With my last Video20Q recording I had the gain set too high & I have to re record quite a bit of my side of the interview.....

Trying out some software for Twitter called Tweetadder. interesting & seems useful http://is.gd/5xrtA I will let you know how it goes.

Just interviewed @Kingisafink for Video20Q Podcast. Excellent pair of film makers with some great ideas for movies. Loved talking to them !

@phoric That is so true - The #Wordpress community is great!

When I was trying to fix something in WordPress I changed the setting from UTF-8 to UTF-16 in the read options - Now is all chinese ??????

If you have something to say about how you use your Mac talk to me on the Mac 20 Questions Podcast. Lets talk Mac !

Updated 2 of my blogs to WordPress 2.9 going well so far. Not much in the way of changes it seems ??

Now ingesting into FinalCut Express all of the footage from Liverpool Tweetup - Great bunch of folks that I met in the flesh this weekend !

Finished the edit of @Philontilt interview - now to turn it into a podcast. Good to hear back what we were talking about - interesting man

Just back at my desk after a WE in England. Have to finish editing a podcast this morning and looking at the video I shot in Liverpool later

I downloaded the maps for the centre of Liverpool to OffMaps on my iPhone as I will not use data roaming in England too expensive thanks O2

No Electricity tomorrow morning - Thats a pain when I have to be getting ready to go to Liverpool. Will have to more sorting out today

Back to the editing this morning of Podcast 12 for Video20Q Can be a tedious job but it has to be done to get it to the best it can be

Video news - looking forward to the Liverpool Tweetup on Friday. http://bit.ly/6F2AjA

The latest Mac20Q Podcast 76 features Simon Bainbridge from the UK. http://bit.ly/5kDIZm

I have set up a Fan page for Mac 20 Questions podcast. Join and be part of the group http://bit.ly/5URLx7

Watching a classic movie on the TV - The Exorcist with Linda Blair. Head turning green puke pumping horrifyingly scary 70's flick

Pants, socks & tech gear. There will not be any more room in the bag for the trip to Liverpool. http://bit.ly/6F2AjA tech enabled underwear?

used iMovie to capture video with the iSight camera in the iMac. worked better than direct to YouTube recording - edited in FinalCut Express

Done the edit of the interview of Wizardgold News for today and published via Blip TV. It will go to YouTube too!

Wizardgold News

Click to Play

Just about preparations for the Liverpool Tweetup which is in a couple of days

Podcast 76 with Simon Bainbridge - Mac 20 Questions

Simon and I talked about how he uses his Mac. he is a tech support guy working with Windows installation in the main. There is on place that has Macs so he has to be content with having fun with his Mac when he gets home.

Simon is planning to start a Mac podcast soon in which he will be doing reviews of Mac software mainly and probably other stuff too. I am looking forward to hearing and seeing the screencasts that he brings out.

He likes to use iMovie and is planning to get the latest version soon to be able to do a better job with the screencasting for the podcast. I did tell him about ScreenFlow for the screen capture part of the job, but he already has different software for it.

In my ramble I talk about the Liverpool Tweetup which is starting on Friday which I am so looking forward to. There are some of the group celebrating birthdays so I expect there will be some boozing. With me being a teetotaller it won’t make a difference to me. Will be a pile of fun anyway.

I might also see if I can catch a movie while I am there too. I wonder if Avatar will be showing in Liverpool at the weekend. So long as I don’t have to go to do too much shopping although part of the meet up includes going to the AppleStore.

Look out for the podcast that will come out of the face to face interviews. We should have loads to talk about.

Mac 20 Questions

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Just watched the trailer for Avatar & I can't wait to see it. Looks completely wicked I will see it more than once I think

Published today latest Podcast from Mac20Q featuring Simon Bainbridge http://bit.ly/5kDIZm He tells us what he does with his Mac

For Mac Eyes Only, Mac Power users, Buzz out Loud, Fri Comedy, Podcast AnswerMan, MacMost, Mac Voices, Mac Geek Gab - that'll keep me busy !

26 new podcasts coming in to iTunes to listen to - inc The DV show, Bagel tech News Nosillacast Mac Break Weekly cranky geeks Jonathan Ross

I am freezing my wits off here at home so I just got the fire going. Should have done it earlier

Next job to do is the podcast intro for Mac20Q.com Netcast 76 for the interview I did with Simon Bainbridge from the UK

Just did a video response to @donmcallister video comment. Just for fun. Will be interesting to see how the iSight camera in the iMac does

I watched THE AGE OF STUPID interesting movie a different way of presenting a documentary. just right with Copenhagen event taking place

Four Eyed Monsters film maker Arin Crumley speaks to the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, http://is.gd/5nAJH

De essing audio and syncing with video

I was making the Hunting Boar movie, because using the mic on the camera is a bad idea because the sound is always rubbish. Far better to use an external mic and the put the sound in after. I used the sound off the camera to help me line up the audio from the Zoom H2 recorder. In this video I show the steps I took to line the sound up in AmadeusPro, which is my preferred audio editor. I could have done it perhaps in FinalCut Express but I can see the wave form of the audio better in AmadeusPro. That way I get a better alignment of the sound with the video. At some point in time I will have to try and match my voice again with the video in the ADR way of working. The actor has to repeat over the short pieces of dialogue to match them with the lip movement. Lip syncing....

How to do the sync of audio recorded separately from the video off the camcorder. 

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Mac 20 Questions Tip 15. Match sound & de essing

Click to Play

http://mac20q.com - I use Amadeus Pro to line up some audio. One version from a Zoom H2 recorder with a Lavalier Mic connected and the other is the audio recorded by the Canon Vixia camera on board microphone. I also use Amadeus to de ess the audio Distributed by Tubemogul.

Finally got the video output from FinalCut Express and I got it out the right size both pixels and megabites. FCE did a good job of it

Had the job done with export from FinalCut Express and crunched well with Visual Hub & THEN notice an editing mistake - Grrrrr!!!

This time I am trying Visual Hub to crunch the video down in size rather than MPEG StreamClip. Lets see how that will work out

Cold windy day here in Catalonia - weather forecast said it could snow. I will believe that when I see it though...

Making a 2nd attempt to export out of FinalCut Express as I messed it up good & Proper last time. fingers crossed for good fortune

I think I will try again as suggested by @paulmcgovern29 to see if I can make it better direct from FinalCut Express

And the result of the crunching with MPEG StreamClip of the 6.2GB is 73 MB - Wicked or what still 1280 by 720 - not too pleased with quality

Sending the 6.2 GB file from FinalCut Express to MPEG StreamCLip to get it ready for uploading. Lets see how small we can make it now

Giving Socialite a try today instead of Tweetie. I like the way I can have Facebook and RSS feeds in there as well as Digg & Flickr

Just been a guest on the MacCraic Podcast. Chatting with the lads. funny guys as usual. Enjoyed it. @justingbyrne & @dshortle suits you sir!

Time now to take the dog out for a walk and listen to the latest MacCraic Podcast. Talking to them later this evening too

Running like a girlie from the WIld Boar in a movie

What does a grown man do when in the jungle or forest hunting boar, run like a girlie of course…

I went int the forest next door and took my Canon Vixia with me to film something. I used the technique of putting the camera on a mono pod and putting the end of it in the top of my trousers. I am sure it must have looked rude. I saw the technique being demonstrated in a YouTube video and thought I should have a go. The main point was to have some footage to play with in FinalCut Express. I wanted to use the Ripple, roll slip and slide tools for arranging the clips on the time line. Really keen to make something creative with the camera and my Mac too.

Here is the result of the adventure and I will be putting up another Mac20Q Quick Tip about what I was doing with the sound also. I recorded the sound with the Zoom H2 recorder and a wired lavalier mic and matched up the sound after in AmadeusPro. It worked nicely.

See the movie on YouTube

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I see that the indie movie 'Age of Stupid' is on tomorrow on the BBC. It is about climate change & I saw it mentioned at pixelpower event

First interview this evening was with Simon Bainbridge for Mac20Q Good mac guy tells me about his web site coming soon with screencasts

Interviewed @Philontilt the film maker for Video20Q. We had a great chat about movies & also a bit about the Mac for Mac20Q. Great Bloke

Working on a new Mac20Q Tips video. matching together sound from the Zoom H2 with the sound from the Canon Vixia camcorder

Boar Hunting

Click to Play

In the forest hunting wild boar. Well to be precise more of running away from wild boar

Was just out in the forest shooting some video - Hunting the wild Boar - Now to FinalCut Express

ON Wizardgold YouTube Channel I have tutorials & reviews for the Mac http://bit.ly/tJ4qH

downloading Chrome, just set up an applescript, made a screencast, updated Text Expander and got the calendar for the World cup- what a day!

For the Weekend I have a couple of interviews lined up - one is - A Mac user for Mac20Q & the other is a film maker for Video20Q

Using MPEG StreamClip to encode the video for Mac20Q Tip 14 in which I do a review of Skimmer

Director of 'Written in Blood' movie talking on BBC Midlands talking about raising money for making movies

Just recorded a Mac20Q QT which is a first look & review of Skimmer a social Network App. With ScreenFlow. http://ping.fm/2us4M

Watched a movie on TV I have seen at least 2 times before. Julia Roberts in Erin Brockavitch. Good story though

Helped out my son get his Mac sorted out after the Snow Leopard upgrade. Some small tweaking needed with FinalCut. I'm good for something !?

I used a lavalier mic connected to my Zoom H2 audio recorder then took the audio to match up with video in FinalCut Express - worked a treat

After seeing Don getting new lights today & with the shooting for green screen I was doing I need to sort out some 3 point lighting

When I was testing out the chromakey in FinalCut Express I found it useful to crop out unnecessary parts of the shot. Less to key out!

having a go with the green screen in FinalCut Express - takes more setting up than in iMovie

I am free today to record an interview - Mac20Q Video20Q Photo20Q Contact me now if you want to be featured & are ready to record

MacMostNow guy Gary Rosenzweig talks to Mac20Q podcast75

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:54 — 27.6MB)

Gary Rosenzweig pictured here in an English pub  (Mind you if he was doing it properly he would have a pint of beer in his hand) talked to Mac20Q about what he does with MacMost Video. He has been very busy producing Mac tips in video form for about 2 years and is doing very nicely on YouTube.

He was previously into making games with Flash and still might do the odd game. He has also made an app for the iPhone. So as you can see he is multi talented with the programming, podcasting with video, writing books, drinking beer and probably many other things too. He is successful in bringing in revenue from his podcasting, He has the links on the MacMost site and apart from one month doesn’t have the advertising in the videos.

Gary also has an Sony HDV camera which is plugged into his MacPro and he records live into Wirecast which comes from the same company as ScreenFlow. I was amazed that his preference for movie editing was with iMovie because it is so fast to do the editing. He could use FinalCut Express but prefers iMovie. He compresses the file at the end of it all with MPEG StreamClip. He uploads to Blip.tv and it will send the file off to YouTube which saves some time with the uploading. Naturally you will find Gary on FaceBook and Twitter.

He recommends that if you want to get into video podcasting and you don’t yet have a HD Camera then just shoot in standard def. move up to HD when you are able to. If you wait until everything is perfect then you will never get to make a podcast.

Gary admits to being a geek, and using terminal editor on his tiny netbook rather than using the Ubuntu that was installed. He was using EEE Ubuntu. He has been using as Mac for a long time though and was issued a Mac SE in 1987 when he was in college. It was a requirement to have a Mac there.

For a favourite application he has to choose between Garageband and iMovie, but was perhaps edging towards iMovie more. Gary does use Audacity and although it is a free application I would recommend that you use AmadeusPro, it looks prettier, more Mac like and I think it is more stable too.

He uses Fluid the custom browser application that you can use to make a web application for one specific purpose. I have it for FaceBook but Gary uses it for a Todo application. he is an iPhone user and use MocaVNC, Tweetie, Cycle Meter, and Scrabble plus other games. On the MacMost Newsletter he does a recommended iPhone app of the week.

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I tried out Waveboard the Wave Mac Application & was not impressed. was expecting something more Mac like. I expect there will be more later

Latest Mac20Q Podcast ready to upload Talking to Gary Rosenzweig from MacMost Video. Talking about creating new media content on a Mac

Has anyone made a Mac Application for Google Wave yet? Is it something possible?

That XFactor is weird - Olly gets through and that Danyl is a better singer by a long way.

Batteries needed changing in the MagicMouse seems strange to put my hand around the MightyMouse instead..

Downloading next 13 podcasts to listen to or watch. Cranky Geeks, Maccast, MacCraic, The DV show, MacVoices, Mac Eyes Only, BuzzOut-Loud

Toying with the idea of moving the audio studio to the basement where I can make a dedicated sound room with the proper sound panels

Video showing how to use MPEG StreamClip http://bit.ly/4yLhbB Very useful tool for crunching video clips prior to & after Final Cut

Time to take the dog for her walk - Think I will listen to Mac Break Weekly Podcast while walking

I would like to give a big thankyou to @leolaporte & @PatMahon for providing the most fun I've had on Twitter for a long time.

Extra looking forward to Liverpool Tweetup we will have so much to talk about..

Walking down the street a guy in a flash suit gets out of his mercedes & says can you spare a $2 for a cup of coffee. What do you say ?

Leo that makes $1.5 million a year has the begging bowl out - http://bit.ly/6H7QRA Support podcast start ups instead filling his pocket !

Just phoned my brother in Newcastle to wish him happy birthday. I usually sing my birthday greeting in a humorous manner, just for fun

Podcasting this morning for Video20Q. The interview of @Newmediadude is just right to go there as well as on Mac 20 Questions

The NewMediaDude talks to Mac20Q - Podcast 74

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (29.4MB)

Whether you want to find out more about The Office In The Cloud, New Media Analytics, Monetizing Your Content, Beginning Podcasting, Make Your Green Screen Shots Look Great On The Web, Mobile Devices and TV, Extending Your Brand With An iPhone App, using Twitter For Leads, then the place to start learning about these topics is at 

Center For New Media Studies.

Marcelo is the NewMediaDude an he talks to me about his new media business and about how he creates new media and gets paid for it. As you can see he is shy because he only supplied me with a very small photo of himself, despite being a handsome man. I thought at first that I should pronounce his name in the Italian way but he informed me that the correct way is the Argentinian or possibly French. Aren’t we being very international here on Mac20Q.

Honestly though I had a great talk with Marcelo and I know you will learn things from what he had to say as well as enjoy the interview. He has a pro camera with the Sony EX1, I know is good because my son who is a professional cameraman has one the same and the guys at Double Edge Films told me that either they would like one of they have one, can’t remember which right now.

Marcelo Lewin, CEO / Founder
As the CEO and founder of Center For New Media Studies and CNMS TV, Marcelo Lewin is in charge of the vision, the day to day operations of the company and building strategic partnerships and alliances. Previously, Marcelo founded and was the CEO of Pixel Heads Network, which was acquired by ProMAX Systems in 2008. Prior to that he founded My Internet Desktop, which was acquired by Internet Appliance Network in 2000. Having worked with a variety of companies, from Walt Disney Imagineering to NBC to Toyota, he is always on the forefront of interactive and new media projects.

I have looked at his site and it is certainly impressive and I have signed up to see on of his Webinars later this month.

Marcelo was telling that sometimes it is just him working alone like a one man band with his camera, sound gear and the cymbals attached to his knees, a harmonica around his neck  and a large drum on his back. That has got to be funny to look at. Seriously though he asks the questions and holds the camera and I can only imagine how difficult that can be trying to control some impressive technology at the same time. Marcelo is a great guy and I really enjoyed talking to him.

Find out more at Mac 20 Questions.

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doing some audio testing with a new lavalier mic connected to my zoom H2 recorder & it is working out well in AmadeusPro using filters

Just finished editing the interview for Mac20Q Podcast 74 talking to @NewMediaDude. The guy really knows his stuff with video podcasting !

So pleased to get talking to Gary from MacMost Podcast. Really nice bloke to talk to about Macs and podcasting. Very good interview

Making the Steadicam with shelf brackets, Universal Joint, skateboard bearing + bits. Should be ready very soon balance adjust will be vital

Making a Merlin type steady cam. did some drilling & sticking with glue - have to wait 12 hours for the glue to dry now. Looking excellent

Now to do some editing of audio - interview of @newmediadude. Looking forward to listening to him again. Good tech chat for Mac20Q

Dog walked - Nosillacast and Bageltech news podcasts listened to. thank goodness Bart wasn't talking Belgian railways this week...

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