Prior to the late 19th century, most pictures of galloping horses showed the horse with both of their front legs extended forward and both their hind legs extended to the rear. To our eyes today those pictures look old-fashioned, but to most of the people of the day, that was how they thought a horse galloped. They didn’t know any better. That was until a man called Eadweard Muybridge proved otherwise.

Muybridge, born Edward James Muggeridge on 9th April 1830 (whose 182nd birthday was celebrated recently on Google’s home page with an animation of a horse galloping), was an English photographer known for his pioneering work showing how animals run by using multiple cameras to capture motion. He famously invented the Zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that predated perforated film strip still used in cinematography.

It seems that Muybridge had a bit of an identity crisis as he changed his names several times in his career only settling on the name Eadweard Muybridge in the 1870s when he became more widely known for his work with Leland Stanford, an American businessman and race-horse owner. Stanford asserted that all four of a horse’s hooves are off the ground at the same time during the trot and took it upon himself, with Muybridge’s help, to prove it scientifically.

Muybridge arranged a series of large glass-plated cameras in a line, each one connected to a thread stretched across the path a horse would run through. As each thread was passed by the horse’s front legs, it triggered the camera’s shutter and took a photograph. The photos were copied onto a disc as silhouettes and viewed in Muybridge’s Zoopraxiscope.

Later, in another series of photographs taken called The Horse in Motion, Muybridge showed how a horse gallops and is airborne, not with fore and hind legs off of the ground and fully extended as illustrated in the day, but rather when all the hooves are tucked under the horse as it switches between pulling with the front legs to pushing with the back legs.

So Eadward Muybridge, despite the change of spelling of his name, proved he was no Mug(geridge)! The series of photos Muybridge captured and displayed in his Zoopraxiscope are one of the earliest forms of videography.

Muybridge’s moving images settled the argument about how a horse gallops in just 11 images displayed in a sequence which took less than one second to capture.

A single still image can tell a story, but a series of still images, displayed in a sequence, can tell you more of the story. Muybridge’s series of still images explained to the people of the day and told the true story about how a horse gallops.

Today’s video cameras capture 25 still images per second (or 30 if you are in the USA). Video is the perfect method for telling a story and is being used increasingly by businesses today to tell true stories about their products or services. It works especially well when that story is difficult to explain or understand (as with Muybridge’s, The Horse in Motion), or when people want to see in action what you can do for them rather than have it told to them in words or single pictures. You can see some examples below.

Muybridge helped to settle the argument about how a horse gallops in less than one second – although it took him several years to perfect his invention to do it. Today, using video, you have the opportunity to tell the story about your business’s products and services and demonstrate what you do in a clear and concise way too. You will need more than a second of video to do so, but between 30 seconds and 2 minutes should be ideal.

It’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words. But how many more is a video worth?

Cracking Media produce videos that are worth thousands of words. Call us today for a free, no obligation consultation of how we can work together with you to tell your business story.

Customers can be a real pain can’t they? Our best advice is that you should never work for another customer again. We never work for any. It really isn’t a good thing to do and your business would do a lot better if you did the same!

So, I am joking – right? No I’m not. I really mean it. Working for customers is extremely bad for your business.

But before you go off and tell others that Cracking Media are Crack Pots – wait a moment…

It is true that customers can be a real pain – we have all had customers like that.

It is also true that you should never work for any customer, BUT we do wholeheartedly recommend that you should work with your customers. So not for but with!

The difference in the two statements above is a subtle but important one.

You will have heard people say of a sales person that he/she could sell snow to the Eskimos. It’s as if we should be impressed at how brilliant the person is at sales. But did anyone ask the Eskimo if he needed any snow? The fact is, he didn’t!

But that’s the same thing that happens when you are so obsessed with the things you can do for a customer – because selling a solution is really the focus of your attention – that you fail to understand the problem your customer needs solving.

Many companies have great products or services, but are really poor at listening to their customer. Rather than taking the time to fully understand the problem their customer needs solving, they impose a solution on them. This often results in the customer spending lots of money and the company they employ solving very little. In fact, in some cases, the solution has solved nothing and ended up costing the customer even more. They were sold snow but didn’t need any!

Finding the right solution for your customer comes about when there is a marriage of expertise. Your customer is an expert at what they do and so will understand their business better than you do. You are of course an expert at what you do – your customer wouldn’t expect anything less – but the key to providing a successful solution for your customer is to work with them not for them.

That means listening to your customer – the expert on their business.
That means taking time to understand the problems they need solving.
That means working with your customer to work out how you can best help them.

It sounds simple, but many businesses fail their customers because they get carried away with finding and imposing a solution without ever really understanding the problem.

That doesn’t mean you should be passive in your relationship with your customer. Listening and understanding the problems your customer needs solving is an active role but it is only part of your role. As an expert in the products or services you provide you must also be an educator. It is your responsibility to give your customer advice and direction whilst remembering that although the customer isn’t always right, they are always the customer.

So, if you want to be successful at solving problems for your customers then start working with them.

And if you are a customer looking for a business to solve your problem, make sure you find a business that will listen to you and work with you, not for you.

Video as a visual medium has exploded on to all types of gadgets and devices in recent years. The rise of video has seen a huge increase in video content being created for all different purposes, such as personal memories, events, instruction and promotion to name a few.

Videos can be exciting, factual or fun, however one important factor in making a video easy to watch is quality audio.

Veiwers can forgive shaky, badly framed or boring video footage if the sound is clear, crisp and helps to push the video forward, essential if your prime directive is a marketing message.

Here are a few things to consider when recording video with interview or narrated audio…

Always consider how a location sounds as well as how it looks. Find a place with no unwanted noises (traffic, background chatter, buzzing air-conditioning units, etc.). Try listening to a location for a few minutes to pick out any distracting sounds that might come across in your recording. Never rule out the possibility of having to find another location.

Another important considration is good acoustics. Recording audio in a highly reverberant space will cause echoes. These echoes can mix with the intended recording creating a dull, indistinct and  difficult to understand soundtrack. Rooms with carpet and soft furnishings usually have better acoustic qualities.

Use an external mic as the mic that’s attached to your camcorder is a compromise designed to pick up as much as possible. That means foreground noise, background noise and everything inbetween. External shotgun mics are designed to be positioned very close to your interviewee or narrator and have a very directional pick up pattern so won’t pick up so much of the surrounding ambient noise.

Another option for interviews is a quality lavalier mic (clip on mic/tiepin mic). These types of mic are attached to your interviewee in close proximity to their mouth, all but ensuring crisp audio.

Always watch audio levels closely. This is a critical part of the process and should always be done with headphones. Many videographers set the levels based on what they see in the levels indicator on the camcorder screen.  Only by using headphones will you be certain that the sound being indicated is the sound you want to record and not a background noise.

Turn off your camcorder’s Auto Gain Control (AGC) and set audio levels manually… The AGC will compensate for level changes by trying to match a constant volume of the recording to the sound being recorded. This sounds great, however AGC will introduce increased background noise in quiet portions of the recording.

By remembering these basic points when recording sound you will have an increased chance of consistently capturing better quality audio time after time…

To help you to give to give it a try we’ve put together these ten top tips for planning and making your video.

Start with the End

Decide on what you want your video to achieve. What is the message?

It’s not about you but about your Audience

Who is your audience? Your message needs to answer the question(s) your audience is asking. If your video is promotional focus on benefits not on features.

Become a Story Teller

Your video needs to have a start, middle and end that flows one into the other, engaging your audience, retaining their interest and provoking a response.

Think about your Location

Make sure that where you film your video fits your story and authenticates your message.

What you hear is as important what you see

Do not neglect the sound element of your video. A well-made video is a blend of visual and audible images. Make sure your audience can clearly hear what is spoken. Use a good quality external microphone. Consider adding music during editing to support your visuals.

Get a good tripod and use it where needed

Shaky video shots (where not intended) will disturb your audience and lose their attention to your message. Keep the camera still. Pan and zoom where needed not all the time.

Can the camera see what you see?

Make sure you have good lighting. Your eyes and brain can compensate for light, but a camera finds it much more difficult. Avoid heavy contrast (unless intentional) and make sure your subject is well lit.

Think about composition

Remember that your video is watched in a frame. Like any good painting or photograph you need to think about how it will look in the frame. Consider where people are positioned looking into the frame not out of it.

Don’t overdose on transitions

When editing your video, avoid using lots of different transitions between shots. Straight cuts or crossfades should be used most of the time. Elaborate transitions can look fancy but distract your audience and lose their attention.

Practice makes Perfect!

Don’t be overawed. As with anything practice makes perfect, so when you’ve made your video take time to review it yourself and get feedback from others. What worked well? What could you have done better?

Peter Lunn, Cracking Media

Brigitte always looks good for the camera and we think she’ll turn a few heads…

The fact is, YOU’RE PRODUCING CONTENT!!!

Successful social media campaigns take dedication and awareness…

If your goals for Social Media are to improve your profile and create business opportunities, then the content you produce needs thought and focus if it’s to be productive for your business.

The first job is to clearly define your key objectives for social media by preparing killer branding and content to back up your posts. Have a clear vision of how you want the social media world to think of you. Do you want people to think of you as a provider of high quality, fast turnaround, customer friendly or maybe cutting edge in your field.

It’s very important to narrow your branding messages as being all things to all people rarely works.

Social media is all about building connections and building connections takes time. Whether in the virtual world or the real world connections are all about trust and providing useful, trustworthy content is the first step.

The social media world is constantly changing so be sure to stay abreast of updates to social media functionality such as uploading images, videos and other content, keep an eye out for new portals in your field that can be tapped into and don’t waste time on ones that miss your target audience.

Always measure the results of your work on social media sites. After your social media campaign has been running for a while, determine whether you are making any progress and if so is it meeting your goals.

Be very aware of the numbers… Check the number of people responding to your posts and social media offers, make a note of the number of people who are subscribing to your content and connection lists.

Most of all pay particular attention to responses you’re getting to posted content. Only by doing this will you start to understand what you need to change to improve your online reputation with killer content that really hits the mark…

We’re told by Apple that sharing between Mac and PC is a straight forward process and that Macs love to play on a windows network. And for the most part this is true..!

One question we do get on a regular basis is this…

Why won’t the media exported from Final Cut Pro play or edit on a PC system..?

The answer is don’t Export, Share instead.

Using the ‘File|Share’ option in FCP you have the ability to choose from a range of high quality formats that keep your footage bright and clear ready for adding in to a DVD structure, online video presentation or even a re-edit. Using the ‘File|Export’ method give you a file that will only work on a Mac. Quicktime on a PC doesn’t appear to have this restriction, we’ve never had a Quicktime file from a PC not transfer to a Mac.

As long as the destination PC is running the latest version of Quicktime and possibly ProRes Decoder for Windows, then there shouldn’t be a problem with editing and playback.

Just to point out that we are not talking about final delivery formats through compressor such as, mp4, H264, etc. These formats should never be used for re-edit, Ever, EVER, EVER and that’s an end to it..!

AJM IT Solutions developed WorkSafe to be an innovative software product enabling businesses to manage healthcare by helping to prevent RSI.  It’s reported that RSI costs British business 5.4million sick days a year and most workers who have an ongoing physical ailment don’t know they have an RSI related injury until the doctor explains it to them.

We all know that health and safety is big responsibility for employers  and WorkSafe has been developed to meet the needs of safety managers by monitoring the changing workflows and requirements of computer users. WorkSafe can be installed on a workstation computer and then tailored to the habits of the user with a very quick set up wizard. The AJM WorkSafe software starts to count mouse clicks, keyboard activity and monitor computer usage offering up helpful hints and quick exercises after set periods of continual work activity.

The exercises are very simple, most can be done at the work station and people wouldn’t even know you were exercising.

Cracking Media have had the chance to use WorkSafe and think it’s great. Most of us who spend many hours at a computer understand that we should release the tension from time to time, but of course we are so wrapped up in what we’re doing that we forget.

WorkSafe helps relieve the stress and helps us to be more efficient…

Check it out at the new AJM-IT-Solutions web site…

But before you run out and get the latest video capable DSLR here are some things to consider…

DSLR cameras give you a huge amount of lens options, the kit lenses usually start at about 17mm. This is very wide compared to a compact or video camcorder, great for panaramic scenes and in confined spaces but can cause 2 potential pitfalls that even pros sometimes fall into.

1. You get too close to the subject trying to fill the screen, and if that’s a person it can be quite off putting
2. Shooting at the wide end of the len’s capabilities will cause distortion. eg. When shooting an interview the speakers face will become elongated and the nose is likely to become enlarged in the frame, making them look strangley morphed.

Filming from further back and zooming in will correct these scenarios…

DSLRs for video has other considerations. Over the years camera manufacturers have put much research into the ergonomics and ‘ease of use’ features in their video camcorders which is why they all have the same basic shape and share many of the same abilities. DSLR cameras on the other hand have been developed for easy handling when taking still pictures.

Their layout and ergonomics are not easy to master when shooting video. Handling issues include manual zoom and focus and often excludes image stabilisation. Getting steady video from a DSLR can be a tricky business. Part of the joy in using these cameras is the manual functionality. So trying to hold the camera steady while also turning the focus and zoom rings is a difficult task. Add to this the shallow depth of field that comes with a DSLR requiring constant focus adjustments and the task just got harder.

Sound capture is a prime consideration for professionals and should be for amateurs too. If you are to go down the route of shooting video on you spangley new DSLR, then look for one that offers a jack socket for an external microphone. This will give you the option at least to fit an after market external mic to greatly improve your audio quality. Use a shot gun mic for speech and a stereo mic for ambience such as a live event.

These cameras capture in full HD video with high bitrates usually in h.264 format. This means you will need to use high speed storage cards in your camera if you wish to capture video for more than a few seconds at a time. The video data will also require some serious computer power to edit your clips, especially if you wish to add effects and transitions in your final video.

Buying a DSLR is a good investment, with a little reading or training you’ll be able master the manual controls and get great images, with a camera that will last many years. If you want to buy a DSLR to shoot great video the learning curve will be much steeper…

So imagine the head scratching when we upgraded one of our video editing suites to Windows 7 64bit, only to find that the ACEDVio no longer seemed to function. All was clear in device manager and all the hardware we plugged in to it installed in the usual way, but no capture was available in Edius or any other software.

Having tried many things to kick it into life we searched around the internet for a possible driver patch and found a fix on the Grass Valley site. Apparently the ACEDVio capture card isn’t compatible with the native firewire drivers in Windows 7 64bit. The fix is as simple as reverting to the legacy firewire drivers that are available in the update driver wizard.

The fix:

Go into device manager and twirl down the ” ieee1394 bus host controller ” section, then right click on the ” 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller ” and choose Update Driver Software, then when the wizard comes up choose to manually install the driver and click on ” 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controler (legacy) ”

We hope this helps if you where thinking it’s time to buy a new capture card or that your ACEDVio has given up the ghost. Though the ACEDVio may be thought of as a bit outdated, there’s still plenty of work for it to do in the world of Cracking Media. The reliability of all our Grass Valley Canopus equipment means we’re not looking to swap just yet.

The Cracking Media video team