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Work Samples

Work Samples - DVD

DVD production is fast becoming the desk-top publishing of the current era. And just like its empowering predecessor, there is a danger that because they are becoming more and more accessible, making bad DVDs is just as easy as making effective, good ones. As in all forms of communication, planning and expertise can ensure that DVDs will fill the niche they are intended to fill and reach the audience they are intended to reach.

Because the technology is still new to most people, it can be bewildering as to the options available and to the decision making process involved in choosing whether a DVD is the right medium for the job. Not all commercial DVDs need be Hollywood movies. The small examples shown here are typical of the growing number of projects where a DVD element is considered as one of the design options.

The Battle of Saratoga

When the filmmakers set out to cover the reenactment of the Battle of Saratoga they hadn't envisioned the amount of material they would be able to capture. Besides extending the length of the resultant documentary they had originally planned they decided on creating a multilinear DVD which would allow each viewer to experience the multitude of viewpoints that were available because of the wealth of material that was made available.

The documentary was completed and the wealth of music created for the piece lead to the creation of multiple music videos to showcase the sounds as well as other sights that were not accomodated in the documentary narrative. Because of the individual nature of the event, there was also room for several groups of personal snapshots to be placed in a slideshow as alternative way of experiencing the recreation through the eyes of the participants.

Because the production was planned in conjunction with the planning of the DVD the production of both was allowed to be done in the most efficient manner and at a much lower cost than if the DVD was added as an afterthought.

Lilo's Dancing Girls

The video producer for a dancing book publisher and teacher considered the delivery of the video in DVD as a prudent step at the time of production for future distribution possibilities. The project itself had several elements that lent itself well to a DVD version, multiple languages and subtitles and distinct sections that would benefit from a random access structure.

By working on the video and DVD post-production at the same time, the duplication of work elements were kept to a minimum. Even though both the video and DVD were to have the multiple languages and subtitles available, using the DVD's structure to facilitate these applications allowed much faster production with much more flexibility than the repetition necessary to deliver the tape versions.

By using the DVD's inherent elements, even more material was able to be incorporated than would be feasible on the tapes alone. And by using visual elements from the video production itself, a continuity was established in the look of the DVD matching closely the look of the video tapes. Using each production medium to its strengths allowed the best production values to be presented to the projects audiences.