Qualifications

Training Qualifications

OK, let's be frank, we're not a big company. All training development and training is performed by Jan Ozer, who has been teaching two and three day courses on video production since 1994, most recently for the University of Wisconsin Department of Continuing Education (2000-2005).

Statistics maintained by the University show a cumulative rating of 4.3 on a scale of 1-5 (4 being very good, 5 being excellent) with 97% of students reporting that they "received what they came for," 98% reporting that they "will use ideas from this course" and 99% reporting that they "considered the course worth the money and the time."

Outside of his work with the University, Jan has also taught seminars for industry groups like the Media Communications Association - International and worked with a top 10 Federal Prime Contractor to provide training services to the US government. Over the years, Jan has taught courses in Israel, Egypt, Canada and the United States.

Technical Experience:

Jan started working with digital video as vice president of marketing for Iterated Systems, the developer of fractal still and video compression technology. Jan left Iterated to found Doceo Publishing, which focused on benchmarking video compression technologies and developing analysis and batch compression tools for video developers.

Since 1993, Jan has been reviewing camcorders, video editors, DVD authoring programs and related products for PC Magazine and Event DV (formerly Emedia and CD-ROM Professional). In this role, Jan is exposed to a broad range of products from multiple vendors (see partial article list below).

As an independent producer of DVDs for local musicians in southwest Virginia, Jan has ample opportunities to truly test the products he reviews. With a number of high powered Windows and Macintosh computers, Jan produces on and appreciates the strengths and weaknesses of both platforms.

Jan has also written ten books on video production, most recently DV101, A Hands-On Guide for Business, Government and Educators. In reviewing the book, respected digital media author Charlie White called DV 101 a "well written tome" that's a "must buy for video neophytes." Jan also wrote The PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video for John Wiley. On Amazon,com, all of Jan's books average a rating of five stars.

Representative Articles:

To be an effective instructor, an individual must obviously understand the subject material, and be able to communicate ideas effectively. These articles provide a small sampling of Jan's qualifications on both fronts.

Camcorder selection and operation

Who Will Wear the New 3-CCD Camcorder Crown?, Event DV Magazine (review of Sony HDR-FX1, Canon XL2 and Panasonic AG-DVC60).

Review of the Sony DCR-VX2100 Digital HandyCam Camcorder, Event DV Magazine.

HDV and the Sony FX1, Event DV Magazine (shooting and editing with the new HDV format).

Traveling Light, Event DV Magazine (lighting common business scenarios).

Sound on Site, Event DV Magazine (choosing and using microphones).

The Art of the Single Camera Shoot, Event DV Magazine (shooting interviews and other business videos with a single camera).

Video Editing

Video Compositing 101, Event DV Magazine (producing chromakey effects in common editing applications).

Review of Apple Final Cut Studio, PC Magazine.

Take Five, originally Event DV Magazine (review of top five prosumer editors).

Review of Adobe Video Suite 2.5, PC Magazine.

Review of Pinnacle Edition 6, Emedia Magazine.

Review of Sony Vegas 5, Emedia Magazine.

DVD Authoring

Review of Adobe Encore, PC Magazine.

Review of Apple DVD Studio 3, PC Magazine.

Review of Sony DVD Producer, Emedia Magazine.

Review of Ulead DVD Workshop, Event DV Magazine.

Streaming Production

CC Writer, Event DV Magazine (creating closed captions for streaming media and DVDs).

Framing B2B Video, Event DV Magazine (choosing a high bitrate codec and encoding tips for producing optimal quality).

Local Heroes: Solutions for LAN- and WAN-based Streaming, www.streamingmedia.com.

MPEG-4 is Dead, Streamingmedia.com.

MPEG-4: How Does it Stack Up, ExtremeTech (Codec comparison between MPEG-4, Windows Media, Sorenson and RealVideo).

Miscellaneous

Using Digital Video in PowerPoint, PC Magazine.

Encoding Video for PowerPoint, www.indezine.com.

Getting Started:

Call Jan Ozer @ 276-238-9135 or email at jan@doceo.com.