Video Trip Report- April 27-May 4

[Spectro is #1]

I found a picture of what you and Kim look like in real life!

Ya that's us.

 

[the_princess]

What a great way to make a TR... It's just like being there...

 

[Spectro is #1]

When I first started looking at your video I was hoping that these videos were going to be shot by someone with no experience to give me some hope of pulling off a similar professional-looking spread on my first recorded trip, but of course nothing that looks this good can be done by a novice!

I disagree with you.
You don't have to be a professional to get great results. I learned by doing and watching movies and TV with a more critical eye than just watching it for the entertainment.
Observe how fast past shows cut from one shot to the next, ask yourself what kind of music are they using to set the mood, pace and flavor of the scene. Watch a drama and notice how many shots cut off the tops of the actors heads. We tend to feel we need to get the whole person in the frame and that isn't always the case.
That is one thing I need to be more aware of I often feel I have too much headroom. This is often a problem when I look at still pictures. It is one of my pet peeves. My family will show me a picture they took and I start ragging on them about all head room at the top of the photo. They get so mad at me LOL.
I think anyone could at the least be taught some of these techniques and with some patients and practice can turn out some great family videos.
Just copy what you see and like. You will find yourself putting your own personal touches on it and before you know you have a great unique video everybody will love.

Here are some rules I use in editing.
Don't use gimmicky transitions. Page turns, in and out boxes, most programs come with a ton of them. Fades and cuts are all you want to use. Quick cuts to change scenes and locations for example. I open the video by telling the audience the day and where we are going. Cut to the car of us pulling into the parking lot. Fades are used to stretch time. Take for example the time we were in restaurants. I fade from order taking to the food being delivered fade to the eaten food etc...

Ask yourself "do I need this to tell the story" I shot about 10 hours of video that trip. I used about an hour and a half.

Try to plan out what you want to do before you leave, set up a format. It's OK to adjust as you go along but knowing what you want will save you tape and editing time.
Try to have a rough idea of what you want to end up with. You may not want on ride video like I have. It may be more important for you to get peoples reaction after the ride. If that is the case only a few outside shots are needed to set up the story. Do you see what I mean?
Still tape all you feel you need. I often have enough video to do multiple shows. For example you only saw a small part of the new MK parade. I only needed a little to tell the story. I did tape the whole parade and may edit up a movie just of that parade.
Remember it is better to over shoot and buy more tape than to under shoot and not have what you need. (It costs more to go back)

If you get stuck on a particular segment skip it and go past it. Lets say you are working on day one and you went to the parade and you are having trouble with editing it together. Move on to the next part. I often find away around obstacles when I continue to work not by staring at the screen trying to think "how am I going to make this work?" Keep moving forward. Remember the words of Willy Wonka. "You must go forward to go back."

If you have a photo editing program like photoshop elements you can easily make title shots that are more interesting than just using the title editor in the video program.
Here is some info I posted earlier.

For great backgrounds start taking digital pictures of textures. I must look like an imbecile to most people because I am always taking pictures of walls, tree bark, palm fronds, pavement and other textures. The backdrop for the Thunder Mt graphic was from a rock wall in AK. Goofy looks painted on a wooden fence in the Stormalong Bay panel. That is actually a large wooden door in the rear of the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot. Those same techniques are great for scrapbooking too. Textured pictures can be printed out and cut into frames or used as an embellishment under a photo to create a boarder.

The size of your project needs to be 640x480 pixels.

Go to my youtube page (user name...chr3000) and watch 2 pugs and a bulldog.
This is what I mean by practice. Tape your dogs or kids playing in the yard for a few minutes and make a short movie.
I will give out one big secret of mine. This took several hours of Internet searching to find this resource.
For free music that is divided into 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, second clips go to
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

This is were all that nondescript music that I used came from. It is intended for use in commercials but they will let you download tracks for free if you are just using it for yourself. It is the only site I found that has royalty free music and doesn't charge you. All other sites charge a lot for this type of stuff. sometimes well over $100.00 for a 10 track CD.


MOST IMPORTANT Label you tapes so when you want a shot you know where to find it after the vacation.

One more thing. Get a wide angle conversion lens. Get the one for your camera meaning the one built by the manufacturer of the camera. You can get some good deals on ebay if you have to time. After market lenses may distort the picture and give a fish eye effect. A wide angle lens is important! It will make you camera much more versatile.

You can PM if you have problems while practicing

 

[Spectro is #1]

What a great way to make a TR... It's just like being there...

Hey jubileegirl, check it out, Denmark!
My presence overseas is once again expanding.

 

[noseybuddy]

This is by far my favorite trip report. I just watched the whole thing and just loved it! Great Jog!

 

[cdotla]

Thank you so much for all the tips! I appreciate the advise and encouragement.

As for the wide angle lens, I undetrstand that this would be good for parades. Apart from that, what are the main benefits?

I think as a complete beginner I may stick with the lens that came with the camera for my first year or so, including this upcoming trip. Would this be a HUGE mistake?

Thanks in advance!!!

I disagree with you.
You don't have to be a professional to get great results. I learned by doing and watching movies and TV with a more critical eye than just watching it for the entertainment.
Observe how fast past shows cut from one shot to the next, ask yourself what kind of music are they using to set the mood, pace and flavor of the scene. Watch a drama and notice how many shots cut off the tops of the actors heads. We tend to feel we need to get the whole person in the frame and that isn't always the case.
That is one thing I need to be more aware of I often feel I have too much headroom. This is often a problem when I look at still pictures. It is one of my pet peeves. My family will show me a picture they took and I start ragging on them about all head room at the top of the photo. They get so mad at me LOL.
I think anyone could at the least be taught some of these techniques and with some patients and practice can turn out some great family videos.
Just copy what you see and like. You will find yourself putting your own personal touches on it and before you know you have a great unique video everybody will love.

Here are some rules I use in editing.
Don't use gimmicky transitions. Page turns, in and out boxes, most programs come with a ton of them. Fades and cuts are all you want to use. Quick cuts to change scenes and locations for example. I open the video by telling the audience the day and where we are going. Cut to the car of us pulling into the parking lot. Fades are used to stretch time. Take for example the time we were in restaurants. I fade from order taking to the food being delivered fade to the eaten food etc...

Ask yourself "do I need this to tell the story" I shot about 10 hours of video that trip. I used about an hour and a half.

Try to plan out what you want to do before you leave, set up a format. It's OK to adjust as you go along but knowing what you want will save you tape and editing time.
Try to have a rough idea of what you want to end up with. You may not want on ride video like I have. It may be more important for you to get peoples reaction after the ride. If that is the case only a few outside shots are needed to set up the story. Do you see what I mean?
Still tape all you feel you need. I often have enough video to do multiple shows. For example you only saw a small part of the new MK parade. I only needed a little to tell the story. I did tape the whole parade and may edit up a movie just of that parade.
Remember it is better to over shoot and buy more tape than to under shoot and not have what you need. (It costs more to go back)

If you get stuck on a particular segment skip it and go past it. Lets say you are working on day one and you went to the parade and you are having trouble with editing it together. Move on to the next part. I often find away around obstacles when I continue to work not by staring at the screen trying to think "how am I going to make this work?" Keep moving forward. Remember the words of Willy Wonka. "You must go forward to go back."

If you have a photo editing program like photoshop elements you can easily make title shots that are more interesting than just using the title editor in the video program.
Here is some info I posted earlier.

For great backgrounds start taking digital pictures of textures. I must look like an imbecile to most people because I am always taking pictures of walls, tree bark, palm fronds, pavement and other textures. The backdrop for the Thunder Mt graphic was from a rock wall in AK. Goofy looks painted on a wooden fence in the Stormalong Bay panel. That is actually a large wooden door in the rear of the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot. Those same techniques are great for scrapbooking too. Textured pictures can be printed out and cut into frames or used as an embellishment under a photo to create a boarder.

The size of your project needs to be 640x480 pixels.

Go to my youtube page (user name...chr3000) and watch 2 pugs and a bulldog.
This is what I mean by practice. Tape your dogs or kids playing in the yard for a few minutes and make a short movie.
I will give out one big secret of mine. This took several hours of Internet searching to find this resource.
For free music that is divided into 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, second clips go to
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

This is were all that nondescript music that I used came from. It is intended for use in commercials but they will let you download tracks for free if you are just using it for yourself. It is the only site I found that has royalty free music and doesn't charge you. All other sites charge a lot for this type of stuff. sometimes well over $100.00 for a 10 track CD.


MOST IMPORTANT Label you tapes so when you want a shot you know where to find it after the vacation.

One more thing. Get a wide angle conversion lens. Get the one for your camera meaning the one built by the manufacturer of the camera. You can get some good deals on ebay if you have to time. After market lenses may distort the picture and give a fish eye effect. A wide angle lens is important! It will make you camera much more versatile.

You can PM if you have problems while practicing

 

[Spectro is #1]

Thank you so much for all the tips! I appreciate the advise and encouragement.

As for the wide angle lens, I understand that this would be good for parades. Apart from that, what are the main benefits?

I think as a complete beginner I may stick with the lens that came with the camera for my first year or so, including this upcoming trip. Would this be a HUGE mistake?

Thanks in advance!!!

The wide angle lens will screw to the end of you camcorder. Look on the inside of the lip that surrounds the lens you will see that it is threaded. You will need to know what mm your lens is. It is in your manual. That is the book that came with the camera that if you are like me, only open when you have a problem .

Without the WA lens you will be unable to get shots in tight places. For example:
Restaurants; Used it to get a more natural view of the table. In Sci-Fi I wouldn't be able to tape Kim and include the food. At shutters I was able to fit almost the whole table in one frame.
The entrance way in Whispering Canyon. If you have ever been there you will remember that it is a tight area.
Without it you will have to scan and pan. This makes some people motion sick.

Taping indoors:
The tour of our room and the tour of the DVC AK rooms was done with a wide angle. without it you would have to do a lot of panning and scanning around the room to film a bathroom. Even the main bedroom area would not fit into the frame well. If you remember the shot of me in the mirror before we go to shutters I don't have the WA on. Look how small the room looks. Kim looks like she is standing on top of me as she enters the area with the sink and mirror. That is at full out.

On the plane:
on day one look to see how much room is in the shot when Kim is loading her DVD player. Anyone who has been on a Southwest Airline flight knows how tight that area is.

Rides and shows:
If you want to take shots on rides be it people next to you or show sets like those in Spaceship Earth. Like the plane, Omni-movers are tight and with a wide angle lens you will get the whole gang in the shot. Also when shooting loved ones in cramped areas like the stadium seating for Fantasmic.

For close-ups.
wide angle will allow you to have a larger field even when zooming in. Like you said great for shots at the parade. the field will narrow as you tighten up but the wide angle is still doing its job.

Has you use it like anything you will learn when you need it and when you don't. I use it all the time. There are 2 draw backs to it.
1. Size, it will add about an inch and a half to 2 inches in length to your camera

2. Halos and added lens flair: Light will often get trapped in the lens and cause streaks of light depending of the angle the light enters the lens. There was a nasty one in Whispering Canyon from the chandelier near the front desk.

For me it is a must. Now keep in mind the rest of the wold is not using them. iIdon't think i saw one all trip. But a WA lens is like high speed internet or a microwave oven. Once you use one you will say "how did I get along without it".

the purpose is to give you more flexibility with the camera. You be able to increase the cameras use and your creativity.

 

[cdotla]

Wow - start hanging with you and I actually can start understanding some technical stuff!

You should really write manuals - your explanations are the best! Well done!

The wide angle lens will screw to the end of you camcorder. Look on the inside of the lip that surrounds the lens you will see that it is threaded. You will need to know what mm your lens is. It is in your manual. That is the book that came with the camera that if you are like me, only open when you have a problem .

Without the WA lens you will be unable to get shots in tight places. For example:
Restaurants; Used it to get a more natural view of the table. In Sci-Fi I wouldn't be able to tape Kim and include the food. At shutters I was able to fit almost the whole table in one frame.
The entrance way in Whispering Canyon. If you have ever been there you will remember that it is a tight area.
Without it you will have to scan and pan. This makes some people motion sick.

Taping indoors:
The tour of our room and the tour of the DVC AK rooms was done with a wide angle. without it you would have to do a lot of panning and scanning around the room to film a bathroom. Even the main bedroom area would not fit into the frame well. If you remember the shot of me in the mirror before we go to shutters I don't have the WA on. Look how small the room looks. Kim looks like she is standing on top of me as she enters the area with the sink and mirror. That is at full out.

On the plane:
on day one look to see how much room is in the shot when Kim is loading her DVD player. Anyone who has been on a Southwest Airline flight knows how tight that area is.

Rides and shows:
If you want to take shots on rides be it people next to you or show sets like those in Spaceship Earth. Like the plane, Omni-movers are tight and with a wide angle lens you will get the whole gang in the shot. Also when shooting loved ones in cramped areas like the stadium seating for Fantasmic.

For close-ups.
wide angle will allow you to have a larger field even when zooming in. Like you said great for shots at the parade. the field will narrow as you tighten up but the wide angle is still doing its job.

Has you use it like anything you will learn when you need it and when you don't. I use it all the time. There are 2 draw backs to it.
1. Size, it will add about an inch and a half to 2 inches in length to your camera

2. Halos and added lens flair: Light will often get trapped in the lens and cause streaks of light depending of the angle the light enters the lens. There was a nasty one in Whispering Canyon from the chandelier near the front desk.

For me it is a must. Now keep in mind the rest of the wold is not using them. iIdon't think i saw one all trip. But a WA lens is like high speed internet or a microwave oven. Once you use one you will say "how did I get along without it".

the purpose is to give you more flexibility with the camera. You be able to increase the cameras use and your creativity.

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

That was so, so, so great! Thanks for sharing your trip this way!

 

[IcePrincess467]

I just loved watching your TR!! Only thing is now it is over and I am sad that I have no more to look foward to watching hehe Anyways, I hope you do this sort of thing with all of your trips to WDW!!!

 

[disneykate28]

Bravo! I would LOVE to have the chronicles of all of my past (& future) vacations on video!! I just don't think I have the patience or know-how to make it happen!

Can't wait for your next report!

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Subscribing!

 

[mr.alec]

Wow, That was unbelievable! GREAT job.

 

[DIS4MYGIRLS]

I love this....Just came back Sunday from a week on St Petes beach, we were bringing our daughter to College at Eckerd.

And as members of DVC we are at WDW at least once a year ... the BCV mostly...

Watching takes me to those better places.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

This is been a terrific report! I hope you do it again for your next vacation!

 

[Spectro is #1]

Wow you were the first post and the last. You bumped it up as this thead has run cold. It was a lot of fun geting everyones reactions. I will be doing another one.
Thanks for sticking it out.

 

[dydrmr81]

LOVE your video trip report! It's fantastic!!!

 

[dydrmr81]

I was wondering where you got the jazzy Disney music remixes? The ones I have in mind are the "I've Got No Strings" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Day 3, Part 2 Thanks!

 

[Spectro is #1]

Someday My Prince Will Come is not commercially available because is it performed by me on my Yamaha Tyros2 Keyboard. I just posted it on a file sharing site so you can have it. Just click the link and download. It is safe, this is not a FTP site like Lime Wire or old Napster. It is like photobucket. I upload the file to my acount and then authorize whether it is available for download.

http://www.mediafire.com/?c2xy13cozxm


I've got no strings is from a CD I found in the children's section. It is not a child's CD other than the fact it is Disney music but you can tell by the cover it was meant to be marketed that way. The tracks are classic recordings of legendary big bands. Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, and Arti Shaw to name a few. It is a great CD. It is still available at Amazon.com.

1. Whistle While You Work - Artie Shaw And His Orchestra W/ Leo Watson
2. When You Wish Upon A Star - Kate Smith
3. I've Got No Strings - Gene Krupa And His Orchestra W/ Irene Daye
4. Baby Mine - Jane Froman
5. You Belong To My Heart - The Modernaries With Paula Kelly
6. All The Cats Join In - Benny Goodman And His Orchestra
7. Two Silhouettes - Dinah Shore
8. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - The Modernaires With Paula Kelly
9. Uncle Remus Said - Woody Herman And His Orchestra W/ Woody Herman
10. Sooner Or Later - Les Brown And His Orchestra W/ Doris Day
11. Fun And Fancy Free - Gene Krupa And His Orchestra W/Buddy Hughes
12. Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) - Dinah Shore
13. Melody Time - Buddy Clark
14. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes - Marjorie Hughes
15. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo - Dinah Shore
16. Alice In Wonderland/The Un-Birthday Song - Rosemary Clooney
17. Very Good Advice - Doris Day And The Four Hits
18. Never Smile At A Crocodile - Paulette Sisters

 

[dydrmr81]

Thanks so much! I just bought the CD and downloaded your Someday My Prince Will Come - it's great!