will you just tell me if I am old enough or if I can do any of the stuff hat I suggested please

OCTOBER 28, 2004

For those who are interested in the new DVD of variations, I just wanted to let you know that the editing is underway, and I'm hoping to be able to release the F.J. & Catherine Rhythm DVD in time for the holiday rush. I will periodically update this message to keep you informed of the progress.

So far, I have spent the better part of the last couple of months re-capturing and organizing the video footage. That phase of the project is complete, and as of Oct 26 I have started to edit the clips together. Three of the four Cha Cha variations are now complete (10/28).

I'm aiming to do at least 1 variation per day. If I can keep up with this schedule, I should have all 20 rhythm variations compiled in about 2 weeks. Then it's off to the factory for reproduction!

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

11/07 Update --

Cha Cha is complete, including all 4 variations and the combination, and I have moved on to Rumba. I'm aiming to have all of the video edited by the time FJ and Catherine visit us on Thanksgiving weekend. While the're here, we will have them do a few bits of overdubbing, and then we should be ready to go!

After finishing the Cha Cha, I've calculated the total combined time for the 4 variations... just over 21 minutes. If the remaining 4 dances also take more than 20 minutes apiece, I'm in trouble. A single-layer DVD holds 100 minutes at decent quality (more than 100 minutes and the compression starts becoming noticeable), so I'm hoping I can narrow down the time to 18 or 19 minutes each. I still need room for the intro & ending, the menus, and the printable pdf files with the step breakdowns!

If I absolutely cannot make it fit, I'll see how the video looks with slightly higher compression (lower quality). It's either that, or go to dual-layer DVD, which will probably bump up the price of the DVD. The only other option that comes to mind is to split it into two DVD's -- one for, say, Cha Cha and Rumba, and the other for Swing, Bolero and Mambo.

Hopefully it won't come to this. But if it does, I'll post a survey here to see how our customers feel about the various options.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

I just had one other thought about what to do if there's too much video: I can omit just one variation.

As it turns out, when we filmed the Bolero combo, we accidentally left out one of the variations. I was planning on using some fancy editing tricks to sneak the variation into the combo. But if we omit that variation altogether, I can kill two birds with one stone: Shave a few minutes off the video while also making the editing job easier. That means we'd only have 3 Bolero variations while all the other dances have 4, but this still might be preferrable to any of the alternatives.

Jonathan

I like this option. This way the video quality is not compromised and all variations can fit in one DVD.

Update 11/11/04 --

Rumba is finished. Two down, three to go.

Things should go faster from here... I'm getting more efficient. I also just bought a tiny external hard drive big enough to hold all the video, so now I can edit while I'm on the go. That should give me a couple of extra hours per day for editing. Still aiming for Thanksgiving.

Jonathan

Of all the dances, I would actually prefer to have the extra bolero variation, since my teacher doesn't spend a lot of time on it. But, that's just my 2 cents.

What do you anticipate the price of the CD to be (roughly)? And is it going to be variations, or technique as well?

Thanks! Keep up the good work!

Step by step instruction, but not a great deal of technique. If we ever get around to doing technique videos, they'll probably focus on more basic actions -- not necessarily syllabus figures, but the fundamental actions that we use to build our figures and variations. For example, we might have a technique video on spins & turns.

Not sure about the pricing of the videos yet, because I'm still not sure about the final output. We're kicking around a few ideas, including separating the VHS format into one tape per dance, while keeping the DVD as all dances together. But if we stick to the original plan, I'm guessing the DVD will be priced somwhere in the $40 range -- about $2 per variation. The VHS video, if it contains all 5 dances on one tape, will either cost the same or possibly slightly cheaper.

Regards,
Jonathan

Update 11/14--

Just finished Swing. Next up is Bolero. I'm happy to report that things are running well ahead of schedule. All variations should be compiled and ready for when F.J. and Catherine arrive on Thanksgiving day.

After they leave, I will begin rendering the video and compiling the DVD project. This may take as little as a couple of days, or as much as a week. Then we send it to the duplication company, which has a turnaround time of 7-10 days. Since that runs us very close to Christmas, I'll probably start taking advance orders... possibly as early as Dec.1.

Regards,
Jonathan

Jonathan,

I am extremely grateful that you are putting these variations onto DVD! They are gorgeous--and the variation video footage along with the wealth of information at BallroomDancers.com keep me coming back again and again to this, my favorite dance site.

Your site has helped me progress steadily since I first became a dedicated student of Dance a few years ago.

The video footage has been so useful because there are some dances that I do not get to see danced that often "properly". Therefore in the past I've had difficulty visualizing how a dance should be interpreted; Samba and Bolero being two examples.

Keep shining on my friends at BallroomDancers.com. Let's keep the world dancing!

Raymond Sison
DanceMakers of Texas
Fort Worth, Texas