New Media Gear: Razer Seiren X Microphone ($100) via Geeky Gadgets

Razer Seiren X Microphone Now Available For $100 via Geeky Gadgets

Razer Seiren X Microphone

As well as launching their new Razer Kiyo streaming camera, Razer has also unveiled a new desktop microphone they have created in the form of the Razer Seiren X which is now available to purchase priced at $99.99

Equipped with supercardioid pick-up pattern to reduce background noise, the new microphone has been designed to complement the new Kiyo web camera which is also now available to purchase priced at $99.99.

Specifications of the Razer Seiren X Microphone :

  • Condenser microphone made for streaming
  • Supercardioid pick-up pattern to reduce background noise
  • Built-in shock mount to dampen vibrations
  • Mute button
  • Zero-latency 3.5 mm headphone monitoring port

 

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New Media Gear: Lavalier Mic Furry Windscreen Muff/Micromuff

New Media Gear: Lavalier Mic Furry Windscreen Muff/Micromuff

Sometimes the simplest needs are the most important needs. I have gotten tired of losing the little foam windscreens that came with my fav mics. One bump and they drop off. If I am shooting in the garden they are often gone forever. Leaf litter is very unforgiving to dropped items. It swallows them up before you can even see where they have dropped.

Looking for a replacement, I decided to go for windscreens that were less likely to drop off and were more effective at blocking wind noise. Again, filming out in the garden with even a small breeze can give my mics trouble, so these muff-type windscreens seemed just the “step up” I needed.

Lav mic muff 1

Lav mic muff 2

I have found these to be very useful in both ways. First, the elastic makes them easy to install and yet they fit tightly enough that there is now way you are going to knock them off the mic. They are also easy to remove, though, so another big advantage.

Second, they do significantly cut down on wind noise as should be expected by their design. In my experience, “Furry” windscreens offer a better method of dissipating wind than any foam windscreen. It also seems to cut down on the noise created should a interview subject happen to brush against them during a recording.

This is a simple yet important and effective upgrade for my podcasting kit. You might find them useful, too!

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What I’m “Driving” Today via Instagram

Zoom h6

What I’m “Driving” Today

Podcast recording underway for client. Interviews and more!

Instagram and Follow

 

Join me on Douglas E. Welch Photography on Facebook

Zoom H5 (and other recorders) from Amazon

More Zoom recorders

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New Media Gear: $20 photo lightbox sure comes in handy via Boing Boing

I often have need to photograph or video objects and this could come in very handy. It is especially useful if you want “knock-out” the object from its background so you can composite it with a different background. — Douglas
This is simply a white plastic box with some very white LED lights and two foam backdrops. There is nothing to it. You can fold it up to the size of a legal pad if you want to put it away, or take it someplace.

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Great Looking Interviews – 2 minute filmmaking tutorial via Tom Antos

I subscribe to Tom Antos’ YouTube Channel and find useful new media information there all the time. Check it out!
Lots of info on setting up a good interview shot even when you are pressed for time and don’t get to choose your locations. — Douglas
See in 2 minutes how I setup an interview that works in any situation. In this video I show 5 different lighting setups.
The project we filmed is a documentary about Canadians soldiers in World War I. It’s produced by Spinning Rabbit Productions. If you’d like to see the finished documentary, please follow their Facebook page.
Great Looking Interviews - 2 minute filmmaking tutorial via Tom Antos
 
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Elgato’s Cam Link turns your DSLR into a souped-up webcam via Engadget

I’ve been thinking about getting one of these so I could use my camcorder with a good lens to live stream bird footage from the garden and other sites. — Douglas
 
Most of the time, I buy cameras for specific purposes. My DSLR exists to capture vacation photos and product shots for Engadget reviews. When I go on hikes or long bike rides, I pull out a GoPro Hero4. For some reason, however, I just can’t bring myself to buy a dedicated webcam for Twitch streaming or YouTube vlogs. I already have a handful of great consumer cameras — shouldn’t I be able to use one of those? In reality, that’s easier said than done: Most cameras simply aren’t designed to push a live feed out to a PC. It’s a problem I’ve spent hours trying to solve, but never did. Then, I heard about the Elgato Cam Link, a USB capture device that can turn any camera with HDMI output into a functional webcam.
 

An interesting link found among my daily reading

News: Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder via DoddleNews

Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder

News: Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder via DoddleNews

As I’ve said before, getting a killer image is only half the equation in filmmaking. But the audio, well, that can be even more important. Audiences can suffer lackluster video, but nobody will put up with bad audio. Zoom continues to refine how we can capture audio in the field with a small field recorder that can use any Zoom microphone attachment to capture even the most intimate sounds.

Called the Zoom F1, the audio recorder is half the size of an iPhone, and can connect to everything from a lavalier microphone, to any of zoom’s 10 pin mic capsule modules that were designed for the modular H6. With them attached, the F1 can record 24bit/96kHz to WAV files or mp3 and write to a standard microSD card for later editing.

Read Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder

 

The Top 10 Best Audio Interfaces for Your Recording Needs via The Wire Realm

Great overview of the wide variety of computer audio interfaces available and their features. Raise your production levels for your music recording and podcasting. — Douglas
 

So you’re looking to solidify your studio with the best audio interface? To us, this is one of the most important parts of making music and we consider it to be the star on top of the Christmas tree. Without an audio interface, you simply can’t record optimally. Your gear is essentially missing half of its power and capabilities without one of these in your studio. The best audio interfaces help us with sound quality, phantom power and amplification, more overall control of our gear, organization of all of our inputs\outputs into one device, and lastly make the pesky concept of latency disappear. Today we highlight our top 10 audio interface picks available in the market and give you some info to help ease your shopping adventures.

Read The Top 10 Best Audio Interfaces for Your Recording Needs via The Wire Realm


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An interesting link found among my daily reading

A Device That Turns Almost Any Camera Into A Webcam via Gizmodo

I have been looking for something like this for a long time — since I lost the ability to directly connect my older camcorder to my computer via Firewire. The Cam Link is an HDMI to USB bridge that plugs directly into your computer. The computer then sees it as a standard webcam input.
 
With all the options available for today for live streaming, I want to set up my camera and use its great, optical zoom to stream the animals and birds in my garden. It seems this would work for Twitch, Facebook and other web-based streaming services and allow me share some of my garden with the world. — Douglas
 
Game capture hardware maker Elgato made streaming a little bit fancier this week with the release of Cam Link, a $129 USB device that allows users to use any camera with an HDMI output as a webcam. Plus it also does game capture. It’s pretty nifty.
 
  • Easily connect your DSLR, camcorder, or action cam to your PC or Mac
  • Go live on any platform in No time thanks to ultra-low-latency technology
  • Broadcast in stunning quality up to 1080P at 60 FPS
  • Shoot and produce within your favorite tools
  • Record footage directly to your Hard Drive without time restrictions

An interesting link found among my daily reading

Timbre is a totally free app for editing video and audio via Android Authority

Another mobile audio/video tool to check out for your new media kit. — Douglas
 

Good audio and video editing tools are somewhat hard to come by on mobile — a sentiment shared by app developer Xeus. The dev was prompted to create the Timbre: Cut, Join, Convert mp3 app after failing to find a “decent” tool for doing the same in the Play Store. And what Xeus has come up with is certainly an effective tool.

Despite the name, Timbre lets you do more than just edit mp3s: you can split and join audio or video, remove sections within a range, and combine files together, as well as remove the sound from your videos or create audio tracks from them.

Read Timbre is a totally free app for editing video and audio via Android Authority


Learn more about podcasting with this book

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Available of the LA Public Library (9 books/1 ebook)


An interesting link found among my daily reading

Nebula Mars: This is What a Portable Projector Should Be Like via MakeUseOf [Video]

For those with a very specific portable projector need, this could be the best option available today. Portable, bright, battery powered. — Douglas

Nebula Mars: This is What a Portable Projector Should Be Like via MakeUseOf

Nebula Mars: This is What a Portable Projector Should Be Like via MakeUseOf [Video]

Until now, battery powered projectors just haven’t been worth the effort. Poor image quality, not bright enough, rubbish speakers, and barely enough battery to last a whole movie. But the Nebula Mars is the new standard in portable projectors. Nothing else comes close.

Read the full review and enter to win 

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Roland GO:MIXER for iPhone/iPad via Bless This Stuff

This could be an excellent addition to your New Media audio kit, whether for music or podcasting. Record direct to iPhone or iPad. — Douglas

 
Roland have released a compact audio mixer that allows users to perform, mix audio, and record video with your smartphone, all at once. Go:Mixer allows users to capture a high quality audio track at the same time the video is recorded, and mix in vocals, instruments and backing music on the fly. Simply plug in the pocket device to capture a pristine stereo soundtrack directly to your video as you perform. With multiple inputs available, you can connect a mic, musical instruments, and media players and mix them all together live while you shoot. Instead of relying on your phones noisy mono mic or recording external audio tracks that you have to sync later in a video editor, you can now record top-quality audio in one quick and easy step.
 
 

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** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!


An interesting link found among my daily reading

On YouTube: Phone on a gimbal? Mobile filmmaking feat. Smooth Q from Fenchel & Janisch

I have been looking at one of these gimbals for a long time, but haven’t found one that I really NEED. This Smooth q at only $139 could be a possibility, though. Watch below for a complete review with all the pros and cons. — Douglas

On YouTube: Phone on a gimbal? Mobile filmmaking feat. Smooth Q from Fenchel & Janisch

Watch  Phone on a gimbal? Mobile filmmaking feat. Smooth Q from Fenchel & Janisch

Get your own Smooth Q or other iPhone gimbals from Amazon

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Minijam Studio Is a Set of Pocket-Sized Electronic Instruments via Hackster’s Blog – Medium

Ok, this is just cool. (SMILE) Another way of making music for all your New Media projects and whatever else us happening in your life. Portable, too! I don’t normally link to Kickstart projects, as they often don’t come to fruition, but this was a cool enough idea, it made the cut to be included here. — Douglas
 
 
If you want to make electronic music, the tools to do so are just a quick search of your preferred app store for an appropriate sound program. Then again, as amazing and versatile as touchscreens are, it’s hard to match the feeling and control capabilities of an actual physical device.

Noted: The best USB audio interface

Great overview of the various USB interfaces available for podcasters and musicians — Douglas
 
 
Read The best USB audio interface via Engadget


An interesting link found among my daily reading

On YouTube: PromptSmart – Intelligent Teleprompter for your iPhone and iPad

An interesting bit of software for those of us who produce our own videos without the benefits of a a large crew and a lot of money. Adding the voice recognition piece to the standard teleprompter could be a winning combination for this software. — Douglas

On YouTube: PromptSmart - Intelligent Teleprompter for your iPhone and iPad

Watch YouTube: PromptSmart – Intelligent Teleprompter for your iPhone and iPad

Teleprompters help you stay on script and produce great, value-packed content. Try PrompSmart, the smart prompt app you can use from your phone or tablet. It works on any mobile device and integrates with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Box. Make better, value-packed video with a little help from PromptSmart.

I liked this video and think you might find it interesting, too!

On YouTube: Portable Audio Recorders for Filmmakers

On YouTube: Portable Audio Recorders for Filmmakers

Watch YouTube: Portable Audio Recorders for Filmmakers

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Noted: Must-Have Tools to Keep Any Video Production Running Smoothly

A great overview for creating a basic kit for any production you might be launching. I am sure there will be other items you add over time, but this is a great place to start. — Douglas
 

On YouTube: Make a PVC Light Stand for Under $5

Yet another easy-to-make and flexible to use homebuilt light stand. It might prove a bit lightweight for larger lights and tall lengths, but could prove useful to some. — Douglas

On YouTube: Make a PVC Light Stand for Under $5

Watch YouTube: Make a PVC Light Stand for Under $5

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On YouTube: Which Audio Recorders for Filmmaking Do I Still Use?

Watch YouTube: Which Audio Recorders for Filmmaking Do I Still Use?

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