Testimonial:

From Baby's First Steps to Stepping onto the Beaches of Normandy, Real Pinnacle User Monique Delambre

There is little that Monique Delambre hasn't turned into memorable videos over the last 30 years. Since the birth of her daughter in 1970 and her first "Super 8" camcorder, Monique, or Mamounette as her grandson has named her, has been determined to capture and preserve all the best moments of her life, her travels, and some of her family's memories so they can be shared on video.

Later, when she moved up to a VHS camcorder, she recorded family travels abroad, but quickly became dissatisfied with the overall presentation of what she had captured.

"Unfortunately, when I wanted to view or share them, I found these films were all in their original condition, just as they were captured," said French native, Mamounette. "Their quality and all their shortcomings were there for all to see. Slowly, it became apparent that they looked unfinished; but my job in a multinational framework in Paris required almost three hours of travel every day between the office and my home. I just didn't have the time to clean up the videos I was taking."

Monique "Mamounette" Delambre, Pinnacle Studio 12 User But Mamounette's hectic life took a turn late in 2004, shortly after her 60th birthday when she made the decision to give up her frantic work life and long commute for a nice, quiet, relaxing retirement.

"My husband thought retirement might be boring for me after such a hectic life, so to celebrate my birthday and my retirement, he gave me a Sony DCR-HC42E digital video camera and in April 2005, a safari trip to Kenya with cousins," said Mamounette. "I had also just received the good news that I was going to be a grandmother for the first time with the birth of our grandson, due in May 2005. The trip was a good opportunity to get used to the new camera before the baby's arrival; and that was the beginning of a great adventure in montage."

After returning from Kenya, Mamounette edited and produced her first video using the Adobe Premiere Elements software that came with her camera.

"It was a very basic solution, but I thought it served my purpose, until I compared notes with my cousin who had made the same trip to Kenya and used Pinnacle Studio 9 to edit the videos," said Delambre. "We were able to discuss our respective videos and I was seduced by Pinnacle Studio 9. It was much more friendly and easier to use in terms of editing, so I bought the version 10 Plus."

For Mamounette what she likes most about the Pinnacle solution is how easy it is to cut her scenes, drop in a few transitions and special effects, and insert comments and music to enhance her films. Now that she has a couple years of experience editing with Pinnacle, she's become a bit fanatical about it.

"If there were no night, I would not sleep because I become so passionate about video editing," said Mamounette. "I work on my projects every spare moment and sometimes I'm up very late. I regret not having known this experience earlier, but I know that my life did not let me have the time before."

Outside of her work requirements, Mamounette's computer knowledge and experience was fairly modest. She did, however, have a strong curiosity and a love for learning, so once retirement freed up some of her time, she was able to apply a more focused effort towards producing memorable videos.

"When I found myself retired, I had a computer installed by a professional to ensure I would have the right equipment for editing video," said Mamounette. "I also got a lot of assistance from members of the Pinnacle Forum. Many of them are computer and video specialists. I read a lot of forum postings and in other interviews, and I learned a lot every day. This really helped me learn all the ways I could use Pinnacle software. "

For example, when Mamounette noticed some image degradation in the standard definition photos she incorporated as transitions in her high-definition video projects, it was another French Pinnacle Forum member that helped by recommending that she simply rename her photos *_HQ.jpg, so she could get maximum image quality from her SD images.

"Now the photos aren't degraded when the film is presented on a television screen," said Mamounette. "That will get me by until I can upgrade my equipment."

For Mamounette, the Pinnacle Forum is not only a terrific resource for technical help, inspiration and encouragement; it can also provide her with a couple of laughs.

"In the club, there are two competing video editing applications: Adobe Premiere Elements 7 and Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate," explained Mamounette. "It amuses me to see members criticize this or that software when they are completely different. I found that Adobe Premiere is a 'gas factory' but has the advantage of having a large number of transitions and effects and an abundance of free tracks. But for ease of use and finished quality, there's no better software than Studio. Playing side by side, I found films finished in Pinnacle were much better than their competitors."

Since the safari in Kenya, Mamounette has worked hard to expand and improve her video capture and editing skills and has since become the designated family videographer; filming every event, family gathering and special event, as well as her beautiful country of France.

"What I especially want to keep, are all the happy events of my grandchildren," said Mamounette. "There are two now, and I want to give them a souvenir, something to remember me by when I am no longer of this world. The last film I made featured my 3-year-old grandson. I'm slow because I like the work done well, but I am quite proud of what I can do. "

Although all of her film productions are works from her heart, it's her latest project that has been the most demanding on her and will potentially have the greatest impact on her family's future generations. Mamounette has begun work on a biographical film recounting the experiences of her husband's parents during the World War II when they lived in Valognes in Normandy, near Sainte-Mère l'Eglise and the beaches where the landings took place.

"My husband's mother had written down her memories of the time for him--a lot of information that I'm using to prepare comments and find images of this period," explained Delambre. "It is a big job and a bit difficult, but it's very exciting to produce. It's also a duty to preserve the memories, vis-à-vis the population that lived in this very dark time, and honors all the boys who came from afar to defend our country. For the first chapter of my Normandy film," continued Mamounette, "I spent all day and late into the night and the following morning working on the video. It was quite difficult for me to remove myself. For the second chapter of the film, I did take a little break; but in the end, when I'm done editing, it's important to me that you do not see the hours I put in."

Once she does declare a video project "done," Mamounette says there is always a moment of fearful joy. Although she is always pleased with the work she has produced and the effort she has put into it, she concedes that waiting to present the video to others and hear/see their responses always makes her a little apprehensive.

"When I finish a movie, I usually send small portions to my club or members of the forum who have become friends," said Mamounette. "I appreciate their opinions and their reactions. Then, I share my movies with family and friends, especially the paternal grandparents of my grandchildren who are in the Caribbean and don't have the opportunity to watch them grow." When she finished the first part of her film about Normandy from 1938 through1944, the period before the WWII landing, Mamounette again presented the piece to the club and friends for first reactions and constructive critiques.

"They found the film which includes good clips of old World War II films very moving and said it had good structure or composition," said Mamounette. "I tried to create the film with a sort of 'red thread' that would show the perfect evolution of history without ever tiring the viewer. It was exciting and rewarding when family and friends saw and appreciated what I had created. Video creation is easy, but it takes time and it can be addictive," warned Mamounette "For me, as soon as I finish a movie, I want to do the next. I see no shortage of work."

Mamounette recently bought a HDV camera (Sony HDR HC9) and has begun producing HD videos using Pinnacle Studio 12. http://www.vimeo.com/6038104

Monique Delambre
French Forum Member: Mamounette
mam-for007-78@orange.fr

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