amazing | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac

dear georgia bunny

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:29:31 -0500

in front of my laptop at the @timeshifted's was this bunny. they are after me and this proves it.

this one too, needed it's photo taken. mark and carol have so much amazing art around their house. everywhere you look there is something that catches the eye.

Tags: bunny art amazing house carol

sundown flowers 5

Sun, 04 May 2008 19:33:40 -0500

i need to learn more about cameras and the software that runs them.

why?

the camera picked up an amazing neon like hue from these flower and they weren't nearly this vibrant in real life.

Tags: flower hue neon weren vibrant

Chickens in them eggs

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:23:24 -0600

Today was daddy day and it all worked out perfectly thanks to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago - free admission.

It's been about a year since I took the kids and thought that Maggie might really enjoy it now that she is older.

When I told them where we were going the first thing she said was, "baby chickens". It's amazing what they remember. The last time she was there she was a year and a half old.

Why can't I remember stuff like that?

Tags: egg incubator MSI Chicago Museum of Science and Industry chicks

Am I, are you, killing photography as art?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 08:08:31 -0600

JD Lasica had a short post about a Newsweek article by Peter Plagens, "Is Photography Dead?", that caught my attention. With my recent flickr addiction and new found ability to find amazing photographs, art quality, at least once a minute simply by refreshing the public timeline, I thought this piece would be spot on.

Turns out, not so much. But a great start to a discussion, yes.

Article summary and writer's argument in a single sentence:

"The advent of digital technology only exacerbated photography's flight into fable."

Reader comment that sums it up accurately (there are ton but this one works):

"With the advances in digital cameras and film, I think the art of photography is accessible to more than it has ever been today."

Read the article comments.

Tags: photography Peter Plagens JD Lasica digital photography photo art

Stepping out of Room 214 into the hallway

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:49:34 -0500

In January of this year I took the position, VP, New Media with Room 214, an internet and search engine marketing company. I brought with me Castlock, the podcasting and rss metrics platform that I developed in early 2006.

This was an exciting opportunity. I had built a solid relationship with the founders of the company over the previous year working closely with them to produce podcasting and new media campaigns for the Alltel Racing podcast (NASCAR driver Ryan Newman), four podcasts for NFL Pro Bowl players during 2006 season and many other client podcasts; all the while holding a position as Associate Director, e-Learning for another company. Many of you might remember us talking about this last January.

The last ten months working for Room 214 have been great, but the time has come for all of us to move on.

What will I do now?

I'm not sure. But I do have quite a few options . . . probably more than I realize. There are a couple that leading the pack right now.

My first option is to make sure my resume is up to the task of assisting me gain new full-time employment. It is pretty amazing how over the last three years podcasting and rss have transitioned to "new media" and are being welcomed into the corporate structure. All that bickering about every company being a media company seems to be coming true!

My second option is to put more energy into my podcast production company, Palegroove Studios, and get back in the saddle for podcast production, consulting and licensing of Castlock. When I started with Room 214 I put it on the back burner since I was doing the same work as my "day job".

My third option, and least viable as a solution, is to go all out Croncast. I would love nothing more than to be doing the show full time and bring video into the mix but this doesn't seem to be the right time.

That's it, that is what's been up around here.

Like any time of transition this is an interesting and exciting time. I am already wondering which path I will end up going down and where the choice(s) that I make will lead my family next.

If you've got any thoughts send them to me from the contact page, email kris[at]croncast.com or send them the old fashioned way and give me a call on my GrandCentral line (thanks Rick!) at 630.445.1719.

Update: I should have added this the first time around (it was in the show notes from Monday!)

Feel freed to check out my Linkedin Profile

Tags: Kris Smith Room 214 VP, New Media Palegroove Castlock

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 03, 2007

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:27:44 -0500
Croncast - 2007-08-03.mp3
Show: #393
Length: 32:41
Size: 22.4mb
Format: mp3
Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 03, 2007

Join Croncast Cronies . . . thanks to all those signed up already!.

Kris is losing his voice
The most emotional day of Jeanie's life ensues
Jeanie wakes up hammered
Betsy woke up and rubbed her feet all over Jeanie
It is the curse of Betsy
Betsy hates feet, can't stand feet
Wants nothing to do with feet
However, she can't keep her feet off of you
She has to put them on you
And these aren't regular feet
They are a women's size 12
A man's size 11 1/2
And they are like meat hooks
Dry, jerky meat hooks
And they are rough and jagged with a sixth toe on each foot
Like the Chinese guy in the Guinness Book
It must be a female thing
Evan yells at me when I do it to him
Why do you gotta put your toes on me?
Get on your own side dude!
Sorry, Mrs. Smith greatest day ever isn't gonna cap out
While I'm dying of alcohol and nicotine poisoning
I wake up and the toilet is full of Kobe of bananas foster
I didn't puke on the floor . . . it is from when I got out of the shower to puke
Jeanie, "This is gross"
We have to get up, today is the second greatest day of my life
The day that I get to go and shoot stuff
I'll have the fruit plate
It comes back as fruit art
We tell the waiter, but it is obvious that Betsy is hungover
The waiter comes back with cappuccino for the ladies
Jeanie gets amped
Somebody give that woman a firearm
Betsy now feels the same way that I did when we were on the ATVs
Even Linda Hogan has to put chin to cleavage and push on
No pressure, step up to the plate
We walk in to Valhalla
Turns out that John is going to help us
There are like 10 bronze Remington statues
Gigantic NRA flags on the wall
Celebrity photos on the wall
John, ex-Navy Seal, comes over and talks to us
I have never listened so hard in my life
"Oh shit, we are really going to do this"
This will be in live combat simulation mode
The bullets will explode
"We do not point the gun at anyone. Including me," John
This is when Jeanie begins to panic
We have to sign a waiver with or social security number
If you had been in the presence of an ex-Navy seal
John comes over and lays down 9mm pistols in front of us
Jeanie looses her color, "I'm trapped in this steal room with pulverizing bullets"
More instructions on how to hold the gun
He helps Jeanie out arm over arm
We are not going to be Olympic competitors if rifle
Ready position
Jeanie pulled . . . and she melted
The Navy Seal saw it coming
He grabs her. Jeanie, "Bull shiiiit!"
All of the sudden there are stars in the sky
She is still standing right next me
I can't quit shaking
Do you need some water?
He grabs lapel, "We have a freaker"
He knew you were going to hit the road
Lodged, malfunction, strike the magazine
Bang, bang, b-bang
Shells are falling all around Betsy's Crocs
Betsy turns around with the gun and Jeanie hits the deck
That is just the beginning
Betsy, "It's OK to go Jeanie"
Trying to be encouraging while crying
Jeanie is the world's best friend
John2 at the front desk watches the uncontrollable shaky Jeanie
Do you want some oxygen?
Finally they send a car
Meanwhile back at Valhalla . . .
OK you shot'em in the head . . . but it doesn't mean they can't still kick your ass
You keep shooting till they don't move
The look on your face is the look in that picture!
John has made a very large impact on your life
I am going to take you to a live scenario room
If this were a long term course we would work on your startle reflex
Betsy is awesome with a pistol
They take Betsy into a biker bar with a terrorist
I know it went down but you've got to keep shooting them
So Betsy clears the room . . . "Clear and cold"
Fear of firearms
John, "We have one more room for you"
He walks Betsy into a biker bar scenario room
Your face baby, oh my god
So in the corner of the bar is a robber
All you can see is his head and arm because it was around a hostage
I turned and dropped him with one shot between the eyes
It was the best feeling that I ever had
So Kris this is what I am thinking . . . a well armed wife is a happy wife
"You cannot beat and armed woman"
They sold purses designed for your concealed weapon
I am putting it out there for birthday
Henry just erased everything off his board and wrote, "I win."
You might be the first person to be turned away at the Unitarian church
I was going to tell Elliot, "Mommy took down a terrorist today"
So now it is time to leave
Cold maze is a good maze
I think something that contributed to my discomfort was not breast feeding for 3 days
To the right of me is a breast pump going full speed
Betsy finished up . . . and says I got to get rid of this stuff
It's like the trucker's pee bombs
Yeah, except this is 90 proof
She looks out window and says, "Are you ready?"
Jeanie, "Why is it going to be beautiful? Is it going to turn into fairy dust"
Is this going to be amazing?
I gotta do this cool because there is a wind going
Betsy throws it out . . . and it comes right back at her
The inside of the Volvo is now covered with breast milk
We stop at the Continental Divide
You remember how I feel about high mountain roads
Betsy, keep talking to me, keep talking
Those nets are to catch landslides
You could have explained pump and dump
All of the sudden we see cable cars
"The highest point on highway 50"
It is gorgeous
I was not feeling well
Jeanie is shaking, exhausted and needs a pick me up
Betsy, what kind of fudge do you want
"What dude," Betsy says Colorado slow
I think that I am freaking out
Now we have to drive down the mountain
Fudge won't help anything
We made it down it ok
But we were following an RV
Can you use those for cars?
No you have to hit the mountain
The RV's brakes were on fire
It took us six hours to get home
That's it, installment 4 of Betsy and Jeanie's trip to Elk Mountain Resort and Valhalla Shooting Club

Audience Survey, please fill this out for us
Look for the graphic on "Audience Survey" on the main page

Tags: Remington Valhalla Shooting Club Linda Hogan Continental Divide shop Betsy Smith Jeanie Bowen

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 01, 2007

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:42:30 -0500
Croncast - 2007-08-01.mp3
Show: #392
Length: 1:05:10
Size: 44.7mb
Format: mp3
Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 01, 2007

Join Croncast Cronies . . . thanks to all those signed up already!.

We've made it into the month of August
You've now crossed into Elk Mountain Resort and Valhalla Shooting Club
Sure you don't want to bitch about Boulder some more?
I like Boulder, there are just some things I don't
We roll up and there is a guard tower
Was he standing there with a rifle?
No, Mr B
It is a gorgeous view
Flanked by beauty
The guard comes ambling up to the Volvo
Your names ladies?
We give them, remember this
"Do you ladies have any firearms with you?"
No firearms in this Volvo
This wagon is clear
He gives us directions
We roll on up
Elk Mountain Resort is beautiful
The valet pulls it four feet away and parks
The woman on hotels.com just kept complaining about it
She is nuts
Jeannie says the place is like Annie
Everyone stands to greet you as you walk in
Then there was Santa Claus
A dude with a white beard and red suit?
No, he had a uniform and a "I love my job smile"
He's got hot towels on a silver platter
He looks at me and says, "Mrs. Smith would you like a towel?"
He looks at Jeannie, "Mrs. Smith would you like a towel?"
Shit, the deal is sealed, we are the dykes
Welcome to first class
It took us 9 hours from Boulder
We'll make everything guided for you
What time would you ladies like dinner?
This Mrs. Smith would like to eat before 7:30
Mrs. Smith and I would like to eat in 45 minutes
Santa has an ear piece and a chest mic
He talks into it and poof the bell hop appears
We get to our room and the view is gorgeous
If you don't like it dial "0"
The bed looks like a cloud from heaven
I got Wal-Mart sheets
Jeanie, "We have robes!"
Hers and hers robes would have been nice
So we get dressed for dinner
It was intimidating, we felt like we didn't fit
Then I bust out the gift certificate
We wanted to play it cool
Sure, you want to fit in
They were nicer than your grandma who hasn't see you in three years
Every time you walk in the door the staff stands
Oh, are you ladies here for dinner?
I'll announce you, then he speaks into his lapel, "The Smiths are here for dinner."
You haven't told them yet?
No I was waiting for Jeannie
Who's the man, the big footed one with a bad perm
Are there any other guests at the resort?
Two other men not talking
There were 10 total guests at the resort
We order our dinner and they ask for drinks
My mom always orders the house wine, the cheap stuff
I'll have a Mountain Dew won't go over well
Jeannie hates red wine but follows Betsy's lead
Hi, I'm Chef Jeff, which house wine is best for you?
They start bringing out bread baskets and baked stuff
Chef Jeff is like, "Fuck dude! I worked on that all day and you can't say it."
I look at Jeannie, I can tell she doesn't like it
Been there and done that
Jeannie is woofing it down
I have to eat at least half of it
The two men eating alone are now joined by someone I recognize
The owner that I had seen on The Daily Show
Kris if you kick it up a notch we can do this every weekend
He comes over to the table
Asks what activities we are going to do
ATV's and shooting
We are the only resort in the entire world to have access for ATV's
Jeannie, "I love the outdoors but I can't go up high"
Our ATV's are automatic
They've thought of everything
Yes, everything
On the ride you will come to a place called Top of the World
So high that airplanes will fly below
Then he launches in to the special lights
These are based on the biologic make up of a lobster's eye
They are used to melt the snow to make an ice tunnel
Mr. Foreman continues to talk about the press they have gotten
A book on the NYT Best Sellers list is based at Elk Mountain Resort
He had me sold . . . I wanted to kiss a bear and drive to the top of the world
Why would you think that you couldn't do something?
Tom Foreman makes you believe that you can do anything
Enter the rest of the guests
Three sets of couples that look like my neighbors
Fit soccer moms?
Yes, Kris
I just drove 4 states over to get away from them
Now they are going to spoil my mountain view
Mr. Foreman goes over to the new couples
The super sweet firebox
Then our food comes
Every time there was another opportunity to be put in our place
We were still really awkward
Betsy has a bowl of puss and I get a bowl of noodles
It was couscous Jeannie
Jeannie starts to panic, all I get are these noodles
Campbell's has everything including broth
Then they bring the broth
After that they bring out dinner
The whole thing was terrific
Except that we were both completely terrified
To get over the petrification of being treated so well and Elk Mountain Resort stay more nights
Kris you are the king of upgrade
So after dinner Santa jumps up
We get our bill after dinner
Betsy goes white
Shut up Jeannie, I'll tell you later
The one thing you can't return is food
What I was freaking out about was that our house wine turned out to be $18 a glass
From their perspective, the lesbians aren't satisfied
Chef Jeff asks if dinner was to their liking
Then Thomas comes over and asks
After that the waitress comes up
Sure, they are trained like the CIA to read unhappiness
What would you ladies like to do?
We would like a jacuzzi?
Our eyes meet and we realize . . . they aren't out to get us . . . they are out to spoil us
Drinking our sangria in the hot tub
The cheap wine was awesome
Betsy took 100 pics of the tops of trees
At the Boulder art fair there was a dude with aspen photos
So we retire to the room and Jeannie puts on a robe
Sliding into the bed of heaven
Mrs. Smith, this is going to be the greatest night of my life
The greatest part of this is that I have no kids to wake me up
Betsy wakes up at 6:01 for coffee and viewing birds that were probably released for my pleasure
Do you know how much this is costing per minute? Get up Jeannie
We decide to take a hike
We start to walk by workers that gardening
When they see you they stop, stand, smile and ask you if you need anything
Landscapers saw us, they froze like deer
When we went by them they commenced working again
Tom has thought of everything
When a crossed eyed man in golf cart tells you "good luck" heed his warning
People are freezing along the trail "I'm a tree. I'm a tree. I'm a tree"
Maybe the trail was made for someone who came one time
Betsy, they did not release cows into the national forest for you to view
Queue the cattle
Someone left it on the comment card no doubt
Gotta watch out for the feral cows
Jeannie was petrified of them
Now you know why he told you good luck
That guy used to not be cross eyed till a cow incident
We can hear them shrieking and yelling
There they are . . . the soccer moms on the zip line
Whew, my Nike sports bra is twisted
We are on our way back
Jeannie freezes as we stand on Have you told anyone that you are not Mrs. Smith?
I see two brown ears rising out of this draining ditch
Out jumps a giant mule deer
Betsy chases it to take it's photo
The lesbians are crazy!
What are the lesbians doing now?
Time for lunch on the patio
We need some cigarettes and an ashtray
"Can I have an ashtray?"
She speaks into her cleavage mic
Around the corner, "I'm on it"
I know it is fun to play spies but this is weird
It was awesome though, instant ashtray
Lesbians are on porch, queue deer
Queue the geese
Then the soccer moms come bouncing back fit and tan
"Where are you guys from?"
Bloomington. "We are going to drive through there."
Their husbands, reserved and uptight
Screw it, this is all about me
I am going to make the soccer moms laugh
She swore that she was thirsty and all the sudden water showed up
"Guess how many kids we have?"
I don't know this is a game?
We have 10 combined?
How many are girls?
One
Then they struck a bad ass soccer mom pose
They brought things like running shoes
Betsy brought Crocs and sandals
Perfect lesbian gear
The soccer moms told us that the ATV's were awesome
We get ready to go and Misha shows up
I have done this ride 500 times and not lost 1 person yet
She takes out these top gun flight suits
I brought you the biggest ones we have
Betsy, "Of course mine won't zip up"
Jeannie, "neither will mine"
Jeannie you rock!
This could be customer service boot camp
Their motto must be "we are not going to tell you no"
They actually import vans from Europe to fit through their gates
Probably because it is more aesthetically pleasing
This is my new motto, "It is all about me"
Betsy gives me the thumbs up and then hits a tree
So we're going up the mountain
Jeannie is flying behind Misha
Betsy is stuck
I look down and my left hand has the brake so tight that I won't move
When you got on the quad the Unitarian in you took over
It was trying to save you
Oh, I'm sorry when was the last time you drove an ATV up a mountain
Betsy is trying to avoid the sticks
"Mam, that is an all terrain vehicle. Run over the sticks."
Hitting trees really hurts
Right before we get to The Top of the World
I look up and it is all Aspens and cattle
Jeannie starts to freak
Get me past that cow so fast
I am getting away from that cow so fast
Kris, we got to the top of mountain
You can see Utah, three mountain ranges at 9000 ft
We both had brown mustaches
It added to the lesbianism
Every time Betsy talks to the staff it is about her husbands and kids
Talk into your chest, the lesbians are not lesbians
These people are awesome
Misha ran a camp for bad ass kids
Like outward bound? Way scarier
Working at Elk Mountain Resort is top of the food chain
You have got to put in your time
John of course is an ex-Navy Seal
He is bad ass
You feel amazingly comfortable and slightly scared
I love men like that. Don't you Jeannie
Sure, he was handsome too
OK, time for this podcast to end
We ended on the ATV's and it was time to drink
Don't hand the truck driver the bottle
Four or five inches of vodka
Kris, we almost drank an entire bottle of vodka
Jeannie is naked in a robe and slippers
We are ripped
You are so awesome . . . No, you are so awesome
I look at clock and it is 9:00 p.m. and we haven't eaten
We dial "0" and they tell us that the dining room is still open for us
We arrive and there are flames to the ceiling
Chef Jeff is making bananas foster
The soccer moms start to speak to us
Betsy with her vodka mouth
"Are we going to be on your webcast?", soccer moms
Jeannie loves it when I get out of control
"We should introduce ourselves"
No that is OK, I already have a name for you, "The bad ass soccer moms"
It could go either way
Then the leader dies laughing
Right, there has to be an Alpha mom in the group
Yes, the one with the longest Escalade, the EXT
So Chef Jeff comes over
Betsy, "A-1 Jeff we're trashed. Can I call you Chef Jeff from now on"
That's not chatting it up that is drunk babble
Chef Jeff really made it
We don't go to gourmet restaurants and have the chef talk to us for 40 minutes
It was entirely phenomenal
Kris, I know we have talked about how I challenged the Russian to a vodka drinking contest
Can I take it back when you order the most expensive item on the menu?
And I was on the urge of vomiting
Kobe beef times 2 with bananas foster
Betsy looks at me like you better eat that bitch
Chef Jeff is buying us drinks
And I have to deny him because now I can't see him
I don't know where I am at
We stumble back to our room
There is that point, where you realize that I am done my man
Jeannie deals with Betsy, I am sick
I will lay in the bed of heaven
Betsy has the her cigarettes and the camera around her neck
You ticked me off
You don't like me anymore?
I'll like you tomorrow
You just ripped my underwear and are out of control
I proceed to go to the most beautiful bathroom in the states
And I don't even have to use my muscles
I have an exorcism of the most expensive meal I have ever ate
More babbling from Betsy
Typical Betsy move, "I made myself throw up"
This is the best planned bathroom of all time
6 feet from toilet to wall on a slate floor
Betsy made a bed right there with a Turkish robe
And I fell asleep on that cold stone slate floor and it felt so good
As I was falling asleep I thought to myself . . .
I love John, Misha, Chef Jeff and I love Tom the most
Why? Because he was smart enough to put a twin bed in the water closet
I don't know what we were thinking by drinking so much
I have nicotine and alcohol poisoning . . . I need to dial "0"
We have to do another show for Valhalla
It was the most emotional day of Jeannie's life
Sorry about your underwear dude
I'll get you a Target gift certificate
These were Victoria Secret
Do you know how much stuff I will have to find and sell from Goodwill?
Final installment of Elk Mountain Resort and Valhalla comes your way tomorrow!

Audience Survey, please fill this out for us
Look for the graphic on "Audience Survey" on the main page

Tags: kobe beef bananas foster Elk Mountain Resort Valhalla Shooting Club Chef Jeff bad ass soccer moms

PodCampNYC gets done

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:59:56 -0500
It's taken a day and a half of recovery but I'm ready for a quick post about PodCampNYC. I had a great time, met a ton of nice people and talked podcasting, RSS and mmRSS for a rock solid 12 hours.

If I was forced to make a decision about which of the PodCamps that I have attended my favorite would be this one. John C. Havens and his team of volunteers did an amazing job of organizing a very large scale event on a limited budget. For those of you not familiar with PodCamp these events are free to attend. They are called "unconferences" since the only thing that is the same is that you get to brand your event with the title PodCamp.

PodCamp is a ground up, grass roots type of deal that is put on by someone with a passion for the medium. And PodCampNYC was no different. For me, best one yet. I'll have a complete run down of why on my work blog, Capture the Conversation later today.

Me with John (taken by C.C. Chapman)

Tags: unconference John C. Havens PodCampNYC mmRSS podcasting conference

Ron asks, 'What Equipment Do You Use?'

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:27:57 -0600
It's been a while since I talked about the equipment that I use and no time seems better than now thanks to this question:
"Can you tell me what microphones and mixer you use to record Croncast? (I heard the "expensive" microphone show recently and I had to laugh--I'm more interested in two microphones that are in the $100-$125 price range [each]).
Thanks!," Ron
Here's what currently makes up my audio signal path, hardware and software for Croncast.

2 - Marshall MXL 2003 microphones (Ron, for an extra $25 you won't be disappointed) [link]
2 - Universal Audio 6176 channel strips w/ preamp and compressor [link]
1 - PreSonus Firepod [link]
1 - Sony VGC-RB62G computer [link]
1 - Sony Sound Forge 8 audio editor [link]
1 - Waves L2 Ultramaximizer mastering compressor [link]
1 - Sony Vegas 6 multitrack for putting show together [link]
1 - Xing MP3 encoder (included in Vegas) encoded to Joint Stereo, 96 Kbps at 44.1 KHz
1 - MP3 Tag Tools to edit ID3 tags [link]
1 - iTunes to add more meta-data specific to iTunes (I can explain way below this)

This is what takes a Croncast from nothing to something.

Here's the breakdown.

Marshall Electronics MXL 2003 [link] microphones . . . I recommend these mics to everyone that asks. And after recently cheating on them with a Neumann U87ai I like them even more. With a price tag of $149 at most dealers you can't go wrong. We've used them now for two years and I own five of them. The sound is clear, they knock a lot of ambient noise down and their pick up pattern is second to none with a great low end and limited high end. The mic comes with a bass cut and a -10dB pad switch that can help when finding the right sound for your voice and recording space. These are phantom power microphones so I need a preamp.

Universal Audio 6176 [link] analog channel strip with 610 Tube Microphone preamp and 1176LN compressor. These two units are a new piece to the puzzle. They've replace the dbx 166XL that I was using for some limiting. The 6176's bring a nice warm sound to the shows that the 166XL didn't have. Most studios use them for recording bass tracks or heating up/distorting some vocals but I prefer them on a little lower setting to add a level bass and compression to our voices that would take me a couple of hours to create in post production through eq and other plug-ins.

PreSonus Firepod [link] is a 24-bit/96K FireWire recording interface with 8 preamplifiers (8 XLR/line inputs with phantom power). I originally bought this to replace an M-Audio MobilePre that was flaking out and causing intermittent popping in tracks. The reason that I chose the Firepod was primarily the 8 XLR inputs with phantom power to multitrack instead of force output to a single stereo track . . . a huge plus when recording more than 4 voices for a show. Also, if the UA 6176 wasn't part of the signal chain anymore I could live with the sound, I did for five months.

Sony VGC-RB62G [link] Intel Dual Core 2.8GHz with 2GB RAM. I've done little modification of this box other than adding a new video card, an extra FireWire card, a gig of RAM and a second hard drive. Usually, I prefer to build my own computer but was in the middle of the Alltel Racing Podcast when the old one died and I needed something right away. I went to Fry's and this box was best thing that they had in stock that met my requirements. It is or was sold as a Media PC and came with remote, surround speaker set up and more software than I could care to have (primarily the shit that just gums up the system). The only complaint that I have had so far with this computer is that every input in the back of it USB, FireWire or 1/8' has a ton of electrical noise in it when used for recording. I am forced to use the front 4 pin FireWire input for what should normally be a transparent sound recording.

Sony Sound Forge 8 [link] audio editor. This is the software that I record the shows into. I have been using Sound Forge for the last 7 years. When I got my first computer in 1999 at age 25 I learned how to use it by working with Steinberg's WaveLab (another great audio editor) but late in that year switched to Sound Forge. WaveLab had a lot of great features but they never compared the bundle of plug-ins that came with or for Sound Forge. WaveLab relied on the VST model and Sound Forge on Direct-X which meant that there were also more plug-ins to choose from. The killer plug-in was the Noise Reduction tool that prior to version 7 (maybe 6) wasn't bundled with the license. It is the best noise reduction tool on the market. I've heard most of the rest first hand, even the ones used in million dollar studios and would still choose the one in Sound Forge. I don't use Noise Reduction on our show but when doing post on audio recorded out of the studio I use it about 90% of the time.

Waves L2 Ultramaximizer [link] mastering compressor. Yep, I already ran the audio signal through an amazing compressor in the 6176 but the L2 puts the finishing touches on the wav file before I close out Sound Forge. This plug-in is the secret in my sauce. I have used it for about four years and find it's sound brighter, more open and louder than any other including Ozone 2 or 3 (which is an attempt to recreate the sound at a lower cost).

Sony Vegas 6 [link] multitrack video editor. Video? Did Kris just say, video? I sure did. When this product was first developed by Sonic Foundry it started out as a multitrack audio mastering suite that was supposed to be an upgrade from their Acid line of software. That didn't quite work out and they released a second version for video. With two competing versions on the market they made the wise decision to morph them together into Vegas Video, Sonic Foundry was bought by Sony and the rest is history. I use Vegas basically the same way that I use Dreamweaver for coding pages, as a template. All i have to do for Croncast is plug in each new recording on the timeline and poof there is a fully mastered show.

Xing MP3 encoder (included in Vegas) all shows are encoded to Joint Stereo, 96 Kbps at 44.1. This lowest quality that I will encode my own work to or for that of a client. This range is somewhat higher than many podcasters will recommend for a speech driven show but I find that anything less sound hollow and purely focuses on midrange sounds. Blah. At a bit rate lower than 96 Kbps most audio encoders, like this one, won't allow for a sample rate of 44.1 KHz. I used to encode the shows to a lower value two years ago when we first started but then iTunes came to town and studios started cranking out CD quality audio files. Once that bar was raised I figured it was okay for me to join that party.

MP3 Tag Tools [link] to edit ID3 tags. It is open source and the best ID3 tag editor that I have found. It will allow you to make changes to version 1 and 2 tags that will cover most of the popular media players like WinAmp, Windows Media Player and iTunes. It'll even let you add up to 18 images per file in the album art that can be displayed in iTunes.

iTunes for adding iTunes specific data to the ID3 tag. Didn't you already do this? Sort of. iTunes uses on the variances of the ID3 V2 tag standard to display meta data that is included with the MP3.

That is it friends. Once all that crap has happened it is time to upload the show to the server, fire up Castlock, start adding show notes and then make the show available for download.

Tags: MXL 2003 Universal Audio 6176 PreSonus Firepod Waves L2 Ultramaximizer Sony VGC-RB62G

Brotherhood's heart beginning to beat

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 07:16:10 -0500

Brotherhood, an original series from Showtime has finally started to come to life after 4 episodes. It is too bad that it took this long. If it weren't for OnDemand I wouldn't have recorded them or even cared after the second episode.
Why? The cinematography is a slipshod style with wide angles (that finally work) and color blown out of most shots for a gritty feel. The story is slowly progressing but like all new shows the introduction of characters seemed forced and predictable. Not a recipe for entertainment success.
But that wasn't it. My real problem with the show was and still is editing. The replaying of multiple shots, rough cuts and the worst, from this audio guys humble opinion, is the sound design. Background and meaningless sounds are brought to the front of the audio mix and they seem out of place. How about a deck of cards being shuffled cranked up so high that it sounds like someone eating an ice cream cone at warp speed.
At episode 4 things are coming together. The photography is meshing with the story, the reuse of shots seems to have stopped and the characters are a little less predictable than before. If you haven't seen Brotherhood I do recommend it as a good study of, "What would I do in that situation?".
BTW, I did figure out why the sound design in some of these episodes is off . . . at the end of episode 3 there is a great sequence for a Nine Inch Nails song that is total rock star video. And, amazingly, it fits with the story. I'm thinking they blew the audio budget getting the rights to the song and the audio engineer is some guy's 8 year old kid.

Tags: Brotherhood Showtime Sho sound design TV