I’m just off the plane in a rather CHILLY Louisville, KY.

Drew Cook of WAVE was gracious enough to invite me to help judge this year’s KNPA competition. We’ll be hunkered down in a darkened conference room for most of the day on Friday watching over 400 entries.

Judging on Friday is open to the public, but the fun really begins on Saturday, Jan. 26 with the KNPA Seminar. Join us at the Marriott East, 1903 Embassy Square Blvd. Louisville, Ky., 40222.

On the TV Side, speakers include:

Kurt Austin, KGW-TV, Portland, Oregon
Fred Shook, Terranova Pictures
Keith Morrison, Dateline NBC
and Myself…

I plan to share the VJ debate, and other discussions that have been heating up on the pages of the b-roll.net FORUM. My fellow presenters will show you great examples of TV News, past, present and future.

Please join us…

Check out KNPA.org for more information.

It is with great regret that I read of the passing of Ray Farkas. He passed away on January 4, 2008 in Washington, DC.

I never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but his work was very influential to me and countless other photogs around the world.

I remember feebly trying to mimic his style in a greasy spoon lunch counter in Norfolk, VA.

Many great tributes have been written recently.

Ray’s Video Site

Ray’s Tribute Blog

Comments on the b-roll.net FORUM

Lenslinger’s Entry

Darrell Barton’s Entry at NPPA.org

Sports Shooter

The Ray Farkas Education Fund has been established by the NPPA. The family asks that contributions be made to the fund in lieu of flowers.

Those in the DC area are encouraged to attend a video tribute to the legendary lensman. I’m so disappointed that I am out of town this weekend and can not be there…

From: Humbuck (on the b-roll.net FORUM) “In memory of Ray… Join us to celebrate Ray’s life this Saturday January 26, 11:00-1:00 at the Bethesda Theatre. As befits Ray, there will be more laughter than tears, more stories than eulogies, more food than prayers … and of course his trademark videos on the big screen. All are welcome to attend this unique tribute to Ray’s inimitable spirit. ”

We miss you Ray…

There is a great sense of pride to be the first on the scene of a spot news situation. When WDTN-TV Photog, Don Hatcher heard about a multi-car accident on his scanner, he knew he could beat everyone to the site. When he arrived, he found he had made it before the paramedics, and one of the victims needed help. Hatcher immediately put down his camera to help save a life.

Hats off to Hatcher for proving we are humans first - photogs second.

Read the complete story in the Urbana Daily Citizen.

——

From the: Urbana Daily Citizen

Man transported by CareFlight after crash
BREANNE PARCELS
Staff Writer

“…two passers-by were instrumental in helping the crash victims before paramedics arrived and while those injured were prepared for transport.

One of them was Don Hatcher of Urbana, who is a videographer for Channel 2 News and also provides photographs to the Daily Citizen.”

Uploading your video to b-roll.net TV is only half the fun. After your beautiful clip is in our system, we want to make sure it’s entered into the correct category.

When you’re uploading your video, you are asked what “channel” you’d like the video to be in. Please keep in mind that this is not the contest categories. You must edit your clip to enter the b-roll.net AWARDS.

Step 1) Login in at: http://b-roll.net/tv and go to “My Videos.” This will take you to a page filled with all of your uploaded videos.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to all of our great sponsors of the b-roll.net AWARDS, here are some of the prizes awaiting winners.

PortaBrace has offered up a few CAR-1B Cargo Bags. These re-enforced and padded run bags are perfect for the quick shoot.

Zylight has a Z90 package ready for a lucky winner. This package, valued at over $1000, includes an amazing LED light that can produce just about any color you can imagine.

Check out the b-roll.net AWARDS today. Entries are accepted until January 15, 2008.

In my recent experimentation with web video, I’ve been awe struck by the H.264 codec. This compression scheme works amazingly well with video exported from Avid or Final Cut Pro.

Considering your uploaded file to b-roll.net TV must be 100mb or less, this codec may be a great option for getting your video ready for the b-roll.net AWARDS.

The only thing necessary is an upgrade of your free QuickTime player to QuickTime Pro ($30). (For the record, I’m not being paid by Apple for this…)

Apple has a great tutorial on the process.

For Avid, right-click on the sequence you want to convert, and select “export.”

Select where to save the file, and make sure the Export Settings are set to “Fast-Export QuickTime NTSC.”

This will produce an uncompressed .mov file that is roughly 200mb per minute (a rather large file).

Open the exported file in QuickTime Pro (this requires an upgrade of your free QuickTime player http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/)

At this point, export the file using the instructions from Apple.

There are many options for getting your video on b-roll.net TV, but we seem to have a bug when it comes to MPEG4. I don’t recommend compressing your video in MPEG4 for use in the b-roll.net AWARDS.

One more thing… because most of us edit stories in 2 channels, and don’t really utilize the stereo effect, it is best to compress your stories in MONO. Otherwise, your reporter will be over on the left speaker, and the interviews will be on the right.

Hope that helps everyone produce beautiful entries for the b-roll.net AWARDS.

Post any questions here… or email info@b-roll.net

UPDATE: Necktie Boy reminds me that newer versions of Avid have H.264 as an output option. Also, Brad bring us a good point about Windows Movie Maker in the comments.

Happy New Year Everyone… And Welcome to the Start of the b-roll.net AWARDS.

Check out all the rules at: http://b-roll.net/awards

From now until January 15, you are able to upload your best video from 2007 and enter the b-roll.net AWARDS.

1) Log in (http://b-roll.net/tv) using your b-roll.net FORUM username and password.

2) Update your profile (http://www.b-roll.net/tv/my_profile.php) with the required Name, Address, Country and Company information.

3) Upload your video (http://www.b-roll.net/tv/upload.php)

4) Enter your video by going to “my videos” (http://www.b-roll.net/tv/my_video.php) and select “edit” next to the desired video. Select “Click here to enter this video in the contest.” A pop-up window will open, allowing you to select one of 10 categories. Choose a category and click “submit.” That’s it! You can enter 2 videos per category for a total of 20 entries.

Voting begins on January 16, 2008 at 12:01 AM ET. Until then, you can move your entries between categories, but entered videos will not be visible to the public.

To view the rules and category descriptions go to: http://b-roll.net/awards/rules.php

Stay tuned for more information on the best way to upload your video, as well as how to vote.

Good luck to everyone!