How to: Make XLR cables
by Ed Carlson on Dec.17, 2011, under DIY, Technology, Video
Making your own XLR cables is a great way to ensure you’re getting a quality product built to your exact specifications. One you get good at making standard cables, making custom adapter cables is a piece of cake. I’ll show you how to make a standard XLR cable below. (continue reading…)
Dual LED strobe with 555 and 4017
by Ed Carlson on Dec.31, 2010, under DIY, Technology
Inspired by a new soldering iron and a surplus of orange LEDs, I decided that I wanted to build an LED flasher circuit. We’ve all seen two LEDs flash in an alternating pattern, but what about something a little more interesting? Oddly enough I found my answer on YouTube. (continue reading…)
DIY Gaff Tape lanyard
by Ed Carlson on Sep.16, 2010, under DIY
Gaff tape is an indispensable tool on any film set. If you don’t know what gaffer’s tape is, it’s a lot like duct tape, except it won’t leave a sticky adhesive residue, and it comes in many colors (black, however, is standard.) I usually keep two rolls of 2″ wide tape, as well as 1″ wide camera tape and 1/2″ wide spike tape with me. Camera tape has lower adhesion and is designed to tape the seams of camera magazines so that the film doesn’t get exposed accidently. Spike tape is thin gaff tape used for marking (or spiking) locations for set pieces or actors. But how to carry all of this gaff tape around? (continue reading…)
Audio Recording and PluralEyes
by Ed Carlson on Sep.09, 2010, under Computer, Technology, Video
I have always been a fan of audio. I like hearing stuff. I hate when films (student or otherwise) have bad audio. Using the on-camera mic is right up there with not using a tripod in my pet peeves of films. I have a lot of audio equipment, more than most student film makers probably. Here’s a list of what I have: (continue reading…)
Motorola Talkabout T4900 Disassembly
by Ed Carlson on Apr.24, 2010, under Technology
Taking things apart is one of my hobbies. Doesn’t matter if they’re broken or not, I’ll take it apart to see how it works. In case it does break, I’ll know that I can fix it. I bought two T4900 radios from eBay. They are awesome little radios. The audio quality is phenominal, especially compared to the T6200’s, which is much worse, despite being newer. Anyway, I finally figured out how to take them apart: (continue reading…)
My hobby, slowly turning into a career
by Ed Carlson on Mar.14, 2010, under Life, Video
Leave a Comment more...
Tascam US-122L
by Ed Carlson on Feb.20, 2010, under Computer, Technology
In my ongoing hunt for good audio, I decided it was time to get a real audio interface. I had been jury-rigging my mixer with more adapters than most people own in order to get the sound into my laptop. I finally gave up and just did a search on eBay for “audio interface.” I picked the highest price I was willing to spend, and watched every single one below that price. With the help of JBidWatcher (an awesome piece of software) I was able to snag a Tascam US-122L for half-price.
I was excited when it arrived, all shiny and visibly used. But as long as everything works, I don’t care about a few scratches. I installed the software, fired up Audacity, plugged in a mic, and… Nothing. Audacity gave me an error. I thought I had researched this one and confirmed it was compatible with Audacity. I tried Garage Band. It worked perfectly. It was obviously something wrong with Audacity. But I had read about people using it with no problems. On a whim, I decided to install the Snow Leopard driver (I only have Leopard.) Voila! It worked.
So now I have a fully functioning USB audio interface. I like it. It has rudimentary level meters (a green light that turns orange, then red when the level gets too high.) It accepts line and mic inputs, and it provides phantom power. The US-122L plus Audacity equals a pretty legit recording studio. As long as you only need to record two tracks at once. For $65, that’s fine by me.
Tascam US-122L
Two Films
by Ed Carlson on Dec.28, 2009, under School, Video
I have finally gotten around to finding a 16 mm projector so I can share these with the world. The following two films were made for my intro to film production class. The first one was a group project, two other people worked on it with me. The second one was my final project that I had to do alone. Neither of these have audio, so don’t freak out. Videos and more talking after the break. (continue reading…)
Cheaper printer ink
by Ed Carlson on Dec.25, 2009, under Computer
Printer inks are a rip-off. Period. There is no way is ink $3,500 per gallon. (Assuming the ink cartridges are 12 cc each at $13 a cartridge. That’s 92 cents per cc, a gallon is 3,785 cc = $3,482/gallon.) Now, we don’t buy ink by the gallon, but almost $80 to replace all the ink in my printer seems too steep. Read on to find out how you can refill your ink for less than $15 per full cartridge set. (continue reading…)
RTVF 24 Final Project
by Ed Carlson on Dec.08, 2009, under School, Video
My Radio, Television, and Film (RTVF) 24 class, Intro to Multicamera Production, met for the final time on Monday. We have done three productions over the course of the semester, and I thought I would share my final project. The goal was to create an instructional video to teach people American Sign Language. I went through the trouble of recording it on VHS, converting to DV, then compressing and uploading it, all in the name of looking like the 80’s. Enjoy.
embedded by Embedded Video
