Different Highlights for Different Couples

[Chris M. Watson]

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to say "hi" and introduce myself to the dvinfo community. My name is Chris Watson and I've been making chick flicks for 5 years now. Some of you might know me from other boards or from WEVA Expo.

Anyway as a housewarming gift, I brought some clips with me. The first one is from a wedding I completed production on about a week ago. The bride and groom wanted a special moment from their wedding in the video and it ended up as their highlights vid. It just seemed like a nice fit for their personalities...

http://www.watsonvideoarchive.com/highlights.wmv

The second is a highlights that won the Gold Award in the DFWPVA competition and was 2nd best in category and show. Cuong Dinh got best in category and in show (next year.....). It's a nonlinear highlights segment that I've found people either love or hate. Thankfully my couple were in the "love" category.

http://www.watsonvideoarchive.com/renee.wmv

Finally, here's a "normal" highlights from a wedding I completed recently as well.

http://www.watsonvideoarchive.com/starneshighlights.wmv

Enjoy the clips!

Chris Watson
Watson Videography
www.dynamovideo.com

[Franklin Bencosme]

Wow Chris!
Excelent work. Very creative! I really loved the images with th straight cuts and done to that song, really super. This is very unique and diffrent.
Franklin
www.franklinbencosme.com

[Patrick Moreau]

Chris,

Thanks for sharing the clips. It is great to see more than one at a time to see the variance between the clips. I wasn't sure if you were looking for comments/feedback on the work or if you were simply sharing?

[Chris M. Watson]

Hey Patrick,

If you have feedback, please let me know. I'm always open to suggestions on making my product better.

Mainly I wanted to show how many forms a highlights video can take depending on the couple and that you don't always have to go the same route to get to a destination. There are always other legitimate ways to get there.

Chris Watson
Watson Videography

[Marcin Rafalowicz]

Originally Posted by Chris M Watson

Mainly I wanted to show how many forms a highlights video can take depending on the couple and that you don't always have to go the same route to get to a destination. There are always other legitimate ways to get there.

Chris,
I enjoyed all your demos. I’m really looking forward to your seminar on 1.12.

Thanks for sharing your work.

[Rick Steele]

Chris, I really enjoyed the clips.

A quick question about your music though. Does using copyrighted sound tracks in your production make one eligible for such awards from WEVA for example? I really don't know their criteria but would have thought this to be one of them. (not using them).

Even if by some miracle, videographers aquire a sync license from RIAA (ha ha) I'd think those people would have a distinct advantage.

Just curious.

[Chris M. Watson]

Hey Rick,

I've never seen a CEA winning video that didn't use copyrighted music. The way I see it, the use of liscensed music is illegal. No question about it. On the other hand, I think if the recording industry offered a licensing deal similar to the one offered in Australia, alot of videographers would go for that. Right now it's set up as broadcast or nothing. Nothing in between the two extremes for small time producers who put out maybe 6 copies. Maybe Ross can shed light on the licensing situation down-under.

There is also the artistic aspect. Most production music with very few exceptions is horrible. The lone exceptions I found to this are LaDonna Moore's buyout music library. Really good stuff there. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't hear some of her stuff associated with some CEA winners next year.

Chris Watson
Watson Videography
www.dynamovideo.com

[Rick Steele]

Originally Posted by Chris M Watson

I've never seen a CEA winning video that didn't use copyrighted music.

After reading my post, I hope I didn't come across as a cheerleader for the RIAA either Chris.

On the contrary, you have the same attitude as I (whether right or wrong) when it comes to the music industry's inability to put an affordable mechanism in place for this purpose.

Maybe Ross can shed light on the licensing situation down-under

I think this is the "down-under" version I'd like to see for us Yanks.

http://www.apra.com.au/music-users/m...tic_videos.asp

About $400 per year - 20 copies per event.

[Chris M. Watson]

That's what i was talking about. I really don't think most videographers want to break the law and want a solution like the Aussies have. I think it's a reasonable solution and puts money in the pockets of the artists who help us make great videos for our clients.

CW

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Chris M Watson

Hey Rick,

I've never seen a CEA winning video that didn't use copyrighted music. The way I see it, the use of liscensed music is illegal. No question about it. On the other hand, I think if the recording industry offered a licensing deal similar to the one offered in Australia, alot of videographers would go for that.
...
Chris Watson
Watson Videography

Sooooo what am I missing here? You acknowledge it's illegal and then use it anyway????? I always thought the law was the law and obedience was mandatory, a test of responsible citizenship, zero options, and not merely a suggestion. Sounds like you're saying there's an unwritten exception that says one only needs to obey the law when it is convenient to do so or doesn't conflict with your desires or have a negative impact on your business or won't be able to get away with it. But if you really really need to rob that 7-11 store to pay for that new HD camera you want and figure you can get away clean, well, go right ahead because the law just doesn't apply when it's inconvenient to obey. Or as you put it, it's okay to steal from the copyright owners because that's what I need to do to win the awards that I covet and get the customer's business I want. No personal attack intended here but I feel very strongly that one's willingness to comply with both the letter and the spirit of the law even when it is inconvenient to do so and even when one could reasonably expect to get away with violating it is a true test of one's character.

[Glen Elliott]

Ok everybody- the copyright issue is a known and well discussed issue. If you are unsure of all the details entailing it please use the search function here.

Meanwhile lets keep this on topic. Chris Watson is an incredibly talented videographer and highly recognized in the industry. I am honored that he takes the time to not even post here on DVinfo but to also share his work with all of us. Something many top industry professionals do not do.

Again I welcome Chris's presence here on DVinfo. He has a wealth of knowledge and insight that can be helpful to many of us.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Glen Elliott

Ok everybody- the copyright issue is a known and well discussed issue. If you are unsure of all the details entailing it please use the search function here.

Meanwhile lets keep this on topic. Chris Watson is an incredibly talented videographer and highly recognized in the industry. I am honored that he takes the time to not even post here on DVinfo but to also share his work with all of us. Something many top industry professionals do not do.

Again I welcome Chris's presence here on DVinfo. He has a wealth of knowledge and insight that can be helpful to many of us.

I agree with you and found his clips both entertaining and instructional. But until people such as Chris absolutely and positively refuse to violate the law under ANY circumstances, no matter how critical they may feel the use of copyright music is to their business success, no matter how much their customers complain that they want their favourite music to be used, until organizations such as WEVA steadfastly refuse to accept or screen materials that violate copyright and refuse to allow membership by or display of their logos by persons who do, until any trade organization refuses to recognize through awards any work that violates copyright, only then can we claim real professional stature. And there is a potential practical benefit as well - the music industry is highly unlikely to cooperate with us in creating any licensing arrangments for use as we would like until they percieve us as fully equal professionals sharing the industry as equal partners and in strict adherence to the same business ethics that they themselves purport to adhere to. In short, until we as an industry steadfastly refuse to tolerate copyright infringment will we have a prayer it getting the licensing that we need to serve our creative ends.

[Steve House]

Just want our fellow professionals in the film, video, and music production industries to see us corporate, indy, and event videographers as being the equal stature professionals most of us aspire to be instead of viewing us as a gang of hobbyists, pirates, and infringers. Heck, even the wedding photographers often don't view the videographers as legitimate professionals -just look at all the threads about the friction people have encountered. Acting as a professional just as if one was producing for CBS or Universal Studios will go a long way to changing that.

[Patrick Moreau]

Originally Posted by Steve House

I always thought the law was the law and obedience was mandatory, a test of responsible citizenship, zero options, and not merely a suggestion. Sounds like you're saying there's an unwritten exception that says one only needs to obey the law when it is convenient to do so or doesn't conflict with your desires or have a negative impact on your business or won't be able to get away with it.

Blind obedience can be just as dangerous, if not more, than disobedience. Slavery, genital mutilation, incest- these are all things that are commonly practiced and legal in culture throughout the world- does that make them okay too? An extreme example I know, it is very real for many people.

You also suggest that the only way of getting an affordable licensing option is to comply perfectly. Look at Naptser and Kazaa and all the p2p networks that was quite a legal issue several years back and nobody knew how to solve it. A legal and affordable alternative, such as the itunes music store, has turned a large chuck of this illegal trading market into something completely legal, and in a higher sense, something that recognizes the artists for the work they have done. Chris has a very valid point.

[Glen Elliott]

My appologies to Chris Watson as this was his introductory post here on DVinfo. I wanted to thank you for being generous to share your work with us, plus I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I look forward to your experience and insight here at DVinfo.

In the future I ask that people please do not hijack threads with off topic issues. This is obviously a passionate issue and I urge you to contribute threads that are dedicated to it. Thank you.