Halloween Hijinks with Videomaker's Hideous Video Horrors! (page 3)
Catching a Bus
Just starting out, I managed to book several events to shoot, while I continued to search for the right editing software to use. I was really excited and posted and listed the different events on my Web site in the Maryland and DC areas.
I was using a Sony camcorder I had bought back in late 90s, and I was hoping to eventually transport the tapes to DVD as I began my journalism/videography career. I had a lot of footage on the Mfume 2006 campaign, and special performances by new and upcoming artists.
The following months to come, my daughter and I ended up moving, and I packed all of my media stuff, tapes and software in one bin and carried that on the bus ride to NY. But... we had too many bags, and I didn't double check our seat when I thought I had collected them all, and I left the bin with all the media on the bus. I was sick.
Since then, I have had several headaches for not having the opportunity to edit or produce any of my work.
Cerelia St. Bernard
Spot Check the Bride
Last year I volunteered to videotape my nephew's wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, the night before the event, the car my wife and I were in was rear-ended on the way to the rehearsal dinner. Although I was pretty shook up, I proceeded with the taping the next day. I thought the taping was successful until I started breaking down the gear and noticed a rather large dust ball right on the lens of the camera. Sure enough, upon playing it back, I was terrified to see a large portion of the image obstructed by the foreign matter. Apparently I was still so in shock from the car accident that I didn't notice. I consider myself to be an exacting amateur so I was stunned that I didn't notice it during the ceremony... Oh, boy, what a mess. Unfortunately, to this day I don't have a solution to correct the problem.
Pete Alvin
North Carolina
You Mean There's an ON Switch?
I was asked to video a wedding. One of the items I needed and purchased to use at this wedding was a good shotgun microphone. I went online and got the Rode VideoMic and couldn't wait to try it out. I already had another little shotgun mic for my carry-around camera but wanted a better quality one for my main camera. I had all the equipment set up and ready to go, ran my checks and then powered everything down to conserve batteries while I waited for the ceremony to begin. When I got the cue, I powered up and started rolling. It wasn't until after the ceremony, when I went to shut everything down, that I noticed the Video-Mic was NOT TURNED ON!!! So, I got NO AUDIO on my main camera that was positioned behind the pastor and wedding party. My heart went right to the bottom of my stomach. I could feel the years advancing rapidly as I was packing away all the gear. It wasn't until after I got home and started digitizing the footage that I discovered I got about 80% of good audio from my little shotgun mic on the carry-around camera. It took some strategic editing, but the end product survived and, fortunately, the bride was happy. Now I have lavaliers and mini-recorders along with the shotguns and a CHECKLIST I use for each and every event.
Edward Slonaker
San Patricio, Texas
Conclusion
As our "Horror Story" entries indicate, even the seasoned pros have bad video days. Thank you to everyone who contributed and allowed us to air your oops, goofs and spoofs in our magazine. By sharing, we all learn, and have lots of stories to laugh at... later, after the pain and embarrassment have faded away
Videomaker Managing Editor Jennifer O'Rourke is an Emmy™ award-winning videographer and video editor who usually gets her shot, but not always!
