1-4 Herbie (Robert Harsch) - "Night Driving w/ Canon FS200"

Night-time footage shot while driving, using hand-held Canon FS200 Camcorder.
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SCENERY:
Beginning with a left turn from N. 8th W., we travel down Main Street, Riverton, WY, making another left on Federal Blvd. That's one continuous shot from 0:33 to 1:15 (actual travel time was twice as long - clip is at 2x-speed), with effects added in a separate "track" in Nero Vision's "timeline" view. It allows only 1 effect at a time - no overlaps.
Two edits & eighteen wheels later, we go through the triple tunnels of the Wind River Canyon between Shoshoni & Thermopolis, WY.
Next, past the Cenex Oil Refinery in Laurel MT, which burns & melts into N. Federal in Riverton, a few blocks from where we left off, as we pull up to a convenience store. ... When I start a 600-mile drive at 3am, I MUST have coffee!
The oil refinery clip had been taken a few days earlier at dusk, coming off I-90, on my way to get more coffee.
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MUSIC:
"1-4 Herbie" is a little jam I threw together 1992-ish on my 88-key Korg T-1 Music Workstation [8-track sequencer, 16-note polyphony], mostly to play with the phasing effect. This was recorded from the stereo outputs of the keyboard.
I started with the 4-bar Drum pattern, added a 4-bar Bass pattern, then improvised the Piano & Sitar tracks in one pass each. I used a LOT of modulation & pitch bend expression on the Sitar patch, purposely trying NOT to have it sound like a sitar. At times it sounds like steel drums - fitting for the oil refinery.

The title is an homage to Herbie Hancock, a fabulous keyboard wizard who has influenced me on conscious and subconscious levels. I detect his influence in this little jam from "Chameleon" and "Earth Beat". It is fitting that this song accompany a drive down Riverton's Main Street, since - "Back In The Day" - one of the few 8-track cartridges I had to play while "dragging Main" in my hand-me-down 1969 Lincoln Continental was "Herbie Hancock's Greatest Hits" (Columbia).
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CAMERA & VIDEO TECH STUFF:
I think the oil refinery was shot on automatic exposure settings. The rest used the "Night" preset. The FS200's shutter speed & white balance can also be set manually, and the user manual has several suggested settings, including "shooting from a moving vehicle", but I haven't played with those yet.
The Canon "MOD" files went through some extra processing for this video: first through Nero Vision to convert to MPEG-2 files, then through Windows Movie Maker for double-speed effect, coming out as WMV files. Then back to Nero Vision for assembly of original Canon MOD (spoken intro) and high-speed WMV files, plus special effects, text & transitions, and the mp3 of "1-4 Herbie" in one of the 2 audio tracks.

~R

Category:

Music

Tags:

• 1-4
• Herbie
• Hancock
• homage
• tribute
• Robert
• Harsch
• Basso9x13
• Korg
• T1
• synthesizer
• piano
• sitar
• drums
• bass
• funk
• fusion
• improv
• music
• jam
• night
• video
• footage
• lights
• Canon
• FS200
• camcorder
• effects
• Riverton
• Wyoming
• Wind
• River
• Canyon
• tunnel
• oil
• refinery
• Laurel
• Montana
• car
• drive
• driving
• trip

[TheMagicalBikeCrew]

Were the effects you used on the FS200, or were they added when on your computer.

[Basso9x13]

I used Windows Movie Maker to double-speed all the clips, the other effects and the transitions were done with Nero Vision 5. The FS200 has some effects you can add to your clips in the camera, but I've not explored those, yet.

Thanks for watching!

*****

~R

[TheMagicalBikeCrew]

Overall, how would you rate it for its price, 1-10, 10 being the best.

[Basso9x13]

Image quality is good; the Zoom is wonderful (tripod is a must for steady shots at 37+X); Sound is all right, and there's a jack for external stereo condenser mic.

The various exposure/white balance presets are good to have, as is the manual shutter & WB.

BUT, video files don't work with Windows Movie Maker, & Pixela Image software w/ it has not worked at all for me.

Still, I've spent $330+ on stuff I've enjoyed a lot less. If I only use it 3 years, still <$10/month.

I'll give it about 8.5

~R

[kink247]

How did you get th videos from the camera to Windows Movie Maker? I want this camera and want to make movies and need to know. Thanks!

[Basso9x13]

I processed the Canon files 1st thru Nero Vision, rendering them as MPEG files. See the "Info" box for details.

=====>>>>>

Thanks for watching!

~R

[TheMagicalBikeCrew]

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the details.

[clinta74]

I really hope it wasn't a grayhound

[Basso9x13]

You must be remembering one of YOUR hometown nights. There was no werewolf involved in this journey - just a greyhound in the back seat.

;-)

~R

[clinta74]

I kinda remember that night...cept you cut out prision farm road, werewolf and pipes on the rezzy.