Video and Audio Technical Nuts and Bolts
As both media producer and someone who manages staff - as well as being a teacher of media production - I am consistently amazed at how often quite talented and skillful creators are so thoroughly lacking in specific technical knowledge. Knowing where all the buttons and menus are in your favourite software is absolutly no substitute for posessing a core body of knowledge of the underlying technology and technical concepts. As Robert Rodrieguez said "If your Creative AND Technical, you're unstoppable". And the negative of this statement is all the more true and palapable - If you're Creative and NOT technical you are hamstrung, disabled and disempowered. Without technical knowledge and udnerstanding your creativity is forever at the mercy of other peopel and processes outside your control or comprehension.
Anyone who thinks they can be a non-technical media-maker is sorely deluded. This has always been the case - as Francis Ford Coppola famously said 'Cinema IS technology' - but is even more integral in the digital age. Even those who pride themselves on technical knowledge there is always more to learn, always new developments to stay on top of.
What has become a source of great information in condensed and accesible format is the series of 'Primers' created by Adobe and released free online. Whilst they obviously refer to Adobe applications (Premiere, After Effects, Encore and Audition) there is remarkably very little about them that is application-specific; instead they deal with the core elements of production and media technology. Audio, Video, Compression, HD, DVD and Streaming Media. Do yourself a favour, go over to the
Adobe Site and download all the PFD's in this series. You will be a more informed, more effective, more empowered media creator for the experience. This is particularly crucial for 'delivery' as there simply is no way to esnure your video project looks the way you want it to via on-line channels unless you understand compression. Data compression, codec and file format is without question the least understood element of contemporary media production. There is no reason why your online distributed videos should look like the worst of YouTube pixelation and the way to avoid that is to to start by reading the Adobe primer on Compression. Take a look at the three images below showing Chroma Subsampling, Long GOP IBP frames and Bitstream rates - if you dont know or recognise what these images represent then start reading Now! Its time to learn.
Digital Video PrimerHD PrimerDVD PrimerDigital Audio PrimerCompression Primer
Posted at 12:00AM Dec 20, 2007
by Mike Jones in video |
