As I write this, there are 113 comments on my previous blog post where I asked you to vote for which course I should produce next.

I just did a quick count, and it looks like the Advanced Final Cut Express course is barely beating the micro-documentary course. Motion is a pretty distant third.

Because the top two courses are so close in the number of votes, I'm thinking I'll do both. But because I only have time to do one right now, I'll start with Advanced Final Cut Express. Also, I have the outline completed for this one already, so I should be able to get started on it more quickly.

I'm really looking forward to doing these courses. I'll begin the Advanced FCE course this week. The basic FCE course took under three weeks to complete, so I'm hoping this new one should be about the same.

And after that's done, I'll start on the micro-documentary course. I've got some BIG ideas for this one. (More on this later...)

Thanks for the votes, and for helping me determine the direction I should head!

And if you voted for Motion, don't worry. I have ideas for that too. I just can't get to it quite yet. :-)

I'm about to create a brand new course. I only have time to work on one right now, but I have three different ideas. I'd like to get your vote for which one I should create.

Here are the three ideas:

1. Advanced Final Cut Express -- This course would cover a series of advanced techniques in Final Cut Express. I've made a long list of different segments I would include. I know many of you are Final Cut Express users, so I thought this might be a helpful course and a good supplement to the beginners one I've already created.


2. Micro-documentaries -- This course would cover the elements of documentaries and help you create miniature documentaries. I've been calling them micro-documentaries, or motion scrapbooking. These are personal in nature, ways to tell your own stories.


3. Motion - I'm certainly not an expert with motion graphics, but I'm pretty good with Apple's Motion, so I've been thinking about creating a course to help beginners get up and running with it.

Which do you prefer? Is there a different topic I didn't post here that you'd rather see?

I only have time to make one right now, so I want to make sure I start with the right one. Please cast your vote in the comments.

The more I use my Canon 5D Mark II, the more I'm impressed with the image it produces. I like it much better than the image from my Sony PMW-EX1, which is a much more expensive camera.

So here's my new thinking:

* If you need to capture LONG video clips, like at weddings, conferences, and things like that, then I think you should definitely look at standard video cameras. The Digital SLR with it's 12 minute video clips won't really work for this.

But...

* If you're shooting narrative pieces like short films, music videos, commercials, and feature films, then I can't help but recommend a Digital SLR. The picture quality (shallow depth of field, great dynamic range, etc.) is stellar.

Because I shoot both types of footage, I'm keeping both cameras, but I have to say that the Canon 5D Mark II is my preferred video capture device now. By itself, it's okay, but when you add on a few accessories, it becomes incredible.

I'll cover more on this soon, and I think I've got a tutorial coming along these lines... ;-)

I don't usually do this, but I have a couple videos I worked on that I want to share with you. I shot and edited two Godaddy contest commercials written and directed by Kevin Frei.

(Please be aware that they contain innuendo, so you might want to skip them if you're offended by that kind of content.)

...and the other one...

I was the Director of Photography and editor on these projects.

Do you like them? Which do you prefer? If you have a moment, will you please vote for them here.