# What you wish you knew in getting started in media production.



## ruinexplorer (Mar 8, 2012)

Many times on this forum, we ask specific questions on how to do some specific effect or solve a particular challenge. However, we often get members who want to do the same spectacle who are just breaking in. While we have many good answers for them, there is a huge learning curve to do what we do. After all, there is no text book for this (I have looked and asked around). 

What I'd like to hear is what you wished that you would have known when you first started doing video. All experience levels welcome. It could be a "well, duh" moment or "how should I have known that" kind of thing.

Here are some of my examples:

I was setting up a projector front of house, balcony rail, and had about 150' run to the VCR (going back a ways). I couldn't run s-video that far, so I was going to go over coax. I only had one F-RCA adapter but figured that it didn't matter because it went over the same cable. Yup, "well, duh" it didn't work. There's a difference between the signal. Just because you can physically make the adaptation, doesn't mean that it will work.

Years later, I was doing break-out rooms for a conference and was having to adapt D-sub15 (typical VGA connector) to 5-wire BNC (RGBHV). It was already a large setup and we had to subrent cables and adapters. I started seeing some of the adapters had different colors for the sync lines. How was I supposed to know which sync belonged to which signal? I learned that there was not a color standard for the sync lines. Most of them have the lighter color as the horizontal sync and was almost always the wire closest to the blue wire. That didn't even hold true. After a long time of trouble-shooting the set-ups, I got it all to work, but "how should I have known that?"

Your turn.


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## chausman (Mar 8, 2012)

Never expect people to have any sort of current software on their computer...ever. 
"This normally works" is a bad way to start off with something.
Make sure you actually research about the video formats EXACTLY for the devices your planning to playback on. 
Plan ahead for exporting movie files, and proof read carefully, or you'll be very familiar with your computers status bar..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## metti (Mar 8, 2012)

Get QuickTime Pro.


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## ruinexplorer (Mar 8, 2012)

metti said:


> Get QuickTime Pro.



{teacher mode} Please expand on this. I am hoping that this thread can be of service in the future and maybe help others out currently. After all, have you ever picked up something here on the forum as an "Aha" moment because you were reading someone else's problem being solved? After working in this industry for umpteen years and working through the development of dicital media, I still get those moments. {/teacher mode}

Even though I quoted metti, I am definitely not picking on anyone. I figure that this forum is a great opportunity for learning as well as problem solving.


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## metti (Mar 8, 2012)

metti said:


> Get QuickTime Pro.



It is safe to assume that whatever content you get or produce will not be the ideal format for whatever playback system you are using. You will also want to trim clips, retime clips, separate audio from a video file to give to the sound people, or do any of the myriad "simple" processing tasks that you will need to do on a nearly continual basis. I have found QuickTime Pro 7 to consistently be the most stable, versatile, fast, and reasonably priced program available for these tasks. If you want to get fancy, I would highly recommend Compressor as a great companion program for doing these sorts of task with batches.


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## ruinexplorer (Mar 9, 2012)

So, what you wish that you knew when you started is that you should have a good media converter program available so that when someone delivers content to you, then you will be able to ensure its playability on your own system with your preference being QuickTime Pro (not the best reviews for the PC version) or Compressor.

I have to agree with this. When I do presentations, I require that media is delivered to me at least 24 hours in advance so that I can provide a guarantee of playback. I use different programs from Roxio to Sony Vegas (I'm not overly picky as long as it gets done).


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## cpf (Mar 9, 2012)

Always debounce and sanity check inputs used to trigger automation events, whether it be a keyboard or a micro switch or or or... "Is that the sound of my entire SFX and video cue list executing in 2 seconds flat?"

Also, always make sure people's expectations are under control. Some people hear "projection" and think "Olympic opening ceremonies," so no matter what you deliver they will be disappointed, even when they themselves aren't able to put a finger on why. There's only so far you can go with 1/2/4 n-foot screens/the available projectors/$x design budget/so on, and they [the client, whomever they may be] should know.


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## chausman (Mar 9, 2012)

cpf said:


> Always debounce and sanity check inputs ...



Would someone mind adding both Debounce and Sanity check to the wiki? Thanks


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