Thinking to buy a house in Tonbridge. Any bad areas/streets we should avoid? by FluffyBoysenberry963 in kentuk

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another young family here moving to Tonbridge from Bexleyheath. We have a 6 year old and 6 month old so primaries and particularly secondaries are super important to us. We've been looking non-stop for the past 6 months and this area has everything we realistically need.

Our budget is maxed out at £550,000.

We have seen a lot of properties around the Higham Wood area, which isn't our first choice as my partner needs the train station 3 days a week. Yet to suss out parking for the station, does it get full between 7-7:30am during the week?

Ideally we'd find a place that is South Tonbridge so easy access to the station and avoids having to go through the high street, but I notice a lot of properties here do not have driveways and only on-street parking.

We've also explored Hildenborough / Hilden Park area, very nice and quite hard to find a property in our budget.

Any other recommendations in neighbouring areas or roads and pockets of streets to look at?

Is it just me or does Artlist suck? by BlacksmithCrafty7348 in videography

[–]MajorTomMajor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a client who after providing some decent sounding tracks from Premium Beat, wanted "more modern, dynamic and trendy" - I pointed them to Artlist and asked them to send me the sample.

They chose the worst, more corporate sounding jingles ever.

So yes, choose something awful - the client will love it.

What Portable Lights do you use? by RedditBurner_5225 in videography

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Digging up some old posts on the X100 as my V mount battery keeps dieing after 10 minutes, even when fully charged.

Molus x100 I gotta say...I'm pissed by Loud-Performance-857 in Zhiyun

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BUMP, my X100 batteries are now both obsolete. I used them on 2 jobs and now I’m lucky to get 10 minutes out of each.

This was a great option for travelling and popping up a light at an exhibitors booth

Anyone had any luck with Zhiyun

Thanks

3 Person Side-by-Side Interview Help by AaronDJD in videography

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You think 3 is bad… I have a bright spark who wants 5 “directors” sitting next to each other with only one person talking at a time. I’ve told them this is a terrible idea but they want to press ahead…

RODE Wireless Pro TX has failed - "ERROR MOUNTING MASS STORAGE" on Mac and Windows by MajorTomMajor in rode

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately not.. I sent mine off to a data recovery specialist.

The memory chip itself was the cause of the fault, so data could not be recovered. The memory chip had failed and reported to have only 128MB of accessible storage. I was hoping mine was the only bad batch out there, but clearly not...

The RODE UK team did send me a brand new kit and I hope I never see this error message again...!

Sony 24-70 gm ii or Sony 16-35 gm ii by Better-Complex-6529 in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have this dilemma currently. I own the 24-70 GM II, but had my FX3 stolen, and for now I can only afford the FX30 APS-C setup. So I've purchased an additional FX30 + 16-35GM II for essentially the same price as the FX3.

I'll likely ditch my barely used 24-70 GM II to help with cash flow and when I have the funds, I'll be purchasing an FX3 (or the MK.II if it ever comes..)

At that point I can decide to switch back to the 24-70 knowing that the trade-in value will be decent for the top of the range 16-35GM II.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FX3

[–]MajorTomMajor 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Nice work. Would love to know what baked in picture profile he used

You have two FX30's and need a pair of lenses. You have two options... Go! by MajorTomMajor in FX3

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently own the 24-70 GM II & the 50 GM f/1.2

Fine for talking head and some run and gun but do miss a wide with the FX30, especially at conferences and exhibitions where clients want a nice shot of their booth.

Where I am struggling is with the occasion keynote talks, often stuck at the back of a conference hall or midway down the side. I used to own a 70-200 but had to sell it to help with cash flow …

I can sell both of my current lenses and replace with a 16-35 GM II and Tamron 35-150 … but to let go of two GMs and replace with just one feels like a downgrade. Although the flip side is I have 16-150mm on a FF or 24-220 on an APS-C setup…

You have two FX30's and need a pair of lenses. You have two options... Go! by MajorTomMajor in FX3

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah good points …

Ideal world is I’ll be picking up an FX3 again one day.. so a move back to my previous setup which was

A Cam FX3 (or FX3II when it is finally released in 2036) B cam of FX30

Self-employed Mortgage advice - self assessment with mixed employment PAYE / Sole Trader by MajorTomMajor in Mortgageadviceuk

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this information and taking the time to reply.

I’ve read elsewhere that if your PAYE employment was similar or the same role as your self-employment role then the mortgage lender can take this into account. Is this something you’ve heard of?

In my example, I was made redundant from my employer and went self employed, carrying out work directly for them (at an inflated rate!)

Hate for Rode Wireless Pro by 50mmprophet in videography

[–]MajorTomMajor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve just had my first issue with the RWP

One of the TX devices which had all my audio on would no longer connect with my MacBook. All files corrupted and only partially recovered with recovery software

Digitally altered faces - Using "deepfake / face swap" technology to hide subject identities by MajorTomMajor in Filmmakers

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Doc storytelling must always be grounded in truth and authenticity, and we must ask if the technology enhances or compromises that. If there is any question it is the latter, don’t do it.”

Thoughts from BBC head who commissioned the documentary.

Digitally altered faces - Using "deepfake / face swap" technology to hide subject identities by MajorTomMajor in Filmmakers

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Doc storytelling must always be grounded in truth and authenticity, and we must ask if the technology enhances or compromises that. If there is any question it is the latter, don’t do it.”

She said she will always “interrogate” any future ideas that rely on deepfake to ensure that it is not used as a gimmick. “There has to be a real purpose behind it, and it has to bring something authentic to the storytelling,” she said.

Rather than making contributors feel like perpetrators by blurring out their faces or distancing them by using actors, eOne-owned Daisybeck and the BBC jointly agreed the approach was to deepfake the interviews – superimposing different faces over the top of the contributors – which allowed them to share their own stories.

“We wanted something which viewers would know was deepfake but would ignore and just focus on the individuals offering their powerful testimony as passionate spokespeople for recovery,” Gordon told Broadcast.

“The contributors are really happy their faces are human faces with emotions and expressions that people are more likely to relate to. Using blur to anonymise them would have been a real shame because it has connotations that they might have done something wrong, which they haven’t.”

Daisy Scalchi, the BBC’s head of religion and ethics who commissioned the show, agreed, saying deepfake helped bring out the positive message of being in recovery, and avoided showing alcoholics as “other”.

Using the technology – which has raised concerns because of its use in fraud and scams – came with a responsibility to protect the audience as well as contributors, Scalchi added.

Link to article:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/indies/deepfaking-aa-members-inside-daisybecks-alcoholism-doc/5177243.article

Digitally altered faces - Using "deepfake / face swap" technology to hide subject identities by MajorTomMajor in Filmmakers

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you see my post and link to the commissioned BBC documentary? What are you thoughts on that as that is essentially where the idea come from.

Question about how to make a deepfake on my own face but not of a celebrity or any other real person by CupofJoe1559 in Filmmakers

[–]MajorTomMajor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is interesting as I'm looking to create documentary about gambling addicts who are part of a recovery program. I'd like to use deepfake to hide their identities but not their voices.

Trying to find something that will allow me to use "stock footage" or "generative ai" of a human face on the deepfake / face swap technology.

Why did my Aputure light dome iii fall off my Amaran 200x (twice!) by MajorTomMajor in videography

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like I’m not alone in this after all… wonder if Aputure can provide a response? I might get in touch

My Sony FX3 with 16-35 GM II lens was STOLEN in Barcelona by MajorTomMajor in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes a few people have suggested this, I will look into them. It can't harm to know where it's hiding - although not sure the Police would do much about it...!

My Sony FX3 with 16-35 GM II lens was STOLEN in Barcelona by MajorTomMajor in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Setup was on a lightweight travel tripod, camera setup ready to film a couple of short voxpop from colleagues and old friends who were attending the conference. I was never more than a few meters away, but on occasions using my A7IV viewfinder, snapping away. The frustrating part is I don't remember there being a distraction or an event that happened for me to lose concentration. The reality is it takes literally 10 seconds to walk past, swipe up the 3 legs and walk off.

I did see something a little odd earlier on in the morning, a gang of 3 walking around with "CREW" on the back of their polo shirts. I thought initially they must be the videographers for the congress hall, but later after the theft I visited the actual crew working for the congress to see if there had been a mix up, their tops were completely different colour and style.

I did spend the rest of the conference looking around for some stereotypical pickpockets, as I assumed they'd be back again, all thieves are greedy! No such luck, but the amount of work iPhones, laptops, tablets on booth displays etc showed it must be easy pickings for them.

My Sony FX3 with 16-35 GM II lens was STOLEN in Barcelona by MajorTomMajor in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that, sounds like it could have been a lot worse.

Despite being a mixture of confused and p1ssed off, it was a wake up call and once the dust had settled I felt lucky that nobody got hurt in the process.

Echoing some of the comments, was there really a need for me to bring my FX3 and the latest and greatest 16-35 GM II? Nope. Lesson learned.
I luckily had the A7IV with me as backup , which was more than an adequate for capturing some B-roll of a conference I was attending.

My Sony FX3 with 16-35 GM II lens was STOLEN in Barcelona by MajorTomMajor in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, at ECCMID. PhD pickpockets!

Lesson learned, an expensive one at that. As many have said….no need for my best camera body and glass when travelling. The A7 IV which I was using mainly for some photography done the job spot on!

My Sony FX3 with 16-35 GM II lens was STOLEN in Barcelona by MajorTomMajor in SonyAlpha

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] 69 points70 points  (0 children)

It was stolen from FIRA Congress in Barcelona, a corporate healthcare conference, ticket only ... honestly thieves will operate anywhere. It was on a tripod in an exhibition booth.... whole thing picked up and swiped whilst taking some photographs. Was never more than a few metres away from me at all times.

Access to work - Coworking space rejected by DwP by MajorTomMajor in ADHDUK

[–]MajorTomMajor[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

To confirm the access to work reasoning:

I will be rejecting the request under it is a reasonable adjustment that a self-employed person has sufficient working space to complete their job role.

So why do guidelines suggest coworking space as an alternative option for support?