Jeff Says:
Years ago, one of my clients thought it would be a great idea to start a reality series called "The Editor." The tails of Joe the everyday editor.
Last night I lived through one of the editor episodes first hand.
Titled: "The FedEx Run"
6:30pm Fade up from black. Starbucks cups and Diet Coke cans are strewn about the console. The client has emailed with a few last minute changes. No big deal, plenty of time to make the overnight ship deadline. Gotta love FedEx.
7:00pm Jimmy John's for dinner, again!
7:15pm Last change rendered out, checked the show, everything is good.
7:20pm Export finished, time to encode.
7:25pm Client wants two data DVDs. No biggey, but since we are moving the DVD label printer is not hooked up.
7:35pm Printer hooked up but the software is not installed (that computer is already packed up). Great. Which box was that software in??
7:45pm After searching the web frantically for the software, I start to look through boxes.
8:00pm Found the disc! Let's install!
8;05pm The installer want me to close all apps but I'm still encoding I'll have to wait a few.
8:10pm Encode finished. Check the movie... all looks good.
8:15pm Install DVD printing app. Reboot.
8:20pm Launch DVD printing app and design face label.
8:25pm Go print the first DVD. Computer says the driver is not installed. What??
8:26pm Reboot. Again. Still no luck. I'm about ready to throw the printer out the window.
8:30pm Starting to get a little worried about time. Last FedEx drop is at 10pm -- at the airport.
8:35pm Just for grins I try a different user account on the computer and it starts to print. Out of ink. Great, which box was the ink in?
8:39pm After changing the cartridge finally a successful label. Yippie! Time to burn.
8:45pm Time getting tight, finalizing the last couple of discs.
8:50pm I realize that I walked to work today. Time to "briskly" walk home.
9:05pm Get the car keys and run to the car.
9:06pm No gas -- great. Stacey (my wife) says I have enough to get to the airport.
9:35pm Corner of Irving Park and Mannheim -- getting very close to 'E' but I have plenty of time.
9:40pm Corner of Irving Park and South Cargo Road... (giant pothole) WHAM!!!
9:40pm My front left tire is completely flat. Great! I open up the trunk and start to get the spare out, but since I'm so close to the airport there is absolutely no light. Even though I know I can change a tire in less than a minute flat, it's dark and I don't have much time to get to FedEx.
9:42pm About a mile and a half to FedEx. Time to start jogging.
9:42:30 Step in a giant mud puddle. I guess I picked a bad day to wear tennis shoes
9:45pm FedEx truck zooms past. I guess I'd fly past some idiot waving a bunch of papers and DVDs too, if I were him.
9:48pm Gasping for breath, questioning my choice of careers.
9:55pm Not much longer, boy am I out of shape -- joining the gym tomorrow. [Ed. Yeah, right Jeff...]
9:59:30pm I made it!
10:15pm A policeman pulled is up to my car wondering what happened to the driver. Stacey has called AAA, they say it will be an hour. Fun, fun!!!
11:00pm O'Hare wrecker finally arrived.
11:05pm Volkswagen has a locked lug nut and you need special tool to loosen the nut -- and of course we can't find it.
11:10pm Call to Stacey and she tells me where it is since she had the same flat tire happen last year. [Ed. Gotta love these Chicago winters...]
11:24pm Finally on the road home.
What a night, at least the disc got out. Hopefully the client will be happy.
Morale of the story: "Never give up!" (or "Next time, send your assistant to the airport!!")
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
FilmFellas Trailer
Ed says:
I plan to write more about this web series we just started work on. I'm happy to report it's getting lots of buzz. Episode 1 of Cast 2 is due out on Monday. Right now I've got to get back to work...
Deadlines, Deadlines.... (keeps the blood pumping -- hehe)
FilmFellas Cast 2 Trailer from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.
I plan to write more about this web series we just started work on. I'm happy to report it's getting lots of buzz. Episode 1 of Cast 2 is due out on Monday. Right now I've got to get back to work...
Deadlines, Deadlines.... (keeps the blood pumping -- hehe)
FilmFellas Cast 2 Trailer from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.
Friday, October 10, 2008
This is for the Blue...
Ed says:
The Big Ten Network hasn't been in town for long, but boy they sure have been doing some great programming. We just finished an awesome doc for them "Hail to the Victors: The Greatest Stories of Michigan Football". It should be released on DVD just in time for the holiday season.
In the mean time, check out BTN for airtimes and get the insides scoop on the Ten Year War.
The Big Ten Network hasn't been in town for long, but boy they sure have been doing some great programming. We just finished an awesome doc for them "Hail to the Victors: The Greatest Stories of Michigan Football". It should be released on DVD just in time for the holiday season.
In the mean time, check out BTN for airtimes and get the insides scoop on the Ten Year War.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The College Sports Minute is Comin' Atcha!
Ed says:
For a couple of months now we have been delivering the online college sports news series, The College Sports Minute.
OK, OK, the producer always seems to write more like 90 seconds worth of copy, but who's to complain? Big college sports in a small package. Every weekday. Sarah Kustok. What more could you want? Check it out:
For a couple of months now we have been delivering the online college sports news series, The College Sports Minute.
OK, OK, the producer always seems to write more like 90 seconds worth of copy, but who's to complain? Big college sports in a small package. Every weekday. Sarah Kustok. What more could you want? Check it out:
Friday, July 18, 2008
Jack's Big Music Show - Emmy Nomination
Ed says:
I just learned Jack's Big Music Show was nominated for two Daytime Emmys for "Outstanding Original Song - Children's and Animation" and "Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series"
This is marvelous new for guys at Spiffy Pictures, and an honor for me to have been Lead Editor and and Post Production Manager for both seasons of JBMS.
We were up against some tough competition - including heavy weights like Sesame Street, which ultimately took the award for "Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series".
As they say, it is an honor just to be nominated. To celebrate, here is another of my favorite clips from "Jack's Big Music Show".
I admit, one of the reasons this is a favorite clip is that Sandy Weber and I manufactured the whole tree full of Coo-Coo birds from just 5 takes of the same puppet performing on a single "branch". The tree itself was expertly built by Sandy from just that one "branch" segment.
I just learned Jack's Big Music Show was nominated for two Daytime Emmys for "Outstanding Original Song - Children's and Animation" and "Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series"
This is marvelous new for guys at Spiffy Pictures, and an honor for me to have been Lead Editor and and Post Production Manager for both seasons of JBMS.
We were up against some tough competition - including heavy weights like Sesame Street, which ultimately took the award for "Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series".
As they say, it is an honor just to be nominated. To celebrate, here is another of my favorite clips from "Jack's Big Music Show".
I admit, one of the reasons this is a favorite clip is that Sandy Weber and I manufactured the whole tree full of Coo-Coo birds from just 5 takes of the same puppet performing on a single "branch". The tree itself was expertly built by Sandy from just that one "branch" segment.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Cafèzinho
Ed says:
Last month I got a real education. That's why I love my job.
It was all coffee brewers, all the time with Kevin and Pat Sinnott, long established independent producers here in the Chicago production community. Kevin's other expertise is coffee. He's been seen as a guest coffee expert on Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show and has had many articles published as a consumer coffee writer and reviewer.
The DVD, "Kevin Sinnott's Coffee Brewing Secrets", features such coffee industry luminaries as Donald Schoenholt, Kenneth Davids, George Howell, Erna Knutsen and others. The DVD hasn't been released yet and the support materials (including what promises to be a very informative web site) are still being developed, but look for it all to be unveiled in time for the '08 Christmas Season. Keep an eye on this spot for links and excerpts from the video, which has great tips and insights into brewing great coffee.
Happily, for all of you budding coffee aficionados out there, I have an exclusive sneak-peek DVD extra segment; it's Kenneth Davids, editor of the"Coffee Review" demonstrating a cool little European brewing device.
mmm-mmmmm that's goood cofffeee...
Last month I got a real education. That's why I love my job.
It was all coffee brewers, all the time with Kevin and Pat Sinnott, long established independent producers here in the Chicago production community. Kevin's other expertise is coffee. He's been seen as a guest coffee expert on Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show and has had many articles published as a consumer coffee writer and reviewer.
The DVD, "Kevin Sinnott's Coffee Brewing Secrets", features such coffee industry luminaries as Donald Schoenholt, Kenneth Davids, George Howell, Erna Knutsen and others. The DVD hasn't been released yet and the support materials (including what promises to be a very informative web site) are still being developed, but look for it all to be unveiled in time for the '08 Christmas Season. Keep an eye on this spot for links and excerpts from the video, which has great tips and insights into brewing great coffee.
Happily, for all of you budding coffee aficionados out there, I have an exclusive sneak-peek DVD extra segment; it's Kenneth Davids, editor of the"Coffee Review" demonstrating a cool little European brewing device.
mmm-mmmmm that's goood cofffeee...
Saturday, April 5, 2008
2008 Housewares Show - Planning is Key
Ed says:
Motion Post specializes in affordable customized remote mobile television editorial. It's a mouthful to say, but it's what we do. Like our slogan says, we provide HD and SD broadcast quality video editing "where you want it, when you need it". Most often this work is extremely time-sensitive, so the contingency planning we do is just as important as the editing talent we bring to the remote site.
As with any production, realistic contingency planning for a time-sensitive on-site edit can make or break a deadline. Plan "B" is never more vital than when you are off-site, away from your comfy edit suite.
The highlights packages I did for Privileged Access TV and KRT Productions at the 2008 Home and Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago was a great example.
We were tasked with capturing the excitement in daily highlights videos, edited overnight, that would tease the next day's activities and provide a sense of the show floor. The videos were then looped for guests in-room at over a dozen local hotels and available on the internet to help people keep up with the show, which is one of the nations largest.
For 3 days we edited in a conference room at McCormick Place using Motion Post's MOBILE 1 editing package (plus a system provided by KRT), working with KRT staff editor Nick Borgione under the expert production talents of KRT Senior Producer Jane Serbus and Owner Kathy Rivera. Jane had mapped out each show ahead of time and wisely generated pre-set elements the week before, so everyone knew what needed to be done (and did it). It went like clockwork.
Then early on the second day Nick's editing computer gave up the ghost (it happens). It had been a solid system and it had worked well -- until it didn't; suddenly it went stone cold dead. This seriously threatened our ability to get the show out on time, Nick had already been working for hours.
Fortunately, I always bring a backup computer system -- in this case a fully loaded laptop, ready to go with everything we need. The temptation in a situation like that is to try to trouble-shoot the broken system, Nick had lost a couple of hours worth of work and really wanted to get it back. I've learned from long (hard) experience however, that the best thing to do in a situation like this is to just move on -- don't spend another moment worrying over a dead system, it's never worth the time in the field.
I had prepared for the contingency and I had him up and running immediately. As a result, the impact was merely annoying and not project-threatening. It was a good lesson in forethought.
Here's a snippet of the fruit of our labor - which was delivered just in time.
Motion Post specializes in affordable customized remote mobile television editorial. It's a mouthful to say, but it's what we do. Like our slogan says, we provide HD and SD broadcast quality video editing "where you want it, when you need it". Most often this work is extremely time-sensitive, so the contingency planning we do is just as important as the editing talent we bring to the remote site.
As with any production, realistic contingency planning for a time-sensitive on-site edit can make or break a deadline. Plan "B" is never more vital than when you are off-site, away from your comfy edit suite.
The highlights packages I did for Privileged Access TV and KRT Productions at the 2008 Home and Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago was a great example.
We were tasked with capturing the excitement in daily highlights videos, edited overnight, that would tease the next day's activities and provide a sense of the show floor. The videos were then looped for guests in-room at over a dozen local hotels and available on the internet to help people keep up with the show, which is one of the nations largest.
For 3 days we edited in a conference room at McCormick Place using Motion Post's MOBILE 1 editing package (plus a system provided by KRT), working with KRT staff editor Nick Borgione under the expert production talents of KRT Senior Producer Jane Serbus and Owner Kathy Rivera. Jane had mapped out each show ahead of time and wisely generated pre-set elements the week before, so everyone knew what needed to be done (and did it). It went like clockwork.
Then early on the second day Nick's editing computer gave up the ghost (it happens). It had been a solid system and it had worked well -- until it didn't; suddenly it went stone cold dead. This seriously threatened our ability to get the show out on time, Nick had already been working for hours.
Fortunately, I always bring a backup computer system -- in this case a fully loaded laptop, ready to go with everything we need. The temptation in a situation like that is to try to trouble-shoot the broken system, Nick had lost a couple of hours worth of work and really wanted to get it back. I've learned from long (hard) experience however, that the best thing to do in a situation like this is to just move on -- don't spend another moment worrying over a dead system, it's never worth the time in the field.
I had prepared for the contingency and I had him up and running immediately. As a result, the impact was merely annoying and not project-threatening. It was a good lesson in forethought.
Here's a snippet of the fruit of our labor - which was delivered just in time.
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