Egypt
 

I had the fortune of travelling to Egypt for a couple weeks recently and I took the HV20 with me. (The trip was the catalyst for me to buy it.) I shot 7 hours of footage and I'm putting together a number of short videos of trip highlights. Here is part 1: http://gibopictures.com/video/egyptpart1.mov

I shot all of this at 1080i, then de-interlaced it for the compression. Because the m2t is so big, I decided to upload this smaller version for bandwidth purposes.

Other settings were shutter kept at 60, exposure was usually locked, except for a few shots, and the white balance was primarily set for shade. I haven't manipulated the footage at all with regards to color correction or enhancement.

did you shoot 24p ?????????? or 60i ?????????

I shot all of this at 1080i

Wow, there's some impressive looking shots in there. Too many to mention. Must have been a great trip?

It was the trip of a lifetime! That's why I shot as much as I could. Beautiful country, with an obviously rich history. The light is just stunning too.

Wow, very cool Mikon!!
Like Glenn said, to many things to list! Spectacular...

I would like to go there some day...

Keep up the great filming! Can't wait to see more!
~Gabriel

Wow, Very impressive.

Mikon, by the look of the footage, I'm sure it would have been a trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing, and how many more videos are you planning on putting together from the trip?

I don't know yet how many I will end up editing together, but the next video will be a montage of all the sites we visited (that I was allowed to videotape.) So I will edit together footage from the Great Pyramids, Luxor, Karnak, Edfu, and Abu Simbel.


The video was my souvenir so to speak, as there were a few sites that I actually had to pay extra to bring in my camera such as the light shows at night.

When you go to a place like Egypt, you never know when you might get to go back. So I shot as much as I could!

Love the video, Mikon!

Were you able to use a tripod at all the sites you visited? When I was in India a few years back I had to check my mini-tripod (for my little Canon SD300) at the gate of the Taj Mahal. They don't want the feet scuffing up the place.

Andrew.

Well, I bought a monopod and also had "the pod" (http://www.thepod.ca/) with me.

I used the monopod at the pyramids, but pretty much everywhere else I went, they wanted extra money for me to bring it in, or they just wouldn't allow it. So in the end, I just kept the pod attached and used rocks, etc. for static shots. In the end, that little beanbag was a lifesaver. (And no, I have no affiliation with the company.)

What a video. Egypt is a dream place for me to visit . I enjoyed it please post some more.

Joey

Absolutely stunning. wow.

Very Impressive video Mikon. I like your music choice. Canon should have put you on their payroll to do their demo footage.

Mikon... Excellent... Some of the shots where your moving it appears, do you have some sort of steadycam device, they seem very stable and not hand-held.??

Well, it'd certainly be nice to get a check from Canon! Thanks for the compliment.

As for the moving shots, no, I did everything hand held. My biggest issue with the camera is the small size, which makes handheld shots a little more difficult to do well. I'd like to play around with a rig of some sort to see if I can get some smoother shots.

no Mikon i mean did yo ushoot with the camera in 24p mode or in regular 60i mode ?????????? it all 1080i but did you shoot with 24p proggresive or interlaced 60i and what were your settings ???????????????

I think you have an amazingly steady hand, even some of my test video isn't that smooth.. need to play with my HV20 more and its been a busy week..

Well, my assumption is that 1080i means 60i, which is the default for this camera. 24p would be the HDV pf24 setting option - which I didn't use. So no, I did not shoot 24p. As for settings, I kept the shutter set at 6o and locked exposure for most shots. I used the "shade" white balance setting. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Norm. I think the key is to really concentrate on the handheld shot when you do it. I even try to roll my feet as I walk to reduce additional movement. But, I still wish that it could be smoother. That's where a larger camera's heft can help.

Mikon.. nice footage... and now the question I was waiting on someone else to ask...

what music did you use with the footage

thanks

Just wanted to post that question... ;-)
I liked the footage very much and think the music fits it well.

Regards, Oliver

I used music from Thievery Corporation. The very beginning is from a song called "Facing East", then I added a song called "The Supreme Illusion".

Hello Mikon,

thank you very much for this information. I hoped it might be some kind of royalty free music, so that I could also use it for my shorts...

Regards,

Oliver

Well, if I were going to try to sell the video, I'd certainly go the royalty free route as well. If Thievery Corporation has objections to me using the music here, I'll certainly remove it.

I don't think they will complain as yours and theres goes together so well :-)

Mikon... you indicated that you are still editing... I found these songs
this morning that you might be interested in....

"nettie gem" by Govi the album is Jewel Box
"road to instanbul" by Govi the album is Saffron and silk

Thanks Ray,

I found the music on itunes and I like it a lot. There's so much good music out there it's always difficult to pick just the right piece. I'll try ti out and see if it works with the section I'm cutting now.

Hi Mikon - another one to say "great job". Very impressive. Though I too would swear you shot 24p or at least CineMode. But either way thanks for sharing.
Edit: Oh, I see from part two that you deinterlaced the footage. That explains the look.