blog.okvideode.comO.K. Video Blog | Advice from O.K. Video about preparation for video edits and the services we provi

de O.K. Video Blog Advice from O.K. Video about preparation for video edits and the services we provide SearchHome About the O.K. Video Blog What is the best way to produce a sports highlight/recruitment film for my son/daughter or a team? Posted on April 17, 2012 by okvideo Option 1 – Record games yourself If you decide to video record games/meets yourself and have O.K. Video do the editing, here are some tips for getting the best possible video. Invest in a tripod, and use it! This is the best way to ensure you get stable footage that will be workable in the final video. We often receive footage that just isn’t clear enough to even see what team is on-screen, never mind follow movements of one player in particular. Get higher up. You’ll want to position yourself above field-level. This lets you see the entire field of play and follow the action without having people walk in front of the camera, or having the play obstructed by referees or other players. Close, but not too close! Keep your zoom level medium” and at a distance you are comfortable following the play. Too close and coaches will not be able to see enough of the action; too far away and the players on the field will be unidentifiable. Smooth and steady. When panning the camera side-to-side or zooming to follow the action, keep your movements steady and precise. Zooming or jerking the camera too fast makes the video hard to watch. Always, always film in Standard Play or Best Quality mode. Long/Extended Play increases the chance that your tapes or files will have errors and the quality is much less than the standard/best recording mode. What type of camera to use? It must be a camera capable of being mounted on a tripod, hopefully with a decent lens. Consumer cameras that film on MiniDV, VHS-C, or Digi8 can be used, as well as cameras that record to hard drives or flash media cards. Cell phone/Flip cameras are not appropriate for this type of filming. Option 2 – Have O.K. Video document games for you O.K. Video has many years of experience recording field hockey, volleyball, football, basketball, lacrosse and soccer. Our camera operators are professionals and know the best way to film each sport. You can hire us for just one or two games or an entire season. We offer discounts for full seasons and you’d be surprised at how affordable it is, especially when splitting the cost between several families. We provide DVDs of each game, which you can use to do a paper edit (see our blog on that subject). We will adjust our filming techniques for specific requests of parents or coaches. For example, some coaches like us to shoot with a slightly wider angle, as they use our DVDs as teaching aids to go over specific plays with their athletes. Alternately, when we are filming for one specific player, we will zoom closer to focus on him or her in particular. Pricing is different for every sport, so please call to get details. The Final Product Regardless of who films your games, read our article on how to do a paper edit and let O.K. Video take care of the editing process. It’s best to do paper edits with your son/daughter shortly after each game. This way the highlight plays are still fresh in everyone’s mind and you won’t end up with a lot of games to go through at the end of the season. Most highlight/recruitment films are burned to DVD or created as digital files (.wmv, .avi, .mov, etc.) that get uploaded to recruitment web sites or YouTube. We can accommodate whatever specific needs you have. Posted in Uncategorized VHS to DVD Conversion Posted on March 27, 2012 by okvideo One of the most popular services O.K. Video offers is conversion of videotapes to DVD format. An important consideration in approaching this topic is the difference between how we handle personal” and copyrighted” material. Personal videos (home movies, personally-recorded performances or sports events in which a family member participated, etc.) can be converted at a rate of $29.95 for up to 2 hours of video on a single DVD. Copyrighted material is slightly more complicated. Commercial VHS tapes (professionally-produced tapes, whether currently or previously sold) that have a DVD equivalent already available or known to be in the works cannot be copied, as this would constitute a clear copyright law violation. Moreover, the official DVD equivalent can usually be found on sites like Amazon for less than $29.95, and in many cases significantly cheaper. For example, if you brought us your old Lady and the Tramp VHS tape to copy – not that we could, due to copyright violation – it would cost $29.95. For around $23, you can currently buy the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition through Amazon. VHS tapes that have no DVD equivalent available now or planned for the foreseeable future CAN be copied. We will make 1 DVD copy for personal use; we will not convert these VHS tapes to DVD for the purpose of commercial sale. Additionally, we are willing to convert DVDs region-encoded outside of the United States to the US format (NTSC) provided there is not already a commercially-available US-equivalent. Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged vhs dvd conversion copyright What videotape formats does O.K. Video accept? Posted on March 16, 2012 by okvideo What videotape formats does O.K. Video accept? O.K. Video accepts many different videotape formats, listed below. Included are facts about each format and a picture for reference VHS – Common home video format popular from the late 1970s to early 2000s. VHS tapes typically held 2 hours in Standard Play (SP) mode and up to 6 hours in Long Play (LP). VHS-C – Smaller version of the VHS format made to be used in camcorders and played in a regular VCR using an adapter. VHS-C tapes held 30 minutes in SP and up to 90 minutes in LP. SVHS – Super” VHS is a higher resolution version of VHS. Betamax – Less common home video format popular during the late 1970s to early 1980s. Betamax tapes held 60 minutes in Normal mode and 2 hours in Half mode. Video8 video – Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 tapes are all physically similar. Video8 was the first incarnation, improved upon by the later versions. Tapes with up to 2 hours of recording time were possible. Hi8 video – Higher quality version of Video8. Tapes with up to 2 hours of recording time were available. Digital8 video – Digital version of the previous 2 formats. Tapes held 60 minutes in SP and 90 minutes in LP. 3/4″ or U-Matic – Broadcast/Industrial quality videotape used from the 1970s until the early 2000s. 1″ or 1 inch type B – Broadcast/industrial videotape spooled onto reels as opposed to contained in a cassette. Betacam – Sony broadcast-quality videotape used from the early-mid 1980s. Replaced by Betacam SP. Betacam SP – Higher resolution version of Betacam introduced in the mid-1980s and still in use today. Mini-DV (PAL & NTSC) – Digital videotape available to consumers and professionals from the late 1990s and still in use today. 63-83 minutes of record time in SP and 90 minutes in LP. Full-Sized DV (PAL & NTSC) – Larger version of MiniDV, these tapes fit into full-size broadcast-quality cameras and held up to 3 hours of full-resolution recordings. DVCPRO – Panasonic digital tape format used mostly in TV broadcasting. DVCAM – Sony digital tape format used mostly by professionals. Though DVCAM can be recorded onto standard MiniDV tapes, the tape is transported faster and only about 43 minutes of record time is available. HDV – Hi-Definition digital tape format. Like DVCAM, the tape size is similar to a standard MiniDV tape, but recording time is reduced. Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged video formats conversion Can O.K. Video transfer my Vinyl records, Audio Cassette tapes or Reel-to-Reel audio to CD or Mp3 files? Posted on March 12, 2012 by okvideo Yes! We can transfer Vinyl (33 rpm, 45 rpm & 78 rpm), Reel-to-Reel, and Audio and Micro cassette tapes to CD or MP3 so you can continue to enjoy them for many years to come. The cost is $35 per...