<p>HI,
I am new to posting, but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading many many posts from such great people on this fabulous site.
D2 is interested in becoming a vocal performer. Many questions, many issues, of course.</p>
<p>My question right now is HOW DOES ONE GET A DVD (Video) MADE for AUDITIONS???</p>
<p>She needs DVD's for her summer program apps.
We would prefer her to do it simply with a piano in a studio or in our home. Is there a computer program like Garage Band that does this?
How are all of you handing this???
Looking forward to your help! Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Hi, what I did to make a DVD of my daughter’s senior recital could work for you, depending on what you have in terms of equipment.<br>
Shoot the video. My husband had taken a video of her performance, so I loaded onto my Mac. We used a standard video camera (Canon, which used mini-dvds), so if you don’t have one, perhaps you can borrow someone’s for a day.<br>
Use video software to load the video and edit it (to cut off time at beginning and/or end of recording. Since the Mac has built in software for movie making (iMovie), I just used default menu choices to make a movie.
Buy blank DVD’s and also DVD cases at Staples or an office supply store.
Burn the movie onto a DVD. I think on my Mac there was some choice called iDVD.
The actual DVD labels can be printed on an ordinary printer, you just need to buy some DVD (or CD) labels at Staples or an office supply store. You download the template software and then create the words for the DVD from that software. Print it out onto the DVD template, and then stick that printed label onto the DVD.
Create a cover for your DVD case using any document software; you may have to cut the cover to size. and then slip inside the DVD case, and you’re good to go!</p>
<p>Your only worry should be on where to record your daughter … modern technology makes the transferring of that recording onto a DVD an afterthought. The other gadget that I use is a Flip Video camera. My sister sent it to me for a present (she said it was around $100), and it is even simpler than what I described above. You take the video, plug the Flip into the USB port of your computer, and then follow the screen options to do whatever you want, including posting the video onto Facebook or sending it in email. I’m sure many others on this forum have ideas, too.</p>
<p>Our dvds have always been home-made. In the past we made them with a videocamera, uploaded the video to the computer, created a DVD (with iMovie and iDvd in our case), and that was that. This year my daughter is at college and plans to record her audition videos using the H3Zoom camera, which has a much better mic than the one in our videocam. Again, the video will have to be processed through iMovie and iDvd. If you have Garage Band, you probably have a Mac-- but you don’t need Garage Band to create your video. Just import the footage into iMovie, export it to the Media Browser, and use iDvd to create the actual DVD. Hope this make sense.</p>
<p>Snowflake posted while I was writing my reply. To her excellent post I would add-- we have flipcams, but the audio isn’t that great. It may be good enough for an audition DVD, but it could be worth the investment to either</p>
<p>1) get an H3Zoom and use that instead of a Flip or
2) get a less-expensive H2 Zoom audio recorder and use it as a USB mic with your Mac. You can then record directly into iMovie without even using a camera (just stand in front of the computer. </p>
<p>I got idea #2 from someone on this board. We had an H2Zoom, but my daughter at college felt it was too awkward to bring her whole computer along to lessons and recording sessions. So she is using the H3 and the H2 has been inherited by her sister. She had to Google instructions on how to set up the H2 as a usb mic, but it works like a charm and the results are much better than using the internal computer mic. The H3 has the slight advantage of being quieter (on the H2 + computer you do hear the slight machine noise of the computer. I don’t think this noise would be a problem in an audition DVD.)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for these responses!
Yes, this is all new to us, so it will take some figuring out. <strong><em>My concern with HOME-MADE videos was about SOUND QUALITY–obviously crucial for a vocal performer.</em></strong>*
Any other ideas most welcome, too.
Very grateful!</p>
<p>Home-made videos got my daughter into numerous summer programs and past her pre-screenings, but I do know others who would not take a chance with consumer-quality equipment. Also, it could be that vocal recordings are more difficult to pull off. Maybe a vocalist parent can address that issue. If you can afford it and can manage to schedule it, maybe it would be safer to hire a pro this time, but also make a tape of your own in the studio, under the same conditions, and at the same time. Then you will be able to compare the results of the two recordings and see if it makes sense to hire out the recording in the future.</p>
<p>DD’s voice teacher insisted she record in a performance space for sound quality, not a studio or home. Try a church sanctuary or other good performance place. Many will let you do it for free if you go when they are not busy. For our important auditions (college) we did hire a professional to do it with multiple mikes. They bring the equipment with them. However, I have used personal recorders which I think are fine for the kind of audition you are considering. You can use an eternal mike for many of them if you try it and don’t like the sound. I think the performance space will make more of a difference.</p>
<p>I’m thinking about purchasing an H3Zoom as we could use a videocamera with good sound to record concerts, audition DVD’s, and the like. However, the music store has both an H3Zoom and an H3Zoom-HD. Any advice on which one? Anyone use the H3Zoom-HD?</p>
<p>Singersmom,
Thank you for your reply.
Q- what sort of professional do you mean? wedding videographers do not have good sound quality, as per them.
Q- what sort of studio?
We have not found a studio with good acoustics for classical or MT voice with pianos who can do video… Any suggestions???</p>
<p>There may be a sound studio associated with a local music venue (our local all-ages club that offers performances ranging from teenage battle of the bands to folk music night has a decent studio backstage) or a music school. D3 chose to have one of the music school faculty who does recording on the side make her CDs and DVDs - she recorded in the recital hall of the school. If you live near a college with a radio station (or even better, a music program), they may have recording studios available. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t trust the wedding videographer for sound. But maybe they can point you to a wedding band who has connections to a recording studio.</p>
<p>The recording studio sent their folks out. We did not have to go there. Check with any recording studio in town. We had references from friends who had done it before. They had an hourly rate to go out with recording equipment.</p>
<p>If you have any music schools or universities with music near, DD has one of the music students doing hers now. He has equipment and experience. You might be able to post something at the music school or university…</p>
<p>The thing I bought is called “Zoom Q3 Handy Digital Camcorder Video Recorder” HD seems to stand for “Handy Digital” not “High Definition”. I got it about a month ago-- at the time I didn’t see any ads for a High Definition model, but maybe one exists. The video is ok, not horrible. It think it’s particularly useful for audition recordings where the video is less important than the sound.</p>
<p>Bumping because we’re finally looking to buy something like this.</p>
<p>In your experience, does the Zoom Q3 (either one) meet both of these requirements?
(1) Easy to work with IBM style PC (Dad of musician refuses to get Mac, long story, not negotiable)
(2) Ease of use for very nontechnical user.</p>
<p>To answer your questions, yes, and yes. We used a Zoom Q3-HD for an audition video and were very pleased. (definitely better video than the old model). The sound quality is excellent, and very easy to use. I would suggest also getting the accessory pack (extra cost–we got it on Amazon I think) that has a little tripod.</p>
