Technical | Dave Courvoisier's Blog

All a-Buzz

February 11, 2010 By CourVO 1 Comment

Google continues to amaze. After the many years experiencing Microsoft’s marketplace moves, I keep thinking there’s a catch…a string attached. Google is no Boy Scout, but it’s hard to argue with the value of all the free stuff they throw at you.

Lately, I find myself using the Google Chrome browser more and more for it’s speed, now I’m using it for the growing list of extensions, too. So many of them, it’s starting to challenge the convenience of plug-ins offered by Mozilla.

For instance, there are 39 extensions alone association with Google Docs…every tweak imaginable.

There’s social networking extensions galore, an Arabic word-of-the-day extension, a “turn-off-the-lights” extension, SEO tools…OMG…anything. Installation is so easy Harry Reid could do it, and it’s fast fast fast.

Extensions install on the toolbar of your Chrome browser, and make linking to things oh so much easier.

Click HERE to go to the Google extensions page, and click away!

But wait!…there’s more!

Google is apparently feeling the pinch of Twitter’s success, and has this week launched it’s answer: BUZZ.

If you use Gmail, Google makes it ridiculously easy to launch into Buzz. See the new line they’ve inserted under the “inbox” line on the left of your Gmail screen.

When you click the Buzz link, you’ll find that Google has already chosen some followers for you, and that means some others are already following you too. The interface looks familiar to Twitter, and there are seamless links for following threads, answering, choosing new/more followers, and inviting others. In short, it’s Goog-Twit, or said another way: everything that Google Wave wanted to be, but fell short, somehow…mostly through a bad launch and an overly-complex interface.

If you DON’T see Buzz in Gmail, go HERE to install it.

I’m just not sure I need to get hooked on yet ANOTHER stream-of-consciousness, follow/follower internet social network.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology, Twitter Tagged With: Buzz, Google, Google Buzz, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent

Audition by iPhone

February 9, 2010 By CourVO 7 Comments

This is an intriguing concept, absolutely do-able (in theory), and probably will be common in the future.

I’m sure something similar could be done by Android, BlackBerry, or other smartphone, but follow the bouncing ball, while I explain how it could be done on the iPhone.

First, you need a microphone. Amazon now sports a number of mics that plug into either the charging port on the bottom of the phone or the earphone plug on the top of the phone.

The Blue Mikey is a particularly nice addition from Blue Microphones. They’ve actually come out with a new model that has stereo recording capabilities, 230-degree rotating design, and a USB pass-through, not to mention it’s own carrying pouch and headphones. It vericorder has the same hi-fidelity 3-gain selection switch features of the original Mikey.

See also the Vericorder mini-mic, (left) a nice companion to the software I’m about to describe below by Vericorder.

Now, you need decent software….or not. You could probably stop right here and turn in a pretty decent soundfile to that client waiting impatiently to hear your dulcet tones on their new project.

But I know you better than that. You need something more than what is available for 99-cents in the appstore. You need Poddio.

Poddio used to be inexpensive. Not any more. But, if you’re serious about this, you’ll need to get Poddio. It’s an unbelievably feature-rich audio editor in the palm of your hand.

Virtually anything you can do with Sony SoundForge, you can do in Poddio (almost).

Visit VeriCorder yourself and see the specs…I’ll not bore you here, but this is one slick software app.

Since it’s inception late last year, Poddio seems to have gone through some developmental growing pains…it certainly jumped its price about 400%…and you can’t get it by just doing a search under Applications on your iPhone. You have to visit Apptism, or the Vericorder site itself.

Poddio even lets you upload/share your finished audition to a server through WiFi or 3G so your client can download and hear it.

Again, pricey….but hey, you want your audition to sound good, right?

Why would anyone want to audition by iPhone? Any number of scenarios come to mind. Maybe you’ve just left your studio for the day to go with your family to the museum, and while you’re there, your favorite client emails and dangles in front of you, THE spot you’ve been hoping to get. You grab your iphone, your Mikey, and head for the nearest mainenance closet you can find… read the script off your iPhone screen, while you voice it into the mic, then send, and wait for the email from your client that it’s just what he wanted to hear…. oh, and BTW, thanks for the excellent qualiity audition!!!

Honestly, this only miniaturizes the mobile equipment you probably take with you when you travel anyway. I wouldn’t think of cutting the final product on the iPhone (not yet), but this absolute minimum configuration is convincing enough to fit the bill in a pinch.

CourVO

Filed Under: Mics, New Paradigms, Technical, Technology Tagged With: Apptism, audition, Blue Microphones, Blue Mikey, poddio, smartphone, Vericorder, Vericorder minimic, voice actor, voice artist, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent

Tech Meanderings

January 27, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Some of this stuff is just too good to keep to myself.

You may not agree, or even have interest, but a number of people tell me they appreciate hearing about the coolest tools I find on the web, so here are the latest three.

Google Voice on the iPhone.

The folks at Apple didn’t take too kindly to Google infringing on their turf, so they shut out the Google Voice App.

Google found a work-around if you don’t mind using your web-browser for this one AND you already have a Google Voice account.

See Google Voice Blog for more.

Wow, how much did Social.com spend to get THAT domain name? Whew! The site used to be called Big Tweet, and their browser toolbar bookmarklet was the easiest way to post something to Twitter. Well, you still can, it’s just called Social.com, now. Also from their website: Social.com is a suite of social media contribution tools designed to help you spread your message to all your followers on the Internet. With Social.com’s browser bookmarklet you can quickly and easily send the page that you are on – even from Google Reader – to Twitter, Delicious, and Ping.fm. Use the Social.com WordPress Plugin and Button to drive more traffic to your blog or website.

Finally, try Pixability.com for a snazzy idea making the production of videos mindless, that is if you, uh..er…don’t have a mind for that.

Here’s how it works. You get a camcorder in the mail, shoot your footage,send the camcorder back, and receive your professionally edited video.

Like I said, this is for people who REALLY don’t want to mess with the details of producing a video, don’t have time to, or have a lot of videos to produce very quickly.

How will this help your VO business? Ah, that’s up to you! I’ll probably never use Pixability, but I already use Google Voice, and Social.com…great, easy, free tools for keeping your marketing options open in cyberspace.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology, Web/Tech Tagged With: Google Voice, Pixability, Social.com, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover

Confessions of a VO Geek

January 24, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Usually I read WIRED magazine from cover to cover as soon as it arrives.

I have copies at least two or three years old that I did NOT have time to read, but I refuse to throw them away. Their value, of course, is IN the moment, so the old editions are really worthless but for posterity’s sake.

WIRED is available in an online edition too…and most of the printed magazine articles are there as well.

WIRED is where I first heard about Google (1998), and Twitter (2006?). The publication tries tragically to be hip, and largely succeeds. I hope it doesn’t die in the current economy.

WIRED’S Editor in Chief is Chris Anderson…maybe you’ve heard of “The Long Tail“. Yeah, well, he wrote that landmark analysis of today’s marketplace in the pages of WIRED. He eventually fleshed out his theories in a book.

The Feb 2010 print edition includes a cover story article by Chris Anderson called “The New Industial Revolution”…all about DIY manufacturing (at last check, article not yet available online).

This fascinating read gives several examples of people who have pioneered the outsourced manufacturing of their niche projects mostly by virtue of a combination of ‘arrived’ technology, Chinese production availability, online collaboration, and thriving American entrepreneurism and enterprising spirit.

The more I read, the more I realized the current VO industry is a poster child for this concept (except, maybe the need for China in the equation). Our product is not so tangible as ethereal. We’re not inventing new voices (except for the incursion of synthetic voices — a threat? — blog from October, ’09), but we ARE inventing new ways to produce, transmit, engineer, and do business in virtual VO-land.

We are the entrepreneurs using chutzpah, new technologies, gutsy innovation, and collaboration to move VO past old paradigms of unions, agents, and distribution through brick ‘n’ mortar sound studios.

The article shows a community of car enthusiasts building a street-ready car in limited production, and making a profit. That doesn’t mean Ford and Chevy are shaking in their boots…yet.

Similarly, some of the best-paying VO jobs and the most lucrative voice-acting leads still arrive at our door through legacy pathways.

Thus, we live betwixt and between. That’s fine. I’m still considering Union, but I think I can see where things are going…and I’m ‘wired’ to be there and thriving when the rest catch up.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology Tagged With: Chris Anderson, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices, WIRED, WIRED Magazine

Mendez & Mozilla

January 21, 2010 By CourVO 2 Comments

YOU know I love this tech stuff. I find the latest virtual tools enhance my VO business, but I’ll also admit tinkering with them is a time-suck. These two tips are NOT a time-suck.

First, a major upgrade to your FireFox Mozilla browser. 3.6 is available. According to Mashable, the new edition of FireFox, “…sports an array of features, least of which is an increase in speed — 20% faster than Firefox 3.5, according to Mozilla. It uses Gecko 1.9.2 web-rendering, which improves its load times, startup speed and stability. Javascript execution is faster and smoother as well.”

So there. You can find the upgrade on the Mozilla site HERE, or just launch your browser, and it should kick-in the upgrade process. OR, initiate the upgrade from your browser Help menu.

The Mashable article is HERE.

_______________________

Also, my VO friend Anthony Mendez devised an intriguing and effective method for creating a download link to your website demo mp3’s. Why would you need that? Anthony not only answers, but provides a video tutorial that walks you through the process. Check it out on his Posterous blog HERE. Thanks Anthony!

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology Tagged With: Anthony Mendez, AnthonyVO, FireFox, Mozilla, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice artists, voice over actor, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover

Source-Connect Price Increase

January 20, 2010 By CourVO 1 Comment

Maybe I’m late to the party hearing this, but if you were on the fence about whether or not to purchase Source Connect, now might be the time.

For the next 10 days…until January 31st, their long-standing price for Source-Connect Standard is going up. Right now it’s at $395 with a 6-month service contract, but on Feb. 1st, it goes up to $650.

OUCH!!

Yeah, this would definitely be the time to move on it if you were going to.

Click HERE for more info, then click on “pricing” for the word on that deadline.

CourVO

Filed Under: Pricing, Technical, Technology Tagged With: source connect, Source-Elements, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers

Simple Word Count

January 17, 2010 By CourVO 1 Comment

A simple word count. That’s all I want. To be able to quote a client, I need to know how many words are in the content.

You’d be surprised how often it comes up, and how difficult it can be. Right?

Well, in my search, I came upon a great little FREE program, and it’s about as simple to run as I’ve ever seen. Verifiably accurate, too.

It’s called TRANSLATOR’S ABACUS – “…An automatic wordcount program for HTML, PDF, Microsoft Word, RTF, and text files.”

You download the .Zip file, open it, and the extraction creates two files…an execution file, and a user’s guide. When you launch the .exe file, it opens a box. You drag the PDF or HTML file to the box, and you get a read-out like this:

Now, granted, MS Word already offers a word count function, but Adobe Acrobat does not, and LOTS of stuff is in .pdf these days.

Before I found the Translator’s Abacus, I spent money on a program called Smart PDF Converter (which I love, BTW), that would convert any PDF file to all sorts of different output file formats (HTML, XLS, JPEG, TXT, etc). I’d commonly convert to a Word.doc and do the word count.

But Translator’s Abacus sure makes it easy.

Anyhow, I did a word count comparison on an entire book of almost 70,000 pages, and the word count difference between the two programs was only 10. Not bad!
Let me know if you’re aware of any other conversion or word-count program that are free, shareware, or low-cost willya?

CourVO

Filed Under: Software, Technical Tagged With: SmartPDFConverter, Translator's Abacus, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, Voiceovers, word count

The Right Browser

December 6, 2009 By CourVO 2 Comments

ie7 Some regular readers of this blog have brought it to my attention that they consistently get error messages and are unable to read this site when viewing through their Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.

After no small amount of research..polling experts, and doing plenty of hand-wringing, I’ve decided to do nothing on my end, as CourVO.biz is not REALLY the culprit.

The heart of the issue lies in a version of MSIE that doesn’t handle certain internet code appropriately. That’s an oversimplification, but I’ll save you the boring details.

Bottom line: if you can’t see this blog on your MSIE browser, you’re using a IE V7.0 edition that is the culprit. It’s buggy, and that’s why Microsoft has moved on. You should too.

My recommendation: update your browser!!! V8.0 is pretty snazzy, and works better… and you’ll be able to View VOICE ACTING IN VEGAS no prob!!!

As far as I can tell, FireFox and all other browsers do not have this issue.

Thanks for being a dedicated visitor!

I appreciate you!!!

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology

Sweetest Studio of All?

December 6, 2009 By CourVO 1 Comment

OK, so maybe it IS little impractical as a VO studio, but you gotta admit, it makes an impression, and it IS a Blue Microphone.

For a little more on this and other workspaces…see HERE.

Also, as long as I’m on a LifeHacker roll… see THIS article on the Top 10 downloads for a road warrior laptop.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technical, Technology

December EQ Mag is here

November 25, 2009 By CourVO Leave a Comment

You’ll always find a link to this online publication here on my blog, as soon as I get notification that it’s out.

I’ve never seen as slick an online publication as this magazine…and that’s aside from all the kick-butt content it has.

EQ Magazine is for the audiophile, the studio engineer, the musician crazed by getting the perfect sound…so it leans in the direction of technical audio lingo…but the articles are spot-on. This month: tips on using Pro-Tools 8, and Cakewalk Sonar 8.5, along with other great equipment critiques and even the ads are worth a gander.

Check it out HERE.

CourVO