Bill Cammack

One of the things that makes me who I am as a video editor is that I can visualize aspects of the project that haven’t occurred yet. When I see a scene or a picture, I know how it will work (if at all) with other footage I’ve seen. When I hear something, I know what I can use it for. Basically, I create the video while I’m reviewing the footage and then I basically trace what I already saw instead of building a video from scratch and wondering whether it’s going to work or not.

There are a lot of elements that go into making a video that don’t become important until the final output, yet if you don’t pay attention to those elements ahead of time (known as pre-production), you may end up needing to re-do all the work you just did. Elements include frame dimensions (16×9 vs 4×3), frame size (in pixels), data rate, codec, font, font size, lower 3rds, drop shadows, transitions… For just one example, if your video is going to be seen @ 320×180 (width and height, in pixels), you’re going to want to deal with your font sizes differently than if you were going to present in 1280×720 HD (high definition). If you act as if you’re going to output in HD, you might have to change all your titles when the client sees them in 320×180, because they can’t be read.

The reason I bring this up is that this ability increases my efficiency. I know the questions to ask ahead of time so I don’t waste time. Also, I can see my way clear through to the end of the project. I can basically “see” the finished video as if I fast-forwarded time to when I was finished. This is because everything goes onto a “checklist”. If I know what the video dimensions are, I can visualize the size that the final output will be. If I know the font, I can imagine what the text will look like…

OTOH… If I *DON’T* know what the background color is… That becomes apparent to me in my visualization and I ask the client if they want to use a background image or they have a specific color in mind. Same thing for font color or music selection. I have a good basic idea of what’s missing and what I need to figure out ASAP in order to efficiently get the job done. Read the rest of this entry »

The other day, reader “Fishingrod” made a post suggestion:

“… In exchange for the new things to consider, maybe you could do me a favour some day and explain in one of your articles the benefit of having sex with almost complete strangers.”

I’m going to get around to that, and I’ve been thinking about that post ever since I read that request. In the meantime, I went out last night, and upon reflection, I think the situation’s actually worse than “just” wanting to have sex with almost complete strangers.

Tactical Observations

As we’ve discussed before, there are literally hundreds of thousands of women on the NYC dating scene. You can’t “throw a rock” without hitting a chick you might like to hook up with or that you might be ABLE to hook up with. Optimally, you’ll end up in a location where you like some chick and she likes you and y’all can mutually agree to have a good time together. If that’s not the case, then the likely scenario is that you see chicks that you’re physically attracted to that either aren’t interested in you or may actually actively dislike you as a person or at least dislike your presentation or what you’re bringing to the table. This is where “worse” comes in. :)

Lots of people would think that “She doesn’t like me as a person” or “She’s not physically attracted to me” would be a deterrent to guys. It’s actually merely a tactical observation. The goal remains the same… to “get on”. You’re not trying to make friends… You’re trying to get laid.

The reason I’m calling this “worse” than what Fishingrod was asking about is that in the scenario of meeting someone and messing with them within hours of ever seeing them in life, at least you can say that there was some kind of lust or mutual attraction that fueled the situation. If the chick’s not into you and you’re still interested in having sex with her, the motivation’s clearly one-sided desire-fulfillment.

Who Cares?

There’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, however, as I think about it right now… I’m SURE that there are lasting psychological effects to consistently interacting with women that don’t like you. There’s a “So what?” mentality that one develops, in regards to what women think. She doesn’t like you? “So what?”. She doesn’t want to have sex with you? “So what?”. She likes somebody else? “So what?”. She says she’s a lesbian? “So what?”. The only thing that matters is whether she’s gonna give you some or she isn’t. Read the rest of this entry »

Bill on NYC Pizza
Bill Cammack billcammack.com | @BillCammack

Available Formats: iPod/g1 Video (.mp4)
Visit the “On” category for more episodes!

Does anyone know why Twitter automatically shortens URLs?

It seems to me that if you’re within your 140 character limit, Twitter should mind its own business and leave what you wrote alone.

For example, I just typed http://billcammack.com/2009/04/10/time-part-06-whats-your-budget/ into Twitter.com and also into TweetDeck and they both resulted in a tinyurl of http://tinyurl.com/c6x54q.

Example #1: http://twitter.com/BillCammack/status/1532756085
Example #2: http://twitter.com/BillCammack/status/1532757140

So since my statement would have fit within the 140 characters, how come I received a tinyurl?

Trust

The main reason I bring this up is that a lot of people won’t click on shortened links with very good reason. You don’t know what site you’re being directed to.

This isn’t just an issue on Twitter, but on forums, newsgroups, etc.

So what happens if I want people to know that I’m directing them to my own personal site, where they’ve already been 100 times and know what they’re likely to see?

In case you don’t know what a URL shortener does, it changes a link with a long string, such as http://billcammack.com/2009/04/10/time-part-06-whats-your-budget/ into something shorter, like http://tinyurl.com/blahbl so that it’s easier for people to remember, re-type or fit inside whatever character limit you have (such as Twitter’s 140 character limit). Read the rest of this entry »

Bill on NYC Rain
Bill Cammack billcammack.com | @BillCammack

Available Formats: iPod/g1 Video (.mp4)
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Bill on NYC Winter
Bill Cammack billcammack.com | @BillCammack

Available Formats: iPod/g1 Video (.mp4)
Visit the “On” category for more episodes!

One of the reasons I don’t get involved in Pair-Bonding or Serial Monogamy is that I enjoy the spontaneity of life. I really DETEST when I know what’s going to happen the next day, or really, today’s afternoon, evening or night. The only time I know these things for sure is when I get booked to work on-site for a client. Mostly, I work off-site, so I get things done when they GET done, so long as it’s before the deadline. This means I might be working at 3am and sleeping at 1pm. I might work all the way through Saturday and Sunday and then have the weekdays completely to myself. Ultimately, I do WHAT I want to do, WHEN I want to do it, and that’s the way I like it. :D

I suppose this comes from growing up in New York City, I mean, other than genetic predisposition. :D All we did was go to school, play sports, hang out with the fellaz and chase chicks. I didn’t even drink at the time, which seems to be a “Well.. DUH” statement, except that friends of mine in 5th grade were having parties where they raided their parents’ liquor cabinets every weekend (at least), so I’ve been aware of alcohol since then, but I wasn’t interested. Chicks are my high.

So, as we were hanging out, we never knew WHAT was going to happen, but SOMETHING always happened. I suppose “the wonders of life” can become addicting when you have so many fun and interesting experiences, some fanatstic, some awful, some disgusting, but nevertheless SOMETHING always happening, and you always have “war stories” the next time you run into your friends. Read the rest of this entry »

This video was two years in the making, and I honestly can’t come anywhere close to doing it justice by attempting to explain it. It’s about friendship, connection, appreciation… Sometimes, you just get lucky in life in who you meet and when you meet them.

Thank God for New York City and The United States of America! :D

Available Formats: iPod Video (.mp4) | g1 Video (.mp4)

Editor: Bill Cammack

Cast: Halley, Bill, Corinne, Rob, Lindsey, Justin, Marissa, Jared, Michelle, Erik, Scott, Phil, Limor, Liz, Bre, Lux, Chloe, Tim, Rae, Kenyatta, Adam, Erica, Jesse, Jen, Josh, Bill B., Victoria, Jett, Patty, David, David K., Andrew, Ian, Riccardi, Betty, Travis, Amir, Lee, Casey, Pinbo, Shavanna, Adrienne, Meg, Will, Vanessa, Andres, Dena, Bobby, Felicia, Rachel, Paul, Todd & Florence

Music: 311-Down

Check it out… If you want to be seen as a businessperson and not a HOBO (read: bum, derelict, vagrant), stop contacting people about projects without including budget information.

Here’s how the process works… When someone with 1,200 Facebook Friends and 400 Linkedin Contacts and another 1,200 MySpace Friends and 2,300 Twitter Followers clicks on your email, that email is going to be scanned for a number. If there’s no number, that email is going to be IGNORED. Read the rest of this entry »

Check these chicks out talking about how sexy it is that a guy goes to therapy:

Now, this is one of those things that you can completely take advantage of. It’s pretty much a New York City staple for people to be in “therapy”. If you don’t know what therapy is, it’s when someone smarter than you tells you what’s really going on in your life that you can’t see yourself. So, basically, a chick goes to the therapist and lays down on the couch (did you ever actually notice that “Therapist” spells “The Rapist”?) and says “People think I’m a ho, and I can’t stand that”. The therapist goes “How many guys did you have sex with in the same group?”, and then she says “10… Wait… 11.” So then the therapist says “Guys think you’re easy because they all got some, effortlessly” and then bills you for their wisdom.

I hadn’t thought of this before, but this is a brilliant way to get over. Tell chicks you’re crazy. You’re insane, except!!!…. You’re WORKIN’ ON IT! :D Read the rest of this entry »

Got this email this morning about GrandCentral becoming Google Voice:

Hello GrandCentral User,

We are happy to announce that GrandCentral has been upgraded and is relaunching as Google Voice. While not yet open to the public, we wanted to give you, our GrandCentral users, the first opportunity to start using Google Voice.

In addition to the GrandCentral features you already know, we’ve added voicemail transcription, SMS support, conference calling, Goog411, enhanced spam protection and low-priced international calling. We have also integrated GrandCentral with your Google Account and your Google Contacts list.

To upgrade your account to Google Voice, just log in to your GrandCentral account and follow the directions at the top of your inbox. Upon upgrading, your GrandCentral number, PIN, and forwarding phones will be moved to Google Voice.

Note that since Google Voice uses the Google address book, your GrandCentral contacts will not be imported automatically. You can import your GrandCentral address book with these instructions. You will also need to recreate any individual/group settings and greetings.

After you upgrade, all your new voicemails will be accessible at Google Voice, while all prior messages will remain available at GrandCentral.

Thanks for being a great GrandCentral user and we hope you enjoy Google Voice!

Best,

Craig, Vincent, and the Google Voice team

~ Bill Cammack

Twitter: BillCammack
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