'It's All About the Video!' comments here...

[Casey]

"Johnny it should have a firewife port"

What in the h e double toothpicks is a firewife port and where can I get one?!

He means firewire.

[Arquero]

I tried downloading my video using the USB port and I would get an error message saying that there was no device attached. I connected it using the firewire and it worked flawlessly. The firewire is definitely the way to go.

I also thought I heard the "Now let's go to Wade's hunt" but I thought it might have been the beer messing with my mind.

[Dugie]

Great job guys...tons of good information....

I caught the Wade/Micheal hunt intro, and at the end it struck me funny that the deer hanging in the tree is looking right at camera 2 while Micheal and Casey are exchanging lines, I kinda felt like he was about to say something but I guess thats me watching to many Tinks commercials....

I'd say it was great success I hope you guys are very proud of your hard work....

[RichII]

Awesome job to everyone. Great footage and great information.

[Flame-Tamer]

Firewife

Casey..

I got a Firewife. She just loves my job.. I think its cause I am only home 2/3 of the time.. And huntin 1/2 of that.

Hank

[Sticks&Strings]

I got it and watched the whole thing about 5 minutes after I opened it. I must say, I definitely can see how much time and work ya'll put into it. Job well done. You definitely helped a bunch of people out who have never taped a hunt. I have about 10 kills or so on tape and now tape all my shots, and got some good ideas and things to help me out.

As for the constructive criticism, I was hoping to find more ideas or ways to mount your tripods onto your stand. I know it is hard though due to the lack of what is out there on a commercail basis. I have looked high and low, and even built a couple of items (failed attempts). I now use a tripod in my ground blinds and tripods. My biggest "complaint" if you will is that you didn't go into how you go about getting the footage from the camera to the internet. ie, type of computer, software, hardware for transfer, music studio software, and DVD burning software.

I used to post some, but always had to drastically reduce their quality and length due to the available space. Now I am in the process of getting a new computer, so hopefully I can put some new ones up before too long. But I was hoping for some advice from ya'll as to what to get.

All in all, great job. Now I am ready for ya'll to just post some of your hunting videos.

[pop]

from Mom (Lolly)

It makes a mamma proud!

Kudos to the whole team for such a successful endeavor! Mom / Lolly

[BTLowry]

Got mine and finally got to watch it all last night. I had paper and pen in hand to take notes. I think it was a great video with a lot of very useful information and some excellent hunting footage.

However, I have a few complaints:

1) When you were talking about the tree arms you said that the strap on model cost about $40 but you never gave a manufacturer, model #, etc, nor did you give much information on the other arm you used

2) When talking about cameras, it would have been helpful to give the make and model of the cameras that you use. I know it was not meant to be an add for any particular company but it would be nice to have somewhere to start.

3) At the end I was kind of left hanging (maybe intentional marketing ploy for sequel ) but I, like Sticks and Strings, would have liked a little more info on how to "put it all together". Seems like how to aquire the video was covered pretty well but no idea what if any software etc is needed to put it all together with the quality that was presented in your video.

I think that overall the video was great but I also think that you have created some monsters that will need a sequel to tell them how to put it all together. Hope I do not sound too negative because I am very satisfied with what you have produced.
Thanks to everyone involved for taking the time to share what they have learned with the rest of us.
Brian
P.S. Where is the list of pre/post shots that Michael talked about in the video? He made reference a list and I never saw where it was (on TBH I believe)

[bdog14]

I already ordered mine, but I have a couple of questions. Does this video talk about which cameras work best in low-light conditions? I have a JVC DVL-510 mini dv that pretty much stinks in low light. Also, does it talk about how to upload video to your computer, editing, etc. I've taken a lot of video, but never put it on the computer or anything. Thanks for the help.

[Johnny]

Ok, my camera does have a fire wire hook up which is great. What if my pc does not have a fire wire outlet? Is their any other alternatives like an adaptor of some sort?

[Howard]

Johnny- I do not think there is.... My computer a couple yrs ago did not have it either. I picked one up at best buy pretty cheap and installed it myself. I had no idea what I was doing but the 5 step with picture process will allow anyone to do it, trust me. You basically buy the firewire port and remove the side cover to your pc, take out one of the blanks on back and simply plug the new card right in. On the back of the card, there is plug in (fire wire port) that you will now plug your camera into. There may be a CD you run to load the software. Another option is if you have to buy some editing software see if they sale it. When I purchased my Pinnacle software I could get just the software or the software with the firecard to add to my pc...both were exact same price!

Good luck!

[Michael]

Thanks everybody for the great comments and feedback! We appreciate all of them!

I don't feel the need to defend the video at all, but thought we might address some of your questions about why we did what we did.

First, the pants! Well, I was so excited about the near completion of the project.... Actually, that scene (Camera Positioning) was one of the final scenes that was filmed, and since it didn't include any discussion between the other participants, it was one that I was able to film by myself. Unfortunately, it was also done in August! The lines with me sitting in the treestand were filmed before the introduction that I did from the ground. You'll notice, as you watch, that my right arm is resting on my right leg. It took multiple takes before I finally nailed it, and then I climbed down to film the introduction that was to preced it. Unfortunately, I never noticed the sweat from my arm that was absorbed by my jeans until after the filming was complete and it was too late to reshoot!

As we joked about a lot of the "flaws" that can be found throughout the DVD, if you noticed, then it meant you were still paying attention, so it was a good thing! Thanks for noticing!

The same could be said for the Matrix scene where we introduced Wade's hunt and then showed one of mine. Originally, we used one of Wade's hog hunts from CDLC. However, after getting feedback from a couple of nonhunters that viewed the footage with a different "eye" than we had as hunters, and were a bit uneasy with some of the footage that we never gave a second thought to, we decided it best to switch out the footage. In many instances throughout the video, we were able to cover the footage with "b-roll" and overlay re-recorded audio to make subtle changes. Unfortunately, we were unable to change the line to reflect that we were going to my hunt instead of Wade's. Again, we figured if anybody noticed, they were still paying attention!

I'll comment more, later. Keep the feedback coming!

Michael

[Michael]

The scope of this project was a tremendous undertaking for all of us, and made even more so by the fact that none of us had any prior experience with a video production like this. In fact, when I "recruited" the team members, many of them questioned why I would have chosen them when they had no prior knowledge of producing videos. Though we had no experience, I felt that each of the participants had developed the passion for filming their hunts, and had displayed the aptitude to learn.

As an example, when I first met the Bone family, Mary was not a hunter. When her boys started bowhunting, she decided to purchase a bow to start shooting tournaments with them. Soon, she decided she wanted to start hunting with them, so she did. Within a year, she decided to step up her game and start trying to film her hunts. Within a few years, Mary transformed from a mom that had no knowledge of bows, to a bona-fide bowhunter, and eventually a two-time winner of the Video Challenge! I was confident that Mary, and all of our participants, had the ability to achieve any goal for which they had a passion!

My original outline provided for a discussion on capturing and editing video on the web. However, it became quickly evident that there was so much information to discuss that we could easily turn this into a multi-hour video. Our goal was to keep the video between 1:15 and 1:30. The challenge was how to balance the desire to include useable, detailed conceptual information without overdoing it so that it would become a boring, technical lecture. We needed to make it both educational and entertaining, realizing that we were targeting a fairly specific audience, but which would also be viewed by those with only a passing interest in filming.

An entire video could be made simply demonstrating computer video editing. In fact, I purchased and watched the 16 hour "Total Training for Adobe Premiere Pro" video a couple of years ago as part of my research to learn how to edit this project!!! Unfortunately, there is seemingly an unlimited number of different video editing software programs and it would be impossible to demonstrate one and have it apply to all of them. In addition, by default, it would require demonstrating the "how to" with the viewer seeing a mouse slide across a computer screen. Even with a high level of interest in the Total Training video, there were several times where I dozed and missed entire segments!!! Finally, a video on computer editing suddenly crosses from being a hunting video to simply being another computer video.

We are already "working" on our next project. This one will focus on hunting, and yet continue to focus on additional tips that should help improve the quality of your video footage. There may be some opportunities to discuss computer video editing basics in the sequel! We also hope to incorporate additional site member videos and their setups. I'll discuss this in more detail soon.

Michael

[Michael]

One more thing. We intentionally did not discuss specific equipment and camera makes and models in an effort to create somewhat of a "timeless" video that will apply just as well in 5 years as it does now. We felt it would be best to focus on features rather than specific models.

Most of the footage was filmed with three Sony PDX-10 cameras. There was also footage from an old Sony TRV-103 Digital8, a Panasonic GS-400, a Sony TRV-900, a Sony TRV-320, a Canon ZR60 and possibly one or two others.

Michael

[BTLowry]

Thanks for the explanations and the extra info Michael.