Don't forget to slide the tab!

Everyone's done it.  I've done it.  My husband has done it.  Most recently (and hopefully the last time!) it happened in 2007.  First, let me back up.  You remember in 2006 when it was all the rage to get a Wii for Christmas?  My husband was one of those saps who spent the night in a cold, dark, Target parking lot waiting for that blessed surprise for "Santa" to put under the Christmas tree that year.  We got the Wii, and decided to make a fun scavenger hunt for the kids.  It included several clues along the way of where to go for the next clue and a wrapped gift containing different parts of the Wii at each stop.  It was brilliant and we knew this was going to be a memory we would cherish for a lifetime!  For sure, this would need to be captured on video.

It was as great as we had anticipated, maybe even better.  The kids were surprised and thrilled and we caught all that excitement on tape!  Awesome!  We were able to watch it again and again to the kids' delight.  We patted ourselves on the back for our amazing and insightful parenting and put the camera away.  Until...

My husband spent a time as a Scoutmaster of a troop in our neighborhood.  The boys were working on their Cinema Merit Badge and he helped them to make a movie to pass off the requirement.  A new tape had been put in, with the unlabeled "Christmas footage" tucked away in another pocket of the camcorder case.  They ran out of tape with what they were working on, but my husband saw we had another tape, popped it in an pressed RECORD.  Turns out the tape wasn't blank.  No more Christmas memories.  Now we have a bunch of 12 to 13 year old boys dressed as Harry Potter and fairy godmothers.  All of this could have been prevented by doing one little thing.  That little tab on the top of the DV tapes that says "LOCK" and you slide the switch to disable recording.  I knew it was there, I was just too lazy at the time!  I didn't even label the tape so we could at least have seen what was on the tape and known it was hands off!

On the top of all tapes (DV Hi 8, VHS, VHS-C) you can "lock" the video from being accidentally recorded over.  Some require breaking off a tab (which can still be recorded over later if you place a piece of tape of over the hole), or you can just merely slide the switch and slide it back when you want to record more on the same tape.  Since 2007, I have never forgotten to switch it to "lock"every time I take it out of the camera.  It still makes me sad whenever I think about losing out on those memories.  I guess that's why I need to keep journaling and taking still photos as well!

So next time you take a tape out of your camcorder, don't forget to lock it and label it!  Or if you use a HDD camera, be sure to make a back-up and double check everything is there before you delete footage to make room to record more memories.  You can even lock those files on your HDD camcorder, so they aren't accidentally erased in a rush to make more room on the hard drive.  It's takes a little more time, but it is SO worth it!  If you have any questions or need help locating that "switch", I'd be happy to help you!

New Pricing on Athlete DVD

New pricing on athlete DVDs!  For a limited time you can get an athlete DVD made for HALF the original price!  Start going through that footage and give me a call or send me an email to get started!

Volleyball Highlight Clip

Here's the pricing on my newest project. If you already know what you want, it's a lot less expensive since there isn't any review required. Write down the begin and end timecodes, and the order you'd like the put together and you're done - I do the rest!

However, if you're aren't certain which shots you want, and you're feeling overwhelmed, I can create a video file for your review with all the shots you are looking for (offense, defense, serving, etc.) with a number sequence. Then you can take that video and decide what you'd like in your final product. This will cost a bit more since I will need time to review the footage and compile all the shots into an initial video. I am charging $100 per hour of footage for me to review and create a review file. If you only want me to review the 2nd set of a 5 set match, then you would only be charged the length of time for the 2nd set, and not the whole match.

Once the final file is created, you can either send a smaller, compressed file in an email, or upload it to an internet site. There are many options depending on what you'd like to do (or spend). I can assist you with deciding which direction may be the best for you.

After you have sent out your initial contact to the various colleges, you'll need a DVD ready to send out to any interested coaches. I can create a custom menu for you with a picture of the athlete and any pertinent contact information as well. From the Main Menu, there will be an option to watch a 5-7 minute clip of uninterrupted practice footage, and a Full Game. Other options may be available, so just let me know what you're looking for and I can give you a quote.

I look forward to putting more of these videos together! I love to watch volleyball!



Click on the arrow to watch a demo clip:

New Project

I've got a new project I'm working on that I'm pretty excited about. Thank heavens for great friends that give us opportunities to grow and learn new things!

My friend has a daughter that is a varsity volleyball player who would like to play in college. We were able to put together a short clip with highlights of her playing that we can send to the various colleges where she is interested in playing. I am only a few short years away from finding myself in this same scenario with my own daughter. Yikes! Where did the time go?

I'm also helping her put together a DVD with some additional footage to send to the interested coaches who would like to see more.

I'm in the midst of putting together a price list for this service, but I'll update my blog with this information as well as a demo clip soon. Anyone who is interested, please email me at: jennilayton@cox.net.

Recording Video Integrity

We all want to get the most for our money, and want to get the most out of the recording tapes we buy. Sometimes economical is not always the best option - especially when you are talking about treasured memories. When using recordable tapes, make sure to follow these tips to make sure you have (and keep) the best recording possible:

• Record on the fastest setting possible (SP vs. LP)- We all want to be economical, but the VHS and VHS-C tapes that are now 10+ years old will tell you to avoid this habit. The quality degrades and archives horribly. Picture and sound are both affected. Use the quickest setting and this will give you the best copy. SP stands for standard play and is the setting you should use on your camcorder. LP stands for long play and should never be used unless it's something that is not important or doesn't need to be perserved.

• Never record over something you no longer want - I've been guilty of this one too. Every time you re-record onto the tape, it creates another layer. It's like deciding to build a new home over a pool that's been filled in with cement. You can't see the pool anymore, but it's still there ready to give you problems in the future. The new layer is less reliable and will most likely give you difficulties when trying to view or capture in digital format. This is true with miniDVs as well. I have many a recording when the record button was accidentally pushed while walking around an amusement park, so I thought I'd just record over that unwanted footage. These new recordings layered over the top have been less clear (both audio and video), and contained inadvertent scrambled data and dropped frames randomly through my "good recordings." Always start with a clean tape and throw away unwanted ones to avoid the temptation to put it into the camcorder.

When trying to transfer your tapes to DVDs, there are many companies that will not accept tapes recorded in LP format. I am still willing to work with these tapes and do my best to get the best capture possible. These recordings, however, will not be of the same quality as those recorded in a single layer SP format.