Greetings family and friends,
I am happy to announce that our online order system for videotape to DVD and 8mm film to DVD transfer services is now online and ready for your use.
At this point, the system will only accept orders for straight video and film transfers. It offers our customers the ability to send the film to us at their convenience and be free from the restrictions of our in-studio hours. And because it is online and simplifies the process, it allows us to drop the price a little.
While the ordering pages are 100% secure (payment is accepted through PayPal), keeping our costs down means that we don't have a programmer on-staff to complete a nice custom ordering page/shopping cart. But rest assured, our top quality film and tape transfer work will still be put into all of your projects.
The page is organized into 3 sections: one for silent film, one for sound film, and the last for videotapes. Be sure if you use this system that you place your order in the appropriate section. If you have a custom order, please call us or send us an email and we will either schedule a time in-studio or send you a custom invoice.
Let us know how you like our online ordering system. And please give us feedback if there is anything difficult or confusing that you find.
Visit the page at www.mckennavideo.com/orders.html .
Blessings,
Chris.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
The History of 8mm Film
Home movies have been around since the early years of America’s Great
Depression (McKenna Video has seen a number of film from this area come to our studio for transfer to DVD). The great leap forward that made it possible to capture
the best moments of family vacations, weddings and special events on
film came in 1932 when the Eastman Kodak company created the 8mm film
format. Until that time, home movies were only available to the very well off. When Kodak launched 8mm film, however, recording special events for
posterity made a sudden and irreversible move into middle class America,
Europe and the world.
By taking what was then the standard 16mm film spool and adding twice as may perforations along each edge, Kodak was able to design a far less expensive option than the 16mm format. The secret came in designing the spool holes so that only half the film was exposed on the first pass through the camera. Kodak’s revolutionary design allowed the camera to be opened and the spools flipped, so that the unexposed half of the film could be used on the second pass.
After both sides of the 16mm film were exposed, the film would be split down the middle, thus yielding two lengths of film, both of which were 8mm in width. Because each of the new rows of film had just one row of perforations, the new process effectively yielded four times as many frames as the single-pass, double-perforated 16 mm film. This allowed for exceptional cost savings, with no loss of quality, making the new 8mm format an instant success. The newest star in cinematography not only appeared on the horizon, it became accessible to the just about everyone.
For almost 60 years, Kodak continued to manufacture 8mm film, albeit with some modifications. In 1965, Super 8 film was introduced and became an instant hit with home movie makers. Easier to use because it didn’t require reloading halfway through the film making process, Super 8 gave better quality and rapidly took over from its aging contemporary. Soon after, Kodak introduced Super 8 with sound. Although the sound is of very poor quality, it did give one the opportunity to record audio right alongside the image.
By the early 90’s, 8mm film in all its formats was facing extinction, though it survived for a number of years in independent film stores and eastern European countries, particularly in the black and white format. Once videotape and digital technology arrived on the scene, 8mm film format was forever doomed. Camcorders have now been all the rage for almost 20 years, and 8mm film has now been consigned to the history books, although some wedding videographers are resurrecting the format for use in their niche story telling.
For more information on having your family's 8mm film, Super 8 film, or 16mm film transferred to DVD, visit our website www.mckennavideo.com or call us at (253) 539-3438.
Blessings,
Chris.
By taking what was then the standard 16mm film spool and adding twice as may perforations along each edge, Kodak was able to design a far less expensive option than the 16mm format. The secret came in designing the spool holes so that only half the film was exposed on the first pass through the camera. Kodak’s revolutionary design allowed the camera to be opened and the spools flipped, so that the unexposed half of the film could be used on the second pass.
After both sides of the 16mm film were exposed, the film would be split down the middle, thus yielding two lengths of film, both of which were 8mm in width. Because each of the new rows of film had just one row of perforations, the new process effectively yielded four times as many frames as the single-pass, double-perforated 16 mm film. This allowed for exceptional cost savings, with no loss of quality, making the new 8mm format an instant success. The newest star in cinematography not only appeared on the horizon, it became accessible to the just about everyone.
For almost 60 years, Kodak continued to manufacture 8mm film, albeit with some modifications. In 1965, Super 8 film was introduced and became an instant hit with home movie makers. Easier to use because it didn’t require reloading halfway through the film making process, Super 8 gave better quality and rapidly took over from its aging contemporary. Soon after, Kodak introduced Super 8 with sound. Although the sound is of very poor quality, it did give one the opportunity to record audio right alongside the image.
By the early 90’s, 8mm film in all its formats was facing extinction, though it survived for a number of years in independent film stores and eastern European countries, particularly in the black and white format. Once videotape and digital technology arrived on the scene, 8mm film format was forever doomed. Camcorders have now been all the rage for almost 20 years, and 8mm film has now been consigned to the history books, although some wedding videographers are resurrecting the format for use in their niche story telling.
For more information on having your family's 8mm film, Super 8 film, or 16mm film transferred to DVD, visit our website www.mckennavideo.com or call us at (253) 539-3438.
Blessings,
Chris.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
McKenna Video Announces Changes to Pickup and Delivery Service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(February 23, 2012)
(February 23, 2012)
(Puyallup, WA) McKenna Video Services announced today that they are suspending their free pickup and delivery service beginning March 1.
"Unfortunately, economic conditions dictate that we temporarily suspend our free pickup and delivery service," explains Chris McKenna, owner of McKenna Video & Photo. “We began offering this service as a courtesy to our customers when we began operations in 2005. It has been a popular service for many of our customers, but making this change now will allow us to expand our in-studio hours as our production schedule allows thereby giving our customers more flexibility to schedule their project drop-off and pickups. When market conditions once again allow us to offer this service free-of-charge, we will resume.”
Pick-up and delivery service will still be available to qualified customers. More information can be obtained by calling McKenna Video at (253) 539-3438.
McKenna Video Services is an award winning video studio offering services that include video production, home movie transfer to DVD, and CD and DVD duplication. In 2008, McKenna Video added professional photography to the their offerings and markets those services under the name Chris McKenna Photography.
For more information about McKenna Video Services, visit their website at www.mckennavideo.com or call (253) 539-3438.
###
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Final Thoughts on 2011
Well, here we are, 2 weeks into the new year. 2012! Every time I hear that I can't believe we are 12 years into the 21st century. It seems like just yesterday that we were talking about and dealing with Y2K. Remember that?
Anyway, I thought that for our first post of this new year we would offer a few closing comments on 2011.
Price was a big issue for us last year. Not only do our customers want the high quality that they have come to expect of us, but they also want us to match Costco transfer pricing. First, we don't sell dogfood, pizza, frozen foods, and car tires. If we did, we might be able to bring our transfer prices to their level, but we don't. Furthermore, if we could then we wouldn't really be specializing in video, would we? Also keep in mind, that Costco doesn't do the work themselves-they've aligned themselves with one of the most questionable transfer houses in the county and your tapes and film end up in Mexico to be transferred. Is that where you want your media sent to? And is the risk of your media being lost worth the few dollars you'll save?
Now pricing works both ways as I am also a consumer. And a great big thank you to all our vendors who kept their pricing steady throughout the year to help offset the pain that we on the front line are feeling. And a great big "BOO" to all those vendors that didn't! And you know who you are. And a great big "DOUBLE BOO" to that won't even entertain the notion of helping their customers out. CenturyLink, you are the worst! You treat your good, hardworking customers like crap and I can't wait to rid ourselves of your miserable services!
Standard Definition is dead. At least as far as filming goes. To help our customers out, we offered the option of having their events filmed with our SD cameras rather than the HD cameras (thus keeping the price lower). 2011 will be the last year that we do that since some of them still complained about the quality. Sorry, but you chose standard definition filming rather than high definition. If you wanted a HD picture, you should have chose HD filming. To that end, we are eliminating SD options on all productions.
Weddings. Hmmm, where do I start. 2011 was a miserable year for weddings. We have won awards for our wedding productions and our customers love their productions. Having said that, we are going to discontinue the mvsweddings.com site and discountinue marketing that service. We spend far too much time and money keeping that site alive and talking to the budget bride only to lose the business to the "uncle Charlie's" of the world. We are happy to have the business and will continue to produce wedding videos, we are just not going to pursue them any longer. Weddings start at $2995 and if you are interested in award-winning wedding video, please contact us, if not please don't waste our time. Sorry to be blunt.
For the entirety of our existance, McKenna Video has always offered free pick-up and delivery. It has been a staple of our business. We were happy to go out and meet our customers at their homes or places of business and we still are. However, we are now going to qualify that service for the new year. We require a minimum of $75 in transfer work or duplications to offer free pickup and delivery, or we will charge a $25 pickup and a $25 delivery fee. Sorry for any inconvenience, but economic conditions dictate that we either discontinue the service altogether, start charging for this convenience, or raise our prices across of the board.
In regards to promoting your company, we are working out the details in some low cost HD promotions for your business. Video on your website it a great way to increase your Google ranking and we want to be sure that you can get a video on your homepage at an affordable rate.
We are also starting to offer disc print-only services. We have been resistant to that in the past, but we have seen the light and if you are in need for "print only" we can meet that need. We can also design your disc label for a nominal fee.
Related, if you are producing your own video, but need help with lower-thirds, animated backgrounds, etc., give us a call, we might be able to help.
Well, probably enough for now. (this entry seems like a lot of complaining to me, which is so against my nature). Stay tuned for more announcements in the next few weeks and months.
Blessings,
Chris.
Anyway, I thought that for our first post of this new year we would offer a few closing comments on 2011.
Price was a big issue for us last year. Not only do our customers want the high quality that they have come to expect of us, but they also want us to match Costco transfer pricing. First, we don't sell dogfood, pizza, frozen foods, and car tires. If we did, we might be able to bring our transfer prices to their level, but we don't. Furthermore, if we could then we wouldn't really be specializing in video, would we? Also keep in mind, that Costco doesn't do the work themselves-they've aligned themselves with one of the most questionable transfer houses in the county and your tapes and film end up in Mexico to be transferred. Is that where you want your media sent to? And is the risk of your media being lost worth the few dollars you'll save?
Now pricing works both ways as I am also a consumer. And a great big thank you to all our vendors who kept their pricing steady throughout the year to help offset the pain that we on the front line are feeling. And a great big "BOO" to all those vendors that didn't! And you know who you are. And a great big "DOUBLE BOO" to that won't even entertain the notion of helping their customers out. CenturyLink, you are the worst! You treat your good, hardworking customers like crap and I can't wait to rid ourselves of your miserable services!
Standard Definition is dead. At least as far as filming goes. To help our customers out, we offered the option of having their events filmed with our SD cameras rather than the HD cameras (thus keeping the price lower). 2011 will be the last year that we do that since some of them still complained about the quality. Sorry, but you chose standard definition filming rather than high definition. If you wanted a HD picture, you should have chose HD filming. To that end, we are eliminating SD options on all productions.
Weddings. Hmmm, where do I start. 2011 was a miserable year for weddings. We have won awards for our wedding productions and our customers love their productions. Having said that, we are going to discontinue the mvsweddings.com site and discountinue marketing that service. We spend far too much time and money keeping that site alive and talking to the budget bride only to lose the business to the "uncle Charlie's" of the world. We are happy to have the business and will continue to produce wedding videos, we are just not going to pursue them any longer. Weddings start at $2995 and if you are interested in award-winning wedding video, please contact us, if not please don't waste our time. Sorry to be blunt.
For the entirety of our existance, McKenna Video has always offered free pick-up and delivery. It has been a staple of our business. We were happy to go out and meet our customers at their homes or places of business and we still are. However, we are now going to qualify that service for the new year. We require a minimum of $75 in transfer work or duplications to offer free pickup and delivery, or we will charge a $25 pickup and a $25 delivery fee. Sorry for any inconvenience, but economic conditions dictate that we either discontinue the service altogether, start charging for this convenience, or raise our prices across of the board.
In regards to promoting your company, we are working out the details in some low cost HD promotions for your business. Video on your website it a great way to increase your Google ranking and we want to be sure that you can get a video on your homepage at an affordable rate.
We are also starting to offer disc print-only services. We have been resistant to that in the past, but we have seen the light and if you are in need for "print only" we can meet that need. We can also design your disc label for a nominal fee.
Related, if you are producing your own video, but need help with lower-thirds, animated backgrounds, etc., give us a call, we might be able to help.
Well, probably enough for now. (this entry seems like a lot of complaining to me, which is so against my nature). Stay tuned for more announcements in the next few weeks and months.
Blessings,
Chris.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Thoughts on Pricing
Last week, I had a very interesting conversation with a good customer of mine, who happens to be a teacher of small business at a couple of local schools. What started out as just small talk, ended up being a discussion of the pricing of our products and services, pricing in general, and the effect that the big box stores (those discount and warehouse stores) are having on small and micro-sized business.
It was both our thinking that the big box stores are killing small business. While they are free to do whatever they want to, the fact that they deal in volume and can offset their low pricing by also selling dog food and pizza, something that small business cannot do, means that small and micro-sized businesses cannot compete on price alone and are at a severe disadvantage. And in today's economy, factors such as quality work, where the work is being completed, who is doing the work, etc. take a second seat to price.
An example: in the town of Yelm, Wa, small business was everywhere. It seemed that most people either owned and worked in a small business, or knew someone who did. That community, like so many others throughout the nation, was built and survived through the efforts of their residents. Then the big discount store moved in (name withheld) and local business shriveled. No longer does the general store exist, or the neighborhood pharmacy. Most of those small business were forced to close down because they could not compete with you know who because of their pricing.
In the conversation I was having with my customer, he turned me on to some thoughts by John Ruskin, 19th century essayist, artist, and political economist, on the issue of low prices. His beliefs are this:
So what is the takeaway here? I leave that up to you to discern, but I will tell you this: our products on a quality and service level are competitively priced. If you find someone cheaper to transfer your film, understand that there is a reason why they are cheaper. First, inferior quality. Second, they're probably sending the film to Mexico. Third, it takes 2-3 times as long to get your film back. And lastly, the chances of your film being lost in transit is greatly increased (see this blog posting "Don't Let Them Lose Your Stuff").
In closing, we want you to rest assured that here at McKenna Video & Photo, we treat every project as if it were our own. Your film, your videotapes, your photographs and slides, are treated with the utmost respect. Don't let someone elses artificially low prices undly sway you to their doors. Visit us and see what we can do for you.
Blessings,
Chris.
It was both our thinking that the big box stores are killing small business. While they are free to do whatever they want to, the fact that they deal in volume and can offset their low pricing by also selling dog food and pizza, something that small business cannot do, means that small and micro-sized businesses cannot compete on price alone and are at a severe disadvantage. And in today's economy, factors such as quality work, where the work is being completed, who is doing the work, etc. take a second seat to price.
An example: in the town of Yelm, Wa, small business was everywhere. It seemed that most people either owned and worked in a small business, or knew someone who did. That community, like so many others throughout the nation, was built and survived through the efforts of their residents. Then the big discount store moved in (name withheld) and local business shriveled. No longer does the general store exist, or the neighborhood pharmacy. Most of those small business were forced to close down because they could not compete with you know who because of their pricing.
In the conversation I was having with my customer, he turned me on to some thoughts by John Ruskin, 19th century essayist, artist, and political economist, on the issue of low prices. His beliefs are this:
"It's unwise to pay too much, but it's also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the things it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lower bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."
So what is the takeaway here? I leave that up to you to discern, but I will tell you this: our products on a quality and service level are competitively priced. If you find someone cheaper to transfer your film, understand that there is a reason why they are cheaper. First, inferior quality. Second, they're probably sending the film to Mexico. Third, it takes 2-3 times as long to get your film back. And lastly, the chances of your film being lost in transit is greatly increased (see this blog posting "Don't Let Them Lose Your Stuff").
In closing, we want you to rest assured that here at McKenna Video & Photo, we treat every project as if it were our own. Your film, your videotapes, your photographs and slides, are treated with the utmost respect. Don't let someone elses artificially low prices undly sway you to their doors. Visit us and see what we can do for you.
Blessings,
Chris.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Helping Hand House (Non-Profit Video)
Greetings friends,
I hope that you are all well on this fine October afternoon. I know that I am!
Over this past summer, I had the privilege of working on a promotional video for a local non profit agency, Helping Hand House. Helping Hand House, based in Puyallup, WA, is determined to end family homelessness in Pierce County. They have a number of programs designed to help families in trouble, from emergency shelter to budget management and other life coaching classes.
Working on this video opened my eyes up to the problem of family homeless in Pierce County and I am proud to have been able to help them out, even if it is just a video. To learn more about HHH or to arrrange a financial donation, visit their website www.helpinghandhouse.org .
To learn more about how video can showcase your company or help your non profit organization, visit our website www.mckennavideo.com and please give us a call. In the mean time, enjoy the video.
Blessings,
Chris.
I hope that you are all well on this fine October afternoon. I know that I am!
Over this past summer, I had the privilege of working on a promotional video for a local non profit agency, Helping Hand House. Helping Hand House, based in Puyallup, WA, is determined to end family homelessness in Pierce County. They have a number of programs designed to help families in trouble, from emergency shelter to budget management and other life coaching classes.
Working on this video opened my eyes up to the problem of family homeless in Pierce County and I am proud to have been able to help them out, even if it is just a video. To learn more about HHH or to arrrange a financial donation, visit their website www.helpinghandhouse.org .
To learn more about how video can showcase your company or help your non profit organization, visit our website www.mckennavideo.com and please give us a call. In the mean time, enjoy the video.
Blessings,
Chris.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Our New Promo
Greetings Friends,
So happy to be "talking" with you on this wonderful Friday afternoon. We certainly hope and pray that you have had a wonderful week.
Today, is the start of the Puyallup Fair here in my hometown, and if you have never got a chance to attend the fair, do so now-you won't regret it!
It is also the start of a weekend that we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. Please take a moment to say a prayer for those that lost their lives on that day and for their families. We pray that never again will such an act occur and that those who have hatred in their hearts will find peace before they commit acts of violence on innocent people.
And on a lighter note, I want to present to you a short video we put together as a promo for our company. It highlights our "major" service offerings--of course you know that we do so much more than we could ever possible highlight in a 30-second video.
Nevertheless, maybe this will inspire you to have one of these short videos put together for your company. If there is anything we can do to help you promote your company, please give us a call at 253-539-3438.
Enjoy the video.
Blessings,
Chris.
So happy to be "talking" with you on this wonderful Friday afternoon. We certainly hope and pray that you have had a wonderful week.
Today, is the start of the Puyallup Fair here in my hometown, and if you have never got a chance to attend the fair, do so now-you won't regret it!
It is also the start of a weekend that we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. Please take a moment to say a prayer for those that lost their lives on that day and for their families. We pray that never again will such an act occur and that those who have hatred in their hearts will find peace before they commit acts of violence on innocent people.
And on a lighter note, I want to present to you a short video we put together as a promo for our company. It highlights our "major" service offerings--of course you know that we do so much more than we could ever possible highlight in a 30-second video.
Nevertheless, maybe this will inspire you to have one of these short videos put together for your company. If there is anything we can do to help you promote your company, please give us a call at 253-539-3438.
Enjoy the video.
Blessings,
Chris.
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