Vinyl sales up (article, Nico quoted)

Vinyl record sales are up, and The Review has an article about it. Nico is quoted (on page 2) with some insights. Looks like the end of the article was cut off in the online version but there are plenty of print copies around campus. Just a reminder we do have a USB turntable for anyone who wants to convert vinyl to digital. Having grown up in the age of vinyl, I still like the artwork and the sound of vinyl too, though I like being able to switch tracks quickly on CDs and avoid some of the wear issues with vinyl. WVUD still has a large record collection and some DJs play them. Are any of you vinyl fans?

Acoustic Barcodes

This is just a research project out of Carnegie Mellon at this point, but I could see it taking off.  I thought the part where the presenter was controlling a presentation with sound was an interesting multimedia application.  Also thinking about checking out equipment with these types of barcodes, and using it as a teaching moment to talk about audio waveforms.  Geeky, I know....

Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X was released in June 2011 to nearly unanimous poor reviews.  Why? The Apple developers decided to essentially start over with the application (hence the jump from 7 to X), and in doing so dropped dozens of features that pro editors relied on.  Missing features included: broadcast monitoring, multicam editing, output to tape, compatibility with older versions of Final Cut Pro, etc.  Many editors, myself included, felt that Final Cut Pro had been "dumbed-down" to appeal to a larger audience.  Now that it has been out over a year and has had five crucial updates, some editors are coming around, as the Apple developers have added back in some of those missing features.  Here at the Student Multimedia Design Center, we are still teaching and using Final Cut Pro 7, but we are getting ready to add Final Cut Pro X sometime in the next year.  The applications are so different that we will initially have both installed so that users have the choice which to use. Here are a few resources, if you are interested in learning more:

Background:

Apple's Final Cut Pro X Overview - biased, but is a good introduction to the new features.

Steve Martin's Overview is good if you are familiar with previous versions of Final Cut Pro, and want intelligent analysis of the major differences.

NY Times Article outlining video editor's complaints back when it was released.

Creative Cow's "Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate Forum" is a lively place for discussion on Final Cut Pro X and the alternatives.

99 Requests for Final Cut Pro X - With the faster release cycle, Apple seems more responsive to suggestions to improve the software.  These 99 requests are interesting to browse.  I know I hope for selective copy and paste of attributes. I use that all the time in FCP 7.

Tutorials/ Training:

Lynda.com (paid) is leading the charge right now, with over 20 hours of video training on FCPX.

Youtube Playlists (free) some of these might be useful.  I know Larry Jordan is a trusted source for Final Cut Pro info.

Ken Stone (free) always has some good free articles.

Creative Cow Video Tutorials are usually good for picking up specific skills/tips.

Creative Cow Forums are great for asking questions and troubleshooting.

Nicely Designed Website Templates for Photoshop

I came across some nice templates that can help make creating a website a whole lot easier. It can be frustrating or difficult to create a website from scratch and a bit of a creative helping hand can go a long way! Available here are 40 PSD (Photoshop) files with very nice website themes. They offer things like social media buttons, a default layout scheme, and nice texture/elements.

These templates are a great resource and start to creating your own custom and unique website. While you can use the template and not change it much, it's also nice to change/swap things around to make a truly unique site. Take buttons from one template, the background from another, and the layout scheme from a third source. Maybe experiment with using textures from other sources like Lost & Taken to add additional elements to your web space!

Links:
40 Website Templates in PSD Format
HQ Texture Resource

Are Great Schools Multimedia Champs?

Wonder how colleges and universities have dealt with the changes we've seen on the internet in the last ten years? Last week, Charlie posted a link to an infographic charting these stunning developments. It turns out that the brains behind Best Education Sites created the graphic, and so, with my interest piqued, I checked out their site. I was greeted with yet another fascinating infographic that compares social media presence among schools and explores the relationship between top-tier higher ed institutions and multimedia savvy.

Even since I've been at the University, I've witnessed...

• a major overhaul of our website's aesthetics, organization, and color choice
• a large increase in our presence on Twitter
• and an expansion of contests that involve user-generated media and social networks (photo scavenger hunts using instagram, for instance). 

UD knows that to establish itself as an East Coast Classic, it must keep in step with the web presence of prestigious schools like Harvard and University of California Berkley. Also of note: we're one of the 15% of sites that feature the color blue prominently! Scroll down to the end of the inforgaphic to view more stats and comparisons.

Video contest travel abroad

Deadline: 31th October 2012
Open to: Individuals who are 18+ and already enrolled or planning to enroll in college or university outside of their home country
Prize: $4,000

Read more: http://www.mladiinfo.com/2012/09/21/travel-video-contest-2012/#ixzz28fPP9d9G

Media College - Online Information

Looking for info on how to set up a scene?  Need to know about focus and depth of field?  Want to put your video online via a streaming server?  Well, Media College can help you out with all these things and many, many more.  Check out their guides and tutorials and see what you never thought to ask!  (http://www.mediacollege.com/)