Im the proud owner/user of the SONY VX2000, but ive had a problem. Have error code, but dont know what it means. Do you? C:31:23
wont let me do anything in VCr or Camera mode. Please help.
Thanx
Nicole 818-

I tried calling but the line was busy. You probably shouldn't list your phone number unless you want wierd guys like me calling you at all hours of the night. The error you are seeing means S real fault - You can try to Load the Tape again, and perform operations from the begining, I got this info from the following page, I really know nothing about sonys

http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/docs/faults.jpg

If that doesn't work try removing the battery and power cord, and plug it in again. If you still can't get it to work you may have to take it to an an authorized sony repair shop. Good luck.

thnx, will try evrything again for good measure

Hi, my name is dan, I'm new to the site, and can use all the help I can get, also have some info to share, I'm going to atempt a feature movie soon!

Welcome aboard and let us know how your movie endeaver
goes!

Hey Folks!

I'm new here, so I thought I'd tip my hat and say "Hi". If any of you are interested in shooting DV movies in Los Angeles or Southern California, I'd love to hear about your experiences, interests or war stories.

If any of you are shooting DV movies anywhere else in the world, I'd love to hear the same from you.

Go for it, guys!

Howdy neighbor:

DV filmmaking is more than alive and well here in the Southland!

I'm about to start planning the second round of an experiment that involved eight groups of writers, directors and actors who had to write, shoot and edit five-minute shorts over a 48 hour period--the films were all screened on the second night for a SRO audience at a theatre company in Hollywood. It was an insane experience and some pretty creative results.

Regarding Filmlook--it's a great process but very similar results can be had using the Cinelook plugin for After Effects, much more time consuming but considerably cheaper in the long run. Also the Frame Movie Mode is a decent alternative (and it's free, just a push of the button!)

My articles about my first shoot are up at Chris' site if
you are interested, they can be found here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/
Go directly into the Articles menu and you'll see the
following new articles under DV Production Notes:

My First Movie: Taking Those First Steps, Part One
My First Movie: Taking Those First Steps, Part Two

Please let me know what you think!

Good luck with your movies!

Actually I am in Carmel. I have used the XL1 ofr a while now and love it. I currently determining what camera to get to set up a 3 Camera outfit for live recordings. I leaning towards thre XL1S cams on tripods with remote zooms. Any comments?

Later
Sean

Welcome aboard!

Hi all & Chris,
I've been visiting your site since the beginning and have to thank you, it's been useful.
After having been using DV since 1995 I'm trying to shoot my first feature here in Argentina and Uruguay, in DV after my own script with almost no $. This is what I have up to now:

- ('97) PAL XL1 w/16x lens (green line problem)
MA100
4 long batteries
Century WA adapt.
- ('01) PAL GL1
- Miller fluid head tripod
- Sennheiser K6 module with directional shotgun
- Ktek boom pole
- Rycote suspension & isolation system
- SurfAce scubacam for XL1
- Lowell Rifa 1000w light bank

- PowerMac G4 500mhz
- Powerbook G4 400mhz
- FCP3

I'm interested in finding how to best complete this system for the shoot and in knowing where is the guy who used to report on XL1 to 35mm transfers at TapeHouseDigital, who put out really good tips on the matter.

thanks again,
Federico

Hola Federico,

Some of the people in the "biz" will tackle your questions, I'm sure...but I just want to add that I hope you'll give us regular updates on your progress.

Good luck...and happy shooting!

This is a great supportive and friendly community of creatives.
I'm new to the Canon XL1S and am looking to learn as much as I can.
I have professionally directed commercials and corporate videos, but never operated a camera myself. I'm excited to be using the XL1S in shooting and directing mini-features, etc. I look forward to being a part of the
DVinfo.Net Community.

I'm so happy I stumbled into this electronic community!

I'm a 20+ year veteran of broadcast TV who's been downsized out the door, so now I'm looking to get my own gear to pursue documentary filmmaking. These messaage boards have been incredibly helpful in learning about the pros and cons of cameras, tripods, etc.

I still have a lot to learn about DV, but maybe I can help answer some questions about how it's done in broadcast TV. (But a lot of times, it's not done very well. It seems many of the people in charge don't really know what's they're doing! I'm actually glad to be finally out of that environment)

So again, glad to be here!

Kirk

Kirkdirect@aol.com

Sounds like you will fit in well! There are other professional
people here as well that turned to DV shooting! I myself am
totally new in the world of filming and have just done my first
little short test movie.

Welcome aboard!

Another veteran signing up. Before we know it we have
a veteran board here... (yes, this is meant as a joke)....

Let me be the first to welcome you aboard! This place has
more veterans and professionals who turned DV. I myself
am just beginning.

Again, welcome!

Thanks for your welcome. Hope to be supportive in any way I can.

Hi,

I'm new here. but fimilar to forums..

My website is at dyslexicrydaz.com and it features alot of mpeg videos.

have fun PCE
Alex

That's an interesting site with all the Fast & Furious car stuff, Alex... I'm a little jealous of your age, man... being a teenager in high school right now is a very good place to be, with the way all of this technology is evolving. You're in a great position to leverage it to your advantage. Welcome aboard,

Wow, for the cost of all those burn't up tyres you could buy yourself a second camera or 3. The 16 sec 4 Runner was pretty amazing. Who said Hawaii is only known for surfing and the beach.

Welcome aboard.

How did you get into the stuff you are doing?

Just curios, I live in the DC metropolitan area as well.

DESIRE.

I have ALWAYS wanted to make films and such.

I didn't at first because I didn't think of it as a practical career choice. Instead I wanted to do computer science, which is interesting to study, but not to do.

I was right. Film making ain't a big moneymaker until you get right near the top, then money just gets thrown at you.

I am NOWHERE near the top fo the field, heck I am hardly off the bottom! Down here with the catfish it can be hard to make a buck, especially compared with other avocations, like say the tech industry or lawyering.

So, how did I get to use the CineAlta- I browbeat the Sony people into getting me some time on one, they passed me around a bit until finally somebody was in town with one...so I went over and used it for a few hours.

This is also how I got to spend some time working on the Sony XPRI edit system at GV Expo, the Sony folk set aside a good 3-4 hours for me, and now I am writing an article for sony.com!

How did I get into Lightwave ? Well, its back to desire. I want to make science fiction films. Naturally these include VFX that need to be amazing.

So, I figured out what they use for effects on Star Trek and other VFX extravaganzas. Can't go wrong with pro tools right ?

Turns out they use Lightwave and Maya. Maya is $17,000 a seat, and it turns out that a lot of modelling is done in Lightwave with animation in Maya at the places that use Maya. It goes on and on...see my posts about 3D for DV.

So Lightwave it is. Now I can boast about an academy award winning toolset at my little old production house. Neat huh ?

Desire, dedication and discipline. Toss in some imagination and curiosity and you are on your way.

If you really want to talk more, or if you have a project you want to talk about drop me an email. (use the link below it is a real email)

Just joined up, but I have owned my XL1s since 8/01 and love it... I do police training films for my department... Just considering the 16X manual lens, as the auto lens is a real pain when it comes to critical focus.... I'm also using the Pinnacle DV500 with Adobe 6.0... Not too happy with it... Anyone have a better editing system to suggest, I'm listening.... That is, other than Apple's, as I don't have a Mac... That may come later....

Hi Ron,

Just to put a bug in your ear...

Recently, a friend of mine's 18 year-old daughter went to study in the States for four years. As a worried father, he asked me to talk to her about "safety tips" for living in the U.S. (Koreans don't have the "street radar" that most Americans have because they live an amazingly crime-free life here).

I searched the web and we found lots of printed material, but that's all. I'd been hoping to find a collection of video safety tips along the lines of the safety seminar I'd seen a local officer give young girls at a college dormitory seminar (I was a Resident Assistant in a co-ed dorm). I remember him showing lots of really good safety and self defense tips that just couldn't be explained well on paper.

So, if you're ever looking for something on the side to shoot...

(by the way...if you do ever go through with this and need help with the web site design for housing it, I'll be glad to volunteer. Web design is my "day job")

*Note* -- this thread is expanded and continued in the NLE Editing on the PC platform forum... we'll see you there! Thanks,

Hello from Western New York!

Documentary filmmaker and photographer with over 30 years experience with national magazines [freelance and staff] shooting for TV [PBS since 1987].
Have covered national politics in Washington, D.C. since early 70s.
Interests: social issues, politics, cultural stories and environmental issues.

Best,

Keith

Thanks for joining us Keith, and welcome aboard... it's great to see an aquaintance from r.v.p. on usenet. I took a long break from the newsgroups... perhaps I need to continue taking that break... but felt compelled to post there recently. Sure appreciate any input you have to offer here in our community.

Welcome aboard Keith! I keep repeating myself, but you are
amongst other people here with numerous years of experience!
I hope you enjoy your stay here and I'll see you around.

Sorry - jumped the gun and dived into the XL1 forums without a proper introduction (though I've received warm welcomes regardless)! I am a painter by trade; my filmmaker girlfriend is proud owner of a GL1. While my video experience pales in comparison to what I have read thus far, I am very interested in learning and this seems to be the place to do it. Pleased to be a part of this community!
I work out of Chicago - one of my jobs is with a non-profit called Connecting Classrooms to the World. CCW travels to remote regions of the world and uses information technology to hook up Chicago students with kids in Nepal, Argentina, and (in October) Chile. I'm shopping around for an XL1s to document our upcoming trip. Any tips you all might have regarding must-have accessories, sponsorships, or donations (read: shoestring budget) of video equipment for an expedition is much appreciated. Here's a link to the trip: http://www.activeendeavors.com/expeditions/
Best,
JC

JC,

Welcome aboard! Good to have you here. As you have already
discovered, it is a nice board to be. Regarding your question,
if you are going to travel with the camera a lot I would
recommend to invest heavily in protecting your camera. Because
you are going to haul it around airports, planes, different
countries etc. There are two types of bags available on an
airplane. One where the camera can stay with you in the
cabin (my preference) or a larger one where you do not have
to dismount the camera and it ships in the planes cargo hold
(you know baggage handles are called baggage throwers, right?).

You can also choice between hard or soft cases. One thing that
might also be interesting for you is to get a rain cover. This
protects your camera from rain (doh) but also dust and other
nasty stuff. Underwater housings are also available.

Another interesting thing might be a low weight compact
tripod (or monopod?). There are some excellent threads on
this board about this already. Try using the search feature.

Again, welcome aboard!

i am very new to dv. well basically, i don't know anything about it but i am very interested in learning everything. i would like to know if there are any classes/workshops available in either indianapolis or chicago.

thanks!

Go to http://www.dvcreators.net/ and click on "DV workshops -- schedules & maps" on the left-hand side. There's one in Chicago this weekend. These guys are friends of mine; you can't go wrong. Hope this helps,

thanks chris! unfortunately i will by at indy during their chicago 3day workshop. i would love to attend that dv workshop. i hope they add one at indy. i travel a lot bec. of work. i am based in chicago, but i have a stint in indy till september. i want to make better use of my time after work at indy so i wanted to take dv classes and someday make my own indie video.

Hi Chris,

Been out of this loop for a while. When you've recovered from NAB, drop us a line. I don't know what happened about getting "Rebel", but I read it, so if someone else is wanting to read it, please pass it on.

I finally made the plunge and after trying Promax, B&H and some companies in South Africa, I ended up buying my gear from Chris at ZGC. She was fantastic in keeping me informed about options and prices. She organized to have the PAL XL1s brought in from the UK with an International warrantee, so when I go back to South Africa, it will still be covered. I DID mention you,... thanks.

It arrives Monday 8th, April, that's tomorrow! Gonna have to decide which monitor to use, for easy viewing, but I'm really excited.

I'll jump in and properly introduce myself.

I'm a Texan...which isn't that original here at DVInfo.net it seems. I live in Korea where they say "You can't throw a rock off of Nam Mountain without hitting a Park, Kim, or Lee." That seems to be the case with Texans in this community...which is good since occasionally you need to chuck a rock at a Texan or two. ;)

I started out in photography in high school way back when John Travolta was "John who?" and 8-track was gasping its last breath. I photographed school events (in a small "Last Picture Show"-type town in the Texas Panhandle) and, looking back, apparently tried to set the world record for the most photos of sunsets and silhouetted windmills ever taken.

Luckily, I grew out of the "windmill stage" and kept at photography for the next 17 years or so doing primarily outdoor portraits and modeling portfolios. Also got to do some commercial, wedding, and extreme sports photography. The extreme sports photography was by far the funnest...just setting up shots was an adventure...but paying jobs like that were few and far between. Weddings were the most plentiful source of income, but...well...they were weddings. Those of you who've done weddings know what I'm talking about.

I consider Austin my home-base now, but I've traveled a lot over the past 15 years....43 countries in all with extended stays in England, Norway, France, Spain, and seven years in Korea where I'm living now. Photography has taken a back seat to my current job which is educational web course development.

That's what got me into DV...and I'm completely hooked. Up until recently, I'd only done very short, very dry skits designed for web viewing (to go along with course materials) but I just finished last week my first short featurette filmed in the Seoul subway. What a blast! I'm now planning a series of subway stories...I'll start the next one after I move to Tokyo in May.

I'm still very green in the biz, so I tend to contribute more questions than answers here...but I'm always ready to help out as much as I can. I'm a movie fanatic...so the motivation is there to keep at this stuff. I'm hoping to hook up with some small, struggling theater troops in Tokyo to see if we can crank out some short films. I'm planning on this year as being an intensive learning experience.

I'll finish up by saying that ya got a lotta nice folks here. Nice folks who know their stuff.

See ya'll in later threads.

John isn't kidding when he says he'll help out in any way he can.

I live about an hour on the train from Tokyo and was teaching English part time to pay the bills. The company sucked and when my contract finished I had no intention of renewing it. Being a foreigner in Japan is no easy thing, as some of you know, and finding a good job in the hard economic situation is just the same. I was looking at more of the same sh@$ty English conversation schools.

Enter John. He told me his company in Tokyo was hiring and gave me a number to ring. I rang up and got an interview. That alone is difficult. The interview went well but John still decided to put in a good word for me and recommend me for the job which I now have.

Now, I have never actually met John, we only know each other through these boards. He's put his credibility on the line for some guy from the internet, and I can't thank him enough.

John is typical of the calibre of the people on these boards. No crap, a spade is a spade, unless you like to call it a shovel. I\ve been here from pretty early in the piece and I'm pretty stoked to have some prety good DVvirtual friends.

Thanks all

If you are new to this board, let me welcome you here. This board is all about DV (Digital Video). It is a friendly meeting place for people all over the globe who share a common passion: DV! Some people also work in the business, others use it for fun or are trying to get into the business.

My name is Rob Lohman and I am the moderator (or as Chris, the owner of the site and the forum, calls it, wrangler) for this forum. The general "rules" of the forum can be found at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/misc.php?s=&action=faq, please take a bit of time to read these. Thanks. This forum is all about introducing and getting to know the people who frequent this great board. It will be greatly appreciated if you introduce yourself, tell us a bit about yourself and how you got tangled up with DV. Questions about cameras, NLE, techniques etc. can best be posted in their relative other forums. Thanks in advance for your posts and welcome aboard!

Lastly I will introduce myself a bit. I live in The Netherlands (Europe) and own a XL1S PAL camera. I am currently using it for fun and learning the art of movie making. I hope one day to make my own movie (only shorts thus far). I do editing on a PC system and have a day job as a computer programmer. If you want to know more you contact me through this board.

Thank you for taking the time to read this notice and I'll see you around!

For more information on who runs this board: http://www.dvinfo.net/network/wranglers.php


Kind regards,

Rob Lohman
Wrangler "These Are the People in Your Neighborhood"

I'm going to follow Rob's lead and do the same.

My name is Adrian Douglas and my 15 minutes is co-wrangling the General DV Discussion forum with John Locke. It's a pretty big forum covering so many different things which is why there are two of us. Both of us came to video through photography, work in multimedia design and production and have experience with a wide range of software/hardware. Any questions you have we will do our best to answer them, or if we can't we will point you in the right direction.

I've been involved with DV since 1999 when I bought my XL1. I shot mainly snowboarding and surfing for other people and now I'm having a go at doing it for myself. At the moment I edit on a PC system using a Pinnacle DV500 and Adobe Premiere. I'm moving to a Mac and Final Cut Pro soon as well as adding an XM1(PAL version or GL1) to my backpack.

I'm Australian, from Queensland's Gold Coast, but am currently living in Japan. I'm slowly putting togeather an action sports video featuring Japanese surfers and skateboarders and snowboarders as well as writing a script for a feature length snowboard movie. I look forward to meeting you on the boards and hopefully being able to help in some way.

Gee whiz... that's just golden. Behold the power of message boards! I'll have to print this out and frame it.

If you boys ever find yourselves in Texas (for John, that would be "again" of course), then I'll buy ya both a round of Shiner Bock.

Hi all. I'm new to the world of anything film related. Done a small course in 16mm film making last year and am now looking to get into DV a bit more seriously when I decide if I'm getting a PD150 or XL1s ;)

I have an idea for a fun movie project I want to do in order to learn how to shoot and all that guff. I also have a couple of ideas for short films, as well as a currently brewing idea for an "intro to animal rights" in New Zealand video.

Maybe once I get some experience I might look into actually making some money by doing functions and things like skate videos.

I'm keen to learn so if anyone is shooting any films and needs a hand with anything I'd be keen on helping out.

Cheers

Hi Aaron!

Welcome aboard first of all! It is a very good idea to try and
learn the craft with small manageable projects. That went very
well for myself (if you want to know more you can find my two
articles about all of this on the site). I wish you the best of
luck with everything! Happy dv-ing.

Cheers!

Hiya ya Krazy Kiwi!

Howzit Aaron, as a 215 pound ex-rugby player, ex-special forces, ex-stuntman and now an XL1S shooting, vegan, bunny/tree hugger, always keen to hear others on this board showing an interest in animals and such. Good luck with it!

Greetings, All:

I just discovered this site and from what I've seen so far I believe it will be helpful in many ways.

I live in a very small town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado... Salida (pop. 4,000, elevation 8.500'). It's a wonderful place to live, but a pain in the fanny to get to the airport (Denver or Colorado Springs) during snowstorms.

I was a film snob until I needed some pick-up shots for my last feature about an elderly Native American and a Canada goose... the goose was terrified of the camera and boom mike. So along came the XL1 in the Frame Movie Mode, and BINGO, the shots worked. So long, Foto-Kem... nice knowing you.

Charles Newcomb

Welcome aboard Charles! Animals can indeed be difficult to work
with. My cats thing my XL1S is a toy... unless it makes noise and
that it is a scarry monster. Hehe. Nice to have you around!

Hi All.

I guess with 50 some posts I'm overdue for introducing myself. Born and raised in the Cleveland area, moved to Cincinnati in '79 and got started in my photography/video career. I'm 45 years old, so I'll save you the math. I've been doing this for more than half my life. I've loved every minute of it... well almost. I started my production company in Cincinnati in 1985. When I left in '96 I had 17 employees and two AVIDS and two on-line suites that you could do everything from 1 inch on down and two off-line suites. My clients were P & G , Kroger, Federated Department Stores, Ford Motor Co and the like. Sounds impressive, but any good production company in Cincinnati did work for those guys. What I really enjoyed doing were the free productions we did for The Nature Conservency, New Jersey Audubon and other conservation organizations. I feel it's very important to give something back. We have control over a very powerfull tool. If used properly we can inform and change public opinon and in doing so change our community and our world.

Well, by '95 I was shooting less and less and spending more and more time picking out health care plans, writing employee handbooks etc. I left the company in '96 with one of the AVID Media Compossers an started work on an independent production. We took a year to do it and off lined it on my AVID. When we finished I sold the AVID and went to work for a local TV Station. Left the station in '98 and started doing work on my own again. In January 2001 I bought a Mac G4 Dual Processor and taught my self Final Cut Pro. Being a certified AVID editor it wasn't too hard. Almost instantly i could see the power of what Apple is doing. The power of FCP is changing the way
small and large productions houses are editing. For the small, independant guy it gives you the same tools as the big guys. Pretty neat.

So, in twenty some years I've pretty much seen it all and done it all. I've been dealing with alot of the digital issues for nearly ten years now. The switch from Betcam SP to mini DV took a little adjustment, but i love the power it puts in the palm of your hand. So, while it's great fun to talk about all this cool DV stuff let's go out and shoot something and change our world just a little bit.

Jeff

posting my hello to the board and more of a thanks, I have been checking in on the watchdog and this forum for a while now but just recently finally took the plunge and registered. the information I have been getting here has been a big help long before joining.

i work at a cable network here in atlanta (gee guess which one) and after returning from the election 2000 fiasco in Florida chose to spend part of my o/t on a camera for myself. I bought my XL1 in Jan 2001 thanks to the Palm Beach County Election office....I now have a PD100A also(bcam), lecrtrosonics, lowel lights etc, ibook with fc. I do some side work for friends at work, events etc, as well as some spot ENG work and some stories for work. Its interesting because Ive primarrily shot DV prior to buying, using DSR300's and pd150s,100s. There is a plethora of them at my net and in the field they come in quite handy for the non regular crews.

Im hoping to take a leave of abscence later this summer to do some of my own stories...mtn biking in moab, clarksdale ms home of the blues, beat bands in big sur that type of thing. Again thanks to the board for helping me become better and get the right items....

Michel

btw you may have seen my camera on HeadlineNews a few weeks ago, a friend was being questioned as a guest on a segment about Indie filmaking so I lent him my camera as a prop, it had my new 16x manual lens on it. Right after it ended had a bunch of coworkers I didnt know had also purchased xl1's showed up to see the new lens :).

Thanks for checking in Michel, every once in awhile you will see me take a dig at that network, I have my own pet name for it, but my issues are related to the way it presents its programming and not with the shooters. It is an honor to have you here. Much respect,

Wow, that's quite a pedigree you have there Jeff, it's a pleasure to have you aboard and I certainly appreciate all your fine input. Much respect,

Hello
My name is Mike and after years of television/print I have taken up making documentaries. My partner and I have started production with the XL1s and I could use all the help I can get.
Thanks,
Mike

Very impressive website, Mike... if you choose to attend DV Expo East at the end of June somewhere in the city, be sure to look me up and say hi... I'll be in the Canon booth. Welcome aboard!