March, 2009

And so it begins…

Posted by Evan at 3:08 pm

This week will mark the beginning of a project that has been in the back of our minds since the day we moved into this house. A project that we’ve been planning for nearly a year now. A project that will be more than likely one of the largest projects we ever take on with this house. I’m talking about remodeling the office. Here’s the task at hand:

• Removing a large amount of wood paneling from the walls and replacing with drywall while also re-insulating the walls to make them more energy efficient.
• Removing the acoustical tiles from the ceiling and re-insulting it as well and refinishing it with drywall.
• Installation of recessed lighting in the ceiling
• Removal of poorly executed built-in cabinets
• Removal of faux brick surface on the fireplace and replacing with slate tile
• Adding a few additional outlets
• Installing a new 5′x3′ window to allow more natural light into the room
• 3 new exterior doors, 2 with new screen doors
• New baseboard heaters
• All new trim

It’s a big project but well worth it and I can’t wait to see the end result. The entire project is supposed to take around 3-4 weeks and hopefully it’ll get finished within that time. In the meantime I’m setup in the dining room and working from there, which is a nice change of pace and much brighter.

Initial Green Screen Test

Posted by Evan at 9:56 am

I’m really getting into video production these days. It’s something I’ve had an interest in throughout the years but never more than now. Perhaps it’s the availability of incredibly high-quality HD camcorders for under $1000, or perhaps it’s because I’m starting to do some video production work for my day job, either way I’m having the time of my life and loving every second.

Just recently I acquired a few pieces of video-related gear including Final Cut Studio 2.0, a 2 piece soft box lighting kit, backdrop support as well as black, white and green muslin backdrops and a high quality lapel mic. It’s basically a movie studio on a budget and though I’m still in the process of learning the ins and outs of the process I’ve finished my first green screen test and I’m happy with the results (don’t adjust your speakers, there is no audio).

It’s not perfect, there are a few little artifacts and lighting/reflection issues, but what’s cool is that I only spent about 10 minutes setting up this shot. I didn’t iron the green screen and it wasn’t lit perfectly, but still you can begin to see the potential of this simple setup. Below is a photo of the setup I’m using. In case you’re interested, here are links to the eBay auctions where I purchased the gear.

• Softbox Lighting Kit
• Black/White Muslin Backdrops
• Backdrop support w/green screen