Superfletch

Amen to that! Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

If you're serious about getting it, just call Bram. I know he'd fit you in somewhere. However, if all you're needing is the IAD and you are a current S/L Instructor, the crossover training is very, very quick, if I'm not mistaken. I was there when Bram got his IAD. Really... there's not a lot to IAD. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I'm not sure really... a friend of mine did that with his and he told me it was real easy. I didn't do that to mine. My wires are just gaffer taped to the outside. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Just drill the holes the same size as the diameter of the cable. Cut the cable and force it through the holes and then resplice it back together. If the holes are the same diameter or a micro bit smaller then you shouldn't have to re-seal them at all. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I started jumping camera with just over a hundred jumps. My main motivation was that I couldn't get any video of myself and I thought that the other camera jumpers would be more likely to jump with me if I'd video them at the same time. Anyway, that didn't really work out too well because I've got 1,700 jumps now, most of them video and I can count on both hands all the video shot of me... hahahahaha... Anyway, shortly there after I started filming all my coach jump (I got my instructors rating after 100 jumps) so that I would be better able to debrief students. I find video to be the best tool in showing a student what they might be doing wrong. I started chasing tandems with just under 200 jumps in hopes of making the tandem video rotation. Being quite the perfectionist, I didn't even ask to shoot tandems for money until my videos were (pretty good) every single time. Most of my TI said I was ready long before that, but I was unwilling to take the chance at having to tell a student that I was sorry for the crappy video I gave them, so I waited to enter the rotation until I was sure I could get the shot. I've been filming skydiving for several years now and I find that I learn something on most every jump. Flying camera I think has made me a much better skydiver and improved my flying skills ten fold. I love shooting camera. I have found that I prefer to go up and film an unpaid skydive that costs me money rather than do a paid AFF or something like that just to have the opportunity to get a great shot. It's my favorite aspect of the sport. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

As Stratostar mentioned... GEE THREE are the best ones out there. Gee Three Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

First off, let me make a suggestion. Ditch iMovie 08, or at least download iMovie 6 HD and give that a try. It is so much more powerful. As for the problem you're having with iMovie 08 you might try zapping your PRAM and trashing your preference files too. That might help as well. Toss your iMovie Pref files and then restart your computer while holding down the (Cmd)(Shift)(P) & (R) keys. Let the computer bong about 4 times. Hope that helps. Also, depending on when you got your computer you might try calling Apple. You should have 90 days of tech support and someone on the phone may have some suggestions for you as well. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I'm not exactly sure who the web host is but I wouldn't want to up the limits anyway, we get lots of people posting shit in there and they would totally take advantage of it. Plus 5MB is way more than enough for little 1 min. vids, I would just like a better understanding of how to compress stuff. For example, I exported a vdeo today using the export for email in quicktime. The video was more than sufficient in quality etc and even with the small window size, however, the video saved at 5.1MB. I have NO idea what quicktime's expert settings for the email export option were as a starting point so I didn't know what to tweak a little to drop the file size to just under 5 MB. After using expert settings I chose various stuff and the file saved at 1.9MB and was almost unwatchable. I was hoping to get some advice here on stuff to try as BASE starting points and if files were close, what would be the best areas to tweak to get the subtle differences in changes rather that changing everything drastically. For example, if I come up close on a file size like 5.1MB and I need it 5.0 or below... Would it be better for me to say drop the sound quality (and by how much) or should I change the frame rate (and by how much) or bit rate or whatever. It's just that there are so many variables I don't know where to make changes to see results and I'd rather not tweak stuff by a frame rate or two (which I've done in the past), wait for it to export again... just to find out that it didn't save a bit of space... Maybe I should ask this one question at a time... When working on a mac, primarily in iMovie, primarily with skydiving footage set to music from iTunes. What file format should I export too? .mov, .wmv, .avi, etc. Looking for the smallest file sizes vs. picture quality. Is there no way to export with a target file size in mind to get the best settings for that size? Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I upload a lot of short clips to a website I help manage. Our file size limit is 5MB. I typically edit these quick vids in iMovie. What I'd like to know is what type of export should I do? Typically the vids range from 1 min to as many as 5 or 10. Depending on the project. Most of the time it's just a small skydiving scene set to some song (approx. 3 min). There has to be some sort of method of compressing video to constrain it to a particular size < 5MB. I realize that the 1 min. videos will be much better quality than the 5 min videos and that sometime (in the case of say a 10 min vid) it may be better to just upload a larger size to YouTube and post a link. However I'd always like to be able to compress for direct uploading and review the quality before I make a decission. What I have been using is iMovie Export as Quicktime movie. I typically use save for Web presets and if it is under 5MB I go with it. If not I export as QuickTime and use expert settings and that is where I'm lost. I don't know what any of that crap means and I don't know how to do the settings to get the best desired results. For instance... I typically choose Movie to Quicktime Movie. Would I get better results for say Movie to MPEG-4 or Movie to DivX or Movie to Windows Media? And assuming that QuickTime is the proper choice what kind of presets should I be trying? Video: H.264 is the preset but would I get better compression through one of the other choices? I'd don't mind the video being a bit choppy if I can improve the quality of the frames. What settings can I choose to make the frames less pixelated and more choppy as opposed to smoother video and pixelated video to the point that you can't even tell what you're looking at. In the sound settings... for these mini clips I don't need full stereo kick ass sound like I might want on a year end video so what type of setting would I need to choose to just hear the music and not necessarily be of any quality. I know I can kick it down to the mono as opposed to stereo but what about format, rates and target bit rates ? Anyone have any suggestions? Would I have better results just exporting at DV quality and using a stand alone compressiono program, Would it be enough of a difference to even check into or would it be EVEN THAT MUCH MORE confusing??? Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Call Mullins... he's very reasonable and a great asset to have at any boogie. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

First of all... Welcome Back. As stated previously... you might as well right off those previous jumps. You have your memories and that's going to have to do. Start jumping your ass off and log every jump. You'll have those licenses and ratings before you know it. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I have 2 Vector 3 Micron's. A V310 and a V319. My 310 has a PD143R in it and my 319 has a PD126R in it. Both of them have Stiletto 120's. I have an AAD in the 310 and am thinking about purchasing an AAD for the 319 which I just bought about two months ago. Being an AFF instructor and a videographer I find that I pretty much can't live without 2 rigs and could in reality probably use two more truth be told. :P Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Amen to that brother! Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Just start and stop recording and then don't remove the tape until you've filled it. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

If you eject the tape the end search won't work again until you start and stop a recording on the tape. If you've recorded on the tape and haven't ejected it and the end search won't work, then I don't know what to tell you. Sorry. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I also have a Macbook Pro... Love it. I sometimes use Windows with Fusion. I've never tried Parallels or Boot Camp. It's my understanding that they are all pretty much the same. Regardless, I'm so lost on the Windows side it's funny really. I would like to get more PC literate. On a somewhat related topic... Does anyone ever webcam through chat programs on here. Through Fusion, Yahoo Messenger will not work with the Macbook Pro's built in webcam in Windows. Has anyone tried using Yahoo Messenger with the built in webcam in Parallels or Boot Camp? Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Well... there you go then... :D I have no PC experience... I guess the answer is... Just plug it in with a firewire cable. :D Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

If you're using a mac, just plug it in with the firewire cable and the mac knows it's there and you can use it for anything... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Hell man... skydiving isn't for everyone. Yes, it's scary shit. Yes you should be nervous to a degree. Yes, complacency kills. But if you are on the verge of having panic attacks when you jump, well the fact of the matter is... if you panic in a malfunction situation you are probably going to die. You have to be able to keep your wits about you. Skydiving is supposed to be fun. It sounds like you aren't having fun. Perhaps it's time to hang up the altimeter and move on. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear. And I'm hear to tell you we as a skydiving community we don't want to lose you. But personally, I don't want to see you die either. Just something to consider. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Bram Clement is one of the finest instructors that I have ever worked with. He is everything you have mentioned above and more. His instructional method is very concise, by the book, and very enjoyable. Bram TEACHES you how to teach. His curriculum follows the ISP as the USPA would have him teach you. He shows you what is to be taught and then gives several examples of how it can be related to real life. As far as the flying goes. He offers a pre-course where he will evaluate your flying and tell you exactly what he expects during the course. He's very fair. Bram Clement is top notch. Also, depending on the time frame you are looking at, you might also keep an eye out for Mike Wadkins. Mike is currently petitioning the USPA for an AFF Course Director appointment I believe. I have had the pleasure of working with Mike the past two years. Mike is an outstanding instructor and a VERY stand up guy. I believe he will also make ONE HELL of a course director. Mike's 9 to 5 job is as an instructor for the army. He's been instructing people in different areas for the past 20 years or more. He's been an AFF instructor for damn near that long and as you can well imagine has "seen" it. I'm lucky. I get the opportunity to watch Mike "teach" whuffos and skydivers every weekend. It's an absolute pleasure because he's so good at it. I find myself sitting in on, or helping out with his classes any time I can just to pick up additional knowledge. Anyhow, if he's got his appoinment by the time you are in the market, well you couldn't go wrong with him either. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Well... they run PC software under boot camp, parrallels or fusion, yes, however the keywords are.... "They run PC software". It's the best of both worlds. You want to use a mac, buy a mac. You want to use Windows... buy a mac. Seems like a simple choice to me. My macbook pro will run pretty much any operating system out there. Personally I only use the mac end. On a very rare occassion I'll fire up Fusion and run windows for whatever reason like once a month, but if I need both, I have both. I believe you can run mac stuff on windows boxes too buy using something called a Hacintosh, but I am under the impression that it requires lots of hacks and tweaking ans such. You want to do it on a mac you just install it. It's simple and it works. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Get a MAc I might borrow one - but to have one. That is ludichrist (especially since ALL the software I use to make money is only available for a PC.) Any of the new Intel Macs will run PC software... in most cases, faster than a lot of PC's will... not so ludicrous... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

iMovie is a great program that ANYONE can use. It's also quite powerful in that you can do A LOT with it. I edit all my DZ stuff (AFF's, Tandems, student jumps, etc.) with it. I also make a year end video with it each year as well that turns out quite nice. However, I'm wanting to do more and am looking at getting Final Cut Express because I don't think I need Final Cut Studio. I've messed around with the programs before but I find the learning curve is much steeper. At the moment I have a copy of FCE 4.0 but I haven't been able to even make a tandem video with it yet. :P With iMovie I was able to jump right in and figure it out without a manual, that hasn't bee the case with FCE. It seems to be much harder to work with. I don't want to shell out the money for the program if I'm not going to be able to use it. After all I'm a full-time skydiver that makes like $10K a year and $200 for FCE is a lot of money to me. I just don't know if shelling out the money will end up being a waste or not. That is if I find that it's just too hard and I end up sticking with the "free" iMovie... I've only messed with it a couple of times. Lately I am finding there arent' enough hours in the day either. :P Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I'm using a 17" Macbook Pro 2.4 Ghz. This puppy is pretty fast. Way faster than my G4 533 Mhz Digital Audio. I am currently using it to edit tandem videos. It's not as fast as using just a mixing board and a DVD burner, but then the videos are much better than that. Basically, 25-30 minutes after I sit down at the computer, I can hand the student his video. Also, I was at Mullins' place for the Halloween Boogie and I noticed that one of his boys was editing with a Macbook. He didn't quite have as good of a system as I did, so it was taking a little longer, but he was still using it for tandems. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I bought a tricked out '99 Javelin and got a tour of the place when I did. Derek has an extremely nice facility, well worth the tour. However, I now jump two Microns... I really like the skyhook and went with RWS when they were the only option... I liked my first one some much that I bought another one a month ago. RWS has quite a nice facility too. :) Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer