Here is something a friend and I did about 2 years ago. No plot or storyline. Shot over 2 days. It was just fun to make. I accept all kinds of criticism. Thanks.


Up in Smoke
http://s55.yousendit.com/d.php?id=2C0N02CDKBB4C3TAFBGKT642SG

I'm guessing you used a CoDec that is uncommon?

It's crashing Media Player. :(

Doh! I thought I used a Divx codec. I'll fix it and post a different link. Sorry if I wasted your time :mope:

That's odd.

I have DivX on this particular computer... on others without, I should be able to see a black screen but hear the audio play. This video just kills Media Player. I can't even pull up information on the clip, in Properties.

(While a great CoDec, many don't have DivX installed. It's an optional download and they still have that whole spyware-cloud hanging over them. It's hard to regain trust.)

Which codec should I use?

standard is cinepak.. it comes installed within the OS now

Ah, okay. Thanks CootDog and Zensteve. I'll use the cinepack codec and post a new link.

mp4 & Sorenson3 should be on all windows platforms too, I think.

You could always use Windows Media Encoder 9 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx). That's a pretty good squisher.

Did anyone else have trouble viewing, btw? It could just be me.

Not yet, I was going to, then I saw the trouble you were having ZS. ;)

I'll try it and see what I can do.

Corrupt AVI header for me. There is a sweet (free) little progie called GSpot that will diagnose AVI's, just google it.

This avi plays the first minute and twenty seconds for me. Codec is "DivX 3 Fast-Motion". This error could be my download but I doubt it since I tried it three times and it dies at the same point every time. I would try to re-upload it or find a better place to host your files.

Oops, almost forgot, what little bit I saw I can crit for you.

The opening titles are a little rough but the smoke line when you give the title of the movie is terrific! The puffs of smoke that appear against the multicolored light need some help or just keep using that really cool smoke line. The titles themselves take to long. They should be snappier, faster. To me they linger too long, I'd cut their time in half. I'd also fade the whole title in rather than one word at a time.

You have an ambient sound problem, I can hear the floor squeek for your actor and the camera guy walking behind him, LOL. My guess is you're using an omni-directional mic, probably the one attatched to your camera. Either shoot this on a floor that doesn't squeek or get a shot gun mic.

The young man in the chair by the window gets washed out by the sunlight. Close the curtains or go outside and throw up something to difuse it. Say an opaque shower curtain, $5.95 at K-mart (that's what I use).

You could zip the dialog up a little...

"Mike I'm going to go to the bathroom."
"Okay."

Could be...

"I gotta piss."
"TMI."
"TMI?"
"Too much information."
"Yeah, well I'm also going beat off. How's that for TMI?."
"Ewwwwwww! You are just wrong."

You know how you walk away from some conversations thinking, "Gosh I could have said blah blah blah and that would have been really cool." When you makes films, you get to go back and do just that. :D

But then again I saw only a small bit of your movie.

That's all I have to say with what little I saw of it. I hope this helps some. ;) Keep shooting!

Thanks for the crit, Boz. I've learned much since then and appreicate you taking time for watching at least a couple minutes of it :D

I agree about the roughness of the opening credits, but I disagree about the length of the credits. I actually like long credits in the beginning (if they supply visuals). I think it is just a personal preference though. Although, the credits have absolutely nothing to do the film itself, except for the smoke.

The camera couldn't have a more omnidirectional mic on it You work with what you have or so I'm incessantly told :P

The wash out or, as I call it, "the overwhelming radiance" was done on purpose. It starts off (after the credits) with a semi-bright and cheerly mood. As it the film goes on the light changes into darkness and thus changes the mood. Darkness can be very decieving. But it could have been controlled better and I failed to do so. :(


"You know how you walk away from some conversations thinking, "Gosh I could have said blah blah blah and that would have been really cool." When you makes films, you get to go back and do just that."

Yeah, I wanted to do that with most of this film, but my friend doesn't like to 'invest' time into making films. :grumpy: Ha, I need to find a fun, but solemn film group. He isn't that agreeable and really isn't interested in this type of thing. He just wanted to 'go with the flow' and just adlib everything :hmm: As a friend, I made sacrifices and as did he, I guess. Otherwise, there would have been more dialogue.

I fixed the compression, but I can't find a good upload site. I don't have my own website to upload files to and I can't find any "free" uploading sites. Any ideas for this? Thanks again, Boz.

You work with what you have or so I'm incessantly told :P

It's always nice to have the next step up... but ultimately this is sound advice. :cool:

Too many people remain eternally on the verge of creating something, while holding out for a better camera... or a better sound-recorder... or a better <insert next excuse here>

If one has to work with what they have, then do it. :)

I can't find any "free" uploading sites. Any ideas for this?

www.PicaPic.net - videos in QT & WMV up to 40mb in size.

It's always nice to have the next step up... but ultimately this is sound advice. :cool:

I heartily agree. I love movies that create something really novel with so little. Namely, one of my personal favorites, Night of the Living Dead. But that is just my opinion.



www.PicaPic.net - videos in QT & WMV up to 40mb in size.

Ewh, I need something that can go up to at least 1 GB, such as www.yousendit.com, but it takes too long to upload and hardly ever works for me :(

I need something that can go up to at least 1 GB

A gig? :eek:

How long is this? (The original DL wasn't a gig... just 25mb)

Regardless, keeping in mind the target audience ('net-based) you should be getting anywhere from 1mb to 5mb per minute for acceptable quality. That's 300mb (per hour of viewing time) maximum... down to 60mb if you crunch it just right.

Do you need help with compression?

Hmm...only 25 MB... Maybe that's why you're only getting part of it. Without compression the quality is excellent at 2.5 Gb. With Divx Compression it is around 500 MB and that's the size I uploaded. Maybe it didn't fully upload. I wanted good quality at a low size. I guess I should try again?

You can set up your own web site at home (totally free) if you have an 'always on' type of Internet connection. You can also set up an FTP site for free as well, problem with FTP is most people have no idea how to use an FTP client.

Oh, ya. I've made my own free websites, but they were limiting. I never knew you could set up a FTP site for free :cool: I have every idea how to use an FTP client:D

I'm not talking about making a web site and having someone host it for you, for free. I'm talking about turning your computer into an Internet web site host itself. Apache and Abyss web server software are free, so is a dynamic DNS service (dyndns dot com or no-ip dot com). Host it yourself totally free, but beware, some ISP's tell you if they find you using a server with their bandwidth (mind you the bandwidth you pay for) they can cancel your account. Read your TOS to be sure or simply shut it down if they catch you.

As for the FTP server, check out Serv-U or BulletProof FTP Servers. I've used both of those and they work as advertised. You'll have to pay for them but it's a good investment since the free FTP server software sucks. But I haven't tested them all. ;)

The biggest problem with FTP isn't if you know how to use an FTP client, it's whether or not everyone you want to show your movie to does. You don't have that problem with a web server.

I wrote a tutorial on how to set up your own web host server. Care to have a gander?

Yes, I would love to gander :) Except, I don't have any extra money right now to pay for a FTP client. :( Major boo. Maybe I should stick to small video files and free upload sites. :grumpy:

Oh, wow. I didn't realize you were Grand Rapids. Coolness. :)

There are free FTP clients for every platform that are pretty good...check http://www.versiontracker.com

This set up is free. It costs you nothing to run this on the Internet access you already pay for.

BEWARE: It is against the TOS (Terms of Service) of some ISP's (Internet Service Provider) to run a server of any kind with the bandwidth you pay for. Customers who are in violation of the TOS of their ISP may find their service MIA, PDQ, and should call the ISP's HQ ASAP.

NOTICE: Some ISP's block port 80 traffic which means they've blocked your ability to run a web server.

Both of these actions are, IMHO, more than enough reason to find another ISP.

I tried to make this as easy as possible. A lot of people don't want to spend hours reading manuals and
looking up terms they're not familiar with. I will make changes to this tutorial as needs and information
change. I chose Abyss Web Server because it is (IMHO) the easiest web server to work with. I chose
no-ip.com for the same reason. Feel free to pick your own web server and dynamic DNS service.

Having said that, on with the show.

- - - - - - - - -

How to set up your own personal free web server
by Bozzel Urielov

Requirements:

You'll need a computer. Preferably one that was built in the last ten years. You'll also need access to the
Internet of some kind. Preferably an 'always on' service like DSL or Cable.

Go to http://www.aprelium.com/abyssws/download.php and download the free version of Abyss Web Server
(yes it's really free and no, there is no spyware).

Go to http://www.no-ip.com/newUser.php and sign up for their free dynamic dns service
(yes it's really free and no, there is no spyware).

Also from no-ip you'll want the free IP address up-dater.
Go to http://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php and choose your operating system.


Things you must know:

Is there another web server already running?
The e-mail address and password you used when you signed up for a new free account with no-ip.com?


Things it would be good to know:

How to make a web site.


Step 1

Install the Abyss Web Server Software.

Double click the downloaded file. If you didn't change the name it's abwsx1.exe. For the latest version make sure you visit the Abyss Web site listed above.

License Agreement. Read it thoroughly and click the 'I Agree' button.

Installation Options: Select all of these components and click the 'Next >' button.

Installation Folder: Leave this exactly the way it is and click the 'Install' button.

Abyss Web Server Startup Configuration: Click the one that says 'Install as a Windows Service' and click the box under it so the check mark is visible next to 'Start automatically on the computer startup'. Then click the
'OK' button.

Setup has completed.

Start Abyss Web Server now? Click the 'Yes' button.

A configuration file was created. Press 'OK' to continue with the console access configuration.

Click the 'OK' button.

Your default web browser should pop up a new web page. This is where you choose your language. The
buttons are located in the upper right corner. Pick which language you want to work with by right clicking on it with your mouse.

Access Credentials: This is the user name and password you make in order to access the control panel for
your web server. The user name can be anything you want but the password should be something very hard to guess. After you enter your choices, click the 'OK' button.

Up pops the console log in prompt. Enter the user name and password you just entered on the previous
screen and click the 'OK' button.

This is your console. This is the place where you make changes to the way your web server works with the
rest of the Internet.

Click on the 'Server Statistics' icon. Total Uptime is how long your web server has been online and
accessible to the rest of the Internet. Uptime since Last Restart is also self explanatory. Total Hits tells you
how man times someone has tried to access your web pages. The other important statistic is the Transferred Data shown in Kilobytes. You can reset these numbers by clicking the 'Reset' button in the lower right and that will zero out all the statistics. Right now just click the 'OK' button.

Back at the Console now, Abyss web server has wonderful documentation about every aspect of it's
software. To access it just click the 'Help and Support' icon.
You can read all through the manual if you want to learn every aspect of your web server but you don't have to. With this simple automatic setup, you're ready for step 2.

Close your Abyss Web Server Console.


Step 2

DUC is short for dynamic update client. Think of your DUC as a traffic cop. When one road closes, DUC
shows everybody the new route.

Double click the the 'ducsetup.exe' program you downloaded from no-ip.com.

Make sure you're connected to the Internet and click the 'Next' button.

Un-check the 'View Readme' and 'View Changes' boxes and click the 'Next' button.

Click the 'Finish' button.

In the box that pops up enter the e-mail address you used to sign up for the free no-ip.com service. Enter the password as well and click the 'OK' button.

The DUC program reaches out to the no-ip.com servers and retrieves your dynamic DNS name and makes
sure the path from their servers to yours is correct.

Click the box to the left of your host name to put a check mark in it. Click the 'x' in the upper right corner to
close this window. DUC will remain in your systray doing what it does automatically.


Step 3

Testing.

Open your web browser and type in the address you signed up for at no-ip.com. You should see the Abyss
software default test page. If you do then you're all set to go to step 4. If you get an error, skip down to the troubleshooting section.

Notice: It can take five to ten minutes for new domains to get registered with the servers.


Step 4

Design your own web site.

There are literally thousands of programs and interactive web sites offering to help you design your own web site. Some of them are free and some of them seem free until you get a flood of spam mail and some of them are actually worth the price they ask. You also have one that comes with your Windows operating system.

Feel free to explore your own creative outlets. You certainly don't need to spend $50 in order to put together a good web site and nobody wants a flood of spam just because they ask for help.

Here's a link to help you in your search. http://microsoft.toddverbeek.com/author.html
You can also go to http://download.com or http://tucows.com and search for web site builders there.

Have fun and good luck!


Troubleshooting

First make sure that Abyss Web Server is running and accessible. Click the 'Start' button, click the 'Run'
command, type in "cmd" without the quotes and hit enter. This brings up a DOS window. At the flashing
prompt type "ping 127.0.0.1" without the quotes and hit enter.

Look for the line that reads "Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:" The next line should read "Packets: Sent = 4,
Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)," If you get this then Abyss web server is working as it should but don't
close this DOS window yet.

At the flashing prompt type "ping yourno-ipname.something.com" without the quotes and replace the words after 'ping' with the address you signed up for at no-ip.com. If you get 4 packets received then your account at no-ip.com Is active and working properly.

A couple questions need to be answered.

Are you behind a firewall? If you are behind a firewall you will need to allow traffic on port 80 to flow both ways through the firewall. Learning how to open a hole in the firewall can be found with the documentation for your firewall or at the company's web site.

Is there a router between you and your ISP's modem? If there is a router or switch between your computer
and your ISP's modem then you may need to forward port 80 to the computer running Abyss Web Server.
You should be able to read about port forwarding in your owner's manual or on-line at the company web site that built your router.

Another possibility is that there may already be a web server running on the LAN as the computer running Abyss Web Server. If this is the case then you'll need to shut one of them down or change the port number that Abyss Web Server listens on. Learn how to do that in Abyss Web Server Help and Support icon on your
console.

You may be experiencing a blackout of port 80 traffic. When an ISP (Internet service provider) turns off access to port 80 they are in effect shutting down your ability to run a web server with the bandwidth you've already paid for. If this is the case then I'd find another ISP.

I have also found that if you google the exact error message, many solutions present themselves.

__________________
"You can bring a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead." --The Tao of Boz

I'll have to speak to my ISP directly. What exactly do I ask them? If everything is okay I'll go ahead and complete the steps. Thanks, Boz.

Warning: Will Rodgers!!

Danger, Will Robinson? :huh:

:huh:

When you call/e-mail your ISP you just ask them if it's okay to have a web server on your computer. Tell them it's there so you can share movies that you made/make not movies that don't belong to you. One of the biggest reasons ISP's don't want you running servers is because they want to cut down on the liability issues that come from users running porn sites or sharing copyrighted material. Instead of fighting all the legal battles that come with porn and their claims on free speech and the naked body being art they just flat out say NO SERVERS of any kind.

That's why, if it was me, I'd go ahead and do it until they caught me. An ISP that would cut you off for your first TOS violation you don't want anyway (unless it's your only ISP choice). Most will tell you (nicely) to shut it down but continue your service.

I won't presume to tell someone else to break the rules, you're an adult, it's your choice.

Well, I would feel better asking them before actually doing it. I'm pretty sure my ISP will allow me to.

That video has copyrighted music though. It isn't the whole ablum. It's edited and there's only 10 minutes of it. Would that be enough to not create my own server?

Oh legalities again, I think you need to talk with a lawyer about that. Seems obvious NOT to put in copyrighted material to begin with. Anyway to loose the audio track and insert something else?

If you create your own server or get your ISP's OK to create your own server is not dependent on sharing this movie. You can still launch your own web server, just don't share this movie until you fix the legal issues.

Well, this wasn't intended to be shared on the internet. I guess I'll leave it scoreless.


"Seems obvious NOT to put in copyrighted material to begin with."

I hope I didn't take this comment the wrong way..