When I decided to make the move away from Final Cut Studio (and Final Cut Pro) I also took that time to completely upgrade my existing laptop with a Solid State Disk (SSD) and perform a clean install of the OS (from an optical disk no less!) and a clean install of Adobe Creative Suite 5. (CS5). Everything became quite snappy on this “new” laptop and I quickly became busy learning the ropes in Premiere. I upgraded an existing machine, but this also applies if you are making the jump to a new machine.

But, of course, I still have clients who need existing projects worked on, updated, tweaked, etc. For one client, I was in the midst of putting their finished video on YouTube for rental. I needed to grab 30 seconds of this video from the finished, stand-alone, rendered movie and make a new clip which I would upload separately and then link it as the preview file for the rental.

I went to my default tool, QuickTime Player and was flumoxed by the fact that I couldn’t set an in and out point to copy a portion of the clip. And then I realized what the problem was: the “Pro” part of QuickTime Player requires a separate $20 purchase from Apple to be activated. Using FCP for over 10 years meant that I never needed to buy QuickTime Pro separately. But now, leaving FCP behind, those QuickTime Pro features were no longer available to me. I needed to find another way to make excerpts quickly.

Selecting an excerpt in QuickTime Player Pro

In Premiere, I imported the source clip. Opened it in the viewer. Set my in and out points and couldn’t figure out how to export the clip from the viewer. So I dragged the whole thing into the timeline and then cut it down. Time to export. I really just wanted to copy what I had into a new file. No transcoding or anything. Then, I faced Premiere’s daunting Export module and was immediately flumoxed by the fact that I didn’t see “use current settings” anywhere. It wanted me to either pick one of the presets or create a new setting from scratch. This was getting much more complicated than I wanted to deal with.

I wanted my QuickTime Player Pro back.

I asked fellow professionals for help, and of course I was told that Premiere can do anything, that Vegas could handle this. Edius has no problem… but most of them missed the point. I wanted something fast and simple. On a Mac, especially one now with a speedy SSD in it, QuickTime Player opens and plays a clip in under a second. Creating an excerpt takes just 7 keystrokes:

• Double click the file, click spacebar to play,
• Type “i“, type “o“, Copy, New, Paste, Save, type a name, Enter
• Wait a moment, then Quit.

QuickTime Player defaults to saving the file as a “self-contained movie.” Doing this copies only the data between the In and Out points of your source movie into a new file. In the Finder, it literally does just COPY the footage from one file to the other. No transcoding. No export settings. It’s nearly as simple as selecting “Duplicate” in the Finder, except QuickTime Player Pro enables me to pick what portion of the source file to duplicate. This is why QuickTime Player Pro had become essential to an expedient workflow on my computer.

But how do I get QuickTime Pro back?

The answer lies in the registration file for Final Cut Studio that QuickTime Player checks to activate the Pro features of the app. This registration is nestled on the hard drive in a logical place, and just needs to be copied from the old hard drive to the same place on the new one.

This is where you find the ProApps folder. Or where you put it if you need to make one.

Starting from the root level of the drive > Library > Application Support > ProApps Look for the “Final Cut Studio System ID.” That’s what you need to copy. On your new hard drive, go to the same place, and create the ProApps folder if you need to. Drag “Final Cut Studio System ID” from the old ProApps folder to the new one. Done.

Copy this one file from your old system to keep QuickTime Player Pro features.

The next time you launch QuickTime Player, you’ll have full access to every feature it has.

Don’t be confused by the Final Cut Express files I have in my new ProApps folder. I have a client who requires that we swap project files back and forth so I am still using Final Cut Express for them. But installing Final Cut Express actually does NOT enable QuickTime Pro. So, I still needed to install QuickTime Pro separately.

If you aren’t cleaning out your System and Library folders, or using an application to remove all vestiges of Final Cut Studio (which spreads itself out into many different locations) then you probably will end up keeping the ProApps folder and QuickTime Player will continue to see your registration. But should you ever need to upgrade your hard drive, or move to a new Mac, and you’re not going to reinstall the old Final Cut Studio… you’ll want that one little file to keep the QuickTime Pro you’ve become accustomed to using.
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Anthony Burokas is a 20+ year broadcast TV video producer currently based in Dallas TX. He has produced an extensive body of event, corporate, special interest, and broadcast TV. His web site is IEBA.com Follow @IEBAcom on Twitter

When it comes to getting exposure for your company, you can buy print ads, buy online ads, buy postcards & mailers, buy a table at a local event show, and after a while, you will see people start to get to know you and your brand. But what if you could leverage the power and reach of local TV airtime without having to pay for it? That would be pretty darn valuable.

Video University regular Bill Grant recently posted about his Tie The Knot Tips videos in the Video University Forums (membership required). I took a few minutes to speak with him about how he started the video series, what the return on his investment is, and how others can start doing the same thing in their local market.

First, let’s take a look at one of his segments:

Now, you’ll note that not only does he not specifically promote himself and his company as producers of the video segment, he includes his competitors. Other segments about Florists, Photographers, Catering, Staging, etc do not have any reference to Bill Grant or his company Cinema Coture at all.

So what’s the premise and how does it pay off?

It all started when Bill wanted to develop a closer networking relationship with a local event planner that targeted the same high level of clients that CinemaCoture served. A local agency guy that Bill had worked  before was now an anchor on the local morning news show. Seeing an opportunity to connect the dots, Bill approached the planner with the basic concept of a “tips” show for brides. Once she was on board, Bill approached his contact at the station.

Tying The Knot Tips host Melanie Murphy.

The key motivations for the station are: they have a 3-4 hour morning show that they have to fill with entertaining and useful content for their viewers. Offering them something like a bridal tips video package – for free – gives them great content that they can use without any additional cost. It is easier to get your video accepted by the station in smaller markets, than in larger ones, like LA, NYC, etc. Also, it really helps to have a polished package- front to back, audio, music, title & closing bumpers, etc. But don’t put lower 3rd graphics on the people- the station will want to do that so the titles are uniform with the rest of the show.

Bill worked out an initial 10 ideas with the wedding planner and proceeded to make calls to local vendors in each of these categories to have them offer advice to brides. These are typically shot at the Planner’s studio, but Bill also visits other vendors who are too pressed for time to come in to the studio. For each segment, Bill says it typically takes about an hour to shoot, and then an hour to cut and post the segment. Then he can upload a 720p MPEG-2 file directly to the station’s FTP server and they take it from there.

Return On Investment:
How has this paid off? Bill says that his bookings and referrals are up. Now, it’s hard to say whether this is due specifically due to the video series, or other economic and industry factors, but he hopes it continues. One thing that has definitely increased is his connection with event vendors. After each episode that airs, many vendors that weren’t interviewed for the segment call in and ask why not, and how they can be involved in the future. So people are indeed watching, and vendors in industry are more aware of Cinema Coture now than before the video segments started airing.

If I feature two caterers or two florists in a show then every other florist feels “well, why not me?” It’s been an interesting situation we’ve created. We’ve basically set up a thing that the vendors want to get involved in. It’s a side-effect that we didn’t necessarily intend.

Other returns on the investment are less tangible. It’s promoting the value of video in general and provides an information service which is likely to grow mindshare over time. It could be parlayed into new business through local Chambers of Commerce- showing how local businesses are using video to tell their story. But the primary benefit is for the industry that Tie The Knot Tips serves:

I think our industry as a whole lacks a validity in the bride’s eyes so if you connect what we do- like short form- with all those necessary vendors out there, we become one of those … with the associations that we have with them, we’re now in the conversation. And that helps the visibility of what we do. I think a lot of brides don’t want the “old style” video. They want something new and stylish that matches up with their photography and what type of event they’re planning to do. If they can see videographers associated with these other categories, it puts us in the same mind. 

Make the package complete, and polished, so the stations can easily air it.

Moving Forward:

The video segments will continue on the TV station. But now there are plans to extend the information to other media. Local newspapers, especially free ones, are always looking for useful, local, and free content. Taking the information from the video and converting it to text, and editing it so it flows, creates a useful article that reaches a whole new market. Lastly, the videos will reside on a new TieTheKnotTips.com blog that will also include other information for brides. “There’s no end to what’s possible if you understand how to take advantage of local markets.” But don’t stop there. What about reaching out beyond your city, region, state… out to the country, and even beyond:

All of these options are out there. The tips are universal- we made sure of that, in case we wanted to do a national blog or show, we weren’t going to localize it too much. That possibility is certainly out there and, of course, there’s no reason to start a project like this without thinking as big as you can. And shoot for as big as you can go and see how far you can take it. 

Every local market has several network stations. If they have a big local morning news show, they need content. Produce one segment as a test-bed, sample and make it available online. Call in to the station manager and talk to a producer about supplying a segment like this. Send them an e-mail with a link to your sample. Make it clean and easy for the station to pick up and use with minimal effort on their side. If they want it, then you have the commitment for distribution. Getting local vendors involved is generally pretty easy because they all would welcome some free air time on local TV.

Anthony Burokas is a 20+ year broadcast TV video producer currently based in Dallas TX. He has produced an extensive body of event, corporate, special interest, and broadcast TV. His web site is IEBA.com Follow @IEBAcom

Two things happened recently to quite nearly cement the death of wireless microphone audio for much event and corporate video in America. First, the FCC reallocated the 700 Mhz spectrum to new services. Any wireless microphones on those frequencies, while they still work fine, are now illegal to use, and are subject to more interference – possibly ruining your audio at any moment.

Second, was a new wave of DSLRs being used to shoot video. In the early years of DSLRs there was no way to get audio in the camera, and there was no way to monitor the audio the camera was recording. So the vast majority of videographers who moved to DSLRs to shoot video also moved to what is called “double system” sound- where a second, audio only recorder is used to record audio.

Both of these events hastened a mass migration away from wireless microphones. And here’s what’s happened:

When you consider that these two developments occurred at the same time, you’ll see that a lot of people were looking for new audio solutions. This was the perfect opportunity to change from being limited to 2-tracks in the camera, to using as many audio recorders as you wish to deploy…

The Zoom H4N

• I can have a mic for the main speaker – use a small recorder with a lav mic.
• I can have a mic for the host to hear them well wherever he or she may wander
• I can use a recorder’s built-in stereo mics for the string quartet or any music that is played on site
• I connect another small recorder for a board feed, if available, to get all the different sources- and any I might not have envisioned setting up before the event. Otherwise it can be used as a backup or ambient mic, or maybe even just to put it in front of the speaker if the person running audio won’t give me a feed.
• I can drop small recorders with lav mics at the podiums to get clean, clear audio without needing the main board feed, or hold them as backups.
• Lastly, a small stereo recorder sits on my camera to record sound in ambient situations. I will also use it to record the signal from my wireless (if I use it) and use the output of the recorder to feed my cam for a sync track.

Once you get to the studio you sync them up and edit away. You will have lots of audio tracks, but that is a good thing and there are several software options for easily syncing the audio tracks up in the timeline.

The wireless system is still quite useful for much smaller gigs, like corporate work where just one person is speaking to the camera. But wireless audio, even though you can monitor it in the camera while recording, doesn’t mean it will always be good. You can get wireless “hits” as people move around and interference from other radio transmissions. Sometimes, for instance at receptions, someone turns on another wireless mic in another room which conflicts with your wireless. Then you have to waste time finding a clear frequency and changing your gear. Portable recorders have none of these issues.

You can have all the tracks you need with multiple recorders.

No video camera could record all these disparate sources unless you had a crew of audio technicians like Robert Altman had for the making of “Nashville” . When I mix the final result together, it is like being there- perhaps even better. If someone with a weak voice does a reading at the podium, I’m not tying to hear her through all the echo & reverberation in the church. I have the mic I placed at the podium and I can crank that up till she’s just as loud as everyone else. In this case my audio is BETTER than being there.

Of course, when the organ kicks in for the recessional, the audio recorders’ auto limiters are put to good use. But some new recorders can even be set to record a second stereo track some 20 db down from the main set to ensure that you have a clean feed. This is also useful for the board mix in case the volunteer working the mixer does not understand what good audio levels are.

So take a good look at your wireless mics, and how you do audio, and see if there isn’t an alternative that gives you better audio, more choices, and avoids any wireless issues.

Anthony Burokas is a 20+ year broadcast TV video producer currently based in Dallas TX. He has produced an extensive body of event, corporate, special interest, and broadcast TV. His web site is IEBA.com