Right now is the perfect time to be a Beatles fan! Short of being around in the 1960s, the re-release and new focus on the Beatles music and history is a playground for someone like me, along with countless other fans. While a lot of effort was put into getting the Beatles albums years ago, it's not the re-releases I'm excited about. Truth be told, it's not all the magazines (despite buying them) that really swept me away either. No, the real treat and surprise in this whole reintroduction has been the limited edition release of Beatles Rockband that came out just a little over a week ago.
Yes, I bought it. I opted for the limited edition with the replica of Paul's Hofner bass, which is really cool. For those of you who don't know, the Rockband instruments (guitars and drums) are actually wireless controllers themselves and don't require you to stick your Wii remote into them to make them work (like in Guitar Hero for Wii). And, much better than some decal or sticker, the finish of the Beatles instruments is top notch.
There's never been a shortage of Beatles merchandise to acquire, but for any fan of the music, this is a great time to get a taste. The Beatles Rockband remains my favorite thing to come out of all of this, and I'm sure I'll be playing it for months to come. You can check out the amazingly beautiful intro cartoon to the Beatles Rockband below. I love how it seemlessly transitions through moments in Beatles history. Enjoy, and maybe get out there to experience some of this Beatles revival for yourself!
One of the greatest editing exercises I've ever done actually happened before I even knew I wanted to be an editor. In fact, it happened before I even had editing software on the computer. As you should have guessed by the title of this post, these edits were my Ontario Postcards that I shot in 2000.
It was the summer. I was 16 and had saved up just over $1200 to purchase my very first digital camcorder - I'd never wanted anything so bad. My friends were buying cars, but for me it was the camera. At the end of August I was leaving on a vacation with my family to Ontario. We were heading to Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls to be exact. This proved the perfect opportunity to shoot some fresh footage.
So what was the editing exercise? Well, I had made up my mind before hand that I wanted to shoot some polished looking videos of the locations we'd be traveling to. Without the software, and without the patience to try and edit on the VCR anymore, I decided that I'd create these videos in-camera. In-camera means exactly what it sounds like - shooting using only the camera effects, creating your edit as you go.
I picked out my music before hand, but I still can only imagine what I was like to travel with. Because I was shooting in-camera, I had my discman with me and I'd play the selected song while I shot to match up my cuts. This was the case for Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. If you can imagine keeping a song on pause while touring, keeping in mind what you last shot and how it connects to the new location, all the while ensuring that you're still synced up to your video footage so that the rhythm is intact - that was the routine. The very idea of it seems ridiculous now with cheap and free software for video editing so easy to find and use. The digital revolution has changed everything, and it's crazy to think of what a different world it was 9 years ago.
*Me filming at the War Memorial in Ottawa. You can see my discman in hand as I set up my shot. Not surprisingly, almost all the photos from this trip with me in them look like this.
When I got back from vacation school started up right away. Having made myself familiar in the communication technology department, I was able to use their dubbing equipment and added my music to my in-camera videos. All these years later, the edits are still exactly the same. I didn't shoot any additional footage because of my chronological in-camera project for one thing, but I don't think I could bring myself to change them even if I could. The experience of shooting this way not only proved valuable as I developed my own video skills, but it was truly one of those early tests that really allowed me to prove to myself how much I wanted to do this. That history and energy still motivates me in the things I approach today.
I remember in early 2003 in my very first production class in film school one of the assignments was an in-camera edit. Upon this announcement I showed my friend Ward my Ontario videos, explaining how they were made, and sure enough the project felt like a breeze in comparison. Ward starred in my film school in-camera project, Mean Mr. Mustard is Homeless.
Today, the only real difference in my Ontario Postcards is the addition of the titles, postcard border, and a clip of a WWI soldier in my Ottawa video with the war memorial. The music and cuts are otherwise exactly the same.
In addition to these edits, I put together a short clip of the only home video footage I shot while in Ontario. After we left Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara Falls we went to stay with some family and went sailing on their boat through the Trent-Severn Waterway. Traveling through the locks was certainly an experience for this prairie kid. Until right now - this footage has never been used or even watched since it was shot in 2000 (I'd forgetten that it even existed).
All this said, these edits remain my earliest work that I still screen as they were originally cut and presented. Most of my work has had a cosmetic update or been put into context for this blog - these edits were already YouTube ready before YouTube even existed. I remain extremely proud of what I accomplished from a technical point of view, and it's work like this that now makes it so clear why my focus became directed towards editing. See for yourself the result of my early filmmaking challenge.
Having never been much of a photo album kind of guy, when I got back from my Indio, California road trip with my friend Dave at the end of August, I looked at all the cool pictures that I had on my camera and knew I wanted to print them.
The issue I've always had with photo albums is that they're often generic looking. My approach to the stereotypical 'slide show' or home video has always been to cut an entertaining travelog together, so it should come as no surprise that I wanted to approach my photos with the same energy. What I opted for was creating an elaborate published photo book using Blurb.com. Combining the bulk of my candid shots, landscapes, and even stills from the video I shot, I created a 158 page, 13x11 inch, full color, hardcover, professional grade book. It just rolls off the tongue, haha.
This is the cover of the book, I'm sitting on the foot of the T-Rex in Cabazon, California.
While the quality and detail of the book should be top notch, it certainly wasn't the cheapest option. At nearly $130 spent on the project and hours spent designing the pages and layout it was fairly consuming. Still, I was happy to do it for the sake of creating a meaningful memento and making the photos even more enjoyable to see. I'm sure this kind of thing isn't for everyone, but with the user-friendly and customizable software that you can download from Blurb.com I'm already thinking up my next book idea. While photo book options are available through different photo stores, this is the only one I found that actually advertised professional grade options - hence the higher price tag. In any case, I just thought this was a great service worth sharing.
