Having no field recording equipment, I shopped around and settled on this Zoom iQ6 microphone for iPhone. It looks like the same microphones as the H1 field recording unit in a detached capsule that fits on the iPhone.
I liked this possibility because it would improve audio on video caught by iPhone when necessary. The app that comes with it records in Wav format, so I get lossless audio. I found an open box unit on eBay and saved $40 compared to the Zoom H1.
To test the quality on drums, I set it up on a tripod, and decided to make a video of it for the public. The result is this video right here. No big deal, I play the drums okay.
For anyone considering buying the microphone, I do believe this video gives them something to judge it by, and I hope that is helpful.
A short documentary follows two artists installing a mural at The Portland Mercado.
Watch World Wide Wall (2016)
World Wide Wall is the title we used for this 2016 documentary for television. It was suggested by Producer Kathleen Dolan, the individual responsible for culling this whole project together, under our brand THRU Media.
We have a billboard sized mural that brings together two continents and two artists, Pablo Solares and Rachel Oleson. Obviously it’s a play on world wide web, but it is also a wall that brings down cultural divisions — not unlike the internet.
Nobody made a dime on this, by the way. We spent nothing also. It was put into regular rotation on Portland public access network Signal, and has been available on YouTube for free. We did not have the budget available to market this as a film, therefore we didn’t take the time to perfect it.
I do have some considerations toward editing this again, tightening it up by a few minutes, basically just getting my editing chops back, so that I can bravely take on another documentary. My credit for this is Editor.
I was fortunate enough to be given a well-prepared batch of video from Videography Forrest Brennan. He is kind of the genius behind this. Kate and I showed enthusiasm, and without much experience, I’d say we punched above our weight class. Forrest was already a journalist by education and videographer by trade, but he also did a great job. He has a good intuition.
The reason I became editor however is that Forrest was too busy to edit and I wasn’t happy with his first cut. It was only roughly six minutes and I felt he did a disservice to his own narrative. I still think he was trying to save time because he had already volunteered a tremendous amount of time and value. So I took a chance on my own edit. It became my full-time job for longer than I expected. Worth it.
Because I was so engrossed in the process and did not take time to accept reviews from colleagues before publishing, I can see finally that my cuts need some work. Nonetheless, I am proud of it. We are all proud of it.
Join me on a late August sunny morning ride through Philadelphia’s Tacony Creek Park. It is no secret that I live somewhere along this long stretch of forested public watershed.
I am a volunteer in the effort to revive this wonderful public resource. I bought my first home along this creek. Moreover, I appreciate the great tradition of public green space that Philadelphia has pioneered over the course of three hundred years. This park is about one hundred years old.
Additionally, my aim is to cover all four major watersheds in Philadelphia: Pennypack, Cobbs, and Wissahickon. These flow into our great rivers, the Schuylkill and Delaware.
Another goal of these videos is to tap into the growing market for stationary exercise content. Think of this as a Poor Man’s Peloton. If I could map out the terrain and input that into a 5-mile ride and sync it with my video, I would.
Starting where I am, we have a shaky video without image stabilization, but you still get a good sense of the complete bike path running along Tacony Creek. I could advance this with shock absorption and a second GoPro mounted to my helmet. A third camera on the back of the bike would make it a complete multicam editing project that would allow for much better views of the parks. If I had an extra $300, I could make it happen. We’ll see.
Also, I threw my own music in there because Free Music Archive was down. It has changed hands. I hope to continue to utilize it for my video projects in the future. And I hope to start composing new music very soon. Music studio is in the works.
Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble asked THRU Media to produce a short documentary to promote their second-year program mentoring high school students as composers, called Grasshoppers.
Additionally, he wanted a complete 3-camera concert shoot plus editing for each song. This was a pretty big job that could have been vastly more expensive, but I did it on the shoestring and punched above my weight, as this is my only video commission.
Forrest Brennan and Joe Jatcko provided camera operation for the concert, capturing the content for much of the documentary as well. I completed the edit in my studio.
Co-Produced and Edited by Forrest Brennan, for THRU Media, in 2016.
This mini-documentary was meant to give a tantalizing impression of the performance by Source Material Collective, entitled “I Should Have a Party for All the Thoughts I Didn’t Say.” Headed by the young Samantha Shay, this performance represented a showcase for her vision for theater.
It is an immersive experience, so we found this project unique to cover. With camera and sound assistance from Estevan Muñoz and Joe Jatcko, Forrest Brennan and myself collaborated on the edit. This video was a great experience that I am still proud to be associated with.
