Digital Video Hacks

Credits

About the Author

Joshua Paul has more than 10 years of experience delivering programming for both cable and network television. He has produced prime-time specials for Fox Television, worked as a Producer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, and produced a variety of projects for companies throughout Los Angeles. He specializes in post-production processes and organizing projects that deal with large amounts of raw footage. During the past decade, he has witnessed, participated in, and pushed the growth and adoption of digital video within the entertainment industry.

Joshua is also cofounder of Overhyped Technologies, LLC (http://www.overhyped.com), a company that provides software and service solutions to entertainment production companies. Overhyped’s primary service enables producers to log, search, and manage thousands of hours of digital video in real time, from anywhere. The company’s software and services have helped produce the television shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Growing Up Gotti, and Nanny 911, among many others. As cofounder of the company, he has acted as a consultant for all of the company’s clients, often helping to guide them through the tough post-production process.

Joshua is an active member of the Producer’s Guild of America, a published author, and a speaker. He has two patents pending concerning methods of digital video distribution. When not consumed with work, he lives, loves, and enjoys life with his wife and son.

Contributors

The following people contributed their hacks, writing, and inspiration to this book:

• Richard Baguley is a freelance journalist who writes about computers and technology. Prior to freelancing, he worked as a Senior Associate Editor at PC World magazine in San Francisco. He has also worked for various technology magazines in the UK, including Amiga Format, Amiga Shopper, Internet Today, and Internet Magazine. While it is true that all of the aforementioned publications closed after he left, he contends that this had nothing to do with their inability to function without him. In addition to writing for magazines and web sites such as PC World and JIWire.com, Richard runs the video-editing web site Videotastic (http://www.videotastic.com). Richard lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, Kath, his French Bulldog, Fester, and an ever-changing variety of cats (some of which are permanent, some of which are fosters looking for homes). Two of those cats graciously agreed to model for illustrations in this book in exchange for extra wet food and catnip.

• Michael Dean is editing a digital filmmaking book for O’Reilly and writing for Make magazine. He created the $30 School book series, including writing $30 Film School, wrote the novel Starving in the Company of Beautiful Women, directed the film D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist, and took it on a tour of the U.S. and Europe. He also directed the film Hubert Selby, Jr.: It/ll be better tomorrow and produced the DVD Living Through Steve Diet Goedde. While working in the music industry, he toured the world with the rock band Bomb and put out 13 records on several labels, ranging from D.I.Y. to indie to Warner Brothers. He has been interviewed on NPR, BBC, and NBC, and his books have been reviewed favorably on VH1 and in Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine. Michael tours and lectures on D.I.Y. art, filmmaking, and production.

• Arthur J. Dustman IV has been doing home automation for about three years. He has expanded from the X10 standard package to a 5 x 5 room to hold all his equipment. He uses HAL2000, Adicon Ocelot with C-max, nine Secu-16s, one Secu16-IR, 94 Relays, one scm-810 mixer, nine pzm-10 microphones, nine Xantech keypads, nine custom wall panels, and much more. He has created many custom circuits and devices to automate devices that have no “factory” interfaces. His motto: “There’s always a way to automate anything.”

• Preston Gralla is the author of more than 30 books about computers and the Internet, including Windows XP Hacks, Internet Annoyances, and Windows XP Power Hound. He’s been writing about technology since the dawn of the PC, was a founding editor of both PC Week and PC/Computing, an executive editor of ZDNet and CNet, and has contributed to dozens of publications, including PC Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Computerworld, among others.

• Nick Jushchyhsyn (http://www.jushhome.com) has over a decade of experience in computer programming and software design. Over the course of the last several years, he has used these skills to branch into post-production and visual effects for film and video. Currently, Nick studies, teaches, and practices visual effects as an artisan in the PixelCorps (http://www.pixelcorps.com).

• Marc Loy is a trainer and media specialist in Madison, WI. When he’s not working with digital video and DVDs, he’s programming in Java. He can still be found teaching the odd Perl and Java course out in corporate America, but even on the road, he has his PowerBook and a video project with him. Marc is the author of O’Reilly’s DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio and can be found online at http://www.loyinc.com.

• Ilya Lyudmirsky has worked on independent film projects as a cinematographer and producer for over 15 years. His background is extensive—he has worked practically every production job possible, with the exception of hair stylist. The projects that Ilya has been involved in have received numerous festival awards. Ilya also runs his own production company, Blacklist Productions, which specializes in cutting-edge independent productions.

• Don Marquardt ([e-mail]) has been playing around with home automation for almost 30 years. Each move to a new home just brought more toys to play with. His current home has just about everything he could think of. In total, it has almost eight miles of various types of wire to handle just about anything. Now, even his car talks to the Internet. Don’s web site (http://www.k9soa.net) is open to visitors to take a little tour of Jeannie, The House That Listens. When you visit, be sure to sign his guestbook.

• Todd Ogasawara focuses on two distinct topics: Mobile Workforce and Mobile Lifestyle technology, with special attention paid to the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform (Pocket PC and Smartphone). Microsoft has recognized his demonstrated practical expertise and willingness to share his experience by honoring him as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in the Mobile Devices category. His other technology focus is in the effort to bring commercial (especially Microsoftrelated products) and GNU/open source software together in a synergistic and productive way. For lack of a better term, Todd calls this concept Eccentric Technology. Todd has written several articles related to mobile devices, including camera phones, for the O’Reilly Network Wireless DevCenter (http://www.oreillynet.com/wireless/). He previously worked as a technology analyst for GTE/Verizon. He also served as the contracted Forum Manager for the MSN (and later ZDNet) Telephony Forum and Windows CE Forum. More recently, he served as project lead to develop an intranet portal for the state of Hawaii using open source tools. You can find his Mobile Workforce and Lifestyle commentary at http://www.MobileViews.com. You can learn more about Eccentric Technology at http://www.OgasaWalrus.com. For comments related to camera phones, you can reach Todd by email at [e-mail].

• Derrick Story is the Managing Editor for O’Reilly Network (http://www.oreillynet.com) and Mac DevCenter (http://www.macdevcenter.com), the latter of which he created in December 2000 for O’Reilly Media. His focus is on Mac OS X, digital media, and mobile computing. Derrick is the author of several O’Reilly books, including the Digital Video Pocket Guide, the Digital Photography Pocket Guide, Digital Photography Hacks, the iBook Fan Book, and the PowerBook Fan Book. He also coauthored iPhoto 4: the Missing Manual (Pogue Press/O’Reilly). Derrick’s professional experience includes more than 15 years as a photojournalist, former managing editor of Web Review, and a speaker for O’Reilly, CMP, and IDG conferences. He manages his online photo business, Story Photography (http://www.storyphoto.com), which specializes in digital photography and special events.

• Gene Sullivan is a writer, musician, Irish dancer, and all-around computer geek. He was introduced to the joys of filmmaking by his wife, who drafted him as a production assistant on a student film at UC Santa Barbara. He has worked on a variety of independent films and television shows and is currently IT Manager for Evolution Film & Tape, Inc., an independent television production company in Burbank, California.

• Phillip Torrone is Associate Editor of Popular Science Magazine, feature columnist for Engadget (http://www.engadget.com), and author of numerous books on mobile devices and design. Phillip is also an Associate Editor for Make magazine, and he writes the magazine’s weblog at http://www.makezine.com. Phillip’s work and projects can be viewed at http://www.flashenabled.com.

• Richard Wolf is a research programmer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His chief role is to provide support for the Macintosh at every level, from helping end users solve everyday problems to developing custom solutions for the university. In his spare time, he is writing an introductory text on PowerPC assembly and the Mach-O runtime, which he hopes Mac OS X programmers will find useful.

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without the love, support, and devotion of my wife, Carrie. I also couldn’t have completed it without the enormous help I received from my family, my friends, the great staff at O’Reilly, the contributors, and the entire online community. I would like to thank every-one (offline and online) who has helped me along the way…but room doesn’t permit it.

To my wife, Carrie: you have filled my life with everything that was missing. Without you I could never be the person I want to be. You are my best friend, my playmate, my confidant, and my partner for life. Words cannot express my adoration for you. Every day I am with you, I love you even more. All of my days.

To my son, Avery: since the day you were born, I’ve loved you. You are the most precious gift I have ever been given and you fill my days with inexplicable happiness. Your smile lights up my life and your laughter feeds my soul.

To my mom: thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You’ve supported every decision I’ve ever made in life (well, other than majoring in Philosophy) and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Yet, you do more than I could ever ask. I love you.

To my dad: you are an inspiration to me, even though you don’t know it. Although the miles and days separate us, you are with me constantly. I love you.

To Dave: thank you for your support, guidance, and help as I’ve become an adult. I am honored to say you are a part of my family.

To my family: thank you for your help and tremendous support throughout my life.

To Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg: you’ve helped guide my career and always made yourself available when I’ve had questions. Who knows where I’d be had you not opened the door? Thank you.

To Michael Fitzsimmons, wherever you are: you noticed my knack for computers and provided me the opportunity to know post-production. Thank you for the education.

To Ted Steinberg: you are an inspiration, a role model, and a friend. Thank you for being who you are.

To the staff at Evolution Film and Tape: thank you for letting me take a little time to myself and concentrate on my family. Specifically, thank you Doug, Greg, Dean, and Kathleen for creating and running such a wonderful company. It is a model that others in the industry should follow.

To Gene Sullivan: thanks for looking over my shoulder and keeping my hacks technically sound. Your feedback and knowledge were invaluable.

To Derrick Story: thank you for passing along my name to your colleagues. Without your confidence, I would have never had this opportunity. Oh, and thanks for the mass of contributions, too.

To Brian Sawyer: we’ve spoken on the phone, emailed almost daily, and experienced our children’s first illnesses together…not to mention created this book. Thank you for your guidance. It’s been a learning experience for me, and you made it painless.

With the publication of this book, I have fulfilled a promise made to my grand-father during his last years with us. Hopefully, there will be more to come…