Wednesday, April 27, 2011

From Making To Pizza To Making Movies

Two young men have gone from cooking at a local pizzeria to filming weddings for Shutter Home Productions in jet speed time


Shutter House Productions Take One Large Step 



Shutter House Productions Take One Large Step
By: MORGAN ENGLAND

Georgia’s expanding film business has raised the interest of movie production in two young men from Kennesaw.

Kennesaw State University student Redmond Farley and Georgia Highlands College student Garrett Eaton recently opened up Shutter House Productions in the interest of making wedding videos and short films.

The idea came up when Farley, a mass media major, and Eaton, a English major were inspired to use their creative abilities instead of wasting time flipping pizzas in the restaurant industry.

“I wanted to do something in video and in film for the longest time, I felt like it was the best way to show my creativity,” Farley says.

After two years of planning and investing in the company, these college students are filming the most important day in some couples lives. Filming with a Canon 70 DSLR they are able to capture every precious moment.

A Cinematic Experience

Farley and Eaton believe the difference between other wedding videographers and Shutter House Productions is that they make a traditional wedding video with a cinematic experience for the viewers.

“We were never pleased with the way regular video looked, we want it to be much
more cinematic,” Farley says.

Different Media Events

Along with weddings the production company plans on different media projects.

The company has done short films and is currently working on a creative project about African American literature.

“We also want to do skits, more short films, and different events,” Eaton says.


It is just beginning for this production company, which opened doors three months ago. Eaton and Farley plan on filming more events in the next few months and are in the process of creating a web site for company that should be up in the next month.

Both men are passionate about film. With projects ranging from all types of media, weddings are just a taste of what is to come from Shutter House Productions.

Unplanned Event Surprises Production

Being a professional does not mean things will turn out perfect, that is just what Farley and Eaton have learned while filming weddings. Things do not always go as planned.

Preproduction is key to these young men. That includes getting to know the couple and the venue they will be shooting.

“You have a little bit of notice for all those moments, so you can position yourself to get the footage that you need,” Farley says.

Even with all the necessary planning things can go wrong.

“A lot of people do not want to be in video, then they start to run away,” Farley says.

According to Farley, there is no avoiding people being camera shy and that is when creativity comes in finding a new shot while being inconspicuous.

“You don’t want to get to close to people, [Farley] learned that,” says Eaton.

Both men agree invading a couple’s space on the most meaningful day of their lives is a mistake and can make some people angry.

While filming live footage there are no scripts to follow. Farley and Eaton have learned to expect the unexpected with weddings then turn those moments into precious memories in a cinematic piece for everyone to enjoy.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Cisco plans to shut its Flip camcorder business


By PETER SVENSSON

The Associated Press 

6:01 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, 2011 

NEW YORK — Cisco Systems Inc., one of the titans of the technology industry, on Tuesday said it is killing the Flip Video, the most popular video camera in the U.S., just two years after it bought the startup that created it.

It appears to be a case of a big company proving a poor custodian of a small one, even one that makes a hit product. Cisco never meaningfully integrated the Flip Video into its main business of making computer networking gear.

  Flip Video users are now lamenting the demise of a camera that broke new ground. It was inexpensive, pocketable and very easy to use, from shooting to editing and online sharing. These features have been copied by many other manufacturers, but the Flip Video still outsells them.

Nicole Bremer Nash, a freelance writer in Louisville, Ky., calls the Flip Video "the little camera that could."

"I was hoping they'd continue the line and expand the accessories for it instead of getting rid of it altogether," she said.

The Flip Video is named after an arm that flips out of the camera body and lets the user connect it directly to a computer. The camera even contains video-editing software that fires up on the computer.


"I just find it a really easy process to use, and that's why I really enjoy my Flip camera," said Courtney Sandora, another Louisville resident. She's been using Flip cameras for three years, and said she was "saddened and shocked" by Cisco's decision.

"There were many opportunities for Cisco to integrate Flip more into its vision of a networked world," said Ross Rubin, an electronics industry analyst at NPD Group. "The camcorders, for example, never even had Wi-Fi built into them."

"It was a brand the company had invested heavily in and could have leveraged for all kinds of consumer video experiences — video conferencing, security applications, et cetera," Rubin said.

Cisco didn't explain why it's shutting down the Flip Video unit rather than selling it. But the decision is part of a larger shakeup at the world's largest maker of computer networking gear. After several quarters of disappointing results and challenges in its core business, it's reversing years of efforts at diversifying into consumer products.

A week ago, CEO John Chambers acknowledged criticism that the company has been spreading itself too thin. He sent employees a memo vowing to take "bold steps" to narrow the company's focus.

The shakeup announced by the San Jose, Calif., company on Tuesday will result in the loss of 550 jobs, or less than 1 percent of its work force of about 73,000.

The shakeup announced by the San Jose, Calif., company on Tuesday will result in the loss of 550 jobs, or less than 1 percent of its work force of about 73,000.

The company is also retrenching on another consumer video business — home videoconferencing. In November, it started selling the umi, a $599 box that turns a high-definition TV into a big videophone. But signs soon emerged that the umi wasn't doing well. It cut the price of the unit in March, along with the monthly service fee, which went from $24.95 per month to $99 per year.

On Tuesday, Cisco said it will fold umi into its corporate videoconferencing business and stop selling the box through retailers. Instead, it will sell it through corporate channels and Internet service providers.


Cisco's Home Networking business, which makes Wi-Fi routers and has the 2003 acquisition of Linksys at its core, will be "refocused for greater profitability," but Cisco will keep selling the routers in stores.

Cisco shares fell 3 cents to close at $17.44 Tuesday. The shares are close to their 52-week low of $16.97, hit a month ago.

Analyst Simon Leopold at Morgan Keegan said the pullback on the consumer side is a good thing for investors, but not enough to set off a stock rally.









Cisco gets rid of the Flip camcorder

Consumer products have been a drag on Cisco's results because they carry profit margins that are far lower than the big-ticket capital equipment the company sells to corporations and governments, analyst Simon Leopold said. But the drag
has been minor, because consumer products are still only a small part of Cisco's overall business

Last year, the Flip Video was still the top-selling video camera in the U.S., with 26 percent of the market, according to IDC analyst Chris Chute. But that only amounted to 2.5 million units sold. Dedicated video cameras are small potatoes compared to digital still cameras and smart phones, both of which now shoot video.

Top competitors in the pocket camcorder field, which could benefit from Flip Video's demise, are Eastman Kodak Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. Rubin expects Kodak to pick up much of Cisco's market share.

Leopold said the performance of Cisco's corporate products has been a bigger factor for investors than the consumer business. He believes the selling is overdone because its market share losses are mainly in fringe products rather than bread-and-butter routers and switches.