My Start Using Nonlinear Editing Systems

Filming a scene from "One Last Chance".

Since Avid recently celebrated it's 25th anniversary, I thought it would an appropriate time to share my introduction to the nonlinear editing (NLE) system.

I made my first short film in the early 70's when I was still in grade school. From that point on, I was hooked on film.

What Format is Your Video Sample Reel?

Is your demo video online?

As the internet gets increasingly faster, it's a great time for editors so show off their work on the web. There's no reason these days for creative video people not to have their work posted on the web, whether it's YouTube, Vimeo, some other video hosting website or even your own website. For those editors who still resist posting material online,

Text-to-Speech Ringtone Voices for Your iPhone

Using Text to Speech for a ringtone on your iPhone.

Now that I can no longer read without a pair of glasses, I find it necessary to come up with another strategy to let me know who's calling when I don't have my glasses on. I didn't want to use an obnoxious music clip as a ringtone to identify a caller, so instead I figured I'd use an obnoxious voice that announces the name of the caller.

A Great Tripod for Travel

The Sirui tripod folds up to a very compact size.

Recently while preparing for a trip to the Grand Canyon, I decided to re-evaluate the tripod I had been using for travel - a small Velbon DF Mini tripod. It was very compact and pretty light but it's maximum height is about 3 feet. When traveling, I generally leave my HDV camera at home - any video I shoot is shot with my Apple iPhone.