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Foreword
Thank you for purchasing DV Rack. As you explore the powerful tool now in
your hands, you might guess that it could only have been created by passionate
video enthusiasts. You'd be right. We built DV Rack first and foremost because it's
a tool we wanted to use ourselves. Having done that, we're thrilled to now bring
it to others who share our passion for creating great video. Are you the kind of
person who stays in the movie theater until the end of the credits? Who listens to
the director's commentaries on DVDs? Who watches great movies more for inspi-
ration than entertainment? If you're nodding your head, then DV Rack was made
for you.
At its heart, DV Rack was born from a simple idea. When computers became part
of the video editing process, a massive paradigm shift occurred. Our goal with
DV Rack is to unleash an equally seismic paradigm shift by introducing the
power of computers into the shooting process. DV Rack is comprised of ten com-
ponents. However, as you use it, you’ll find that the whole is more than the sum
of its parts. The benefit of DV Rack is not ten separate functions; it’s the combina-
tion that provides the most important benefit, creative freedom. By automating,
integrating and streamlining so many technical aspects of production, DV Rack
lets you spend less time wrestling with your gear, and more time nurturing your
creative vision.
As videographers, part of our craft is learning to live with constant uncertainty.
As we work we are haunted by our doubts. Am I really getting the shot I think is
going to tape? Is the lighting going to hold up through DV compression? Was
there a continuity change between shots? Do I need to get one more take for
safety? Ending these doubts is one of DV Rack's most significant breakthroughs. It
dramatically elevates your confidence as you shoot, and that one thing can
change everything else. The feeling of freedom creeps up on you at first, then it
eventually becomes intoxicating. It inspires creativity, experimentation and even
serendipity. DV Rack may be difficult to define, but there’s no doubt that it is the
first of its kind. A unique tool that opens the door to uncharted, but tantalizing,
territory.
Like many pioneering technologies, inventing DV Rack required overcoming sev-
eral mountain-sized hurdles. The journey ended up being harder than we'd imag-
ined. However, the result also exceeded our highest hopes. For many, it would be
enough that DV Rack helps avert video disasters. That it lets you shoot faster
while maximizing the quality you get from your camera, lights and microphones.
But DV Rack can be more. Perhaps the words of one early DV Rack user say it
best, “I liked DV Rack immediately because it let me change how I shoot video.
Then I realized that it also changes how I feel when I'm shooting. That's when I
fell in love.” Our greatest hope is that DV Rack will do the same for you.
--- The DV Rack Team
P.S.
Let's talk! You can ask questions and discuss DV Rack directly with its creators
(and your fellow users) by discovering Serious Magic's best kept secret, our pri-
vate user-only forums. Go to the support area at www.seriousmagic.com and use
your personal serial number to register. See you there...
