Working Samples:

The following video links are provided to demonstrate some of the special capabilities offered by Alaska Video Adventures.

Image Stabilization:

Sometimes a video camera gets bumped, or a tripod isn't available, or it's windy, or any of a hundred other reasons. Whatever the cause, the resulting video jumps and jerks around, making it difficult for viewers to follow the action.

If the camera shake isn't too extreme, post-production processing can remove it, as this short video demonstrates.

Audio Processing:

There is only one take when recording a live performance. If the video or audio aren't perfect, there is no going back.

In this recording, the HVAC equipment in the building created a low-pitched whirring noise that diminished the clarity of the audio track. By using Adobe Audition it is often possible to reduce and sometimes completely eliminate undesired noises embedded in an audio track. In this example, the noise cancellation has been cycled on and off a couple of times for listeners to better hear the difference.

Credits and Titles

In order to give credit where credit is due, it is sometimes necessary to devote a lot of attention to the rolling credits. "The Mikado" is an extreme example of this, but since the overture runs for over eight minutes there was plenty of time to physically work all the acknowledgements in.

These credits were built and optimized for 1080 high-definition (unlike the rest of the production, in which the video editing process was aimed toward making a DVD). Still photography is an excellent visual stock for credits because stills have high resolution and Ken Burns effects (pan and zoom) are easy to apply.

Complete Productions

I am pleased with the results from the video edit of Juneau Lyric Opera's production of "The Mikado". The opera is pleased too: in fact, they've given me permission to use it in my advertising!

This video is the result of four recorded performances, each performance covered by two or three high-definition cameras. What is not apparent is that many of the "camera movements" - panning and zooming - were accomplished in post-production, allowing the image to more closely follow the actors. Sound was recorded independently on dedicated microphones mounted near the stage and channeled into a computer set up in the orchestra pit.

The editing took a month. Part one is labeled "Juneau Mikado 1". The rest of the video chapters are also on YouTube, numbered sequentially.

Sam's Audition Video

In a live audition there is only one chance to make a good impression. The same is true for a video audition, except that the performer can attempt a piece multiple times and pick the best result. Now that video auditions have become commonplace, simply "doing your best" may not be good enough to capture and hold a judge's interest.

I helped Sam with two auditions. He's really very talented and plays well, so the challenge lies in displaying his talent.

The visual presentation was enhanced with cross-fading titles on each musical selection and dip-to-black transitions in-between. In the second selection (the only long piece) I added a slow 30% zoom in post production, to add a little bit of extra movement and keep the overall appearance from becoming too monotonous. Audio was recorded on a Zoom H4n microphone.

AEYC-SEA 2014 Conference

The Association for the Education of Young Children wanted a video to close out their conference. I met with them several weeks before the event, several ideas were discussed, and a general plan of action decided on. A week before the conference most of the video was submitted and Alaska Video Adventures went to work!

Interviews were submitted by seventeen individuals, including Alaska senator Mark Begich. A little less than an hour of total footage. These interviews were scrutinized, the useful material was selected and isolated (I even split Senator Begich's segment into two pieces, with permission), and this was reassembled to match the relevant themes of the interviews.

While assembling this video I did not have the list of questions used in the interviews, although these became fairly obvious. It didn't really matter: for the segment titles I needed something much shorter anyway.

The rough draft went on YouTube as an unlisted link. I met with Sally Smith, an old friend who currently works for Begich and was slated to moderate the portion of the conference in which my video was to be shown, and we coordinated the live vs. recorded interchange (including the decision to split Mark's speech in two). The folks over at AEYC suggested a few scene deletions and told me to expect some late arriving video.

I had a lot of fun creating the special transitions in the first half of this video. I wanted something visually appealing to augment the overall impact of the end product, but not over the top. Professional.

The presentation came off without any snags. I took the precaution of testing the equipment at Centennial Hall the day before. I also recorded the entire closing session and gave AEYC a DVD-ROM of the session in 720p, with some additional titling and editing, and my presentation spliced in where it belongs.

I am pleased to present this video short, with the kind permission of AEYC-SEA. It demonstrates the standard of quality and care that represents Alaska Video Adventures.