Video production is like popcorn. You’re just chewing through your
schedule and all of a sudden a small but hard problem lodges itself
between shots. You can’t continue until you find a video toothpick.

Toothpicks solve a narrow range of problems. But when you need one, you
really need one. Here are four video toothpicks that
I’ve used to dig hard, thin problems out of my production teeth. This
metaphor is getting a little airblown and doesn’t really cover
everything mentioned here, so let’s get to the germ of this column.

Building endless lower thirds or other graphics with the same design is
like eating a bowl full of popcorn shells. Each new file becomes
another bit of shell stuck in my teeth. Several years ago I tried to
construct a template-driven graphic generator with AppleScript and
PreFab Player gluing together FileMaker, Illustrator and After Effects.
My beast wasn’t housebroken and left digital messes all over my
computer, but the idea was good: automate merging text data with
graphic templates.

Digital Heaven had the same idea, no doubt borne of years of working
with the BBC and other clients. But unlike my mutant, AutoMotion works
really well. Import a template from Apple Motion, enter text or import
a tab-delimited text file, preview the graphics, then export everything
as a series of Motion project files. AutoMotion earns its keep with
this last step.

With a Motion template and text file in place, AutoMotion running on a
G5 workstation builds three-dozen graphics in about five seconds. A G4
Powerbook lags behind by just a few seconds. Drop the project files
into a Final Cut Pro timeline and you’re done- until the producer asks
for changes. Maybe a name’s misspelled; maybe the producer wants a
different typeface or text color in several or all of the graphics. No
worries.

Make the needed design changes in Motion, the text changes in
AutoMotion, and then use AutoMotion’s Smart Export to export just the
files that have changed. In Final Cut Pro, reconnect to the updated
files and you’re finished.

AutoMotion isn’t a design tool, but it works with any simple or complex
Motion template (with animation, particles and the rest) that has text
objects. AutoMotion provides a preview window to let you check any
graphic before rendering and can display title/action-safe guides for
4:3, 14:9 and 16:9 graphics. And did I mention that it’s fast?

AutoMotion requires Motion 2.0.1 or later to generate graphic files.
You can download a free 30-day demo version and buy the $395
application at www.digital-heaven.co.uk. I’d
love a few more starter-templates, and a version that works with other
applications and platforms. But as it is, AutoMotion is a great
time-saving tool for Mac-based designers and editors.

Laptop editing gets editors out of dark rooms and into the field (I’ll
let others decide if this is a blessing or a curse). But connecting a
VTR and a hard drive to the same FireWire bus begs trouble, or at least
entertains unreliability. Alas, laptops with multiple FireWire ports
usually bind them to the same bus.

One solution is to slip a FireWire card into your CardBus/PCMCIA slot.
That gives you an additional FireWire bus for your drive. But why stop
at FireWire? Several new adapters let you connect two SATA drives to
your CardBus-equipped Mac or Windows laptop. SATA drives are sold by
such companies as FirmTek (www.firmtek.com),
WiebeTech (www.wiebetech.com) and Lindy
(www.lindy.com).

Think of it: Your laptop’s built-in FireWire 400 port for your camera,
VTR or SDI/analog converter and a CardBus SATA adapter connecting to a
dual-bay external eSATA enclosure. Up to 100 MBps storage to go.

I have just started working with one of these cards and I’m impressed.
However, different combinations of cards, drivers and laptops yield
widely different performance; like by a factor of two. Because of my
limited and not universally smooth experience with these cards, I’m not
yet comfortable offering a rating. But I’m going to explore further.

I’d rather have a laptop with built-in SATA drives and ports, but for
current laptops with CardBus slots these cards, sold by companies
including FirmTek and WiebeTech for $50 to $100, keep me from mourning
the passing of FireWire 800.

When I travel with equipment, I’m as careful as possible. I’m also
usually as rushed as possible. I don’t want haste to make waste of my
gear. And I hesitate to fly with small expensive items (radio systems,
lav and shotgun mics, lenses) in checked baggage. So a couple of years
ago I bought a Storm Case iM2500 made by Hardigg
(www.stormcase.com). It’s mostly great.

The case is a hyper-rugged plastic-resin carry-on case with two wheels
and a telescoping handle. Most significantly, it fits current airline
carry-on baggage restrictions. Both the case and its contents have
survived several unscheduled drop tests without damage. The handles are
comfortable, the press-and-pull latches hold securely but open much
more easily than those on my Pelican cases, the cubed foam let me
customize the interior to my specific needs. I chose a yellow case, one
of five colors, to make it stand out from my black Pelican cases. I
haven’t submerged it, but the contents passed several puddle and rain
tests without getting wet.

The downside is that strength consumes space. The interior measures
about 20 x 11 x 7.5 inches. You lose a couple of inches in each
dimension to run-over-it brawn. The case weighs about 12 pounds empty.
Loaded, the case is a bit tippy when wheeling around, but not terribly
so.

The equivalent Pelican (www.pelican.com) wheeled
carry-on case, which I haven’t used, is the 1510. Both the iM2500 and
the 1510 list for a bit over $200 with foam inserts, but are available
for much less. My Storm Case gives me one less thing to worry about
when traveling to a shoot.

Speaking of carry-ons, for some gigs my standard boompoles are too big.
One barely fits in my large suitcase. Another requires a dedicated case
or three feet of space in a lighting or hard tripod case. If I’m flying
to a remote and simple gig, I want something smaller. But not too small.

I want a pole that is compact when collapsed but at least six feet long
when extended. And I’d rather not spend more than necessary. Some
compact poles extend to only five feet or so. Some cost over $400. Some
inexpensive poles aren’t well made.

The aluminum Avalon Traveler boompole from K-Tek
(www.mklemme.com) offers the best combination of
length, cost and quality that I’ve seen in a compact pole. The Traveler
collapses to just 20 inches but extends up to 6.5 feet. That’s not
enough for most feature work, but for interviews and much run-and-gun
work it does fine.

I don’t know if I’d want to work with a 16-foot aluminum pole. But at
its full length the light-weight Traveler remains rigid. Adjusting pole
length is easy; the couplings on each of the six sections tighten
quickly.

Although some people hesitate to use an internally cabled pole at any
length other than fully extended, fearing audible cable slap, I don’t
have problems with internal cables. I have a modest amount of booming
skill, but nothing anyone else can’t match. That’s good because
sometimes I need six feet of pole, sometimes just three or four.
Sometimes I need a 10-foot pole, but I can usually tell in advance when
I will, and in those cases I’ll reach for something other than the
Traveler.

The Avalon Traveler lists for $210 without an internal coiled cable
(model KE-79) and $250 with one (model KE-79CC). With the internal
coiled cable the Traveler weighs about 1.5 pounds. When I need to
travel light and small, I can slip K-Tek’s Avalon Traveler into my
Storm Case and cover my story.

These tools are a bit more high tech than a wooden toothpick. Perhaps we can call them video water jets.

Write Jim at jfeeley@accessintel.com