This is the simple way I record just an interview with another person. I use Skype and Audio Hijack Pro ( http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro ) on OSX. This gives me two track files each with it's own custom preprocessing filters. That reduces work in post edit. Also makes it easy to do later processing on each person without affecting the other.

I wanted to play around with sending video to YouTube.  So I put together a few minutes on how I do noise reduction using soundtrack pro for podcast tracks.  I use a combination of soundsoap (http://www.bias-inc.com/products/soundsoap2/) and the built in noise reduction in Soundtrack Pro.    Alternatively instead of soundsoap another even better and of course more expensive noise reduction plugin is MR Noise (http://wavearts.com/products/plugins/mr-noise/)

I wanted to figure out a nice clean non invasive way to mount my iphone for use in my new Altima. The solution I came up with uses a combination of the Ped3 Form holder on a Naja King Coil stand both from Thoughtout.biz. You can watch how I put it all together on the video I made. I do also use the Belkin retractable stereo cable for feeding the audio into the aux of the Altima stereo system. It keeps the whole rig easy to remove and get out of the way.

Thoughtout.biz Form
http://thoughtout.biz/FORM

Thoughtout.biz Naja
http://thoughtout.biz/NAJA

Belkin Retractable Stereo Cable
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=377115

Good noise reduction when editing a podcast is an important skill.

I received a vocal track for Cyber Speak (http://cyberspeak.libsyn.com). Bret's voice is nice and clear itself. But his new recording environment put a low level of constant background noise into his track. So I pretty much pulled it all out completely leaving just his voice. This worked well because his voice was so strong over the noise. I stacked Soundsoap doing general broadband reduction making sure to adjust the settings so it did not noticeably distort Bret's voice. That pulled a lot of the noise out or at least down. The problem is I always do RMS leveling on the voice tracks as I have mentioned in a previous post. So if noise is still present you amplify it too. So I stacked one more effect. I used the built in noise reduction for soundtrack pro. The trick was adjusting the threshold up high enough to catch most of the noise floor while relying on Bret's voice volume to protect it from the reduction. It worked like a charm. See the before and after images below. I show both waveform and frequency views.

This is exactly why I recommend folks record five seconds of "silence" when they start recording. It gives you a nice region to sample noise for good reduction.

 

If you are curious to hear the final result check out the Nov 21 Episode of Cyber Speak. 

Want to make a nice consistent level in your podcast production? Here are the simple steps if your software supports RMS and Peak leveling. These steps come from a ot of experience and guidance over the years from my friends Victor Cajiao and Paul Figgiani.

1. Record as clean audio as you can (minimal noise).
2. Do any noise reduction. This is so you do the least reduction BEFORE you start raising levels.
3. RMS level the track to something around -17.5dB. I actually use -13.1 for Cyberspeak because their mic levels match up the best here.
4. When done editing your show, mix down then Peak level to -1.0dB

That should do it. Now if you don't have RMS leveling ability you can always use the free Levelator. Just remember. Do your noise reduction if any BEFORE you adjust levels. This increases the chance you pull the noise so far down it doesn't also get amplified.

http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator/

I was stopped at a light waiting to head into BestBuy and the sunlight made a neat shot of my steering wheel.

I got to see the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" when I was in Vegas last week.  They let various bloggers see the different Cirque shows for free.  I had never been to Vegas much less one of the Cirque shows before. So I figured why not.

My friend Victor Cajiao and I went.  We put together a short video of the backstage tour we were given the day before we saw the show.  You can see the video over at Cirque du Soleil “Love” Review and Photo-Audio Backstage Tour

 

It was really interesting to see the level of work they have to put into a show like "Love".  There was not a thing out of place.  Nothing dirty or unorganized at all about the backstage (or in this case understage) areas.  You can also hear the genuine interest and care for the show that the folks have when you talk to them.  The show cast themselves are considered a type of critical equipment unto themselves.  The show provides them physical therapists and trainers to keep them in peak condition.  

 

The show itself is amazing.  Even if you have seen some of the behind the scenes.  The custom theater is in the round.  So there is something happening no matter where you look.  It is fun to pick out a few of the performers and watch them closely.  Each person is doing their own little touch to the show.  Even to the level of facial expressions and interaction with random people from the audience.  On top of the high production value and effort the show still tells an interesting story of the Beatles using their music as the main driver.

If you are in Vegas, it is certainly a show worth seeing.  And from what my friends say the other Cirque du Soleil shows are equally impressive.

• Cirque du Soleil - Love
• Cirque du Soleil - All Shows - Las Vegas

This is a fun little rig. I purchased the ped tripod adapter from http://www.thoughtout.biz/ Specifically I got the kit with the form holder meant for iPhones in a case and the adapter itself. You can find the actual kit at: http://thoughtout.biz/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=39

I just happen to have a mini tripod for desktops. It came with an old kodak full sized tripod from Sams that I got as a Christmas gift a few years back. The ped adapter went on perfectly. Then the ped form holder just pushes in and the iPhone sits inside the holder. The adapter itself is just the L bar you see screwed into the top of the mini tripod. So if you already have a ped3 holder you just need the adapter itself.

Now I can turn on video recording with my iphone, put my canon S2 IS on the large tripod to record video and have a two camera video shoot. *lol*

Overall I am still disappointed in the quality the iPhone 3GS camera. It performs horribly in low light situations. I will grant the touch to get spot metering is nice. But it really needs a lock so once you dial in the settings you want you can frame your shot as desired. Still if the entire scene is low light you might as well give it up. You will not get a photo that you will want to show anyone.

If you have good full light, the camera can still make some good shots. You can even make some even niftier shots by using a combination of three programs. My friend Victor turned me onto these apps.

1. Camera Genius is a replacement camera app. There are several good features it brings to the table. First you can turn on a grid for framing up the rule of thirds. Second you can turn on stabilization which makes the camera shoot when the iPhone is the most still. This reduces chances of a blurry photo. You can even turn on noise based photo shooting. I liked this one because I could plug in my earbuds with mic and call out "shoot" without having to disturb the iPhone to press the camera snap button.
http://www.codegoo.com/

2. Auto Stitch is an app for stitching together a panorama shot. The tip here is take your photos vertically across the scene. So you get the tallest photo you can. You only have to take more photos going across the scene to make up for it. Overall it makes for a better thicker shot. This is especially handy when used with Camera Genius above and the voice triggered stabilized shots.
http://www.cloudburstresearch.com/autostitch/autostitch.html

3. Photogene has some great and easy to use image enhancement controls. Mainly I use the level and exposure controls. You have to offset the lack of detailed control the iPhone itself provides.
http://www.i-photogene.com/photogene/main.html

So add those three apps together with a well lit scene and you can still make some decent and interesting iPhone camera shots. Just don't rely on it as an impromptu camera for indoor or night time shots.