Victor Milts "Light It Right" DVD from Vasst - A Review

Gonzoman wrote on 4/20/2005, 3:13 PM
I've been a still photographer for well over 15 years and thought I knew just about everything there was to know about lighting. But after watching the Victor Milt DVD from Vasst...I realize that I was dead wrong. Although Victor does go over a lot of lighting theory & technique that I am already familiar with, he did show me many many new things. This DVD is well worth 5 times what I paid for it.

If any of you are videographers and are having trouble with your lighting, Victor can set you straight on your issues and take you to a new level of knowledge and skill. He's knowledgable, he's warm & friendly, he's funny and he knows all the tricks. This DVD will demystify the secrets of lighting for DV.

Also, Victor has designed an inexpensive lighting unit that he calls the "Nano-Softlight" and it costs under $75 to build. All the parts can be found at your local Home-Depot hardware store. He uses it exclusively thru-out this DVD and at the end of the DVD he shows you exactly how to make it....step-by-step. It produces absolutely gorgeous light and can be put together in an hour or two. This was well worth the cost of the DVD alone.

I'm not a paid spokesperson for Vasst....just a happy customer. Spot and his team continue to blow me away with their professional grade products and services. Thanks Spot, Victor and the whole Vasst crew for another top-notch product.

Get more info on this DVD at the Vasst website (www.Vasst.com) - just tell'm that Gonzoman sent ya :)

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 4/20/2005, 11:31 PM
Great words, Gonzoman. Victor had great crowds here at NAB; nearly each of his sessions was filled to capacity. The "Light It Right" DVD was one of the top 5 selling products at NAB 2005. Not only is it a great DVD, it also was edited/finished/rendered from Vegas 6. The link to the DVD can be found here
Victor definitely knows the techniques, and like we keep telling people, "You've NEVER seen a DVD like this one."
BTW, you can see a tutorial on how the spotlight in the DVD was created on the VASST site. Kind of a cool/interesting technique.
musman wrote on 4/20/2005, 11:49 PM
Tried to apply the old user code in the check out on that site and got an error. Is there still a discount for users of this forum?
Spot|DSE wrote on 4/20/2005, 11:56 PM
We don't currently have a COMM code on that particular product just now. However, the NAB-SAVINGS code applies, and will save you another 20.00. I don't know if we'll have a permanent code on this product or not just yet. Too early to tell.
PeterWright wrote on 4/21/2005, 1:16 AM
Thanks Douglas - have ordered what sounds like a great product.

One small point on the VASST site address section - only US or Canadians are allowed to put their State in - I had to just put Perth, Australia. It will still reach me, but needs an input space for overseas States/Counties etc.
Cooldraft wrote on 4/22/2005, 4:03 AM
Just went and blew ; ) a couple of projects' profit on learning material fro vassst (not really blowing-investing on something that typically has doubled my production). I was surprised that ths site doesn't allow preorders on the woking projects (V6, DVD A 3)
Spot|DSE wrote on 4/22/2005, 7:23 AM
John,
We've discontinued doing further out pre-orders. Sometimes, things happen beyond your control such as an experience we ran into with the release of "Now Hear This" where a clearance had been verbally issued and retracted in writing. Now we'll only start taking orders on the day the DVD actually has gone to replication. We'll open for pre-orders on the Vegas 6/DVDA3 stuff pretty soon though.
krhodes wrote on 4/22/2005, 12:08 PM
I very much onjoy the book, and his sessions at NAB were great as well -

However, I was very dissapointed in the way his green screen keys looked on his dvd - I do alot of green screen work, and I am always looking for ways to improve, so I was excited he was covering it in his book - but the quality was really bad - you could tell it was keyed, jeggy edges and no color match, he was VERY washed out -

it really stuck out in an otherwise AWESOME dvd - it was almost like it was an afterhtought and had to be down w/o tweaking in order to make publication - imho
Spot|DSE wrote on 4/22/2005, 12:34 PM
K. Rhodes,
I agree w/you....I debated whether or not to include this on the disc, and that's why it's in there as a bonus chapter rather than a "real" chapter. It was a last minute decision, I probably should have left it out rather than offer it as a "general" greenscreen tip session. We have a greenscreen DVD in the works as well.
krhodes wrote on 4/22/2005, 12:58 PM
spot -

Thanks for the feedback - I will gladly await the greenscreen dvd!!

k
JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/22/2005, 1:20 PM
I agree that Victor Milt’s DVD is an incredible resource. I have never done any lighting work before and I learned (and will continue to learn) and lot from this DVD.

I did my homework before buying a lighting kit. I even emailed Victor and he helped me pick out a kit that was good for the type of interview lighting I’ll be doing most of. I read a bunch of tutorials on the Internet on three point lighting, etc. (all of which were very good) but my first project was way too bright. It was just a wash of light with not much contrast and definition. This week I got Victor’s DVD while out at NAB and WOW what a difference having him show the proper technique. While Vic reminds us throughout the DVD that there are no rules when it comes to lighting, let me tell you, there sure are "techniques" and he knows them all.

While those experienced with lighting are claiming they learned a few things from Vic, I highly recommend this DVD for lighting beginners like myself who need to see how its done to really get a grasp on things. Thanks Vic. This one’s a keeper for the reference library.

~jr
Gonzoman wrote on 4/22/2005, 6:07 PM
I agree. I didn't think it was done very well but all-n-all...it was a great DVD with lots of great info and that's all I really cared about.

Hey Spot - I was watching your "Now Hear This" DVD last night and it got to the part where you make the voice-over box - I fell out of my chair 'cause it was soooo funny. The sped up video and the audio effects....it was very entertaining. It's always kinda nice to break up the serious stuff with something like that :)

Good stuff,

-d