Southpaw Video Productions FAQ
Well, no one has really asked most of these questions, but I thought I'd have a go at a FAQ to answer any questions left unasked.
Who is
Southpaw Video Productions?
Southpaw Video Productions (SVP) is one person -- a real
screwball and an anal-retentive control-freak by the name of Mark Correia
(also known to those in the Furry fandom as PunkTiger).
One person? Can't you get
anyone else to help you?
I'm sorry. I thought the term "anal-retentive control-freak" would
have covered that one. Next question.
Well, who was the
RadioTelevision Southpaw announcer I heard in Gibberish,
then?
That was none other than Lee "Slothpuck" Jones from England. I
shamelessly begged him to lend an authentic British accent to the announcement
instead of my crappy
so-ersatz-it's-shamefully-pathetically-fake-British-almost-Australian accent
-- which you can hear on the intro to the Wasting My Life video.
Thank you so very much, Slothy!
Where are you located?
As much as I want to say "In the city of Southpaw in the great Kingdom of
Cambria," I can't. Southpaw Video is located in New Bedford,
Massachusetts in the Northeastern U.S.
You're in the U.S.?
What's with all the British spellings, then?
I am an
Anglophile and allowed my little eccentricities. Next question.
Do you pronounce the
letter Z as "Zed"?
Next question.
How can I contact
Southpaw Video Productions?
Try sending an E-mail to
punktiger@yahoo.com I'll probably reply in a day or so (I'm
notoriously bad at answering e-mails).
Why
Southpaw? Are you left-handed?
No, I'm not left-handed. Southpaw was chosen as a name for a
number of reasons. In my writing, the character of PunkTiger lives in the city
of Southpaw in the great Kingdom of Cambria. And as for me, personally, I
figured "southpaw" was an amusing way to describe my prowess at making videos.
Actually, Southpaw Video was originally going to be called "SUI Video
Productions." SUI being an homage to my old fantasy role-playing days; as the main
tavern that was central in most of my campaigns was the Stop
Uncommon Inn.
Sheesh, what a geek! Why
did you start this mess to begin with?
Well, the whole concept was born out of boredom, watching too
much of the Funday Pawpet Show and having an old VHS video camera lying about the
house collecting dust. I've always wanted to try my hand at video production,
but never found the right impetus to get me going. I figured that making short
music videos may be a good place to start... that, and it would be fun.
Speaking of which, what
equipment do you have to create these abominations?
It's very modest at best. Presently I have an RCA AutoShot video camera
(Model: CC4352), a pair of 20-watt camcorder lights (one is brighter than the
other, though), a home-built Pentium III 500mHz computer, a Dazzle DVC-80 video
capture device and a Panasonic VCR to help capture the video instead of using
the camera. I put together the videos using Sonic Foundry's "Vegas Video 4.0."
Before that, I used Vegas Video 3.0, and before that I used Video
Factory 2.0 -- all Sonic Foundry products.
I like Vegas Video so much more than Adobe's Premiere. The puppet "stage"
is a merely blanket thrown over the head of my bed. I've also managed to build
a collapsible frame to hang backdrops from behind my stage instead of
thumb-tacking it to the wall. I'm working on upgrading my video computer, even
though it is still beefy enough to handle
video making (just about). Those Shuttle XPC
systems are too cool for words. (drool)
Geek Alert! Don't make me
break out the hose.
Next question...
How many puppets do you
have?
Quite a few. I think I have close to 20.
Where did you get them
all?
Various and sundry places. Some were found in
my local zoo's gift store, eBay, Savers...
I bought a couple from a store in a mall out in California when I was visiting
a friend. Patrick (my star puppet) and Lenny (the lion puppet) were found
online at http://puppetgallery.com/.
Who makes your puppets?
That tiger puppet is a cute one.
Well, most of them are by a company called "Folkmanis."
Most of the puppets you see on the Funday Pawpet
Show are Folkmanis puppets. They're very popular for a good reason:
they're well-made and widely available. Patrick and Lenny, on the other hand
(unintentional pun), were made by a mysterious company called "Sunny & Co.
Toys" in Orlando, Florida as part of their Silly Safari line. By the
way, if Patrick could blush, he would. He's received many nice compliments on
his charming looks.
Can I commission you to
do a video?
I have no idea why you would want to, but no. I don't make videos on
commission or sell my video services. A friend of mine keeps wanting to sell
my services no matter how many times I tell him not to. These videos are just
something I do to break up the monotony of my incredibly boring day-to-day
life. I have no aspirations on becoming either a professional puppeteer or a
video producer. This is only a hobby and not my living. Thanks for asking,
though.
How do you choose the
songs for your videos?
I have no set formula. I tend to choose odd songs bordering on the obscure in
the hopes that other people would be intrigued about what songs I use and
search out the performers. Sometimes when I hear a song, I visualize a little
video to go along with it. If it seems doable, I'll think on it more. For
example, there are a handful of songs that I would really really like
to do, and have some cool ideas, but can't, mainly because they're too complex
for one person to do all the puppetry and given my present equipment, most
camera tricks and blue-screening are out. But, where there's a will, there's a
way. Perhaps in the second year...
I have a great
idea/song for a video!
or Let's get together and
make a video!
As much as I like experiencing new music or involving myself in other people's
creative visions, my videos are just that: MY videos. If I want a
collaboration, I'll ask. If I'm out of ideas for songs, I'll ask. Look again
at the first question waaaay back up at the top of this document and take the
part about "anal-retentive control-freak" to heart.
Do you have anything that
shows what goes on behind the scenes when you make a video?
I'm currently working on that, but at the present, I don't.
Why don't you offer the
higher quality MPEGs on your site?
My present web space is limited. Someday, I hope to do so, but not for the
foreseeable future.
Oh, yeah... Why do you
keep referring to RealMedia encoding as (sur)RealMedia?
I think it's more appropriately named that way. Actually, I'm not thrilled
about half the garbage that (sur)RealNetworks pull, especially when you
install their "free" player -- that takes over all your media selections, puts
pop-ups on your desktop, ads in your hard drive, "friendly" features you can't
shut off short of hacking the program and reminders to pay for the latest
version of their software even after you've legitimately bought it directly
from them. Suffice to say, the only reason I like (sur)RealMedia encoding is
because it spits out a small file and still stays somewhat true to the
original.
Where did you get the
music for the tags in the beginning of your videos?
Various places -- all of them British. The first tag music I used was in the Baby Portable Rock
video. Sharp-eared Anglophiles will recognise it as the tag music for
ATV London
circa 1969. In Mr. Bad Example, I used the tag music from the British
version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway." Under the Table with Her used the
tag music from
Southern Television (possibly circa 1970), again from England. I've
settled on that one to tag videos with softer music. Starting with One Tin
Soldier, the tag music is by the Toy Dolls (a British band -- or couldn't
you guess by this time) from the "Mega Outro" found on their album
One More Megabyte. I've settled on using that one to tag videos with
rock music. I'm keeping the special RadioTelevision Southpaw tag I used
in Gibberish a secret. So there! :-P
What's with the green and
black motif here and on your site? Are you a Nature Goth or something?
First off, green is one of my favourite colours. I've found if I have to work
on my website for a long period of time, having white or very light coloured
backgrounds will tire my eyes very quickly. The black background is more
comfortable for me to work with -- and it gives the site a bit of an "edgy"
look. And, even though my skin is a pasty white, I am NOT a Goth.
I think I've taken this far enough... Thanks for the questions.
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