GoProHD Durability Test

I have played with dozens of cameras over the years. I have worked with the Red camera and Varicam which costs thousands of dollars and are great professional cameras. I have also shot with consumer cameras like the Flipcam and various prosumer cameras over the years. But I have never worked with a camera that has more versatility than the GoProHD Hero.

The TV commercials and hype about this cameras are true. It is incredibly versatile, and can handle all kinds of weather conditions, humidity, and temperatures. I'm still experimenting with it because it is just sooooo much fun. What is most important to recognize about this camera is the quality. It shoots a compressed mp4 file, but once you uncompress the image to quicktime, it is absolutely fantastic for the price. I would gladly pay two or three times as much money for this camera.

So this week I wanted to test the durability of the GoProHD. This video was totally spontaneous, and I don't recommend people trying doing the same thing. This video is for demonstration purposes only; so please don't try this yourself.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 57 - Dog Distractions

Amie said a great thing to Seth and I months back that I really love. She said that guide dogs are the "navy seals" of the working dog industry. The more we shoot the show, the more it makes sense to me. I mean everywhere you take these dogs poses a myriad of distractions. Whether it be other dogs, food, cats, small animals, birds, kids, balls, sounds, water, etc. It is amazing that any of them graduate. To turn off a dogs natural instinct which is to be curious about things around him/her is a huge challenge. We strive to do this with Ricki constantly, and it is amazing how the same training can be utilized in so many different locations. Ricki continues to make baby steps as we crawl closer to her recall date. We have high hopes that she will do well, but ultimately this will be up to her. We know she has the work drive as well as the drive to please. Only time will tell if that will be enough.

Low Budget Film Lighting

I few of my producer friends over the last six months have been asking me if I could come up with a way to do lighting on a low budget. My answer was to go to home depot and buy some work lights. This was a test and I didn't know what the results were going to be until after the edit. Well after it is all said and done my thoughts are i'm going to keep them in my filmmaking bag of tricks. They really do work. All one has to do is get a little more creative in figuring out a way to mount them. Also keep in mind that the 500 watt lights get pretty hot. One of my fans sent me a message that the 1,000 watt lights even have a fire warning on them with most manufactures. So I would really be careful with all of these lights. Keep a fire extinguisher close by and treat this process with respect. So anyway, have fun and here is my latest episode.



Here is my guerilla unplugged video showing the lights in action.
The artist is Mckenna Faith
Song is "He Doesn't Even Know It Yet"

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 54 - Nylabone

This week marks an important step for us. It's the first time a company has worked with us in any form. Nylabone donated toys for our puppy raising group, as well as donated a bunch of items for a youtube contest. This might not seem like that big of a deal, but for us it is. We feel like the only way we will be able to sustain what we are doing in a long term vision, is to find a way to help make a living with the series. Making a living might mean picking up a sponsor who can burden the bills of creation. We have taken on the burden so far on our own, and will continue as long as possible. But this was a really cool step in the right direction for us.

Nylabone will always rock in our book, and we have nothing but great things to say about them.

If you are interested in winning our giveaway package. Thumb up, comment, and favorite this episode on youtube. Make sure you subscribe if you have not already.

Chappy

Flip Cam Ultra HD Test Bench

Ok, so this is the first time I have talked about a camera. As I explore low budget filmmaking ideas I find myself going beyond just building things. There is so much out there to explore. The reason I chose this camera is because I acquired seven of them from a tv pilot shoot. It also is the camera that I am giving away in my contest, so it really only makes sense.

I wanted to do a review in a interesting way. Not just simply shoot some lame random footage and talk about it. This is what other people do. No, i shot a series of music videos giving valuable video real estate to the Flip Cam. This was a real project with real people. This provides a real world example without hypotheticals. I mean what is the point, unless the camera is really used to see results? C'mon people:D

So all in all this camera is pretty good if you know the rules and stay within them. Some of the rules that I have found to keep in mind.

1) Don't shoot handheld
This camera sucks when shooting handheld. It is very sensitive to movement and can look very shaky.

2) Keep it locked down and the results will be much better.
This camera has a camera mount thread on the bottom. The universal 1/4" 20 pitch that is found on most tripods, and various mounting adaptations. Utilize this fact and this camera gives amazing options because of it's size.

3) Surround the Fiip Cam with good lighting or suffer the consequences.
The exposure is all automatic so you will find yourself at the mercy of the Flip gods. It will expose itself very well most of the time if the lighting is consistent and bright. This will make the HD resolution shine.

So hope these tips help. Check out my video below to get more information. If you like my videos, do me a favor and subscribe on youtube. Thanks

EZ Mount Test Bench

This episode is all about testing the EZ mount. I really like this thing, and it is really effective. It could cost anywhere from like $20 to $200 to buy a special cardellini clamp, or mafer clamp to do the same job. Seriously, check it out yourself. Everything I show in this episode is real footage shot with a flip cam mounted on the EZ mount in different situations. I think this is a great tool for a any filmmakers bag of tricks.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 51 - Rain

It rained a lot when we filmed this episode. If we can't beat em, join em was our motto. Plus, we thought it would be cool to focus on an episode where the weather was a big factor, and we could give our audience some things we have to think about during a storm. Ricki handled it all so well. She was soaking wet when we got back to the car, but looked like she could have filmed in the rain for another hour. She is really impressing me lately. Nothing seems to phase her, and she handles new things very well. Keep it up Ricki, we are rooting for ya!

Make a Cam EZ Mount

After the launch of this video I feel like I am officially back. I have been so busy with Growing Up Guide Pup and other projects. But that is a good thing I suppose. This mount really does work and I am excited to put it out there to help other video creators. Next week I'm going to show how I have used it myself.... so be sure to check in on wednesday.

Filmmaking builds, tips, and tricks.

I'm sure many of you know I make videos showing low cost alternative filmmaking solutions. Well, I decided to take it to the next level and start putting out a new video once a week. I enjoy helping people save money and empowering the average video creator. Some of the ideas I show are things I have used myself in video production, while others are completely fresh, and never tested other than for making the videos.

If you like these type of videos, I am asking for your support. Watch my videos, rate and comment them on youtube. It helps me stay motivated to continue, and puts a few pennies in my pocket at the same time.

Cheers,
Chappy

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 47 - Puppy Handling

Amie and I enjoy the challenge of making new episodes with content that is refreshing and new. Although this week lacked the sizzle of a spectacular outing, it has performed good compared to most of our first week numbers. We will certainly keep this lesson in mind for the future. There is plenty of stuff we can do in the house that focuses on our training with Ricki at home.

I am also excited that we were able to unveil a little clue of the entire other world Amie is involved with as a vet tech. That's right, not only is she a puppy raiser, she is also a licensed vet technician at a ER for pets south of San Francisco.

Thanks to everyone for their support.
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 46 - Museum

Amie and I have really gotten into a groove with the series. It has become second nature to bang out a episode every week. I don't worry about pulling it off anymore. When we first started I used to wonder if we really would be able to do this for a year and a half. That is no longer a concern. Now it is more of a question of what are we not going to be able to get around to showing before Ricki goes back? What should we save for a second season? Haha

Ricki is showing constant improvements every week. However, she constantly needs to be reminded of the rules in place and is not the fastest learner. We think that it will all sink in with time. She has the most important personality trait. She wants to please us and that is awesome.

We are only a few dozen subscribers away from 1,000 on youtube. Please show your support by subscribing if you like what we are doing.

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=guidedogmaniac

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 42- Puppy Swap

This week was a little crazy. Ricki was requested by Guide Dogs to join Lester on a trip to the campus the day we went to the parade. We had plans on taking Ricki and had to come up a solution quickly. Big thanks to our puppy leader Robin for getting us Cash for the day. Also a big thanks to Cash's family for lending us the goofy guy.

In hindsight it was really good. Ricki got to be around another handler, and we got to raise awareness about puppy swapping. We have been talking about doing it for awhile, so in the end it all worked out.

Here is our latest:

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 41 - Ricki Chat

We are always getting great questions from our fans on youtube. Although we answer many of the questions on there, we have always wanted to provide more for our audience. This has been a big struggle for us in the past. We have squeezed a question in every few episodes, but it has never really been enough in our opinion.

This week we thought we would experiment and dedicate a whole episode to just answering questions. The idea I had was to just show Amie, Ricki, and Eli as themselves. Keep the production and editing to a minimum and give a sneek peek into our lives that feels different that the other videos. Hence the birth of "Ricki Chat". It is a ever evolving thing, and more work needs to be done with it, but our first attempt is below.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 31 - Teeth Brushing

As we continue with the show, the constant challenge is figuring out what to talk about each week. We ask ourselves all kinds of questions. Should we cover training, or an outing? Should we try to cover a outing that incorporates training at the same time? Should we answer some questions from our fans? Should we go back and review progress Ricki has made on certain aspects of her life? Should we talk about the things Ricki is not doing so well with? And of course, should we simply update everyone on what we feel was the most important event of the week. These questions are always in consideration.

I enjoy the challenge of making this series, and also the freedom I have as the sole producer, and intellectual property rights owner. It is very liberating for our creative control, and I think will be a important factor in the long term for growing our series. Amie and I now are facing the challenge of where do we take this series next. It is growing on a slow, but steady pace. We think it has something to offer not only to people who raise service dogs, but also anyone who likes watching content about dogs.

So enough already with my ranting. This week was a review of progress, and we addressed a question about teeth brushing. Enjoy!

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 30 - Ball Distractions

This episode was completely spontaneous. We went in with no plan. It was a fun challenge to figure out creative ways to distract Ricki and work her through her ball issues. At times, she was a star and did great. Other times, she just couldn't help herself and went after the golf ball. I think we will give her every opportunity to work past this issue. That is if she want's to please us. Her personality seems to be of that nature, so I have my hopes up. We have seen the difference between dogs who strive to learn and please, and dogs who do not. Aaa..humm..cough, cough.... Eli.

Here is our latest episode. Week 30.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 29 - Pier 39

This week was awesome. We met up with working team Seth, and Bamboo. We met them at fun day this year when we were shooting week 25. Bamboo is a four year old black lab female, and has been teamed up with Seth for a couple of years. The first thing I noticed when we first met is she is a little dog, but has big time working ability. I filmed them working the crowd at Pier 39 this week, and couldn't believe how fast, and efficient they were. In fact, they walked so fast that I couldn't even keep up. I swear a jog was the only way I could keep pace. They both have a very, very fast gate which blows me away when you see how little Bamboo is. She was not much bigger than Ricki who is still growing and will probably be bigger.

Ricki continues to have bird distractions, and we showed how much it is affecting her. It will be really interesting to see if we can work her through these issues as they will most certainly be a deal breaker if she can't adjust. Please enjoy our latest episode, and feel free to follow us on Facebook. Our fan page is Growing Up Guide Pup.

Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 28 - Fire Station

This week is my favorite episode thus far. We combined two important elements this week at the Mountain View Fire Station. We made available some training for Ricki, and the exposure of a cool location. Whenever a day can hit two birds with one stone, it is cause for celebration because they always make for an interesting watch. The results of this weeks shoot seemed to work better than I thought possible.

We got to show a cast of different dogs all amongst a setting of different distractions. My favorite had to be guide pup Cash and his hilarious reaction to the fireman when it tried to get close to him. Check out our web series if you are a fan of service dogs or dogs in general.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 27 - Rickey's Restaurant

This week has to be one of my favorites. I feel like it has everything. It covers an outing, some training, and even has a taste of humor with me dropping a piece of steak by Ricki's nose at the restaurant. As the show continues to evolve, we continue to improve our approach of video blogging with a twist.

I think it's funny how the episodes continue to get longer, and longer each month. The first couple months we had videos under 3 minutes. Then I felt lucky to get them under five minutes. This episode almost cracks the six minute mark. Ok, ok....enough is enough, they won't be any longer than that. Uhhh, actually I have no idea where things will go. I just keep going with my gut. As long as the video constantly moves forward I am happy. It seems we have more information every week resulting in longer episodes just by natural progression.

Anyways, here is our latest episode shot at Rickey's restaurant.

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 24 - Jelly Belly

This week I had the opportunity to take Ricki and Amie to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, Ca. We have always known about the Jelly Belly Factory, but have never had the chance to visit. It is a really cool place. They were totally guide dog friendly, and even had a designated area for the dogs to go to the bathroom. How many places have a designated fire hydrant for the dogs? Special thanks to Jelly Belly and the Solano County Puppy Raising Group for setting up a great event. if you enjoy our webisodes, please don't forget to help support us by subscribing on youtube and telling your friends and family about us.

Cheers,
Matt

Growing Up Guide Pup - Week 23 - SF Giants

We went to a Giants game this week and I filmed the entire episode with our phone. I would prefer to shoot with something better, but push come to shove I love the fact that i never run into any red tape. It's pretty cool. If I had brought my DVX to the game, they would have never let me through without a press pass.