Anyone from Kansas City?

[Jeff Farris]

I just recently bought a used XL-1 that I am going to use to produce some training and promotional material for my small company. We sell a Swedish water cooled sharpening system for hand tools called the TORMEK. It is marketed to hobbyist woodworkers through the internet and at woodworking weekend trade shows.

I have done all of the company's promotional work since I started it 15 years ago. I have never been afraid to pick up a camera or sit down at a computer when work needed to be done. I have been a Macaholic since the original in 1984. My boss bought one the day after the famous Superbowl commercial and I have had at least one or two available to me since. Moving into video promotion just seemed like the right thing to do at this point, and my new flat panel iMac came with everything I need (yeah, right...I hear the snickering coming from all around the country).

I have been involved with digital still photography, specifically underwater digital photography, for a couple of years. That has given me a basic understanding of color balance, lighting, computer I/O, and storage problems that I think should help me as I embark on this new mission. I am a frequent contributor to a couple of forums on the purchase and use of underwater digital camera housings, so when I started to gather information for my new venture, I started looking for a forum community that I could call my DV home. This certainly seems to be it. I have already gleaned a couple of choice nuggets of information from the postings and I am sure I will find more as I dig. Just wanted to say hello, and thank the moderators and sponsors for providing a very clean and very easy-to-navigate discussion forum.

[Chris Hurd]

Howdy from Texas,

It's great to have you aboard, Jeff, and we're all looking forward to your presence here. I'm honored that you like it enough to call it home... the goal of these boards is an "our house is your house" mentality of friendliness and cooperation, so I think you've chosen the right place. Is it still cool to party in Westport?

[Jeff Farris]

Yep, Westport is still the "happenin' spot", but I am a few years past the crowd that hangs out there. Let me know when you're up this way and we'll get you hooked up with some Arthur Bryant's barbecue.

[Ken Tanaka]

Ah, the beautiful city of fountains in the heart of the Great American Midwest!

Hello Jeff and welcome! It's been many years since I've visited your fine city but I have fond memories of it. I used to correspond with a fellow who works at Opus Commuications in your town; an extremely knowledgeable fellow who I'd love to see over here.

Hey, you won't hear much snickering about the iMac around here. That's one capable little package! Be sure to poke around our Mac post section.

Glad to have you aboard, Jeff.

[Jeff Farris]

Thanks, Ken.

My "snickering" comment was more directed at my software than hardware. I am delighted with the machine, but I don't know how long iMovie and iDVD are going to last through this project. I may break down and get Final Cut Pro 3 and DVD Pro.

[animagique]

Hello Jeff,
I am also a newbie here. Welcome. There are a lot of nice people around here with a lot of good info. If you are ever in the market for a camera stabilizer for your XL-1 look me up. I manufacture a unit called the MagiqCam.

[Bruce Moore]

Howdy from Az

Glad to meet you.

I have FCP2 and iMovie2. If you get "iMovie2, The Missing Manual" you might be shocked at it's capabilities. The more I read The more impressed I am.

Bruce Moore

[Jeff Farris]

Thanks to all for your welcome.

Ken, your direction to the Mac forum put some more pressure on my VISA card. firewiredirect.com just hooked me up with a 120GB drive.

[Ken Tanaka]

HAW! I deny all responsibility for financial ruin. <g> This place can be an expensive addiction.

Enjoy the drive. They have good gear.

[Jeff Farris]

Yes, but at least here we don't jump in the water with all this expensive gear. On the other boards I frequent, the competition for "who has enough nerve to jump in the ocean with several thousand dollars worth of electronics that can be ruined by a teaspoon of water" gets fierce. I haven't been bit by the bug to take video underwater. Stills keep me occupied. But, then, I haven't started shooting my XL-1 yet!

Greetings all, thought I would post my first thread here, since your allready talking about my hometown! I grew up in KC and still work in Westport, yes it can be a wild and crazy place. I now call Kearney home, a bedroom community North of KC. I am fairly new to the DV world myself, but have learned alot in a short amount of time. We started broadcasting weekly church services on the local cable channel. Right now we pump out a fairly unprofessional tape with no intro, and no editing. We do all switching live. I just built my first PC, a powerful dual processor with plenty of ram & HD storage. In a few more weeks we will produce an intro, and start using Vegas Video, my NLE of choice.

Don

[Chris Hurd]

Thanks for joining us Don, and it's great to have you here. Always nice to see folks from the heartland, I was born and raised in Kansas and KC was the first "big" city I ever saw. As you know, Topeka just doesn't count. Welcome aboard,

[K. Forman]

Hello Jeff, and welcome. It seems I am the only one that hasn't been through your neck of the woods, but then again, I can only wish for the time to travel!

I also wish that I had more to invest in new equipment, such as your new Firewire drive. Keep us up to date on how it works for you. I would rather have a VTR, but that might work out better in some field conditions.

And if you are highly temted to buy new stuff you read about, stay away from any tripod threads... it gets mighty expensive in there! <g>
Again, welcome to the neighborhood!
Keith

[Lorinda Norton]

Hi,
I'm headed for Kansas City Nov. 15-18 and wanted to visit a studio where XL1s' are being used w/final output to DVD; just curious to see lighting techniques, "finished product," etc. Do you know where I might be welcome?

Thanks!

Lorinda Norton
Blue Jean Video

[Jeff Farris]

You would be welcome to see my little operation, such as it is, but we are out of town while you're in KC.

Maybe next time.