New Media Gear: Spire Studio is a recording studio that fits in your hand via The Verge

October 8, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

iZotope is best known for creating mixing and mastering audio software, but a couple weeks ago, I got to check out Spire Studio, the company’s first piece of hardware. Spire Studio is a palm-sized device that musicians can carry with them to record professional-grade multitrack audio anywhere they are.

While there are lots of gadgets on the market for portable recording, most interfaces I’ve seen need to be plugged in to your phone, cater to recording a specific type of instrument, or need lots of dongles. Spire Studio, on the other hand, has a lot of use in a very small footprint, and connects to your phone wirelessly. On the front is a built-in mic and headphone jack, while the back has two XLR/TS combo jacks with Grace Design preamps, another headphone jack, and a 48V phantom power button for powering your own condenser mic. The top of the Spire Studio has recording control buttons, and the option to perform a soundcheck, where it will listen to the audio you’re playing for 10 seconds and then adjust the input levels accordingly. Of course, it all comes with an accompanying app.

Read Spire Studio is a recording studio that fits in your hand via The Verge

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New Media Gear: Roland R-07 Audio Recorder via Bless This Stuff

August 29, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

With all the choices audio and video recorders these days, there really isn’t any exceed for getting your New Media project — be they audio podcast or full-fledged video shows — up and running at a level of quality only dreamed about in the past. This Roland R-07 is yet another excellent entry into the market and a great place to start recording whatever you do today! — Douglas

Your iPhone is pretty handy for making quick audio recordings, but unfortunately, the quality of the recordings isn’t good enough for actual music making. Roland´s new sleek and ultra-portable audio recorder works with iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing wireless listening and remote control. The Roland R-07 gives you the quality of a proper recorder with stereo mics, and the convenience of an iPhone app. But the best feature is that you can control the recorder from your Apple Watch. You can lay the recorder wherever you like, and trigger it from your wrist. For example a guitarist could place it next to an amp speaker, sit down on the other side of the room, and record interesting ideas at will using the remote.

Read ROLAND R-07 AUDIO RECORDER via Bless This Stuff

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New Media Gear: DJI shows off iPhone-ready Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal with better battery life, easier controls via AppleInsider

August 25, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

The accessory’s main improvement is a better internal battery, said to offer up to 15 hours of video shooting —more than three times what the original Osmo Mobile allowed. The Mobile 2 is also lighter than before, and equipped with a revised button layout, including a built-in zoom slider.

While iPhone video is normally best shot in landscape mode, the Mobile 2 can also be used to shoot in vertical orientation.

Software-based features include subject tracking, panoramas, timelapses, and “Motionlapses,” which are timelapses shot while an iPhone is moving.

Read DJI shows off iPhone-ready Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal with better battery life, easier controls via AppleInsider

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

August 21, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

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

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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Great Looking Interviews – 2 minute filmmaking tutorial via Tom Antos

August 4, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

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.

Full article on my website

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

June 17, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

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.

Read Elgato’s Cam Link turns your DSLR into a souped-up webcam via Engadget

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News: Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder via DoddleNews

April 8, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder

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

January 15, 2018 by Douglas E. Welch

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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20 MUVI X-Lapse 360-Degree Photography and Timelapse Accessory | Douglas E. Welch Gift Guide 2017

December 1, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

See all the 2017 Gift Guide Entries

20 MUVI X-Lapse 360-Degree Photography and Timelapse Accessory

I picked one of these up on sale a few months ago and have found a variety of uses for it. It only plans right to left, since it is based on a mechanical timer, but it is a great way to start integrating movement into you time-lapse movies without spending hundreds of dollars on more complex motorized camera sliders. It is cheap enough to just have fun with it.

Create 90° degree (15 minutes), 180° degree (30 minutes), 270° degree (45 minutes), 360° degree (60 minutes) sweeping time-lapse films.
Create 90° degree, 180° degree, 270° degree, 360° degree panoramic pictures
Mount cameras up to 750 grams on the standard 1/4 -20 UNC male tripod screw thread. Perfect for the MUVI HD or other actions cameras with continuous photo mode
Standard 1/4 -20 UNC female tripod screw thread for mounting on Veho DuoPod tripod or other tripod systems and integral fold out feet to stabilize and support larger cameras
Ships with iPhone/Smartphone holder to enable panoramic time lapse photography using your smartphone with apps such as Time Lapse Pro, Glimpse Pro, Osnap

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

November 6, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

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.

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

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

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Even Amateur Filmmakers Can Afford This Tiny Motion Control Camera Rig via Gizmodo

November 4, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

I can foresee some instances where I could make great use of a rig like this, especially for cooking and cocktail videos.— Douglas

Motion control rigs capable of repeatedly recreating smooth, controlled camera movements usually cost tens of thousands of dollars, and they require trained operators to set up and use. But Edelkrone’s new SurfaceONE costs just $690 and apparently can be configured in just a few minutes using a smartphone app as a remote control.

The rigs used in Hollywood, often for complicated special effect shots that require multiple takes, aren’t going to be replaced by the SurfaceONE anytime soon. Edelkrone’s creation can only move in two-dimensions as it rolls around on a flat surface, the camera itself can’t autonomously tilt or swivel. But thanks to a built-in laser pointer that makes it easier to set up a shot, you can ensure your subject will always be in frame as the camera slowly arcs around it.

Read Even Amateur Filmmakers Can Afford This Tiny Motion Control Camera Rig via Gizmodo

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New Gear Review: Raspberry USB Microphone from Blue via SonicScoop

October 21, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Another microphone from Blue which includes compatibility and recording with iPhone and iPads and PCs. — Douglas

Blue has created a new USB-powered microphone for podcasters, voice-over actors, and songwriters in need of an on-the-go recording solution.

This new Raspberry mic is their most compact yet, with some new patent-pending technology under its memorable retro-futurist casing.

Features

The Raspberry is a bus-powered cardioid condenser microphone with a built-in headphone amp, featuring A/D conversion at 16 and 24-bits and 44.1 or 48kHz, with Lightning USB connectivity.

Blue has implemented their patent-pending “Internal Acoustic Diffuser” (IAD) technology, a key feature that is meant to set the Raspberry apart from other USB microphones geared toward the podcasting and portable voiceover mic markets.

The IAD technology is much like the acoustic diffusion you might see in a concert hall or recording studio. It has been designed to fit inside the microphone to help minimize the ringy or boxy sound that so often goes along with capturing audio outside of a well-treated professional studio environment. Through this feature, Blue claims the mic should allow for a clearer, more present and more focused-sounding recording, regardless of the limitations of the room itself.

Read New Gear Review: Raspberry USB Microphone from Blue – SonicScoop via SonicScoop

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Recently Liked YouTube Videos – October 4, 2017

October 4, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

A playlist of videos I recently watched and liked on YouTube. From here you can get an idea of my wide viewing preferences on YouTube and how I use it to replace much of my traditional television viewing — Douglas

Recently Liked YouTube Videos – October 4, 2017

Click the Playlist button in the upper-left corner to see a scrollable list of all videos.

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

October 2, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

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)

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

September 29, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

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

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

July 6, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

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.

Read ROLAND GOMIXER via Bless This Stuff

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!

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Apple creates video series to help iPhone users take better pictures via The Next Web

June 2, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

For those of you who don’t know to take good photos with the iPhone’s camera — and I’m one — Apple has made some videos to help you improve.

In a series of tutorials posted on its site, Apple demonstrates how to take well-composed, beautiful pictures with the iPhone 7’s camera. the company has also posted some — but not all — on it’s YouTube channel.

Read Apple creates video series to help iPhone users take better pictures via The Next Web

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Record Your Project With a “Catapult Tripod” via Hackster’s Blog

April 29, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

With more and more of us doing live streaming and YouTube videos — along with tech projects and other closeup video work — this little DIY “tripod” could be a great item for your toolkit. I know it would come in really handy for me when I am doing an Arduino or Raspberry Pi video and trying to show people how to cook up jumpers to the — for me — tiny IO pins on these boards. Heck, I practically need a magnifying glass when I do it, so anything I can do to help them see it more clearly would be a great benefit Of course, it doesn’t just have to be tech videos. This would be great for painting demos, craft projects and any other small thing that you are trying to demo. — Douglas

Read Record Your Project With a “Catapult Tripod” via Hackster’s Blog

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Forecast Provides High Quality Live Video Streaming From Any Camera (video) via Geeky Gadgets

April 24, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Photographers looking for a simple system to send live streaming video from almost any available camera may be interested in a new piece of hardware called Freecast.

Freecast has been specifically designed to wirelessly cast live video to production monitors or iOS devices allowing you to share video footage in real time from a camera straight to social media or other sources.

Read Forecast Provides High Quality Live Video Streaming From Any Camera (video) via Geeky Gadgets

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

April 20, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

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

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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Careers in New Media

Helping to Build New Careers in New Media

Category Archives: technology

New Media Gear: Spire Studio is a recording studio that fits in your hand via The Verge

New Media Gear: Roland R-07 Audio Recorder via Bless This Stuff

New Media Gear: DJI shows off iPhone-ready Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal with better battery life, easier controls via AppleInsider

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

Great Looking Interviews – 2 minute filmmaking tutorial via Tom Antos

Elgato’s Cam Link turns your DSLR into a souped-up webcam via Engadget

News: Zoom Announces F1 Compact Field Audio Recorder via DoddleNews

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

20 MUVI X-Lapse 360-Degree Photography and Timelapse Accessory | Douglas E. Welch Gift Guide 2017

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

Even Amateur Filmmakers Can Afford This Tiny Motion Control Camera Rig via Gizmodo

New Gear Review: Raspberry USB Microphone from Blue via SonicScoop

Recently Liked YouTube Videos – October 4, 2017

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

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

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

Apple creates video series to help iPhone users take better pictures via The Next Web

Record Your Project With a “Catapult Tripod” via Hackster’s Blog

Forecast Provides High Quality Live Video Streaming From Any Camera (video) via Geeky Gadgets

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