I recently played some shows at a club in Brooklyn, and both times the sound guys were surprised that I had brought my own vocal microphone. I’ve always gone out of my way to urge people to use their own mics when they play shows. Thankfully, the good people at Audio-Technica recently put together a couple of videos that illustrate the importance of this brilliantly:
Continue reading “An Important Message for Anyone Who Has Lips”
In the excellent short documentary film entitled Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, the German filmmaker states “I’m quite convinced that cooking is the only alternative to filmmaking. Maybe there’s another alternative, that’s walking on foot.” Perhaps Mr. Herzog is making a little joke, because he’s about eat an old shoe of his. However, it’s never a safe bet to assume Werner is joking.
I’ve always taken him seriously on this matter. I cook a lot, and I often think of this quote as I’m crushing garlic and stewing beans. I try to find the parallels that compelled Werner to make this statement, and in some ways I can see them. However, I recently toiled through a grueling process that reminded me more of filmmaking than anything else. I moved to a new apartment.
The top 10 ways in which moving is the closest alternative to filmmaking:
PS – here’s a link to the film: http://youtu.be/rd6rUo7Htso
A friend of mine let me borrow a Cinevate Simplis Dual camera support for a shoot I did a while ago. I presently don’t own a camera support system, and it was a pleasure to do some handheld shots with such a nicely made piece of gear. I was expecting the Cinevate to be really solid and versatile, and it was, but what surprised me was how compact it got when you folded it all up. With a nice HDSLR, a good external mic, the Simplis Dual and a backpack, you have a formidable little kit for capturing high-def cinema vérité.
I really want to buy one of these for my own kit, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. It’s tricky. I really love owning solid, pro-level gear, but sometimes I’m tempted by really affordable options like the Cowboy Studio Moviekit.
Let’s face it, making videos that don’t suck is really difficult. That’s one thing I love about video… it’s really hard to make something that isn’t terrible. When the subject of the video is production equipment, it gets even more difficult to make something that isn’t awful.
Mackie recently announced a new mixer called the DL1608 at the 2012 NAMM show in Las Vegas. I read about the DL1608 when it was announced, and I thought it looked cool and offered a nice wireless iPad mixing solution for live sound. But today I saw this:
I love you, Mackie. You’ve raised the bar for pro audio product videos. I mean, you’ve raised the bar into a really strange and demented place, but still, the bar is higher now.
The fervor surrounding the rumored teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 was freakishly high in late September 2011. And when a familiar-looking, boxy iPhone was revealed on October 4th, it sincerely disappointed the masses. However, just because Apple didn’t release a slope-shaped smartphone, overeager companies still manufactured cases for it. Motorola went as far as releasing the new Droid Razr, a teardrop-shaped smartphone designed to compete with a nonexistent rival. Continue reading “Droid Sheds First Tear for Nonexistent iPhone 5”
In past years I’ve given this post impressive sounding titles like “The Top Ten Trends and Innovations of Two Thousand and blah blah,” and stuff like that. Sounds really zippy, doesn’t it? This year, instead of nominating myself as the official trend-spotter of the universe, I figured it’s best to call it what it is: crap. Interesting crap, stupid crap, inspiring crap and embarrassingly terrible crap. It’s kind of a pessimistic angle, but hey, you’re still reading. That’s the only thing I give a crap about.
10) The crapping out of the cable cutting revolution
In 2010 there was a big scare amongst cable providers that great multitudes of people would cancel their cable TV service in favor of streaming content from the Internet. We were mired in the depths of a recession, people were losing jobs left and right, and nifty little set-top boxes like the Apple TV 2 and the Roku were coming out to help us get by without the Real Housewives and House Hunters. Sadly, most people didn’t cut the cord. The magnetic pull of ESPN, Snooki, J Wow and The Situation was just too strong. Continue reading “Top Crap for 2011”
Here’s a common conundrum: someone wants to hack their Panasonic GH2, but they can’t find a guide with easy-to-understand instructions. I was in this boat the first couple of times I hacked my GH2, so I decided to create this guide and share it with you.
Hacking your camera is scary, because you can potentially damage it if you do it wrong. But, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll screw it up. When the camera is actively updating its firmware, you just have to be careful not to touch it. This “danger zone” only lasts a couple of minutes. You must not press any buttons or turn off the camera while the firmware is being loaded. This “scariness” isn’t exclusive to the hack. The same danger exists when you’re updating firmware from Panasonic themselves. Keeping your GH2 safe is drop dead simple.
This entire process is odd at first, but once you do it a couple times, it seems really basic. It’s kind of like using Paypal. The first time you try to use Paypal, it’s a hassle. You have to get used to an unfamiliar user interface, you have to enter in a bunch of information, and so on. But once you’re set up and make a few transactions, everything flows along nicely. While we’re on the topic, please use Paypal to donate a little money over at personal-view.com. It helps support the folks that made the hack.
I did my best to write the following instructions as clearly and comprehensively as possible. However, I’m not a technological maniac. Continue reading “An EZ Guide to Hacking the Panasonic GH2”
Just in in time for 2012… The Great On-Camera Microphone Shootout 2011 is here! I just tested out seven different on-camera microphones, many of which are new models that came out in 2011. The video I made will give you an idea of what these mics sound like, but I urge you to read this entire article. I explain the fine details of each mic, highlighting their pros and cons. Continue reading “The Great On-Camera Mic Shootout 2011”
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after awhile.”
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Continue reading “Mourning the Loss of Steve Jobs”
I’m playing a solo acoustic show at Pete’s Candy Store this Saturday, September 17th at 8PM! This opportunity just popped up at the last minute, out of nowhere, and I couldn’t be happier.
UPDATE:
The show was awesome. Big thanks to my friends who made it there on such short notice! Here’s a link to a recording of a couple songs from the show:
Sam Mallery live at Pete’s Candy Store, Sept. 17th 2011 by Hidden Driveways
Come check out my next show at Pete’s Candy Store on Saturday December 3rd at 8PM sharp! It’s gunna be a good one! Continue reading “Come To My Solo Acoustic Set at Pete’s Candy Store!”
