Home Video Studio Portland

Transfer Your VHS & 8mm Tape to DVD - Makes A Great Gift!

2011-10-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Transfer Your VHS & 8mm Tape to DVD - Makes A Great Gift!
Believe it or not the Holidays will be upon us quickly, and we all know that the best gifts for the upcoming season come from the heart. What could be better than getting all your old video tapes transferred to Home Video Studio's Platinum Archival DVDs? It's the perfect gift and one of the most important things you can do for yourself, your kids and/or your grandchildren.
Maybe its been a long time since you and your loved ones enjoyed the memories of those scenes you took long ago because it has become a hassle. You have to find the right cables to connect your camera to your TV, hook it up, figure out which TV setting etc.

Perhaps what you want to watch is somewhere in the middle of one of those tapes in the pile. Wouldn't it be great to give everyone DVDs that they could easily pop in to a player and enjoy anytime and anywhere?

The best thing to do right now is to gather up all your old tape formats - VHS, VHSC, 8mm, and minis - and get here before the Holiday rush. We can answer any questions and help you get started. The key thing is get started now!

Don't worry if some of your tapes appear damaged. We are video tape repair experts and can most likely repair them and get them onto a much more durable source for good!

Once your DVDs are made you have many options for packaging. We have many attractive themes for both DVD labeling and case wraps. Or you can customize your own. Maybe you want a precious family photo on the case. Once again, your imagination is the limit!

The best thing about transferring your videos to DVD is that, once the master DVD is made, copies are a cinch. They are quick to make, inexpensive and always available for that last minute gift.

The more thought you put into this gift the better it will be. Call us today and let's get started putting your memories onto Platinum Archival DVDs for the ultimate Holiday Gift!

Welcome
Your local Home Video Studio is part of the world's leading international video production services franchise. We have studios located in the United States, Canada and Sweden. Home Video Studio provides video production and post production services for consumers, businesses, schools, churches, and other organizations!
DVD Authoring
How would you like your personal DVDs to look like a Hollywood movie? When you transfer your videotapes to DVD, you might want to go the extra step and let Home Video Studio create chapter markers labeling the DVD's content. These DVD authored chapters are just like you see on commercially released movies!

Home Video Studio can add chapters that list the DVD's content either chronologically or by event. Our professionals can even design custom layouts with motion backgrounds and other elaborate menus for your DVDs. You will be able to access these chapter markers with just the touch of a button. Call Home Video Studio today and find out how.

Referral Offer
Receive a $25.00 gift certificate just for passing out ten Home Video Studio brochures to your family, friends and co-workers. Call, mail or send us an email to say you are interested in our referral offer. We'll send you your brochures and gift certificate right away!
Thank you for helping promote Home Video Studio.
Contact Information
Home Video Studio
Philip and Suzi Beech
15179 NW Blakely Lane
Portland, OR 97229
877-388-9359
philip.b@homevideostudio.com
http://www.homevideostudio.com

About Home Video Studio - Portland
Your local Home Video Studio offers a wide range of professional video production services to consumers and businesses alike. We value our customers and want to thank you for being a part of our success!
Home Video Studio strives to make your experience with us enjoyable and truly memorable. Our specialties include video production, video editing, home movie and video transfers, CD and DVD duplication, and much more! For all of your video needs, call Home Video Studio today for an appointment!

A GIFT for you!
Please accept this token of our appreciation for your business. Redeem this coupon when you come to Home Video Studio. Give us a call!
10%
off your next order!
Not valid with other offers.
One coupon per customer
Try All of Our Services!
Photo Video Keepsakes
International Conversions
Sports Highlights and Scholarship Videos
Arts, Music, and Entertainment Scholarship Videos
Legal Video Services
Video Prints
Power Point Conversions
... so much more!

Cool off with summer DVD savings!

2011-07-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Home Video Studio - Portland July 2011- Issue 37

Welcome
Your local Home Video Studio is part of the world's leading international video production services franchise. We have studios located in the United States, Canada and Sweden. Home Video Studio provides video production and post production services for consumers, businesses, schools, churches, and other organizations!
FamilyTIME Videos ™
Make your child the star of his or her own video! Home Video Studio will create a FamilyTIME™ Video that features the video highlights that you select of "your star"! Perhaps it's a "Baby's First Year" video, a "Sweet 16" video, or even a "How We Spent Our Summer Vacation" video. Home Video Studio will add music, titles, special effects, and produce a three- to five-minute professional video for you.

FamilyTIME™ Videos make wonderful gifts for long distance friends and family, siblings, and as keepsakes to store for your children when they grow up. You could even make a FamilyTIME" Video for yourself and you can be the star!

Referral Offer
Receive a $25.00 gift certificate just for passing out ten Home Video Studio brochures to your family, friends and co-workers. Call, mail or send us an email to say you are interested in our referral offer. We'll send you your brochures and gift certificate right away!
Thank you for helping promote Home Video Studio.
Contact Information
Home Video Studio
Philip and Suzi Beech
15179 NW Blakely Lane
Portland, OR 97229
877-388-9359
philip.b@homevideostudio.com
http://www.homevideostudio.com/video-services/158

Marketing with Video

2011-06-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

Forbes Insights, in association with Google, surveyed more than 300 C-level and senior executives at large U.S. companies ($500 million-plus in annual revenues) to learn more about how they are approaching Web video as a source of business-related information. The results are both surprising and important for anyone who’s job it is to communicate with and influence senior executives in any sized company.
The graphic above (created by eMarketer) illustrates post video-viewing intent. Clearly video’s influence is growing and will only continue to grow in the coming years. The following is a summary of some of the findings of the Forbes/Google research:
1. In some cases executives prefer video to text. When asked “If video and text covering the same topic are on the same Web page, which would you watch first,” 59% chose video and 37% chose text.
2. The top 3 objectives when watching business-related YouTube videos are: 1. Testimonials (29%), 2. Product demonstrations (28%) and 3. Product reviews (29%).
3. Video is social. 54% of senior executives share work related videos with colleagues at least once a week.
4. “Longer” videos are preferred. Conventional wisdom (it is usually neither…) has it that 2 minutes is the “absolute limit” for business related video. When asked, 47% of executives preferred a length of 3-5 minutes, followed by 36% preferring 1-3 minutes and 9% preferring over five minutes.
5. Video causes executive to take action. Overall, 65% have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video. Younger executives, however, may be more fully engaged with this type of media, and appear more likely to make a purchase, call a vendor, or respond to an ad.
Forbes summarizes these trends well – “While the Web itself is in the midst of a video makeover, executives are transforming their habits to be more open to video—the non-text Web—as a highly reliable and trusted source for gathering and filtering business information.”

Video gift for Mother's Day

2011-04-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Good News! Mother's Day is around the corner. Better News! You have the opportunity to express your love and appreciation to her in a way that is personal, unique and powerful. Best News! It's a phone call away!
Your Mom has always found creative ways to say "I Love You" like no other. Now you can return the favor with a special Mother's Day video that will be one of a kind! Here are just a few ideas:

A Mother's Day Photokeepsake - How about a photo montage for the whole family to enjoy? We can take your favorite photos of mom, add her favorite music and some titles and produce a masterpiece. It's easy to get started. First select the photos you want to include, then sort them by date, by event, by person or however you would like. Next choose some music that is appropriate. Then choose a simple opening and closing title.

A Message for Mom - Can you imagine mom's delight if her kids made a video message? A poetry reading, a song or just an impromptu speech of what mom means to them. We can create and edit to your hearts content to make it really special.

Videos Through the Years - You've shot video on vacation, school programs, recitals, camp, graduation, family reunions &..whew! That's a lot of video! And it's probably on a lot of formats. 8mm film, VHS tape, 8mm tape, Mini DV, Mini Disc&We can take all of your formats and organize it into something special for mom's special day. And what could be more gratifying to mom than seeing her kids grow up before her very eyes?

A mixture - We can help you do a mixture of any or all of these ideas for one spectacular production! Remember, we are the creative specialists. Whatever you can conceive we can most likely achieve.

Give us a call today so we can begin building a Mother's Day gift she won't soon forget!

Welcome

How much? Via One Market

2011-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

Video production can cost as much or as little or as your budget allows.
You can borrow a flip camera, shoot some video and upload it to YouTube – all for free. Or you could hire James Cameron to write, produce and direct your video where you’d be looking at a budget just shy of half a billion dollars when you include marketing costs and Hollywood accounting. Both options would result in a finished video but you’d probably need special glasses to watch the the more expensive option.
The good news for businesses looking to engage a video production company is that many of the factors that affect the price of a video have been going down over the last few years. Some dramatically. Assuming you find a company that does great work (this is a critical first step by the way – if the company doesn’t do great work it’s not worth paying anything for) the first question to be answered is ‘how much does a video cost?’ There is no simple answer to that question but here are 25 factors (ranked in order of importance to the overall quality of the video) that affect the price of a web video:
Production Experience. Doctors, mechanics, lawyers, videographers… whatever profession you care to mention, experience matters more than any other factor and, all things being equal, you do tend to get what you pay for. There are many, many moving parts in the creation of a video but at the end of the day you are paying for the expertise and experience of the key people responsible for your video.
Costs: You can pay $25/hour for a recent film school graduate or $250/hour for a top flight video veteran. On average most production companies will charge between $50/hour and $150/hour for the people involved in key activities such as shooting and directing.
Concept / Script / Storyboard – Doing video for the sake of video is a waste of money (although it’s great for the video production industry!) What measurable business objective are you trying to achieve? How is this video specifically going to achieve that objective? And of greatest importance, do the people creating your video have the experience or guidance to create a video that will help move your business forward? Lighting, sound, framing and editing are all important but they don’t matter in the least if what you are creating has no value to your intended audience. Like companies that spend $10,000 on website development and little or no money on content for the site, many companies waste a lot of money on nicely shot but otherwise meaningless video.
Costs: Expect to spend between $60/hour and $125/hour for an experienced marketer (does it make sense to have an entertainment script writer or video production assistant develop your marketing script?) to develop a concept, script and storyboard that serves as the blueprint for you video.
Editing. The editing process is highly nuanced. Editing is where you create the style and substance of the video – you sequence all of the available assets into a cohesive story that communicates your key messages in a clear and engaging manner. Editors arguably should be the most highly paid (and skilled) in the entire process (quite often they are not.)
Costs: Editing costs run between $40/hour and $125/hour.
Actors/Presenters. Do you need to hire professional presenters, actors or models to improve the quality of your presentation? Not everyone is good on camera. You may need to make difficult decisions about who should represent your company. In a broadcast commercial quite often it is not someone in your company. Even in a corporate video you may decide that hiring outside talent is the best decision.
Costs: Presenters, models and actors can range anywhere from $50/hour to $200/hour or more depending on experience, demand and union costs.
Camera. The quality and flexibility of the camera you shoot with can make a huge difference in the finished quality and editing options for your video. Are you shooting on a $ 500 DV camera, a $2,500 DSLR, a $10,000 Full feature HD camera, a $20,000 RED or are you shooting on Film? The pace of technology advancement in film and video is breathtaking and the features and capabilities of cameras are changing weekly. Bottom Line: You should be able to see the difference in the final output quality in more expensive cameras. If you can’t, then it’s not worth paying for.
Costs: You will spend between $25/hour and $150/hour or more depending on which digital camera is used. Film cameras, lenses and stock will take you well over $1,000 /hour.
Equipment. The more experienced video production companies tend to have a wide variety of tools and equipment on hand for each shoot. Do you need a track dolly or a jib-arm to create a shot with movement? Do you have a high quality field monitor to know exactly what you are getting (or not getting) as you shoot? Do you have all the necessary audio equipment (lav’s, direction mics, booms etc) to capture the audio you need? Lighting and framing are everything in video. Do you have lights – lots of different lights to accommodate a wide variety of shooting scenarios? Do you have a variety of lenses to create the specific feel you are after – wide angle, fixed focal length or Cine lenses for narrow depth of field, etc?
Costs. Equipment cost can run anywhere from $25/hour to $100′s/hour or more depending on what specific equipment is required.
Crew. If you’ve ever watched a movie or television show being filmed you might wonder why you need so many people standing around idle on a set. Most business web video productions don’t require more than two people (and sometimes one is enough) but depending on the complexity of the shoot you may require a crew of three or more. If you are conducting man on the street interviews as an example, you need a cameraman, a sound man and a directer or interviewer. Concept videos like commercials will often require more people to help with the logistics of the shoot.
Costs: Expect to pay between $ 25 and $75/hour/person for experienced crew.
B-Roll / Cut-away shots. Most videos benefit from the addition of footage that supplements what is being said on screen. If you are interviewing a business owner who is talking about their new equipment you should cut away to shots of the equipment as they speak. Showing the viewer what is being described in the video is more informative (show me , don’t tell me) and also helps to keep the attention of the impatient viewer.
Costs: The length of time and equipment used to capture the b-roll will increase production costs. You can add anywhere from 10% to 50% of the total shooting costs if you need to supplement interview footage with b-roll.
Locations and production time. Where are you shooting? How long will each scene/interview/shot take?Are you shooting in one location or many? What are the specific requirements and constraints of each location? Are you indoor or outside? If you are shooting outside is weather a factor? If so what happens if it rains? How much set-up time is required? Are the locations close together? The most important factor is the total amount of time required for production. There are few economies of scale for time – but with good planning you can do a lot within a specific period of time.
Costs: This cost is arithmetic. Two days of shooting is twice as expensive as one day. {If shooting extends for many days or is regularly scheduled then most companies offer a discount}
Studio shooting. Do you require the use of a sound stage or studio? Do you need a controlled environment to shoot in? Are you shooting green screen and keying out the background in edit? The use of a studio has to be factored into the overall cost of the production one way or another. Larger companies may include studio time in their shooting costs and other companies include it as a line item as studio rental time.
Costs: Factor in between $100/hour and $ 400/hour depending on the size of the studio. (If you need a studio you will be charged for it – one way or the other)
Set, props, equipment, extras. Aside from video production equipment are there other special props or pieces of equipment that need to be included as part of the costs? Do you need to rent a van, rent furniture, hire extras, hire a plane or helicopter for an aerial shot or bring in special equipment for the shoot? These all have to be factored in to the cost of the shoot.
Costs: Depends on what is required.
Stock footage Do you require supplemental footage or images to support the video? There are many websites that sell high quality still and video footage. Some videos are comprised completely of stock footage, text and voice-over.
Costs: Stock images can be as cheap as $3 and great quality HD stock footage can cost as little as $50.
Narration Do you need a voice-over to tell your story or to tie the video together. Video is a powerful medium but it is even more powerful if you take full advantage of audio to support what is being shown on screen.
Costs: Voice-over costs have dropped dramatically over the last five years. Many voice artists work from home and can produce great work for almost any budget. $100 – $400 for a 2 minute video is reasonable depending on the experience and demand for the specific voice artist.
Audio files. Do you require a music bed, special sound effects or other audio to supplement your video?
Costs: Good quality music for video starts as low as $30 for a two or three minute track. Custom audio can cost $1,000 or more depending on the experience of the musician and what is required.
Teleprompter. A teleprompter can save a shoot. Even the most experienced speaker can be intimidated by lights and camera. It’s true that you can usually tell when someone is reading a teleprompter but that may still be preferable to the agony of a shoot spiraling out of control because the CEO can’t remember his lines.
Costs: Teleprompter and operator usually cost between $350 and $600 for a half day.
Geographic Location. New York is more expensive to shoot in than Central Lake, Michigan because the cost of living is higher in New York. Half day rates don’t exist in some large cities today.
Costs: Expect to pay between 25% and %50 more if you are shooting in a large city.
Digitizing, transfers, rendering and uploading. Video takes on many forms during the production process. If you shot on film you have to transfer it to a format that works in your editing system. After you edit it, you have to render it to a presentation format (for web, for broadcast, etc.) and depending on where it’s going you may have to upload it somewhere (your web server / YouTube / The Academy Awards, etc). All this takes computer and human time and you generally have to pay for both.
Costs: Sometimes these costs are buried, sometimes they are line items. Tape transfers are still very expensive ($100′s of dollars). Rendering and uploading time are usually buried in the costs but can also be charged out at an hourly rate ($50 – $100 per hour).
Length of the Video. The longer the video the more it is likely to cost. Web videos tend to be around a couple of minutes although this varies considerably depending on the type and purpose of your video. Filming an articulate talking head (limited editing) for 10 minutes is much cheaper than creating a 30 second commercial. So…
Costs: All things being equal (they never are) consider longer to be more expensive, but it’s not arithmetic. An extra minute of video might only cost you %10 more if you have planned the extra requirements into the overall workflow.
Licensing/Union Fees. Are you using any media assets or talent that could be subject to ongoing licensing, usage or union fees? The web continues to drive all costs down including licensing fees – but they still exist. The best talent is usually a member of SAG, ACTRA or some other union.
Costs: Varies depending on the project and talent.
Direct or Third party. Are you dealing directly with the video production company or are you going through an agency or other middleman?
Costs: You should expect that you are paying at least a %30 mark-up if you are going through a third party.
Interactivity. Are you creating linear video or are you building in interactivity? Is there a direct call-to-action that you want to get the viewer to follow? Do you require flash programming do build the video into a special player that will sit on a specific landing page? The future of video is interactive video.
Costs: Expect to pay between %10 and %30 more to develop interactivity and flash support elements into your video.
Hosting. Your video is going to live on the web. Where is it being hosted? You might end up hosting it on different servers (your own, YouTube, a business portal, etc.) depending on your business needs.
Costs: Hosting is either free or relatively inexpensive ($ 5 – $10 / month/video depending on bandwidth usage.)
Formats. How many different formats does your video have to be rendered in? Where is it going to be seen? Do you need a short version (editing down) and a long version? Does it sit in a multiplayer or is it in three different players? Should you break it up into pieces to make the length of it a little less evident and also to allow the user a bit more control?
Costs: Adapting multiple formats for a video could add %5 to %10 percent to the cost of the job depending on how much editing is required.
Language and translation. Do you need close captions? Do you need language versioning? Do you need onscreen text to change per language? Do you need to dub in different narration for different markets?
Costs: Language versioning can add %10 to %20 to the overall cost of the job. (Editing and proofing of different languages is usually much more time intensive than one language alone.)
Miscellaneous fees. Ya, everyone hates lawyers ‘disbursement fees’. Video production has the equivalent in ‘Miscellaneous fees’: Travel costs, meals, mileage, hotels, transportation, out-of-pocket… it all adds up.
Costs: Usually in the $100′s and sometimes in the $1,000′s of dollars on larger shoots.
Bottom Line?
Taking all of the above into consideration there are reasonable ballpark figures that you can use as a guidepost for budget purposes. A two to three minute web-based corporate video presentation might cost between $2500 and $7500 depending on the variables mentioned above. If you use the time honored “$1,000 a minute” for a professionally produced online corporate video as a starting point, that will give you a reasonable idea of where to begin in the budgeting process.
Budgeting Tip:
The best way to get a quick estimate is to have a reference video to compare to. (I.e. “How much would something like ‘this’ cost.”)

Video Production – A Great Way to Be Seen

2010-12-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

Whether it’s your corporate message or your family’s memories Home Video Studio – Portland provides production services for a variety of applications. On the corporate side we can produce excellent videos for trade shows and expos, corporate image videos, training sessions, sales presentations, commercials, green screen videos and other corporate events. On the personal side we can capture special events such as award ceremonies, performances, presentations and personal introductory videos for your blog or website.

The first step in your production is conception. This is where we will answer questions like these:

• Who is the audience that will view this video?
• What is the objective of this video?
• What message is the video to convey?
• What is my budget?
• How many copies will I need?

The next step is shooting the event. With experience, training and the latest in digital cameras, lighting and audio equipment, Home Video Studio – Portland will get just the right shots with the best quality.

Once your event is captured on video, the fun really starts! Using the leading edge editing system we can take your event to the next level with special effects like wipes, dissolves, split screens and slow motion. We can also add voiceover and sound effects – whatever you can imagine we can do!

The last step in your masterpiece is putting it on the media you choose. Will it be on a DVD? The look and navigation features of a DVD is nearly as important as the program itself. Graphics, menus, special bonus features – it’s all available to you. Will your production go on the internet? Videos are an integral part of any website these days – not to mention Facebook and YouTube. You will probably want versions for every media available.

Once your project is complete you will have a professional video with a message that will be able to be seen in multiple places! Whether it’s business or pleasure, we offer video production services for everyone, with every need, to be seen anywhere you choose! Call Home Video Studio – Portland today! 503-716-8578

Sports Scholarship Video FAQ!

2010-09-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

In the competitive world of college and professional sports, you have to take advantage of every opportunity. If you have a son or daughter who might be competing for an athletic scholarship, give him or her that advantage with our special Sports Scholarship Video program.
It Simply Gives an Athlete an Edge!

Gather all those video tapes from the past few years and bring them to us. We will produce a 5 to 15 minute highlight video designed to create interest and excitement about your athlete from the coaches and athletic directors.
Sports is a big business now, and a full or partial scholarship really helps offset expenses. Your Sports Scholarship Video puts your athlete in front of the right people.
Contact us today!

Sports Scholarship Video FAQ's

Q) Can you put our program on DVD?

A) Absolutely! We can simply transfer your final video to DVD or we can provide you with a custom DVD interface complete with menus, chapter points, etc. Just call us for a custom quote on DVDs.
Q) How long should our Sports Scholarhip Video (SSV) be?

A) Generally no longer than fifteen minutes and as a rule, the shorter the better. We live in a very fast-paced society, so make your video short and sweet.

Q) How much will our SSV cost?

A) That's a good question! If you follow our guidelines and are well prepared, you could expect your video to take about 3 to 6 hours in editing. It is our goal, however, to complete your project in the shortest time possible while providing the highest possible quality.
Feel free to call us for an estimate of your project. And remember, editing is FUN. It will be an educational and enjoyable experience for you.

Q) Do we have to be there for our edit session?

A) Not Necessarily. Many of our clients are able to drop off their projects and give us detailed directions so we can edit their video on our own. This ca really be a time saver for you. When we are done you simply come back for a viewing and approval or we can send you an approval tape.

Q)What makes an effective sports video?

A) Well, the first requirement is good video. Ideally you should have us shoot some video of your athlete playing his/her sport which adds a touch of professionalism.

Video marketing for Realtors

2010-08-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Video marketing for Realtors has quickly become the rule rather than the exception. The virtual tour, so popular in the real estate market of the last decade, is now considered passé. The ever-increasing number of consumers with access to streaming video 24/7 has made video in high demand. If you’re not already convinced it’s time to make the move to video for all your real estate listing needs, you will be after reading this list!

The Top 7 Reasons Realtors Need Video Marketing

1. Your viewers need to feel a connection with the property.
You provoke a more emotional response from viewers by setting the tone with music and narration – effectively telling a story with each property that your viewers can connect with. You can highlight the surrounding neighborhood, nearby schools, parks and even attractions in the city it’s located in.

2. The use of online video is growing at an incredible 40% per year.
One study has shown that visitors stay at websites that contain video 78% longer than those without video! Certainly, grabbing and keeping viewers attention is paramount to gaining new clients and converting leads to sales.

3. Video is interactive.
Home buyers can search for videos with specific keywords, fast-forward through them, pause them, and rewind them. They can share them with friends and family via email, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, even put your videos on their own sites, creating internet awareness for you.

4. Video marketing of your properties will set you apart from your competitors.
Utilizing cutting-edge technology and internet marketing savvy will show your clients and prospective clients that you’re current and staying on top of trends.

5. Your clients will love it!
Not only will they realize you’re putting forth maximum effort to showcase their property, they’ll tell their friends, spreading the word about you!

6. High-end Properties Deserve the Best Marketing!
Buyers and sellers of high-end properties especially, will expect and deserve nothing less than the most up-to-date marketing tools available. They know the importance of making the best first impression possible and will accept nothing less than the best from their real estate agent.

7. Video is more affordable than ever.
Do-it-yourselfers can purchase a decent digital video camera for around $200. Editing software runs the gamut from free to several hundred dollars. Filming and editing does take time and skill, however. For more professional, polished video, call us today at 503-716-8578. We have several video packages available, with and without hosting and marketing, and we’d love to talk to you about your needs!

The Summer is Endless but not this Sale!

2010-07-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer to you! This Spring brought us lots of rain and other inconveniences! We, here at Home Video Studio in Portland, decided to offer you some well deserved sunshine! Have you been sitting on some photos or videos that needs to be transferred? Do you have a video that needs editing? Do you have an event coming up that needs a videographer? We are now promoting our Christmas in July special on every service we offer! 20% off of every type of video product and service we do. Perhaps you have film or videos to be transferred to DVD, maybe you need a photo keepsake done, a sports scholarship video - WHATEVER IT IS, now through the month of July we'll take 20% off of the regular price!! We'd like to help you with your video needs, so give us a call and receive an early Christmas present AND a little sunshine!!! Call us at 503-716-8578 today!

Summer Newsletter

2010-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Home Video Studio - Portland June 2010- Issue 28

Welcome
Your local Home Video Studio is part of the world's leading international video production services franchise. We have studios located in the United States, Canada and Sweden. Home Video Studio provides video production and post production services for consumers, businesses, schools, churches, and other organizations!

Video to DVD Transfer DVD Deluxe ™ Did you know that videotapes only have a shelf life of about 10 years? Many can deteriorate over time and the images on them can be lost forever. Safeguard these videos by transferring the information to a more long- lasting DVD. Don't gamble with your priceless, one-of-a-kind tapes. Transfer your video to DVD by calling Home Video Studio today!
Referral Offer
Receive a $25.00 gift certificate just for passing out ten Home Video Studio brochures to your family, friends and co-workers. Call, mail or send us an email to say you are interested in our referral offer. We'll send you your brochures and gift certificate right away!
Thank you for helping promote Home Video Studio.
Contact Information
Home Video Studio
Philip and Suzi Beech
15179 NW Blakely Lane
Portland, OR 97229
877-388-9359
philip.b@homevideostudio.com
http://www.homevideostudio.com

'Tis the Season for Cool DVD Savings!
June is here! With schools out, pools open, and summer in full swing, it's time to start thinking about Christmas - Christmas in July that is. Announcing Home Video Studio's 'Christmas in July' early bird special! Call us today to see what specials we're offering for the summer yuletide. Because they make great gifts, three of our most popular services at the Holiday time are: 8mm/16mm Home Movie Transfer. Time and the elements take a toll on your priceless old movies. They need to be transferred digitally to Gold Archival DVD so that you and your loved ones can enjoy them for generations to come! Home Movie DVDs can include music, menus, chapter markers, and titles. Photo Video Keepsakes. Let us take your favorite photos and slides and produce a one- of- a- kind work of art complete with titles and your favorite music. Video tape to DVD. We'll transfer all of your VHS, 8mm and Mini DV tapes onto a convenient and long-lasting Gold Archival disc - complete with scene selection and menu. Now, if the traditional Holidays are more of your thing, may we suggest you get started planning now! "Why in the world should I start thinking about Christmas now?" you might ask. Well, we've compiled a Top Ten List with the advantages of calling us today to begin planning your exclusive Holiday Gifts!
The best gifts involve thought. Leave the necktie with the tag still on it to someone else. We want you to come to us loaded with photos, tapes and movies and, most of all, brimming with ideas! If you start thinking now there's no telling what your creative mind will dream up to make a most memorable Holiday gift.
Some of your material might be scattered across the country. Where's that one photo you always loved? Maybe across the continent. Where are those old movies? In Brother Billy's basement? Or was it Aunt Ada's attic? Now is the time to start locating the precious memories that you need to make your project the very best!
Last minute = Stress. Especially with unique creative gifts. Call us now and give yourself the time to really do it right. You and your family are worth it!
Price break. Call us today to see what kind of early bird specials we can offer you!
Last minute gift? No problem! The sooner your project is complete the sooner a last minute "oops, I forgot about..." is only a DVD copy away!
You'll have fun! You'll have a ball, all summer and fall, creating your masterpiece and avoiding the mall.
Someone else might think of it. Don't get "scooped." Video gifts are great ideas that need to be acted upon now!
Because setting your mind on the Holidays in the summer months will keep you cool.
Margin to be creative. We see it all the time. One great creative turn leads to another. You need time to revise and realize even better ideas.
Did we mention the price break? Be an early bird and take advantage of our specials!
Call us today!

About Home Video Studio - Portland
Your local Home Video Studio offers a wide range of professional video production services to consumers and businesses alike. We value our customers and want to thank you for being a part of our success! Home Video Studio strives to make your experience with us enjoyable and truly memorable. Our specialties include video production, video editing, home movie and video transfers, CD and DVD duplication, and much more! For all of your video needs, call Home Video Studio today for an appointment!

A GIFT for you!
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Try All of Our Services!
Photo Video Keepsakes
International Conversions
Sports Highlights and Scholarship Videos
Arts, Music, and Entertainment Scholarship Videos
Legal Video Services
Video Prints
Power Point Conversions
... so much more!

Summertime - and the DVDs are Easy

2010-05-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

You've probably noticed that your video camera becomes your constant companion in the summertime. Ball games, barbecues and beaches. Fireworks, friends and family vacations. All those moments from summers past have produced mountains of memories. Life's precious memories that are "somewhere" in a truckload of tape. How do you manage it all? Let us sort out the summers past and plan the summer ahead with a delightful presentation called a FamilyTIME £ Video. What's a FamilyTIME Video? We're glad you asked! A FamilyTIME video is a three to five minute fast-moving DVD edited together from your existing video, sorted by subject and bundled together with your favorite song. For example, "Baby's First Year" might be a four minute presentation with an appropriate song playing under it. What an emotional piece - and your family will love it! Our experience reveals that people enjoy videos that, like a good meal, are prepared, seasoned and presented on a silver platter. Let us help you take your very best shots, group them by subject, add titles and a few special effects, put appropriate music underneath it all and create a concise, powerful video masterpiece. Best of all, you get a FamilyTIME DVD to show now - and we can keep your videos on file to be updated. Have beaches always been a part of your summer? Distill your best footage into a five minute DVD, incorporate titles (Everything is Just Beachy?) and complete it with beach music. Does summer include traveling and visiting friends? Narrow down the most poignant moments of each past reunion; add some special effects (Slow Motion might be good) and make a moving tribute using a heartwarming song as the soundtrack. What a great gift to bring with you as you revisit them this summer. Kids in Little League? How impressive is a fast-moving documentary of every hit set to a baseball tune? Start with their very first year and show them growing in stature and skill - all the way to today. And when the summer's over add this current season! Don't forget, we can make one tape transfer or one copy as well. No job is too big or too small. Call us today to learn how you can document the days of summer past and future into a bite-sized FamilyTIME video masterpiece.

FIRMS. Demo Video

2010-04-27T01:39:00.000-07:00

We shot the demo video for Lecere's software, FIRMS.

Great shoot, great people, cool product. Thanks Gregg, Kirk and Bethany.

Lecere Corporation closed at $0.0003 Tuesday, trading 353,095,644 shares.

Lecere Announces Pilot Project Kickoff at Initial Customer Site and Support for the Apple iPad

PORTLAND, Ore., April 12, 2010 -- Software start-up Lecere Corporation (PINKSHEETS: LCRE) has announced that it will begin a pilot project on April 30, 2010 to evaluate its initial SaaS Point of Sales offering.

About Lecere Corporation

Lecere Corporation (Pink Sheets: LCRE) of Portland, Oregon develops and markets Lecere FIRMS(TM), an integrated, Web-based suite of interactive restaurant management software that runs on handheld wireless devices. FIRMS helps restaurants reduce their operational costs while enhancing their customers' experiences for increased revenues and profits.

Organize your Photos

2010-02-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

On your computer there lives a My Pictures folder that can house your photos, cryptically labeled by date or other arcane method. A good start for organizing perhaps but there are a whole range of software programs that exist to make photo labeling, editing and sharing a lot easier, and maybe even fun.
Picasa from Google, and Mac's iPhoto, are two options. Both do the heavy lifting of scanning your computer for all your photos and organizing them into categories. Both offer easy-to-use editing tools. Both help you share, print and create display items (photo books, collages, etc.).
Do some research, read up on software options, download the one you like and start uploading your photos.
Your new mantra…”no more mindless uploading of photos”. From now on, you’ll give a name to each photo you import and create a folder named appropriately where your photos will live.
For photos already sitting on your hard drive, start renaming! Spend time labeling your pictures with the date and a description (YYYYMMDD-subject). This is a good time to do a little editing. Eliminate any really crummy pix or photos with redundant subjects. As you add photos, be consistent in naming them.
Name the folders first with the year, then month, When you name folders numerically, they’ll always stay in date order in your directory tree.
Most programs allow you to group your photos in a variety of collections, so you don’t have to choose faces or places or folders, you can — and should — group them all three ways. All the better for later searches: “Now where is that photo of Claire at the top of El Capitan from our 2007 Yosemite trip?” Search for “Claire” (faces) “Yosemite” (places) and/or “2007” (dated folder).
Now that you’ve got a handle on all the great photos in your possession share them with the world!
Contact Home Video Studio Portland and we can create a Keepsake Video with music titles and even video or old 8mm film to share them with friends and family.
Flag your favorites –those worthy of enlarging, framing or otherwise showcasing. But before you wholesale order all your favorites as prints, decide what you’ll do with them once they arrive in tangible form.
If you’ve got frames and wall space in mind, print accordingly. Photo books are great but caution this could lead to a serious scrap booking addiction I am told.

Now call Home Video Studio for back up and Archival services.

Unnecessary Noise

2010-02-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Eighth in a series of videos produced by Home Video Studio for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.
Bartender David Shenaut of Teardrop Lounge and Beaker & Flask in Portland, Oregon, creates Unnecessary Noise, you won't believe your ears. Cheers!

Valentine Special

2010-01-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Give the gift of Love. Video

New Media Marketing and Video

2010-01-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

In order to compete as a business and create a presence on the web you must generate website traffic to your site. Your site will provide products or services that people are searching for, website design that draws traffic from search engines and informative content. To produce better results use video to interact with your website visitors. When you generate website traffic by using interactive video you have the power to create an interest and maintain your potential customers' attention.

We can help you use video that generates website traffic for the simple reason that people react to moving images and audio. Video communicates your message and can help you demonstrate products and services in live screen casts or pre-recorded. Online video increases the amount of time your visitor spends on your website giving you more opportunities to teach and expose them to the benefits of purchasing your products and services.

Linking to other websites is a very effective way to generate website traffic and it works with video as well as text links. upload one of our produced videos to an account with a link your website is an easy and efficient way of creating traffic to your site. This will provide you with multiple ways of gaining exposure; people can search, rate and recommend your videos to their friends, which will generate website traffic for you from new prospects. More and more people are getting all sorts of information from web videos, news, information, sports, how to videos, product demonstration, entertainment, training and the list continues. You are limited only by your imagination.

Ask us how we can help you make this happen. philip.b@homevideostudio.com 503-716-8578

Families May Be Losing Their Home Movies and Tapes

2009-11-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Portland, OR. Holidays fill us with memories of the past, but how long has it been since you’ve taken that proverbial “stroll down memory lane” by watching your old home movies and tapes? Well, if you hurry, you can give a holiday gift to yourself and to your entire family that will last more than a lifetime – much more! Home Video Studio – Portland, OR., an affiliate of the largest national network of home video studios, can help you preserve your precious home movies and videotapes that are probably gathering dust in your attic or garage. More important, your old 8 mm movie films and VHS videos are deteriorating every day! Even if you still have the old equipment to watch them, they may already be unplayable.
Philip Beech Video Producer and Co-owner of Home Video Studio - Portland, OR., advises everyone to “search through your home immediately! Find all of those old 8 mm home movie films and old VHS tapes and get them transferred to DVD as soon as possible.”
Mr. Beech knows what’s he’s talking about. He has been rescuing movies and tapes for Portland, OR. residents in their home-based video studio for years.   “Some of the films and tapes we see are already in very poor condition. And it would be a shame to lose those family histories when it’s so easy to move them all onto DVD.”
Mr. Beech’s system not only transfers the movies and videos to DVD, but also it allows you to add titles and even music thereby creating a memorable experience for generations to come. “The DVDs,” Mr. Beech adds, “really are the gifts that keep on giving, generation after generation. Imagine your grandchildren or their grandchildren being able to watch and hear their grandparents or great-great grandparents long after they are gone! Or, just think about being able to relive your own childhood simply by popping in a disk that will preserve those memories into the next century!”
Whether for the holidays or any special occasion, Home Video Studio’s service solves the frequent problem of what gift to give to the “hard to buy for” relative. He explains, “We can transfer any kind of film or video to DVD, but we can also do other creative keepsakes, for example, putting slides and photos on DVD, editing your vacation videos, making sports highlight programs for your son or daughter, and even repairing broken video tapes.” Mr. Beech also mentions that they can also transfer audiotapes and cassettes to CD.
Mr. Beech hopes that folks will contact him soon, especially if they want to create a Christmas gift for this season. “It takes some time to transfer the movies and tapes to DVD,” he adds. “We don’t want anyone to be dissappointed. But whether it’s for the Holidays or after the Holodays, you really do need to preserve and, in some cases, improve those precious memories!”
            For more information on transferring and preserving your home movie film, contact Philip Beech at his Home Video Studio – 503 716 8578
-- end --

Landscape legend Lawrence Halprin dies at 93

2009-10-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

I shot a dance performance video last year that celebrated the work of Lawrence and Anna Halprin. Here is a description of the work and video highlights of the performance.

City Dance - Keller Fountain from Philip Beech Home Video Studio on Vimeo.

With choreographers Linda K. Johnson, Cydney Wilkes, Linda Austin, and Tere Mathern and writer Randy Gragg.

In 1971, Portland christened a new urban park that The New York Times architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable heralded as “the most important urban space since the Renaissance.” Called Forecourt Fountain (later renamed Ira Keller Fountain), it was part of a sequence of Portland plazas that combined water, sculptural form, and public space in ways never before attempted in a city. Yet the plazas were merely one outgrowth of the daring experiments in movement, sound, and space being conducted by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin; his wife, the legendary choreographer Anna Halprin; and radical musical composers such as Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Lamont Young, and Morton Subotnick.

Third Angle New Music Ensemble, the Northwest’s premier presenter of contemporary music, along with some of Portland’s most accomplished choreographers, will celebrate the plazas and the artistic milieu from which they emerged. Third Angle will play some of the Minimalist music pioneered by the composers in the Halprins’ circle as the choreographers explore Anna Halprin’s philosophy and her intense blend of movement with social and personal consciousness often cited as the beginning of postmodernism in dance.

“We were trying to invent new languages of dance, music, and architecture,” Lawrence Halprin recalls of the time. So, too, will City Dance attempt a new kind of celebration of architectural and creative heritage.

City Dance is Oregon’s 2008 American Masterpieces project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Arts Commission, along with the Portland Development Commission, Regional Arts & Culture Council, TVA Architects and other partners.

Great web site

2009-10-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Check out the PDX Plate website. It has everything you need to peruse the Portland Oregon food and drink scene. It is the ultimate Portland restaurant guide. Message boards, blogs, reviews, comments, links, photos and yes there are videos! And please avail yourself to the Monday Roundup all week long. Don't for get to check out the videos from the Oregon Bartenders Guild videos.

"About a year ago, a small message board was born out of the idea that despite the unusually large number of food sites here in Portland, there was a kind of conversation that wasn't taking place. Instead of the usual forum babble of "have you gone?" and "how is the?" and "where should I?", the singular driving mantra of pdxplate has been one of blazing your own food and drink trail, jumping without a net, and mixing metaphors. Taking one for the team. It's a simple notion, but a powerful one, and it's what this site is all about. "

Had a great time at Great American Distillers Festival at the Bossanova Ballroom last weekend. Enjoyed some amazing spirits and the company of some of the most dedicated and talented distillers in the Pacific Northwest not to mention the country.

The Festival opened with a keynote address from Bill Owens, president of the American Distilling Institute
and the MixMaster Mixology Competition preliminary rounds ensued.

These guys participated in the Spirits Seminars

Robert Hess: The Man Behind The Curtain: Molecular Mixology’s Little Secret

Blair Reynolds: Tropical Mixology and the PNW Connection

Neyah White: Barrel to Barrel, the magic of wood

Here are the attendees and their products;

Artisan Spirits
Martin Ryan Vodka
Apia Vodka
Elemental Vodka
New Deal
Hot Monkey Vodka
Organic Nation Spirits
Organic Nation Gin
Organic Nation Vodka
Dry Fly
Dry Fly Gin
Dry Fly Vodka
Bend Distillery
Crater Lake Vodka
Cascade Mtn. Gin
Hazelnut Espresso Vodka
Roughstock
Montana Whiskey
Pacific Distilling
Voyager Dry Gin
Pacifique Absinthe
Deco Distilling
Rogue Spirits
Rogue Spruce Gin
Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey
Rogue Hazelnut Spice Rum
Integrity Spirits
12 Bridges Gin
Trillium Absinthe
Lovejoy Vodka
Stranahans
Colorado Whiskey
House Spirits
Aviation Gin
Krogstad Aquavit
Loft Liquors
J Witty
Chamomile Liqueur
Hood River
Cockspur Rum
Yazi Ginger Vodka
Pendleton Whiskey

Beech Marketing Online

2009-10-14T00:52:00.000-07:00

Beech Marketing is a new media marketing company providing keyword-based web development and search engine optimization (SEO) for small to medium businesses. We combine social marketing, video marketing, Word Press blogs and extensive market analysis, along with much, much more, to get businesses noticed and ranked by the top search engines, all at affordable prices. Mission:Our mission is to keep locally owned, small and medium businesses alive and prosperous by developing and maintaining their online presence.

Photo and Video Keepsake Videos - Makes A Great Gift for the Holidays!

2009-10-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Need a gift idea for the holidays? Why not create a "Photo Video Keepsake" for your family? Home Video Studio can take family's photo and video memories and develop a touching tribute. Our professionals will add music and titles to produce a unique family history. Photo Video Keepsakes" are great gifts to give relatives and friends too. They are fantastic not only for the holidays , but also for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions and other special get-togethers. Let Home Video Studio help you make these extraordinary Photo Video Keepsakes" ! VHS and 8mm tapes transferred to DVD make great gifts as well.

Here are more gift ideas:
Create a highlight DVD of your best clips from your VHS or camcorder tape library
Organize, archive, and showcase your family photos, 35mm slides, and/or photo albums on CD or DVD
Create a Lifestory (a mini-documentary) showcasing a family loved one complete with interviews, photos, and video clips from the past
Call us today at (503) 716-8578. Don't let time and the elements damage or destroy your irreplaceable family memories. No job is too small!

Call us today!!! 503-716-8578

The Chauncey

2009-10-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Fourth in a series of videos produced by Home Video Studio for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.
Bartender David Shenaut of Teardrop Lounge and Beaker & Flask in Portland, Oregon, creates The Chauncey right before our eyes. Cheers!

May I buy you a drink?

2009-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Third in a series of videos for the Oregon Bartenders Guild.
This one featuring Blair Reynolds of TraderTiki.com preparing the Mai Tai. Enjoy with poi. Cheers!

Sazerac

2009-09-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Second in a series of cocktail recipe videos we produced for the Oregon Bartenders Guild. This one features Jeffery Morgenthaler of Clyde Common Restaurant in Portland, Oregon sharing the classic New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. Cheers!

Mago

2009-09-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

First in a series of cocktail recipe videos we produced for the Oregon Bartenders Guild. This one features Neil Kopplin, of Clyde Common Restaurant in Portland, Oregon sharing one of his signature cocktails, the Mago. Cheers!

The Nick Wilson Charitable Group Video

2009-08-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a video we did for The Nick Wilson Charitable Group. Here they are and here is what they do. Good people and a good cause.

Help us to help others

The Nick Wilson Charitable Group (NWCG)

A Stem Cell Transplant Support Association for Kids with Cancer and Their Families

Our Mission

To provide support to children and their families in the Children’s Cancer Center’s Pediatric Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Program at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

About Nick Wilson

Nick Wilson was a spirited and compassionate little boy who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at age 18 months in May of 1999. He endured hundreds of days in the hospital undergoing high dose chemotherapy, irradiation, stem cell transplantation, and multiple medical procedures. In spite of these unfavorable circumstances, Nick seized every opportunity to play, laugh, and provide a steadfast example of a tenacious zest for life. Nick died in April of 2001 despite modern medicine’s best efforts to cure his disease. It is in memory of Nick’s incredible spirit that his family endeavors to keep his spirit and compassion alive by helping other children and families finding themselves in similar circumstances.

The Nick Wilson Charitable Group is a completely volunteer operated 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. We receive no federal or state funding and rely completely on community support and individual contributions. Please consider The Nick Wilson Charitable Group for your charitable giving; all donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you.
©The Nick Wilson Charitable Group
P.O. Box 80852
Portland, OR 97280
503.890.7220
jillmetz@comcast.net

http://www.nickwilsoncg.org/

BeechStock Photography

2009-08-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

BeechStock is a stock photography company representing the photography of Jack Beech Industrial Photography. For over 35 years, Mr. Beech specialized in industrial and aerial photography in New Orleans, Louisiana. We have his images available for stock photography, newsletters, brochures, trade publications, annual reports, websites or fine art printing for display in your home or office. These images make a great corporate gift as well.
Mr. Beech also has many Louisiana scenes such as plantations, bayous, courtyards, New Orleans French Quarter, historical subjects, Mardi Gras and more.

Biography

Jack Beech was born in Massillon, Ohio and lived in California for a number of years. He then moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mr. Beech is a graduate of the Fred Archer School of Photography in Los Angeles, CA. He originally pursued magazine editorial photography, working through the New York Agency and Black Star Publishing.

Mr. Beech later formed Industrial Photography, Inc. in New Orleans and established a reputation as a corporate photographer, the mainstay of his work being industrial, oil fields, aerials and advertising.

He is now retired and living in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Vimeo Videos

2009-07-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

Our twins, Gus and Ruby turned 7 and celebrated with a bowling party with their friends. The video of their party was inspired by the trailer for The Big Lebowski. Watch this space for party #8. Coming soon!

Vimeo is great. I urge everyone t submit, view and comment on videos posted here. I use it for demos and for client approval and notes. Check it out

Photo Videos and Photo Montages

2009-06-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

A photo video is a simple way to protect and bring to life your family's precious memories. We'll edit your photos to music and create a customized unique keepsake on DVD.Photo Video Keepsakes make wonderful gifts for family members. They are a fantastic and creative way to preserve your family's history for generations to come. Everyone can also now have DVD copies of those priceless family moments.

You may want to incorporate videos and home movie film in your Photo/Video Keepsake. View and decide what portions of your home movies you would like to include in the piece. Home Video Studio can transfer that material into a format and include that in your Photo/Video Keepsake

To save time and money prepare your materials before talking to us about your Photo/Video Keepsake.

First make the tough decision -- which photos to choose and which to lose. We suggest you make a "YES" pile and a "NO" pile, putting all the photos that you may want to use in the "YES" pile and all the rest in the "NO" pile. WARNING: This step is way too much fun, so don't get caught looking at each photo for more then a moment! Try to zero in on the photos that will tell your family's story the best. Think of your Photo/Video Keepsake as a story with a beginning, middle and an end,

Gather all of your YES photos together. We suggest you put them in chronological order. Start with the early photos and work your way forward to the present day. You may have some photos or groups of photos that will work better in their own little chronological sequences; such as, career, job or business photos, house photos, lake home photos, vacations, grand-kids, etc. You can even accent these by using a special music theme or select popular songs of the time. for each group and perhaps even giving each group its own title; for instance, you could place the title "Our Babies" before the grandchildren group. Think of your Photo/Video Keepsake as a story with a beginning, middle and an end.

Number your photos on the back with either a pencil or stickers (post-it notes work well). DO NOT USE a pen as the ink may rub off onto the other photos. This is also the time to start thinking about music and titles. You'll at least want a greeting at the beginning and some closing statement at the end of your video. For example, if you are making an anniversary video, you could simply put "Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad" at the beginning and "With Love, From All Of Us" at the end. Or, if you wish, you can be more personal and creative in your titles. Why not use some poetry or a favorite quotation?

Yeah that's it!

2009-05-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

That logo means video!

Are You Ready

2009-05-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Defeeters! Lake Oswego Soccer Club State champions! The parents surprised the team with the video at party celebrating the teams success. Please to enjoy all the videos and watch this space for more.

Think about video for your website. Low cost product demos, training for your clients or employees or a "how to" segment educating your clients and the public at large. Produce from your ideas and footage or start from scratch with a production company. Video is not something "extra" when thinking about a website it is as vital as your logo and your contact information. It does not have to cost a lot to look cool. Think about your clients and what they need. Think about your product or service and create a video that will illuminate, educate, entertain and inform. Create. "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." Linus Pauling said that and he's from Oregon! You can even put a monkey in the video!

On the Verge

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

We are on the verge of something, of what we are not sure. Starting a business during these economic times is daunting at least and challenging at best. My timing is questionable but I have to say in my darkest times I feel secure in the fact that I won't be laid off. The dynamics of being self employed are well known, the employees are lazy and the boss in an asshole. The journey has been one of self discovery, educational, enlightening and what the fuck was I thinking. I am wearing three hats, technician, manager and entrepreneur. The problem is I have just the one head.

A new favorite product has been Keepsake Videos, photos and video put to music for anniversaries, birthdays and the general celebration of life set to music. I have enjoyed the compilation of milestones and signposts of strangers' lives and my unique ability to manipulate and elicit, I hope, some emotion with these short stories. Sorting through stacks of snaps and slides, digging through digital archives of the past. A voyeuristic endeavor that satisfies the entrepreneur and the technician.

The L.E.S.T.A. project has been mired in red tape and bureaucratic. I long for guerrilla film making, stolen locations and signed releases after the fact. I shall overcome but I am still looking for ideas, any suggestions?

What I am reading : “E Myth Mastery By Michael Gerber
What I am watching: Art of Making the Schedule
What I am listening to: Cable Company hold recording...

Fitting

2009-03-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

It's only fitting I post now pledging to post more on this blog o' mine. It seems to be the thing, regurgitating excuses for not blogging. I should start a blog about not blogging.

As I begin my 51st year I ponder the things I know, have forgotten, and simply ignored.

We have been efforting to produce a documentary recently. The project hit a bureaucratic roadblock with a local school district when we requested permission to shoot on school property, I blame the reality TV industry for creating this faux market place for a possible "reality" series. Everyone is positioning for some kind of production deal on The Learning Channel. We will get it done and Jon and Kate Plus 8 be darned.

Here is a brief synopsis.

" The L.E.S.T.A. Story" (working title) is the story of L.E.S.T.A. and Cyndi Turtledove. LESTA’s mission is to engender creativity and discipline through Theatre and all the Arts. To develop and implement projects to help different kinds of community organizations share Spanish and English language learning, cultural exchanges, and social interaction by bringing Latinos and Anglos together. This film examines the process, successes and the challenges of bilingual language and arts education.

It's going to be a lot more fun than it sounds.

2008-12-18T01:22:00.000-08:00

What I am reading : “Lush Life: By Richard Price
What I am watching: A New Zealand Childhood
What I am listening to: The whir of the scanner

Holiday Onslaught

2008-12-17T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have been inundated with video transfer this holiday season. We have been snowed in with 7 year old twins and that has added a new dimension to the work at home dynamic, to say the least. The snow daze looks as if will continue into the kids holiday break extending it to three weeks. I am in my bunker of a video studio dodging the flak of the skirmishes outside my door. Not entirely successful I might add, I have the scars to prove it.

Some observations on home movies. There is a theme that runs through our lives documented in our home videos. Decades of summer water skiing videos (I mean hours), dance recitals, the endless opening of presents at Christmas and birthdays. The table setting at Thanksgiving and Uncle Leo talking with his mouth full. I too am guilty of this complete lack of imagination when it comes to home movies. I vow to change this and document more of a cinema verite of everyday life and the way we live and the times we live in. Not just some forgotten gifts on Christmas morning, something rich, deep poingant and fulfilling that will be a revelation to those who transfer my home movies onto some future format, 3D, holograms?
Enjoy the pictures of my kids playing in the leaves

Paul Newman

2008-09-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to come up with something deep and poignant to say about Paul Newman. What he means to me as a film guy, as a guy, as a little boy, as a man, as a human being. I didn't know him, just his work and how that work communicated with me.
My friends and I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid conservatively 30 times in the theater, no tape no disk, just film. We imitated action and dialogue ad nauseum. Cool Hand Luke was a revelation, probably to this day colors my aversion to authority. "What we have here is a failure to communicate..." Man, I keep running a film obituary in my head over and over. I have a stack of Paul Newman moves I can't seem to bring myself to watch quite yet, Hud, The Hustler, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Color of Money,has any actor had the balls to recreate a character like Fast Eddie and improve on it?. I have watched these films countless times and yet I still revel in the freshness and authenticity of Newman's performances. If you haven't seen Nobody's Fool, do so, that is how a true artist grows.
Like I said, I didn't know him, but the work will be with me always. I am happy for that.

Life By Misadventure

2008-09-21T12:56:00.001-07:00

Growing up in the Deep South you are not aware of the dark underbelly of the gentilly of social graces. What lurks beneath the surface is sometimes banal and sometimes unspeakable. I don’t want to go into specifics in this forum but suffice to say the hulking truth can be devastating. I have decided that this gothic southern stereotype should be personified and exhibited in a visually creative form. I choose this form of expression out of the shock and disbelief of revelation. It is fitting that the post K upheaval should churn the muddy waters of the past and discolor a superficially idyllic memory. Mine. Watch this space.

Home Video Studio -
Portland, OR

My Little Girl

2008-09-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Recently I was editing a video that contained a sappy country song (Tim McGraw, "My Little Girl"). My daughter Ruby who is 7 heard the song and started to cry. Apparently she equated this tune about a little girl growing up and leaving her father to get married with my eminent demise. She doesn't want me to die. I have news little girl neither do I. But I will. I became a dad later than most. Barring catastrophic disease or accident I could still dance with her at her wedding and bounce my grandchildren on my withered lap. It's my intention.

The remarkable physical transformation children undergo as the grow is matched only by the metamorphosis of their minds.

What I am reading : The World That Made New Orleans - From Spanish Silver to Congo Square

What I am watching : My children grow really fast

What I am listening to: The Flaming Lips

Home Video Studio -
Portland, OR

You can't fight in here....

2008-08-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today I have lost my blogginity. Join me as I lay bare my inner most musings on life, business and the state of the union. I will share photos, videos, links of interest to only myself and intermittent ramblings. I will mix business with pleasure, pain with joy and success with failure.

I am a film and video editor and I have started a new post production company, Home Video Studio in Portland, Oregon. Check out some ancient history in the Internet Movie Database.

I am learning the business of business and incorporating my creative side. (upper left kinda in the back) We encourage responses to the content and welcome any thoughts or concerns. Feel free to vent, complain, critique, question, and ridicule.

What I am thinking about today...

I am born and raised in New Orleans, and as we approach the third anniversary of the flood I watch the approaching Gustav and the dreaded cone of error. Ironic timing by the powers that be whoever they may be. Three years ago I watched, helpless and in horror as a major American city was destroyed by our own ineptitude. It could happen again soon. View history repeat itself. I recently visited my old neighborhood, what remains anyway, via Google maps 1343 Gardena Drive 70122. I think all of you out there in blog land should visit too.

So as the summer ends and the political season heats up I immerse myself in family, my new business and impending doom out of my reach. Be advised that all communication will not be so dire.

What I am reading : Clapton: An Autobigraphy

What I am watching: Obama and Pre season NFL

What I am listening to: Stevie Ray Vaughn - Texas Flood