Well it is almost 1:00am and I am taking a break from video editing to blog. I thought it was worth spelling out how the past couple days have transpired. Here is the timeline...

Friday - A friend, David Postma, called me with a small video project. He said we need to take a couple hours of video and intercut them to cover up some filming errors. I told him, "No problem. I can have it for you midweek if you get me the files right away." He says he will be getting the files over the weekend.

Saturday - I spent most of the day doing taxes. I agreed this year to do taxes for Scott Mareks, Mike Wright, Elias Green, Davad & Laura Sneed, Hunter Gehrig, LLC., Technical Services Consulting, Goldson Consulting, LLC., Storm Claims Roofing, Tatiana & Carlos Escamilla, Anthony Vasquez, Brian Doelle and oh yea - myself. I finished up most of the bulk of each of the returns but needed some numbers to complete them. Oh yeah - Scott Mareks and Tony Vasquez's returns are completed.

Sunday - Went to Victoria amid a monsoon (see earlier post) for Easter. I got a call from David Postma as I made it back into town and he told me that the video project needed to be finished Monday. I thought it was pretty crazy but took his word for it as I hadn't seen the tapes yet.

Monday - Dug into the video project and realized that the tapes were not tapes at all but DVDs. Well, the problem with DVDs is the format and the compression. Long story short - I spent half the day trying to get the data off the DVDs into a format that I could edit. I downloaded a dozen different programs that claimed they could convert all different file formats. None of them worked. I tried importing through a series of different devices all hooked together. Everything I did took a couple hours to test and then failed. I told David that he was not going to make his deadline, but that I felt I could work all night and get something done.

I worked on the video project from sunup and worked on taxes everytime the computer needed time to render, convert, input or output. (Usually, it was tied up for at least two hours each time I tried something.) I completed returns for Mike Wright, Elias Green, Storm Claims Roofing, Goldson Consulting, LLC., and Brian Doelle. I worked throughout the night stopping only to slap myself in the face and walk out into the cold air for a quick wakeup.

Tuesday - Morning arrived with David still wondering when the project would be done. I was giving him estimates in the 30-40 hour range from the start once I discovered we were working with DVD and he was telling the client, "just a little while longer." The net result was an angry client and him calling me every few hours to ask the same question, "what is the estimate now?"

I had finally figured out a way to make the DVDs useful and David had told the client that they would not work and arranged to swap them for low-quality VHS copies of the tapes. He gave me 1/2 hour notice that he needed the DVDs just as it was working and I had to cancel what I was doing to start over again with VHS.

I converted the VHS into miniDV so that I could import finally into a format that I could edit. I got to editing and realized that not only did I have to hide some poor filming skills, but because one of the subjects as talking via satellite, I had to cut the audio track all up and synch it to the speaker who was live in the room and the delayed satellite participant. It was a royal pain in the arse.

As I said earlier, it is 1:00am now and I have the thing finally edited together. I am doing a final render, an output to digital, an output to DVD and putting it my mailbox for David to pickup in the morning. He has missed a lot of self-imposed deadlines on the project, but oh well. I have been working on the project non-stop now since about noon on Monday. That makes 37 hours with the total likely to be about 44 when I am finished.

Wednesday - Oh yeah and tomorrow is my last day before the tax deadline so whatever I don't finish tonight during rendering, I will have to wake up and finish tomorrow. Tatiana called and said she is filing an extension (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) - that leaves only my personal return, Davad & Laura Sneed's personal return, Technical Services Consulting, Hunter Gehrig, LLC. Not bad at all...

Oh yeah, on top of all that - Friday, I head to Laredo (about an 8 hour drive), Saturday I will be filming a trial for about 10-12 hours and Sunday, driving back home (another 8 hour drive.) That is going to make this one VERY long week.
- posted by Chris @ 1:08 AM