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koonagi · 3 years

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My Interview w/ Dallas Local Skateboarding Company 'Defiant Upgrades' + CONTEST

Earlier in 2020, I made an attempt to film a Dallas Skate Spots episode by myself at Lewisville Skatepark, AKA Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park early in the morning. I remember forcing myself awake that morning at around 6am to try and film before I started my day job at 9am. (SPOILER: I didn’t finish the episode that day and still haven’t due to that park getting extremely busy and COVID 19 being a thing.) However, I did manage to meet a skater there by the name of David Dulin.

I was setting up my camera at the benches they have near the entrance of the skatepark. David was sitting across from me at another bench while his girlfriend quad skated in the distance. We got to talking and became friends. I couldn’t stay too much longer after we began our conversation, but we kept in touch.

A month or so ago, David reached out to me and announced he was starting his own skateboarding company called Defiant Upgrades. We decided to team up to promote both of our brands via a contest. I also wanted to make my readers aware of the new company by writing this article. David’s a super interesting person and I hope you enjoy my socially distanced and fully online interview with him as we discuss his new company:

Read through the article to see how you can win FREE truck nuts from Defiant Upgrades for your board!

Before we get to your new company, tell me a little about yourself and how you got into skateboarding.

"My name is David Dulin, but I also sometimes use my old radio name Dave Foster. I am originally from Michigan. I worked in radio for seven years after graduating from Michigan State University. I moved to the Houston area in 2001 for work and later to Dallas in 2002. I worked in the promotional music field from 2002 until being downsized at the end of 2018. I spent 2019 working with friends while I figured out what I wanted to do next. COVID-19 hit in March of 2020 and I found myself in lockdown. Around April/May my girlfriend took up roller skating, and after going with her to a local skatepark I decided to get a skateboard. Growing up as a kid I was always interested in skateboarding, but my mom was overly cautious. As an ER nurse she was always convinced whatever hobby I took up would land me in the hospital because she, “saw it all the time”. When I did finally convince her to get me a board it was a terrible plastic one that wasn’t any fun. I had no smooth surfaces to skate and none of my friends were into it. I quickly gave up and moved onto other hobbies." -- DD

Who are some of the skaters that inspired you when you first started and who inspires you now?

"Back in the 80’s obviously I was inspired by Tony Hawk and the Zephyr Team guys. The movie ‘Gleaming the Cube’ was awesome. This time around I don’t really follow specific skaters. I have respect for everyone who skates because it is damn hard. People who don’t skate have no idea how much work you have to put in to even get kinda OK at it. I really enjoy watching local skaters at the park. It’s a lot of fun to watch someone keep trying a trick until they nail it. That look of self-satisfaction is awesome." -- DD

Let's get to your new company! What is Defiant Upgrades and how did this all come about?

"Defiant Upgrades is a vehicle for skaters to express their individuality. Before I got into skating I was (and still am) big into mountain biking. Mountain biking companies have tons of accessories in a multitude of color choices. When I got my first board I wanted to "make it mine" by customizing it. There are a ton of choices for grip tape, deck graphics, truck style/color and different wheel options. I was surprised there wasn’t really a way to customize your axle nuts. It was like the old Ford Model T joke... you can have any color you want as long as it's (in this case) silver (or sometimes black). There were a few roller skate companies that sold nylon axle nuts in various colors, but I didn’t think plastic was a good material for holding your wheels on. I started to do more and more research. Eventually I found some factories that would produce what I was looking for. They wouldn’t just make a few though, and I had to decide how serious I was about pursuing this. I dipped into savings and started my company." -- DD

Do you have any advice for other people wanting to start their own companies?

"There are plenty of business/self-help “guru’s” out there with advice and systems for being successful at starting a new business. Before starting Defiant Upgrades, I had read a lot of business books. The advice I’d give people can best be summed up by a Seth Godin quote, “If you wait until you have the skill, if you wait until you’re certain it’s going to work, it’s very unlikely you’ll ever take that leap”. If you are tired of working for someone else and being at their mercy, why not take a chance and bet on yourself? You don’t have to run out and quit your job (unless you have the means and a plan), but with the right goal you can start your own journey." -- DD

Where do you see Defiant Upgrades going and what products might we expect? What products do you currently have?

"I would like to grow Defiant Upgrades into a global brand with multiple product lines. The colorful axle nuts are just the first step. I have some other ideas I will be fleshing out soon. I’m also open to expanding into other products/hobbies based on feedback. I feel it’s important to stay flexible and nimble starting out. I don’t have all of the answers and that’s OK. I am looking forward to the journey and finding the answers. Currently we offer 8mm electroplated steel nyloc skate axle nuts in seven colors. We have them packaged for skateboarders (a five pack for $6.95) and roller/quad skaters (a pack of ten for $11.95, $12.95 if they want mismatched colors). I include extra nuts because they’re small and accidents happen, so it’s very easy to lose a nut here or there." -- DD

Random Question: What's your favorite skatepark?

"I have skated a lot of the parks in the DFW area and I always come back to the same park. Lewisville’s Railroad Park is still my favorite. It just has so much to offer and it’s huge. So, it can handle a bunch of skaters mixed in with scooter kids, rollerbladers, BMXers and quad skaters. It’s not perfect, but overall, it’s the most fun for me." -- DD

Where can people follow you and your company to support it and keep up to date on everything Defiant?

"Currently our main shop is located over at Etsy. We’re on social media at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Just search for @defiantupgrades and we should be easy to find. I am in the process of building out a standalone website which will be at defiantupgrades.com. That will launch in the first quarter of 2021. I plan to keep the Etsy shop open after launching the new website as well. I can also be reached directly at [email protected]." -- DD

I’d like to thank David for taking time out of his busy day to do this article. It’s always so cool to see people have a passion/idea for something and run with it full steam. I wish David and his company all the best. I’d also like to add that as previously mentioned, we are having a contest where you can win some free nuts! All you have to do is:

Follow Defiant Upgrades on Instagram.

Comment on one of their posts and let us know you’ve entered.

We’ll be announcing a new winner next Friday on the Defiant Upgrades Instagram and in my video coming out Friday, January 15th. Stay tuned and check out David’s company Defiant Upgrades at his website and social media, linked below.

Check out the latest Dallas Skate Spots video below to see the Defiant Upgrades nuts in action!

#Defiant Upgrades #Lewisville skatepark #skateboarding #interviews

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patrickjones-blog · 4 years

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When it was introduced by Sony and Panasonic in 1995, the MiniDV was considered a state-of-the-art recording format. But like every format, it eventually was replaced by better technology. While DVDs largely surpassed VHS as the video playback medium of choice by the early 2000s, the MiniDV continued to dominate the recording market. Here’s a look back at the once-popular format that revolutionized home moviemaking in the late-1990s to the first decade of the 21st century.

Cute and Compact

Diminutive MiniDV tapes were a little larger than a Tic-Tac container. The format was essentially a smaller, more compact version of the 8mm and hi8 tapes that ruled the industry around the same time. And compared to the massive VHS tapes that were king of the home entertainment industry by the mid-1990s, the MiniDV was like a Chihuahua vs. a Labrador! These compact and lightweight camcorders made Little League games and birthday parties easier to record than ever before and the results were better.

MiniDV Technical Specs

Cassettes measured about 2 1/2 inches by 2 inches by 1/4 inch

Recording time: 60 minutes (standard play), 90 minutes (extended/long play), and 80/120 minute tapes were also available

MiniDV could be used to store about 13GB of other data when used with specific software

Maximum resolution of 530 horizontal lines

Three times the color information of VHS meant far brighter, richer, and vibrant colors

Camcorders that cost $800 to $1600 could record video, upload it to a computer for editing, and play it on any screen

MiniDVs connected to computers via USB or FireWire

Digital Quality

DV stands for digital video. Even though MiniDV tapes were cassettes, the quality was comparable to digital quality picture and sound. In fact, this format is still used today by some professionals. And for those who love retro formats, it’s possible to buy affordable used or refurbished MiniDV camcorders if your heart desires, however, expect to pay a premium price for the tapes.

Fun MiniDV Facts

MiniDV was used as the primary recording and editing medium for some wide-release motion pictures

The 2002 Miramax comedy Tadpole was filmed on MiniDV, although it met with criticism at the Sundance Film Festival for its poor technical quality, inconsistent color, and washed-out backgrounds

Many independent documentaries used this medium, most notably the Oscar-nominated film Supersize Me, released in 2004

Playing MiniDVs

If you no longer have a working camcorder, you can view Mini DVs through a deck that acts as a MiniDV tape player. The deck is actually a VHS tape with an adapter slot for the Mini DV. Of course, the best way to preserve and watch MiniDV tapes is to convert them to digital.

Digitize MiniDV Memories

You can digitize MiniDVs yourself, but you’ll need a working camcorder and software to undertake this endeavor. If you have stacks of tapes, this process can literally take hundreds of hours and many more if you want to do any editing. MiniDVs deteriorate and some software programs can be finicky.

No worries – at ScanCafe, we’ve designed the entire MiniDV to digital process to be as pain-free as possible, saving you time and aggravation. So don’t hesitate – send us yesterday’s fading memories and we’ll convert them to tomorrow’s memories that last forever.

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patrickjones-blog · 5 years

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If you are a keeper of family treasures, you likely have more than a few metal canisters filled with 8mm home movies. They may have labels like “Vacation 66” or “Danny’s 8th Birthday”. Those films are filled with clips that can transport you – to birthdays, reunions or just daily life moments from the past. It would be a pity to let these memories languish in spools of film that you can’t easily play. And so converting your 8mm film to digital is a project that you should tackle at the earliest.

It’s helpful to understand more about the 8mm format and the history of movie transfers before you embark on a project like this.

When we talk about 8mm film, we are talking about the film stock that was widely popular starting in the mid-20th century, among home photographers and amateur filmmakers.

Before 1932, Kodak’s main film offering for moving pictures was the 16mm format. However, this was an expensive format and not a viable option for the home movie market. And so in 1932, Kodak came out with the more affordable 8mm film format. It proved to be a commercial hit in the decades that followed. Kodak finally discontinued the format in the early 1990s.

In the decades following its introduction, millions of people used their home movie cameras to capture memories on 8mm film. Family events such as weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, and reunions were recorded on thousands of frames wound around a spool. These spools of film were kept in round metal canisters waiting to be displayed by the home movie projector.

If you are a family historian or just love old films, these 8mm masterpieces need to be preserved for future generations. The best way to do that is to convert your 8mm film to DVD, or other digital formats

Old and new ways to convert 8mm film to digital

Converting old 8mm film to digital is as old as moving pictures themselves. Hollywood pioneered many of the methods still in use today. Here are a few of these:

– The Film Chain Transfer In the 1960s, Hollywood needed to convert films that were decades old into newer formats so that they could be shown on television and re-screened in movie theatres. The most common method for doing this became known as the film chain transfer. With this process, the film gets loaded into a standard movie projector that then projects the images onto a screen. A separate movie camera captures the images and imprints them on the new film stock.

Unfortunately, there are certain critical drawbacks to this method. A flickering appears on the new film image due to the shutter used by the projector to move the old film forward. This method also makes it difficult to adjust color and lighting while transferring the film. The results were less than spectacular, but it did the job.

– The Flying Spot Scanner With the drawbacks of the film chain transfer method, Hollywood started looking for new options. The most popular one was the flying spot scanner.

Instead of relying on a sprocket chain and shutters, the flying spot scanner method used a capstan to move the film forward and backward. This solved the flickering image problem. This method also brought in computer processing that allowed adjustments for lighting and color correction as the film was being transferred. It provided a more consistent look to the final product.

– The Digital Revolution By the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the digital revolution had begun. Hollywood was increasingly using digital cameras to capture film images. Film editing moved away from tape decks to computers. Scanners became digital. The final piece to the puzzle was the introduction of the DVD player to the consumer market in 1994.

At first, old 8mm films were transferred to digital formats using interlacing. Video interlacing combines two images into a single one by alternating lines from each one. This helped improve the image when viewed on tube televisions and was a distinct improvement over the old movie projectors. However, with higher definition televisions, the move to a higher definition format was only a matter of time.

Today, preserving old 8mm films to digital is often done in High Definition (HD) format. This format gives you one frame of DVD for every frame of film scanned. This results in better quality pictures and higher resolutions than with scans created using interlacing.

How to transfer 8mm films to DVD

Today, the technology for transferring 8mm film to DVD relies on the methods developed by Hollywood in the past half-century. For those who want to do the job themselves, the film chain transfer method will work, but it still has the downside of flickering and no means of color correction. If you have a movie projector and a camera for capturing the images, you can try this method for yourself. However, you may find the results are not of the quality your home films deserve.

A better option is to have the professionals do the transfer for you. They have the equipment and the expertise to extract the best out of your 8mm films. In many cases, the digital film you end up with may be better than the original. However, not all professional services can deliver such results.

Some professionals still use the flying spot scanner method for transferring 8mm to digital format. While this method avoids the flickering problem, the images may be interlaced and this can show up when you display it on a high definition television or computer. This interlacing will only become more pronounced as technology and resolution requirements advance. Always go with a company that transfers in HD or better quality. This will ensure you get the superior results enabled by frame for frame reproduction.

Other considerations for your 8mm film scanning project

Here are a few other details to help you get the best pictures possible from your 8mm stock:

Full frame scanning – Some companies will crop the image and only capture the inside two-thirds of the frame. With full-frame scanning, you get the entire picture, no cropping.

Dust and scratch removal – It is almost guaranteed that some part of the film will have dust and scratches. The scanning company should include dust and scratch removal as part of its service.

Color correction – Old movies were shot in a different film era when lighting and coloring options were limited. Scene-by-scene color correction helps give the film reel a cohesive look and feel.

DVD with Blu-Ray option – HD film works quite well with the DVD format. It should be the standard option available. If you want a Blu-Ray option, look for a company that provides that.

The post Converting 8mm Film to Digital: A History and How-to Guide appeared first on ScanCafe.

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