I’m so excited, after six months of blood, sweat and tears my Motivational Light DVD is finally available.
Check out the official trailer that Pieter made.
For more info and purchasing, please visit www.motivationallight.com
We drove ourselves to exhaustion to get it finished but that’s easily forgotten when I look at the end result. The goal was to make a 90 minute instructional DVD, but we ended up with two and a half hours of video about learning how to light. We also tried to squeeze in as much small practical hints and tips as possible. On top of that, there’s an hour of video about how I post processed a number of pictures I shot for the DVD. And then we still have a long section about gear that we just couldn’t fit into the DVD. We’ll release those videos and some more unused footage soon as free online bonus material.
I’m very curious about your reviews, comments and reactions, so please let me know what you think in the comments.
We also would be very thankful if you would help us to spread the news about Motivational Light.
Awesome!
I can’t wait to get this DVD. I have been following your tweets regarding the making-of for weeks now. Very exciting!
Thanks Bert!
I bought it yesterday and I already want to go back home today to see if the files is well on my computer.
I’m curious to view it, and l I’m certain I’ll learn a lot!
Thx guys
Same here, once i have the dosh its going straight to you.
Hi Bert, I bought it yesterday, but it is taking quite a bit of time to download,(estimated 8hrs) maybe it would possible to divide it into a number of smaller downloads. Can’t wait to see it though have been really looking forward to it, I have loved your youtube videos every since I came across them a year or so ago.
@Jason: thx
@Francis: Unfortunately there’s no good service that allows us to divide the download in different parts. So you just have to have a bit more patience. Thx for buying, hope you’ll love it.
This was quite an investment for me but I loved your confessions series and I just had to have it.
Hi Bert,
my small contribution:
http://www.erbon.net/Blog/?p=1775
As soon as I save the money that DVD will be mine
!
Thanks!
Hi Bert,
I downloaded it yesteray. I must be lucky with my conection as it took me 32 minutes.
I was going to ask if there was somewhere I could see the final versions in jpg format, but I have just found them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98609590@N00/sets/72157623499891158/
Thanks a lot and maybe see you around one day!
a bit to expensive for me
By chance did you discus lighting for product photographey in your new DVD?
Or is it a topic you are not familiar with?
If its not something you are interested in would you by chance know of someone I can follow in that the field!
Either way I am still buying your DVD! To much info to pass up on.
Hey Bert, Great DVD.
Marco.
I have used the download manager suggested (ReGet Pro 3.4) and the
download ‘completed’ about 70% of the way. When I try to go to the link sent the zip no longer appears available. I sent an email to support but expect this may take some time…
Hope this works out soon.
97% downloaded. I can’t wait!
ordered. waiting for the download email to arrive
Haha. Bert!!!!!!!
What drugs are you on????? Prof. Fotonopoulos???
You are the funniest belgian I ever known of.
Congrats. Great DVD. And thank you.
Just finish to see it today and it’s very beautiful! Linear, easy to understand and very funny!!
Good work Bert!
After a reset on the servers side, the download worked. Will start watching on the train home tonight
Just one question after downloading: Every lesson is unzipped as .mov-file. Can I burn it on DVD to watch it on tv?
First of all: Congratulations on completing this educational DVD, Bert (and Pieter)!
It really shows that you put a lot of effort into it… Thank you!
As someone who experienced you (and the way you teach) first hand (remember: Frankfurt Strobist Meetup 2008?), buying this DVD was a no-brainer for me.
I haven’t finished watching it yet, but I’m liking it very much so far. Anyway, here are a few bits of feedback and suggestions, also for other readers of this blog and (potential) buyers of the DVD (mabye you can use it for the upcoming FAQ section):
- As some people already noted, the download was quite slow, and the bottleneck seems to be on the server’s side (only 150-400KB/s throughput, on my 16Mbit DSL line). I know there’s probably nothing you can do about it, but a little “disclaimer” about the size should be in order. (Okay, we know it’s a DVD, so everybody should expect a few Gigabytes, but still…)
BTW: I got a solution to his question, see below.) Don’t get me wrong: The fact that there are seperate H.264/MOV-files is actually an advantage, quality-wise – and the 720p HD videos really look great. However, if some are not “prepared” for it and expect a DVD movie in the verbatim sense, they might be confused or even disappointed.
- Along the same line, I’d advise anybody to be cautious with external download managers. I also tried to be clever on my first download attempt and pasted the URL from the sales confirmation mail directly into my download manager, but in the end it wasn’t successful. (While it seemed to start downloading the file, the name was just a very strange hex-code, and it stopped midway through the transfer.) Maybe other people using DL managers that are directly integrated into their browser – i.e. as a Firefox extension – are more lucky…
- Speaking of DVDs and Gigabytes: Maybe I missed it, but it wasn’t clear to me what the format of the DVD would be before I actually unzipped it. I half expected something like an ISO image that could be burned to disc. (And judging from the comment by Mario above, I wasn’t the only one
- BTW: While not relevant for myself, the same question basically also applies for the “also ship as DVD” option that can be chosen when buying the DVD. Would that just be the files burnt to a DVD, or an “actual” video DVD (which, of course, wouldn’t be HD anymore, but could be played in any DVD player.) On a related note, I think the price for this option (50 EUR / 70 USD) is a bit steep… as opposed to the actual price for the material itself, which I think is justified.
- I noticed that in most part of the movies, the audio is a bit low. Nothing to serious, but if you’re planning on donig a “second cut” of the DVD maybe you could try to re-encode it with a higher gain / piped through a compressor or something – just so that your beautiful voice stands out a bit more.
Okay, that’s it for now… and keep up the good work!
(I hope my nitpicking doesn’t deter you…)
@Mario:
While I’m enjoying watching the HD quality videos on my PC, I also thought that watching them on my (non-HD) TV set, sitting on the couch, would have its advantages – So I looked for a solution to your question.
Luckily, I found a software that does exactly what you want: Create plain video DVDs from a set of .mov (or .avi or whatever) files:
It’s called DVD Flick, and it’s OpenSource and free:
http://www.dvdflick.net/
The process is very easy:
- Once you have DVD Flick installed, just hit the “add title” button on the right, and add all the .mov files you want to include.
- (Remark: I would recommend against including ALL of them on one DVD, because the bitrate most probably would be too low then. The reason is that DVD Flick has to re-encode and resize all of the videos to actually fit on the DVD. In my case, I excluded the post processing “bonus chapter” – since that is a) quite long and b) is probably better watched on the PC anyway)
- Don’t forget to give the DVD a meaningful title (after clicking on the “project settings” button in the middle of the button bar), otherwise your DVD will be called “untiteld project”.
- Choose a menu style / layout (by using the “menu settings” button also on the button bar), and DVD Flick will automatically create a menu with entries for all the different .mov files (which become chapters on the DVD)
- Press the “create DVD” button…. and be patient.
Further info can be found in the guide (it’s linked from the homepage I mentioned above), or from this video tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGClM8gmuyI
(Be aware though that this talks about an older version, that didn’t seem to have the menu feature yet.)
P.S.: The above applies only to the Windows platform… But I guess a similar program could also be found for the Mac.
Thx all
@Damjan: Thx man, I know that for many people it is an investment but we’ve put so much time and energy in this project to make sure that it’s a good investment.
@Hugo: thx to help spread the word
@Niall: You must be on a freaking fast internet line
@B.Moore: Unfortunately the DVD is not about product photography but lighting is lighting. I don’t shoot products very often because I rather shoot subjects that talk back to me
But when I shoot products I try to think of them as portraits and light them pretty much the same way.
@Mario: Many people seem to think that I am professor Photonopoulos but that was my evil twin brother, who managed to get himself in the DVD several times
@Mario: Look at Manuel’s great answer – Thank Manuel
@Manuel: Sure, I remember my stay in Frankfurt, I still use the groupshot
And I really enjoyed spending time with you. I appreciate your suggestions a lot. About most of those things, we have been thinking about and it was usually just a matter of finding the best compromise.
- The download is indeed pretty big but we really wanted to take advantage of the HD video. We already hated the fact that we had to downsize to 720. Download speeds seem to really depend on where you download from.
- The download manager seem to work for some and not for others.
- I’ll try to make the info about the video formats a bit more clear.
- The hard copy DVD’s are playable on a normal DVD player. The price may seem steep but it includes, disks, box, cover, packaging, handling and shipping. Trust me, we don’t make any extra money on that option.
- The audio should be fine as we mastered it with the VU meters, but yes we mastered it on the safe side.
- I don’t mind your “nitpicking” at all. I really welcome this kind of constructive criticism.
Thanks a lot, Manuel.
But sadly, dvdflick is just for windows based pcs, but I have a Mac. But I try to find something similar.
Mario
Hope to buy it soon
Love your work and your videos (Confessions of a Photographer) on youtube
@Mario:
I don’t own a Mac, but from what I heard/read, iDVD (from the iLife package) might do the trick. Especially if you already have it on your Mac, you’ll want to try that first.
Good luck and Best Regards,
Manuel
I’m interested in getting my hands on this but it shall have to wait until the end of the month when I get paid
I do have one question which I haven’t seen answered anywhere yet. What is the total download size of the zip file? I only have a 3Mb link and am worried that I may have trouble downloading the file. Also, my provider throttles my bandwidth if I download more than 2GB in a 24 hour period. It shouldn’t be too difficult to split the file into more manageable blocks using something like HJSplit so that they can be downloaded one at a time over a period of a few days.
Thanks,
Thorsten.
@Manuel:
I own iDVD, but never used it. Will try it. Thank you, Manuel.
Thank you, Manuel.
iDVD works well. It takes a lot of time, but it does.
thanks for the dvd but ı cant watch youtube vidos. can you help me for cookies.:( in my country we cant enter youtube:( Can you enter my webpage. it isi http://www.elestiriyoruz.com hayalet.
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Brilliant! I made your advertizing!
http://www.webab.be/wp/bert-stephani-motivational-light/
@Mario:
Don’t mention it… I’m glad that my idea worked out.
@Bertrand:
LOL… I just saw your choice of video excerpt for your blog posting… Yeah, that scene made me laugh, too. Actually it’s borderline silly, but the way Bert delivers this is really astonishing.
(You should have included the “dancing moves” leading up to it as well, I think.)
Now let’s hope this doesn’t backfire for Bert:
Maybe sometime in the future people will say: “Bert Stephani..?. Yeah, isn’t that the guy who made this famous singing and dancing movie combined with a bit of lighting education?”
hey man i have been following you sense your first youtube video post…i WAS SO pumped when i heard about the dvd, and infact LOVE IT have learned so much and love the twist you put on things, your freaking funny and great with your models and workers.. keep up the good work man your my number one idol out of manyyyyyyyyyyyy
Hi Bert and Pieter,
Thanks for giving us access to all your knowledge. It is well worth the price. Took a while to get it due to some creditcard hickups, but all is well now.
I LOVE IT!
Cheers, Peter.
@Mario: I think that Bert is our european (from Belgium. Yeah I’m proud) David Hobby with a little more humour
@Bert: Here is my first test. Style under the bridge without flash. Many thx
http://www.darqroom.com/image/8400/588504
I have watched it 90% now, i still have to watch the last 1/2 hr of the post processing, which I am finding very interesting.
As discussed above I burned the files to two dvd’s using Premier Elements and the picture quailty on the tv is superb, the sound does spike up and down a little but hea its a photography tutorial not a movie blockbuster.
I have aready used some of your tips and won first place last night in our camera clubs portrait competion with a photo of my daughter thanks in no small part to this DVD. Here is the image http://www.flickr.com/photos/riverhouse/4498972585/
Thanks Bert for all the advise keep it up.
@Bertrand: I guess you were referring to my last post… and not to Mario’s…
Anyway, I think your absolutely right: Bert really IS the European David Hobby. And yes, we Europeans can be proud of him.
BTW: Your first “test” pic is really good! Looks like you put Bert’s “shelter technique” to good use!
@Manuel: You’re right Manuel and not Mario. Oops!
Thank you to have appreciated my test. And the winner is… Is… Bert!
How come all lighting gurus have a beer belly …
Thx all,
@Thorsten: The download file is about 3,4 GB’s. Unfortunately there’s no way to offer the download in separate parts without having to raise the price. Maybe find a friend with a better connection and download it there?
@Manuel: We really didn’t want to make another “serious” instructional DVD. Pieter and I are a bit goofy, so people have to take us the way we are
@David: Thx, the main goal of this DVD was after all sharing some knowledge
@Bertrand: I saw David once live and trust me, the guy is a standup comedian – like the pic btw
@Francis: Congrats on that first place and I’m really honored that I could contribute a little to it.
@hfng: shhhht – you are revealing the secret
Bert, your “confessions of a photographer” clips thought me how to use an off camera flash, and my photography became a lot better, so you deserve the money for this DVD.
it’s downloading…
thx Andrew
beeeeeeeeert!!! where’s the techno music?
I didn’t get to watch the entire DVD yet, but my first impression is that something is missing… I would want more technical details (like shutter speed, aperture and ISO) especially for the studio shots or the shots you used flash for.
As I am mainly a wedding photographer, and I don’t always have time to setup lights, the part with the ambient light is really helpful and really well put together and explained.
I would propose that you include in the zip the pictures with full exif, so we can analyze them better… Or maybe upload them on flickr with the full exif?…
Very good DVD, I don’t regret I bought it!
Bert,
Downloaded the DVD converted it with Quicktime to my iPhone. You are funny and very educational at the same time. I’m almost through the complete DVD. I’m just starting with strobist photography and it helps me a lot. It’s very inspirational.
Very good work. Hope to see more from you in the near future (maybe on a workshop)
And yes, the downloading took me a complete night, but hey I was sleeping so what the hack…
Bert,
of course you didn’t want to make another “serious” instructional DVD… and I’d say you succeeded!
Just to make sure that you didn’t get this wrong: My comment wasn’t meant as an actual criticism of the humorous parts of the DVD. It was merely an observation.
(In fact, I think good humor is probably a characteristic of many great photographers: You already named David Hobby, and I have to say that e.g. Joe McNally can also be damn funny…)
Bert,
I have the OneLight and Strobist DVD’s and yours wonderfully complements them. Zack Arias took my fear out of using off camera flash, David Hobby taught me the technique and your DVD just gave me sooooo many new ideas for pictures that it is going to keep me insanely busy. I hope it turns out to be a great commercial success (or as Zack would put it, sucksess! See http://www.zarias.com/zack-arias-sucksessful-commercial-photographer/ if you don’t get it), so you may consider a sequel.
Hello Bert,
Greetings from down under and congratulations on the DVD!
I found it to be a valuable & fun learning experience. I do agree with Andrew that I would love to see the exif details to round out the information for the shoots.
Thanks for providing such a great resource over the years.
Best Wishes to yourself,Pieter and the crew,
Anthony
Keep up the good work
Hello Bert,
Greetings from downunder and congrats on the DVD.
I found the DVD to be a fun and valuable learning experience. I would agree with Andrew that it would maybe round out the learning experience more if the exif details were available (if poss).
Thanks for providing such a great resource over the years.
Best wishes to yourself, Pieter and the crew.
Many Thanks,
Anthony