Welcome

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Thank you for visiting the multimedia production site for Blackdog Media Group, LLC. Based out of Rochester, New York, we provide quality video, as well as other media solutions, for any market and every audience. You'll find a simple overview of our capabilities on the Services page; and through the Contact page, you can request high-resolution samples of our work, as well as price estimates for your project. We hope you will send us any questions you have in regards to your vision, and how we might be able to support it.

Blackdog is a group of creative professionals with diverse backgrounds and a broad technical base. We're outfitted for both Standard and High Definition productions. In our post-production facilities, we use industry standards (such as Final Cut Studio 2) to craft and deliver your completed project, on whatever medium best suits you and your audience whether by tape, DVD, or Flash Video for the Web. For a more detailed outline of our technical capabilities, check out our Equipment list or contact us directly.

Please use our FAQ avatar to find answers to some of the questions our clients tend to ask when getting to know Blackdog. Thanks again for visiting! We hope to hear from you.

Robert Blackburn principal Robert started Blackdog Media Group, LLC in 1998 with the goal of producing affordable multimedia content for all demographics and market groups. By assembling the company around a core group of talented individuals with varied skills and tastes, he has built a media outlet capable of catering to a diverse clientele from Fortune 500 companies to fledgling sole proprietorships. Robert has 20 years of experience in audio and video production, especially audio post-production with award-winning film scores to his credit. His savvy business sense has positioned Blackdog Media Group, LLC ideally for future markets providing fresh ideas and advanced media solutions.

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Sean McVay studio manager With his Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Fredonia in Sound Recording Technology and his experience in video editing and web design, Sean understands the various aspects necessary for maintaining a world-class multimedia facility. Working from both an artistic and a technical foundation, he ensures that the Blackdog staff has what it needs to do what it does best. As a result, Blackdog's process is smooth and intuitive, productive and organized.

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Andy Staples production manager Over the past 5 years, Andy has developed a sizeable portfolio working with advertising agencies, television stations, and various artists. His repertoire has expanded to include multiple video-production styles, specializing in the details of post-production. He has joined Blackdog Media Group after 3 years as a professional videographer to bring a wider base of technical acumen and innovation to our clients.

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Matthew D. Guarnere audio engineer Since his early teens, Matthew D. Guarnere has been completely immersing himself in the art of creative sound recording. The self-taught Guarnere excelled in the field so rapidly that at the age of 16 he was asked to come to SUNY Oswego College and teach audio workshops - not to students, but to the faculty! Over the past 25 years, Guarnere has spent countless hours producing hundreds of stellar music tracks, radio commercials, movie soundtracks, and live recordings. In more recent years, Guarnere has become an expert in all types of on-location recording and live sound engineering.

For our HD projects, we use Panasonic's HPX500 and HVX200 cameras, and for SD we have a collection of professional cameras, such as the Panasonic DVX100B. We are well-equipped for field productions: backing up to our Firestore HD system, editing on-location with Final Cut Studio 2, wireless mic systems and Shure lavaliers. From dolly equipment to lighting to green screens to monitors to SLR cameras to the world-class audio capabilities of Blackdog Recording Studios, we are prepared for all varieties of production.

As for post-production, our facilities are loaded with industry-standards, from After Effects to Final Cut Studio 2 to Pro Tools to Shake. Our library of effects and stock media is vast, but we are fully capable of also creating our own. All systems are connected to a Thecus N5200B-Pro NAS system that ensures your material is safely protected. Finally, audio mixing and soundtrack creation are some of Blackdog Recording Studios' fortés: seasoned audio professionals using high-end audio equipment.

We have all the tools necessary for most levels of production, and we are able to expand as necessary for projects with particular needs. If you have particular needs, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss them.

Camera Systems

• Panasonic AG-HVX200
• Panasonic AG-HPX500
• Panasonic AG-DVX100B
• Canon GL2
• Sony DCR VX2100
• Sony DCR VX2000
• Sony DCR PC100
• Firestore HD system

Tripod Systems

• 3 Bogen Fluid Tripod Heads (503, 501)
• 3 Bogen Tripods
• Dolly cart
• Sony Tripod with hand zoom control
• 2 Bogen Monopods (1 with Fluid Tripod Head)

Digital SLR Cameras

• Canon D5, 12.8 megapixel
• Canon D40, 10.2 megapixel
• Canon D20, 8.7 megapixel

Audio Systems

• 2 Sennheiser wireless mic systems
• On-site Eurorack audio mixer
• 2 Shure SM11-CN Lavaliers

Lighting Systems

• 2 Lowell Tota tungsten floodlights with stands and travel bag
• 2 Lowell Pro-light focus floodlights with stands and boom stand
• Arriflex 150W focusing Fresnel spotlight
• 12 foot backdrop setup, including green screen
• 2 strobe flash lighting systems (600W) with stands
• 2 soft box setups
• Reflector panel

Broadcast Monitors

• Sony 9" on-location broadcast monitor for safe broadcast use
• JVC 20" editing broadcast monitor
• Tele-prompter system that attaches to camera

Tape Decks

• 1 Sony DSR 25 DV Tape Deck

Post-production Editing Systems

• Mac G5 (dual 2.5GHz), 4GB RAM, 160GB & 750GB hard drives
• Mac Pro (quad core 3.0GHz), 4GB RAM, two 750GB hard drives
• Mac Pro (quad core 2.8GHz), 4GB RAM, two 500GB hard drives
• Final Cut Studio 2
• Magic Bullet Editor filters
• Adobe Suite CS2
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
• Combustion
• Cinema 4D v10.1
• Sorenson Squeeze 4.5