Hey guys-
new user here. I joined waaaaay back and recently just got back on board. I'm a senior BA Theatre Arts major at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC. I'm mainly an actor (don't shun me away just yet), but I'm also a damn good carpenter and pretty good lighting electrician. But I'm still learning in many areas. One of them is video, and one is sound. Not really sure what I'm doing at all. Kind of know where to start, but not really. So any advice you have is greatly welcomed.
I've been appointed audio/video engineer for a collaborative dance project centered around the story of Icarus and Daedalus. This is a different animal for all of us. Mainly because we're collaborating with a dance company in Florida (600 mi away) and lately a lot of answers don't come for anyone until the very last second. It's also different because the part of the show that I'm responsible for creating media for is a devised dance piece. They're literally making it up as they go. So I have to edit/design/layer projections AND sound for this project, and for weeks I haven't even known what exactly what they needed me to produce for them.
Last night I finally got some answers, along with some really tight time constraints. I have until 2/17/14 to have everything ready to go for Q2Q. That also happens to be the drop/add for any a/v. Convenient.
Right now, my questions pertain to 1)source/stock video, 2) capabilities, and 3) software.
This is my project as it stands now: Right now I know that they have a moment at the end of the piece where there are hundreds of paper airplanes flying in from offstage, and they're looking for a projection with more paper airplanes to accentuate that effect. It doesn't have to explicitly be a well-lit image of life-like paper airplanes, it can look weird or strange or contain artistic liberties. Silhouettes of paper airplanes was one thought I had. It's after Daedalus has left the drowning Icarus behind, has now landed on safe ground, successfully escaping the Labyrinth, but now freshly mourning the death of Icarus. So the video should have a kind of "cleansing rain" element to the qualities of movement and flight of the paper airplanes. It's a light moment, more soft and gentle than heavy or violent. It's kind of the moment where Daedalus is washing away his regret.
1) So I've been on the hunt for paper airplane stock video. I've checked iStock, Corbis, and a site called Pond5. Found a few candidates, but still looking. Can anyone provide some good stock media sources to check online?
2) Capabilities. I have no idea what most of the video quality and dimensions mean when it comes to putting it on a huge projection screen onstage. I don't know what questions to ask really. (And unfortunately, even if I did, I don't know if I can get the answers right now.) But here's a few questions I've been worried about:
3) Right now I'm downloading trial versions of adobe premiere pro and After Effects, and I've also downloaded a free program called Video Projection Tools (http://hcgilje.wordpress.com/vpt/ if you want to take a look at it). And I'm running a Mac so I have iMovie at my disposal. Do you guys know of any other good programs, with relatively simple learning curves? (Keep in mind, it's now 13 days to Q2Q. I know I'm kind of set up for disaster but I gotta take my best crack it.)
ANY light you guys can shed on this MULTITUDE of questions I have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.
new user here. I joined waaaaay back and recently just got back on board. I'm a senior BA Theatre Arts major at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC. I'm mainly an actor (don't shun me away just yet), but I'm also a damn good carpenter and pretty good lighting electrician. But I'm still learning in many areas. One of them is video, and one is sound. Not really sure what I'm doing at all. Kind of know where to start, but not really. So any advice you have is greatly welcomed.
I've been appointed audio/video engineer for a collaborative dance project centered around the story of Icarus and Daedalus. This is a different animal for all of us. Mainly because we're collaborating with a dance company in Florida (600 mi away) and lately a lot of answers don't come for anyone until the very last second. It's also different because the part of the show that I'm responsible for creating media for is a devised dance piece. They're literally making it up as they go. So I have to edit/design/layer projections AND sound for this project, and for weeks I haven't even known what exactly what they needed me to produce for them.
Last night I finally got some answers, along with some really tight time constraints. I have until 2/17/14 to have everything ready to go for Q2Q. That also happens to be the drop/add for any a/v. Convenient.
Right now, my questions pertain to 1)source/stock video, 2) capabilities, and 3) software.
This is my project as it stands now: Right now I know that they have a moment at the end of the piece where there are hundreds of paper airplanes flying in from offstage, and they're looking for a projection with more paper airplanes to accentuate that effect. It doesn't have to explicitly be a well-lit image of life-like paper airplanes, it can look weird or strange or contain artistic liberties. Silhouettes of paper airplanes was one thought I had. It's after Daedalus has left the drowning Icarus behind, has now landed on safe ground, successfully escaping the Labyrinth, but now freshly mourning the death of Icarus. So the video should have a kind of "cleansing rain" element to the qualities of movement and flight of the paper airplanes. It's a light moment, more soft and gentle than heavy or violent. It's kind of the moment where Daedalus is washing away his regret.
1) So I've been on the hunt for paper airplane stock video. I've checked iStock, Corbis, and a site called Pond5. Found a few candidates, but still looking. Can anyone provide some good stock media sources to check online?
2) Capabilities. I have no idea what most of the video quality and dimensions mean when it comes to putting it on a huge projection screen onstage. I don't know what questions to ask really. (And unfortunately, even if I did, I don't know if I can get the answers right now.) But here's a few questions I've been worried about:
2a) Some of these stock sites carry cheap royalty free media (like Pond5). Is the quality going to be good enough to blow up on a projection screen? What have your experiences been with different stock media sites? (I don't know how big it needs to be yet. TBA. But we're in the 1500 seat house, so... BIG.)
2b) Hypothetically, let's say I find the stock video of paper airplanes I want, but the background is just plain and boring. I know I want there to be some kind of texture behind it. Then I find one or more stock videos that could create the PERFECT complement for a background, but it's too much. Color's all wrong, it's too "loud," and and they won't blend well with the paper airplanes without some serious editing. Is it possible to take multiple stock footage, mess around with the hues, saturation, contrast, balance, transparency, etc., make any needed cuts, layer them on one another and layer the airplane video on top of that? If so, what software do I need to use?
2c) What other questions do I need to start asking in terms of physical world capabilities, and director's wants/needs?
2b) Hypothetically, let's say I find the stock video of paper airplanes I want, but the background is just plain and boring. I know I want there to be some kind of texture behind it. Then I find one or more stock videos that could create the PERFECT complement for a background, but it's too much. Color's all wrong, it's too "loud," and and they won't blend well with the paper airplanes without some serious editing. Is it possible to take multiple stock footage, mess around with the hues, saturation, contrast, balance, transparency, etc., make any needed cuts, layer them on one another and layer the airplane video on top of that? If so, what software do I need to use?
2c) What other questions do I need to start asking in terms of physical world capabilities, and director's wants/needs?
3) Right now I'm downloading trial versions of adobe premiere pro and After Effects, and I've also downloaded a free program called Video Projection Tools (http://hcgilje.wordpress.com/vpt/ if you want to take a look at it). And I'm running a Mac so I have iMovie at my disposal. Do you guys know of any other good programs, with relatively simple learning curves? (Keep in mind, it's now 13 days to Q2Q. I know I'm kind of set up for disaster but I gotta take my best crack it.)
ANY light you guys can shed on this MULTITUDE of questions I have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.
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