What happened to the Quicktime Movie format DVD you used to use?
The compression I used in order to make a high quality movie fit on the DVD in editable format was not good. Most people tried to play it directly from the DVD and it was so high quality that it could not play without skipping. People did not need that high of a data rate.
What is an M4V format DVD?
The DVD is used because it holds up to 4.2 gigabytes of data. The M4V you receive is too large for email or a CD so a data DVD is used. A large memory stick or memory card could be used with the same results but a DVD less expensive and easier to mail. M4V is a video format that any recent computer could play and watch. It is a higher quality than you would get in a rental store because it is 720iHD or even 1080iHD. That means the video window size is 1280x720. Standard rental DVDs are 720x480 in size.
What is a home playable DVD?
A DVD that you rent at the local video store can be played in your home DVD player. It is not indended for you to copy files from it onto your computer although some people try. The files on the disc are compressed and stored in a specific format so your DVD player will recognize them as movies for your television.
Why don't you make home playable DVDs for CasselmanCanada videos?
I can and I also used to make this format. However nearly every artist that received the disk eventually asked me for assistance in copying the video from the disc to their computer so they could make other videos from it. The primary intent of the video is to provide material for the artists to use as promotion. So the home playable format was not the most convenient.
How could I use the home DVD if I wanted to edit from that format?
The simple answer is that you need to rip the video with ripping software. Then translate and save it in a format that editing software will recognize. Then you would put the video in your editor and make any changes and special effects you want. Finally you would export it for Youtube or for other DVDs or any other format you want.
Why is the M4V format better quality than home DVD video?
The file I give you has a resolution of 1280x720 and lately I have been using 1920x1080. Home video format after you rip it has a resolution of 720x480. The ripped file will also be a file converted from a highly compressed format that was on the video DVD. The HiDef file is the file before it was compressed. So the MP4 file will have higher quality as well as larger dimensions. For those of you who are real techies, I actually record in 1920x1080 but more than a half hour files of that size are about 12 Gigabytes and will not fit on a data DVD to send to you.
Why is M4V format good for me?
M4V is a format that is free for all computers. It plays on all computers and even tablets and phones. Think iTunes.
What software do I use to edit the M4V movie.
If you are using a Mac you have iMovie. It will work perfectly with the Quicktime movie of your performance. You can add titles, cut out pieces, zoom in, change colors, whatever. Then just export the sections you want and you can upload them to video sites. Or you can export the file and make a home playable DVD using the iDVD program.
If you are using a PC you will have to get some different video editing software other than MovieMaker as it does not edit M4V files. Actually you puzzle me as most artistic people use Macs which is the machine of choice for musicians. You can use Pinnacle by Avid, Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere. Or for 30 bucks you can upgrade the free Quicktime to the pro version. Suddenly you have editing built right into the player. A lot of value can be had right there as it increases your ability to export many different types of files as well. I'm sure some of you are techies and may own the new Final Cut Pro X as well.
Why won't you put my song on the DVD for me if I don't want it played on CasselmanCanada.com?
If you feel the song is not showing your talents adequately I have no problem removing it from my site. It therefore must be not good enough to show to anyone else either, so I will not distribute it on any DVDs. With my site you are not obligated to leave your videos posted and you are also not obligated to purchase a high quality copy for yourself. However part of the price of obtaining a copy of your video is the permission to leave the video on the site for others to enjoy and the video you receive will have my site logo in the corner. If you were to hire someone to attend one of your concerts and video your performance so you could exclusively use the video as promo, you would need to pay a significant amount of money.
Who invited you to the concert anyway and why do you get to record video of our performance?
Two factors influence this. One is that the performance may have been a public performance and anyone could have had a camera there. The second is that I may have been invited to record by the organizers.
But I don't want to be recorded. My agent-grandma-contract-mother-bandmates say no way.
That's fair. It saves me the time to record and the three to four times that much time to create the initial files. Sure I would like to have your content on my site. But there are lots of other performers out there that would love the free publicity.
I bought the DVD from you and now I don't want the songs on your site.
The three components of the price for the DVD are a certain amount of money, allowing the videos to remain posted on the web site and allowing the site logo to be embedded in the video you receive. Once a DVD is distributed it is very hard to assure me 100% that all copies can be returned without the chance of a recording floating around somewhere.
Why not tell groups you are recording before they go on stage?
I used to. Many performers would give excuses that they should not be recorded because they would not be their best that night and another time would be better. Nonsense! You mean people will be in the audience and should expect to hear something second rate? Realistically, there would be some that would get spooked by the camera when they knew it was on. I have had others that played too much to the camera and forgot they had a real live audience. Anyway, the real point is that I found some performers would lament later that they did a good job and wished that I had recorded. I found that I obtained better performance results by talking to performers after rather than before.
Please use the form on the Contact Us page for inquiries. I don't mind answering some questions if it helps you with making promos for your talents.