UsabilityVideoFlash
ActionScript
Essays
Multimedia has developed on the internet in a variety of ways from streaming embedded clips to full downloadable mpgs. My personal experience with the audio/video medium has been limited to recording and editing. I have not spent much time embedding clips for streaming or even for download. However I wouldn't shy away from doing it either. I understand the principles behind the technology and would quickly understand how to operate a front end publishing package like RealProducer.
My knowledge of audio packages is fairly extensive as I spent a lot of time recording spoken word lessons for tutorial CDs that shipped with the distance learning courses I used to teach. It was up to me to handle all recording, processing, pitch shifting, noise reduction, arranging, editing, and export and master production. As a result I became very familiar with packages like Cubase and Cakewalk. Today though I have little need for anything more complex than Audigy for everything.
As for my understanding of digital video itself, I can say I know my way around a video editing suite. I have, in the past used packages such as Pinnacle to edit my own movies and content. In particular a full length surf/travel video taken in Costa Rica among others.
I have a number of audio recordings that I could place here that would demonstrate my experience with recording and audio processing, but as they are either boring lectures, illicitly inappropriate podcasts, or otherwise unsuitable due to a lack of interesting example techniques. So, instead I'm posting a song I made years ago while experimenting with Cubase. In case you're wondering, the Fun Underground is what we called our office as it was in the basement, next to the games room.
This song is created entirely from sound fonts and clips. There are only a handful and each "instrument" heard represents just one clip. I took each clip and reedited it to suit the sound, beat, and melody I wanted. Click the link once to start it, and again if you want to stop it.
In 2002 two friends and I decided to explore one of the best stretches of surf in the world. As they were semi-pro and I wasn't I decided it would be a great opportunity to make a short film. Unfortunately, at the time of creating this portfolio site, I couldn't transfer the edited video files to a suitable format like .mpeg or .mov. The files were edited in Studio7 which I no longer have installed on my system and so cannot open them to export the final product. Nor do I have any other editing software to prep what uncut footage I do have access to. I had previously only exported them directly to videotape in order to distribute. So, suffice to say they are completely edited, finished, and ready to export.
The film itself is a travelogue of Costa Rica focusing on the famous surf spots on the Pacific coast and includes many hard to get close up water shots which required a waterproof rig for the DV camera. Unfortunately, one of the two other people who were featured in the film died shortly after returning. As a result there is a secondary focus in the editing to feature him in memoriam. Various scenes that were filmed solely for the benefit of personal use, like an impromptu spanish ballad in the night breaze of an open air bar on the beach in Nosara were added in their entirety as a way to remember the moment.
Other features included a full sound track (including the ballad previously mentioned which continues to play over the last surfing scene and the credits), a fast forward time lapse recording of hundreds of miles of driving condensed into a few minutes for the opening credits, and a hidden track intended to be used for the transfer to DVD.
This, apart from being the only example I have available, is a funny little video I took in aide of my previous art portfolio (unfinished). The idea was to record candid, lighthearted scenes of the people who knew me well and incorporate the 30 second or so videos into a flash file for distribution on CD. I only ever got this one before I stopped work on the entire project.
It is very candid, and a little crass, but I find it quite funny particularly because the questions asked aren't exactly the ones which are answered. Look out, there is harsh language, poor sound quality, and a very drunk little man on this clip. Enjoy!