Not sure what to make of this...

[AMD87]

think this is the right place as its about a video

received this message on youtube last night

said:

We are producing a documentary about Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world that has the biggest lifts in the world.
In our science backed film we want to illustrate what happens when the brakes heat up and catch fire. This is something that could happen to the brakes on the lifts in Taipei 101. However they have designed special ones to prevent it.

We would like to use the clip of the Porsche brakes on fire in our documentary.
We would like to get broadcast quality for our film.

Please reply as soon as possible as we are nearing the end of the production

replied saying it would probably be usless as the orginal video is 320x240 and a 13mb file as i had only just got the camera so it had a small memory card on it.

they then replied with

said:

Hello Andrew,

great, do you have a digital uncompressed version that you could send in the post?
could we talk on the phone?

My number is 0207 482 xxxx

google seems to say its a london number (youll need to forgive me on that i thought london was only 020) it also seems abit strange that they person doesnt say thier name and i dont see why they would want me to post the orginal video ,they have also sent that second message 3 times in the last 30mins which does seem abit eger(sp).havent called the number yet as i dont fancy it being one of those £25 a min while we put you on hold for 10mins!

i know some people are in the media field so im just wondering what yous make of it.

Andrew

[EmmaP]

Inner London is 020 7 and Outer London 020 8. Some people write it as 0207/0208 in much the same way as Nottingham is 0115 but many say 01159 which is misleading and incorrect.

[Simpo Two]

Sounds OK to me - a genuine landline number always gives me confidence. They ask for the original video because that will be the highest quality. However there is always a risk sending our 'master' tapes they will go missing - can you make a digital (ie lossless) copy? I'd get back to them pronto - it seems you have a buyer and TV production companies are usually in a hurry.

As for money - maybe £50? Paypal is fast, then you can get it off Special Delivery this afternoon

ETA You'll have to stress that it won't be broadcast quality. Mind you a lot of TV camerawork is so bad these days that anything goes...

Edited by Simpo Two on Wednesday 20th February 15:26

[AMD87]

Simpo Two said:

Sounds OK to me - a genuine landline number always gives me confidence. They ask for the original video because that will be the highest quality. However there is always a risk sending our 'master' tapes they will go missing - can you make a digital (ie lossless) copy? I'd get back to them pronto - it seems you have a buyer and TV production companies are usually in a hurry.

As for money - maybe £50? Paypal is fast, then you can get it off Special Delivery this afternoon

it isnt on a tape though as it was just filmed from a digital camera so im abit lost at that and also whats a lossless copy?

thing is they claimed to be from the national geographic channel and being unsure i googled for thier number to double check it and they said it wasnt from thier office (0207 751 xxxx) thier number also seems to be from camden high street which according to yell cant find any tv production companys there .

[pdV6]

AMD87 said:

said:

My number is 0207 482 xxxx

google seems to say its a london number (youll need to forgive me on that i thought london was only 020)

At what point does the phone / exchange notice that you've paused for a split second after dialling the "0" and before dialling the "7"? Damn - dialled too fast, the call's going to the Outer Hebrides rather than London now...

Sorry - shouldn't take the p155 but it's just a number.

And yes: London is 020 but a lot of people seem to be stuck on using 0207 and 0208 as if they are separate dialling codes. They're not.

Incidentally, the number of (local) companies that cock up my home number because they assume all Bristol codes are 01179 has to be seen to be believed. The code is actually 0117 and the majority of numbers happen to begin with 9 but mine (and presumably everyone else using Telewest/Virgin rather than BT) doesn't.

Edited by pdV6 on Wednesday 20th February 15:36

[pdV6]

AMD87 said:

it isnt on a tape though as it was just filmed from a digital camera so im abit lost at that and also whats a lossless copy?

thing is they claimed to be from the national geographic channel and being unsure i googled for thier number to double check it and they said it wasnt from thier office (0207 751 xxxx) thier number also seems to be from camden high street which according to yell cant find any tv production companys there .

Google their complete number and see what comes back.

Also, just tell them what the original format was. Odds on the camera compressed it for you on the fly, so no better quality is achievable.

[AMD87]

pdV6 said:

Also, just tell them what the original format was. Odds on the camera compressed it for you on the fly, so no better quality is achievable.

did that came back with alot of different results but not the full number although knowing the last 2 digits could be part of an extension number i did 00 for a switch board and still nothing.

[Simpo Two]

AMD87 said:

it isnt on a tape though as it was just filmed from a digital camera so im abit lost at that and also whats a lossless copy?

What format is it? Tape can be digital too. If it's just a computer file then you can copy it like any other file. Re lossless, if there are any analogue stages in the duplication, then each time you make a copy you lose a generation of quality.

AMD87 said:

thing is they claimed to be from the national geographic channel and being unsure i googled for thier number to double check it and they said it wasnt from thier office (0207 751 xxxx) thier number also seems to be from camden high street which according to yell cant find any tv production companys there

If they pay you up front, does it matter who they are? If they say 'sorry, no budget' then you can tell them you're not interested. Now stop fretting and do the deal!

Edited by Simpo Two on Wednesday 20th February 16:18

[AMD87]

Simpo Two said:

AMD87 said:

it isnt on a tape though as it was just filmed from a digital camera so im abit lost at that and also whats a lossless copy?

What format is it? Tape can be digital too. If it's just a computer file then you can copy it like any other file. Re lossless, if there are any analogue stages in the duplication, then each time you make a copy you lose a generation of quality.

AMD87 said:

thing is they claimed to be from the national geographic channel and being unsure i googled for thier number to double check it and they said it wasnt from thier office (0207 751 xxxx) thier number also seems to be from camden high street which according to yell cant find any tv production companys there

If they pay you up front, does it matter who they are? If they say 'sorry, no budget' then you can tell them you're not interested. Now stop fretting and do the deal!

Edited by Simpo Two on Wednesday 20th February 16:18

its an .AVI straight off a digital camera.gave them a call and sounded genuine (no dodgey african accent!)they said they were getting the stuff cut and ready to be sent off and apparently its being presented by Richard Hammond.They said that i have to sign some form of licence to show i have gave my permission to use it and that they would pay a fee for using it.

[Simpo Two]

AMD87 said:

its an .AVI straight off a digital camera.gave them a call and sounded genuine (no dodgey african accent!)they said they were getting the stuff cut and ready to be sent off and apparently its being presented by Richard Hammond.They said that i have to sign some form of licence to show i have gave my permission to use it and that they would pay a fee for using it.

Sounds about right. Ask them how much. It sounds like they're desperate, which is to your advantage. Deadlines are deadlines so be prepared to zip and FTP if tomorrow's too late. Or they can send a bike to collect a disk - I love it when things go bonkers