Yesterday we received a Groupon offer for transferring tapes and films to digital media, so I decide to check it out to see what “the competition” was up to. Darned if I could figure it out.
First, I scrolled through pages of information trying to decipher what their charges were.
Now, I’ve been working with this kind of stuff for more years than I’d care to admit. ( My wife says if I actually put a number to it, we’d sound old and scare people off, but then again, experience is counted in years.) It still took me about 10 minutes.
I finally realized that after adding all the “extras”, like combining more than one 20 minute tape onto a DVD or paying extra for the “Professional” package (as opposed to the “amateur” package?) our prices are not only competitive, but often lower.
Then I tried to figure out where this company was located. There was lots of information on their website about their CEO, CFO, CTO and their MBA’s and their marketing expertise, but nothing about where they’re physically located. I guess that after I filled out all their paperwork and gave them a credit card number they’d tell me
where I could ship my valuable media.
In an effort to get my head to stop spinning, I picked up my local newspaper and read an article about “Shop Local Day”. Great idea. But how about “Shop Local All The Time”? I have to admit, there are lots of times I buy things online, but then again, they’re “things”, not services.
If you bring us your films, video tapes, audio cassettes or even stuff you don’t know what the heck it is, we’ll not only help you organize it but we’ll transfer it without sending it to who knows where, to be worked on by who knows who. We don’t have a CEO or a CFO but we do have a friendly CAT and a DOG who would love to say hello. Come on by and let us help you out.
By now you’ve probably seen the new ad campaign being run by Apple during the Olympics. If you’re unlucky enough to be in my house when one commercial in particular is shown, you’ll hear some nasty words come out of my mouth. That commercial is the one that takes place on an airplane and involves a man who needs the Apple ”Genius” to help him edit a video for his anniversary. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the latest technology and have been an Apple user from the days when Steve Jobs and I were still in our 20s. But come on, editing a video with music and effects in 27 minutes?! This is both misleading and very disrespectful of people like us, who spent so many years refining the craft. It’s like saying that after you watch an hour long home improvement show, you’ll be able to remodel your kitchen in less than an hour.
I’ve been editing video projects for over a quarter century and I can honestly tell you that I’m still learning and always improving. Of course the commercial doesn’t imply that the finished video is anything professional, but it does lead people to believe they can learn to edit in 20 minutes. The man in the commercial even says “Look at all this footage!” Now if you’re good at editing, you’d need to go through all the footage, decide what stays and what goes, and then the order it goes in. Once you do that you refine your story by making further edits, adding transitions, graphics, effects and music. If you’re really good you’ll make the audio sound better and you’ll make some color corrections. But that Apple “Genius” does all of this before the plane lands.
Another thing that commercial doesn’t say is how you’re going to show the video. Do you need to burn it to a DVD, send it out to people to look at online, or upload it to YouTube? This is an area that takes some technical skills most people don’t have. It can be very time-consuming to render video to a format that can be uploaded.
So what I’m trying to say is… if you want your video to be clear, concise, and interesting… come to us. One of the benefits of experience is learning the shortcuts and getting a video done as quickly as possible so you are not charged for hours of learning like you would be if you paid someone with little experience. Professional editors show this in their rates. They may seem more costly, but you know you’ll get better quality and be billed for fewer hours. And you’ll save the time, cost and energy it will take for you to try to do it yourself!
As my husband struggles to repair yet another broken videotape, I am reminded to get the critical word out… you may be at risk of losing all those aging memories you have on tape. So many people have stored away the tapes of their weddings, childrens’s births, graduations, etc. thinking that they will be able to look at them for years to come. When portable video cameras and VCRs became popular, and affordable, back in the 1980s, we all thought video was such a great way to capture and preserve our special moments. No more sending film out for processing. The irony is, that these old super-8 and regular 8 films are outlasting videotapes! I use my own story as an example.
It’s now widely known that the life expectancy of videotapes is much shorter than originally estimated. Most tape manufacturers rate the life expectancy from 10 to 12 years. Most high quality tapes will last at least 5 years if properly stored, but as it starts to get older the image quality degrades and becomes more noticeable. If you’re lucky and your tape has survived for 20 or more years, it is now on borrowed time.
As newer tape formats have come along, like Hi-8 and mini-dv, they are forced to record more and more information on smaller and smaller tapes. We are already seeing those tapes starting to degrade. And when they break, the tapes are much harder to repair. We never promise that we can fix them. It’s always so tough to tell someone that their wedding tape cannot be fixed.
It’s that time of year again. Time for a fresh start. Time to shrug off the winter blues, open the windows and enjoy the fresh air. Time to store away all the winter coats and boots, open the closets and get rid of all that stuff you’ve been meaning to get rid of for years. Especially that box in the back.
What is this junk? Little yellow boxes. “Florida – 1962”. “Mary’s First Communion”. “Pleasure Island”. Round metal cans with film inside. Old audio and video tapes. Too bad there’s no way to check out what this stuff is. Where’s the trash can?
WAIT! Step away from the closet. Before you do something you might regret, we’d like to help you out. At Stone Digital Productions, we’ve seen and heard everything. That funny looking box might contain images from the past that would be priceless if you could only figure out how to look at them. We can help you analyze what you have, loan you equipment to view your stuff, and transfer it to 21st Century technology!
Right now is a great time to bring us that box. What better gift could you give your Mom for Mother’s Day than the gift of memories? Even though you didn’t grow up with an award winning cinematographer or videographer in the family, your Mom won’t care. She’ll just enjoy reliving those holidays, family vacations and celebrations and the time you dyed the cat green for St. Patrick’s Day. She might even forgive you.
