IMAGING
Me and Judge Alito, at
his confirmation hearing.
I’m sitting at far left,
enjoying a cold brau.
HOW TO DRINK BEER
ON C-SPAN
Put yourself into somebody else’s video.
By Bill Barminski
OK, you’re not really going to drink beer on C-SPAN repeat everything, over and over and over. So if
or Larry King Live. But you can make it look like you see something good, you can catch it later
you did on video. I don’t know why you’d want to, and record it. I use an analog-to-DV converter
but let’s just say you do. I know I did. on my computer to capture stuff live off the TV
The method used to achieve this effect is called directly into Final Cut Pro. But you can record
compositing. You will need a source video recorded onto a DV camera and then later capture it into
from a television show, a replacement video you the editing software of your choice.
will shoot yourself, and a static matte — a shape The second and more important reason why
cut out of the source video with Photoshop to hold C-SPAN is a good source is that the network tends
the new video. to use “locked-down” camera shots. (A lockdown
The first step is to watch TV and record the is a camera that has been set on a tripod and is
source video. Sounds like fun, right? Don’t get too not moving or panning.) No matter where you get
excited. I recommend using video from C-SPAN, your source video, you need to look for shows that
which is a good source for two reasons. First, they use locked-down camera angles. A locked-down
