July 23, 2007
Mountain Majesty HD $69.95
Shining Sea HD $69.95
Digital Hotcakes
Review by Steve Douglas
Not too long ago I received an email from a reader interested in the Digital Hotcakes footage and animations from TriLab Productions, a footage and animation company that has been on the block for quite some time. I had forgotten that I had reviewed their Home Movie Essentials DVD back in August, 06 and in an attempt at being responsive to this reader requested a couple of their high definition footage collections which were sent to me post haste.
Generally, footage and animation houses can be very expensive. They do save time and, thus, money, as opposed to getting to similar destinations and shooting the same scenes yourself or working at creating animations in Motion or After Effects. However, with the Digital Hotcakes collections, money is not going to be the issue, as their footage collections are not going to break anyone's bank and present a most reasonable price alternative.
Each collection, 'Shining Sea' and Mountains Majesty taken from the Digital Hotcakes 'Worship' series is shot in Sony HDCAM 1080i and includes both 1280x720 Progressive Scan WMV and QuickTime HD formats at 29.97 FPC as well as still bmp reference shots for easy research and preview. The 'Shining Sea' disc contains 20 loopable HD video clips ranging from 10 to 60 seconds while the 'Mountains Majesty' collection's clips range from 10 to 30 seconds and both collections. Like the rest of the Digital Hotcakes library, these sets are compatible with both PCs and Macs.
When looking at these clips, I was reminded of the many B-roll shots in both movies and T.V., which many people, including myself, often take for granted. The work and artistry that go into shooting that beautiful mountain vista or the sunset over the ocean that precedes the film star's entrance, the peaceful shot of the flowers by the lake that serves as the story's denouement often goes unnoticed. What a shame as there is much to be learned by studying the filming technique and skills of others. So, while the clips in both of these collections may have a myriad number of uses for a great many projects, they can also serve as a great study guide for shooting your own settings.
Steve Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro and underwater videographer. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's Atlantis production, and a recent History channel MegaDisaster show. Steve is one of the founding organizers of the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition and leads both underwater filming expeditions and African safaris with upcoming excursions to Kenya & Lembeh Straits in Indonesia in 2007, the Coco Islands, Costa Rica & Truk Lagoon in 2008 and safari in Africa for 2009. Feel free to contact him if you are interested in joining Steve on any of these exciting trips. 
