Hello all, My name is Bob Hobbs and I'm a science fiction/fantasy artist based in Atlanta. I'm looking for advice on creating a demo reel on CD that I can play at an upcoming convention artshow. The CD should be an engaging presentation complete with upbeat rock music , some voice-overs and lots of images of my artwork. The whole thing should last about 45 minutes....like a mini-movie. Considering it's a science fiction crowd that will be viewing this, it's gotta have cool effects and transitions. It needs to be on CD so that I can play it from a laptop hooked up to a projector. Any ideas from the experts out there? Something like this is pretty much beyond my own expertise, so I may be in a position to PAY for such services if it's reasonable. Please contact me at bobhobz@bellsouth.net To see samples of my work, go to my site at www.dijitilimijiz.com

Attached Link: http://www.vrhome.com/mediaphiles

Nice work on the site. I've done some similar things for prospective clients; you really have quite a few options available. My personal preference is to make a VCD; blanks are cheap enough that you can whip up a few extra's to hand out, and they play on about 99% of DVD players, or DVD capable computers. probably the easiest way for a relative novice to create one would be to do up a powerpoint presentation, and export it as a video, then put the video on the VCD; ezcd creator will make a nice one, if you don't want to get too in depth. Another good option would be to just put the powerpoint presentation on a CD, along with the presentation presenter software. Probably the best option would be to get a video editing software package, so you can mix sound, do image transitions, etc. then either just do the VCD thing or put it as a file on a CD. Tell you what, if you want help with this, send me an e-mail. money or credit would be nice. webmaster@changestorm.com

Bob, I'm emailing this as well as replying here. Do you have a video editing program already, and are you planning on editing it yourself? Look into sonic foundry's (www.sonicfoundry.com) Vegas Video, or the much-cheaper but very good Video Factory. (I have Video Factory, and am actually attempting a full-length scifi movie with it). Both are very easy to use. For effects, look at AlamDV (www.alamdv.com) If you need background music, I'd be more than happy to help you out on that - I specialize in scifi soundtracks, and have an extensive personal, all-original production music library of sf themes, songs, sound fx, etc. Or I can create something new from scratch. I can also help out with voice overs. (I have a project studio here in Charlotte) If you do need help editing the project, let me know also. As for payment - aah, bartering works for me, Uncle Sam just takes half of any money I make anyway! (grin) IM me if I can help with anything. --Donnie