Olloclip 3-in-1 Lens for iPhone 4/4s/5
If you use you iPhone for your New Media and Podcasting project, the Olloclip can give you more flexibility in the type of photos and video you shoot. This snap-on lens includes a Fish Eye, Wide Angle and Macro lens in one package. Simply clip it onto your iPhone and start shooting.
You can find example photos and video on the Olloclip web site.
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New Media producer (and fellow Ohio transplant) Mat Luschek is looking for work and you would be lucky to have him. Mat was recently laid off from his position as Online Media Producer for NBC Bay Area in San Francisco and would like to find a New Media position in the Bay Area, Los Angeles Area, Seattle, WA or Portland, Oregon.
Mat is knowledgeable about the new media (and mainstream media) world and would be a great addition to any team looking to increase and improve their New Media presence. He is a writer, producer, host and also technically savvy in the New Media tools required for such a position. He is also an experienced and artistic photographer.
Combine these skills with his natural inventiveness and outgoing personality and you have someone who can address your New Media needs in many different ways.
Find out more about Mat via his LinkedIn profile and then drop him an email or give him a call. It could be the best thing you’ve done for your show, startup or established company in a long time!
RAM Vehicle Mounts for iPhone (and nearly any other device)
Over the years I have owned several RAM Mounts and I highly recommend them. I have had mounts for my old Garmin GPS, my iPhone 3G and my iPhone 4. These are both suction cup units which hold the phone to the windshield. I also have a mount on my bicycle which can also use the car mounting arm.
RAM has mounts for nearly any cell phone, GPS, iPad, computer and any situation including cars, motorcycles, bikes, boats, aviation, kayaks and much more. If you need to use your devices no matter where you might be, check out RAM Mounts.
New Media folks will find a wide selection of camera mounts from RAM for all their “action footage” needs. Timelapse photographers can also benefit from sturdy mounts that can be attached in less-than-hospitable places.
The RAM Mounts web site includes an online “RAM Mount Wizard” that can step you through assembling the appropriate mount for your device and situation.
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Jump Start Your Brain by Doug Hall and David Wecker
Looking for a great selection of tools to “Jump Start Your Brain?” This book is for you. It is full of great ideas on how to come up with…well…great ideas. The wide variety of tools here means that anyone should be able to find one that works well for them. We all think in different ways, so it only makes sense the we all need different tools. Jump Start Your Brain today and keep on changing the world with your great ideas!
From Amazon.com…
“Ideal for inspiring marketers, artists, teachers, and anyone who needs fresh ideas for work and home, Jump Start Your Brain helps readers crank up both their cranium and career. Featuring smart and creative methods for providing better leadership, igniting sales and marketing, and realizing dreams with breakthrough innovations, this book teaches time-tested practices that generate creativity and innovation. Relying on the latest research, the author pinpoints which methods and techniques work best in today’s high-stress world so readers can get a leg-up on the competition.”
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Most podcasters need some sort of desktop microphone stand for their work. Full-sized mic stands don’t work really well if you are recording at your desk, like I do. I highlighted some microphone boom arms earlier in the gift guide, but I wanted to link to a couple of desktop stands for those that are looking for a different setup.
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Sterling Audio ST51 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Microphone
I started a podcasting equipment discussion on the Facebook Podcast Community Group so that I could start highlighting people’s equipment choices here. This led to a couple of recommendations from my fellow podcasters.
Jack “BoomgoestheDynamite” Heikle gives a good recommendation for these Sterling Audio ST51 microphones as an inexpensive but good sounding microphone for podcasters.
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Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
With interests in both art and business, it seems only natural to combine them in my mind. “Art & Fear” addresses the all-to-common issues with creating art and I believe there are a lot of parallels to any career. Most art is about overcoming fear and it is the same with your career. You need to work through the fear in order to create something wonderful, not matter what you do.
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Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas
Creativity is an important part of every podcast and new media project, so for the next few days I am going to focus on some of my favorite creativity books. Aha! is all about freeing up your thinking and allowing yourself to think and act creatively. Too often we restrict and confine our own thinking just when we need to be coming up with new, wild, crazy (and sometimes extremely useful) new ideas.
Creating a monthly, weekly or even daily podcast requires you to generate an amazing amount of raw ideas to insure you have enough topics, thoughts and content to fuel your show. Developing your creativity will be an important part of insuring your show continues for many years to come.
“Aha! is a joyful, upbeat survey of ideas for enhancing creativity. Jordan Ayan’s enthusiasm is hard to resist, and every reader will find personally suitable strategies. Aha! is an inspiring yet practical guidebook for freeing the creative spirit.” –Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
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Everything you need to know about podcasting, written by fellow LA Podcaster Dan Klass and podcast pioneer, Michael Geoghegan.
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Olympus PEN E-P1 12 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera
I purchased this camera back in July of 2011 in preparation for a a family trip to Sicily. I knew I had made the right choice when people started commenting on the first photos I posted to my blogs. While their are more capable — and more expensive — cameras you can buy, the balance of price vs. quality in the EP-1 is great. The optics and depth of field alone dramatically improve the quality of your photos above a typical point-and-shoot camera.
The Auto mode of the camera allows anyone to pick it up and use it, but with program modes, and even full manual, settings, you can begin to experiment with all the settings of the camera to take dramatic photos. I also use the camera to shoot video for my YouTube/Podcast series. It only shoots 720p video, not 1080p, but the superior optics make it the best 720p possible.
You can see many example of the photos I have taken with the camera — and videos, too — by checking out any of my blogs at DouglasEWelch.com.
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Zoom Portable Recorders (H1, H2, H2n, H4n)
For a long time now, Zoom has produced a wide product line of recorders which are nearly perfect for podcasters and other New media producers. Whether you go with the entry-level Zoom H1 or up the product line to the Zoom H4, you will find high quality recording capabilities with a wide variety of options in mounting, microphones and file formats. All record to some form of SD card for expandable and replaceable storage so recording everything from an hour long interview to short scenes for your next film are quick and easy.
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Check out our list of New Media jobs (and others) available via SimplyHired.com.
Enter your location for jobs close to you. You can also search on other keywords.
I have wanted one of these as long as I have been podcasting, but I have never made the purchase, It would make my recording life a lit easier, as it would clear desk space from the current desktop microphone stand I use now, It would also work better with the Google Hangouts and other video shows I am doing, as it is easier to get it out of my face while still being close enough to record well. Oh well, maybe this year!
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When you need to capture HD footage of wild mountain bike ride, that bitchin’ wave or the cool rappel down the mountain side, GoPro has become the “goto” brand for video recording. Shoot in hostile environments and even underwater with their variety of attachments and cases. Search Youtube and you will find no end of video shot with the GoPro over the last 2 years.
If you are crazy active, and want to catch some of your wilder moments on-camera, the GoPro is probably where you need to be looking.
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Another great USB microphone from Blue. Like the Blue Snowball microphone mentioned earlier in the Gift Guide, this mic connects directly to the USB port on your computer — either Windows or Mac. The Yeti gives a full, rich sound and is compatible with all the typical New Media uses such as video conferencing, podcasting and recording voice or music. The Yeti is very popular with podcasters and live streamers and can often be seen in these productions. I think its classic styling, unlike the futuristic look of the Snowball make it more popular for video production. Its design harkens back to an earlier day of broadcasting.
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Studio Neat Glif Tripod Mount & Stand for iPhone 4 & 4S
It has often been said that the best camera is the one you always have with you. For many people, this means an Apple iPhone. This clever little adapter for the iPhone can help you make you photos even better. Your iPhone 4/4s slips into the clip by friction and then attaches to any standard tripod — large or small. I keep my clip, and a mini tripod, in my bag at all times. I use this to capture quick chats around the table or environmental video when I am out. As an added bonus, the clip acts as an iPhone stand for when I want to watch video over lunch. It stands up the iPhone at the perfect angle for viewing.
Make sure you that you are ready to capture video and photos whenever you need, whether for your own personal uses or for inclusion in your next New Media project.
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I have always been an active user of online video conferencing systems including Skype and others. Lately, though, my use has picked up as I spend a lot of time in Google Hangouts and even participate in a weekly food show entitled Kitchen Party, over at Bakespace.com.
Producing a show for the public means you want the best picture quality possible. In the past, video conferencing tools have always looked a little fuzzy, a little dark and a little pixelated. This isn’t true anymore, though. With the latest systems, like Google Hangouts and the most current versions of Skype, you can share near HD quality video. Of course, in order to do this, you need the right camera.
I picked up the Logitech C920 after I saw how it looked with a few of my Hangout friends. It provides crisp video in 16:9 format and works with almost any video service. I use mine on the Mac, so there are really no extra software controls available, but Windows users can use the included software to adjust white balance and a few other settings.
In my case, I also use the webcam for one additional us — Timelapse movies. The high quality of the camera, along with some software on my Mac, turn it into an excellent time-lapse camera — allowing me to grab full screen HD quality movies using Evocam software. I have recorded time-lapse movies of myself working in the garden for my podcast, A Gardener’s Notebook, and it does a great job.
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Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone
This is one of the first microphones I recommend to anyone looking to begin audio podcasting or looking for a step up in the audio for their video podcasts. As a USB microphone, it doesn’t require a mixing board or cables to use. You simply connect it to any USB port on your computer and start recording. It has a great warm sound that makes almost anyone sound better in their recordings. In fact, if you regularly think you don’t like the sound of your own, recorded, voice, a microphone like the Blue Snowball might just change your mind.
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Lorilyn Salamanca has been a close friend of ours since she was completing her Master’s Degree at nearby Cal State Northridge (CSUN). She was originally the student and friend of our friends, Helen and Enrique, but quickly became a close friend in her own right.
Lorilyn has heard me preaching the New Media gospel for years now, and I have been coaching, consulting and cajoling her to use her own talents to get the word out about those issues which most concern her. Since moving to Hawaii over 8 years ago, she has worked for the WIC program, helping underprivileged families raise healthy kids.
Just today Lorilyn let me know that she had stepped up her New Media “visibility” — as I have been pushing her for years — and is now the host of “Foundations for Healthy Generations” on the Hawaii Public Access channel, ‘Olelo. Like all good Public Access programs, ‘Olelo also makes all their shows available, on demand, from their web site. They can also be easily shared and embedded in blogs and other web sites.
It is so great seeing Lorilyn extend her influence using a combination of traditional media and new media on the island. I wish her great success! This is exactly the type of Real World Example I would love to see other’s pursuing.
Foundations for Healthy Generations – Episode 4
Can’t see the video above? Watch it here!
Watch more episodes of “Foundations for Healthy Generations” with Lorilyn Salamanca
Check out our list of New Media jobs (and others) available via SimplyHired.com.
Enter your location for jobs close to you. You can also search on other keywords.
