Angelina's Transition

[rpcrowe]

I have decided to document our rescue dogs in video from the time they arrive until they go to their new homes. We have realized that videos gain a lot of attention on the site on which we post our rescue dogs ( www.petfinder.com )

Today, we drove up to Los Angeles (about a hundred miles away from us) to pick up Angelina, a three year old Maltese female, from a shelter. She had been found wandering the streets as a stray.

Usually Judy has to clip our Maltese rescues just about down to the bare skin because they are in such bad shape most of the time. We were lucky in that Judy was able to save Angelina's coat which will make her adoptable quicker.

This was a great Valentine's Day present for Judy and me and even a better one for Angelina. I will post some still images of Angelina tomorrow.

In the interim, here is a quickie video I did with a cheap Flip-Camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHRuhogJyro

I am expecting a new toy coming in from B&H Photo at the latter part of the week. I broke down and purchased a Panasonic TM900 video camera. I am like a kid at Christmas, waiting for the new toy...

Yes, I could shoot with my FLIP camera or with my 7D but, I was able to sell some Canon glass which funded this camera without taking any money out of our savings.

[Donald]

Love the soundtrack because I also play an accordion (one of my other pastimes).

The transition is amazing. I love the quick shot of this little thing on her back obviously starting to relax and loving the attention.

And congratulations on the new toy that's on its way.

[Ravenglass]

I was reminder of my Lhasa Apso from many years ago. She had almost exactly the same facial expression when being bathed.

[Nat]

She's a cutie. Good job on the grooming. Accordian reminds me of my youth (weddings) and my Grandmother watching Lawrence Welk....nice touch. She will find a home for sure.

[rpcrowe]

Donald,

This is a synthesized accordian. Of course, I didn't play it. I have never got past chopsticks on a piano and didn't do oo well on that. The music was done for video backgrounds. It seems to have a lot of transitions that blend in well with the various cuts in the video.

I did virtually no actual editing on this video. FLIPSHARE the software that comes with the FLIP video camera allows you to snip off the start and end of a shot and just dump shots that you don't like. Then it has a quick and dirty "Magic Movie" capability in which it puts the shots together with some transitions and you can add music. It is not absolutely professional but, I produced this video in less than ten minutes.

Now as with all mew hobbies, I find that I need some new toys to go along with the vido camera. I need just a bit of lighting (the lighting in this video left a lot to be desired). All of my still lighting equipment is flash based so I cannot use those lights for video. I can, however use the light stands. I don't want hot lights for shooting dogs so I am looking into some relatively inexpensive flourescent units. I found a softbox on eBay that takes 4-compact flourescent bulbs. They are daylight balanced and, although the light is not very powerful, will just add some light to my videos. I also am looking into a camera mounted, LED, "interview light" which is also daylight balanced. They only weigh a couple of ounces and can really help in getting rid of some shadows. The shots of Judy at the gooming table would really have greatly benefited from some additional light.

I don't want to go whole hog in buying equipment. I just want a bare bones outfit that I can pick up and use at a moments notice when I see the dogs doing something cute. That is where the camera mounted LED light would be handy.
Looking back in history, I would have sold my soul to the Devil to have a battery operated light that weighed only a few ounces. Our "portable" lights used big heavy batteries and were "portable" only in that they didn't need A/C power. My still photojournalist counterparts in the Navy Combat Camera Group used to say, "Cinematographers need a strong back and a weak mind!" I don't know about the "weak mind" but, we certainly needed a strong back. For a full blown shoot, we would use a four man crew and aften carried around a half-ton to a full ton of equipment.

I cannot believe that I will have a high quality camera that weighs .85-pounds or 395 Grams and be able to mount a light which weighs about the same...

[Maritimer1]

Those videos must get lots of attention for your rescue dogs, Richard. You've done a great job of showing her expression and playfulness. Have fun with the new toy. Hope it arrives soon!

[Flurry]

Adorable video! Angelina is one lucky dog. Bless you and Judy for rescuing and thank you again with your help on how to photograph white dogs. I plan on practicing the techniques you showed me with my American Eskimo rescue efforts.