Inside Production
Walter Schoenknecht is a partner at Midnight Media Group Inc. a New York-area digital production faciilty. You can reach him via e-mail at
walter@mmgi.tv.
Revolution Becomes Evolution
by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.18.2008
Problematic content of all kinds was severely restricted for dozens of very valid technical reasons—until the advent of solid-state imagers and automatic camera circuitry. More...
Micro Gets Big
by Walter Schoenknecht, 10.29.2008
There are several forces at work which have bolstered the rise of the microstock houses. Simple economics are the most obvious. More...
Innocence Lost
by Walter Schoenknecht, 10.01.2008
Historically, most humans have seemed as instinctively afraid of the limelight as they are of snakes—from the great and mighty CEO down to the most reclusive retail clerk. More...
Examine Every Aspect
by Walter Schoenknecht, 09.03.2008
At our house, the kids seem to want the picture to touch all four corners of the 16:9 screen at all times, regardless of whether the content's formatted that way or not. And it makes me crazy. More...
The Agony of A-to-D
by Walter Schoenknecht, 07.09.2008
Be careful of what you wish for, the saying goes. We wished for cleaner signals, simpler interconnections and fewer patch bays—and that’s exactly what digital audio and video technology has delivered; so why the long face? More...
Colorful Language for Video Editors
by Walter Schoenknecht, 03.05.2008
The last several years have seen a revolution in color-correction techniques, one in which the electron team—us video folks—have merged paths with the photon team—the film guys. More...
There’s No Place Like (A) Home
by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.05.2007
Control freaks! From top to bottom—from the feather-brained writer to the sociopathic engineer—the entire production team is a collection of control freaks, terrified of leaving the rarified air of the studio, office, or More...
Up for Adoption
by Walter Schoenknecht, 09.05.2007
I can’t believe how shocked I was when I watched that episode of “The Sopranos.” More...
Video Awards Are The Big Winner
by Walter Schoenknecht, 08.08.2007
I want to start an awards program just like all the competitions I receive flyers for all year long: a virtual festival, one with no theaters and no awards ceremonies… maybe not even a street address. Just a place to send the More...
The Truck Gets In Your Blood
by Walter Schoenknecht, 07.11.2007
As a truck guy, when you show up for work, you’ve got no guarantee of a good meal or a clean restroom or even electric power. More...
Doing a Script Check For Accuracy
by Walter Schoenknecht, 04.11.2007
In our area, there's a popular extra-credit assignment from elementary and high school English teachers: Get out your blue pencil and proofread the daily newspaper. More...
Note to the Teacher
by Walter Schoenknecht, 02.07.2007
It was nice to meet you at the Middle School Back-To-School Night last week. More...
Curse of the Early Adopters
by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.06.2006
There's something inherently appealing about being the first on your block with an ingenious new gadget. More...
The 'In' Thing Boils Down to Infrastructure
by Walter Schoenknecht, 09.06.2006
Today, it's no longer safe to assume that your young video staffers have ever seen the inside of a classically engineered production facility. Now that desktop editing apps have been taught in high schools-and below-for many More...