Site Archive

Four under $300 audio recorders for double-system sound
Written by David Tames on June 18, 2010
Filed Under Featured, General, Media Technology, Sound, Tools, Video Production
Leave a Comment  

With the rising tide of small cameras shooting spectacular HD video suitable for documentary work, along with D-SLRs like the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 7D whose images rival much more expensive (and heavy) cameras, I’ve observed a spectacular rise in gorgeous video, but good sound...  Continue Reading...

Thoughts on video on the web and HTML5
Written by David Tames on June 3, 2010
Filed Under Featured, Media Technology, New Media, Sound, Tools, Video on the Web, Web
1 Comment  

If your web site has video on it, I believe the time has come to take into consideration viewers using mobile devices if you’ve not done it already. The desktop is no longer the only platform for viewing video, and Flash, long dominant as the web video standard (at least as far as web...  Continue Reading...

Transcriva 2
Written by David Tames on January 13, 2010
Filed Under Documentary, Featured, Filmmaking, Reviews, Tools
1 Comment  

Back in August of 2005 I wrote a post, Transcriva makes transcribing (almost) fun, in which I reviewed the first version of Transcriva from Bartas Technologies, a delightful Macintosh application I’ve been using since then for transcribing audio and video interviews. Last year Bartas...  Continue Reading...

A one-case lighting kit ready for travel
Written by David Tames on January 8, 2010
Filed Under Documentary, Filmmaking, Front Page, General, Lighting, Tools
11 Comments  

I’m often asked by students, “what’s a good light kit for starting out” and I find it a very hard question to answer, because it really depends on what you want to do. There really is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all lighting kit. I find that most of the commercially...  Continue Reading...

Long lasting power pack for the M-Audio Microtrack (and other USB powered devices too)
Written by David Tames on July 17, 2009
Filed Under Documentary, General, Sound, Tools
2 Comments  

The original Microtrack 24/96 and the current Microtrack II from M-Audio are nice little audio recorders, I like having a small recorder in my backpack ready for anything. I love the fact it has balanced TRS inputs so I can use it with my professional microphones, as well as 1/8″ mini-jack...  Continue Reading...

Practical Sound Recording and Editing Techniques For Better Video
Written by David Tames on August 15, 2008
Filed Under Documentary, Events & Screenings, Sound, Sticky, Tools, Video Production
5 Comments  

Here are some resources associated with my session, “Practical Sound Recording and Editing Techniques For Better Video” recently given at the 4th Annual New Media Expo held in Las Vegas. Presentation Slides Here’s a copy of my presentation slides, available in two flavors. Sound-Better-Video-4NME.pdf A...  Continue Reading...

Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX camcorder: first impressions
Written by David Tames on July 4, 2008
Filed Under Camera, High Definition, Media Technology, Tools
9 Comments  

A friend recently loaned me his Sony PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX camcorder for a few days so I had a chance to take this fascinating new camera for a spin. In this post I’ll share my first impressions. I’ll be taking the camera out for another spin next week for more shooting, so I’ll...  Continue Reading...

Kaltura: Wiki meets YouTube by way of Yochai Benkler
Written by David Tames on December 11, 2007
Filed Under Business, Documentary, Filmmaking, New Media, The Media, Tools, Video on the Web, Web
Leave a Comment  

One of the most interesting presentations at the Web Video Summit today was Shay David, Chief Technology Officer of Kaltura, talking about their business, which they summarize in one phrase as “Wiki meets YouTube.” Their site provide a set of tools that allows groups of users to...  Continue Reading...

Linking those who make media with those who need media
Written by David Tames on December 10, 2007
Filed Under New Media, Photography, Tools, Video Production, Video on the Web
5 Comments  

The web video explosion is creating demand for content and service exchanges that work at internet speed. Two among the many players in this space are bid4vid and Cutcaster. Cutcaster was established a year ago as an exchange for professional video and photos that allows buyers and sellers...  Continue Reading...

Organizing a gel collection
Written by David Tames on December 7, 2007
Filed Under Filmmaking, General, Lighting, Tools
1 Comment  

As you collect more and more gels and diffusion, organization and storage becomes important. I store my gels and diffusion using the following two holding methods (as far as rolls go, those usually live in their original boxes). Continue Reading…  Read More →

Next Page »