Technology and Innovation

Shrinking your video resoluNext check your data rate options. With video, you will most notice the lowering of the data rate with fast movement. The more motion you have, the less you’ll want to drop the video data rate. If the program you are using has the ability to use 2-pass VBR (variable bit rate) encoding, you will benefit from the compressor’s ability to scan the media twice for better compression.

Hi, I have been a subscriber to your magazine for a long time and it has been a great experience all these years. I would like to see articles about people who are doing business using consumer camcorders: cameras than don’t cost more than $600.00 at least. I know that today’s equipment has been lowered in terms of costs, and you can practically have your own production studio with a good computer and a good camera, but what about people who can’t afford more than a regular camcorder and a turnkey computer system?

I have been a filmmaker since the late ’60s and am now working in the video field. I now shoot almost exclusively on videotape. I entered some films in the Academy Awards competition back in the late ’70s and remember that we all had to adhere to a strict set of rules, one of which was that my production had to be originated on film and projected in a theatre in Los Angeles County for seven consecutive paid play dates, on film, not videotape. This was no easy task if you could not afford a 16mm to 35mm blowup.
At the risk of appearing a bit uninformed, I must ask if you could tell me when these rules changed and to what extent they have changed. Obviously. I can originate on tape now, but can I also project from tape or DVD?