Meeting Invitations via Apple Mail

If you’re using Apple iCal, you can easily invite people to attend an event. Your Mac can tie together iCal, Mac OS X Mail, and your Address Book for a cohesive event invitation system. Guests can receive invitations via email or right inside of iCal.

1. Set up a card for yourself in Address Book (in your Applications folder). Launch Address Book and click the Add (+) button. Enter your business contact information (including email address), and then choose Card > Make This My Card.
2. Switch back to iCal and create a new event or double-click an existing event.
3. In the Event Editor, click Add Attendees. Start to type the name or email address for the person you want to invite. iCal will attempt to auto-fill the information if the person is in your Address Book.
4. Press the Return key after each address to add a new one.
5. When you’re ready to invite people, click the Send button at the bottom of the Event Editor. Attendees will receive an email invitation and an iCal invitation.
6. Guest responses will appear in the iCal Notifications box (just click the Notifications button in the lower-left corner of the iCal window).

The responses are indicated visually with an icon:

• An arrow means a guest has not responded
• A check mark means the guest has accepted the invite
• An X means the guest declined the invite
• A question mark means the guest is tentatively attending

This article is excerpted from the Pre-Production chapter in the book Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite.

Creative COW Magazine ready for iPad

One of my favorite industry resources is Creative COW magazine. The articles are always written by pros involved in cool projects. Each article offers great perspective and often new ideas to expand your business. They now have all the back issues ready for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

Want to take the full library of Creative COW Magazine with you anywhere you travel? It's easy to do, whether you use an iPad, an iPhone, an Android, a Blackberry, or many other 3G devices.

Here's where to start. Simply go to

http://magazine.creativecow.net/downloads.php and... If you use an Android, a Blackberry, or many other 3G devices, just visit the downloads address above and download the editions that you want directly to your device -- we recommend the single page print-friendly edition's complete set. ;) If you are on a Mac or PC that uses iTunes, just download any or all of our no-cost PDFs in the edition you prefer -- the print-friendly single page format (recommended) or the 'spread' edition that gives you the full magazine spreads -- to your desktop machine.

Once the PDFs are on your machine, drag the downloaded PDFs to your desktop machine's iTunes program and click on the Books setting inside iTunes to make sure that sync books is active. If you use an iPod Touch, an iPhone or an iPad, your iBooks application will show them inside iBooks, in the PDF tab that you see in the image you see at the top of this newsletter.

Now, you can now take Creative COW Magazine with you for those times when you are in the air, waiting for a meeting, in the doctor's office waiting room -- or any one of a thousand other places where you might want to spend some time with the great articles and ideas that make up each of our issues.

Playing Fair in the Video Business in the Video Industry

The world of video is going through a revolution when it comes to pricing. When I started my career, tape decks were more expensive than cars and a complete editing system cost more than my townhouse. Oh how the world has changed.

The video industry is experiencing a race to the bottom. Gear keeps getting cheaper, which is a good thing in many ways. The problem lies in the cost barrier. Just as you’ve been frustrated by every schmo who buys a DSLR thinking he or she is a pro photographer, so have video professionals felt about photographers thinking they are video pros. Add to this sudden influx hundreds of schools pumping out graduates from media programs and you have a cluttered workplace.

I do not say the above to be protectionist or confrontational. The fact is that the video industry needs to evolve and will benefit from fresh talent and fresh ideas. Just don’t piss in the pool after you jump in.

Take a look around you and see what business practices others are following. Here are a few that I wish more would follow for the good of the video industry:

• Price fairly – Different businesses will need to charge differently for their services. Still, be sure you price services so you can survive for the long term. Be consistent with your prices and be sure to cover related costs like facilities, insurance, and equipment.
• Don’t do spec work – There is a lot of pressure to do unpaid work in the video field. Taking spec jobs to prove capabilities or show interest in a client. Look at other professions, they don’t face these same pressures. If you truly need to expand your portfolio, seek out legitimate nonprofit organizations and make a donation of your time and skill.
• Don’t badmouth your competition – Your only true competition is yourself. Speaking ill of your peers will only lower the standards of the industry as a whole.
• Your problems are your problems – Always pay your subcontractors (even if you haven’t received client payment). Similarly, you should not accept excuses from others above you in the client chain due to delayed payments. Make sure you responsibly keep payments flowing to those you hire.
• Act more like a lawyer and less like an artist – I’m not saying shelve your creativity... but remember that you are a trained professional with a code of conduct. You need to remember the important aspects of client management, professional communication, and ethical business practices if you want to succeed in video for the long term.

Why You Need MobileMe

Apple's MobileMe suite of online tools is a very useful group of services. Whether you'r a photographer, graphic designer, video pro (or even an accountant) you need it. While it’s not really designed to be an enterprise-level tool, it is quite helpful to small and midsize companies. MobileMe offers several features that can help organize a project. These features are fully documented on Apple’s site, but here are the most useful:

• Address Book syncing. It’s possible to have a shared Address Book for the entire company. This really helps keep records up to date and clients easier to locate. If you have multiple iPhone users who want to sync, they can make a group to streamline their contacts.
• Calendar. MobileMe offers a robust online calendar tool that can also sync with iCal. This is particularly useful because it can help coordinate meetings and schedule staff and facilities. The shared calendar is also useful for iPhone users who are out of office and need to keep their meeting schedule up to date. If you need to share a calendar with clients or non-Mac users, you have two viable options. You can grant Web access to a MobileMe calendar (simply visit mobile.me.com and sign in). The drawback is that you grant write access to all calendars or no calendars. A better option for "selective" sharing is to use a Google calendar, which is also free (calendar.google.com).
• iDisk. An iDisk is a great place to back up critical files. You can download the free Backup application from your iDisk, and then set files like Final Cut Pro project files to back up remotely. You can also use an iDisk as a drop box (Mac or Windows users) because it can be easily accessed through a Web browser. Similarly, you can access your iDisk through me.com and select files for file sharing with other users. Sharing files with clients is easy with MobileMe. They can get a personalized invitation, and you can even require a password.
• Back to My Mac. This little-used feature is a true lifeline. It allows you to easily access any of your Macs remotely. You can use it to log into a machine back at the office and check progress on a render or grab a file that you forgot.
• Find My Phone. Lose your iPhone or iPad, this device can tell you where you left it. It can also trigger an alarm, display a message, or remotely wipe a device. We've used the service three times in my house (and each time led to a successful recovery).

Get more useful techniques (and 6 hours of video) by reading Video Made on a Mac.

Talent Release Form

A piece of essential production paperwork is the talent release form. It is generally considered a good idea to obtain a release from each person who appears on camera. The form is your way of proving that the person appeared willingly and does not require additional compensation.

To make this form truly binding, you should check with a local lawyer to assist you. Laws will vary based on country and state, so this form is merely provided as a suggestion. Once you have your forms locked in, be sure to print out enough and load them onto a clipboard for your shoot.

If you are taping at a large event, you’ll likely want to explore integrating a general release into the event registration or ticket purchase process. This way you don’t need to worry about capturing releases from all the people who appear on camera. However, you should still get the more detailed release signed for on-camera interviews.

Get more useful forms (and a whole lot more) by reading Video Made on a Mac

Effective Business – Budgeting by Averages

There is an easy formula used by many experienced project managers to estimate the amount of time to be spent on each budget item task. The formula looks like this:

(1O + 4M +1P) ÷ 6

It means one optimistic + four most likely + one pessimistic divided by six. What does that mean? It’s pretty simple: You create a time estimate based on averaging the information you gather. For example, you can approach a graphic designer and ask, "How long would this take?” The answer is not the most likely number. It’s the optimistic number, because if you ask any creative person how long something will take, the answer is an exaggerated number. Let’s say the number is eight hours.Then you say, “Well, if it was anybody else, how long would it take?” And that’s the most likely number. For our formula, let’s use 12 hours.Then ask, "If something goes wrong that you really didn’t count on, what is the worst case scenario?" In this example, use 22 hours.You then plug these values into the formula to get your result: ((1*8) + (4*12) + (1*22) ÷ 6 = 13 hours for the task.This budgeting formula works well when no historical data is available for review. It’s also more accurate if you are able to ask more than one person for time estimates. You can then average multiple answers.

Red Scarlet – First Look 2008

So... Where is it now? Two and a half years and counting... Maybe IBC? SIGH.

Free Passes to PhotoCine Expo in LA

Want to attend the PhotoCine Expo? I've got 50 free passes to the exhibit floor where you can learn all about the DSLR video revolution that's underway. I'll be there with Creative COW and teaching a class on creating Timelapse video. The conference is at the Los Angeles Film School on September 25th and 26th 2010.

To get your free pass visit here– http://photocinenews.com/expo/registration.php
Enter the code RichardsTix at the bottom of the page and save $15.

Also... check out my class.

Creative Timelapse
Learn how to turn your HDSLR into a timelapse machine.  With the addition of a few simple pieces of equipment, you can capture dynamic action over time.  Even more importantly, you'll learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to develop your files and then assemble them in After Effects.  Richard Harrington is the author of Photoshop for Video and the co-author of From Still to Motion: A photographers guide to creating video with your DSLR.

Peachpit Photo Club Presents Trey Ratcliff

On Tuesday, September 28 at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT, join Trey Ratcliff, author of A World in HDR for the next Peachpit Photo Club webcast. High dynamic range (HDR) photography lets you capture the myriad colors and levels of light that you can see in the real world, and the results are amazing photographs that run the gamut from super real to surreal. Explore this fantastic realm of photography through the unique vision of renowned travel photographer Trey Ratcliff. Trey will share his phenomenal HDR photographs as well as all the backstory on the adventurous circumstances of their origin. He'll also reveal the techniques he used to get the final shot, and answer your burning questions!
To keep the creative juices flowing, Photo Club members will receive a fun assignment at the end of the session. Once the assignment is completed, Photo Club members can upload their work to the Peachpit Photo Club Flickr Group where Trey and the Peachpit crew will help critique your work. And of course, there will be a chance for prizes! Register now.


Also, be sure to check out the From Still to Motion webcast while you are there

The Risks of a One-Man Band for Video Crews

If you try to run with a “one-man-band” approach, you’ll likely miss critical action. Be sure to staff appropriately for your shoots.

Thanks to shrinking budgets, we are asked to send out one-person crews all the time. Believe us, we’ve tried it (after all, you can’t say you don’t like Brussels Sprouts if you’ve never eaten them). What we’ve found out is that it’s a terrible idea to shoot alone. So many things can go wrong that if you're by yourself it is impossible to get the job done.

Consider the issues a single-person crew would face:

• Who will watch the gear if you have to unload and then park?
• If you do have to fly somewhere for a shoot, excess baggage charges are often more than a second ticket.
• During the course of a shoot, how will you handle basic biological needs like food and restroom breaks? Walk away and leave your gear unattended and it will likely not be in the same condition when you come back.
• If you blow a circuit breaker or have talent go missing, the second crew person can resolve the issue.
• With a one-person crew, if that person gets sick or injured, the shoot is over.

So even if it just means hiring a warm body that’s not going to steal from you, do so. We’ll contact local grip houses, universities, or in a pinch use Craigslist. Spend the $125 and get somebody to be a babysitter of your gear and a gopher for the many needs that arise on set.

Our standard approach is this: We try to use a three-person crew. We send two people from our office and hire one person locally. The local person will usually show up with things like lights and grip gear (which are affordable to rent locally). Our crew shows up with audio and camera equipment, which we know works and we’re familiar with.