Thoughts & Suggestions... at DVinfo.net

Chris Hocking · November 13th, 2006, 04:45 PM

Hi 2nd Unit Team,

I've been really busy over the last couple of months and haven't had a chance to keep up with the 2nd Unit productions. However, I watched a couple of the newer interviews last night, and I must say I was really impressed.

The Bobby Finley was really interesting. I can't wait to see part two. This is obviously one seriously talented (and lucky!) guy - it's great to be able to get an insight into these peoples work and lives. Thankyou for the opportunity. However, was this shot against a blue/green screen? The reason I ask is because I sure that at some stage the interviewers head got cut off - I'm guessing because of a garbage matte? Maybe I was just seeing things...

I must say, that comparing one of the earlier episodes to your latest, the quality and production values are getting better and better. But one more thing that kind of annoys me, is the website. Although it looks heaps better than the original - it still needs work. What really bugs me is the navigation infrastructure. I understand why it's been done - but I just don't like it. Using javascripts to change page content creates several limitations. In Firefox, I tend to open new content in different tabs. Normally I'd right click on "Past Episodes" and "Open In A New Tab". However, because you're using JS, I can't do that. Another issue is when I refresh pages, it jumps back to the home page. This is a problem for two reasons. One I have to manually go back to the page I was one, and two it clears the Quicktime cache. Normally, if the Quicktime file for some reason stops downloading, I can just refresh and it will start again where it left off - but because I am redirected back to the home page - I have to start from scratch. Lastly, bookmaking is an issue. You cannot bookmark, say the "About 2nd Unit" page - it will only bookmark the home page. Now this isn't a "life threating" issue - but it is kinda annoying. For me anyway.

Finally, what mics are you using these days? Whatever those lavs are, they actually sound really good. Congradulations!

Keep up the good work!

~ Chris!

Chris Hocking · November 13th, 2006, 04:47 PM

Also, can you provide direct links to the QT files? I'd prefer to be able to download them, and view them later, as opposed to having to waiting till they are fully loaded in the brower and then saving them.

Jonathan Ames · November 14th, 2006, 11:15 AM

So here's the4 deal. THANKS. You're right about El papel. Adobe just signed on as a major sponsor and put their engineers at our disposal. i have a team going to San jose for training from their top engineers and the site will be Dreqamweaver extrordinaire when they get back.

As for the mics, they're simple Sennheiser wirteless on stage in a controlled environ and Lectros in the field where there's interference from competeing systems.

As for the mics, they're Countrymans. We use them EXCLUSIVELY ANY TIME WE CAN...any time we could use boom mics. they're close, economic and kick butt. We used them on El Papel on a $5M featurte we're shooting now and love them. Of course they're haqrd wired in a sit down environ but....

Hope this helps.

Please come down and help out on the shoot on then feature.

J

Chris Hocking · November 14th, 2006, 04:37 PM

Thanks for your reply Jonathan.

That's great news - can't wait to see the final website!

I'd LOVE to come and help out with the feature, and with your 2nd Unit episodes - but unfortunately, I'm at the other side of the world! I live in Australia. However, if there's anything I can help you with from down here, let me know...

Good luck with the shoot!

Chris!

November 13th, 2006, 04:45 PM	#1
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Thoughts & Suggestions... Hi 2nd Unit Team, I've been really busy over the last couple of months and haven't had a chance to keep up with the 2nd Unit productions. However, I watched a couple of the newer interviews last night, and I must say I was really impressed. The Bobby Finley was really interesting. I can't wait to see part two. This is obviously one seriously talented (and lucky!) guy - it's great to be able to get an insight into these peoples work and lives. Thankyou for the opportunity. However, was this shot against a blue/green screen? The reason I ask is because I sure that at some stage the interviewers head got cut off - I'm guessing because of a garbage matte? Maybe I was just seeing things... I must say, that comparing one of the earlier episodes to your latest, the quality and production values are getting better and better. But one more thing that kind of annoys me, is the website. Although it looks heaps better than the original - it still needs work. What really bugs me is the navigation infrastructure. I understand why it's been done - but I just don't like it. Using javascripts to change page content creates several limitations. In Firefox, I tend to open new content in different tabs. Normally I'd right click on "Past Episodes" and "Open In A New Tab". However, because you're using JS, I can't do that. Another issue is when I refresh pages, it jumps back to the home page. This is a problem for two reasons. One I have to manually go back to the page I was one, and two it clears the Quicktime cache. Normally, if the Quicktime file for some reason stops downloading, I can just refresh and it will start again where it left off - but because I am redirected back to the home page - I have to start from scratch. Lastly, bookmaking is an issue. You cannot bookmark, say the "About 2nd Unit" page - it will only bookmark the home page. Now this isn't a "life threating" issue - but it is kinda annoying. For me anyway. Finally, what mics are you using these days? Whatever those lavs are, they actually sound really good. Congradulations! Keep up the good work! ~ Chris!

November 13th, 2006, 04:47 PM	#2
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Also, can you provide direct links to the QT files? I'd prefer to be able to download them, and view them later, as opposed to having to waiting till they are fully loaded in the brower and then saving them.

November 14th, 2006, 11:15 AM	#3
Jonathan Ames 2nd Unit TV Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 509	So here's the4 deal. THANKS. You're right about El papel. Adobe just signed on as a major sponsor and put their engineers at our disposal. i have a team going to San jose for training from their top engineers and the site will be Dreqamweaver extrordinaire when they get back. As for the mics, they're simple Sennheiser wirteless on stage in a controlled environ and Lectros in the field where there's interference from competeing systems. As for the mics, they're Countrymans. We use them EXCLUSIVELY ANY TIME WE CAN...any time we could use boom mics. they're close, economic and kick butt. We used them on El Papel on a $5M featurte we're shooting now and love them. Of course they're haqrd wired in a sit down environ but.... Hope this helps. Please come down and help out on the shoot on then feature. J

November 14th, 2006, 04:37 PM	#4
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Thanks for your reply Jonathan. That's great news - can't wait to see the final website! I'd LOVE to come and help out with the feature, and with your 2nd Unit episodes - but unfortunately, I'm at the other side of the world! I live in Australia. However, if there's anything I can help you with from down here, let me know... Good luck with the shoot! Chris!