Hello Profile Project volunteers. First of all, photos! http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinyei/
It's been a crazy couple of weeks here in Battambang but we have finalized the filming phase of the project and are uploading the film tonight. Here are some technical details:
- Your footage will be available in 720p mpeg2 (m2t) files - same format you'd get on a DVD. This entails an undesirable drop in quality, but is necessary to limit transfer sizes for everyone. If you would like another format or want to chime in with a specific encoding parameter for your footage, let us know ASAP.
- Your footage will come with subtitle files. You can render those to video as you see fit. Keep in mind if you're new to video, you'll need to keep the subtitles in sync with your video if you keep them separate.
- We will be publishing download links for footage on this forum. So far it looks like each NGO will come with approx. 2GB of footage.
- There will also be a selection of miscellaneous footage from around Battambang that you may want to use for cutaways. This is free for anyone to use.
Predictably, the filming was not without its challenges. Filming beneficiaries can often be a sensitive subject due to their potential vulnerability and was not possible for some NGOs. We encountered controversy surrounding other NGO operations and were accused at one point of producing our footage to scam foreign donors into fake sponsorship schemes.
We've done our best to stick to the scripts provided but your mileage may vary. Where the footage departs wildly from your intentions, we encourage you to do your best with the material, but if you don't think you can work with it, no hard feelings. If you have any questions regarding the footage for your specific NGO or deeply need an additional shot or two, just contact us.
The guys here have had an amazing couple of weeks working on this and we're looking forward to what you can do with the results!
Khmer Music uploaded to server
Hello lovely remote vols,
For those of you that requested it (as well as anyone who wants to use it) we have asked our Khmer friends for some tunes for you all to use in your flicks. You can find them at ftp://kinyei.org/Music - username:anon, password:anon!1 (same server as the footage). The files aren't in a folder and the names are all messed up because they were named in the Khmer script which you probably won't have installed.
I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet, but our friend mentioned that there are khmer hip hop and romance tunes. If you've asked for something else, we are going to try and follow it up in the morning.
Keep up the comms, we will be keeping a close eye on the forums for any 11th hour requests/questions/issues!
Hope all is going well!
Mel
Subtitles
Hi, you said subtitle files for the footage will be coming soon. Are they on this site somewhere as I can't edit the interviews without translations? Maybe I should have mentioned it earlier but I figured if they're coming they'll be ready as soon as they can be. Have I missed something obvious?
Hi Adam They are up on the
Hi Adam
They are up on the server; download the *.ass files related to your footage (it will be named according to the DVD number and "VOB" file number in the case of subtitles for DVD footage, and named the same as ). We have subtitled most of the footage but some of the shorter clips that you will find under the NGO-specific directories have not been subtitled yet as they are often shorter and harder to translate. With those, let us know the file you want subbed and we'll get it done for you as quickly as possible. Also, the subtitles were done kind of roughly in places so if a translation is unclear or the timing out, give us a shout about the specific clip(s) and we'll re-sub to clarify.
Cheers, I didn't realise they
Cheers, I didn't realise they were there. I can work from them if I open them as text files but unfortunately can't imagine meeting the Dec 6th deadline at this point. I'll do my best.
We understand that the 6th
We understand that the 6th could be difficult so let me just explain the process from here on; as you know we're screening the videos on Thursday Dec 10 - at 6.30pm Phnom Penh time, to be specific - and the NGOs will need to be shown the videos some time before this. We would love to get all that approval stuff done on Monday, but if we had to we could push it out the day before. The only thing with that is that if the NGO requests any changes, we'd pretty much be out of time.
Short story is, do your best and we'll try to work with you to get your video into the Dec 10 festival; the earlier the submission, the easier that will be.
Also, could you let me know
Also, could you let me know where the footage for SKO begins and ends? The DVD is titled: DVD2-SKO-KNGO-SALT but it appears to me that the order of the footage is KNGO, SKO and then SALT. There's a sign for KNGO at 18:40 and one for SKO at 21:50. Could you tell me exactly where one ends and the other begins. The footage appears to become SALT at 48:35, if so it would seem there is the long interview and two kids for SKO. Is this right?
Sorry, one more thing: The
Sorry, one more thing: The subtitles end in the document DVD2 Track 2 at the end of the staff interview at 38:27, and then resume in the document DVD2 Track 3, halfway through the second child's interview at 43:04. Would it be possible to get the answers in this gap translated? Thanks.
Hi Adam The footage becomes
Hi Adam
The footage becomes SKO at 18:47 and ends at 48:35 as you noticed on DVD2. As for the gap in subtitles, looks like we missed that interview after the director; I'll get it done tomorrow and update you as soon as it's available.
Sorry for all the demands,
Sorry for all the demands, but if it's possible could you translate the answers in the VID01341 & VID01342 MP4's in the SKO folder? I only need the answers and don't think I'll need the single word answers if it's any help.
Hi Adam Sure I'll get them
Hi Adam
Sure I'll get them subbed at the earliest opportunity (by about ~5 hrs from now)
Can't find PTD subtitles?
Hey Justin,
Just wondering whether PTD has any subtitle files? I can't see them under the folder or in the folder.
If there is no subtitle files it would be good if I could just find out the names of the people who were interviewed and a little blurb about (i.e. age, other import info said) them and what they are doing. E.g. there is at least three ladies that are interviewed and are undertaking various activities and men outside undertaking various activities. If I can't have subtitles it would be good to just get a basic idea of what is going on.
Thanks
Helen
Hi Helen, We have just
Hi Helen,
We have just uploaded a number of subtitle files for PTD. The files are *.ass files in the PTD folder on the server. The name of the subtitle file corresponds to the relevant video file. There is also a "Misc subtitles.txt" file which contains subs for some of the shorter video clips for which it didn't seem worth the time to create an actual subtitle file. It is not comprehensive though. If there is a clip there that you would like to use that is not subtitled, let us know which one and we can send you a translation.
Cheers,
Justin
Footage available
Dear Everyone,
I'm hugely excited to announce that your footage is now available online. Sorry it's a few days late but the digital contortions required to get this amount of data out of rural Cambodia have been quite nothing short of extreme (for those playing at home that means is trying every net connection in town and finally driving a hard drive to a local ISP office to upload to a Phnom Penh office to send out using a dedicated link).
If you know how to ftp, you can get at the files from here:
Host: kinyei.org
User: anon
Password: anon!1
In the end we had to upload the footage in a variety of formats, including a straight rip of the DVD we had the tape footage copied to. They should all be importable and convertable by your favourite video editor, but in the event that you run into problems with the format, be sure to post a question.
Additionally, if the quality of any of the footage is not good enough for you, give us a shout - we still have some of it on tape and can probably re-encode and -upload small parts of it for you if you like.
The files you need:
About half of the footage is already cut up and placed in named directories - just get everything under the directory for your NGO. Some of it is on the DVDs though. Use the table below to figure out what to download.
Subtitle files for your footage will be coming soon.
There are also some .veg files up there which you can use if you have Sony Vegas - they select out the footage of each NGO.
We'll update this thread with more detailed instructions as we get time - hope this is info enough for now. Go nuts!
Sneaker Net?
When you're talking about low quality files due to size and space reasons, the flipside becomes the sneaker net.
Did you think of shipping a few DVDs via post to each of the locations? The total cost and time may have even been less than trying to get it online. Also shipping 1 copy internationally with good internet for upload maybe faster than local upload?
Pondering a different angle. I've always wanted to have a viable need for a sneakernet, sounds like it may work well here, just wondering why it was ruled out...
Peace,
Wade
You're right, and we did
You're right, and we did investigate the postage option, but it was equally expensive and was going to take around 10 business days. This way we have the chance of getting film to you in under 5.
I managed to get a few of the
I managed to get a few of the Flip videos from my home connection, but it is slow and cuts out. From what I gather you can't just resume the download in these cases. Nothing is appearing on anon@kinyei.org when I log on from the office. Is this a problem from my side or are other people having this problem?
Matthew
I would definitely suggest
I would definitely suggest using a university or office connection for this if your home one isn't beefy. Email me and we'll get the connection happening from the office, there should be no problem doing that. Also, the ftp server supports resuming downloads, if your browser or whatever doesn't, try using an ftp program like FileZilla.
Cheers
Hello Remote Vols
Hello Remote Vols,
By now, we hope that most of you would have been able to download the footage
There has been one mix up with the names of the correct files for the videos so far so let us know if you need to confirm anything or are having any issues finding your stuff either by email or forum.
Subtitles are now available for all the DVD footage (footage on vob files) and the YFP footage. You can find them on the ftp server mentioned above - they are the files ending with ".ass" - no I didn't choose the file extension, it's just what the subtitling program gave me. If you want a different subtitle format, ask away we can deliver.
Also please let us know ASAP if there is any extra footage that you need, stock photos, Cambodian music - perhaps we can recommend some resources that exist online already for you to download and use.
Next Steps:
Thanks guys,
Mel and Justin
Time Clarification
Hey all!
To Clarify - are the times listed for the deadlines obviously in BKK/Phenom Penh time, correct??
Enjoy
shane
Yes they are, although we're
Yes they are, although we're not going to be sticklers about the exact hour. So long as you have your stuff together by start of business the next day (US CST is about 12 hours behind us) it's all good.
Cheers,
Justin
On the downloading band wagon!
Hey guys,
I'm a newbie to this whole technical video making thing but I have started downloading the files. I am just over half way as it is taking some time. I tried to play a couple of files and noticed that they wouldn't work in windows movie maker. So I hit up google and managed to download a free trial version of video file conversion software!
Next up is watching the footage (exciting!!!). Then the challenge will be learning how to edit, but i reckon I can work out the basics. I am a little unsure about matching up the translation with the footage though. I haven't got to that point yet, but once I do and if I have any issues I will put the word out.
Cheers,
Helen
different software
Hi Helen! Im not sure your skill level with computers and such, but downloading a free trial of a software like Sony Vegas may be better and have more control.
It should also accept those .dvd files as well, without any cross conversion.
(i think, youd have to check on Sony's website)
thanks for the updates justin!
Hi Helen, Yeah I've used all
Hi Helen,
Yeah I've used all these files in Sony Vegas and had no problems so far. I have tried these files with Windows Movie Maker and they seem to be perfectly usable so I don't think you'll run into problems. It loads the .VOB, .MP4, and .m2ts files just fine.
Cheers,
Justin
Very glad.
Congratulations all. Downloading now.
Matthew
By the way while it is really
By the way while it is really late in the game, the YFP footage and subtitles are up on the server. They're a really active organization and we got some great footage of one of their activities. Additionally all of the footage is in one easy-to-use file under the YFP directory so it's a great opportunity for anyone whose chosen NGO didn't working out as expected, or who has a bit of extra energy!