I just joined the forum; have been active on 2-pop and dv.com for some time. It's something to do when rendering long Ultimatte composites.

I've been around forever, started in the 16mm days shooting with a Beauleau (if I can still spell it), a CP16R and other things. Moved into video near the end of the 2" days and moved into 1", 3/4 and then Betacam with a BVW300. Still have the old 300, but it's retired and has been replaced by a DSR500WS/L1, using the same aging but still excellent Nikkor ED 8.5-127 lens. Also have a DSR250 which I use a lot for hand-held walking shots; and a TRV900 for those situations where you want another camera in your briefcase or for things where a bigger camera would be a problem. For lighting I use Altman fresnels, Lowel open face, softlights, and Lowel Caselight fluorescents, and others. Audio is Lectrosonics wireless with Countryman lavs, a Sennheiser MKH416 and Shure FP33 mixer. Audio studio is ProTools.

Most of my work is educational, training, corporate, local TV spots, documentary, sales, marketing, etc. Lots of interactive training these days, and most everything ends up on CDROM, some on DVD. We have a small studio, with dolly, jib, and two Avid editing suites (www.opuskc.com) that had been Media Composers for several years but recently converted to new XDV's on OSX. As long as we're shooting a DV25 format, no need to go with new Media Composers, and the new XDV's make me and the other editor smile everytime we turn on those dual gig G4's (we had been running MC7.2 on a 9600 and a G3).

I'm somewhat active in the local film community and edited and did post production on "Shades of Gray," a documentary that has gone to 35mm and hopefully limited release in Europe soon. I'm scheduled to edit a 30 min. short feature starting next month, and have a documentary on censorship I've been working on very slowly for some time. I'm also a board member of the Halfway to Hollywood Film Festival (www.H2Hfilmfest.org), and while most of the entries we get are 35mm films, we are starting to get some features in video. We want quality feature length productions, on full size DVCAM or DV tape. If you've got Betacam, get it dubbed because it's too much trouble for us to deal with different formats at 3 different theaters.

But more importantly, I seem to have developed a reputation on some of the boards for sardonic humor and baiting the ironically-challenged on occasion.

After following your posts around the interenet, I must say it's a pleasure to have you with us here, Bill. Welcome aboard! That's a stylish website and impressive demo reel. It's great to have yet another person here with a firm background in corporate video production, and I hope you like what you find in our community. Thanks for coming in,

Hi, Bill. Nice to have you here. Don't forget to use your disclaimer when you post!

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Sheesh, they open the back door a crack and all the undesireables manage to get in.*






*Note: Portions or all of this message may be unsuitable for the ironically-challenged.

Like Chris, I have followed many of your posts elsewhere ("KCBill") and am delighted to see you here. You and I have actually corresponded once or twice over the past couple of years.

Dive right in! To warp an Oldsmobile slogan "It's not just XL1's any more."

Actually, there's somebody else called "KCBill". That's not me. But I think I'm registered on dv.com as BillKC.

Bill, nice connotation! Let us hope that BB doesn't see this one, otherwise we are in big trouble.

Indeed, "BillKC" is what I was thinking of.

Welcome aboard, Bill. It's always good to have another corporate producer to compare notes with (and another ex Media Composer user to boot).

Jeff

Thanks. It was a difficult decision to move away from MC to XDV...sort of like the feeling I had when I moved away from Sony Broadcast cameras to the DSR500...how does one hold one's head high with such a lack of status....

Don't feel bad, I switched almost three years ago and have been very happy with Final Cut Pro. I've a client that I edit for that has XDV, so I still get to keep my fingers in the Avid world.

Jeff

It made sense for us to switch, just as it made sense to switch from Betacam SP to DVCAM. The old Media Composers were, well, old, and the new XDV's on the dual gig G4's would be worth the switch just for the speed alone. However, there are some operational features that make it advanced over our obsolete Media Composers. Of course, the newer Media Composers have some features we don't have. Most of them are not worth the money to us, for the kind of work we do. If we were shooting a DV50 or above format, that would be different, but we're not. So far the only thing I miss in XDV is the extend edit button. Its absence sucks.

Bill,
Welcome. If you lurk on the avid forum, the rumor is the extend edit is coming soon to V4...