Producer's Cheat Sheet
Excelling with excel : Vol. 52

Excelling with your Spreadsheets
       written by "Digital" Bill Douthett, CTO, Moving Picture

One of the main weapons in a producer's arsenal (after surprise and fear) is Microsoft Excel. And while most people are comfortable with the idea of adding up a column of numbers, there's a lot more Excel can do for you.

This month, we'll take a look at some tips and tricks that can make Excel an even more formidable tool.

Excel Tips for the Producer:

Tip 1 - Make room for data: Often when working with a spreadsheet, you'll get numbers that are too big for a column, or you'll open a file where all the columns are at their "default" width. Did you know that Excel knows how to make the columns exactly the width they need to be to display your data? All you have to do is double-click on the divider line between the 2 columns and Excel will make the column on the left of the line exactly the right width. And what if you need to fix a whole spreadsheet's worth of columns? Just Select All (ctrl-A in Windows, command-A on Mac) and click on any column divider. PRESTO!

Note the pound signs (#) where the column is too narrow, and the cursor double-clicking on the column divider		After resizing, the contents of all the cells can be seen, and they fit exactly!

 

Tip 2 - Between the sheets: Many people just open Excel and start working on whatever their document needs to be. But Excel is much better at organizing your work on a project than you might think.

The Sheet tabs at the bottom of the document

At the bottom of the Excel window you'll see tabs named "Sheet 1" through "Sheet 3". Each of these is an independent spreadsheet (although you can link numbers together like the AICP budget form does), and can be used to track the different aspects of a project. EXTRA COOL TIP : Right-click (Mac users control-click) on the tab of a given sheet, and you can rename it, move it or copy (duplicate) it. So if you want to try different scenarios, you can duplicate a sheet, and try your changes. Also handy for tracking the evolution of a data set.

Right click on any sheet's tab to see the sheet menu

 

Tip 2 - Freeze frame: Excel can handle a LOT of information. Hundreds of rows and columns - even more than the biggest monitor can display. So if you're making a large budget spreadsheet, you may find that you're constantly scrolling from one end of the sheet to the other, just so you can see what the headings are by the time you've scrolled all the way out.

Excel has a nifty trick just for master number crunchers like you. If you look at the right side of the horizontal scroll bar, and the top of the vertical scroll bar, you'll see an extra little button, which, if you drag it out, will split the window into two panes, which can scroll independently. The EXTRA COOL TIP is to set the split point just below (or to the right of) your heading column that you're always scrolling back to see. Then select Window > Freeze Panes, and the split will be smoothed over and become a part of your spreadsheet. You can always reverse the process, buy selecting "Unfreeze Panes" and "Remove Split" from the window menu!

Select the Horizontal Split tool (top) or the Vertical Split (bottom)

Adjusting a Horizontal Split to a point just below the headings

To make the split less obvious and locked in place, select Freeze Panes from the Window Menu

Tip 4 - If it isn't on the page:  You've created your master spreadsheet of actuals, and it looks like you're going to do very well. Of course you want to print it, but it's got so many rows and columns, how will you ever fit it on a page? Simple. YOU don't have to - Excel will!

There's an option in the Page Setup that's often overlooked. Check out "Fit to Page" under the Scaling section. You can tell Excel to figure out almost any combination, from cramming it all onto one page (1 wide, 1 tall) to any number of pages that suits your need. The EXTRA COOL TIP is to set it to 1 Wide, and leave the "tall" box empty, and Excel will figure out that at the width of 1 page, how many pages long your document needs to be.

The Fit to Pages section of the Page setup. Entering "1" in both will fit your entire spreadsheet on to 1 page. WARNING: May be really, really tiny! ;-)		Leave the box next to "tall" blank to make Excel figure out how many pages it needs, with the width at 1.

We hope these tips will make your time spent crunching the numbers in your spreadsheets even more Excel-lent!

Moving Pictures Hi-Def video assist package

Moving Picture is proud to announce that we are the first in Florida to offer a High Definition video assist package! We have rented this package several times in the past 2 years and now it is getting very popular, with the increase in Hi Def video replacing film.

Incorporating multiple monitors Hi-Def monitors, the client and director can view Hi-Def as it is being shot. Moving Picture carries 9, 14, and 20 inch Hi-Def monitors. Instead of looking at a "down converted" standard definition picture we can now provide a video assist Hi-Def picture which is very representative of the final image that will air.

Director of Photography Henry Lynk, uses moving picture Hi-Def monitors to critically analyses a Hi-Def video image		Moving Pictures LCD flat panel HD Monitors on a production for Nickelodeon

This month, Picture Perfect Productions requested the Hi-Def Video Assist package for a large Hi-Def car campaign. The budget on this production could easily have afforded film, however they choose to shoot on the Panasonic AG-HVX200P. Judd Allison, Executive Producer at Picture Perfect (http://www.pictureperfectmiami.com/), commented on Hi-Def production saying, "This way of working is very new, challenging and sort of a pain in the rear, however the end result was great. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Hi-Def video acquisition on big budget commercials. For a modest investment of $11,000.00 for camera and accessories, I believe you will see this camera used frequently in place of 16MM and in some cases 35MM."

The new Panasonic AG-HVX200P DVCPRO HD Camcorder was used in place of 35MM. As a side note Moving Picture also carries this camera in our inventory.

Panasonic AG-HVX200 High Definition Camera with P2
	In stock now and ready to rent for only $350.00 per day! P2 cards (8 Gigabytes) for the Panasonic AG-HVX200 $175.00 per week (rented individually without Camera) Panasonic P2 Store Portable hard drive $250.00 per week
With its AG-HVX200, Panasonic raises the bar again, bringing us professional HD versatility and quality at a lower price than ever. The AG-HVX200 records 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD on a P2 card in 1080 in 60i, 30p and 24p; in 720 in 60p, 30p and 24p; in 480 in 60i, 30p, and 24p either in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO or DV. Visit our website to download a 16-page PDF brochure on this amazing performer.

Call us for Cameras, Accessories, Sound Packages, EFP Grip and Lighting, Green Screens and Backdrops, C-Stands, Flag Kits, and even Sandbags!
Also Renting: Sony F900 HD camera Panasonic DVX 100 A and B Sony DSR-570 SR DVCam Camcorder Sony PD150 DVCAM Camera Fujinon, A10x4.8 w/2x, Wide Angle Lens Sony D600 Betacam Camera Sony HVR-Z1U HDV Camcorder Heads and Tripods
MORE HIGH DEFINITION GEAR
		Sony 20" High Definition Video Monitor, PVM 20L5 Sony 14” High Definition Video Monitor, PVM 14L51 Sony 9” High Definition Video Monitor, LMD 9050
WIRELESS VIDEO AND AUDIO
	Modulus Wireless Video Transmitters and Receivers Lectrosonics New "butt plug" UH400A includes 48 volt phantom power PDF brochure Sound Devices 744T 4 channel Audio hard drive recorder Sound Devices Audio Mixers including 302 3-channel super small mixer.
2-WAY COMMUNICATIONS
Motorola Walkie Talkies and accessories Including FBI Style ear mic systems for that “undercover look”, Noise Canceling headsets, Handmics, and Spare Batteries (FREE!)

See the rest of our inventory at MovingPicture.com

Since 1987, Moving Picture Electronic Services has been a leader in the rental and support of Location Audio, Video Assist, Broadcast equipment, Avid rentals, Avid training, as well as Film and Video Camera Crews.

We live and breathe Avid, Location Audio, and Video Equipment Rental everyday. We feature certified support and training for Avid and Final Cut Pro. We provide “on-site” certified support for an Avid rental or broadcast rental in Florida — or anywhere else in the United Sates and Caribbean. If you need to rent Avid Adrenaline, Avid Media Composer, Avid Unity, all types of VTR’s, microphones, audio recorders, a Sony Betacam camera, DV camera, or hi-def camera, we can ship today!

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MPES does not assume responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of any products mentioned. All understandings, agreements, and/or warranties, if any, take place between the manufacturers and the prospective users. MPES is not responsible for typographical errors, and all offers are subject to change without notice.

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Spring 2006