Test of Biteable Video Making Service

Not really back in the game but I am testing out animation services for Explainer videos. This is a service called Bitable.com; there are free and paid options for easy animation style videos.


The Difference Between Zoom vs. Zoom.us Recorder on Biteable.

The free version will allow you limited access to templates and audio. You can embed video and share via the website. 

You can share via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but I think you have to give the service permission to post to your account.

Sony Creative Sells Consumer Video and Audio Software to Magix

Greetings. It has been a while, but as most of you know I've been audio podcasting. When there is news or something of note I will posted it.

I got an e-mail from Sony that my personal information was being transferred to Magix, I followed up and found out that all of the consumer lines (what they call assets) have been sold to the Magix.

• Vegas Pro
• Movie Studio
• Sound Forge Audio Studio
• Sound Forge Pro
• Acid Music Studio
• Acid Pro

For the time being nothing will change; but there will be a transition to the new owners. There were good training videos on the Sony site as well as a forum with a lot of historical information.

Not really clear if that is going to migrate as well.  Magix is a good company; not too fond of trying finding info on their website; it takes some digging and often you have to register. In the past I had to sign in multiple times to get to the info that I needed at the time.

That said, I have found some goodies over yonder when I needed them.

Vlog and Carry on.

Windows 10 Does Not Support Windows Movie Maker

June 2018 Update: Hi folks. I know it has been a while. I'm working on other projects that are not video related. Most of the consumer video world has switch to mobile. What I had to offer is no longer relevant for contemporary smartphone video production.

That being said, a lot of folks (who refuse to upgrade operating systems) still use some form of Windows Movie Maker. If you are upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1 and have an existing copy of Movie Maker there shouldn't be any problems.

Microsoft doesn't support Movie Maker 12 for Windows 10 you have to figure out what is wrong and how to make it right.

The worse news is that you can no longer obtain Movie Maker from Microsoft's web site. If you see links to it from other sources do not download it; it may have been tainted with malware.


You do have options:

• Adobe Premier Essentials is still available.
• Corel VideoStudio is now Corel VideoStudio Pro 2018 and beyond.
• Serif Movie Plus - Discontinued. Rest in peace, it was good to me.
• Sony Movie Studio is now Magix Movie Studio. If you have a prior version of a Sony video editing software product you might be able to upgrade to a new version for a reduced cost..

Yes, you will have to pay for it. I know that can be a problem for some folks.

There are other free options but please be a savvy consumer. Not everything free is safe, easy or good. I'll keep an eye out for items of interest but for now,

Vlog on...

When The DV World Was New

In 2003 I saw my first non-tape digital camcorder at a DV convention in Los Angeles. My brain is fuzzy on it but it was an attempt to reach out to industrial and corporate videopeople.

They made a token effort to reach out to "those Internet folks". Many of the exhibitors were not interested in talking to people from the new disruptive wave. The exhibitors were there to make sales to their traditional markets. They had no use for the computer people.

I walked around, got as much swag as I could to justify my admission fee.

Then I saw this:

It was one of the first digital video camcorders. There were two guys running around in white lab coats talking up a storm in either a British or Australian accent. I couldn't tell you which because I was drawn like a bee to honey about that camera.

Running off an 2GB SD card and recording AVI (I think) video. Could have been Motion JPEG. It might have recorded 320x240 video.

It was affordable. $199 in cold hard cash or credit card. Accessible. Golly gee did I want to buy it right then and there. Which meant that I didn't. Not enough cash and I had limited options on uploading and posting videos.

I knew it was a game changer. I knew other camcorders were coming that would be better. I did not known that it would start to pave a path that transformed an industry. Digital video created new opportunities for creatives and non-Hollywood type innovators.

That is the thing about the future. Sometimes you can see a wee bit ahead but you'll never know until you step into the void.

Twelve years later I own different kinds of devices. The most recent being a Pivothead eyewear recorder. Everything old is new again.

Smartphones have replaced dedicated digital recorders. Action cams like the GoPro are transforming movie making and gaming.

Corporate media is busy locking down new talent and production companies to get rooted in the future yet to come.

And hotels are trying to keep you from using personal Wi-Fi and smartphone usage in their buildings.

What has this got to do with video?

Well, if this industry gets the right to block personal Wi-Fi usage then other companies will follow. Some of those companies could be people in the broadcast television industry looking to suppress any form of innovation they don't understand.

Or police departments wanting to stop people recording and uploading video of certain activities.

Or a religious group that thinks you should not have a voice to express your views and actively stops transmission.

How shall we go forward?

Other Posts of Interest

• Equipment
• Legal
• Ramblings
• Video Advocacy
• VidGeeky
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Pivothead Kudu Initial Impressions

Howdy. Having some technical difficulties as well as bandwidth issues. Not resolved but making progress. Anytime it takes 222 minutes to upload a 87MB file there is a problem. For the record; the video crashed just before final acceptance. So no video.
On to more important matters. I was tempted by an ad for a pair of Pivothead Kudu video glasses, eyeware what ever you want to call them. The $199.99 price was right and I went for it.

Quick Specs

• 1080p video with options to downshift to 720p at 60fps or 720p at 30fps
• 8GB internal storage for about an hour of video
• Field of view is 75 degrees so no fisheye effect; to some that is a deal breaker but not for me.
• Can take stills at 8MB, 5MB and 3MB

The photo shows light lens but mine are dark and that can be an issue if you want to record inside. Questions will be asked like "do you have an eye problem?" I believe I can swap out the lens for clear glass but I'll need to hip hop back to the website to make sure my model can do that.

Recording is easy. Very simple to operate. Walking while recording is challenging. In my first attempts I learned that I move my head a lot. I finally got some decent video to show and then crash, boom, no ability to upload.

Oops, gotta go.

Keep It Simple - Digital Storytelling Chart

Well, I've passed the class and I'm in recovery mode. Lot of catching up to do and decisions to make.

In the meantime, I've been using Canva to create simple artwork. I like that they have a tutorial process to help users create better charts and social media signage. They also have free and paid templates.

Kinda cool.

Other Posts of Interest

• Audio and Music
• Basic Skills
• Buying Camcorders
• Copyright and Fair Use Issues
• Creativity
• Documentary and Personal Narrative
• Editing
• Equipment
• Glossary
• How To
• Journalism
• Legal
• Mobile
• Pathfinders
• Planning
• Poetry
• Ramblings
• Resources
• Social Media
• Apps and Software
• Storytelling
• Video Advocacy
• VidGeeky
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Quick Look at The Noun Project

How do you express a universal concept? The Noun Project is trying to create pictograms that can express a concept without the use of written or spoken language.

So, back to the question and inspiration for my project; explaining how to take medicine when the other person can't read or doesn't understand your language?

This is a video about the project:



Now, here is where it gets interesting. Researching my project I found out that many countries use pictograms in addition to written language to communicate medical concepts. If you are thinking of a rural African village, think again.

The pictorgrams concept is used in Ireland, India and in the Americas. Hopefully it will pick up steam in the U.S. but it is a process. So, how do you get your hands on them?

There are a number of ways. If you have Adobe Voice you are good to go, this is the service that provides the art work.

If you are on Android or another operating system then you can register at the site for a limited free account. On the free account you are limited to Public Domain images. You will have to hunt them down; they are not easy to find.

I was only able to download three a day but I wasn't trying to load the whole image bank. There are low lifers that would download and sell the images so I completely understand the restrictions.

If you need more you can purchase individual images or access the creative common images that require attribution. The pricing plan that starts at $10 a month. If you only are need an pictogram occasionally this could be a keeper.

Images seem to scale well in my video editing programs. You have to see if your software or app is accommodating to it.

Other Posts of Interest

• Audio and Music
• How To
• Apps and Software
• Storytelling
• Home Page for Mobile Users