Friday, July 25, 2014

Deep Thoughts About Vacation Video: Organizing Still Photos for Video

That's a Lot of Photos - Here's a way to make sure you can find them!

We all recognize the need to label and organize our videotapes.  But what about other media?  It takes a lot of work to scan our old vacation photos, but we need to be able to find them when we need them!  Use a filing system that works for you, but be consistent.

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Your scanner will assign sequential names (like IMG0001.JPG) to your pictures. I recommend that you change those to meaningful titles for use in searches.  The photo files will also be assigned to the date you scanned them -- adjust these to the approximate time that the photo was originally taken.

This detailed organization is a bit of a chore ... but there are lots of computer software programs that promise to help you.  Here's what I do with iPhoto on my Mac:


(1) All of my new scans are saved in a folder on the hard drive.  I then sort them into subfolders.  For our Africa 2002 trip I used subfolders titled "Zimbabwe", "Botswana", "Cape Town", etc.

(2) I highlight all of the photos in the first subfolder and drag them into iPhoto.  The original scans remain safely in their original folder, but copies are created within a new Event in iPhoto.

(3) Then I repeat, highlighting & dragging the photos from each remaining subfolder.  Now I've created a small group of new events in iPhoto.

(4) I retitle the events so they make sense, like "AFRICA 2002 - Zimbabwe"
Renamed Events in iPhoto.  Clicking a triangle on the left reveals the photos within the event.
(5) The photos are arranged by date within their events.  I use the "Adjust Date and Time" tool to approximate the correct time each photo was taken.  The tool can also adjust a batch of photos.
The date it was taken is more useful than the date it was scanned!
Suggest you check the box to "modify original files.
(6) Once the photos are in proper order I do a batch rename.  Something useful might look like "Zimbabwe-1", " Zimbabwe-2", etc.

(7) Now that I have basic names, I can modify them.  For instance one title might become "Zimbabwe-4 George @ Victoria Falls"
Descriptive names assigned to scanned photos
(8) iPhoto has an additional organizational feature called "Albums".  Photos from any event may be dragged into an album.  I create albums for each of my vacations:
iPhoto's Album Feature

Now if I need to find a particular photo from this trip, I can browse albums or events, plus there's a good likelihood that it will turn up in a search.

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 The above is a description of MY system for organizing photos.  Regardless of YOUR individual strategy, I strongly suggest that you employ some form of organization

(Note that Apple has announced a new program, Photos for OSX, which will replace iPhoto at the end of 2014.  It promises "better" organizational tools, and I look forward to using them!)




Friday, July 18, 2014

Deep Thoughts About Vacation Video: Scanning Photos

What Good Are Old Photos?
Lonely photo albums.  Forgotten memories of vacations past.
Before digital photos, we used film cameras and took snapshots while traveling.  It could cost hundreds of dollars to have those pictures developed and printed!  Something that valuable deserved to be preserved in an album, so I have six shelves full of binders like those seen above.

These albums also serve as scrapbooks.  I've clipped page protectors full of brochures, maps, tickets, and receipts into the binders.  After 1989 they were joined by boxes of videotapes.  What do these carefully constructed photo albums have in common with unedited videotapes?
  1. Together they store the memories and history of our trips.  
  2. Once placed on the shelf, they are never looked at again!
You probably already know that I have hundreds of hours of unedited vacation videotapes.  Each year I catch up with two or three projects, and I've always been glad that the old photos and documents were carefully organized.  Old itineraries help to re-establish the proper chronology of the trip.  And once the photos are sorted and scanned chronologically, and I can use them for the project's "B-Roll" -- to fill in any gaps where video coverage was inadequate.

A set of properly scanned, named and dated old photos are easy to back up; easy to share!  This digital photo frame now cycles through several thousand of those old snapshots:
Bring old vacation memories back to life
 by displaying them on a digital frame like this one!


Try using scanned vacation photos as a computer screensaver!





Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #133

China 2001:  Closing Credits



This is the last chapter of my China vacation video.  I hope that the thirty-three essays have sparked some imagination, perhaps given you some fresh ideas that you might try in your next edit!

These closing credits make nice use of natural sound that was captured at the bell show in Wuhan.  Can you hear/see how the credits change pages each time a major gong is struck.
I like the appearance of the the titles which identify the cast of travelers.  Still photos at the lower right are an unusual placement.  After so many chapters, it's fun to identify the people with their names.  (...and our friends absolutely loved seeing themselves in the titles too!)

A lot of media was "borrowed" to produce this epic.  It is very proper to identify the source, even if you have permission to use it.  In this case it was the least I could do, and my apologies to the artists if they feel wronged (see below).

The video concludes with my narration of a quote from our tour guide: "Good luck ... forever!"  This is unusual, but elegant.  I normally would end with a simple copyright notice like: "©2014 www.henbc.com"


Lessons Learned:
Once again we note the advantages of using live music, that was recorded on your trip.
Allow lots of time for the audience to read the titles.
Pace the transitions to match the music.
Your friends will love having their names appear in the closing credits.

Suggestion:
If the video will be posted on the Internet, preserve your friends privacy by using only their first names in the credits.


FYI:
Do you want to review all of the hints from these China Vacation Videos?  Use this link to go back to the very first one, which was published on February 3, 2014.  There are clickable controls near the bottom the archives that allow you to step to the next "Newer" or "Previous" blog post.
Or use the controls on the right hand side of each page to select individual posts by date.

If you just want to watch the movies, they are all available on my YouTube channel,  HENBCtravel
I have three other channels that might be of interest:  HENBCvideo (miscellaneous videos that try to look professional, with particular respect for copyrights); RAGEAIR (advertises the licensing availability of my newsworthy videos); and this YouTube Channel of Shame (an odd collection of stuff, not respectful of others’ copyrights).



Music Copyright Considerations:
This original audience for these China vacation videos was friends and family who would view the DVD in my living room.  It contains identifiable music that is regrettably used without permission.  
Today, with digital distribution, artists' rights deserve more attention.  Since this video is intended for non-profit illustration and educational purposes only, I believe that valid arguments can be made for its "Fair Use" in this situation.  Please understand that I do not encourage improper use of copyrighted material.





Search description: 
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Label:

www.henbc.com has tips to add excitement to boring vacation video.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #132

China 2001:  Our Last Night and Air Rage Recap



This is the penultimate chapter of the China vacation DVD.  A few of us are gathered at the hotel's dinner buffet; conversation takes us back to the very first chapter ... The Air Rage Incident.  What has become of the "Air Rage Twins"?  Will they be surprise guests if I accept Maury Povich's offer to appear on his show?  Would anyone buy a copy of Playboy Magazine if they are the centerfold?
Some of you might pick-up on my comic reference to "Flo", a sassy waitress in the 1970's television series Alice.

Lessons Learned:
When traveling, always carry your camera!  Even though this was the last night of our trip, these 90-seconds of conversation pull it all together and bring the project full-circle.  All that remains are closing credits, which will be the topic of my next blog post.
External references are part of the fun when editing a vacation video.  Who would expect to find that crazy waitress from Mel's Diner at a Chinese buffet?  Magazine centerfolds?  Cheesy afternoon television talk shows?

Suggestion:
Sometimes its the sound rather than the picture quality that's important.  Remember that your camcorder is also a sound-recording instrument.  Capture what your friends are talking about.


FYI:
All of the China trip vignettes are loaded onto YouTube.  They may be viewed on one of my YouTube channels: HENBCtravel
I have three other channels that might be of interest:  HENBCvideo (miscellaneous videos that try to look professional, with particular respect for copyrights), RAGEAIR (advertises the licensing availability of my newsworthy videos), and this YouTube Channel of Shame (an odd collection of stuff, not respectful of others’ copyrights).



Music Copyright Considerations:
This original audience for this video was friends and family who would view the DVD in my living room.  It contains identifiable music that is regrettably used without permission.  
Today, with digital distribution, artists' rights deserve more attention.  Since this video is intended for non-profit illustration and educational purposes only, I believe that valid arguments can be made for its "Fair Use" in this situation.  Please understand that I do not encourage improper use of copyrighted material.