Shark Tank Hopefuls, Pitch Me.

I'm a Shark Tank Fan. Every now and then I am surprised at the approach taken by the shark bait.  I guess some people are so busy trying to get their business off the ground they actually don't watch the show, or don't watch it enough, and fall into some basic traps.

If you want to try out for Shark Tank, but want to practice your presentation, I am available, I may even come up with an idea or two to optimize your presentation.  Odds are I won't hurt your presentation, but possibly make it better.

Why do some people still shoot still film and motion picture film?

Sometimes technology moves along so far and so fast that we automatically think the old stuff has no value or point. And yet, there are music enthusiasts who still crave a top of line Record Player over any CD system.

Film too is becoming misunderstood. 

On a separate but relatable note, the July 4th hot dog eating contests are all about cramming as much dead animal into one's gullet as is humanly possible within a certain time limit. In some ways that is what has become of digital. 

The ability to reshoot, reframe, and retry over and over, and for virtually no cost (although the more one shoots (eats) the longer one takes to log the material (digest the food) and decide which shots are the best), and then retouch those shots over and over in photoshop, is sometimes mistaken as always being a superior method to shooting on film.

The charm of film, besides the look of all the different kind of film stocks, is the planning and concentration involved before one pulls the trigger. Film shooting helps a person create an ingredients list of what shots they need, and what they will do with the shots afterwards.

If you have about 500 to 1,000 dollars to spend, you might want to invest in a top of the line Super-8mm camera, join a super-8 forum,  shoot film, have a lab develop the film, and then have the film transferred to a digital editing format of your choice.  

Ah yes, the secret coolness of film is that it is format agnostic. Film becomes the format you transfer it to, and, as formats improve and new ones get created, the same piece of film can be retransferred again, with new and improved quality. Motion picture films shot in the 60's and 70's can be retransferred today with enhanced quality.

Just recently, Kodak announced a new film designed to preserve productions shot on digital video!

Film has been able to match HD step for step. As HD has improved, so has the look of film transferred to HD.

You just may find yourself getting hooked on the challenge of shooting Super-8mm film, and the ensuing results. Some Super-8 cameras come with so many filming options they actually offer many more options than shooting in 16mm or 35mm. Plus, the viewfinders for Super-8 cameras are among the best ever made. However, if you want to match HD quality, you would shoot on 16mm or 35mm.

Or if you already own a digital camera, you could just be like everybody else and buy the newest digital camera, only to kick yourself in the butt for not waiting an extra year or two for the new and improved digital camera that is always around the corner.

Your Beginners Camera Checklist of things to do while preparing for a film, video or still shoot will grow over time.

Camera checklists are essential when preparing for a film, video, or still shoot. Over time, your camera checklist will probably expand. No matter how well you prepare before your first couple of shoots, actual experience is the best teacher of what should be on your camera checklist.

While it's important to learn by doing, it is also important to start out with a beginners checklist that may be beyond your own expertise level. MyAlexLOGIC can provide you with a terrific starter camera check list from which to build on. All you have to do is book the time.

Why Internet Sandboxes are so important.

I tried signing up for an internet conference recently. I requested the opportunity to "pre-check" if I could view the websites content ahead of time by simply looking at a pre-recorded segment of a prior conference that would be streamed exactly in the same way as the live show would be streamed. I was told such a pre-check option was not available.

Ouch! Possibly one of the biggest areas of deceived victims on the internet are the website owners that buy into a live video conference system that does not allow the end viewer a chance to pre-check, or "sandbox" their connection ahead of time to make sure it works. A sandbox approach would allow the end user a chance to try out their video connection well before the event to ensure a confident viewer during the event.

Watching a live event on the internet should be not different than tuning in a television channel on regular television.

I personally learned hundreds of amazing concepts during the 90's when my video editing online suite was comprised entirely of actual high end videotape editing machines and what I saw is what I got, and I could instantly change and video or audio level prior to recording it onto the video edit master. 

Fast forward ten to 15 years later and I see that those exceptional analog video concepts that I learned in the 90's HAVE NOT made it into the world of internet video interaction for the end user.

MyAlexLOGIC one on one studio classes offer a wealth of information.

Carrie Keagan's Color Blocking Fashion sense on the Craig Ferguson Show.

I'm being serious when I say that I have never seen such a vivid shade of yellow as Carrie Keagan's yellow dress on the Feb. 28th, 2012 Craig Ferguson show. 

 I'm impressed when a color, any color, can pop off the television screen because the combination of luminance, saturation and gray scale has been perfectly captured. 

 Unfortunately, CBS internet video has crushed the black levels from 7.5 to 0.0, so even though the yellow still pops, the actual video image is being incorrectly being displayed by CBS on the internet. 

 Keagan mentioned that her dress was part of the "color blocking" fashion rage.  If you click on the link, definitely watch the 16 image slide show on color blocking fashion.

Unfortunately, CBS internet video has crushed the black levels from 7.5 to 0.0, so even though the yellow still pops, the actual video image is being incorrectly being displayed by CBS. 

Crushing the black level is a way to conserve the amount of broadband needed to transmit an image over the internet. When Keagan turns her back to show the black on the back of her dress, that black is probably not 100 percent black, but it shows up that way in these images because the black levels have been crushed.

I'm amazed at how much I have learned by having my own video editing studio and how easily such basic, critical and foundational knowledge skills are either being lost or purposely ignored as technology continues to "improve".

MyAlexLOGIC offers classes on monitor calibration and key color correction strategies.


You can catch this Feb. 28, 2012 Craig Ferguson episode at CBS online.