[Helpers] Comedy of errors.

[Mystress Angelique Serpent]

At 02:30 AM 1/31/2006, you wrote:
> >    I'm thinking new format with bigger image will probably still be a
> > smaller file than realplayer from 1999.
>
>Ok I gotcha!  Space should definitely not be an issue then. It's still
>probably a good idea to offer low bandwith versions of the videos as
>well.  Like half the picture size and twice the compression ratio. Makes
>for quarter size or so.

   Yup.  They need to be small for downloading or streaming, but having 
alternate versions is not a storage issue.

> >    I just kept surrendering, and druid (who is a certified genius)
>came up
> > with an elegant... and in hindsight, obvious solution. Tonight I
>bought a
> > new DVD player-recorder with firewire, for my TV!  A Sony RDR-GX315


>Daaang that's nice!   And cheap too. That will definitely make it way
>easier. :)

   Yeah! Surrender is good problem solving!


> >     If the vids change, the transcript will need to be adjusted too.
> > Percyval transcribed them all, originally.
>
>Maybe Kimberly can help out with transcribing them if anything changes.
>She's said she'd like to help out.  Btw, she still hasn't been able to
>read mails from the helpers list.. Not sure what's up with that. Her
>email addy is ladyofquills at spray.se

  That would be lovely!
   I checked and she was not subscribed, so I added her.


> >    Most of the pix of me on the site now, were captured from the DV
> > tapes... then altered a bit because it had a wider aspect ratio for
>some
> > unknown reason. I don't like pix of myself from my digital camera
>either,
> > it has a fisheye effect that is most unflattering.
>
>Maybe you have photos to scan or something?  What I had in mind is for
>example the picture where you hold the candle on the FST starting page.
>Is that a DV cap too?

  Yes. It will be on the DVD, I think. I don't remember if he gave me big 
ones.

  I'll look for them,  but I have not found large versions yet.

> >     Yes... and I think it is still possible to password protect the
>grail
> > ritual? I've noticed some movie DVDs have all kinds of wierd stuff on
> > them,
> > like a Shrek quiz that unlocks a bonus feature. Dunno if you have the
>tech
> > to do that... remastering the vids is the important thing, for now.
>
>It -should- be possible.  This will be a learning experience for me.
>I've never done DVD authoring before, only video editing.  I'm going to
>upgrade the work license of Vegas to include DVD architect. Until then I
>have a trial "try before buy" version of it. It's fully equipped and
>should be able to handle anything you're supposed to be able to do with
>DVDs...  So I've got a bit of experimenting ahead of me. I will play
>around some this weekend and see if I can figure it out.

    I think in Nero 7 I saw something about password protection, but that 
may have been for the whole DVD, not a part of it.
    I had a terrible time with it, making the FST CD and the only solution 
was  making the last lessons into password protected exe files. No hurry 
for that anyhow, web vids come first.

> > and now She is reminding me that I have some crazy old
> > vaudeville friends who have a lease on a tiny old vaudeville
>theatre...
> > hmmm...
> > http://heartachesrazzband.com/
>
>Haha!  Looks like a gorgeous theatre. :)  Btw, when you make future
>recordings, I would warmly recommend an external microphone for the DV
>camera, that can be placed on a mic stand closer to you, or a small
>personal microphone that can be fit on clothes, hidden under a collar,
>etc.

   Yes, that will be yet another investment. I have three mics right now... 
a full size one that doesn't work, has to be returned to 
Panasonic.  A  cheap gooseneck desktop, and a mid-range headset mic 
Percyval gave me when I was trying to get Dragon Dictate to work.
   Wouldn't it be great to just play the vids to a voice dictation machine 
and have it pop out a transcript? I'm dreamin!

>  They tend to eliminate the engine buzz of the DV camera since they
>can be farther away, and can have very good sound quality. I'd recommend
>a narrow-cone condenser mic (It's a sensitive mic which is directional,
>so it focuses on picking up what it's pointed out rather than the room
>echo and other noises) Mics come in all sorts of price ranges, shapes
>and sizes. If you ever decide to get one, let me know and I'll help you
>out sorting through the microphone jungle.

   I'd appreciate a recommendation.

>It sounds like you have had decent micing on the original FST classes,
>although the realmedia format has distorted it a bit.

   Yeah, my old partner had a cordless clip on mic... but it really only 
worked well if I stayed very still. Thus, the loss of the video for the 
diet lesson.

>And who knows, maybe the theatre people have external microphones..

    They have all kinds, but I agree the sound is terrible on the web clip 
of the band.

>FST T-shirts and coffee mugs.  "FST - what would you like to surrender
>today?"  "The serpent is your friend!"

   That is great! I never thought of that! Making funny K slogans for the 
store. I just thought it would be cool to have branded school stuff, like 
they do for universities... and once that was done I did not give it 
another thought.
    I bought a ton of the stuff because I don't get tired of looking at 
that logo... but seen through your eyes, the offerings really are rather 
boring. There is much potential for fun!

   large logos are uploaded to psd/big art/

> >    I have a small collection of Tibetan bells of various sizes.   I
>gave
> > Brian a call. He is a musician too, one band he is in was voted best
> > independent Canadian band in 2004...
> > http://www.fidgital.com/main.php
> > http://www.fidgital.com/media/Fidgital_Wins_Indie_Award.jpg
> > Brian is the blonde on the right.
> >
> >    he agreed to take the bells to the studio, then suggested I record
>them
> > myself with the camcorder mike! I have the use of his DV videocam till
>the
> > end of Feb. when the band goes on tour. I don't know how the quality
>will
> > be, but I'll give it a try~!
>
>Wonderful! I'm looking forward to it.

   Cool!