Digital Video Hacks
By Joshua Paul
The number of people jumping on the digital video bandwagon is growing rapidly. According to research conducted by Park Associates, over twenty percent of U.S. households will have digital video cameras by the end of 2005. Aside from the quality, the lure for many is the ability to control the entire process, not just the shooting but also the editing and packaging. Combine that with a wealth of digital applications for music, photos, and DVD creation, and the possibilities seem endless.
"Digital Video Hacks" (Joshua Paul, O'Reilly) is a collection of 100 unique tips, techniques, and tools for every aspect of digital video production--planning, lighting, editing, adding sound, and special effects, to final export and distribution.
"This book is written to provide everyone, from beginners to professionals, with a new way of perceiving and working through the many phases of digital video," comments author Joshua Paul. "By using the techniques in this book, readers will successfully complete projects while avoiding common, costly mistakes."
That is no more apparent than in the book's first hack in the chapter on preparation. The hack is a quick "hit list" of steps to get videographers through the often troubling area of post-production in the least amount of time and at the least expense, with tips for labeling, tracking and logging media, creating "offline cuts," and mixing.
- -Prepare Physical Tools: From making a Steadicam, boom, or dolly, to effective storyboarding, and timecoding
- -Overcome Common Shooting Problems: Stop-motion and time-lapse techniques, lighting effects, colored screens and gels, and household objects to establish mood or wow an audience
- -Create Stunning Visual Effects: Satellite zooming, surreal scenes, "Matrix"-like bullet-time, and green screen illusions
- -Fool an Audience with Audio Tricks: Replace flubbed dialogue, collect music and other audio effects
- -Add Professional Features: Post-production tricks, including color correction, soundtrack cleanup, opening sequences, and DVD bookmarks
- -Distribute Final Content: from exporting to basic videotape or DVD, to streaming video over the Internet
The final chapter, titled "Random Fun," features unusual hacks that show how to attend a remote conference, create a vlog, see through walls, or film a documentary using the "Ken Burns Effect" with a collection of old photos. Each hack in the book has a thermometer icon to indicate its relative complexity, whether it's a beginner, moderate, or expert hack.
"There's something here for all readers, whether they're looking for a new technique to include in their next project, a solution to a common problem, or just some insight into the digital video medium," Paul comments. "I hope they're encouraged to free their creative spirit, embrace the hacker inside them, and use this book as a starting point on their journey into the digital video revolution."
By Joshua Paul
404 pages, $29.95 US, $41.95 CAN
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