Inside Production: Walter Schoenknecht

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.

The Agony of A-to-D

by Walter Schoenknecht, 7.09.2008

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?

Colorful Language for Video Editors

by Walter Schoenknecht, 3.26.2008

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.

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 maintenance shop for parts unknown.

Up for Adoption

by Walter Schoenknecht, 9.05.2007

I can’t believe how shocked I was when I watched that episode of “The Sopranos.”

Video Awards Are The Big Winner

by Walter Schoenknecht, 8.08.2007

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 checks.

The Truck Gets In Your Blood

by Walter Schoenknecht, 7.11.2007

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.

Doing a Script Check For Accuracy

by Walter Schoenknecht, 4.11.2007

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.

Note to the Teacher

by Walter Schoenknecht, 2.07.2007

It was nice to meet you at the Middle School Back-To-School Night last week.

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.

The 'In' Thing Boils Down to Infrastructure

by Walter Schoenknecht, 9.06.2006

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 years, it's perfectly likely that your rookie staff thinks that you need only a camera, a computer, and little else.

Object Lessons in Breakout Karma

by Walter Schoenknecht, 7.12.2006

I've never been one to chalk up much to fate. Usually, hard work and talent are rewarded, and sloppiness and mediocrity ignored.

Learning to Follow The Digital Signage

by Walter Schoenknecht, 4.12.2006

Scene: A small manufacturing firm, circa 1906. The owner speaks with an employee: "Ellsworth, I'm afraid I'll have to let you go... looks like Mr. Edison's invention has pretty much ruined the market for oil lamps."

Learn How to Learn or Get Out of the Way

by Walter Schoenknecht, 2.08.2006

Over the period of time I've been privileged to fill this space, I've noticed that some of the columns I've written could easily be classified into one of several categories.

The Cost of Doing Business

by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.07.2005

It was said that our client Pete, during a stint at a major New York ad agency, would often gaze down at the busy street corner below, watching the hot dog vendor. After seven or eight minutes of thoughtful observation, he'd turn to an associate and say, "Not bad. That guy is clearing $1,000 a week."

What If It All Burned Down Tonight?

by Walter Schoenknecht, 11.09.2005

It's the end of a long, hard day at a small production company, and a wave of tribulations washes me out to dreamland. The old steam-powered Mac in Edit Room Four took five hours to compress a four-minute program. A faulty patch deleted the blue channel from a component analog spot dub. And it smells like a power supply is going down somewhere in the machine room.

Who Needs HDV?

by Walter Schoenknecht, 9.07.2005

No, seriously... all joking aside... who needs it? Can you give me some names? I know everybody wants HDV. I was in Las Vegas in April, and like those other 100,000 NAB attendees, I saw folks lined up six deep waiting to see the cameras and to look at the pretty pictures. I was one of them.

Written In Stone

by Walter Schoenknecht, 4.06.2005

Particularly ironic is the notion that this most crucial part of the digital content chain--storage--is left to the one remaining mechanical device in a modern computer, the hard drive.

Going On-Location in a Post-9/11 Environment

by Walter Schoenknecht, 3.09.2005

I used to worry that I couldn't be in two places at once; now I find that I can't even be in one place at once.

A Tale of Videotape: Displacing Film in the '60s

by Walter Schoenknecht, 1.05.2005

Last year, I successfully tracked down John Vrba, a man I've never met but whom I'd known vicariously for more than 25 years.

DVD Authoring: Driven to Abstraction

by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.08.2004

You may think you're in control of your DVD authoring, but you're not.

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