My New Toy

I have been wanting to have a DVD camcorder and I got lucky last week and somebody offered me a SONY DVD 106E Camcorder which I can pay in installment. Thou it is not brand new but the its still in Tip Top shape since the original owner dont use it much. I did not think twice and got the camera. I will be using it on my next coverage and it will give high quality picture definitely.

More PCs

Its been a while since I have posted a blog. I guess I was too busy fixing stuff for my shop. With an increade in customer flow, I have recently acquired 5 units of computer. I spent overnight re formatting the PCs and installing Online games like DOTA, Ragnarok etc. At night time around 9pm, regular gamers play online games. It is nice seeing them enjoying the game and sometimes I get to play with them if I dont have much to do. I have given these gamers a discount from P20/hr to P15/hr and they kinda liked it.

Online games are now a favorites past time for kids and kids at heart. For me, it helps in releasing stress and a form of relaxation as well. Hope I will attract more gamers in the comming days.

The Beautiful Celebrant

It was the seventh birthday of a pretty young girl. Her gown was beautiful and her makeup was done perfectly then I noticed her hair was long and remembered that it was short when they visited our shop the first time. When I asked her mom, she told me that she had hair extensions. I then got interested with hair extensions. Of course, the first thing I did was surf the net. I came across different sites that offer hair extensions, but it was vextensions’ site that caught my eye. With every product they offer, they have pictures of it which looks very good. You hardly notice that the models have hair extensions as it looked like real hair that was just part of their ‘original hair’; I guess that’s why it is called human hair extensions. The shipping rates are affordable and they also offer care products. The site is user-friendly, easy to navigate and you may look for product you are looking for through the search field. Some of the products they offer are even on sale. I am thinking of getting a hair extension myself and I am looking in getting a clip in hair extensions first.

Name Meaning

I got this Name Tag from my good friend Rich which she got from Scotty’s Princess.
Let’s see how my name goes…

S - Lives life for fun

A - Gorgeous

I - Loves to laugh
__________________________
Name Meaning Here:
A: Gorgeous
B: Loves people
C: Really easy to fall in love with
D: Is great in bed
E: deeply in love with his/her gf/bf
F: People wild and crazy adore you
G: Never let people tell you what to do
H: Freakin’ beautiful eyes
I: Loves to laugh
J: Makes people laugh
K: Really silly
L: BEST SMILE
M: Makes dating fun
N: Sexy
O: Has one of the best personalities ever
P: Popular with all types of people
Q: A hypocrite
R: Good bf/gf
S: Lives life for fun
T: Great kisser
U: Gets blamed for everything
V: Not judgmental
W: Very broad minded
X: Never let people tell you what to do
Y: Loved by everyone
Z: Lives life for fun

Other Services

Sometimes people think that I am only into video shooting and editing, only a few knows that I also repair computers, desktop and laptop thou my market in this service is slightly increasing now. I just started with my own pc. With high labor fee for computer repairs, I try as much as possible to troubleshoot in my own first hoping I will be able to fix the problem. By reading and help of a friend who is also a computer technician I then little by little gained the knowledge and skill needed to be able to troubleshoot and repair computers. Then I volunteered to some of my friends to repair their pc and was successful. Then I have included this in my line of services offered to my customers. The good thing is its budget friendly. My price is almost half the price compares to prices in malls and other repair centers.

And if you have the time, you can wait while I repair you unit but of course that depends how small the damaged is. The important thing is, we will get your up and running again at an affordable price and a service with a smile.

Camera Lens

Aside from sharing my experiences and my thoughts as a videographer and a business man through this site, I also wanted to share my knowledge and learning about my craft to the people who takes time to read my blogs so they can also learn something from here.

So now, I thought of camera lens, the most important part of the camera. Whether it’s a manual, digital camera or video camera, it will be worthless without its lens.
I am not to go into very technical details but just something we can understand and easily remember since cameras are now part of our everyday lives.

Camera Lens - a lens that focuses the image in a camera

Taking pictures has not been as convenient practical and easy since it was built-in our mobile phones, almost all models of mobile phones have a built-in camera now, started from VGA to almost 5 mega pixels in resolution. Let us then see the difference of the 2:

VGA vs. PIXEL

Video Graphics Array (VGA) – 640 x 480 resolutions, basic and primary level of camera specially in mobile phones.

PIXEL – the smallest piece of information in an image. Pixels are normally arranged in a regular 2-dimensional grid and are often represented using dots or squares.

Another common feature that we should look for in choosing the right camera is the optical and digital zoom.

OPTICAL vs DIGITAL ZOOM

Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer.

Digital zoom is an invention of digital video cameras. It is not uncommon to see digital video cams with 300x digital zoom.

For our purpose, digital zoom is not really zoom, in the strictest definition of the term. What digital zoom does is enlarge a portion of the image, thus 'simulating' optical zoom. In other words, the camera crops a portion of the image and then enlarges it back to size. In so doing, you lose image quality. If you've been regularly using digital zoom and wondered why your pictures did not look that great, now you know.

When it comes to using zoom? Here it is: Always use optical zoom. When buying a camera, choose one that warns you that you are about to use digital zoom or that allows you to disable digital zoom (most do). If you do use digital zoom, use it only if it does not appreciably impact your image quality. If you rarely print past 4x6 in. photos, digital zoom may not adversely affect you.
When comparing cameras, you should always use optical zoom. There is no point in comparing digital zoom with digital zoom or optical zoom with total zoom. Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom.



These are just basic details about camera lenses but are indeed important to ensure that picture perfect smile.

My Customers

I would like to describe my customers, specially the patrons. When I have started my humble video shop, being new in the vicinity, introducing yourself and your business was not a walk in the part. Thou it did not take long for people to recognize and actually remember that a new video shop has just opened. Then I started building rapport and gained not just clientele but friends. I guess rapport with your customers is not the only key in having loyal clients, trust is another one. Businessmen should not focus only on profitability but also on customer’s satisfaction and aims to gain their loyalty.
For almost six months now, I can say that I already have couple of customer’s who has not just availed of my services my turned out to be friends.

To my customers,

Thank you for your trust and continued support! Rest assured that I will continue to study and further improve my craft to provide you quality, excellent and budget friendly service!

Let me be a part in capturing those important occasions in your life for more years to come!

It’s a Jollibee Party

My recent coverage was the 7th birthday party celebration of a beautiful and charming young girl. The party was held in the famous fast food chain here in the Philippines – Jollibee. My client was kind enough to include my daughter and my wife in their guest list. There were about 60 guests who came to the party and as expected the kids enjoyed the party. I have attended several parties including those which I covered and what makes the party fun is the mascot which every one of all ages really enjoyed. Jollibee made funny gestures and has a dance number which all the guests enjoyed. Another thing is Jollibee stayed during the party almost 80% of the time so the guests truly enjoyed the party. It has a program too, 7 roses and 7 candles and the little girls and guys were as adorable as they dance like what is being done in a debut party and of course, what is a kiddies’ party without the parlor games.

I am now planning to have a same part for my youngest daughter at Jollibee who will be turning 2 this September and I know my kids and our guests will truly enjoy the party.

Till my next coverage!

Shooting Videos

Even if I have covered several birthday parties, weddings, baptismal etc... I know I still have a lot to learn specially regarding videography. If my finances permits, I will take a course in videography. For the meantime, I am reading articles to help me improve my work. I get across one from the net, hints in composing shots. Below are some minor or rather common issues we are encountering when shooting videos with their solution:

Shaky Shots

Problem: Your footage is shaky and difficult to watch. If you have to hand out Dramamine before showing your videos to friends, you might suffer from shaky cam syndrome. Tromboning (using the zoom too often like the slide of a trombone), hosing (panning the camera back and forth like a fire fighter) and constant stopping and starting movements all are symptoms of this problem.

Solution: Compose a shot, roll tape and hold still. You should always compose your shots before you push the record button. Once you press record, hold the shot for at least five seconds before moving the camera. If you do have to move the camera or zoom, do it slowly and deliberately without stopping until the movement is completely done. Always know where you want to move the camera next, and plan your moves before you make them. It is easier to hold wide shots steady than telephoto shots. For best results, zoom out to the widest angle your lens permits and move closer to your subject.

The Slippery Slope

Problem: Your shots are tilted, making your subjects look like they might slide out the side of the picture. This problem is obviously caused by the camera being tilted sideways at an angle. It doesn't have to be a very big angle to distract your viewers. Is the water in that gorgeous sunset over the lake running out of the side of your shot? If so, you may be sliding down the slippery slope of composition.

Solution: Check your horizontal and vertical surfaces in the shot to make sure the picture is level. The real key to this solving this common error is to pay attention to the frame while you shoot. Find a building, doorway or some other straight and vertical or horizontal object and use it as a guide to keep your picture straight and level. If you are shooting a horizon, especially one with a perfect edge like a lake or the ocean, line the surface up with the top or bottom of the viewfinder and then carefully tilt back to compose your shot. Try to place your horizon on the top third of the picture or the bottom third depending on what is more important, the sky or the foreground. Never depend on the leveling bubble on the tripod, which only shows the tripod to be level and doesn't account for the parts of the tripod and camera above the level. Therefore, you should only use the leveling bubble as a quick reference point.

These are just some of the articles I have read and I know will come in handy. For those who have read this and found it useful, do not worry I will keep on writing stuffs that will be of help for those who aspires to be a good videographer.

Laptop

I am planning to buy my wife a compact laptop which she can use at home on her most convenient time. I am thinking of getting a NEC Versa S970 Laptop. This has been designed with the professional user in mind. Slim and lightweight with an improved battery life of up to 7 hours, the S970 offers flexibility and ease of use for mobile users. The NEC VERSA S970 is equipped with the latest Intel Centrino Pro technology, creating an advanced breed of business notebooks.

This is actually my gift to her for the support she's giving me and for all the help running my business. She does some of my paper works specially the correspondences I sent to my clients, specially big ones. She does this on her spare time and during her off. I really appreciate the fact the she despite of her busy schedule with her work and with our kids , she still manages to find time to help me out. I know I will be able to buy this soon.