Getting dragged into the 21st century.

[Rover 11]

I work at a small Cessna DZ using handcam. We don't 'sell' vids, we take them on every jump, and download them the old fashioned way - direct while mixing in music. The passenger then decides if they want to buy it or not. This system works well but the key is that the client / family / friends see the vid directly after landing - the impulse buy.
My question is, assuming that the software / computer package is of good quality, what would a fair wait time be from landing to when the vid could be viewed by the customer.

2 wrongs don't make a right - but 3 lefts do.

[DSE 5]

Edited version? 10 mins.
just the jump? 5 mins

[Rover 11]

Thanks for that. And for the technically ignorant - me - what hardware / software should be used?

2 wrongs don't make a right - but 3 lefts do.

[jtval 0]

Quote

Edited version? 10 mins.
just the jump? 5 mins

From landing? Lets give a little more leeway here, Doug.
I agree it should only take 10-15 minutes to edit the video but you still have to walk in drop your gear and plug your camera in.



Rover, software isn't needed. you can do it just as fast (sometimes faster) on a NLE (non linear editing) machine.

That's probably the kind you use. Yep, its old and archaic but if that's all you plan to do, there.s no need for a multi-thousand dollars system. (except that "CHEAP" NLE's are harder to come by with each passing day.)


NOTE: MY info is dated. I haven't shot video for a civilian dz for almost 5 years now. When I shoot I shoot for DV's and high ranking officials. I use premiere pro. You can get hacked versions but I found it easier to just buy the thing. (though, I got a sweet military discount on it.)
If your computer doesn't have a shitload of ram it'll take the better part of a decade (ok, so I exaggerate) to render the video then, you still have to burn it.

My photos

My Videos

[davelepka 4]

Quote

My question is, assuming that the software / computer package is of good quality, what would a fair wait time be from landing to when the vid could be viewed by the customer.

Are you asking in terms of using a computer to edit the footage, as compared to now where you're just mixing in music and dumping it on what, a DVD?

I would think the quickest way would be to simply allow them a preview of the jump. Dedicate an old camera or use a card reader and show them the raw footage right off the card (or camera). Why even watse your time editing and mixinf music for something they're not going to buy.

Plug it in, and let it play, then make your sales pitch. It will take one minute to get the video set up and playing, and then you can walk away and do something else for 5 min. If they want to buy, then move froward with dumping the footage to the computer, and starting the edit. If they don't want to buy, you're done and have invested very little time in the selling process.

One thought, if there's anyway to store or archive the videos that people don't buy, you might send those people home with a printed sheet with some info in case they change their mind. One price for an edited DVD mailed to them, another for just the raw footage, and maybe another for an upload to Youtube or whatever. Give them 30 days to change their mind, and you might end up with some additional sales.

Back in the days of 35mm film still cameras, we used to shoot video for one price and video/stills for another (higher) price. The trick was that we shot a roll of stills on every jump, and if they didn't pre-pay for them, we would try to sell them the stills after they saw the video. More than half would buy the stills, but those who didn't got an info sheet about how to change their mind and order them at a later date. We kept all the unsold rolls of film, and labeled them with names/dates/ etc, and probably ended up selling half of those within a week or two of the actual jump.

[DSE 5]

Card to slot (or use wifi cards if you're really desperate to get that footage in)
Slot starts Xfer while playing over network player. Less than 1 min from walk in to playback in *optimal* circumstances.
Figure 5 mins for videographer to walk in after tandem landing, but this will vary by geography (true, I didn't consider geography in my time consideration).

once ingested, a fast editor using a template can cut in a couple mins. Using a tool like Production Assistant...faster.