tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post613496554682945841..comments2012-09-15T00:21:51.088-05:00Comments on FILM 116: Audio/Video Hardware/Software ResponseGlenn Bachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623252725909826749noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-42294244630434396402009-05-08T15:37:00.000-05:002009-05-08T15:37:00.000-05:001.) I thought the microphone building experience ...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.<br /><br /><br />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. <br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.MDUWMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00979217660620952441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-85077425604642062242009-05-05T10:24:00.000-05:002009-05-05T10:24:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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.Amber Blanchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11225044683071774441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-20561093988967200792009-05-03T23:55:00.000-05:002009-05-03T23:55:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.Christina Heppehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955383527208445452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-32024403020529986152009-05-03T23:39:00.000-05:002009-05-03T23:39:00.000-05:001. I definitely enjoyed making the microphones. I...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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.crazyacorn16https://www.blogger.com/profile/10430263678507324284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-39585668774175987482009-05-03T20:04:00.000-05:002009-05-03T20:04:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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. <br />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?<br />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. <br /><br />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?<br />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. <br /><br />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?<br />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. <br /><br />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?<br />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.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10605376682955468408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-51241169356393063762009-05-03T13:27:00.000-05:002009-05-03T13:27:00.000-05:001. Building the microphones was very easy for me. ...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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.Matt Minuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07076258328255513480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-80310926383610141052009-05-02T23:08:00.000-05:002009-05-02T23:08:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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?<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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?<br /><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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?<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br /><br />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.Daniel Schneiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03077386706029406713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-39893257534087411032009-05-02T21:26:00.000-05:002009-05-02T21:26:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Chris Brehmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18322417251631261682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-81686158477360723712009-05-02T14:51:00.000-05:002009-05-02T14:51:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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. <br />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. <br /><br />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? <br />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. <br /><br />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? <br />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. <br /><br />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? <br />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. <br /><br />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? <br />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.Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04424988444100924765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-1763254561268531732009-05-02T13:24:00.000-05:002009-05-02T13:24:00.000-05:001. Building the microphone was about as complicate...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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Anne Morackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13502752284667584743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-53529489750782163192009-05-01T22:01:00.000-05:002009-05-01T22:01:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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. <br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.taylor brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10348570875432113360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-41415718138125611542009-05-01T18:22:00.000-05:002009-05-01T18:22:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mi...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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.Chelsea Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06271725302745661744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-84159972160058344742009-05-01T17:15:00.000-05:002009-05-01T17:15:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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.. =)<br /><br />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?<br />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. <br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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. <br />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?<br /><br />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!rachelramirezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01676414568408954668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-25391915599785461432009-05-01T17:00:00.000-05:002009-05-01T17:00:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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. <br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.<br /><br />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?<br />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.Mariselahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15066879892733390095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-69128394959406959632009-05-01T16:51:00.000-05:002009-05-01T16:51:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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! <br /> <br /> 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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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! <br /><br /> 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?<br />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! <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.Joe Grennierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12267037790106573757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-50145112463716810492009-05-01T16:48:00.000-05:002009-05-01T16:48:00.000-05:001. When it came to microphone building, my experie...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. <br />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.<br />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. <br />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. <br />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.Emily Downeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16676950121496078994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-54826504493462790842009-05-01T15:04:00.000-05:002009-05-01T15:04:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br /> 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? <br /><br /> 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. <br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />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.Michael DuBoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09987015484303614974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-35038823463119300782009-05-01T14:54:00.000-05:002009-05-01T14:54:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.Charlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06275057244276940808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-15923107482850749132009-05-01T14:48:00.000-05:002009-05-01T14:48:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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? <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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? <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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? <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.C. Christmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16812125101935170353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-48598597441357567792009-05-01T14:39:00.000-05:002009-05-01T14:39:00.000-05:001. I was surprised to learn that with very little ...<B>1.</B> 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.<br /><br /><B>2.</B>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.<br /><br /><B>3.</B> 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.<br /><br /><B>4.</B> 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.<br /><br /><B>5.</B> 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.Sunuwavihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273983525241780269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-39098635255472122932009-05-01T13:47:00.000-05:002009-05-01T13:47:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14102497629659117926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-91157311845220213422009-05-01T13:36:00.000-05:002009-05-01T13:36:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /> 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.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01060342210639409704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-20107026734944854022009-05-01T13:24:00.000-05:002009-05-01T13:24:00.000-05:001. Discuss your experiences with building your mic...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.<br /><br />-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!<br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />-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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />-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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />-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.<br /><br /> 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?<br /><br />-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.Chris Amhaushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180107751139231006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-86616814842845735772009-05-01T13:19:00.000-05:002009-05-01T13:19:00.000-05:00Joel Augustine
1. Discuss your experiences wi...Joel Augustine<br /><br /> 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. <br /> 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. <br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /> 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?<br /> 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.<br /> 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?<br /> 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.Joel Augustinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14505156928733273657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920521805292134723.post-87578022296615593842009-05-01T13:00:00.000-05:002009-05-01T13:00:00.000-05:001. I enjoyed building the microphones. I thought t...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. <br />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. <br />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. <br />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. <br />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.Jamie Dertzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10713541618837942406noreply@blogger.com