Mar
14
2007
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What Do I Do During The Last Week |
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Written by JD Johannes
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Wednesday, 14 March 2007 |
The last week before a trip to Iraq is always a headache...mostly from having to drive my cat to his foster parents.
That is what I did yesterday afternoon. Ninety minutes with a bawling cat. From the second I shoved him in his carrier until I let him out, he bawled and whined.
Then, upon arrival in his new home, he got to enjoy a bath. He always seems to have control problems while travelling.
This trip prep, despite being easier because I have done it before, has had a new wrinkle--High Definition.
The first thing you discover about HD is everything suddenly becomes more expensive. I spent nearly a thousand dollars on video tape alone--even with the bulk discount.
The second thing I discovered is just how unforgiving a format HD is.
Standard Definition in the washed out Iraqi landscape is passable. On my first test shoot with the Canon XL-H1 in a brown pasture on a sunny day I found that drab scenery in HD is intensly drab.
So after a few days of test shoots adjusting things like Gamma, Knee, Master Ped and Set Up and white balancing off warm cards, I think I have found a combination that will make even the most dull brown village spring to life.
I hope.
The final thing I always try to do on the last week is avoid getting a cold. 16 hours of air-travel with a cold is murderous.
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