Update: Working with Home Movies
Well, I got it working!
Since I put out my call for help, I’ve been spending some time trying out different programs that boasted the ability to rip chapters from unprotected (i.e. homemade) DVDs. Using the trial versions of the programs, I was able to rip anywhere from ten seconds to two minutes, put the clips into iMovie and iDVD and burn to disc… with varying degrees of quality and success. In the end, I found that Cinematize 2 worked the best. The workflow is this:
- Insert DVD (external drive since I’m working with mini-DVDs and my MacBook Pro is slot-loaded).
- Fire up Cinematize 2. Import the DVD and apply these settings:
- Video - Decoding: Decode to Quicktime
- Video - Decoding Mode: Automatic Selection
- Video - Output Codec: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC
- Video - Output Quality: Lossless Quality
- Audio - all default settings
- Subtitle - all default settings
- Output - Save Chapters: As Separate Segments
- Output - Save Quicktime As: Self-Contained, Files With All Data
- Output - Output Format: Quicktime File
- Hit Extract Data and go have a bagel or something. Each chapter on the DVD is being ripped into its own Quicktime file.
- Fire up iDVD or iMovie. I’m actually just using iDVD for the most part, because I’m not too interested in cutting my own stuff. Maybe someday I’ll take the time to edit the clips, but for now, I just want the clips on a DVD that I can stick a decent menu on and send to my parents.
- Once everything is in iDVD, I move it all around, give the clips their names and burn. Done!
That’s all there is to it. The quality of the burns is great - granted, I won’t be winning any Best Photography awards, but if Kevin Smith can build a career on Clerks, I can accept the quality of my home movies. No need for a big investment in Final Cut Pro or anything, and no need for a dozen different programs to accomplish the task. True, Cinematize 2 isn’t free (or cheap, depending on your point of view), but for $60 I can’t complain. I’ve paid as much for some video games that were more disappointing and less useful.
New Imagekind Promotion: $6 Flat Rate Shipping!
Starting… well, yesterday, enjoy $6 flat shipping at Imagekind! Sometimes I drop the ball and don’t blog on time. So, sue me.
What does $6 flat shipping mean? Order one print, and pay $6 for the shipping (USA standard ground only). Order ten prints, pay $6 for the shipping. Order a hundred prints—you guessed it, $6 for the shipping. That’s not per print, it’s the shipping total! How great a deal is that?
The "A Child’s Wonderland of Art" promotion is in effect until October 30th, 2007 at 10:00pm PST. Use the promo code WONDERLAND when checking out to receive the discount. The offer is valid on all art, not just those with kids themes.
Visit Imagekind.com today!
Help! Working with Home Movies
I’ve just spent half the day trying to find a solution to my problem, and wow, has it been confusing. What I want to do should be fairly simple - I think. Here’s the situation:
We have a video camera that we use to record home movies. It records directly to mini DVDs, in standard DVD format. I’m on a Mac, and I want to take each chapter off of each DVD that I’ve got, rearrange them, and burn them to full-size DVDs. Now, I know I can use iDVD to make great menus and such, and that’s cool, but I’m running into trouble getting my clips from the DVDs into some usable format.
One thing I’ve tried is to rip the whole DVD as an mp4 using Handbrake and importing to iMovie to set the chapters (since the chapters are lost as the contents are saved to a single mp4 file). From there, I expect to push the project into iDVD. The problem is that iMovie takes hours to import a simple 35 minute video clip and that’s unacceptable. I tried converting the file to DV format, and iMovie imported that in about half an hour, but it played at super-speed… unusable.
Incidentally, Mac the Ripper crashes on my machine when I try to load my content. It will load and rip a store-bought DVD just fine, but my home movie DVDs crash it.
Does anyone have any easy ways to accomplish what I’m trying to do? I just need to bring in several clips - chapters - from my many mini DVDs, rearrange them, and burn them to standard sized DVDs. Help!
Announcing Success with Imagekind.com!
It’s been hinted at, it’s been speculated upon—heck, there’s been a page here about it for a month now (I just never really promoted it and judging by my stats, that strategy worked!). But now…
It’s official!
Success with Imagekind.com is on the way!
The follow-up to the popular Success With CafePress.com focuses on Imagekind.com, the premiere site for custom framed artwork. The company is growing by leaps and bounds; partnerships with Snapfish and Flickr, among other things, are setting the stage for a major explosion in growth, and Success with Imagekind.com is going to be the approved and authorized guide to making the most of this phenomenal service.
The expected release date is not set, but the goal is the first quarter of 2008. Updates will be posted here at Daniel M. Clark .com.
Stay tuned - this one’s going to be big!
Imagekind Newsletter - October 2007
This month’s Imagekind newsletter is out, and can be viewed here. The big news? A new contest! From the newsletter:
In our ever-increasing attempt to create a genuine online arts community, we are excited to team up with one of the premier online resource sites for artists, EBSQ. This month, EBSQ is featuring their juried show, “The Art of the Equestrian.”
One winner will be selected and Imagekind is offering some pretty great prizes. All of our member artists are encouraged to sign up and participate! Not only do you have the chance to win some prizes, but also for the entire month of November, Imagekind will feature all participants’ work on a special page, displayed and ready for sale!
Submission deadline is October 25, so get that art in! To find out more details about submission requirements and to learn what great prizes we are offering, check out the Imagekind blog. We can’t wait to see all our amazing Imagekind artists showing off their talent!
The Imagekind blog can be found here. Also in the newsletter, Imagekind announces a new facility, tips on organization, and Tasha talks about what it takes to get your artwork featured at Imagekind.
Want to keep up with all the latest Imagekind news? Make sure you are opted-in to recieve them! Visit the Imagekind homepage; the newsletter signup is on the right.
