Audio/Video Hardware/Software Response
Reflect on your experiences working with the audio/video hardware and software in this class. Answer the following in a word processor or text editor:
Copy/paste/publish as a single comment to this post by Friday, May 1, 5 PM.1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
43 comments:
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The microphones we built in class weren't what i expected. They were stereo mics and I was used to the typical microphone that you would use to sing. My microphones worked very good during my walks, picking up distant sounds as well as close ups.If i had unlimited money and time I would want a microphone where there is a dial on it that can be used to pick up closer or further sounds and some type of technology that would allow you to single out specific noise from noise pollution.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I had previously owned a minidisc recorder, but i used it to listen to music, not to record sounds. Recording was a whole new element to the minidisc player. In an ideal world, i would want my recorder to be the highest quality of recording and you can put it into any format you want right there.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used audacity to edit my video. I had never used it before but it was very easy to use and had clear tutorials to know how to use the software. The hotkeys on the software were also very easy to use. I think audacity will help me for future projects.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used the stock camera that came with my kit. It was kind of old, but it was very efficient to use and handled very easily. Deleting videos and picture from the camera was easy. In a perfect world the camera would have had a larger screen and more features.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used the videospin software. It was my first time using this software, but it was recommended by Heidi so I went with it. The software was very easy to use and was detrimental in me completing the project.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money. My experience with microphone building went very well. When I first heard that we would have to build our own microphones I was afraid that it would be very difficult but it was just the opposite. By following a few easy steps I had my microphone built within a couple of days. The only part that was difficult was the soldering of the wires because I had to distribute the solder evenly on the wires. After building my microphone I was surprised how well I was able to hear with them. I never thought that it was possible to make such a great microphone without spending a lot of money. When I was out on my Drift Walks, I could hear sounds that were a couple of blocks away. I was so amazed with how much I could hear and how clear I could hear them. I was able to capture both overall ambiance of traffic and also extreme close ups of dripping water. If I had unlimited time and money I would probably build a microphone that would pick up the most silent sounds and also one that would block out wind. I also would purchase a recorder that wouldn’t make sound when it first starts recording, because I found that in all of my recordings I am able to hear the recorder make a sound at the beginning of the recordings. Overall I thought I had a pretty decent microphone, which allowed me to capture all the sounds I needed in order to make my sound walk a success.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function? This was my first time using a MiniDisc recorder. The only experience I’ve had before is using a tape recorder to record sounds. I believe that the MiniDisc was a great recording device, which allowed me to capture many great sounds. At first using the MiniDisc recorder was hard to get the hang of because of all the different settings and recording options, but through trial and error and through many times of recording I finally was able to get the hang of it. My recorder of choice would be much simpler and would possibly have a touch screen rather than all the buttons.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects? The audio-editing software I used was Audacity. It was my first time using this software. I chose this software because it was recommended and it was also free to download. I thought it was very simple and provided all the basic editing options. Audacity allowed me to edit my audio efficiently and helped me to accomplish my creative goals. I was able to equalize my sounds and also add fade-in and fade-out effects. I would definitely use this software in the future.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The digital/video camera wasn’t the best of cameras that I have used. I found that when video taping with the camera of an object close up it was very blurry. When editing my still images that I captured with the camera I discovered that when I sharpen the picture I am able to see the rough edges of the pixels within the picture. Photos that I took with my own camera did not have this problem because it had a higher resolution and therefore smaller pixels, which you can’t see when using the sharpen effect. Although the camera I used on my walk wasn’t the best of quality it did have a lot of memory for pictures and video, which I did like. If I had the choice of a digital/video camera it would have a high resolution and it would allow me to focus on objects close up without becoming blurry.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects? This was my first time using Final Cut Pro and I am in love with the software. I have heard that Final Cut Pro is one of the best film editing applications and so I had to get it. I still have much to learn about the software but I have found that Final Cut Pro has endless possibilities all of which I can apply to the video I capture. I believe Final Cut Pro has helped me greatly in editing my project and putting all my images, video and sounds together into one. I am definitely using Final Cut Pro on all my future film editing projects.
1.The experience of building the microphones was pretty cool I had a lot fun with making it because It was a new experience for me.
2.The mini disc were really cool to operate, I like how I was able to hear everything loudly and clearly.I wouldn't know anything about using any equitment like that because that was my first time using something like that.
3. The audio editing was really interesting because it was a lot things you could use and do. I spend most of the time at my uncle's studio because he has pro tools which made it more creative to me.
4.The video editing was fun as well because I was using my own camera to take pictures and video to show how well I could be creative in make my own project.
5.The software was easy to handle and I had a lot fun making my own videos.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money. I did not find the microphone building to be difficult. Also the microphones ended up being more powerful than I would have thought. They worked very well on my first drift walk and on my first few drift 2 walks. The right mic did break before I was able to finish collecting sounds. This was probably due to the abuses they were put though to get some sounds. I was able to fix this problem later in audacity.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function? The MiniDisc recorder was the first real audio recorder I used. I thought that it worked fine. The only problem I had, was forgetting to turn down the recording volume.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects? I have used Audacity in the past and was excited when I learned that was what we would be using in the class. I found it to be very easy to use and incredibly effective especially for freeware.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function? The camera was the piece of equipment that I had the most trouble using. I can’t exactly say if this was due to the camera or just my competency level.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects? I used Video Spin to edit my images. The software proved to be very basic. It worked alright for someone like me who is editing video for the first time, but I can tell just by looking at other students blogs that there is much better software out there.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
When I first learned we had to make our own microphones I thought aren’t they complex and difficult to make? After getting the parts and actually making the microphones I see that it is actually very easy and the microphones are actually very good quality. During my Drift walks I never imagined I would be able to pick up such amazing sounds on a cheap homemade microphone. I was able to get far away sounds as well as really good close up sounds. I don’t know anything about microphones except what I learned when making my own so I don’t really have an ideal microphone or recorder setup.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I thought the recorder was a piece of junk, I have used so much better recorders and they aren’t that expensive to buy. The MiniDisc recorder is extremely out dated and needs an update. I will say that it did the job that was needed to be done but made it very complicated to get the job done. I have to say that my recorder choice would be a digital one since we are converting everything over to a digital format which would make things a whole lot easier and less stressful to try and figure out the multiple software programs.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used audacity and I found it very easy to use and to understand, of course it is a open source program and is designed to be easy to use; but I had never used it before and sound it to be very nice. I wouldn’t have minded learning a more advanced program but that would require the teachers to actually teach us, instead of saying here is what you have to do now teach yourself, if you have any questions we will be at school on these dates from this time to this time. So the audacity worked for a teach yourself course. I would you this software again but I am going to try to learn how to use more advanced software like adobe sound front or something so I can better myself.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I decided not to use the cheap crap now probably not even worth 50 dollars camera provided to us and use my own camera (casio exlim 4.3MP) I really haven’t used any other camera’s and so I am not sure what others I can compare it to. But I know that for a film class an actual video camera would have been a lot nicer since the class was about recording videos, it would be natural for us to be issued video camera’s not your standard out dated digital camera. Because I used my own camera and didn’t have to quickly learn new settings of another camera I was easily able to get the images I needed for my drafts. My ideal camera for shooting film in the modern world would be some kind of digital video camera.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used quicktime pro because that is what was recommended. Had I known that it was a horrible recommendation I would not have bought it and used it. It has minimal video editing capabilities and was extremely hard to figure out how to push the software to its limits in order to be able to properly edit my videos. I do not plan on using this software for any video editing ever again and will stick to real video editing software which should have been recommended from the beginning. Even though Adobe Premier is very pricey it would have been a better recommendation knowing that most students can’t afford it.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones actually turned out to be simpler than I thought it would be and was actually a vaguely fun activity. I had a couple problems here and there, such as skinning the wires too much, thus removing the actual wiring, and one microphone being more sensitive than the other. The problems were fixed, of course, and helped me gain a better insight on the construction. I went on my walks with the recorder switched on and the mics constantly functioning, so that I could hear exactly what I was to record. My usual mic setup just consisted of having them clipped to the lapels on my jacket, standing still when actually recording and shifting the mics whenever I saw it to be necessary. If I had an unlimited amount of time and money, I would take use of a few pairs of microphones and recorders, set them up around the perimeter of the targeted sound/s, to be sure that I got it down from numerous perspectives and volumes.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The recorder worked efficiently. My main gripe with it was that in order to hear with the microphones and to be able to adjust the volume, you had to set and activate the recording function, recording until its paused. I have never used an MD recorder before, so getting used to it took a bit of time. On that note, I found it to be more difficult and less user friendly than most cameras and video recorders. If there ever was an ideal world, I'd like the MD recorder to have a few more buttons and less button combinations. I would also prefer it to have shorter loading times when inserting the disk or saving the files.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity, mainly because it's quite simple and easy to use, considering that I seldom edit audio. Glenn Bach gave us a two-hour tutorial, so I had it mostly figured out. Along the road of audio editing, I started to try out and experiment with new aspects of the program as I started my Drift 2. Many of these were manipulating the file, adding effects, removing certain sounds, etc. I am not sure if I will use Audacity for future projects, for I might check out other editing programs.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
Using the digital/video camera was extremely simple. I usually use a Sony video recorder, and have been using 16mm cameras for another film class, so I had no problems at all with the camera that was issued to us. Recording what I intended to capture came out well. In an 'Ideal world', I would just choose something that passes as a professional video camera (higher frame rate, image quality, etc).
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Sony Vegas 7 for my Drift 2 project. I've been using this program for a few years now, so I am very familiar with it and plan on using for all of my other digital video projects, class and non-class projects.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The microphones we made we about what I expected, I knew we weren't going to be constructing some big, fancy rig. I was able to capture both ambient noises and close ups. If I was able to construct a mic with unlimited money, I would want to be able to cancel out the noises that I didn't want in my sounds.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
My experience with the minidisc was fine. After I remembered to switch the recording to manual sound, everything was fine. I would like to have a recorder that you could format to be in mp3 right away, not have to put it through the different processes.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used audacity to edit my sounds, not because I've had any experience with it, but because that was the program recommended. That being said, I didn't have any problems with it aside from the usual having to get used to it. I would use it again for future projects.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The camera that I was given wasn't as good as the one I own, so I only used it for the video portions in my drift. I did this because of the larger memory card that came with it. In an ideal world I would get a Canon EOS Digital camera, but i don't have thousands of dollars to spend. This would be the ideal camera for the project, because of the rapid shoot function. I took a lot of pictures of cars and had a hard time getting them all in the frame.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Sony Vegas Pro 8 to edit my video. Back in high school I used Vegas 6, so I'm pretty familiar with the basics of Vegas, though there's so many effects that can be done, I don't know half of them. It is a very user-friendly software and I plan on using it throughout my career as a film student.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I enjoyed building the microphones in class. I was surprised at how easy the process was once all of the materials were obtained. They worked really well for me during my Drift walks, which allowed me to focus on the sounds and not have to worry about technical malfunctions. By playing with the volume I could either capture sounds from faraway or focus in on "smaller" sounds. If I had unlimited time and money I would have a sound guy who would work with me to capture perfect sounds; that would be my ideal setup.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
Before I fully understood how to work the MiniDisc recorder it was frustrating, but once I became more familiar with the device I was able to use it more freely. I have yet to really use any other audio equipment, so I cannot compare it to anything, but for the most part it seems as if it is easy to use.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I decided to use Audacity, which I have used in the past. Since I am familiar with the program it was easy to edit my sounds. For other projects I can see myself using it again.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The digital camera I chose to use was easy and functional. I have used it in the past for other projects and it has always been dependable. I was able to utilize my Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used iMovie to edit my project. I have used this program in the past and liked it. While it sometimes limits what you can do with your footage, I can easily upload dailies and begin editing without any hassles.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the mic rig was a lot easier than I thought it would be, especially since I brought my own soldering wand. I was a little concerned about burning myself but there was actually very little danger of that involved.
The rig worked very well; many of my sounds came through crisp and clear. I did have some trouble with wind noise but I blame that on a poorly-constructed windscreen. Besides, the wind noise was easily remedied with Audacity.
In a perfect world, my ideal microphone rig would be a self-automated entity that could go out and record for me while I stayed home and watched TV. Other than that, though, I would have liked a windscreen like the one that Brooke Duckart made (she posted instructions on her Drift 1 blog). It looked like a great idea; however, I was too lazy to make my own. That, and I suck at sewing. I think I would have picked slightly larger alligator clips, a slightly shorter audio cable (I bought a 6’ cable instead of the 5’ recommended by the class and tangling was a bit of a problem) and maybe attached the mics to a rod or something so that I could stick them in high places or stick them in the ground to make sure they stay in place in areas where clips can’t be used (e.g., a rock crevice).
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc was confusing and frustrating, especially at first. Every time it turned off or went to sleep (happened quite often while sandwiched in my coat pocket), I had to reset it to the course specifications. I also often had difficulty getting it to record—many times it would just pause, or start a new track. Sometimes a button would get pushed accidentally, changing the screen to something else, and I would have no idea how to fix it.
I haven’t used other audio equipment, except a cheap cassette recorder, so I can’t really make a comparison. I suppose the MiniDisc recorder would be a lot easier to carry around, but it's a hassle to figure out. I don't recommend using it without having the manual handy.
In an ideal world, my recorder would have separate buttons that say, “pause,” “record,” “play,” “rewind,” etc., instead of everything on that one stupid little disk. It would also have a bigger screen so I could see all my options and check whether the volume and settings are correct.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I picked Audacity because it was free, and because it was the one that the course recommended. I’d never used it before this class, but it’s actually not bad once you get used to it. The controls were generally very simple and easy to figure out. I wish there was a way to “mark” where a particular sound is—but I settled for just listening and highlighting where I heard the sound. Most of the effects I used were noise elimination and adjusting volume; I thought it wise not to go too crazy with the effects.
If needed, I would probably use Audacity again. ‘Course, I could try out other programs, but it does annoy me to re-learn new programs. I'm stubborn that way.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
For a digital still camera, I used my Olympus 7.4 megapixel camera. Its quality was much better than the camera in the production kit, and I was more familiar with its settings. The battery life sucks, though—that thing runs through more batteries in an hour than the MiniDisc recorder in four. I’ve used friends’ digital cameras before and I prefer mine, but that’s mostly because I’m much more familiar with it.
For a video camera, I used my Dad’s JVC camera. It’s a nice little shiny camera, with a nice shiny little LCD screen. It’s the best camera I’ve used, but only because the only other cameras I’ve used were these ancient, clunky VCR cameras. Still, it’s not a bad choice at all and the images turned out great on the computer.
In an ideal world, my camera would change settings by telepathic power alone and the battery life would stretch to infinity. However, I will settle for simply a longer battery life and some kind of built-in stabilizing feature that reduces the “shake” in the camera. A tripod would not have been very practical on my walks, so I had to take hand-held shots. I think I would’ve also liked a better LCD screen that didn’t turn so light or dark when you tilted it.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I jumped around from Windows Movie Maker, to ZwelStein, to iMovies, to a free trial version of Video Edit Magic, to Avidemux, and finally wised up and went to Final Cut.
Windows Movie Maker works great for slideshows. But motion picture projects? Forget it. It’s quite impractical, at least on my home computer. Plus, I downloaded a conversion thingy, but I couldn’t get it to work.
ZwelStein was confusing. While I could preview the videos, I got stuck big-time on how to edit the footage; and the help tutorials were not very helpful. Same for Avidemux. I didn’t see an audio editing option on those movies, either.
iMovies was fine, but its effect and transition options were rather limited. Also, clips had to be moved around individually (you couldn’t move groups), which was rather tiresome.
Video Edit Magic was better than the previous three; more variety in effects, more versatility in editing and cropping. Plus, it converted to Quicktime without too much hassle. The biggest drawback was the “Video Edit Magic Trial Version” logo across the top of the screen. Not too big of a deal, especially if you’re cheap, but it can be annoying.
Final Cut Pro, once I had someone help me, was by far the best. Quality is better, and it had more effects/transitions; it was also easier to match up audio and video clips and adjust their speed. The biggest drawbacks I had came from adjusting to a Mac. The Final Cut help tutorial is HUGE, so it can be a real pain trying to find the help you need. Final Cut’s a great program, but if it’s your first time using it, I really recommend starting it with someone who’s familiar with it.
My top choice for future projects would be Final Cut. Failing that, I would probably use Video Edit Magic (not the trial version) or iMovies. Or I might try something else, like Sony Vegas. Basically, I'd use programs that you have to pay a lot of money for. The free ones I got off the Internet (Avidemux and Zwelstein) aren't all that great; besides, they take up way too much space on my computer.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones was by far the easiest aspect of this class. I was really surprised because I assumed that I would mess it up a lot more than I did. Despite my flawed construction, my mics didn't really give me problems. I was able to get both ambiance and extreme close ups. Under the ideal situation, I would have someone do sound for me. It was definitely not my strong suit.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I've never recorded with anything before. I kept everything simple and stuck to the basics and it turned out as fine as anyone expect. In an ideal world, I would use something a little more fool proof since I'm just starting out and so I'd probably want something a little easier to figure out.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity because it was recommended. I'll probably use that unless someone recommends something better to me, but I'm a creature of habit and now I'm used to this, so it would have to be something vastly superior.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I've never used any type of camera, not even on a cellphone or a disposable camera, but I loved this part of the projects! I was absolutely able to implement my image capturing strategies and I stumbled upon a great location. This whole experience made me wish I had a camera of my own. If I could chose, I wouldn't even care as long as this camera was as easy to use as the one I got.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose Windows Movie Maker because it is what came on my computer and it turned out fairly easy to use. I had fun figuring everything out and once I did, I was able to get to what I do best: meticulously arranging everything so that it fits what I want perfectly.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The assembly part of it was basically what I thought it would be. The microphones picked up a lot more than I had initially expected. I thought it was a decent enough setup for the purposes of these assignments.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The minidisc recorder made the process a bit frustrating because you have to keep resetting the settings every time you save a file. I would prefer something that would hold on the same settings until you manually changed them, or at least until you shut it off. Also something that could go right to audacity rather than having to go through sonic stage and convert everything would be nice.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used audacity because it was the program we were told to use and I already had it on my computer. I had used it a little bit for converting vinyl to my computer to listen to on my ipod, but never for editing. I think it was easy enough to use, and anything I needed to know I could find in tutorials online. After I added some plug-ins that gave more editing options I thought it was much better.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I’ve never owned a digital camera, so it was new to me, but it was very easy to use. I had problems with it draining my batteries almost instantly, which made it frustrating. Also, the poor video quality made my assignment have a mixture of high quality photos and low quality video. I think the camera did everything I expected it to except I didn’t understand setting the focus manually. I just kept the pictures that ended up in focus and it was fine.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Quicktime Pro, because the syllabus said we had to purchase it for the class, so I wanted to get my money’s worth. It isn’t very user friendly at all. I tried getting Adobe Premiere so I could compare it, but my processor isn’t new enough to run it on my computer. If there was a way to input the time or frame number you want to insert something at, it would be much easier than having to move the cursor around by hand until it’s at the right spot. Using the arrow keys to move the cursor only worked half of the time for some reason. Hopefully I won’t have to use that program again, but since I spent so much time learning it, it would definitely be easier the next time.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I thought that the microphones were excellent! I had no idea that great microphones could be built so cheaply. The process was so simple, that I am tempted get more supplies to build at least one more set this summer! I had no problems recording close or far sounds and only moderate problems with wind (and usually only when it was very windy). Ideally, I would have every microphone under the sun along with the most dynamic recording devices available (and a crew for assistance), but realistically I would have an SD card/non-moving-parts based recorder and mounted microphones with a more heavy-duty windscreen.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
In all honesty, I was a bit frustrated with the MiniDisc recorder. I was annoyed with having to continually set the recording options along with waiting for the sound to be saved to the MiniDisc. Additionally, adding to my dislike of Sony’s proprietary formats, having to use their software to rip the audio only to have it immediately converted to a usable format seemed to be one step too many. Nevertheless, the audio quality was excellent and I had yet to change the battery after 6+ hours of recording. Ideally, my recorder would have more direct level control, record directly to a usable format (along with drag-and-drop support), and settings that remain after pressing stop.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I primarily used Adobe Soundbooth for my sound editing. It was the first time that I had used the software. I was looking for a good excuse to try out the software which came with Production Premium, so Drift 2 seemed like as good a time as any. Interface-wise, it was pretty straightforward, but the feature set was a bit lacking. What was there was quite functional (the noise and pop remover was extremely helpful), but it seemed to be tuned more for audio cleanup than audio effects/editing. I would still prefer using SoundForge, but will probably use Soundbooth again for final audio cleanup.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my own camcorder (Canon HF-100) for the project which I purchased shortly before the fall term. I haven’t had much time to use it during school, so I’m always glad when I have the opportunity to do so. Compared to cameras I have used for other classes, it has similar features but records higher quality video (AVCHD) in native 1080p. I had no problems using it for the project and I believe that the quality images benefited the final project. Ideally, the camera would have more direct on-board controls and a more robust feature set (slow motion, time lapse, etc).
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
For the project I used Adobe Premiere 4. Most of my editing experience has been with Premiere 1.5, but I have been using 4 since its release last fall. AVCHD is a difficult format to edit natively, and Premiere 4 has built-in support for the format. Feature and layout-wise, it is pretty similar to 1.5, so I had little problem adjusting to the new software. The only issue I had was outputting to .MOV, but I attribute that more to the dated container than the software. As long as I’m a PC user (or perhaps until something better comes along), I don’t see myself using anything other than Premiere for video editing.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones actually turned out to be simpler than I thought it would be and was actually a vaguely fun activity. I had a couple problems here and there, such as skinning the wires too much, thus removing the actual wiring, and one microphone being more sensitive than the other. The problems were fixed, of course, and helped me gain a better insight on the construction. I went on my walks with the recorder switched on and the mics constantly functioning, so that I could hear exactly what I was to record. My usual mic setup just consisted of having them clipped to the lapels on my jacket, standing still when actually recording and shifting the mics whenever I saw it to be necessary. If I had an unlimited amount of time and money, I would take use of a few pairs of microphones and recorders, set them up around the perimeter of the targeted sound/s, to be sure that I got it down from numerous perspectives and volumes. I was surprised that the whole process was that easy.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
Our recorders worked more or less efficiently. My main gripe with it was that in order to hear with the microphones and to be able to adjust the volume, you had to set and activate the recording function, recording until its paused. I have never used an MD recorder before, so getting used to it took a bit of time. On that note, I found it to be more difficult and less user friendly than most cameras and video recorders. If there ever was an ideal world, I'd like the MD recorder to have a few more buttons and less button combinations. I would also prefer it to have shorter loading times when inserting the disk or saving the files.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity, mainly because it's quite simple and easy to use, considering that I seldom edit audio. You gave us a two-hour tutorial, so I had it mostly figured out. Along the road of audio editing, I started to try out and experiment with new aspects of the program as I started my Drift 2. Many of these were manipulating the file, adding effects, removing certain sounds, etc. I am not sure if I will use Audacity for future projects, for I might check out other editing programs.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
Using the digital/video camera was extremely simple. I own a much more complex Panasonic camera so moving to a simple point and shoot was really easy. In my ideal world, I would be using a much more advanced camera with at LEAST 6 megapixels.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I utilized Picasa3 because it was the first one I decided to try. The program worked very well with my project because I just had a series of still images. Im not big into photography so I will probably not use this program again in the near future.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I can say that it was fairly easy considering I have soldering experience. My microphones were like they were suppose to but I wasn't a big fan of the improvised windscreens, they picked up everything. The ideal mic would be something similar to my ears where I can tune things out and listen to certain sounds.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I hated the MiniDisc recorder, it is the most difficult piece of equipment I've ever used...It makes me hate Sony. I would use Zooms in the future.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I thought Audacity was the best program I've used outside of Adobe Audition. I will continue to use Audacity.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my phone to capture panoramic images and I am extremely happy with it. I wish it would take 360 panoramic images not just 180+ images.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
Final Cut Pro will always be my first choice in editing software, I own it so I use it and will continue to use it. I also used Motion for adding effects to the pictures but will most likely use Adobe After Effects from now on.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The microphone build was a lot of fun, but also very inspiring. I never thought I could make a microphone so easily! It inspires me to look into other media devices that I might be able to create myself. Which also lead to me creating my own custom windscreens. Click here to see my blog post about my windscreen build.
Rigging up the microphones on the walk was challenging, especially on windier days, but as I gained more experience it became smoother. I was able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups, along with mixture of both in a single recording. My ideal mic set-up would be away from harsh wind, but beyond that I don't feel like I know enough yet to list off any other details about an Ideal audio set-up at this point.2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
It took awhile to get used to the MiniDisc recorder and how it works. The volume set up every time was a bit tedious. One of my walks I went out and recorded some great close-up sounds and then never hit "stop" on the MiniDisc, I just turned the power off... resulting in the Disc never writing those recordings. Quite a bummer, but lesson learned.
As far as comparing with other audio equipment, I wouldn't know. This was my first recording experience ever. And again, I think I need more audio experience to describe an Ideal set-up.3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used QuickTime Pro to initially listen to my sound clips, to cut them down into shorter clips, and then used Audacity to further edit, amplify and export. I have had a tiny bit of QuickTime Pro experience prior, but this was my first Audacity experience. The combo of working in both these programs I think was very beneficial and I became pretty fast at it once I understood the tools. I would use them again for future projects, yes.4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I have never had a film class before. On my own I have filmed things for fun, but then never went further with any sort of editing software, thus this whole process was very new to me and a huge challenge overall.
I don't feel like I captured very clean footage with the camera provided, but that was most likely user-error (not knowing what exactly I was suppose to do with the camera to improve quality) and not the equipment itself. Or at least I don't feel like I have had enough experience yet to make a judgement on the equipment. I still feel that I did successfully implement my strategies though with the features on this camera.
In an Ideal world, again, I would just have more experience and would know what I was doing (ha!).5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I started off with QuickTime Pro as I had a tiny bit of experience with it prior. My Silent Rough-cut was completely stitched together with QuickTime Pro, I loved the choppy style I was able to accomplish, but it took FOREVER and I knew I didn't have that sort of time to put it all together for the final screenings.
So I tried iMovie since it was already on my laptop. Using iMovie alone was faster, but still not as proficient as I thought it could be. Using a combo of QuickTime Pro for cutting/editing clips down and iMovie to put it all together seemed to work out the best. I will probably use this combo in the future again, at least until I can afford better editing programs.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones was easier than expected. There were a surprisingly few amount of parts and the soldering was really the only difficult step. The microphones worked great on the walks and I was surprised at the quality of the sounds. I was able to capture both ambient and close up sounds although it was hard at times to do that considering the weather and the places I recorded. To get my ideal recording setup, I wouldn’t really need all that much money, just the time at my disposal to get a large number of diverse sounds.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I didn’t care too much for the MiniDisc recorder. On my final walk it stopped recording halfway through so I was forced to work with only the sounds I recorded before that point. I was a good place to start considering I haven’t done much sound recording in the past, but I would much rather work with a digital recorder such as a Zoom, which I have used on other projects.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity for my audio-editing. I haven’t used this program in the past and must admit that it was hard to get the hang of at first. I chose this software because it was recommended to me, and I’m glad I chose it. I feel like there is still a lot for me to learn and experiment with audacity and I’m confident I will use it again in the near future.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
For my drift project, I used my own Sony video camera. It’s a good little camera to use on small projects like this, but I don’t feel that the quality is good enough for more professional looking projects. I had no problems implementing my image capturing strategies and I was extremely excited about the footage I got. In an ideal world I would choose to work with the nicest video camera available but I know that’s not going to be a reality any time soon.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Final Cut Pro to edit my video. I have used this program in the past and have never had a problem with it. This software was great at doing what I wanted to do with my drift video and I enjoyed the ease of using it. I am getting Final Cut on my home computer and I will defiantly use it many times again in the future.
1. I enjoyed building the microphones. I thought that it was a great way to ‘own’ the project and find out what goes into making the equipment work. I did not have a problem with it out in the field. I would have liked to have a way to make the sounds crisper. Maybe if I used the champagne wire I would have been more satisfied.
2. I haven’t used any other audio equipment but I was not happy with the MiniDisc. My specific MiniDisc was continually giving me problems and I felt that it was a big hassle.
3. I used Audacity and I thought it was very easy and self explanatory. The program allowed you to apply different layers and effects and I thought it was a great way to manipulate the sounds. I would definitely use this program in the future.
4. I used my own camera. I have a standard Panasonic digital camera that takes stills and video. I do like this camera and the close-ups come out with some really amazing detail, but sometimes it takes a while to get that perfect shot. Also, the video can come out shaky, which, without a tripod, I assume is normal.
5. I used the Windows Movie Maker. It didn’t supply a lot of options for the video and the difficulty getting the video to the web was incredibly frustrating. I chose this option because I wanted something that was already accessible to me. As someone who is going to teach biology, I thought it was important to understand and utilize the equipment that I had. Although I didn’t find the program to suit the needs for this class, I do believe that the program will be able to assist me in future projects that do not entail connecting it to the web.
Joel Augustine
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The microphone experience went very well. At first just thinking about building a microphone I was nervous and thought it would be a bigger exercise than it was. But once I started to get into it and focus on what I was doing while following the directions the process was fairly painless. My microphone setup for what it was worked extremely well. I never would of thought that one could make a microphone out of an AV cable. I feel that the microphones that we made could capture a lot of the sounds we wanted to. Sometimes if the mics were to close or if the sound hit a specific pitch it would max out and create a distortion. So if I had a microphone of my own I would have it be very sensitive to sounds and be able to capture sounds from rather away. But I would also have a setting on it that I could do close up sounds that wouldn’t max out and be able to capture that over all atmosphere.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I have used a Mini Disc before for music, but I didn’t think you could record sounds with them. I am sure they could do more than that, but for our class this is what we used it for. I have never used any other audio equipment before, but for the mini disc it was fairly easy to use and it held the purpose for the work we created. I don’t know what I would have in the ideal world, my use in audio is very limited so I wouldn’t have any criticism between what equipment can or cannot do. But for the importing stage I wish that sonic staged showed what clip or what group the sounds were in so when you went to up load the second time you could tell the different recordings apart.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
This was the first time that I edited any type of audio. I used audacity because it was free and also because there were tutorials on the program to help us use it. I feel for a first time user it was a nice program to start with. There were more things that I would of liked to do that audacity didn’t have to offer for a creative process. Things like slowing the sound down audacity I didn’t have that option to do so. I think I will use this program again for future projects as long as they sound is pretty straight forward with the natural effect.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
In this class I used my own equipment for taking the images for this project. I have a Nikon D70 and I like how the images turn out on it. It is only a six mega pixel camera, but I feel that is the reason that I like it so much more. With six mega pixels you can still blow up an image pretty large and I feel to a point what does all the other mega pixels do for you. I saw a lecture on how a one pixel camera can give the same image as a nine mega pixel camera. So I feel that the world of the digital era is about to have another change and have a new type of technology enter the market.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used adobe premiere cs3 for drift 2. I have only used this once before in high school and we used adobe premiere 7.0. For the most part it was pretty much the same thing, but I feel that in 7.0 you could adjust the levels in the sound more accurately. By this I mean that you could curve the level on the sound so that it would either fade or bring down the level in a specific part. I feel that that is one thing that would of helped me in this project but other that that I feel that adobe premiere had everything that I needed for this project and I will use it again in the future.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme close-ups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
-I had a bit of trouble with the initail construction of my microphone. After a couple tries I had it down. It was the first time I've soldered something that delicate. I probably should have brought a separate tripod to hold the mic up since their was not always a surface to hook it up on available and this caused me to sometimes bump or shuffle the mic. Recording both ambient and close up sound worked fine. Really the only problem I had with sound recording was the amount of spiking I got from buses downtown. Those things will make you deaf!
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
-The MiniDisc recorder is a battery eating machine. Other than that it worked like a charm. I've done very little other professional style audio recording before so I don't have anything to compare it to. Most audio I've captured in the past was through a video camera and of quite poor quality. An ideal world would allow me to record audio just by thinking about recording it. A realistic ideal world, however, would have disks eliminated. A USB or firewire extension plug allowing you to directly connect the recorder to a computer would be nice.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
-Peak Pro is what I used. I've dabbled with this program every once and a while. It has quite an intimidating setup with its amount of depth available. I've only scratched the surface of its editing methods myself. It's been my preferred choice for audio editing and still will be in the future until I find something better.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
-When I first saw the teeny, tiny camera we were given with the kit I was a little skeptical. I didn't know it was able to record video, which is what I was really looking for. Though the quality wasn't quite as well as a video camera which is meant specifically for video, it turned out to work quite well for my needs. I was in need of photos as well and from a video camera that would have been quite difficult. I got plenty of looks and one comment on the small camera sitting on the large tripod. An ideal world would have a camera that, like the audio recorder, would plug in directly via USB or firewire to a computer.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
-I used Final Cut Pro which I've used several times in the past. It's my preferred software for compositing. Effects I would leave for another program I use, but for what I needed with this film FCP worked great. I plan to keep using this program until, like the audio software, I find something better.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I thought the fact that we built our own microphones was really, really cool. I’d like to use my microphones for future projects. The only complaint I had about the mics is basically caused by my recklessness. There were a lot of moments where you could hear the mic cord be fumbled with or bumped. If I wasn’t walking, and I was able to clip them to a stationary object, I think I would have had a better turnout. I was able to capture overall ambiance and extreme close-ups, which was pretty cool. I think if I were to use these mics for actual dialogue recording for a movie, I would have to do some experimenting with sensitivity. Ideally, I would love a wireless connection, so I wouldn’t have to worry about cord noise.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recording was ok. I mean, it sounded great, but the hassle of having to go through SonicStage, as opposed to connecting right to my Mac was a little frustrating. It still worked well for me, however. Also, I would enjoy a device that didn’t reset setting every time I was to hit the stop button. Otherwise, it was easy to travel with, and fairly easy to navigate.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose to use Audacity. I enjoyed the program a lot, and thought it was very easy to use, and had a lot of editing options (especially for it being free!). Everything was great up until I when I tried adding the sound into my video. The first three seconds would play, and the last three seconds would play, but all the sound in the middle was silent. So I was forced to not use the sounds I captured on my walk, and just the sound recorded onto the camera. It turned out ok, but not the initial play.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my own Canon picture camera, with a video setting. This worked great. It has great quality, and the zoom is fantastic (Heidi and I determined that a lot of my best shots were close ups). No complaints. Digital was nice, opposed to tapes in other video cameras.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
Prior to this project, I had just used iMovie. However, I had obtained Final Cut Express, and Heidi taught me how to use that. FCE was great. I really enjoyed using it, and plan to use that program from now on! I figured I ought to because Final Cut seems to be the program to use when doing more professional projects, so I think it’s good to get familiar with it now.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones was very difficult for me, I could not really grasp the concept on soldering. The microphones seemed really tiny to me at first, I was expecting them to be larger, but they were a lot more powerful than I had expected and allowed me to pick up incredible ambient sounds. My microphone rig worked extremely well and was a lot easier to use than I had thought.I think since this is my first microphone rig experience I don't have enough experience to determine what my ideal setup would be, but this one worked great.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The mini disc recorder was harder to work than the microphone rig. Since it was the first time working with something like this, I had the incident where I thought I was recording on my Drift 1 walk and I wasn't. I had to go back and do the walk over. After awhile I got the hang out it and it became a lot easier.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
For my projects I used audacity, because it was the only free audio-editing program and it was quite a first time experience with software like this. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and found it very hard to figure out how to use the functions on audacity, even through the tutorials. I managed to do the best I could with what I knew which was almost nothing and I am happy with what I did. I will probably use this software in the future, but want to learn more about each function before I use it.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The camera was about the only thing I had experience with and using it made things go smoothly. I was able to capture many great photos for my drift strategy to enhance the project. It was not as nice as the cameras I have before, but I learned to work with what you are given and it was very valuable.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used the software imovie because it was the only software I owned and knew how to use. I had done some previous projects and knew my way around the program, but would have liked to use a higher grade of software like Final Cut.It helped put all the pieces of my project together, but limited me with what I was able to do with it.In the future I hope to abandon imovie and upgrade to Final Cut.
1. I was surprised to learn that with very little time, money, equipment, and effort one could easily build a well functioning microphone. This kind of hands-on, DIY approach to art production is exactly what interests me. The microphone worked better than I expected it to, and picked up both ambient sounds and close sounds very well. Although, towards the end of the project, one side of my microphone became un-soldered and stopped functioning. Ideally I would build a microphone that blocks all wind and can pick up, tune in on, and amplify specific sounds of my choosing.
2.The mini-disk recorder is fairly easy to use, and give me no problems. I think I would use this type of equipment again, especially considering my limited experience with audio equipment. My recorder of choice would be compatible with Macs. It would also have a more user-friendly menu interface and I wouldn't have to reset the recording volume function every single time.
3. I used audacity, and it was my first time using such a program. I chose it because it was already on my computer and because it was the program explained in class. I found it fairly easy to use and helpful. I will use it again, although I'm now interested in learning to use Logic Pro as a better alternative.
4. I chose to use my own digital camera over the one provided in the kit for two reasons: 1.) it uses a rechargeable battery and 2.) it produces a higher quality image. I also have tons of experience with it. It's my favorite of all the small digital cameras I have ever used. It worked very nicely for this project, especially with the help of my mini tripod. In an ideal world my camera of choice would have a more advanced image stabilization feature for videos.
5. I originally started by using Quicktime Pro, but found the interface to be very unfriendly and the features lacking. I used iMovie instead because I have used it before for personal projects and found it to be both effective and easy to use. I really think it worked well for this project too. I would definitely use this software again, at least until I decide to finally invest in Final Cut Pro.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme close-ups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The process of building the microphones was really fun. I had no idea it would be so simple. Learning to solder was both enjoyable and frustrating, it’s difficult working with such a small margin for error. Overall, the microphone worked really well. I was able to capture overall ambient noises like the natural sounds of the woods as well as close up sounds like water dripping from a spout. Ideally a microphone would have been easier to handle than the ones we built in class. The windscreen would block much more wind and it would be possible to hold and move the microphones without getting much crackling. Ideally the set up of the microphone/recorder would involve much less cords, maybe even cordless if possible? My biggest problem on the walk was getting tangled in cords.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I really didn’t enjoy using these MiniDisc recorders. Compared to other audio equipment they were slow and difficult to operate. It was also rather annoying to have to change the recorder settings every time you wrote to the disk. In an ideal world the recorder would be much different. Firstly, it would be smaller and not require more than a couple of seconds to save a sound. Ideally it would save as it recorded. The recorder would also be more compact and easier to navigate through menu options.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity to edit my sounds. This was the first time I’ve used that application and I think it went pretty well. The software was pretty intuitive and I didn’t have much difficulty accomplishing what I had in mind. I chose this application because of its ease of use and the fact that it was freeware. I think the simplicity of the program really helped me work through my project quickly and efficiently. I’ve actually used audacity to edit a final for another project this semester.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my own digital camera so it was exactly what I expected. I’m glad I didn’t have to use the class cameras because there was a long delay. Ideally I would have been able to carry a digital camera and a video camera with me on the walk, but I think that would have been too much to carry. If I got to choose my own digital camera it would be a nice digital SLR so I had control over shutter and aperture.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I actually took a really different route with the video editing. I used After Effects, which is usually reserved for postproduction editing. I used it because I could uniquely edit and manipulate the photos I captured. I think the result was really unique and I’m very proud of it. I will continue to use After Effects in the future.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The microphone building was much different than I expected. I for one was not expecting it to be that difficult, and I give welders a lot of credit because getting those soldering wands into that tiny little space without melting everything together was not an easy task. Afterwards it was totally worth everything because my microphones worked really well, especially for how they were made. I was able to capture general ambiance like traffic and close up sounds like water driping and birds singing very well. Although with unlimited time and money I would like a little better quality equipment because sometimes the felt wind screens didnt work the best, although I dont know how well any of them do, and there is probably no way to block it out entirely. I would also use much better editing program.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I didn't really have too many problems with the MiniDisc recorder, and the ones I did have were easily corrected by reading the instructions on the tutorials page. I have not used much other recording equipment but I had a good experience with this and I would probably use it again. Although if I had a chance to use other equipment I would definitly take it, and preforably the equipment wouldn't have to be reprogramed every time it was shut off or the batteries needed to be changed.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
The audio editing software I used in this class was Audacity. I liked it pretty well, I had never used it before but it was recommended for the class and since that was what all the instructors knew how to use I thought it would be best in case I needed help. It turned out to be helpful. I would use this software again. It was easy enough to use once I got the hang of it and it had a good sound quality.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The camera I chose to use was the camera provided in the Film kit. It was simple to use, and functioned like most other digital cameras I have used in the past. The only problem I had was taking blurred pictures. Which in normal circumstances I would be glad about, but since one of my strategies was to take some blurred photos it was annoying. Later on though I was glad because that forced me to change my strategy and I am more happy with the images that I got than I think I would have been.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
The video editing software I used was Windows Movie Maker. I was not happy with this program at all. I have used it in the past and had no problems with it, but for some reason this project was such a hassle on WMM. My project was completely still photos and the more I would add the slower the program would respond. It was frustrating and stressfull. Definitely more work than it was worth. I only used that program because I already own it and thought it would be best using a program I was already familiar with. Then exporting my final film was nearly impossible (actually I still havent figured it out, but I hear it has been done by others) because the program isn't compatible with many others. I would never use this program again for a project as extensive as this one. If I could change one thing about my project now, it would be using WMM because I feel it limited me creatively and put a limit on how far I could take my video.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphone was interesting to do because I already kind of knew how to put stuff like that together. I went to the first class and didn't get a chance to start building till the last class period. I thought this was a waste of class time since it only took me like 20 minutes to do and I went to 3 classes to get a shot at doing it. My microphone worked perfectly. My windscreen also worked pretty well in keeping out the noise. It was very sensitive when it came to all sounds so I had a lot of ambiance and close-up sounds. If I had tons of money I would buy the best microphone in the world. It would eliminate any wind sounds.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I thought the minidisc recorder was kind of complex to use. The buttons were small and it didn't light up. You had to press multiple buttons to do things. I found it complicated to use when I was adjusting sensitivity and it also made noises that my mics would pick up. This is the only sound recording equipment I have ever used. The recorder of choice would be that I press on button to record and it puts that sound into a folder and I would have a toggle on the side to increase or decrease volume.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity. I thought this software was fairly easy to use. It gave me some trouble when I want to delete parts but overall was very easy to use. I chose this software because its free and I don't have any other software on my computer. This software was good for my project because it was simplistic and had everything I needed for my projects. I will use this software in the future because its well designed.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used the cameras they gave us in class. I found them to be very cheap but they got the job done. The video quality is pretty low but the still pictures turned out very nice. It was also very easy to figure out how to use this camera. I've used other cameras that work much better but this one was all I needed.I used a lot of the super close up shots that looked very nice with this camera. I was able to get everything done.I think some of my moving shots aren't the best quality. A ideal camera would have to be a very expensive HD camcorder. Easier to hold and less to worry about since its not made of super cheap plastic.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Sony Vegas. I've been using this program for a couple years. I find it very easy to use and very helpful in a wide variety of video editing techniques. I love Sony Vegas because I know it so well and it helped me complete my project with ease. I will defiantly use this program in the future.
1. When it came to microphone building, my experience was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. The directions from my lab instructor were very clear and I was helped with whatever problems I came across. My microphone rig worked well on both my walks and I had no difficulties recordings the sounds in which I encountered. For example, I was able to capture both ambiance and closeup sounds.
2. I haven’t had much experience with other audio equipment other than a couple of Sony V-O-Rs, so I thought the MiniDisc recorders were fine enough for this project. I may use this software for future projects, however, I would like to explore other options and work with more high-tech microphones.
3. I haven’t had much experience with audio-editing, so I thought Audacity was good enough. I would like to explore other audio-editing options in the future. I may use this software in the near future, otherwise learn about a new software and use that.
4. When choosing a digital/video camera, I chose to stick with my own due to the fact that I am comfortable with it and know all of its functions. Because of this, I was successfully able to implement my Image Capturing Strategies using the features on my own camera and my own background with photography.
5. I chose to use my own video-editing software, Final Cut Express. I had almost no history with this software, but was able to learn quickly from a fellow filmmaker and was very please with the results. I chose this particular application because I wanted to learn more about Final Cut Express so that I could use it on later projects. Final Cut Express had all of (and more) of the functions and options that I had in mind for constructing my Final Draft.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Constructing our own microphones was more challenging than I anticipated. I have very little soldering experience and this was a major component of putting them together. I found myself surprised with the time and care it took to properly tin the wires, align the wires and mic capsule, etc.. Trying out different windscreen designs was again challenging. I never got it exactly right so an abundance of raw recordings and careful editing was key. Overall I appreciated the experience of constructing the mics. Other than the windscreen issue, my mic functioned great in both ambient and louder, close-up settings. Given unlimited time and money I would contact Shure to have them build me custom mics!
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MD recorder worked well and was relatively easy to use. I have to admit that I am not a fan of Sonic Stage. I have been an avid mac user for years and having to work in a lab on a PC as opposed to my own laptop (or even a lab mac for that matter) was disappointing. A digital audio recorder that works on macs & PCs would have been ideal.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose Audacity for audio editing because I have used it quite a bit in my own audio endeavors, editing DJ sets and live recordings. I love Audacity because it is open source and it gets the job done! No frills but it's a workhorse. One bug I noticed was if you attempted to change the file name in "save as" the shortcut keys would respond so if you hit "r" it would start recording, etc. I submitted this to Audacity so hopefully they will fix this asap! Despite this minor annoyance, I will definitely use Audacity again!
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my Pentax digital camera for capturing images, it is a little sleeker and better quality than the ones provided in our kits. It's a good all-around camera and I had no major issues. Ideally I would have liked to use a higher end digital camera and a digital video camera, both items I would love to eventually have in my arsenal, but for now I have to make due with what I've got!
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I decided to purchase Quicktime Pro for my video editing and this was my first time using it. Since I do not have a great deal of video editing experience, this seemed like a good middle-ground option price and feature wise. I think that the intuitive interface was very helpful as a novice editor, however I would have liked to utilize some simple effects, which, as far as I could tell, were nowhere to be found. Aside from some minor installation problems, I am happy with the results and I am sure I'll use it again for certain projects. I would however, like to try my hand at some other programs, including Final Cut.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The experience of building our own microphones in class was not exactly what I expected it to be. It was a surprisingly simple process but yet a bit frustrating at times. I was relieved that it only took a couple of class periods to build them. My microphone rig worked very well during my drift walks. I was happy with the ability of the microphone to pick up the specific sounds (most of the time) that I was aiming for. With unlimited time and resources I would want to build a microphone and recorder setup that would keep settings each time without having to re-program it each time we pressed stop. This would make it a lot easier to concentrate on recording each sound that I found interesting without having to worry about the sound being over by the time I am ready to record.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder was easy to operate but it got tedious after each time to re-program it. I haven’t really used any other type of audio equipment before except for recording with a microphone connected to my computer. I liked the quality of the recordings produced with this recorder. My recorder, in an ideal setting, would be easier to operate and with buttons for specific functions. It would also be easier to hear my recordings right away.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose to use Audacity for my audio-editing and I had never used it before. I liked that this software is easy to learn how to use and also helpful with my overall needs of editing sounds together from different files, adding special effects where needed, and making use of the amplification tool. I think that I will make use of this program in future projects.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I chose to use my own digital camera that I have had for about a year already for this project. I was comfortable with this camera even before beginning this project and so I felt at ease while using it on my walks. I was able to implement my Image Capturing Strategies using its features easily. I think that in an ideal world, my camera would be able to capture video in a higher quality, have less glare reflected on the viewfinder in an outdoor setting, and be able to record higher quality audio in case that I wanted to use the original audio captured in the exact spot of the image capture.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used QuickTime Pro to edit my video. I had never used this software before and I chose it because it was convenient since I worked on this project using a PC and had already purchased the license. I didn’t really like using this software because it didn’t apply the effects that I wanted (like reverse and color) like I wanted. It was also difficult to match the audio and images together using this software. I think that I will only use this software again if it’s for simpler projects.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The process of building microphones was nothing like I would thought it would be. It was very intuitive, yet very simple. On my walks, I found that my mic was able to carry a lot more sound that I originally thought it would. I definitly was able to capture overall ambience, as well as closeups.. because i was focusing on closeups, I was able to capture ambience and sounds I never thought I would hear without the mic! An ideal recorder set up for me, would be a more up to date recorder, i found it a bit frustrating at times using/handling the limited buttons and the small screen with the recorder we had. And possibly a classier mic set up.. =)
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
Like I said above, the mini disc recorder was harder to use because it had so many functions, yet you couldn't really grasp how to actually get to those.. It was as user friendly as I thought. Also, in some of my recordings, it recorded the recorder, recording.. if that makes any sense? haha.. Another thing I thought would've helped was a bigger screen to fully see my options in using the recorder.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I definitely liked audacity.. it was very user friendly, and to the point. I didn't like how we had to go to sonic stage and then to audacity to use our sounds, i found sonic stage quite pointless. I also, at first, had trouble converting my sounds with LAME they always said they couldnt find it? I will probably use audacity again, or try to find a program that will upload my sounds and edit them.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
Well, I used my own digital camera, so I can't really compare it to other cameras I've used. I would definitely say though, that I would've preferred getting an SLR digital camera, but i think i was still able to capture great images and clips.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I actually downloaded a lot of freeware for this project, and then at the last minute got a mac, and used imovie. With my old laptop, i had tried picasa, avidemux, and a quicktime trial... none of them satisfied what i wanted to portray.. I finally got a mac, and i found imovie to be very user friendly, and i felt i had more control over what I was creating. Whereas with the other software i felt restricted. I love imovie, so i would definitely use it again!
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building the microphones was extremely fun. At first, I thought it would be very difficult, because I had never soldered anything before. Once I did it though it turned out to be very painless, interesting and exciting. My microphone worked very well, the quality of the sound was very good and it was easy to carry around. I did capture some sounds that were in the foreground, middle ground and background but not too many. Ideally I would be able to easily transport my mics without any long cords. Also I would like to have a protective casing around my equipment, to better protect against damage.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
My experience with the MiniDisc was hard at first. I couldn’t remember all of the settings at first, but once I got going it was easy to use. I haven’t used any audio recording equipment until this class, so I have nothing to compare the MiniDisc to. Ideally I would have a recorder that would be compatible with a Mac and have something that would be more user friendly when it comes to the settings.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose to use Audacity for my audio-editing software. I had no prior experience in audio editing, and Audacity made it easy for me to do. I would definitely use this software again because it was very easy to use.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I chose to use a Canon Powershot digital camera and it is one of the best cameras I have used. It took high resolution shots and was very user friendly. I was able to implement my image capturing strategies successfully, although I did have trouble focusing close up shots. Ideally, I would have a SLR camera that I could manually focus.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I chose to use IMovie for my video editing software. I hadn’t ever used it before, but it seemed to be a pretty easy application to use. I had no trouble using the program. I chose this software because it was on my computer already and it was free. I definitely would use this software again for future projects.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The process of building a microphone was much more simple than i had thought coming into the class. I enjoyed putting the microphone together myself, and was pleased with its performance on my drift walks. The faux fur windscreen really cut back on wind noise. My ideal recording setup would be some kind of experimental microphone that could identify sounds and make separate tracks for the sounds so you could easily pick out all the noise.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder worked adequately for me. The recording quality was good when used right, but the device wasn't very user friendly. This piece of equipment was different from what i have used in the past because it only used the sony sonic stage program to rip it off. In an ideal world, i would have a more user friendly minidisc with better menus and easier navigation through settings.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I was a first time user of Audacity when i edited my sound footage. I found the program very easy to use, especially how you could interact with the sound clip on the timeline. It allowed me to be more creative by giving me the freedom to move my clips around easily. I would use this program in the future.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I found the camera was a little too small for my taste. I would not have minded using a video camera instead. It was hard to take videos with the camera so that hindered my image capturing strategies.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used videospin. It was easy to use, and was deep enough let me get my message across. I would rather use finalcut pro if i had a choice, but who wouldn't.
1. Building the microphone was about as complicated as I thought it would be, and I am quite happy to say that it worked very well on the drift walks. I can't say if I was able to capture extreme closeups, because I never found myself in a situation that called for it. Seeing as how I do not know much about microphones and recorders, I would only make a few changes from what I worked with for the records. I would have liked to put something between the mic and the wind screen, like the wire cage of a champagne bottle, just to increase the efficiency.
2. My experience with the MiniDisc recorder was okay, considering I don't have anything to compare it to. My only complaints are that the display couldn't be read in direct sunlight or when placed in too much shadow. That and the menu took a little too long to get to. In an ideal situation it would be able to remember my recording preferences as well.
3. I decided to use Audacity as my audio editing software. I chose this over any others because when I went to my old university I saw Audacity on every computer in the music building. Because I am a music major, I figured that it would be best for me to familiarize myself with the program. It was pretty self explanatory, and I really got a lot done with it. I will definitely use it again.
4. I used my DSC-W170 SONY Super Steady Shot for the project. It worked pretty well, but it still gave me some strange focusing issues (nothing out of the ordinary for this camera, it's a little troublemaker). I really can't complain though, because compared to my last camera (which is now quite old, and couldn't take pictures in the dark or take much without blurring) it worked very well. Anyways, I was able to get all the shots I needed. In an ideal world, my SONY camera would have a larger lens that I would be able to control.
5. I used Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 because it came with my laptop. I decided to use this program because I figured that it would have the same general set up as Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 (which I use quite often). I believe I shall continue using this program for future projects.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I was very interested in learning exactly how microphones worked and building our own helped me to better understand their workings. It was less difficult than I had thought. I was very impressed by how well they picked up sound. My ideal setup would be connecting the microphones on the end of a boom stick and walking around with the microphones that way and then just carry the recorder in my hand or pocket.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder was ok but I was able to use the Zoom for one of my classes, the Zoom was much more convenient as far as moving the WAV files over to the computer from the recorder. My ideal recorder would transfer the files right from the recorder to the computer with no other needed software.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
For audio editing I used Audacity which I have had a little previous experience using. I worked fine I found myself limited with its editing options but I think that's due to the fact that I don't know exactly what some of the effects do and I have yet to explore all the effects. I had so much difficulty though when I would try to open the files on a different computer. It would always delete most of my tracks and I would have to start from the raw WAV files again and again and again.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I was pleasantly surprised with the little camera. I took mostly all close up pictures and the camera was able to capture the texture of each shot very well. It was a lot simpler than the camera I have used in the past. It had fewer options when it came to picture taking settings. I was successful in implementing my Image Capturing Strategies thanks the camera's ability to take great close up pictures. The only thing I wish would have been different about the camera is that a few more options to picture settings.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Final Cut Pro as my image editing software. I have used the program on multiple occasions and felt pretty comfortable with the program. I will most definitely use Final Cut Pro in the future I just hope to learn more about all Final Cut Pro's endless possibilities that it has to offer.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The process of building the microphones was a lot less work then I expected it to be. At first, I was a little doubtful on their performance after I saw how simple the design was. However, the microphones worked great on each drift walk; and I recorded some excellent sounds. I think for the most part I was able to capture both ambiance and close up sounds. Mainly, because I chose to walk around outside of Milwaukee so I didn't record any of the "drone".
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I wasn't too pleased with the MiniDisc recorder. Mainly, because it had a very cheap and flimsy feel to it. But, after the recordings it was easy for me to transfer my data into the computer. I can't really compare this recorder to other audio equipment I've used, because I really don't have much experience with any. In an ideal world, I would prefer my recorder to have a more durable design, and have the buttons follow the proper function. Instead of having to hold stop and pause at the same time to start recording. Also, having a "finished" button; instead of having to press stop to make the data actually record to the disc.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
For each walk, I chose to edit my audio recordings through Audacity. I didn't have a history with audio software in the past, so this was my first time using any kind of application. The reason I chose this software was due to the fact that it was free. Also, in class it looked pretty simple to use. This application worked well for me, because I didn't want to do anything crazy to my sounds. I just wanted them to be clear, and sound un-edited. Not only in my spare time, but for future projects I will definitely use this software again.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
My experience with the digital/video camera I chose to use went well. But, that was because I chose to use my personal still camera. I really don't have any complaints about the camera I used, so in an ideal world I guess I would rather use a better video camera. I really enjoyed doing my first time-lapse video, and I hope I have more opportunities to make them in other courses.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects? Copy/paste/publish as a single comment to this post by Friday, May 1, 5 PM.
The video-editing software I chose to use was Picasa 3. I chose to use this particular application, because it was another free software that was available. At first I really didn't like using it, so I purchased Quicktime Pro. However, I was having too many issues with installing it for some reason; so I went back to Picasa. This software worked great for me after I learned how to compile my 1100+ photos into one single video. Also, adding sound was much easier then I anticipated. It was very simple, and it made working on this project a breeze. For future projects I hope to use a little more sophisticated editing software. Mainly, because then I have more options, and I can have a higher quality video.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
The process of constructing these microphones was much simpler than I would've once thought. It required very little time and money - though a fair amount of patience was necessary. My rig functioned quite well on both of my walks, although there were some issues with the mini-dv device which degraded the overall quality of the sounds I was able to capture. However, I was able to record a wide range of sounds, ambient and specific. Given unlimited resources, my mic-recorder setup really wouldnt require much; perhaps some super-small microphones that can be controlled wirelessly from very far away.
2.How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
It was alright...I did have some volume issues which I resolved for my second drift. In a pergect world, this recording device would just be built into the camera, and be very effective. There's not much else one would need without some superfluousness.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I have been using Audacity to edit audio for a couple of years now...what this DID give me a chance to do was really experiment with Audacity's various features and functions which, in the past, I had no use for. I will certianly be using it again.
4.How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I used my father's camera; a decent piece of home electronic equipment with a surprisingly high level of image quality. It was able to do everything I wanted: video, photo, and specific functions. In Danny's perfect world, he would, first and foremost, have the money to buy wonderful HD camera, anything that get's that great high quality digital footage.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
To edit my video, I used Sony's Vegas Movie Studio 9.0, a pretty good non linear editing program. True, it's not Final cut or Avid, but it gets the job done - a pretty well, I might add. Before this I had only used the software to edit a couple short pieces I had shot with my friends...most of which weren't incredibly well done. Needless to say, I would hope that I use Vegas mor ein the future.
1. Building the microphones was very easy for me. I have previously used a soldering iron for other projects that I have made, and this helped me out immensely. I thought it would be pretty easy, and in the end it turned out to be just that. All together the mics worked fairly well for my drift walks, and they were able to pick up almost everything that I wanted to record. The only problem I had with them was the fact that the mics would clip more than they should. If I had an unlimited amount of money I would probably buy a standard field recording setup. This would consist of a boom with an XY mount for the two mics, two cardioid mics, and a field hdd recorder.
2. I thought that the minidisc recorder was ok to work with. In the real world I honestly would not use it since it is outdated, and hardly compatible with any audio production software out on the market. When compared to what I use for recording, it was sub par. If I was a sound recordist in the real world I would want something with more control than just gain; perhaps with a built in mixer, EQ, low pass filter, XLR connections, and other standard features prominently found on recording equipment.
3. I just threw all of my audio into Garage Band, because it didn't need to be edited too much. I thought about using Logic Pro, but it seemed to be too much for what this project was. I feel that it accomplished my creative goals because there wasn't too much that I was aiming for except clean audio. I don't usually use Garage Band because I do have Logic Pro, and that offers so much more to me.
4. The camera that we used seemed way outdated, but performed just fine when I needed it to. In comparison with other stuff that I've used it would be considered crap. My step mom is a photographer, and her camera is very high quality. With 24 megapixels, it would easily out shoot the 3 megapixel camera we used for this. Video wise I have used HD cameras, so this again is better than the camera we had. If doing this for a living I would never have my video camera be the same as my still camera. I would use a still camera for stills, and a video camera for video.
5. I used Final Cut Studio 2 for my video work, which mainly consisted of using compressor and final cut pro. I have used this before, and I love it. I chose this for my project because it is pretty much one of, if not, the best software packages for working with video. I will definitely use this software again for future video projects that I have.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
Building my microphone was a very interesting experience and one that has made me a better media artist. My microphone worked very well on my walk and I had no issues with how they worked. I was able to capture both and I feel that this microphone is a great deal and works great for the amount of money needed to build it.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
Operating the minidisk recorder wasn’t the worst experience but it wasn’t the best either. I have not had much experience with recorders but I feel that there could be a better one out there to use.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
All the software that I used to make the drifts was good and had really no problems using them. I feel that they were good suggestions for programs and would suggest them for future film 116 students.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The camera wasn’t bad for what you were getting, I can understand why they wouldn’t provide the greatest cameras but I felt like they definitely could have been better. I had a few difficulties with mine and felt like it was very old and ended up using my own personal camera.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
Same thing as before I thought the programs worked well and that they should be suggested to other film students. They fit my needs for all the projects and worked smoothly through the whole process.
1. I definitely enjoyed making the microphones. It took many tries to do it but in the end the mics turned out great. The process was exactly what I thought it would be, maybe even simpler than what I thought. The walks were always interesting and I think that the ease and versatility of the mics were a huge plus. I got really good and doing close-ups, but the far away sounds were a big challenge. I don’t think I quite overcame that challenge. I really don’t know how to answer the last part of the question because this was my first time making and building a mic.
2. Well it was definitely interesting dealing with my MiniDisc recorder. For a while I thought my recorder hated me, because it kept deleting my sounds, and just creating problems all around for my project. I ended up trading it in. With my new one, I still was having problems, so it then turned out to be my MiniDisc. I figured everything out and things have gone smoothly from then on. My ideal recorder would have to be one with very easy instructions. Very straight forward.
3. For my audio-editing projects, I used audacity and sonicstage. I chose them because I have never used any sort of sound editing before. I chose it because Glenn definitely explain them well. They were fairly simple to understand and I would definitely use them again in the future.
4. For Drift 1 I used my own digital camera. I got the camera at Christmas, so it as great to get to use it for something important. The pictures turned out great. For this second Drift I used my camera, for the still images, just because I knew what I was doing, and didn’t want to waist too much time trying to refigure out a new camera. Now I did try to use the school’s digital camera for the video portion that I wanted to incorporate in with my project. That totally failed since my images and video have not been very cooperative with combining with each other. So I just decided to stick with the still images and just make it work.
5. For my video-editing I chose quicktime pro, only for the reason that it was the only on of the choices I had heard of. I had never used it before so after I purchased it, it took some time to adapt. It was kind of confusing but overall it worked. I do hope to use it in the future, because I was pleasantly surprised.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I thought that building microphones would be easy. Yeah right. My hand was shaking so bad that I had to redo it several times and when I final got it, I was so happy. My microphones sounded so wonderful on my walks that the 'natual' noise almost paled in comparison. I got a lot of great noises and then a lot of noises that were not so great. My ideal microphone is one that would have no static, sounds exactly like the real world, and would record forever.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder was easy to oparte for me and I was able to use a lot of the time up on my MiniDisc. I have not used any other recorder so this was a very good experince. My ideal recorder would be one that would change to the proper recording level by its self.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I choose audacity because that was what was recomended in class. I have never used any kind of audio editing equpiment before, however because it was so easy to use, I was able to edit my audio easily towards what I wanted. However I did have my share of gliches.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
Well at first I used the camera that was provided to us, but that ate the battiers to fast so I changed to my own camera. My Camera takes very fast pictures so I was able to get many more images than with the camera provided and I can record high grade videos on there to. I was successfuly able to use my image captuing stratgies and incorparte them into my movie. In my ideal wolrd my camera would take perfect pictures everytime, no glares, shakes, none of that.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I choose to use the video editing software on my computer, Windows Movie Maker. I have used it in the past only to make slide shows though. I would have liked to use final cut pro, considering that I have used it in the past, however I could not afford it. With my movie, I am very proud of it, however there are a few things that would be different if I had a better movie editor. I might have thrown in some better effects for instance. My ideal video editor is final cut pro because well it is awsome and easy to oporate once you understand it.
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I thought that the microphones worked fine for the projects that we were doing. I really enjoyed building them. I built mine with a wire frame from the champagne bottles. I really felt that this helped me get a better sound recording. I though the microphones did a decent job at capturing close sounds, and then the general ambiance of what was around me. If I had unlimited money, I would one invest in some better windscreens, to help reduce all the noise pollution. I would also get my own personal assistant to help carry around my mics so then I could focus on taking more photographs, and video.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
I am not a fan of the MiniDisc recorder. I felt I had to read the tutorial every time I wanted to use it. I found it really hard to manage my way through all the menus, and I found myself guessing on which buttons to press. I've used different mics hooked up to a camera to record audio, I only prefer this method because I understand it better. In an ideal world my recorder would be similar to the MiniDisc, just because I like how its a separate item and you can move it away from the camera. However my version would have a bigger menu screen, and much easier to follow and understand.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I started off using Audacity, but then I switched to final cut pro, only because I was learning how to edit sounds in final cut pro for another class. I found that the programs are very similar in what they can accomplish. I'm sure that I will use both Audacity, and final cut pro for future projects, I thought that both helped me achieve my goal of clean sound edits.
4. How was your experience with the digital/video camera you chose to use in this course? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I didn't use the digital camera that was provided to us, actually didn't even in turn it on. I own a digital SLR so I just used that for all my still images. Only because I am familiar with it, and well I love my camera. For my video I ended up using the Panasonic GS-400. I was also using this camera for another class so I was used to it, and loved the clear crisp images it was able to capture. I really liked both of the cameras that I used for this project. I guess in ideal world, I would prefer cameras that can capture even higher quality images and video.
5. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I also used Final Cut Pro for editing my video. It was technically my first time using the software, although I am also using it for another class. Once getting the hang of it, I find it very easy to use and it lets me accomplish what I wanted to portray. I know that I will use this software again just because it is the preferred software.
1.) I thought the microphone building experience was some of the easiest work we did this semester. It probably had to do with the fact that I did soldering work last semester. The microphones worked good during the walks, but I wished that I had gotten better wind screens at times, because the wind recorded too strongly sometimes.
2.) I never used many audio recorders before, but this one worked fine after using it a few times. The first problem I had was with pausing the recorder, because I was hitting the play button instead. I did this, because most players (like c.d. players) have their play and pause buttons as the same button. I also wish that the volume had its own buttons or dial right on the recorder, instead of having to go through the menu. I also didn't like the fact that it took some time for the recorder to actually start recording. Usually the buttons had to be pushed more than once.
3.) I used Audacity for the Drift 1 assignment, but didn't like how it worked much, with the fact that you couldn't (or I couldn't figure out) how to put one sound after the other to make it one recording, so I used Ableton Live 7 for the system to arrange audio for the Drift 2 assignment. I coudn't remember how to use all the applications, so I didn't do much with it. I had used it last semester in another class.
4.) I used the digital camera with the kit. I haven't used many digital cameras before, but for the ones that I have used, they usually turn on right away, and someone in the equipment room told me that the ones in the kits don't turn on right away. That is why I had problems with that one. I kept turning it off before it would have the chance to fully turn on. So I definitely would have a camera that turns on right away instead to make it easier. I also wish the memory card could hold more pictures. When recording video, I wish that there had been a light on the camera so it would be better to record stuff at night. If I had to do this again, it might be easier getting my own digital camera, even if it wasn't a really good, expensive one.
5.) I used Quicktime Pro, because I had to use it last semester. I failed that class though, and didn't get to use that program the way I did in this class. I used it for this class, since I already had it and wanted to get my money's worth out of it. I had trouble at first, but what helped was going to the help section and it has an option that can take you to its website with a whole section to help you through how to do stuff. I wish however, I had a program that could combine Live and Quicktime Pro. Quicktime Pro worked okay, but wish it had some more advanced features.
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