I went to the wedding rehearsal for the “short-notice” wedding this evening. I am still dreading the “unmanned camera” monster. I tried several different spots to try to get the most bang-for-the-buck view, but nothing was good. I finally settled on a position with the hopes that at least a few shots will be OK. I feel more pressure than usual to do well with the camera I will have control of in the back. I am glad for this experience though, it reminded me that not everyone wants to have a camera crew on the stage during their wedding - it is a personal choice. It is good to be “stretched” into solving problems creatively. If I can edit this into something the couple will enjoy watching, I will have succeeded.
Unmanned Camera Challenge
August 31, 2007
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Wedding, unmanned camera | 
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Posted by Tracy Christman
Registration Of Fictitious Name
August 29, 2007I registered the name of my business, The Video Scribe, with the Secretary of State last evening. I am registered as a “sole proprietorship”. I still need to go to City Hall for a business license. I am planning to go next week when I have some days off.
There are many steps involved in starting a new business. Mine is one of the easier ones to start because it is of the “sole proprietor” variety. Beyond that, there is still the constant research about video cameras, microphones, pricing, websites and event videography in general.
I am going to shoot a (two-camera) wedding this Saturday. It was short notice and the bride and groom don’t want anyone on the stage - just an unmanned camera. I will be at the back of the church with the other camera. This should be interesting. I don’t know if they want any editing or not.
I was also asked to do a slide show for a dear couple’s 25th wedding anniversary. I am happy about this one and can’t wait to get started. I hope business will always be this… well, busy!
No Comments » | 
The Video Scribe, Wedding, business, fictitious name, slide show | 
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Posted by Tracy Christman
Thanks
August 25, 2007Just wanted to thank everyone who has looked at the web site so far. I have had a lot of nice comments and some good advice. Thanks to everyone for your support!
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thanks, website | 
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Posted by Tracy Christman
Open For Business
August 24, 2007
I can’t wait any longer. I am officially debuting my new website, www.thevideoscribe.com. This is the online home of my freelance video production business, The Video Scribe.
I am sure the site will receive many updates and changes from what it is now, but I want to go ahead and get the word out, “I am open for business.”
The Story Board page is where I will put samples of my work. Right now, there are only two samples, but more are on the way.
I still want to purchase a semi-pro camera, but haven’t even come close to saving the $3,500.00 I will need for the Canon I want.
Please visit thevideoscribe.com and tell your friends and family about it.
6 Comments | The Story Board, The Video Scribe, Tracy Christman, business, thevideoscribe, video production, videographer, videography, website | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
Google me
August 23, 2007I have been googling my name recently to see if thevideoscribe.com shows up yet. This morning, it did! I was number five in the results page. The page that it pulled first was the “About” page. The summary was a line or two from the first paragraph. I realized immediately that I needed to rewrite that paragraph to have it tell what I do, not what I have done. It used to tell where I went to college, now it reads like this,
“Tracy Christman is a skilled producer of multimedia videos and photo montages, including wedding, graduation, and special event. Creative and service-oriented, I work diligently to produce high-quality, meaningful video productions.”
That is how it reads for now anyway. I may tweak it further as I see the need. I am pleased that I am finally on the first page of results if you google my name, Tracy Christman.
As of today, if you google “thevideoscribe.com,” you will get the “coming soon” summary in the results. If you google “The Video Scribe,” you won’t get a thing.
2 Comments | The Video Scribe, Tracy Christman, google, thevideoscribe, vanity search, website | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
Vann Wedding: Preview
August 19, 2007Here is a preview of Mason and Rachel’s wedding. Let me know what you think in the comments.
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Posted by Tracy Christman
No Editing Leaves Time for Camera Shopping
August 16, 2007I finally called Corey about the video editing. He said he had not done any editing last Saturday and will be at an event for his work this Saturday. The earliest he will be editing the wedding is the 25th. He is a very busy man with a new full-time job in addition to his own production business. I wish he would have let me know last week though, I wouldn’t have worried so much about it.
In the mean time. I continue to prepare my website, thevideoscribe.com and design business cards. I have also started researching new cameras. I found one I really like. It is the Canon XH A1, a high definition DV camcorder. From all of the reviews I have read so far, it sounds like the perfect camera in that class of DV cams. Of note, the CCD chip set is exactly the same as in the $9,000 Canon XL H1. The XH A1 is around $3,500, a lot of bones in my book, but not the $5,000 or more that I had thought I would have to spend to get a decent camera.
No Comments » | Apprentice, canon XH A1, editing, thevideoscribe | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
Second Thoughts
August 13, 2007Here it is Monday and I am having second thoughts about not trying to contact Corey again. I don’t want to be a pest but maybe I should have been a little more persistent. I still don’t know if he edited on Saturday or if something came up.
No Comments » | Apprentice | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
No Editing This Week
August 13, 2007I didn’t hear from Corey about editing the wedding video with him. I thought that was strange, but I am not going to worry about it. I had several small projects to work on this weekend and I hosted a “thank you” dinner on Saturday evening. By Sunday, I was ready for a break.
My new website is coming along nicely. I have designed a logo with which I am satisfied and have chosen a color scheme. I have started writing copy for it, but have much to do on that yet. I also have many more pages to create in order to have some place to publish examples of my portfolio.
In my “down time” I read all I can about starting a business, organization, productivity and video production.
No Comments » | Apprentice, The Video Scribe, reading material, thevideoscribe, website | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
Wedding Day
August 4, 2007Today I am doing apprentice duties with Corey and Sondra. They are really nice people. I am thankful they are letting me tag along. We are shooting the wedding of K.T. She is the daughter of W.T. They are a respected family in my hometown. The father of the bride is a lawyer.
I have already learned a few new tricks and witnessed a “crisis”. The camera would not play back the tape correctly, so Corey wasn’t able to tell for sure if everything at the bride’s house was recorded OK. He is home now checking that. Equipment failure. One of the headaches of the business.
We are on a lunch break now and will go back to the church around 1:30. The wedding isn’t until 4pm.
No Comments » | Apprentice, Wedding | Permalink
Posted by Tracy Christman
