Category Archives: Mac20Q

Mac 20 Questions – Talking with mac users about how they use their Mac computers, software, hardware and just the nitty gritty of creating things on the Mac.

Apple iTablet Day

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Apple iTablet concept image

Time for all the rumours to be quashed and all the picking apart the bones of whatever Apple comes out with today. 10 inch form factor with an iPhone like interface. Will it be fast? Will it have Kindle like abilities? Will it be a game changing platform that will take the world by storm. Are you going to buy one as soon as it is in the store?

It is still all questions right now as I write this but in eight hours time there will be an explosion on the internet when every Mac fan has one topic to talk about. The iSlate, iTablet or the iPad. For sure some will be deleriously happy with the new toy and many will snipe at it, saying well it doesn’t do this or doesn’t do that. It will depend on whether the hype has been over done or not.

There are number which indicate that a lot of people will buy one what ever it looks like and whatever they think it can do. I am sure that if I had the cash I would be one the first in the queue even though I already have a MacBook and my iMac, an iPhone  and a Mac Mini.

In the picture above the concept artist put in a pen type of thing to use alongside the taken for granted touch interface. Could be a good idea for the artists among us to have a pen / brush interface and not have to resort to finger painting.

What would you like to see in the upcoming device? Will it have a dock to use on a desk and connect with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse?

Have Apple done deals with content providers so that you can download books movies as well as your music. More deals perhaps with mobile phone companies to give it constant internet like with the iphone?

Leave a comment below or fill in the form to send Mac20Q an email.

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Mac20Q Podcast 81 Adam Weiss

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In the ramble I talk about getting the upgrade to the latest version of Bento and also talk about iPhoto and being able to put keywords on photos. I learned how to do that as part of travels through the software. Actually reading a help file can be quite useful at times. In case you don’t know Bento is a database application, a smaller brother to Filemaker. There are a lot of specialist database applications but Bento I think is useful because it can be used like a multi purpose tool and will be moulded to what ever you want it to work with.

iPhone picture

Today’s interview is with Adam Weiss who uses a Mac Pro that is a quad processor antique and also a MacBook. Not only that he has hackintoshed a Dell mini9, just for fun and using on trips where he can’t carry much. He says it is useful but very slow in use. Good as a portable storage device and quiet to use as a recording computer and works with the microphones he has.

Adam Weiss is a successful educational podcaster and podcast consultant, as well as a sought-after digital media strategist. An expert interviewer and communicator, he aims to show that digital communication is more about story, presentation, and technique than fancy gear and tech toys.

He is the creator of the award-winning Current Science & Technology Podcast for the Museum of Science in Boston, which he hosted for more than two years. He now hosts his critically-acclaimed Boston Behind the Scenes Podcast, and has profiled everyone from street vendors to senators and astronauts in his career.

Adam also provides consultation on social networking, living with technology, web design and best practices, and general digital media strategy. He has started working in the digital video realm recently, and has been a photographer for years.

Adam WeissAdam does video reviews in which he shows what you can do with iPhone applications. He films using a Canon 7D SLR camera that also does video. He tells me that the main restriction would be the length of the clip you can record and that it doesn’t do autofocus while in video mode.

Adam is a podcaster too working as a podcast producer and also as the host on a podcast. One of the podcasts is a nature – science podcast. He even helps other people out with their podcasts as a podcast consultant.

We talk about microphones and how you can get more credibility when out and about shooting video. Adam like to shoot using natural light where possible. Using a reflector is a good way to enhance your lighting. He is a FinalCut Express user like myself and doesn’t yet need to move to Final Cut Pro. It is possible to use Keynote to do some transitions and effects in his video.

One of the sponsors of the show is GoSim and they have a product that is great when you are travelling to other countries and you don’t want to get stuck with high roaming charges. I will be giving a try on my next trip away, for sure.

Adam recently lost his iPhone and was wishing that he still had his Mobile Me account. The ability to wipe the phone from a distance and perhaps even locate the phone would have been very useful. He has Qik and other video apps on his iPhone and is interested in the streaming of video

Mac20Q Podcast 80 Tyler Weaver

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Tyler fell into making movies with the help of his grandad and a diversion from music. Visuality seems to be in the family with his dad being a photo journalist. he agrees that it is great to watch movies with a critical eye and analyse what you see so that you can easily jump in and start to create visual art because you understand how it works and specifically in this case the language of movie.

I watched some of Tylers’ work and he like to use antique films as can be seen in The Fourteen Minute Gap and also in ‘Il Mio Canto Libero’. He has experience with working with non profit organisations. So working as a indie film guy that will be an advantage, unless he gets lucky and a movie goes viral. Which can happen.

there is ‘Gather Round the Mic’ which is broken up into parts and available on Vimeo.
For more than 10 hours on a sultry Cleveland night, in a bar roughly the size of a small two-bedroom apartment and on a “stage” cordoned off by tables and place marked with an Oriental rug, musicians from all over the world played and sang their hearts out.

there is Gather ‘Round the Mic’ which is broken up into parts and available on Vimeo.

For more than 10 hours on a sultry Cleveland night, in a bar roughly the size of a small two-bedroom apartment and on a “stage” cordoned off by tables and place marked with an Oriental rug, musicians from all over the world played and sang their hearts out.

Tyler has been making movies since 2003 and was working on film scores before that, slowly working more towards the visual end of the game. Of course Tyler is a Final Cut user, he doesn’t have the latest version and is happy with version 6.

Mac20Q Podcast 79 Danny Lacey Film

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Danny Lacey has set himself off on a course of learning how to make movies. Danny makes video for corporate customers anyway but making movies, either short films or feature length film is a whole different kettle of fish. As part of his learning regime he has mad a short movie for a horror competition called ‘Angel of the Night’. I watched the 3 minute version of the movie and was impressed. You have to have a twist in a movie to make it more interesting.

Danny talks about how he takes an original idea, writes the script, tears it apart and puts it back together again and then takes it all the way though to the finished article. He has managed to come up with a very professional looking movie using this process. He says that the planning stage is vital to the process. Making a list and checking it twice, just like the one you send to Santa when you were a kid.

I was amazed that even for a short movie like ‘Angel of the Night’ he was able to film it in one day. Danny was able to make the movie with no budget if you don’t count the pints of beer he bought for the actors to consume in the pub scene. With no cranes being available he tells me that for one scene the camera man was hanging out of a tree to get the angle for the shot in the woods. A bit of film making  monkey business.

STADA MEDIA

A dedicated, creative and affordable video production company. Danny makes video for the web and for promos

Danny’s next movie is going to be called ‘A Love Like Hers’ he wants to have higher production values and for it to be longer. He is using a site called Indie Go Go to help him raise the $8000 he will need to make the movie. Obviously a more ambitious project and I am looking forward to seeing it when it is finished, later this year.

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Nose back to the grindstone

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My mom arrived here on the 4th and was here for here birthday, so I have been entertaining. On top of that christmas day here in Spain is 6th of January when the 3 Kings arrive so that took some time too. I am so looking forward to getting back in the swing of things with the podcasting. The weather here is cold also I will have to wear extra jumpers in the podcasting studio.

I do have two interviews in the bag that have to be edited. One of them, the one featuring Tyler Weaver a film maker is nearly editing and I will be turning into a podcast today and tomorrow. Then I have another interview with a film maker Danny Lacey, from the UK, that I will be publishing here and on Video 20 Questions during the next week also.

Video evidence from Liverpool

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If you want the lowdown on the Liverpool Tweetup you won’t get it from this video, but you do get some pictures of some of the crew that were present.

I should have shot some video at the Red Hot buffet style restaurant. The food was great. I easily ate three platefuls and I wished I could have found room for more.

If you get a chance to meet some of your Twitter buddies in the flesh then go for it. People are often as nice face to face as they are online.

Here is the video

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Mac20Q Podcast 78 Libidoland by Kingisafink

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‘Libidoland’ is the title of their latest movie short and the trailer for it looks like fun. Jessica and Julie told me that they have a weird sense of humour and like to combine that with social comment in their movies. They ask,  why should movies follow the Hollywood trait of having to have a tidy ending or even a tidy story. Life is messy and there is no reason why movies can’t reflect some of that and still give a level of entertainment.

I would say that you would get a higher level of entertainment if the story makes you think a bit too. Get those brain cells working for a change, while it is good to have a suspension of disbelief while watching a movie it doesn’t mean that the thinking processes have to be dormant too.

Have a listen to the podcast to find out about their way of working, to take an idea, work it through to a finished movie via the writing, story boarding, filming, collecting the sound, editing, and finally getting the bums on seats, or eyeballs in front of the movie.

One of these two is a teacher, Jessica I think, and she challenges her students to watch movies that are not the usual Hollywood blockbuster in order  to get some critical thinking happening and an open mindedness that will lead to them seeing more interesting films.

I am often watching movies and TV drama on the TV and wondering how they got that shot. I sometimes count how long a film maker will use a shot before changing say from a wide to a close up and so on. Most shots only last a few seconds and change with a cut to the next shot. Lots of work there for the film editor. Thank goodness for FinalCut.

Their website: http://kingisafink.com
Twitterfeed: http://twitter.com/kingisafink
Email: kingisafink AT gmail DOT com

Here is the ‘Libidoland’ trailer for you … have a look at their ‘Snow Bunny’ trailer on YouTube also

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Their website: http://kingisafink.comTwitterfeed: http://twitter.com/kingisafinkEmail: kingisafink AT gmail DOT com

Get this podcast and others without any advertising in by subscribing to the Mac20Q Newsletter. I don’t plan to send out many Newsletters – Just one a month and perhaps a one off here and there if there is time sensitive information in there. Subscribe here to the Newsletter

Mac20Q Newsletter

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I have just set up a trial with iContact so that I can have a newsletter. It is not so that I can send what I put in the blog to subscribers in a newsletter format by email. It is just so that I can send out small snippets of time sensitive information infrequently to interested parties, direct. No wondering if you  saw the information in time or not.

The other thing I will do with the newsletter is to send it out monthly to list the latest podcasts published and let you know if there are some good ones in the pipeline.

One more thing. In order to improve the podcast I will set up a couple of surveys which I can put on the site here. or send out if I feel I need to add as part of the monthly news.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

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Mac20Q Podcast 77 @PhilonTilt

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This interview started over at Video20Q blog and podcast and seeing as Phil is a Mac user it is only right that I publish here on Mac20 Q also. I have cut out some of the interview that was more specific to film making and if you would like to get the full skinny on Phil, then you can listen to the interview in full at Video20Q.

Phil is working with an older Mac at the moment and is aware that he will have to trade up to a newer Intel based Mac soon.

Phil made the film short ‘Honest work’ using his editing skills with FinalCut Pro on his Mac and the video is to be found on YouTube. Nice idea for a short movie. I actually like the was he did the titles at the start of the movie too.

His advice to people that are thinking of doing film or video work is to get training first if you can but mainly the advice is to get out there and just DO IT. No point waiting around doing nothing because that will get you no where.

What Phil did was to buy the computer and software he needed to do the work he wanted which was to edit in TV and movies and learn how to do it well and found work from that. Excellent way to go.

Liverpool Tweetup the Video

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Had a good time meeting with friends in Liverpool at the Tweetup.

Despite being videoed with other peoples’ cameras while there and it being streamed live to uStream, one person has asked me not to use the video off my camera that I shot with him in it  at the event.

Of course that person has a right to his privacy and I will not be using the video of him or his friend. As for the rest of the footage shot then if you were at the tweetup and want to remain anonymous then send me a message and of course I will not use the video. I am not in the business of upsetting people, not on purpose anyway, so just let me know and anything with you in it will be deleted.

Seemed like a reasonable thing to do, at the time, to take pictures while at the Tweetup seeing as we are all socially networked people and some are podcasters too. I even took it for granted that it was expected seeing as we were put up on uStream, which I personally didn’t have any objection too either.

To contact me and tell me what is your preference with the footage let me know with a email to mac20q AT gmail dot com or post a comment on this Blog post.

Life is too short for worries, problems and unfriendliness so lets keep it all sweet. Mac 20 Questions podcast is for the people that have been featured on the show and for the listeners. Here is wishing you all a good new year for 2010.

Mc20Q Podcast 76 Simon Bainbridge

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sbainbridge

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. Get Simon on Twitter

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 Liverpool face to face interviews. We should have loads to talk about.

Mac20Q Tip 15 Matching Audio and De essing

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I used this technique when 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 audis 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….

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Making a very short movie with FinalCut Express – Hunting Boar

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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.

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Mac20Q Podcast 75 Gary Rosenzweig MacMost

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Gary Rosenzweig in the pub

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.

MacMost_ Mac and iPhone Help and Tutorials

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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Mac20Q Podcast 74 @NewMediaDude

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Marcelo LewinMarcelo 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.

Here is a movie from DV Expo

Mac20Q Tip 13 – Using MPEG StreamClip

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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.

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November scoots by

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Google Image Result for http___www.netstate.com_states_symb_gamebirds_images_wild_turkey.jpgLike 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.

YouTube - wizardgold_s ChannelOne 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.

Mac20Q Podcast 73 Bob Degrande

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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.

Leave a comment by hitting the blue button above and then scrolling down to get the the input form, or send me an email using the form below

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FinalCut Express and the magic mouse

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Magic Mouse

Apple Magic MouseI have the Magic Mouse for a couple of weeks now and I have to say it is thumbs up all the way. I was listening to the Mac Geek Gab podcast this morning and Dave was going into huge detail about his experience with the mouse. One of thing he said was about the size of the mouse. It is not very high or thick, or tall and seems small, built for small hands. The comment was that Steve Jobs must have small hands. Well my hands are not that small but for me the mouse is a good size. I had suffered with some RSI pain for about a month prior to getting this mouse and now after using the Magic Mouse for a couple of weeks I now can shake hands with people when we meet without wincing. Definitely a big plus for me there.

Another problem that other people have reported is the tracking speed of the mouse, and perhaps needing to run a third party utility to get to work fast enough. Strangely I have not had that problem. I installed 10.6.2 before I started using the mouse, which could have been a factor with this, and the tracking has been good. I adjusted it to the speed I wanted in System Preferences and that was that. I am working with 2 screens on my iMac also and I can easily track the whole width no hassle whatsoever.

So if you have not had a chance to try one of these Magic Mouse rodents from Apple then I would say you should definitely jump in there and have a play at your local Apple Store.

FinalCut Express

I have been learning how to do things in FinalCut Express during the week and using Lynda.com to teach myself. It is taking some practice time to get my head around the roll, ripple, slip and slide tools but I am getting there. The training videos in Lynda are very good and makes the learning much quicker and in depth. Reading the PDF manual is painful in comparison. So far I have been working on one video with footage I took while at a friends’ horse riding school. I had some good shots in there and I managed to make a short movie with FinalCut Express without too much bother. I struggled with moving clips on the timeline and I still need to learn how to make the audio fade where I want it too. In this case I looked at the length of the audio required and opened up AmadeusPro to do the job for me, but it can be done in FinalCut Express.

Apple - Final Cut Express

In the Lynda training videos there are details on how to set up the preferences to work better. It seems the standard prefs are not the best for working with. If I had not got Lynda.com to work with I would never have found this out. There is always a gap it seems between the designers of software and the users, the lessons are from people that know the application inside out and that is a huge benefit. As part of my learning I have been watching the videos for Final Cut Pro also and there is a separate series that deals with LiveType, the application that deals with titling. I am quite impressed with that application.

I have noticed that there are some small differences between the Express application compared to the Pro but for the most part you can do all that you need in FinalCut Express. For instance one difference is the speed controls. I see that in Pro it is possible to have easing in and out of the speed of a clip or a selection of a clip, so that when ramping the speed you can do it with more finesse. There is no 3 way colour corrector in FinalCut Express, which I saw being used in tutorials on the FinalCut King site. So nothing major anyway and watching the tutorials for the Pro application are also helpful and not potentially confusing.

The first video I sent out of FinalCut Express is now on my channel at YouTube, if you would like to have a look,

Mac user JC Hutchins the author of 7th Son the podcast novel talks

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hutch_clone_largeThis 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 Writers20Q web 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.

personaleffects-darkart

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.