Posts filed under 'TV production'
Foul Language
Do you have a family and want to control what your children are exposed to in the media. Satellite and cable has some controls but common foul language has become a part on the media. Try to watch a military or cop show without cussing. Not that I am a prude but many times when I try to watch a movie, and I love movies, bad language takes away from my experience.
Well a device has been updated that promises to remove foul language from broadcast TV, movies and DVD’s. It’s called TVG. I had one of their early models years ago. But I was not able to use it HD TV. Well it’s back, and now it works with new TV standards. It mutes the bad words in the audio, and pops up a closed caption of the missing dialogue without the offensive words. You can configure the unit from strict to light filtering, and even filter religious and sexual references. Filtering out the bad words is not for everyone but with 12 million TVG’s sold, perhaps there is a market. The foul language filter concept is not new but now this unit works with HD video and even 1080p. I just ordered mine. See it in action below:
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Add comment May 21, 2010
CSI Miami David Caruso as Horatio Caine action figure
Looking for a personal gift for the person that has everything? May I suggest this action figure. The one and only CSI Miami – Horatio Caine!
Around my house we don’t miss a single opening of CSI Miami. Why, for the show open when they introduce us to foul play and Horatio Caine does his cameo performance with the cheesiest line ever. Actually we try to guess the line before he says it. So for me this action figure is the bomb … it’s poseable, 12 inches tall and it’s a collectible? You’ll find it on etsy.com.
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1 comment February 18, 2010
Super Bowl Tech
I hear that real-time GPS will be used track the arrival of the Lombardi Trophy and key people to the stadium. Isn’t that 
great PR.
CBS is broadcasting the game with six high-speed, high-definition cameras with the ability to shoot 300-400 frames per second. Normal cameras shoot around 30fps – so get ready for amazing slow motion effects.
Sprint and AT&T are adding cell towers to handle the stadium demands on cell traffic. Do you have a smartphone? Download some new Smartphone apps to designed help you follow the game.
Security has also gone hi-tech with special cameras to scan both people and packages entering the stadium. Law enforcement also has bomb-removal robots at the ready. But there are no reported threats.
The commercials are my favorite part of the event. Be sure to have your facebook and twitter open to discuss commercials and talk trash about the other team!
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1 comment February 6, 2010
Favorite Video of the Week
Credit Unions are a different kind of fighter. Underdogs? Maybe. Champions of a cause? Most definitely. But what is certain, is that the ground has shifted, and your corporate-driven opponents have lost their footing. Now is the time to fight for your share and differentiate yourselves from banks. Now is the time to tell your story. Because you are a different kind of fighter.
Congrats to Third Degree for great concept and creation!
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1 comment February 5, 2010
VHS Hard Drives?
Hey, those hard drives we have for sale are not moving. Don’t people need storage? Our price looks competitive.
How can we differentiate our product from the competition?
![il_430xN.113476717[1]](http://mediaslap.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/il_430xn-1134767171_thumb.jpg?w=244&h=184 "il_430xN.113476717[1]")
The solution: VHS Hard Drives
![il_430xN.113476717[1]](http://mediaslap.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/il_430xn-1134767171.jpg "il_430xN.113476717[1]")
For those who like their storage combined with celluloid nostalgia, there’re these external hard drives hidden inside VHS tapes: available in 320, 500, or 640GB, they come sheathed in flicks like the original Star Trek, Top Gun, and Return of the Jedi.
Niche marketing, don’t you love it? Get yours at Etsy.com
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Add comment January 28, 2010
Our favorite funny video to date
Humor is like walking a a bleeding edge. When Tool of North America Director Erich Joiner’s comedic storytelling was used for Bud Light’s latest viral video from DDB they have a humorous winner at the expense of offending the status quo. The result is an video of amazing awkward moments that make this clever video every very memorable.
We need more humor in advertising! Real humor communicates and connects – humor works on radio and video, with and without proper attire. I recently attended the British Addy Awards (see previous article) and it was full humorous advertising. I hope we see more humor in American advertising.
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1 comment January 26, 2010
British Advertising 2009 Awards
The Houston Museum of Fine Arts recently showed these winning pieces of Advertising. I love a creative commercial, especially if it hits a bulls eye with a message. Many of these winning ads use humor in a way only the Brits can do. It’s worth viewing!
Remember you have to watch a lot of bad TV to see a good commercial.
See the British Advertising Award Winners for 2009 http://bit.ly/8sfiRJ Great Stuff
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2 comments January 14, 2010
#1 Creepiest Commercial of 2009
Number One
Do you have a favorite creepy commercial? Let me hear from you. This proves my saying – you have to watch a lot of bad TV to see a “good” commercial.
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Add comment January 6, 2010
Keep Your Audio In-Sync!
I once had a film cameraman tell me that sync was not important only to get a call later to fix his production. That was many years ago when audio was recorded on a medium called magnetic tape or film. Remember? Now it’s all digital. I really thought that digital audio would resolve issues but now there are a few more details to consider.
Digital audio is recording in slices or audio samples regular time intervals. This is called the sampling rate. The standard for recording digital audio for picture is 48 thousand times per second or 48K. The 48K rate is used because it is mathematically compatible to picture formats. If there is a variance in the audio sampling rate then the sound can drift in relation to the picture and create chaos in the editing room. Even minor drifts can create problems. Basically there will be more or too little audio for a given scene. I am pretty sensitive to this and I see one or two TV commercials weekly with bad lip sync.
Here are some common causes of drifting audio:
- The recording was made at the wrong sample rate, not at 48K sample rate.
- Multiple cameras and audio recorders and no external master sync source.
- No time code is used.
- Delay induced by a digital console without external sync.
- A mistake in the editing room.
- An unexpected equipment failure.
We all know things go wrong so some proper planning and redundancy may save the day. Always test your setup before recording the final product. Digital recording does not mean good recording. I have had to fix many digital recordings that were noisy or distorted. After you do a test recording make sure your location sound man listens to what is being recorded in headphones and listens to the recording of each scene after a take.
If problems do arise, the drift may be resolved by adjusting the playback to match the picture in an audio post house or editing room. Some productions require frame accurate recording and this adjustment is not acceptable if there is budget to re-shoot the scenes. Happy shooting and may the sync be with you.
3 comments December 17, 2009
Internet TVs beat 3D sets
Global shipments of Internet-Enabled TVs (IETVs) will reach 27.7 million units in 2010, according to a report from iSuppli.
In contrast, 3D set shipments will total only 4.2 million this year. Although 3D television shipments are set to soar in the coming years, said the iSuppli report, the biggest near-term growth story is in IETV.
If you have priced 3D TV you know how expensive this technology is and it requires 3D ready receivers and recorders. Just the glasses alone will set you back hundreds. But this is new technology. What’s next 3D internet-enabled TV? Perhaps smell-o-vision?
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Add comment August 3, 2010