The good news is you have delirium

That’s my advice to my fellow videographers.

Before you make your way out to a gig, it’s normal to assess the job and bring only the equipment you need. This can save time on loading, unloading, setting up, and tearing down. Plus sometimes you might not know where a certain accessory is at the moment and you’re in a hurry, so you just bolt.

After a couple experiences I’ve had, I now believe in bringing as much as you can, because “you just never know.”

You might find that one of your wireless mics is not working properly, but since you left your other(s) behind, you’re in a jam. Or your client suddenly requests some exterior shots on a windy day, but you left your Rycote Softie at the office.

D’oh!

Of course, your main concern has to be covering your own assets, and ensuring you deliver on your promises to your client(s). But helping others in need can be just as important.

What if you brought everything you needed, but the DJ needed an extra XLR? You might laugh as he twists in the wind, but it’s your gig too. If he can’t do his job right, the event suffers, and everyone at the event is a little less happy. You want happy clients. Give the DJ your XLR. You’ll not only be a hero for the night, that DJ will never forget that you did him a solid.

Keep your equipment organized so you can grab whatever you need, whenever you need it. And when you go to your next gig, load up as much as possible.

I’m a big Sam Roberts fan. He’s just a solid Canadian rocker, and I expect him to be rocking around for a long, long time.

Not long ago, he was playing a show at a local wine festival. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, so I was pretty bummed about that. So when I heard he would be playing another show in Chatham (about a 45 minute drive from Windsor) in November, I knew I had to get tickets.

The show was this past Monday at the River Rock Nightclub. I went with my friends Dave and Jon. As we stood in line waiting to get in, we couldn’t help but notice this dirty, creepy, old guy behind us. He just didn’t look like he belonged. He started behind us, but as time went on and the line shuffled forward, he seemed to sneak to the side of us and eventually in front of us. We didn’t say anything, but maybe we all felt our wallets were safer with him in front of us.

We found ourselves a great spot on the upper level near the bar. The opening act was another Canadian band called The Stills. I thought they were pretty good. I just found the vocal mics may have been too hot because a lot of the words sounded distorted. Too bad that didn’t really get addressed. Well, until Sam came out. He sounded much better.

Of course, Sam has a new record out called “Love At The End Of The World,” so he played a lot of new stuff. And that was fine with me because I think the new album is great. And he played some of the earlier hits like “Brother Down” and “Where Have All The Good People Gone?” Then they did their fake good-bye before returning for an encore, which actually lasted another 3 or 4 songs, so it was a great show, but I couldn’t help leaving a little disappointed.

They didn’t play what was probably the song that really launched them onto the scene, which of course is “Don’t Walk Away Eileen.” I’m sure after 6 years, it might be driving him a bit buggy, but hey, fans expect it. It reminded me of the time I saw The Tragically Hip in Michigan when “Music At Work” was released. They didn’t play “Blow At High Dough” OR “New Orleans Is Sinking.” That was just so wrong. If The Rolling Stones can still play “Satisfaction” some 40 years later, I think Sam (and Gordon) have to give people what they want.

But hey, it was a great show. On the way home, Dave, Jon, and I sang every classic rock song that my Sirius Radio threw at us. I thought our best effort was “These Eyes,” the classic Guess Who song.

Great night.

I’ve known my friend Craig now for about 20 years. For most of those years, Craig struggled with his weight.

He tried numerous diets, some that actually resulted in significant weight loss, but he always seemed to gain it back eventually.

We hung out one day last spring and I could see he had lost a fair amount of weight. This was probably the thinnest I had seen him since, jeez, grade 7 maybe?

Clearly whatever he was doing was working.

A few months later, I was at Best Buy looking for something when this guy with a toque waved at me. I kind of nodded and smiled, but I had no idea who this person was. The next time I looked up, this person was much closer, like 15 feet away, and I was completely shocked.

It was Craig.

I don’t think I had ever seen him this lean. Ever!

Craig attributes his success to the LA Weight Loss Centers.

He recently told me about a contest that LA Weight Loss Centers is having. Basically, they are looking for video testimonials about personal weight loss achievements. Craig has lost around 220 pounds, so I think his story not only qualifies, but should almost be a slam dunk for a finalist.

I’ve had my green screen since February, but never used it. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it out. So we filmed last week, I worked my magic, and handed him the master video yesterday. Click here to view it.

I believe the winners are going to be announced in early November, so we won’t have to wait long to see if he’s won.

Last week’s wedding show at the Caboto Club went very well for me. I had not done the fall show the last couple years, opting to just do the bigger show in January, but I guess I’ve found that bigger isn’t always better.

The first wedding show I ever did was actually the fall show. It’s been a while, but I don’t remember getting any bookings from it. Looking back, what could I have expected? I was new, had very little material to demo, and didn’t have the confidence and polish that I have today. My brochures and business cards are nicer, I have a a beautiful banner, I have much more material to demo, and my booth looks much better. Consequently, I had numerous engaging conversations with potential clients.

Go figure.

The winter show in January is much bigger, there’s no question about that, but one thing you can never predict is the weather.

Earlier this year in January, the Wedding Extravaganza got off to a roaring start on day 1, but overnight and into the morning of day 2, Windsor was tagged with a wicked snow storm. It got cold and nasty and the roads were very icy. Day 2 was a bomb. I don’t think we had even half the people we had from day 1. As a vendor, it’s tough paying $700+ for two days of booth space but really only getting 1.

Right now, I’m not sure what to do about the upcoming January ‘09 show. I’m tempted to wait until the week of the event and see what the weather report says. Of course, the selection of good booths could be very limited by then, or even entirely sold out. I will have to think about it over the next week or so.

When you’re doing any sort of trade show, you need to do whatever you can to jazz up your booth.

Even if you’re lucky enough to get a great spot with high traffic, people are likely to pass by if you don’t catch their attention.

I’ve done a few of the larger (and smaller) wedding shows, and my booth layouts have gotten better, but they were still missing something.

I had a sign with my company name. It was better than nothing, but it contained no images, and did very little to stand out.

A lot of companies, especially the successful ones, had large, colourful banners. Making a banner large will get people’s attention from a distance, and if it is well designed, they’ll want to read it and try to figure out what your company does. And if it’s really well designed, you will catch them staring at it, giving you an opportunity to introduce yourself and talk business.

Last week, I spent a few days in Photoshop designing a banner for my company, Delirium Media. The image above is the end result from hours of designing and tweaking. If you click here, you can view a larger version. This banner will be proudly hanging at booth 43s at the Caboto Club during the Fall Wedding Event.

Windsor’s Caboto Club will soon be hosting The Fall Wedding Event.

This is an opportunity to “find everything for your wedding under one roof. From caterers to entertainment, hundreds of vendors will help keep your wedding planning stress-free.”

The Delirium Media booth number is 43s, which will be located on the outside perimeter of the back wall.

The Fall Wedding Event will take place on September 24th and 25th, between the hours of 5:30PM and 9:00PM both nights.

Hope to see you there!

As you know, I was in Orlando last week for WEVA Expo ‘08. While the seminars are certainly the focus of the Expo, and the reason we all go, there is also a terrific trade show going on at the same time.

Vendors from all the big companies are there, including Panasonic, Sony, Canon, JVC and more. There was a guy there from Steadicam (a division of Tiffen) who was demonstrating the Merlin.

I had to talk to this guy.

I told him that I tried adjusting (aka “trimming”) the instrument for quite some time, but couldn’t quite get it. He told me that the only way I could balance the HVX200 would be with one additional middle weight (there are three weight classes: starter, middle, finish).

Even though the Merlin “Cookbook” says you can balance the camera if you trim properly, he was convinced it could only be done by adding another middle weight.

Well, I spent $800 on this thing, I’m not backing out now over one weight.

I thought it would cost around $20 (everything in video production is way overpriced), but I was relieved (and shocked!!) to discover B & H sells them for only $5.95.

So I’ve already ordered it. In fact, it should arrive sometime tomorrow.

Once I’ve got it balanced, I plan to post some test footage.

Last week, I was in Orlando, Florida for the WEVA Expo. This is the second Expo I’ve attended. I learned quite a bit last year, but I think this year was even better.

Now that I’ve been back for a couple days, I’ve had time to reflect on what I thought were the most important seminars. I should preface this by saying that I found almost every seminar informative and worthwhile. But here are the ones I think will have the biggest impact on my business:

EXTREME INSTANT EDITS with Adam Mancini & Eric Model
This seminar shows you how to create same-day edits, and the amazing ripple effect they can have on your business. Imagine how impressed the bride and all her guests at the reception would be to see an edited montage of footage captured earlier that day. To take it a step further, Adam also discussed same-day DVDs. With the proper equipment, a videographer can not only show the same-day edit, but actually distribute the video on DVD to guests when they leave. It makes for a great party favour, and it’s much better than any thank you card. And the best part is it should lead to a lot of new business.

ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR: TOP 10 EDITING TIPS! with Brooke Rudnick
Brooke had some beautiful footage, fantastic really, but I think the biggest lesson she taught was the importance of voiceovers, and to a lesser extent, using fresh new music instead of the same old recycled songs. When a father sees his daughter in her dress for the first time, it’s one thing to see the reaction on his face, but if you can add some of his actual words to the mix, it just adds a lot of emotion and takes the production to another level. And as for music, artists like U2, Michael Bublé, and Celine Dion are great, but we’ve all heard them dozens of times. Finding something new will give your video some personality, and the couple can then say “that’s our song from the video.”

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS: THINK DIFFERENT! with Carlito Frias
This was the last seminar of the Expo I attended, and it was one of the best. Carlito preached the importance of having a team, as opposed to trying to take on the world by yourself. It may be possible for one person to do all the shooting, the editing, the web updates, and all the duties required in running a production company. It is possible, but not if you want to grow. For that, you need more people. And he suggests you start with sales people. If you alone make 10 sales a year, imagine what 5 additional sales associates could do for you? I don’t want to ramble on much more, but I think “Carlito’s Way” of thinking is going to make a big impact on anyone who attended his seminar.

So that’s a brief summary of what I learned at WEVA ‘08. I’m very eager to implement a lot of these new skills and business practices into future Delirium Media productions.

No, I’ve got a long ways to go before retirement. I’m heading to Florida for WEVA Expo 2008.

The Expo is an annual convention put on by the folks from WEVA (Wedding & Event Videographers Association). It’s basically a series of workshops on how to improve one’s videography skills.

Last year, the event was held in Las Vegas. That was my first WEVA Expo and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There were presenters from around the world sharing their knowledge and techniques. After learning about new camera techniques, editing effects, and general business sense, I was very eager to return home and practice all that I had learned.

Now I know what to expect so I can’t wait to get this show on the road.

The 2008 WEVA Expo runs this Monday through Thursday at the Grande Lakes Resort in sunny Orlando, Florida.

My follow-up post on the Steadicam Merlin will likely have to wait until I return on the weekend.

So my Steadicam Merlin arrived yesterday from B & H, and I was very eager to get it out of the box. Here are my first impressions.

As you can see in the photos (taken with my iPhone so they’re not super crisp, sorry), the Merlin comes in a very nice, foam padded case, which would have been just fine on its own, but it also comes with a travel bag. The travel bag is also padded with foam inside and has small handle straps as well as a shoulder strap. One could certainly remove the foam from the travel bag and use it for other gear, or maybe use it to horde some food from a wedding reception, your call.

I read the manual and watched the instructional DVD, and as I played with all the different knobs and sliders, I started to understand how to adjust it for my needs.

I mounted my camera, the HVX200A, and I’d love to tell you that it just balanced perfectly, but that just didn’t happen. I kept fiddling with it until I was really close, only to realize I had yet to insert my battery.

Ugh!

That’s a fairly hefty accessory that greatly changes the weight distribution of the camera, especially since the HVX200A comes with a large battery. 

I kept plugging away for a while but it just wasn’t in the cards last night, so I packed it up and figured I’d try again the next day.

I also thought I’d try removing some things to lighten the load.

When I make my second attempt tonight, I’m going to remove the lens hood, the XLR caps, even the screws for the mic holder, and I’ll only use one P2 card instead of two. I will keep my UV filter on because I never take it off, as it protects my precious Leica lens.

I will write another post detailing the efforts of my second attempt.

Note that the Merlin can work great with the HVX200A, but this camera is definitely at the limits of the stabilizer, and if you NEED to attach other accessories (lights, mics. lenses), you’ll have to go with a different product.

The Merlin is also something that takes time to master. Remember that setting the proper balance for a flat, level shot is only the beginning. If you plan to film while going up or down stairs, you’ll need the camera tilted up or down, which requires adjusting, referred to in the manual as “trimming.” So you’ll need to learn how to trim on the run.

The Merlin retails for $799 US and can be upgraded with the arm and vest package for an additional $1749.