I've finally moved my blog to a self hosted Wordpress site. I'm still in the process of transferring my earlier posts, but from now on it's home. Eventually I'll set up redirect so you won't even end up here when you're looking for me.
In the meantime, all these posts will remain, but I won't be updating this page any more.
The home page on the main site is static and there are menu links to view just podcasts and their show notes or a separate blog. As time goes on I'll be adding more menus organized by categories.
I'll see you there.
Video StudentGuy
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Screencasting 101.2 Podcamp CT - Slides
Podcamp Ct was a great success. Not a glitch as far as I could see. The facility was fantastic and several times I heard people say they had never had wireless access that was so good. I agree, it was rock solid and fast.
For myself I had mixed feelings about the presentation I gave on Screencasting. As before I have converted the slides to PDF and you download them here.
My goal has always been to get through the presentation slides all the way to the end. I so far I have not.
The presentation goes too deep. Even the demo I used to introduce the presentation was too involved. Well, real learning involves making mistakes, and embracing those mistakes is the path to success. As Mary Pickford said,
So not failure. I got some valuable feedback from the people who attended, thank you all and I'll give it some more thought through the next week as I prepare this presentation for Podcamp NH. I'll comment on those changes when I post the recording I made of the presentation in, hopefully in a couple days.
As always there were many fascinating presentations, more than any one person could see - 4 tracks running at the same time. I particularly enjoyed one late in the day on the international implications of being online.
I met a lot of fun and generous people. There was a two hour lunch, time for lots of talk and lots of great restaurants within a couple blocks of the facility we were in. Afterward there was more time to talk at nearby bar. A really good event. It was big, but on a human scale and it gave me weeks of things to think about.
For myself I had mixed feelings about the presentation I gave on Screencasting. As before I have converted the slides to PDF and you download them here.
My goal has always been to get through the presentation slides all the way to the end. I so far I have not.
The presentation goes too deep. Even the demo I used to introduce the presentation was too involved. Well, real learning involves making mistakes, and embracing those mistakes is the path to success. As Mary Pickford said,
"If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down".
So not failure. I got some valuable feedback from the people who attended, thank you all and I'll give it some more thought through the next week as I prepare this presentation for Podcamp NH. I'll comment on those changes when I post the recording I made of the presentation in, hopefully in a couple days.
As always there were many fascinating presentations, more than any one person could see - 4 tracks running at the same time. I particularly enjoyed one late in the day on the international implications of being online.
I met a lot of fun and generous people. There was a two hour lunch, time for lots of talk and lots of great restaurants within a couple blocks of the facility we were in. Afterward there was more time to talk at nearby bar. A really good event. It was big, but on a human scale and it gave me weeks of things to think about.
Monday, October 11, 2010
#169 Screencasting 101.1 at PCB5
In the last post I attached a PDF of the slides I used for a presentation on Screencasting I delivered a few weeks ago at Podcamp Boston. In this episode I've embedded a screencast that I made from the slides and the audio I recorded during that session. I've also included just the audio, which is part of the Video StudentGuy feed and will show up on iTunes if you're a subscriber.
Chapters & Timecode:
00:00 Preface
03:50 Introduction
13:53 What is Screencasting
15:45 How to do it
21:20 Workflow
29:00 Tools
31:35 Screencast Demo
41:30 Screenflow and Captivate
44:25 Online Screencasting Software
49:10 Other Editing Tools
55:08 Suggestions from the audience
57:20 Closing thoughts
The screencast was just too large to host on my Libsyn.com account. I don't know if I'll be doing enough of these to justify upgrading my account, so in the short term I'm going to look at TubeMogul and Blip.tv as a no cost solution. I'll let you know how that turns out.
You can view the source video and also download a copy of the file here at Vimeo.
I'm going to upload an updated version of this screecast in a week's time following a presentation I'll be making in New Haven at Podcamp Connecticut. And again, a week later following a third presentation at Podcamp New Hampshire.
If your interested in screencasting I promise to make it worth your while to watch the next two screencasts because I plan to include some, maybe lots of new material. I'll note in the Chapters & Timecode section if there's new material.
Chapters & Timecode:
00:00 Preface
03:50 Introduction
13:53 What is Screencasting
15:45 How to do it
21:20 Workflow
29:00 Tools
31:35 Screencast Demo
41:30 Screenflow and Captivate
44:25 Online Screencasting Software
49:10 Other Editing Tools
55:08 Suggestions from the audience
57:20 Closing thoughts
The screencast was just too large to host on my Libsyn.com account. I don't know if I'll be doing enough of these to justify upgrading my account, so in the short term I'm going to look at TubeMogul and Blip.tv as a no cost solution. I'll let you know how that turns out.
You can view the source video and also download a copy of the file here at Vimeo.
I'm going to upload an updated version of this screecast in a week's time following a presentation I'll be making in New Haven at Podcamp Connecticut. And again, a week later following a third presentation at Podcamp New Hampshire.
If your interested in screencasting I promise to make it worth your while to watch the next two screencasts because I plan to include some, maybe lots of new material. I'll note in the Chapters & Timecode section if there's new material.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Not a Podcast Episode
Last weekend I attended Podcamp Boston 5. It was a great experience meeting new people invovled in new media. You should really attend a podcamp, or any unconference that caters to your particular profession or interest. Why isn't there a videocamp?
Yes, there were some video presentations, but only on a basic, video blogger level. I myself presented a session on screencasting, the first time I've ever done that. It was presentation rough and somewhat chaotic, which is what I expected and overall I had a great time.
I recorded that session, but I'm still editing it. I want to combine it with the the slides I used and insert a brief screencasting demo. I hope to have that completed and posted here in the coming week.
My main reason for getting this post out without a show is so I could include a download to the slides for the benefit of those attending the session and anyone else who is interested in screencasting. If you do download it, I hope you'll check this site again for the screencast, I'm sure you'll get more out of the slides that way. At least you can use the links I've included in the slides.
I've converted the slide presentation into PDF format so everyone can view it. You can download it either by clicking on the title of this post, or click here. This file will appear in the iTunes feed.
Thanks for being patient, I'll talk to you later.
Paul
Sunday, August 29, 2010
#168 Summer Vacation
Here's a short explanation of the past three months
Projects
- I finished a corporate promotional video for an integrated circuit manufacturer in Massachusetts. I partnered with Lou Goodman and we worked together shooting and editing the video. And I completed a 30 second commercial for the living history museum, Plimoth Plantation.
- Even as I continue to look for a full time video gig I'm still volunteering my time to shoot and edit video for my former school, Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts
Plans
Everything always takes more time that you think
- but I'm committed to learning how to maximize Worpress so I can transfer the Video StudentGuy site over to a self hosted Wordpress site with it's own domain. I want to develop a daily blog, add a number of interactive features and introduce video and still images.
- Once I've got that nailed, I'll move on to producing a portfolio site
- I continue to do audio production for another Podcast - The Post Movie Show
- I'm working on a series of screencasts demonstrating how to edit in FCP using mostly keyboard commands.
- I hope to turn my experiences into a presentation at some of the podcamps I've listed below.
- PAB10 Ottawa - great show and great people. What can you say about those Canadians except they're so nice!
- DSLR video events through Avid, Rule and FCPUG. Lots of buzz about that I need to spend a show talking about that.
- Montreal - Sept 11 & 12
- Boston - Sept 25 & 26
- Connecticut - October 16
- New Hampshire - October 23 & 24
- It's closed, but there's a presentation later that evening also at the NERD, courtesy of the Boston Wordpress Meetup Group on how to insert video into Wordpress
Saturday, August 21, 2010
#167 Marketing for the Creative
Here are some thoughts I had following a business workshop for artists in the spring.
Monday, May 31, 2010
#166 Editing Pt1
Organizing your media
Something else I didn't mention it in the show which I will have to discuss it at length in a later show is that a very important part of organization occurs on the other end of of production, when you're done: consolidation.
Consolidation is the process of saving out the project and all the pieces of media that was used in the projects - in one folder. This is done once you are finished and you're preparing to archive everything and take it offline.
Someday you're going to want to re-edit this video, include it in your reel, or a compilation, or just find a piece of footage that you used and consolidation is a critical, time saving process you can use to do that.
- Keep it simple, keep it lean
Something else I didn't mention it in the show which I will have to discuss it at length in a later show is that a very important part of organization occurs on the other end of of production, when you're done: consolidation.
Consolidation is the process of saving out the project and all the pieces of media that was used in the projects - in one folder. This is done once you are finished and you're preparing to archive everything and take it offline.
Someday you're going to want to re-edit this video, include it in your reel, or a compilation, or just find a piece of footage that you used and consolidation is a critical, time saving process you can use to do that.
Friday, May 21, 2010
#165 Dream a little dream for me
At the time I recorded this show there were two great new media events taking place in the middle of June. That has changed. Podcamp New Hampshire 2010 was scheduled to take place the weekend of June 20, Father's day weekend, but it has now rescheduled to a yet to be determined date in October. What a pain that decision must have been to the promoters. It's still a great event to keep on your radar and you should seriously consider this once the new date is finalized.
That leaves Podcast's Across Borders 2010, formerly held in Kingston Ontario, now relocated to Ottawa Ontario, June 18, 19 and 20. Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis are the promoters of this even and you can find out more about them at Canadian Podcast Buffet. You can check out shows I've done in the past for both Podcamp NH 2009 and PAB 2009.
By the way, Podcamps take place throughout America and around the world and they're great places to meet helpful, knowledgeable creative people interested in media, social networking and online branding. You can check out the Podcamp.org site for listings of shows in your neck of the woods. Remember, Podcamps are networking seminar events where everyone, including you, is the teacher. Most of these events don't even charge a fee to attend. Don't let the price fool you though, these are top notch gatherings that will help you connect with the top thinkers in the social media and networking world.
The remainder of the show is about self promotion - your own self promotion. After attending a day long workshop about business strategies for the artist, sponsored by the Connecticut Commission for the Arts I came away a number great ideas to consider. I'll talk about the sessions I attended in another show. There were three separate seminars presented in Connecticut this past spring and you can hear the recordings online on their site. Recordings of sessions from the May 1st event I attended have not been uploaded yet, so keep checking.
In the remainder of the show I talked about the power of talking about your plans with other people and how that helps shape and propel your vision. Making your dreams come true is also a creative act and it begins when you speaking them out loud.
That leaves Podcast's Across Borders 2010, formerly held in Kingston Ontario, now relocated to Ottawa Ontario, June 18, 19 and 20. Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis are the promoters of this even and you can find out more about them at Canadian Podcast Buffet. You can check out shows I've done in the past for both Podcamp NH 2009 and PAB 2009.
By the way, Podcamps take place throughout America and around the world and they're great places to meet helpful, knowledgeable creative people interested in media, social networking and online branding. You can check out the Podcamp.org site for listings of shows in your neck of the woods. Remember, Podcamps are networking seminar events where everyone, including you, is the teacher. Most of these events don't even charge a fee to attend. Don't let the price fool you though, these are top notch gatherings that will help you connect with the top thinkers in the social media and networking world.
The remainder of the show is about self promotion - your own self promotion. After attending a day long workshop about business strategies for the artist, sponsored by the Connecticut Commission for the Arts I came away a number great ideas to consider. I'll talk about the sessions I attended in another show. There were three separate seminars presented in Connecticut this past spring and you can hear the recordings online on their site. Recordings of sessions from the May 1st event I attended have not been uploaded yet, so keep checking.
In the remainder of the show I talked about the power of talking about your plans with other people and how that helps shape and propel your vision. Making your dreams come true is also a creative act and it begins when you speaking them out loud.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
#164 Personal Branding
In a recent episode of Spark, the CBC Radio and podcast show, Nora Young talked with Anand Giridharadas (14:59-24:25) about the nature and perils of personal branding. It's part of a larger show about about online identities and as always the people at Spark do a great job bringing insight into the way technology is effecting our busy lives daily.
As is often the case, the segment on personal branding made me think about my own difficulties realizing my online brand and the difficulties that content producers have being their own marketers. Because of the "always on", "global nature" of online branding the burden of time to position yourself for success is greater than in the physical world. Or maybe it's just a perceived burden. That's the question I have.
Now that a lot of the content we produce, whether it's books, illustrations, animations, video or music, podcasts and other audio, is online, how much additional time can we, as producers afford to devote to marketing ourselves?
I'm trying, but I still feel like I'm just getting out of the gate. How are you using your precious free time to promote yourself online?
Other links:
Dan Schawbell - Me 2.0
http://personalbrandingbook.com/
Krop - Online portfolio site
http://www.krop.com/creativedatabase/
As is often the case, the segment on personal branding made me think about my own difficulties realizing my online brand and the difficulties that content producers have being their own marketers. Because of the "always on", "global nature" of online branding the burden of time to position yourself for success is greater than in the physical world. Or maybe it's just a perceived burden. That's the question I have.
Now that a lot of the content we produce, whether it's books, illustrations, animations, video or music, podcasts and other audio, is online, how much additional time can we, as producers afford to devote to marketing ourselves?
I'm trying, but I still feel like I'm just getting out of the gate. How are you using your precious free time to promote yourself online?
Other links:
Dan Schawbell - Me 2.0
http://personalbrandingbook.com/
Krop - Online portfolio site
http://www.krop.com/creativedatabase/
Saturday, February 20, 2010
#163 Video in a Day
A Day in the Life of Plimoth Plantations
Hey, it's been a while. I should have gotten this out a few weeks ago but I"ve been running flat out. I think that's a sign of success of some kind. I'm not certain.
I'm working on a number of different video projects in various stages of production, doing the video production internship at CDIA and producing another podcast each week, The Post-Movie Podcast.
On Monday January 25, from 10:30am to 8:00pm I started and finished a short video of a day in the life of Plimoth Plantation. You can watch the results in the linked video player below.
I believe the real lessons for me gained from this experience are the things the director and I did right. Creating a finished video in one day is not an ideal job by any stretch of the imagination, although I had a lot of fun - you can't approach a project like this without a sense of adventure and a come-what-may attitude.
Producing this video does force you to focus on the bare essentials and requires that you be very prepared before you begin. Storyboard or shot list was essential. Script or story also had to be nailed down ahead of time as well. All of that lead to a focused shoot and really really spare coverage. We were constantly moving, dodging the rain, shooting about 8 or 9 locations, none of which I had previously seen. Being mentally prepared and trusting your equipment is also critical.
My point is, none of the things I've just mentioned are unusual requirements for any video you need to produce. A situation such as this only demonstrates how critical they are to keep on schedule.
The deadline was real because we needed to post it to a TV station's site before midnight in order for it to be considered for inclusion in a future broadcast of a Boston show, Chronicle.
On Thursday February 18 Chronicle did a best of submissions from January 25 and I was told, thought I didn't see it firsthand, that this video did show. Good exposure for Plimoth Plantations, I don't know how much bragging rights there is in it for me. But I'm happy.
I hope you enjoy it. If you'd like any further information about the production process, let me know.
Hey I need some Help!
I've got a number of ideas for shows coming up and one of them is figuring out rates for freelance videography. I can tell you information on the web is skimpy and I'm not getting a lot of feedback from the few people I know who are doing this, just generalizations.
Could I ask you to email me at videostudentguy.gmail.com with your ideas, or experience you've had pricing jobs? I'd appreciate also if you told me what kind of video is was, such as corporate, non profit, weddings or other social events. Also any anecdotes about difficulties you had justifying your rates. In the current economy I hear that a lot of the suppositions regarding what people are willing to pay has changed drastically from just a year ago.
Let me know.
Hey, it's been a while. I should have gotten this out a few weeks ago but I"ve been running flat out. I think that's a sign of success of some kind. I'm not certain.
I'm working on a number of different video projects in various stages of production, doing the video production internship at CDIA and producing another podcast each week, The Post-Movie Podcast.
On Monday January 25, from 10:30am to 8:00pm I started and finished a short video of a day in the life of Plimoth Plantation. You can watch the results in the linked video player below.
I believe the real lessons for me gained from this experience are the things the director and I did right. Creating a finished video in one day is not an ideal job by any stretch of the imagination, although I had a lot of fun - you can't approach a project like this without a sense of adventure and a come-what-may attitude.
Producing this video does force you to focus on the bare essentials and requires that you be very prepared before you begin. Storyboard or shot list was essential. Script or story also had to be nailed down ahead of time as well. All of that lead to a focused shoot and really really spare coverage. We were constantly moving, dodging the rain, shooting about 8 or 9 locations, none of which I had previously seen. Being mentally prepared and trusting your equipment is also critical.
My point is, none of the things I've just mentioned are unusual requirements for any video you need to produce. A situation such as this only demonstrates how critical they are to keep on schedule.
The deadline was real because we needed to post it to a TV station's site before midnight in order for it to be considered for inclusion in a future broadcast of a Boston show, Chronicle.
On Thursday February 18 Chronicle did a best of submissions from January 25 and I was told, thought I didn't see it firsthand, that this video did show. Good exposure for Plimoth Plantations, I don't know how much bragging rights there is in it for me. But I'm happy.
I hope you enjoy it. If you'd like any further information about the production process, let me know.
Hey I need some Help!
I've got a number of ideas for shows coming up and one of them is figuring out rates for freelance videography. I can tell you information on the web is skimpy and I'm not getting a lot of feedback from the few people I know who are doing this, just generalizations.
Could I ask you to email me at videostudentguy.gmail.com with your ideas, or experience you've had pricing jobs? I'd appreciate also if you told me what kind of video is was, such as corporate, non profit, weddings or other social events. Also any anecdotes about difficulties you had justifying your rates. In the current economy I hear that a lot of the suppositions regarding what people are willing to pay has changed drastically from just a year ago.
Let me know.
Friday, January 8, 2010
#162 Say yes
I thought I would give you an update on my busy schedule. In last weeks, last year's show I give you a list of things that I learned last year that were important to me, to my work and my career in digital video.
How busy I currently am is directly related to degree to which I'm engaged with other people. In other words networking. I don't have time to go into great detail, but I try to make the point that you won't get very far in meeting your goals if you don't say yes to people who ask for help, even if means getting little or no money in return.
Also, I want to plug a podcast I started producing - recording and editing, back in late November. The Post Movie Show is a conversation among Boston film critics about movies. I like it, not so much because I want to know about the movies, though they do cover a wide range of films, but because I appreciate their insights into what makes a movie a good movie to watch. This isn't a show about the latest coolest movie - opinions run high and are often hotly debated, but if you interested in listening to informed opinons in humorous doses, I think you'll like it a lot.
How busy I currently am is directly related to degree to which I'm engaged with other people. In other words networking. I don't have time to go into great detail, but I try to make the point that you won't get very far in meeting your goals if you don't say yes to people who ask for help, even if means getting little or no money in return.
Also, I want to plug a podcast I started producing - recording and editing, back in late November. The Post Movie Show is a conversation among Boston film critics about movies. I like it, not so much because I want to know about the movies, though they do cover a wide range of films, but because I appreciate their insights into what makes a movie a good movie to watch. This isn't a show about the latest coolest movie - opinions run high and are often hotly debated, but if you interested in listening to informed opinons in humorous doses, I think you'll like it a lot.
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