shoot. Since the 7D’s LCD screen is only capable of showing about 50% of the 2 million + pixels that make up a full HD image, we didn’t noticed the faults until reviewing the clips in 1080p the next day. The 7D was sent off for repair while we were left with footage that needed repaired as well.

There are many methods on how to repair a dead or stuck pixel, but that’s a post for another time. In this post I am interested in showing you a great solution for repairing dead pixel footage rather than repairing the camera’s sensor.

The solution for Final Cut users is Reincarnation from Digital Heaven. Reincarnation is a plug-in for Final Cut Pro that does what it what is claims by “Bringing dead pixel back to life.” Reincarnation copies the information from the nearby functional pixels to mask the dead/stuck pixel area. I’ve decided not to create a tutorial on using this software because a very worthy tutorial has already been produced by its creators.

It sells for $59 at the Digital Heaven store and is definitely worth looking into whenever one of your camera’s pixels decides to give up the ghost.

I appreciate your comments

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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I’m a big fan of saving time. Digital Heaven has produced a helper application called Loader for Final Cut Pro users that helps us do just that. It’s very simple and worth looking into.

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™ "

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Still using alkaline batteries in your equipment? Switching to rechargeable NiMH batteries can save your studio lots of money! Also, what about all these different versions of the Canon LP-E6 batteries (used in the 5D mark II, 7d & 60D)? These questions are answered along with more in the video above. Although this video doesn’t answer everything you need to know about these batteries, it does contain some more specific information about them that I’ve learned over the years. Thanks for watching!

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™ "

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Hey there interwebs! Eric Kmetz here to talk about drive management and how to keep your sanity in doing so.

As video professionals, it’s pretty safe to assume that we don’t store all of our footage, audio, DVD menus, render files, exports, etc, etc all on ONE hard drive. There are two reasons we don’t want to do this. The first is that I’m not sure they make a hard drive large enough to hold all of that data, and the second is you just would not want to put your entire business in the hands of a single hard drive. So, here we are with a ton of hard drives and no idea how to keep track and organize them. What I’m going to do is give you a few quick tips on making your drives more organized and structured.

The first and most important you will want to do is develop a system. Different people will have different methods for organizing their files; however it really comes down to personal preference and what will make you most efficient.

One way to organize is to store certain types of files on specific drives. So you have a set drive for your render files, a drive for exports, etc. Another approach is to organize based on projects, so you keep all files pertaining to a certain project on the same drive. Personally, I like to incorporate a mixture of the two. As much as possible, I will keep files for a project on one specific drive. This makes things easy when switching between open projects because I only have to connect one drive.

There is an exception to this rule. Since we have made the switch to shooting entirely on DSLR’s, we no longer have the luxury of having mini-DV tapes as a backup for our footage. Because these files cannot be recreated like DVD menus and FCP files, all raw footage is treated differently then other files. When copying over files from CF cards, I will put them on drives that are specifically for captured footage. These drives are then backed up onto a second drive and those backups are stored in a fireproof safe. By doing this, we minimize our risk of losing any footage as much as possible.

Regardless of what method you choose when developing an organization system, the most important thing is that you stick to it! Create a manual to keep the procedures consistent throughout the company.

Now that you have a fool-proof system in place, you are going to need a way to keep track of what files are on what drive. It’s quite annoying and inefficient to search through drive after drive looking for one specific file (and then not finding it on occasion).  That’s where a disk management program comes in.

For those of you on a Mac, I strongly recommend that you check out DiskLibrary. When I started at Epic, this was the very first recommendation I made for the company. This program will allow you to catalog every hard drive or DVD that you have, so you can browse the list of files on the drive without connecting it to the computer! For more on DiskLibrary, watch the video that accompanies this post. I go into a little more detail on the program, and how it can help you.

One final piece – RAID’s. There are two main types of RAID (or Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks), RAID 0 and RAID 1. A RAID 0 array is known as a striped raid. To put it simply, this takes two identical hard drives and combines them into one drive. So two 500GB drives become one 1TB drive. The data is then written onto both drives sequentially, and therefore increases the speed and performance of the drive. I would not recommend creating a striped RAID set using external hard drives because of the increased possibility of data corruption when drives are moved. A good place to incorporate this is your computers internal hard drive (if possible).

The other type of RAID is RAID 1 or mirrored RAID. A mirrored RAID takes two identical hard drives and creates one single hard drive. The data is then written identically onto both hard drives. The drive can continue to operate and data can be accessed if one of the hard drives fail. It is important to note that using a mirrored RAID can become complicated if data is written to one drive while the other is not connected, thus degrading the RAID set. In short, mirrored RAIDs are not the ideal solution for data backup.

Well, there you go kids. I hope this post has helped you sort out the best solution for managing and organizing your hard drives. As always, if you have any additional questions feel free to email me at eric[at]epicmotion.com, or reach out to me via twitter, @erickmetz.

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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