<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Forgive me for boring you with these quick background details but here goes:
I travel globally as VP of Business Development and Director of Machine Control for Carlson Software, Inc [http://www.carlsonsw.com] and also am managing editor of http://www.MachineControlOnline.com, an online trade publication working towards advancing the positioning industry. We use RTK GPS, axial sensors, computer, sofware, DTM Surface models and hydraulic controls and other such whatnots to monitor and position heavy equipment. See my rough videos below
http://machinecontrolonline.com/content/view/5759/180/
http://machinecontrolonline.com/content/view/5594/180/
http://machinecontrolonline.com/content/view/5569/180/
Our budget is small and I do so much traveling I thought I would work toward amassing some skills out of necessity I write music and have fronted rock bands most of my life so videography is akin to other creative outlets I need.
Okay, thats a brief background. Now my problems and I will bullet them:
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I believe I am buying to bits and pieces to achieve a balance between quality without going to far. I have found Adobe to be overwhelming and the XL2 doesnt give me near as good a quality as the little consumer panasonic. The videos links above are iMovie 09, Panasonic and Screenflow to capture software video.
I have signed up for a Lynda.com Premium account and have gone through about 10 hours of training on Final Cut Pro.
The JVC GY HM 100u was attractive to me over XL2 Canon because of size, its HD and records direct to Final Cut Pro - saves me a lot of hotel time downloading/capturing/converting so I can go straight to editing. Again, I have other business on these trips.
So there you have it Philip. Is the JVC right for me? Should I spring for Sony EX1? Should I continue my final cut training and perhaps take a videography field lab course? Should I hire a professional for a shoot and tag along to learn?
I am attending the Travel Channel Academy Film School (12 hours X 4 day for 2000$ [ http://www.travelchannel.com/Academy/Academy_Home?refcd=tca_com ] in September so I am sure I can learn from there.
I suppose I am an <span style="text-decoration: underline;">AUTO mode shooter </span>for the most of it and hope to get better. But I need to shoot footage of decent quality with amateur production, at least for now to get done what I need.
I appreciate any help or pointers or perhaps a sympathy card :-)
Thanks and I hope to hear from you.
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randynoland@mac.com
