DV for Teachers

The Blog from Another Dimension offers this advice for those going From Windows to Mac: Three Biggest Tips for Switchers:

Having helped several people make the switch from Windows to Macs, I have seen pretty clearly some common problems people have when making the switch. Walt Mossberg wrote a short article on this, and his observations are pretty spot-on, albeit abbreviated and limited. I just figured I’d do my own long-winded version.

Modesty doesn’t serve this blogger well. What he calls “long-winded” I find to be thorough, with well-annotated screenshots and good explanations, and more than the three tips he promises. Most Mac users as well as recent switchers and those considering the change will find good information here.

Ahh, formats. There are so many: still using DV tape? Or have you switched to a DVD-based MPEG-2 format? Maybe you use a hard-drive or flash-memory kind of camcorder? Whichever you use, do you know the ins and outs of what it takes to edit that format properly? You need to make sure your system is up to the task, but what about that codec, and I need to output to DVD and the web, but yikes everyone looks blue in that shot, and….

We don’t have all the solutions here, but Andrew Balis, a long-time contributor to Ken Stone’s site and major FCP maven, provides one piece of the puzzle as he explains Color Workflows With Different Types of Sources:

One of the most confusing issues that comes up frequently with new users of Color is how to get in and out of Color with different types of video formats. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to clear up the confusion by presenting the four main workflows Color can utilize, as well as how each format can be handled by Color. This article relates to users of Color version 1.0.2 or later. Well look at how to handle video formats captured via capture card, as well as how to work with “native” formats captured via FireWire such as DV, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO HD and HDV.

Even if your footage is color correct from the word “Action!”, if you need some help understanding aspects of the different types of video, this article is worth reading and bookmarking.

Come back to this NECC2008 Classroom 2.0 Birds of a Feather page linked here to find what links people post. I’ve also put it in my feed reader*. Yes! I asked for help in choosing some of these tools to model at Georgia State, and have hope. I really want a magic bullet, someone who’ll say “Oh. Do this. That’s all you need.” I also really want a pony, etc.

What this means is I have to jump in, thrash about, look for the edge of the pool, and maybe holler for a lifeguard. And through this blog, and now Twitter and Ning, I think I’ll have answers to my hollering, so, good.

And I must reduce the number of feeds. Eeesh.