Adrian's Journal

Today's Solemnization is outdoors, surrounded by beautiful fountains. And there isn't any sound system setup. What?!! Listen to the fountain! Its nice to look at but the continuous splashing sound is drowning voices. O2 XDA to the rescue. Set 'notes' audio recording to the highest quality, shut off the phone, place it under the the flower arrangement between the couple and the Justice of Peace, and we have great audio recording at close range.

Just before sunset, carpetbag steak (steak stuffed with ONE oyster) and baked crab with cheese, planes flying low overhead, candle-light, sea breeze, superb service... It is a dining experience to remember.

"I am imagination. I can see what the eyes cannot see. I can hear what the ears cannot hear. I can feel what the heart cannot feel." -- Peter Nivio Zarlenga "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein

Say, the indian chef, is back. Now serving Kambing Soup (mutton soup). Thick, creamy and spicy. With generous amount of mutton, topped off with french loaf, it's the next best thing to the herbal prawn noodle at Kim Seng Plaza. By the way, if you are coming to Kim Seng Plaza to visit my studio, please note that the building is currently under renovation. The floor tiles are temporarily gone.

Today's lesson is about scanning photos the right way so that they look good on the wedding photo montage video. Scan the full picture. Do not crop. Do the cropping in the video editing program. I will explain why later. Scan at minimum 360 dpi. After scanning, examine the the picture on screen by zooming in close-up on the subject's face. Are the facial features sharp, out of focus or pixelized. If it is pixelized, set a higher dpi and repeat the above process. Next, zoom in close again on important parts of the picture, eg subject's clothes, and check for dust particles. If dust particles are present, wipe the photo with a soft dry cloth. Wipe the glass surface of the scanner. Then scan again. Name each photo in sequence, eg bride01, bride02,... , groom01, groom02,... , dating01, dating02,... , studio01, studio01,... Old personal photos are taken in all angles and all sizes. The objective to remember when scanning is to make sure the subject's face is sharp when zoome...

The CamcorderInfo Blog: All About Shooting, Editing and Polishing Your Videos - Consumer Camcorders - Camcorderinfo.com A very informative site (blog format) for latest news about Camcorders.

Download the DivX Codec and Player In order to play the video from the CVS Camcorder Rocket Project website you need the DivX Codec.

I love birds-eye view shots. This is an interesting project with video shots from a home-made rocket. http://www.csh.rit.edu/~soup/cvscam/

She was the sweetest bride I have met so far. He was the most gentle groom I have seen. They will surely make a perfect couple. What impressed me most was that they made the effort to shake hands with and thank practically every guest at the banquet while making their table photography rounds. The theme of the wedding was presented in the form of a montage-prewedding video. It made a visual impact with the audience though it was the slowest-paced video I have ever done. Overheard Bridesmaid to Bride: "The last scene in the video with the waterfalls in the background is so beautiful. Why didn't you put that in the album?" Bride: "Because that's not a photo. It is a video taken by Adrian." ;)

This day, 3 September 2005, I turned away all videography job offers for a very important event. For the first time, both Cheryl and Phoebe performed (dance) on stage together at the Victoria Concert Hall. It was Phoebe's first time on stage and Cheryl's 3rd or 4th. I am so impressed that the small one at only 4 year's old can perform so confidently. It didn't seem so during rehearsals. A proud father I am. The item was captured on video of course, zoomed in on the two of them. PS: What impressed me also was the performance director, Ms Ivy, Cheryl's piano teacher. I thought she was just a piano teacher. No way! She could put together a band, a choir and a bunch of restless dancing kids.