November scoots by

Like life really, November flew past and now we have December to look forward to. The Americans did their ritual sacrifice during the month and in December the Europeans will also do the sacrifice thing with a poor turkey. Seems that cooking a turkey in America involves putting the whole thing in a vat of hot oil, a la deep fried. Have to spend the following 2 months dieting to redress the balance, probably. Is it any wonder I am a vegetarian?

Apple news has been fairly slow seeing as they came out, early in the month to say that there would be nothing more in the line up for the holidays. The rumour mill can take a bit of a break now until CES in January and then MacWorld in February. Still no sign of a tablet computer from Apple and even rumours to say that the thing was likely to be delayed. Amazing how you can delay something that was only a rumour in the first place. We don’t do rumours here on Mac20Q anyway.

I have spent loads of time watching video from Lynda.com to learn how to do video with FinalCut Express. Pleased I got it despite that fact that it is more work to do things sometimes that it is with iMovie. Well I still have iMovie there to avail of but there is no point in having FinalCut Express and then not using it because I have iMovie. There will come the video projects that need FinalCut Express and I want to know what I am doing for that. So I will have to just devote the time that is needed to the learning curve. I expect that after a while I will be so au fait with FinalCut Express that it will seem to be as quick, anyway.

One of the things that I struggled with, was the getting the video files to be a decent size for uploading to the web. I did manage to find some settings that still gave me the quality I wanted from the 1280 by 720 video but then this morning Matt Hillyer gave me information about MPEG StreamClip, an application that is so small, must be using the Quick Time conversion already on my iMac but gives the controls to do a better job. That is often the way with this video conversion utilities, I also have Videovangelist to try out. There is of course the tried, true and tested Visual hub application though. I did try MPEG StreamClip to convert a DVD but the result was even larger and the sound was offset. Took ages to do it and I had to delete the resulting file. I do like Matts’ work flow though for getting files from ScreenFlow to FinalCut Express and then from FinalCut Express to the web. One test I did today worked a treat. I ended up with a file about half the size and still good quality at the same resolution.

You can see the videos I produce on YouTube on the Wizardgold Channel.

Remember to subscribe to the Mac20Q Podcast on iTunes and even tell your friends about the podcast, or write a review of the podcast there, which will help promote the show. Thanks for those of you that have done that already.

You may leave a comment on the site here too. If you are on the home page of the site, click on the page for the single post and then scroll down to the form to fill in. Looking forward to hearing from you. Let me know if you would like to be featured on the show.

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Using MPEG StreamClip with FinalCut Express

After getting on so well with MPEG Streamclip which is a free application that will convert video for you from one format to another or you can use it to make the file size smaller prior to upload, or you can use to download clips from places like YouTube. It is really a very capable application. I have only just managed to scratch the surface with it today.

But the secret is out and I have made a Screencast showing you some of the settings and the successes I had while learning what it can do for my work flow. Matthew of the StealthMac Podcast suggested that I use MPEG StreamClip with the movies produced by ScreenFlow before putting them into FinalCut Express. I found that a good idea. It means that there is less rendering to do once you have the clips on the time line.

I did try to convert a DVD to .h364 but that was not a success. the finished file was bigger and also the sound was way out of sync. Have a look at the video below to see what I have been doing today and you will see how you can make use of the free application too.

See the Podcast in HD glory at YouTube

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Watched Merlin that I missed yesterday because I was watching Star Wars. I think I am turning into a nerd - Help !!

Uploading video now about using Daisydisk a graphical interface to show the files on hard drive. good for clearing out for more space

Hard work getting the settings right in FinalCut Express to get a decent size of file for a short video.

RT @webbyand: My girlfriend was complaining last night that I never listen to her. Or something like that. << lol

While walking the dog it was podcast time - this morning it was Friday Night Comedy from the BBC. Have to have a laugh now & then

Made a booking for the Novotel in Liverpool Centre for the Tweetup - Good price for the 2 nights

Booked flight and place to stay in Liverpool for the December Tweetup.

Going to check out the prices for a Trip to Liverpool in December for the Tweetup. To meet up with my mates

Bob tells Mac20Q Podcast 73 about the apps he likes to use & he is making a video podcast about Bridge the card game - http://bit.ly/6iMFta

Mac 20 Questions Podcast number 73 http://bit.ly/7CRlj9 I talked with Bob Degrande a bridge playing Mac Podcaster that uses BoinxTV

Now that I finished the reading the Larsson books I can start on the David Hewson 'Seventh Sacrament' of the Nic Costa detective series

Talking to Bob Degrande about using a Mac

Bob has been a supporter of Mac20Q for some time and was telling me that he has listened right from the start of the podcast. Thanks Bob, good to have you along for the ride. He was the winner of one of our software giveaway competitions too!

A good chat was had and covered all the good stuff about being a Mac user. Bob is in the process of making a podcast about Bridge the card game. He started doing it as an audio podcast then decided to start again but with video. Makes more sense if you can see the cards, for this he has been using BoinxTV. I also have BoinxTV but it didn’t work on my iMac and when I looked at it working on the MacBook I decided that it was more for making Live TV programs with multiple cameras. I think I am better off using FinalCut Express or iMovie.

Whilst on the subject of FinalCut Express, I have still been working away to learn how to use the application and I am pleased that I am getting into it due to using Lynda .com with the excellent tutorials they have there. I also found FinalCutKing web site and there is a whole load of video tutorials on the IzzyVideo web site. All good quality stuff. I checked out YouTube also but the quality of the tutorials is much more variable and at the lower end of the scale.

I though it was funny that all the news sites have been talking about Applecare not being available to smokers because the filth that had accumulated in the machine had made it un safe for the technicians, Well smokers are disgusting creatures and deserve it if it is true. Blackened lungs and blackened insides of the computer. So there you go passive smoking is bad for computers too.

Back to Bob – he is certainly a die hard Mac user, having experience with Macs from the very early days, he did veer away during the dark days when Jobs was pushed aside but was happy to come back to the fold when Intel processors appeared in the Mac computers. Thanks to Bob for coming on Mac 20 Questions. I had a great time chatting with him and if you would like to be featured on Mac 20 Questions then why not contact me and we can make a date and time to record an interview.

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Not long before I have to set out for my Spanish lesson today. Luckily I have a really good teacher that makes the classes interesting

Just finished Stieg Larsson book 'The Girl who kicked a Hornets Nest' It is always sad like losing a friend when I finish off a good book !

Looking at an app called iClip - I have Jumpcut but iClip looks very capable - perhaps more capable ??

Writing the script for the intro of Mac20Q Podcast 73 soon to record it - Will publish later today

Just finished editing the Mac20Q interview with @bdegrande who will soon be putting out a podcast about how to play Bridge, the card game.

I got the free PRO version of 1Password for the iPhone although I did already have a version already on my iPhone

Mozy have a BlackFriday Deal. I use the 2GB gratis backup anyway. http://ping.fm/YGHN6 Good way to keep your files protected - works well

Started the process for my next Podcast. Bought the domain from GoDaddy used the code POD146 to get 10% discount Paid domain for 2 years

people using foul language in tweets should know that it shows them in a poor light to their followers & not be surprised when un followed

Reading the book - The Girl who kicked the Hornets' Nest' by Stieg Larsson. Great story & impossible to put down once picked up

Just interviewed the @newmediadude Marcelo - Excellent talk about new media & I learned something too. Good man Marcelo

I did my first movie editing on FinalCut Express & posted it on YouTube. A bit of fun trying out a few things.

@jchutchins the author of '7th Son' podcast novel talks about mental institution experience & laughs about it. http://bit.ly/7uYpAk

Working with FinalCut Express learning how to do things at the same time. Lots of KB shortcuts to learn. Working on a video with horses in

Just interviewed @bdegrande a Mac guy into Bridge the card game. Will be the next Mac20Q Podcast Very enjoyable chat

About to interview Bob for Mac20Q in a short while - we will talk about Macs and geeky things for a podcast

JC Hutchins who wrote 7th Son is a Mac using author

Listen to the Podcast at Writers20Q

This morning I finished editing the interview that I did with J.C. Hutchins. I really had a great chat with him about the craft of writing and about the podcasting part of what he has done. Didn’t get to talk much about the fact that he uses the Mac to do his work in Pages from iWork and with Garageband for making his podcasts of his novels. Maybe I will have to get him back to talk just about being a Mac user.

I really enjoyed talking to him and also enjoyed listening to it again when I edited the interview. If you want to listen you will be able to find the podcast at the Writers20Qweb site. JC is a great guy and I teased him a bit about mental hospital experience, which he thought was very funny, he has an excellent  sense of humour which is always good in a person.

The story that he podcasted is called 7th Son: Descent  and is all about human cloning. It is a Science fiction, thriller adventure story and I enjoyed listening to the series.

He now has a book out called Personal Effects: Dark Art  and is a fully immersive experience which is augmented by physical items included with the book to allow you to actually take an active role in the adventure. I have started to listen to the prequel story connected to this novel ‘Personal Effects – Sword of Blood‘ and have been enjoying it so far.

JC tells me about his mental institution experience and how he used it in his story about Zack the art therapist in Personal Effects : Sword of blood.

I asked him about how he works out the stories and the details behind the characters. While we were talking about the craft of writing we had a few laughs along the way. 

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Was interviewed this morning for a piece in the Catalonia Today 'Old Media' magazine. Will be a while though before it will appear in print

@jchutchins was a delight to listen to about writing & audiobook podcasts. you will love the interview with him on Writers20Q

Just finished the editing of the interview for the next Writers20Q podcast. Talked with @jchutchins the Author of 7th Son now to podcast it

Keyboard shortcut tricks on Mac OSX

You know when you turn on the caps lock and type in a pile of text then have to either type in again or find a way to change it. How about if you were to turn off the Caps Lock Key, you know you hardly ever use it. Seems that it is more there to annoy than to be useful. Well in this video I show you how to turn off the Caps Lock.

See how you can set up active corners that will work with a modifier key so that it doesn’t just annoy you when you are trying to something in one of the active corners, like hit the Apple in the menu bar at top left.

I made this video with ScreenFlow to capture the screen and narrate, then I put it in Final Cut Express to set it up. It is really the first project I have set up in Final Cut so I was pleased that it went so well. I have been using Lynda.com to learn how to use Final Cut. It cost $25 to get Lynda for a month and I would say that with the quality of the screencasts it is well worth it. I have been doing the TrueType lessons as well as Final Cut.

I have been amazed by the capabilities of LiveType and being able to do some round trip editing between it and FinalCut Express. I have opened a Live Type section in FinalCut Express – gone in and changed it, saved it and returned to Final cut to see it updated ready for action.

Here is the Video and if you want to see in High Definition then go to the YouTube site to watch it in 1280 by 720

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using Final Cut today to make the Mac20QTips 10 video podcast. More setting up than with iMovie but more control to be had

Thinking about the 2012 movie again today & thinking I am looking forward to seeing it again. Totally brilliant film

Podcaster @IconfessImaGeek was interviewed in Mac20Q Podcast 72 http://bit.ly/1fCNfW Pls RT

Just created a title for Mac20Q QuickTip videos in LiveType to use in Final Cut - Sweet

When the dog has been exercised it will be time for some editing of interview audio with J.C. Hutchins the author of 7th Son

Today's podcast listening while walking the dawg is Cranky Geeks.

Earlier this month Andy McCaskey from SDR News talked about his Mac predilections & peccadilloes with Mac20Q http://bit.ly/4EJKCR

Saw the movie 2012 - Very good - had me on the edge of my seat a few times

Next after I have gone through the FinalCut videos I will look at the LiveType before moving on to Blender

Still working my way through the Lynda Movies for FinalCut Express - got to the titling and text manipulation section. Makes Final Cut easy

The Podcasts I listened to to day were BagelTech News, MacCraic, Buz out Loud & a bit of Mac Break Weekly. Good podcast from Ewan -bagel man

There will be more Mac20Q screencasts coming your way soon. What would you like to see in a screencast?

Loving the Lynda movies to teach me FinalCut. Well worth it to get up and running quickly - Piles of good wee tips in there.

Confessing to being a Geek to the Mac 20 Questions interrogator http://bit.ly/1fCNfW Alert - Serious Geekyness exposed in Milton Keynes

Noticing some differences between FinalCut Express & FinalCut Studio. The colour correction is handled differently FCP has 3 way col correct

Busy watching videos from Lynda.com to help me learn quickly all about FinalCutExpress. Very good way to learn stuff fast

Having fun with FinalCut Express adding extra filters & stuff. Taking some time to get in to it

Mac20Q Podcast 72 Confessing a British view of Mac technology

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (33.6MB)

Today I am talking to a guy that nearly confessed to being a makeup guy, you know lipstick and blusher and all that, but did confess to being a geek. Unfortunately his wife is not a Mac person yet but he is working on her, I tell him to get out the thumbscrews. His son aged five though is a computer user with a laptop of his own.

David does have an iMac 20 inch model and is a recent switcher. He got drawn into the Mac world with iPods and moved into it with a white Macbook, he has moved on to a later model MacBook though. He is a firm believer in AppleCare. I have not had AppleCare on any of my Macs but he has got his moneys’ worth out of it.

We talk about Boxee and Plex, I don’t use those because I can’t get the best out of it because I live in Spain. I just wish I could use the BBC iPlayer, I may have to get something that will hide my IP address.

I talk about getting a satellite box from Elgato which will allow me to save things to watch later. He has a Sanyo Xacti video camcorder and loves using iMovie to make professional looking DVDs for the family.

He has his own podcast and is on episode 14 at the moment. He said the latest was going to be about Christmas presents for the Geek in your life.

David confesses to being an inbox zero type and also to having been outside the Milton Keynes Apple Store at 4am in the morning to get an iPhone. He uses Tweetie two and uses Brizzly which is a web based twitter client. There was a Twitter client in the latest MacHeist, Twitterific

Hooray I finally got my hands on Final Cut Express, Only took 2 weeks to get here from Birmingham to Spain. There is a chance that it was in the post office here for a few days because I didn’t get the note to say it was in the post office to collect. Often the post person is completely useless putting the post in the wrong box. Some of the house owners don’t check their post for months because they don’t live here – they live in Holland or Germany. Then when they do check and find a letter or whatever that is not theirs, they just dump it rather than put in the right box

Grrrr !!

Ah well I have it now just because I called to correos and asked if they had anything for me, or it would have probably sat there for a few more days or weeks. I still am happy to have saved 70 euro by buying off the Apple Store site in the UK rather than getting from the Apple Store Spain.

As soon as I had installed FinalCut Express I had to download a 180 mb  to update it to the latest. I will talk more about how it is going in a blog post and podcast.

Mac20Q Blog & Podcast

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Back from my Catalan class. The teacher makes us work. I understand a lot of it but I need more vocabularySo I bought a CAT/ENG dictionary

Exporting out the latest Mac20Q podcast in which I am talking to @iconfessimageek Interesting Mac bloke from England

Winans - INK deserves a John Cassavetes Award Nomination - http://ping.fm/DPoGp - Support the underdog!

Listening to The MacCast today & thinking that Adam would be the best host of MacBreak Weekly. He knows his stuff & is more Mac than Leo

Checking out the slip, slide, ripple and roll - All part of the Final Cut editing. Enjoying getting in to it !!

FinalCutExpress installed & it is time to have a play soon. time to get down & dirty with it LOL

Starting the week at Mac20Q

The first job will be to finish editing the interview of David from Iconfessimageek.com. I have a terrible cold during that interview and I have to take a good few sniffs, but I do sound like I have a cold anyway with a head all blocked up. Then I will have a think about what to do next for a screencast. I could do some more for ScreenFlow or I could do a few small tips like showing a few of the more useful keyboard short cuts in MacOSX.

Another plan for the week will be to perhaps to a software review for the MacReviewcast. Tim Verpoorten is publishing every other week now and I think he will be bringing out a new one at the end of this week.

It is nice and warm here in Spain this week, good to be missing out on those storms that battered England during the weekend.

I will be able to go back to my Spanish and Catalan classes this week. Last week with the bad cold I could face going into the Catalan class because the room is like a fridge. I am sure the light comes on automatically when the door is opened.

Still waiting for the arrival of my Final Cut Express and the Contour Shuttle Express, getting a bit miffed after waiting two week already. I want to dive into the movie editing and also finish setting up the green screen in my studio.

Don't forget to give me a ReTweet from time to time to help build the number up for Mac20Q and Video20Q.

There is another interview I have already which is for Writers20Q, an interview of J.C. Hutchins. I really had a blast talking to him, teased him a bit and made him laugh too.

The other thing to do is to have more of a play with Google Wave. If you want to get a Wave invite then use a form on one of my sites to send me and email with the words Wave to me in the subject or in the body of the email. I still have more to give away.

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Well that was the first time for a while I have watched a DrWho episode from the start. 'Waters of Mars' Very good & entertaining to watch

New Media Teacher from Northern Ireland spills the beans on using Tech in the classroom. http://bit.ly/3UOZKg Mac20Q Podcast pls RT

Teacher @PaulMcGovern29 talks about how to use Tech in the classrom http://bit.ly/N8eCn FinalCut, Blender, Profcast, Moodle. - Mac20Q

Had a super Writers20Q interview with @jchutchins the author well known for his 7th Son trilogy podcast novel. Now available in book form.

Just finished listening to 'Cranky Geeks' John C Dvorjack is a funny fella for sure

Mac20Q Podcast 71 Paul McGovern - Education Special

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (30.4MB)

Great guy from Enniskillin in Northern Ireland. He is Lecturer In Media Applications & Computer Science, Specialising in Video Game Development. I used to go there to Enniskillin, quite often either for shopping or to go to the Theatre. I did even once go kayaking on the river, with a bunch of kids. A good day out.

In the ramble I mention my new Magic Mouse which I am really pleased with, Google Wave and The Film Ink which got featured on Video20Q Podcast, the film got put on torrent this week and was downloaded thousands of times. I would like to see them getting paid for it though. Excellent looking movie. I have a DVD on its way to me now.

Paul McGovern is a new media teacher – lecturer in Northern Ireland and in impressing his students with being a total tech head. He tells me about apps like Blender, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere. He also does things on the audio side with Audacity and other apps you can find out about in the interview. He is fond also of ScreenSteps an Application which Allison of the Nosillacast often bangs on about.

Planbook is designed to replace your traditional paper planbook with a robust digital scheduler. Planbook is designed and written by a full-time teacher and includes all the features you need to save time, stay organized, keep others informed and help you finish your teaching day a little bit earlier.

ProfCast is a versatile, powerful, yet very simple to use tool for recording lectures including PowerPoint and/or Keynote slides for creating enhanced podcasts. ProfCast provides a low cost solution for recording and distributing lectures, special events, and presentations as podcasts. ProfCast offers an integrated workflow that makes creating, recording, and publishing podcasts easy. It’s as simple as Launch, Load, and Lecture!

Paul tells me of a thing called Moodle, which is  a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites. I must check it out my wife is a teacher, maybe she could find it useful.

Mac 20 Questions

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Back to Spanish class today after time off due to cold/flu. Missed all the Catalan classes this week too. Catalan classroom like a Fridge

No listening to podcasts as I walked the dog as I forgot to put the iPhone on charge last night. Listened to MacCraic yesterday though

Editing an interview with @PaulMcGovern from Northern Ireland. he is an educator and uses ScreenFlow, FCP, Blender & loves his MacBookPro

I've been in the analogue world in Sweden with the book 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' Like losing a friend when you finish a good book

The upload of the latest Mac20Q Tip 10 looks great in HD. I uploaded at 1280x720 http://bit.ly/1oAiWn More how to with ScreenFlow version2

Finished the 2nd ScreenFlow video showing how to do basics. Uploading to video share sites now - Mac20Q Quick Tip 10

I made up a fluid app today for Google Wave. have to try out a few more tricks with Wave to see what can be done with it

Well I have the magic mouse & so far I like it. I had to adjust the tracking speed. took a while to see it initially..more thoughts to come

listened to MacReviewCast & thought VideoVangelist sounded good - went to site & they have shut up shop. The software is still there to get

WooHoo !! I got the Google Wave invite at last. Now to have a play with it to see what it can do

Visited the London Apple Store by proxy. My lovely Spanish Lady went in to get me a Magic mouse. She passed him the phone to give me info

Dropbox is getting a new iPhone app & a new video explaining how it works http://bit.ly/1OoHlf I use this to keep data safe & to share docs

In the book 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' a character wants the best computer money can buy. Of course it is a Mac laptop....

Upgraded the MacBook to 10.6.2 this morning. No problems so far. Phew !

Finished the podcast of ScreenFlow interview & published it on Mac20Q. http://bit.ly/1YGiKI Barbara & Christine told me about Version 2

Interview with ScreenFlow makers Telestream

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (18.3MB)

In this podcast I am talking to two people from Telestream, the company that make ScreenFlow. ScreenFlow is a super product that I use often to make screencasts. Barbara deHart and Christine Porter tell me all about ScreenFlow and also mention other products from Telestream.

I was able to give them direct a feature I would like to see in the ScreenFlow, they are keen to improve ScreenFlow and you never know my suggestion about being able to specify the placement of a clip within the screen might make it into ScreenFlow. It pretty good that they have snapping lines that let you snap a clip to the centres and to the edges but sometimes you might want a clip be at an exact position and for that you need some boxes where you can enter some numbers in the same way you can enter a number to specify the zoom level for example.

ScreenFlow

the best ScreenCapture Application

I also use VideoCue from Telestream and other people have requested some of the features in that to be merged into ScreenFlow, I agree with that for sure.

I know there are other screen capture applications out there and I have paid for a couple of them but in the end I had to get ScreenFlow because of what it can do with the editing. It really is handy to be able to do all you need to do in the one application, from capturing the whole of the screen to uploading it to YouTube.

See the Screencast I made about using ScreenFlow. I show some of the basics like adding extra media and using transitions in between clips. I will be producing more screencasts as soon as my cold/flu symptoms abate a little.

Find out more at Mac20Q

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Growlmail plugin will have to be updated now in Mail after Upgrading to 10.6.2

Alison Moyet the singer from the eighties on the TV now and looking very well indeed. Wonder if she still has the great voice

Downloading 10.6.2 on the iMac. Should be interesting !

#INK Movie hitting the headlines here is an interview with the Director & Producers of the film http://bit.ly/3pYdG

Still waiting for my Final Cut Express to arrive. Checked the post box again today. Keen to dive in there and edit some video

just set a nice fire going even though not that cold yet, the chill comes on when the sun goes in though.

Half way though editing the interview with the guys from ScreenFlow. Put it out as a podcast later today or in the morning

THis morning despite a bad cold I interviewed @IconfessimaGeek for Mac20Q. I enjoyed my chat with a geeky bloke from Maidenhead UK

ScreenFlow V2 basics video http://bit.ly/ewfc2 I show you how to do transitions & editing of clips

Joke and Biagio Producers and Directors of Scream Queens talk to Mac20Q

These guy have been using Final Cut for a lot of years now and also use Final Draft AV while giving a recommendation to Celtx. When they are organising a project, one of their reality TV Shows like Scream Queens or Beauty and the geek they will use Bento. Joke tells me that she rescued Biago from PC sufferance 13 years ago and he has not looked back since. They are also making a documentary about a friend, Steve Mazan who is a comedian who has cancer and it is called ‘Dying to be on Letterman’.

In the interview we talk quite a bit about the making of TV shows because that is what they do and the interview is destined for Video 20 Questions too.

They seem to do mostly reality TV shows but also do scripted work. As you will tell from their interview they are totally committed to what they do. As you have to be in a business that takes no prisoners. If someone can get in there before you with your idea but better then you should watch your back.

Joke (her real name) and Biagio (Sicilian roots) als talk to me about the technical side of the work and about how they organise themselves using Macs, well they are using Macs to edit with FInal Cut Pro so it make sense to use Macs for everything.

They can be found on Twitter and FaceBook. Like many independent producers they are building a following online to get their name and brand out there, and doing it quite successfully it seems. And their brand new Joke and Biagio Facebook page, which has 1 fan: Biagio. Would love to change that!

They have  advice to folks that want to break in to showbiz: Become a Hands on Producer. Here’s the post Well Joke and Biagio are not the only ones that recommend you just get in there and learn the process by doing it. here they say that making a short TV promo is a great idea for selling the project to the Television networks. maybe not making a full pilot episode unless you want to have the experience of doing it.

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Finished editing the @jokeandbiagio interview Now to turn it into a podcast for Mac20Q and Video20Q. Talking about ScreamQueens and reality

Interview with David Hewson Author of Nic Costa Series of Novels

Writers 20 Questions is where the Podcast is situated

Since the first Nic Costa title, A Season for the Dead, appeared in 2003 the series has grown a book a year, and spread to some twenty different languages around the world including Japanese, Thai, French, Spanish and Italian. It has won multiple plaudits including, most recently the American Library Association award for Best Mystery of 2008 for the sixth book, The Garden of Evil and was on the shortlist for the Theakston prize for Crime Novel of the Year.

David talks to me about using his MacBook Air which he will carry with him when he is traveling. He likes to use the excellent Scrivener software and the his other favourite is MacJournal. He is not a fan of the iPhone and has an Android phone on which he uses the task manager Remember the Milk.

He can’t decide whether to keep using Mobile Me, but likes Dropbox and Evernote. The fact that you can use Dropbox to have your files available to you while you are out and about.

He treats writing as a job or profession and works 5 days a week writing. I found out about him because I have on my shelf the book The Seventh Sacrament, which is of the NicCosta series. I have not read the earlier books but I don’t think it will matter in terms of needing to know what went on before. One of his early book has been made into a film Semana Santa

David talks about how he went to Italy, learned the language and writes about italians in Italy rather than writing about an English man in Rome, His books are translated into Italian as well as about 20 other languages and he says that the italians love his books too. He likes to choose an area and go there and walk the streets, visit the cafes and talk to people to get the feel for the place where he will be setting the story. His book The Garden of Evil won Mystery of the year.

Since the first Nic Costa title, A Season for the Dead, appeared in 2003 the series has grown a book a year, and spread to some twenty different languages around the world including Japanese, Thai, French, Spanish and Italian. It has won multiple plaudits including, most recently the American Library Association award for Best Mystery of 2008 for the sixth book, The Garden of Evil and was on the shortlist for the Theakston prize for Crime Novel of the Year.

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Writing the script for the ramble to go with the Writers20Q podcast number9. I expect to publish later today chat with author @David_Hewson

Just finished the editing of the interview of Best Selling author @David_Hewson. He writes the Nic Costa series of books.

Starting the editing of the Author David Hewson interview for Writers20Q and Mac20Q. David uses Scrivener that great software from Keith B

Uploading with Tubemogul the latest Quicktips video for Mac20Q - How to get started with ScreenFlow Version2. video actions, callouts + more

Final cut express on its way to me - can't wait to get in to it after trying to do some stuff in iMovie today

Working on the next Screencast from Mac20Q showing how to do basics in ScreenFlow. Video part is done but need to work with the audio

I had a super chat with Andrew McCaskey @AXMC about Macs & podcasting http://bit.ly/4EJKCR Mac20Q #68 pls RT

Podcast 68 of Mac20Q I talked with veteran Podcaster & Mac Users Andy McCaskey of SlashDotReview http://bit.ly/4EJKCR pls RT

Use code NOV2009 at Screencastsonline to get a 50% discount off the usual joining fee. Great deal for excellent content http://bit.ly/gPIo7

Latest Mac 20 Questions Podcast 68 http://bit.ly/4EJKCR Andy McCasky tells us how he does his stuff on the Mac for SDNews

Mac20Q Podcast 68 Andy McCaskey of Slashdot Review

Andy has been podcasting for some time and so we had a great chat about the Mac and Podcasting. Andy is responsible for SDR News which is SlashDot Review. SDR News is a Daily Monday to Friday Technology Podcast with Tech News Highlights from Slashdot, Digg and Reddit. It is a 12 to 14 minute podcast.

Here are a couple of examples of the news from SDRNews

DVR is TV's New BFF | Electronic Frontier Foundation
IT snake oil: Six tech cure-alls that went bunk
TV Finds That a Mortal Foe, the DVR, Is Really a Best Friend - NYTimes.com

He also has CMS Weekly in which he talks about Joomla, Drupal, Alfresco and Wordpress for example.

He actually started podcasting with a Dell computer and a gamer mic, he has a long relationship with the Mac though and as we know the Mac is the best way to go for making podcasts. He edits audio with a few different audio applications including ProTools, he like the encoder to mp3 in that one, find out more in the podcast. The Heil PR40 takes a bow again, it is a very popular mic for the podcasters.He tells me that he still has the packaging for nearly all of the Apple Products he has ever bought.

Andy is getting more interested in making videos now, visiting tech trade show, to interview people, strangely he is using the iSight camera to record them and then send them straight out with UStream video.

He tells me about he favourite applications on the Mac, things like CamTwist, AmadeusPro, Pro Tools, Audacity even?? Andy, like me struggles a bit with Automator, we both think it is a great concept though. Just need a problem to solve with Automator.

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Start my Catalan classes today Tuesday & Thursdays Hope I don't get confused with doing the Spanish classes on 2 other days of the week

Just finished interview of the good people at Telestream talking about their product ScreenFlow version 2 which has just been released

Levelating the Andy McCaskey of SlashDot Review - interview Another Mac20Q podcast coming soon !

There is the milestone of 2k hit with the Twitter. http://ping.fm/RFBjB Now for the next thousand

Was going to record a screencast this morning about ScreenFlow 2 but the plumber is here making too much noise by my recording studio

Mac20Q 67 Podcast featuring Filmutopia

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (38.8MB)

Clive is an avid Mac user and we talk quite a bit about how he uses his Mac with his film making business. He is taking footage from a Red Camera (huge data files) to do rough edits in FinalCutPro. He talks about Final Draft and Celtx.

The Filmutopia company website, where people can see clips from my movies and Clive has a Filmutopia blog, The blog is  published with a new post every Sunday morning  – European time, which I then discuss with readers on twitter.

Here’s a little bit of blurb about about Filmutopia :

Clive Davies-Frayne is a screenwriter and producer, whose company Filmutopia Ltd develops and produces feature films for cinema. So far, Clive has written and directed half a dozen short films, including one which won a UK Royal Television Society award.. and also two feature films. The first “Punx,” never completed due to funding issues… the second “No Place” was made in HD with a $750,000 budget was completed in 2005, but has spent the last four years mired in distribution issues…

Filmutopia was founded after “No Place” was completed, when Clive decided to walk away from his previous production company and a nine year business partnership, in order to change dramatically the way his movies were made, in particular the business strategies adopted. Clive admits “Everything I ever learned about how to make movies, I learned by first getting it completely wrong”

Filmutopia’s latest movie project, “Smoke” is a comedy and is currently in the development phase… the projected budget, €6M.

“After making movies the indie way for years and seeing little in return for my efforts, I decided to look at different way to make, finance, market and distribute movies. My passions are movies and the movie business… I don’t see the two as contradictions. All I want to do is entertain people and make a profit in the process.”

Mac20Q

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Finally got the podcasts out there for Mac20Q and Video 20Q featuring @Filmutopia UK guy in Milan http://bit.ly/2Cj1Td Interesting chat