Audacity with Mustang I amp

Today I finished a video made of many photos and short video clips. The last step was to add a guitar track. I figured it would be easy to use my iRig for iPad, but that involved downloading an app with a bit of a learning curve so I gave up. I need a track added today.

So I tried using the USB cable straight from my Mustang I amp to the Mac. Audacity didn't recognize it so I sought help online. It sounded complicated, to add drivers and get into some awkward audio settings in the Mac. Then I thought, now that everything is set up and hooked together, guitar and all, what if I just reboot the computer?

Macs are pretty smart. So is Audacity. And the price is right, for this open source software (free)!

When I opened Audacity, I was delighted to find that the audio input included my usual built-in microphone, and a Fender Mustang choice. I was shocked it was so simple.

When I selected the amp as the input device, and started recording and playing, it recorded the guitar and nothing else. Fantastic! I laid a few tracks. The only issue I've found is that the guitar was recorded at a fairly low level, even though the amp and guitar were nearly maxed out in volume controls. Some people have commented online with various settings that repair that or prevent it. 

Given this was my first try, I'm delighted with the results. I boosted the level of the tracks, exported to an AIFF file, and imported it as an audio track in Photoshop to be compiled with my video tracks. Next time the whole process will be easier and I'll produce something that I can show as a sample, and I'm excited to be making progress with my guitar playing too. I only started playing this year, after a few rough starts when I was younger, so now I can add my own guitar tracks when necessary. I've also got the hang of video editing in today's software, and getting more practice with making small video projects in my neighbourhood and family, almost on a daily basis.

Yesterday I took my new GoPro camera up Christmas Hill park, to get a view of the region all from one spot. It worked great, and that too has a learning curve. GoPro comes with it's own software to edit and prepare files. Given that the HD and better resolution files are relatively huge, I want to keep the process manageable on my basic iMac. When you open video files, and start adding music, voice tracks, and multiple tracks of annotation and animated graphics, the computer indeed does struggle to keep up. I'm grateful it doesn't actually crash, but one needs to be patient with huge Photoshop files.

Educational video graphics sample in progress

It's already been a few weeks since I studied an intense intro to motion graphics. I gathered some footage to practice with and decided on an educational roadside ecology lesson, that takes me back to college when I learned a lot about Garry Oak trees.

This project ate up my time today, in addition to going for a long walk in Swan Lake park that resulted in getting drenched during a moderate rain spell.

It's about 10:00pm and I'm still a bit damp feeling from that walk, while I work on my Garry Oak video clips.

I'm busily creating new samples of my recent interests like animation and motion graphics. This video may not need motion elements, because it's already filled with short segments of different features of trees, and I'm not adding any cartoon characters...or maybe I should!

It's all good practice. Adding and/or animating elements in a video, such as text overlays, requires a sense of timing and generally a sense of usefulness. I've decided that the audience for this sample video is 10-12 year olds. I don't have quick and easy access to lots of terminology about ecological and biological features of trees; college was a long time ago and I don't remember the specifics. 

A little animation may draw attention, without overpowering or dominating the visuals of the trees themselves. I'm most interested in practicing with the pen and brush tools to see if I can produce a line that connects the terms to the tree in an animated fashion. 

Luckily, with practice, the techniques I learned in the tutorial (off lynda.com) are getting easier and more precise, and they tie in nicely to basic graphic design principles I've also studied in the past, which keep me from going overboard with animation (hopefully).

I'm sure you readers will let me know if anything looks wrong!

Trying out Elgato video capture device for Mac

I can't believe it. I have been looking for a way to capture video on the computer from my old home movies on VHS and camcorder tapes.

I tried using a dazzle but mine was meant for windows, and I couldn't get any of the unofficial workarounds found on YouTube to work. Apparently there is a version for mac but i couldn't find it anywhere.

To my delight while searching today I found the Elgato device, and it was available from London Drugs, and in stock half a block away from my home!

I opened the box and the obvious cables were in there, along with a CD with capture software and instructions printed on the inside flap. I'm used to devices that are difficult to set up. This device was very easy to set up!

At the store, I was a bit concerned about quality. It captures at 640 x 480 and I hoped that was adequate. And I thought the HS is not that great of quality anyway, and the next quality up is for hardcore gamers and quite a bit more expensive over $200. This device is just over $100.

I'm just in the process of going through a tape right now to capture it, & I will keep you posted with any news and reviews about this device.

My goal is to capture my home movies so that I can practice my newest video editing skills on them. I started video editing as a child working on home movies as gifts, and I feel very confident that I will enjoy video editing for gifts again as an adult.

Right now I'm following a tutorial series on using Photoshop for video editing special effects animation. It's going really well. I have learned how to make graphics move in and out of a video sequence, and make animated logos for my video introductions! I found the tutorial lynda.com, no surprise. It's excellent quality and covers more...much more... than I've ever learned in any of my books or classes.

Check out my initial sophisticated setup: