DV for Teachers

Since Tiger is coming, I’ll need to do some preparation. O’Reilly’s reliable Derrick Story points the way:

Since Apple has been releasing new versions of Mac OS X on a similar cycle, I’ve used the pending upgrade as an excuse to tidy up before installation. That will be my approach with Tiger, and that’s what this article is about.——-

We’re in the market to replace our aging Sony DCR-TRV900, looking for a new production camera for our in-college shoots. This article, by Jarred Land and Barry Green, provided an excellent review of the three leading contenders: The Sony FX1, the Canon XL2, and the Panasonic DVX100A. After reading this and looking around at other comments on the web, I’m suggesting the Panasonic.

Today’s video cameras are not what they used to be. Features like 24P recording, adjustable gamma settings, widescreen 16:9, and now high-def imaging are now on the market. For aspiring filmmakers, commercial producers, wedding/event videographers, and other shooters, there are three main cameras that are garnering all the attention: the new HDV Sony FX1, the almost-as-new Canon XL2, and the legendary Panasonic DVX100A (which is less than a year old, at the time of this writing).

Panasonic has sold a boatload of DVX100’s and DVX100A’s, they’re being used by networks, commercial producers, music video producers, independent filmmakers (and aspiring filmmakers) and videographers. A film shot on the DVX100 won the Best Cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival. Clearly established as the camera of choice for many, it now finds its position challenged by two newcomers: Canon’s long-awaited XL2, and Sony’s first foray into consumer high-definition video, the HDR-FX1.

The cameras all share some factors in common—they’re all able to record in DV format, they all use three 1/3” CCD’s, they record on DV tape, and they all cost less than $5,000. How does a camera buyer choose among these three?

MacMerc has been a nice discovery. They post Mac and application tips in great categories: Power User Monday, Troubleshooting Tuesday, Wardriver Wednesday, and Freeloader Friday, among others. This from last week’s Freeloader Friday:

Fortunately we live in an age when you don’t have to plunk down a month’s rent to get quality design applications. Check out my picks for free web and graphic design.”——-

NSA has developed and distributed configuration guidance for Apple Operating Systems. This guidance can be used by US government and other entities as a security baseline.

Well, I’ll just have to read this 109-page, 3.18MB monster PDF. Thanks to Heng-Cheong Leong’s MyAppleMenu for the link.——-

From the wonderfully named Evil Genius Chronicles:

Podcasting from Mac OS X – A Recipe

Ingredients:

1 – Macintosh OS X computer

1 – Griffin iMic (for machines without a line-in input)

1 – Microphone

1 – Set of earphones or headphones

1 – copy each of the following pieces of software installed:

Audacity

Soundflower

Soundflowerbed

LineIn

Sound Source

These directions should be pretty close to on the money. As I was setting up my current podcast, I actually used this recipe to verify I had all the steps right and in the right order.

unmediated: just found it while looking for help with a no-sound-from-a-Mac-made-MP4-video-clip-on-WinXP issue. Immense number of links to multimedia production and distribution hardware and software. Includes new technologies, sometimes expensive ones, but the emphasis is on the budget-minded independent who doesn’t have or can’t afford a box to think outside of. Go and have your preconceptions shaken.——-

Just discovered, via Scripting News:

The mission of Folkstreams.net is to build a national preserve of documentary films about American folk or roots culture. Produced by independent filmmakers, these hard-to-find films give voice to the arts and experience of diverse American groups. They are streamed on the website together with background materials that highlight the history and aesthetic importance of the traditions and the films.

The idea for Folkstreams grew out of attempts by documentary filmmakers to gain greater exposure for their films. Although many of these films have won film festival awards and critical acclaim, they do not fit easily into mass-market outlets like movie theatres, video shops, and broadcast and cable television. The films often have odd lengths, lack “name actors,” and sometimes star people who do not speak “broadcast English.” ——-

I’ve been wondering how to do this, and here it is from 2-pop:

“So when you are in Compressor, after you have selected Mpeg-1, click on the Encoder tab, make sure the Encoder says Mpeg-1 and under the Video Tab, make sure Enabled is checked, Frame Rate is 29.97, Purpose is DVD, Bit Rate is 1.50Mbps. Under the Audio tab, make sure Enabled is checked, Sample rate is 44.1kHz, Channels Stereo or Mono, depending one what you have, and then Bit rate is 192 Kbps.”

The guys at 2-pop gave also posted a free pdf: “Internet Video Compression: An Irreverent Guide”, covering the compression apps for Mac OS X. Find it here.——-

Will Richardson: “So taking a cue from Bud the Teacher, I checked out Jon Udell’s post on how he creates his screencasts with Windows Media Encoder. I’d been trying to use Camtasia to do some inhouse training stuff, but it was really difficult to get the right file format and configurations to work with our servers and Windows Media Player. But Encoder did the trick. Really easy, and when I play the file off of our server, it looks crystal clear at full screen.”——-

Dan Frakes at MacFixit: “For the most part, Mac OS X doesn’t need a lot of day to day maintenance—it crashes less than the “classic” Mac OS, and individual application problems are less likely to affect other applications and the operating system itself, so most users will find that serious file, drive, and directory damage are fairly rare. Granted, we’ve all heard nightmare stories from fellow users—a month’s worth of MacFixIt reader mail is sure to contain a few—but the truth is that Mac OS X is, on the whole, pretty darned reliable.

That being said, don’t forget Murphy’s law—eventually something will go wrong. When it does, you may as well be prepared, so it’s a good idea to have the right tools handy and to polish up on your troubleshooting skills. You can kill a number of these birds with a single stone using the handy utility AppleJack.” ——-