A mix of Canon 5D and 7D cameras.
A mix of external mics on the cameras
Some Two-system audio using a Marantz 660
shotgun and wireless mics
Hey Eric,
Thanks for the note - really nice to hear you liked the idea. All of your ideas are good ones. We've been trying to brainstorm as much as we can and trying to get others on the staff to buy in.
The idea is to make this long-term with semi-regular updates. Given staffing I don't think we could commit to a regular once a week, but something close I hope.
good audio and in focus video are obvious shortcomings in some of it...we'll keep trying though. The hardest part is finding enough distinct kinds of audio and then making the pacing editing work. If nothing else it's an amazing training exercise.
And yes, the web page should become an archive of all the Just A MInutes...i hope.
thanks again.
will
This stuff is fresh and inspiring. We should all try to do a couple of these and share them here! It's got to be hard to find great natural sound and video in the same place and smash it into a one-minute piece.
It's so great to see the Democrat and Chronicle experimenting and trying out new ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Really nice idea to do photo essay videos. Some nice visuals throughout the five pieces. Love the human touches like the woman on the swing. Love that you are focusing on everyday life in your town.
hey Chuck,
Thanks for the feedback. I definitely agree about the flaws in some parts - sometimes things drag, we don't always have enough shots or kinds of shots or enough good audio and certainly the sequencing and pacing need to get better.
Though I don't think I'd want to go the route of music or even narration. Music would just become a crutch I think and we're all enjoying working on these as is.
We really like the idea, at least in theory. And it's a great training tool at the very least.
So I guess the question for us is: can we make the format work by improving the sequencing/transitions/pacing etc? Or is this kind of video inherently flawed and not compelling enough?
Things for me to think about late at night.
thanks again for the thoughts.
Will, I think for some stories, if you followed a process, it might flow better. For example, for the parkour story, if they followed one person from putting on their shoes, through spiderman practice, to ending up sweaty and having a drink, you could still have an image-driven story but you'd have better opportunities for sequences. Of course, if you do that, you end up with a full-blown video edit that takes much longer, and you might move away from the 'still image' way of seeing.
I really dig this idea for a series and I'm trying think of a way to artfully steal it.... Great work.
I love the whole idea of your newspapers "Just A Minute" concept. It works great!!