Technical
Notes:
The Season in Hell video, as well as most of the Church/Kilbey videos,
were made on a Mac G3, using Adobe Premiere for the video part. This
program introduced me to importing stills into a video/movie time-line.
These videos were then changed into QuickTime movie format, and the
soundtrack was added. Most of my still images get “worked”
in Photoshop, to one extent or another.
The more recent videos (various self-portrait, Word Paintings, Mirrored
Portraits, etc.) were done, using an Intel iMac, with iSight (for
self-portraits and computer screen in the video images), iMovie and
QuickTime (for video creation/editing) and Soundtrack Pro (for musical
tracks).
Though I do occasionally
shoot “video video”, most of my video work is made from
still images, dissolving from one to another during varying amounts
of time. iMovie does this, and adds the Ken Burns Effect, which gives
an impression of movement by scanning across an image, or by zooming
in or out of parts of the image. From iMovie the movie gets made into
a QuickTime movie, which can be viewed as such, or transferred to
DVD.
Full sized (full screen) versions of any of my movies are available
(custom made) on DVD. For information: dduchow@rocler.com
My musical efforts are created on the iMac, using Soundtrack Pro and
a vast databank of “loops”. I currently have something like
75,000 loops in the library. A small fraction of them are worth using
– it’s finding the good ones, and putting them together
with other good ones – that’s the trick. Loops are pre-recorded
sounds that play in a loop, repeating infinitely or, for as many bars
as you wish. I layer many loops in a tune, often, starting with a
simple repeat pattern, and adding more repeating patterns. The pieces
often reach a crescendo in the middle, where everything is happening
(many instruments are playing at once), and slowly subside to the
earlier, simpler, elements of the beginning – near the end.
All live recordings – of my voice, frogs, birds, etc. were done
with a (cheap) Logitech microphone.
It’s worth noting: my video camera could be ANY video camera.
My still camera (digital), used for the Season in Hell portraits and
shots of flora, was a Canon G2, only worthy of mention because it
has a swing out, swiveling screen, which not that many digital cameras
have. This feature is very useful for self-portraits and for “low-level”
shooting of plants, rocks and vegetation (things close to the ground).
I couldn’t have done the above-mentioned work with a camera,
without the swiveling screen.
Enlarged, high quality signed prints of my work are also available.
Please enquire at the above email address. Additionally, copies of
my CDs (all hand made) : Eclectica volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4, Interlock,
Reflex Ions and DD’s Selects (a best of CD) are available. Email
me for further info.
