Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Solution.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Mod.
I anxiously look forward to returning home. I recorded some test videos and I want to see if the audio is in any way salvageable. It really was terrible on all my test recordings, as if you were standing in a wind tunnel. Sometimes you could not even hear the speaker. I figured that I could use Virtualdub to separate the video from audio and fix the sound quality in Sound Forge. A little more post-processing work in the end, but it if I can do it successfully it may deter the need for plan B: mods.
I didn't spend a lot on it, comparatively speaking, but I don't really want to loose the $43 bucks I did put down on it by doing a bad hack job. I was toying with the idea of installing a different mic before I left, but quickly dismissed the idea. This is a bit more complicated than my circuit-bent toys (which in the nature of circuit bending, you technically "break" the toys to make instruments . . .but I digress.) Yet the urge to attempt a mod and make it more useful is overwhelming.
So I did a search looking for any help at all and stumbled on a link for adding an external mic to a shit digital video camera. It's a mod for the Aiptek A-HD, but my camera is pretty similar to it. So much for not breaking my equipment. The idea to mod is back, but this time with detailed pictures. I would love to put a 1/4" jack in and run mics (because I love putting 1/4" jacks on just about anything) but my concern is that it will be to big for the casing. It is not the unsightliness that bothers me, it is the delicate nature of having wires hanging out as well as acquiring a static/pop sound when the external mic is moved. The guy in the demo instructions used a 3.5mm TRS jack (1/8") from an old cd player. It was even in a nice chassis to cut down on shock (unlike all my 1/4" jacks.) So I will just have to use a 1/8" to 1/4" jack-plug converter to run my mics. No big deal, it will be on a tripod anyway for music recording. And when it is not, I am pretty sure I have a tiny "spy" mic which I can tape to the top and plug in for little stuff that does not require the good mics.
If it comes down to it, that is what I will probably have to do. IF- the big if-my camera looks the same as his on the inside.
I also probably need to pick up a new soldering iron. The tutorial recommended 15 watt to prevent burning out the board. I generally use a 25 or 45 watt. In circuit bending burning out the board is not as big as a concern as in delicate electrical soldering. Look at me, getting all excited about modding without even knowing if my model of video camera can support it.
I didn't spend a lot on it, comparatively speaking, but I don't really want to loose the $43 bucks I did put down on it by doing a bad hack job. I was toying with the idea of installing a different mic before I left, but quickly dismissed the idea. This is a bit more complicated than my circuit-bent toys (which in the nature of circuit bending, you technically "break" the toys to make instruments . . .but I digress.) Yet the urge to attempt a mod and make it more useful is overwhelming.
So I did a search looking for any help at all and stumbled on a link for adding an external mic to a shit digital video camera. It's a mod for the Aiptek A-HD, but my camera is pretty similar to it. So much for not breaking my equipment. The idea to mod is back, but this time with detailed pictures. I would love to put a 1/4" jack in and run mics (because I love putting 1/4" jacks on just about anything) but my concern is that it will be to big for the casing. It is not the unsightliness that bothers me, it is the delicate nature of having wires hanging out as well as acquiring a static/pop sound when the external mic is moved. The guy in the demo instructions used a 3.5mm TRS jack (1/8") from an old cd player. It was even in a nice chassis to cut down on shock (unlike all my 1/4" jacks.) So I will just have to use a 1/8" to 1/4" jack-plug converter to run my mics. No big deal, it will be on a tripod anyway for music recording. And when it is not, I am pretty sure I have a tiny "spy" mic which I can tape to the top and plug in for little stuff that does not require the good mics.
If it comes down to it, that is what I will probably have to do. IF- the big if-my camera looks the same as his on the inside.
I also probably need to pick up a new soldering iron. The tutorial recommended 15 watt to prevent burning out the board. I generally use a 25 or 45 watt. In circuit bending burning out the board is not as big as a concern as in delicate electrical soldering. Look at me, getting all excited about modding without even knowing if my model of video camera can support it.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tools of the trade P2.
My digital video recorder came today. The sound quality is kind of shit and it is easy to inadvertently put your thumb over the microphone. But like I said in a previous post, it was cheap. It came with a mini-tripod (which would be great if I was video recording ants.) But I can't complain because it came as a kit and maybe some day I'll need it. Who knows.
But I would like to point out the awesomeness of the pictures in the eBay listing. For some shots, the seller took to the default stock item pictures and pasted their pictures on the camera screen. (I obviously added any text.) They also included some of the stock pictures, unedited. Truth be told, I like the seller's pictures better and find them more interesting. Supposedly you cannot copy pictures hosted on Auctiva picture service by ye old right-click but I know a loop-hole and I did.
Here was the main picture, the thumbnail you see in the left-hand side while you browse the auction listings (AKA: "look at my new girlfriend!"):
Look at my tits, indeed. Silicone not included in the purchase of the camera.
This is me, doing the lawn work:
stock picture:
Have you noticed that quite a few camera/tv/printer ads use hot air balloons? Did some consumer test panel tell them that this is what buyers like or do they not have enough money to buy different stock pictures?
This is our dog:
stock picture:
Really, what is this, the wing of a plane? How big of a tourist must you be to record footage of yourself flying? I also love how the most stock product pictures have that shitty fake reflection to attempt to fool you that the picture wasn't taken against a plain white background.
Well, time to go make some pornos. Kidding! But I may take the video camera and the Tascam out for a test spin at Allentown Arts Festival.
But I would like to point out the awesomeness of the pictures in the eBay listing. For some shots, the seller took to the default stock item pictures and pasted their pictures on the camera screen. (I obviously added any text.) They also included some of the stock pictures, unedited. Truth be told, I like the seller's pictures better and find them more interesting. Supposedly you cannot copy pictures hosted on Auctiva picture service by ye old right-click but I know a loop-hole and I did.
Here was the main picture, the thumbnail you see in the left-hand side while you browse the auction listings (AKA: "look at my new girlfriend!"):
Look at my tits, indeed. Silicone not included in the purchase of the camera.
This is me, doing the lawn work:
stock picture:
Have you noticed that quite a few camera/tv/printer ads use hot air balloons? Did some consumer test panel tell them that this is what buyers like or do they not have enough money to buy different stock pictures?
This is our dog:
stock picture:
Really, what is this, the wing of a plane? How big of a tourist must you be to record footage of yourself flying? I also love how the most stock product pictures have that shitty fake reflection to attempt to fool you that the picture wasn't taken against a plain white background.
Well, time to go make some pornos. Kidding! But I may take the video camera and the Tascam out for a test spin at Allentown Arts Festival.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The plan.
As I discussed in my previous post, I have difficulty relating to others on a collaborative musical level-- especially if I am required to get many of these people together in a room and do something besides converse about the weather. On the flip side, because technology enabled me to do virtually anything I want musically, including making whole melody lines based on alterations of one note sample I've recorded, sometimes I can be a bit of a musical control freak (AKA: Billy Corgan Syndrome.) A third problem is the members of my ideal band live far away. And probably would not be able to stand each other over a long period of time.
Well, I found a work-around for all three of these problems. The idea was sparked by something my friend Terry told me when I was first trying to pull together an ensemble. I found a viola player, but she just gave birth a month prior and it was difficult for her to leave the house for long periods of time. Terry suggested I bring her recordings of the band's sessions for her to use for practice purposes.
In the end, the band never materialized as I would have liked. But Terry's advice stuck with me and came back in a different manifestation. Why not record every instrument separately and put them together as I go along? I can even email the next player the tracks ahead of time so when I get there, the individual would have a basic idea of where to start. When I get done, I can do a final mix and master in Cakewalk Sonar. But I will need to keep myself in check and avoid the temptation of cutting, altering and editing parts outside of the basic effects (ie: reverb, noise reduction, pan, etc.) I want this to be as close as a collaborative effort as possible. Not just me doing what I have always done-- recording what I want and slapping it together however I deem fit.
For my audio recording, I ordered a Tascam DR-1. It is a pocket-sized audio recorder with an external mic input which can capture 24-bit 48/44.1kHz .wav files. I've also decided to document the process so I have also ordered a cheapo video camera (you know where my priorities lie), an SVP HDDV 2300 which can capture videos up to11MP and 640x480 in size.
Well, I found a work-around for all three of these problems. The idea was sparked by something my friend Terry told me when I was first trying to pull together an ensemble. I found a viola player, but she just gave birth a month prior and it was difficult for her to leave the house for long periods of time. Terry suggested I bring her recordings of the band's sessions for her to use for practice purposes.
In the end, the band never materialized as I would have liked. But Terry's advice stuck with me and came back in a different manifestation. Why not record every instrument separately and put them together as I go along? I can even email the next player the tracks ahead of time so when I get there, the individual would have a basic idea of where to start. When I get done, I can do a final mix and master in Cakewalk Sonar. But I will need to keep myself in check and avoid the temptation of cutting, altering and editing parts outside of the basic effects (ie: reverb, noise reduction, pan, etc.) I want this to be as close as a collaborative effort as possible. Not just me doing what I have always done-- recording what I want and slapping it together however I deem fit.
For my audio recording, I ordered a Tascam DR-1. It is a pocket-sized audio recorder with an external mic input which can capture 24-bit 48/44.1kHz .wav files. I've also decided to document the process so I have also ordered a cheapo video camera (you know where my priorities lie), an SVP HDDV 2300 which can capture videos up to11MP and 640x480 in size.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
