4 Ways Video Is Fundamentally Changing

If you’re interested in the business of video beyond just shooting and editing it, you might enjoy reading Shishir Mehrotra of Google’s recent article over on ClickZ. He notes “In my position at YouTube, I’ve observed this market over the last few years, and have taken note of the ways in which it is fundamentally changing.” His four main macro-changes are:

• Hyper-Fragmentation
• Great Content Can Come From Anywhere
• Advertisers Can Create Content That Users Love
• There Is No Online Video, Just Video

For many of you, the first two may fit into the “well, DUH” category; Shishir even notes the first one is “not a new story.” The last one is something we’ve been personally preaching for years: The sooner you blur the lines between broadcast and web video from the production side, the better, because the viewer already expects them to be of the same quality - just as they expected “local market” or cable TV to look as good as the major networks. That third one may come as a bit of a surprise to the cynical, but anyone who has seen videos like the Evian Roller Babies (and not to mention, its view counter) realize it’s becoming true. Regardless, it’s a good read, as well as something to pass onto your clients.

Can We Stop Piracy? Should We?

Philip and I were asked to talk about piracy. This is a favorite subject of Philip’s and his passion shows through. Whether you agree or disagree, his arguments are strong. Check us out on Episode 16 of The Terence & Philip Show.

REVIEW:  Hulu Plus

It’s kind of hard to believe I started gushing over the Roku box over two years ago... and again here... and here.  This little plastic box has really revolutionized the distribution of content, from heavy hitters like Netflix, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League,  to middle-level new entrants like the TwiT Network and Revision 3, to seemingly home-grown efforts like Trigger Talk TV and Proud Television. In fact, the Roku Box just passed the 100-channel point, and there doesn’t seem to be any limit to what the little box can offer.

It’s in the wake of this that the folks at Hulu decided to offer their new pay-service, Hulu Plus, on the Roku and several other devices.  As a consequence of buying a Roku for my mother-in-law for a Christmas present (shhhhh!  Don’t tell her!) I got a 1-month free trial of Hulu Plus.  What I have seen in the last few weeks doesn’t give me a lot of optimism for Hulu Plus as a service.

First, the good:  Same-week streaming of network programming from Fox, NBC and ABC, the three co-owners of Hulu.  This means you can catch up on your “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “30 Rock” fixes without a DVR.  But sadly, that’s pretty much where the good times end.

Much has been written about Hulu Plus’ allegedly fabulous interface, but really, it seems to me to be much too linear and inflexible, arraying long lists of programs in a horizontal line for you to page through.  And while they do have a fairly good selection of network programming, there are many odd omissions (where, for instance, is Fox’s “The Simpsons”?)  And beyond the network TV fare is a very limited list (about 525 at last count) of B-movies and unheard-of documentaries that weren’t very popular in their first incarnations.  But worst of all is the inclusion of commercials in a service that you have to cough up $8 a month for. 

In a previous life, I switched a lot of master control for a network affiliate station.  All of us MC switchers knew what was at stake in every break, and we strove to make the flow as seamless and - dare I say it - artistic as possible.  If Hulu has any humans inserting the commercials into their shows, I suggest they get replaced immediately.  However, I’m quite certain that the closest any beating heart gets to this process is punching a schedule into a computer and pushing the “go” button.  Breaks are poorly executed, oftentimes jumping into a show early (in the biz this is known as a “downcut”,) sometimes to the point where you miss the punchline of a meticulously-crafted joke in a show like “30 Rock.”  And as dismal an experience as this is, it is a hundred times worse in long-form programs without defined breaks.  One of the few documentaries I wanted to watch in the Hulu Plus list was “For All Mankind”, a meticulous recounting of the NASA Apollo moon landing missions.  It kind of breaks up the flow of the show when as the Lunar Module is starting it’s descent to the Moon, a clumsy cut inserts a commercial for REI.  And this happens just about every five minutes!  Add to this the occasional video lockup and it makes for an experience that doesn’t really merit the $8 per month they are demanding - especially when the new Netflix streaming-only service (albeit without the same-season network TV programming) costs the same, with much better streaming, a much, MUCH larger selection of content, and no commercials.

In short, I predict a quick death for Hulu Plus.  The service just doesn’t justify the expense. 

Have you tried Hulu Plus out?  What do you think of it?

Sundance Serves Up HDSLR Feature In 2011

In September, I was asked by HD Videopro to do a story about a new feature that was shot completely using the 5D Mark II.  I happened to be in Los Angeles for PhotoCine Expo, so I called the offices of Director Mark Pellington and spoke to his associate producer Matt Roe about their experiences shooting with HDSLR.  However, the feature, I Melt With You, wasn’t their first trip to the rodeo…

Broadcast Quality HD Production for Beginners: Part 5

Part 5: Editing and Distributing your Video
Now that you have recorded your HD footage, there are several ways to edit and distribute your finished work . In this case, Ottis needed to edit and distribute his finished product to a TV station for broadcast, but he also put an archive of videos up on the shows website, http://www.ofgh.org for people to be able to watch on the internet. With the popularity of internet videos and channels on the rise, knowing how to edit/optimize your videos for the web is definitely a plus. We’ll cover both methods here. 

Broadcast Quality HD Production for Beginners: Part 4

Part 4: Add a professional touch with Character Generation

(Part 4 of 5)
What is Character Generation?
Character generation is the fancy text and graphics animation that you see on the News and other TV programs. It’s also the graphics that you see in the lower third of the screen, or in the left or right corner of your TV. It usually lets you know what station you’re watching or what’s coming up next.

Adding moving text and graphics to your video productions really polishes your work all together, and adding it can be as simple as owning a computer with PowerPoint installed. Ottis uses PowerPoint through his titling computer that is connected to the Datavideo SE-2000 switcher via the DVI-D port. He uses it for animations like rolling credits and show ID. 

Here’s how to add basic CG with PowerPoint just like Ottis did using the SE-2000 switcher:

Broadcast Quality HD Production for Beginners: Part 3

Part 3: Recording the Audio and Video

(Part 3 of 5)
We’ve gotten past the hard part of connecting the video components, and now recording your video sources should be relatively easy. By now you should have tested all your connections, so all you have to worry about is if your recorder is actually recording all the footage. Test this early. Run a few rehearsals (As Ottis does) to make sure you have clear idea of what issues you have to face once you start shooting.

What if we start all over?

What would the production industry be like if we had no existing industry: no established production business, no guilds, no agreements, no contracts, no established workflows. How would we go about establishing something like broadcast television so people could still make decent middle class salaries, be creative and do what they love to do.

In our longest show ever, Philip Hodgetts and I discuss this concept with special guest with Howard Brock on episode 11 of The Terence & Philip Show.

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