Computers With Ease

Welcome to the computer’s with ease podcast, one of the important topics that I would like to talk about today when it comes to working with audio and video is how much editing is too much.

There are several factors to consider when deciding how much editing you want to do on a particular project. Of course you want to get rid of any unwanted noise that is in your project and in your background. Whether it be a lawn mower noise or noise of the dog outside which you may or may not be able to hear in this recording. Actually it could also be something as simple as a computer noise, if you recording in an office that has other equipment in it like I do.

One of the other issues that we find is that we all tend to say the word uhm, or ah and of course we want to get rid of those as well. But again, it’s a question of how much of that do you edit out, and sometimes depending on where those sounds are It’s easier to leave the occasional one in instead of trying to remove it.

There is also the question about the sound of yourself breathing. I know from personal experience that I have quite a bit of breath sound in my recordings, and over time I’ve gotten to know what they look like in my editing program, and so I can very easily and very quickly go through and edit out the majority of them and it’s just something that you get used to. The more you do recording of your material and editing the more familiar you will get with things like breathing, noise and other material that you want to get rid of in the editing process.

One of the last things that I want to talk about in terms of editing is the style of your podcast or video. What style are you trying to achieve with each project, do you want something with more freestyle to it that is more of a casual flow and yet professional, or do you want something really highly polished and professional and ultimately, that’s up to you with each project.

This will have an effect on how much editing you do and what you decide to edit out and what you decide to leave in, depending on the style you trying to achieve, the feeling you want the listener to have when they listen to the podcast.

If you trying to, for example, give the feeling of a casual conversation you may leave more things in and not be quite strict in your editing. But again, it all depends on you, and it’s going to take practice and overtime. you will just develop an overall sense and style of what you want and it will eventually develop and become natural. I hope this is been helpful

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at [email protected] I currently have several open spaces for a free 20 minute consultation to talk about your needs when doing audio and video. So if you’re interested in a free consultation call please sign up. I will provide the link in the show notes of this podcast https://sagenda.net/Frontend/5ae233ef9a33628d60a01654?retrieveFromCookies=False and I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much for listening.

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The post Editing – how much is too much appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Welcome to the computers with ease podcast, one of the topics that I’m working with right now myself is the planning of a video and for me, there are several key steps involved and I thought I would simply describe these in the maybe it would help you in your planning process as well.

The first area is what is the purpose of the video, why are you creating this video? What do you want to say in the video itself. What point do you want to get across to your viewers? Basically, what do you want to leave the viewers with, what information do you want them to have that they don’t have now.

And what are you going to do with the video, where are you going to put it on YouTube on your own website. When it comes to the video itself there are several questions that come up.

What shots do you need? What are the key points in each series of shots that you want to make sure that you get? What information do you want to capture, is it something on the computer screen or is it something somewhere else outside etc. that you want to make sure you capture. Now once you have that, what’s the order for shooting the actual video?

Are there items that need to be shot or captured before you capture something else? Make sure that you have that order written down because it will make your shooting schedule much more efficient.

Are there any preparations that you need to do before you shoot any video? For example, I use a lot of screen captures from my computer and one of the things that I have to make sure that I do is make sure that I have the appropriate program opened to the right screen before I start to capture that the video that I need. And it may require two or three programs be opened for me to get that.

Another question is, is there any existing video that you already have that you may want to use in another project. Make sure that you have that and know where it is so that you can quickly and easily use it in the new project.

When it comes to audio, are you going to do a full written script for the audio portion or are you just can use a list of key points? And then how are you going to record it? Are you going to use your Webcam, headset microphone or an external recorder such as I have for this podcast?

Now as with the video the same applies with audio, are there audio that you already have that you want to use again in this project. If so, again, make sure that it readily available and you know where it is so you can easily access it.

When it comes to the settings for your video camera and your audio recording record both your audio and video at the highest quality that you can, using highest quality possible will not only give you the best overall results, but later on if you want to edit at a lower setting to say, create a smaller file size for the video.

You will still get great results, If you record the initial video at a higher quality. I hope these tips have been helpful. I recommend writing this stuff down in whatever format is comfortable for you, just so that you have the information readily available as you’re creating your video project. It will make the whole thing go much faster, be less stressful and more enjoyable.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at [email protected]  please feel free to sign up for it, a 20 minute free consultation about your audio and video needs I will include a link in the show note for those of you that are interested.   https://sagenda.net/Frontend/5ae233ef9a33628d60a01654?retrieveFromCookies=False If you would like a specific time and date, please feel free to email me and we can arrange that. Thank you very much for listening.

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The post Plan your video – some thoughts to consider appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to the computers of ease podcast, today I wanted to talk about microphones. This is a topic of importance, no matter whether you are doing podcast or video.

I always seems that no matter who you talk to, there’s always going to be a difference of opinion depending on what you’re doing so I thought I would just go over some of the basics in terms of different types of microphones and the cost as well as some of the pros and cons of each one.

But the first thing I’m going to say when it comes to microphones is use what you got. Get started now, you can always upgrade and change as you go. Now as I said earlier, there are several types of microphones one of which is handheld microphone like what you see newscasters using when they’re doing interviews and so on.

.The cost ranges anywhere from $25 to say 300 they’re good for TV style interviews and they can pick up external noise from around you depending on the quality of the microphone. But they’re good to start with If you have nothing else.

Now one of the other choices you’ve got is a headset microphone, and these range from approximately $50 to 300 and these tend to be very good because are more stable, the microphone stays at a consistent distance from your mouth and there less likely to get bumped.

They don’t pick up as much of the surrounding noise so they can be very good for doing podcasts I use a headset microphone for my dictation on my computer and it works exceptionally well for that as well.

One of the types of microphone that is very available right now and most of us have one is the microphone in your Webcam. They range from $20 to 200 and can be used for doing your podcast or your video.

They will pick up background noise as well, but again it’s one of those things that everybody has one. So when you’re thinking I don’t have anything or I have to go buy something expensive to get started.

Start working with your Webcam If that’s what you have. As I said earlier, you can always upgrade later once you have started and you’re more comfortable.

If you have comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] I have a few openings for a free consultation about your individual audio or video needs. I will include a link to sign up in the show notes feel free to sign up https://sagenda.net/Frontend/5ae233ef9a33628d60a01654?retrieveFromCookies=False and if for some reason those times and dates don’t work for you.

Please feel free to email me and request a specific date and time. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much for listening

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The post Microphones – getting started appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to be computers with ease podcast my name is Darrell Hyatt. Today I wanted to talk about the topic of planning your podcast. This is something that I try to do with every episode and I thought I would describe the process that I use for planning.

The first thing I have is what I call an ideas list. This is a document that I have a word file where I keep an ongoing list of topics that I may want to use for a podcast or for video. Now as I said earlier I use plain word document, but you can use any tool that works for you in any format at all.

The important part is that you have a list of the topics for future reference so when you want to create a podcast or video you got somewhere to start.

Another thing that I have is a key point list. So when I am working on a podcast I start with my key points and those are the things that I want to remember to talk about for each podcast itself. In my case I use Post-it notes on a plain piece of paper so that I can organize my key points and if I need to change them around. I can do that.

Once I’m comfortable with the key points themselves, and the order then I have a one-page sheet that I transfer those key points to and that’s in fact what I’m looking at. as I’m doing this particular podcast.

Another thing to consider when you’re planning your podcast is your introduction music your outro music, and any music you want to use between your segments of the show. Make sure that you have your music located in an easy to find location so that when you’re doing the editing and so on you’ve got access to it easily.

There’s lots of places online where you can get it and you may either have to pay a small fee for each song or with a lot of the free downloads you have to acknowledge where you got it in your podcast or your video wherever you are using that particular piece of music.

One of the other points to remember is if you need other information for your podcast have it readily available in my case, I simply have it sitting on the desk and I can refer to it easily and quickly.

Now if you’re having guests on your podcast as part of your planning. I recommend having their contact information readily available as well as your login information for anything such as Zoom or any conferencing software that you can be using if you’re doing an interview, and make sure that your guest has that information as well.

One of the other things I would suggest is if you’re using a conferencing tool sign in early and test your connection and your audio with the other person so that if there is any difficulties you have time to sort those out before you start the recording.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] Thank you very much for listening.

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The post Plan your podcast – a guide appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to the computers with ease podcast my name is Darrell Hyatt, I’m going to continue my series on audio this week by talking about acoustic foam panels. As many of you know this is something that I was given for Christmas, you may be wondering what acoustic foam panels are? they are simply sheets of foam of different sizes and shapes that look very similar to the inside of an egg carton.

In my case I got panels that are approximately 10 inches square you may be asking why would you use these acoustic foam panels, there used when you want to change the sound in a room or in a particular space for example in my office.

I have an echo because I don’t have a lot of furnishings in my office I don’t have things like rugs or other items that would absorb the sound and stop it from bouncing around the walls and the other things in the room. So what you do is you use the acoustic foam panels to create a quiet zone around you when you’re recording because the egg carton type shape of the panels as sound hits these panels it absorbs the sound and therefore stops it from bouncing around the room.

In my case it removes the echo substantially and makes the recording much cleaner much easier to edit later on because I’m not trying to remove as much unwanted noise and echo from the recording because is not there in the first place anymore.

You can get these acoustic foam panels in many different sizes and shapes as well as from many different locations including Amazon etc. One of the things that I will tell you is that the standard form that you could buy that’s flat does not work very well for this purpose and I therefore don’t recommend that you use it.

It doesn’t work simply because it’s flat, it doesn’t have the sound absorbing capability of the foam panels because of the egg carton shape. These acoustic foam panels are very worthwhile you can get them in small quantities so that if you’re not sure if they can work for you, you can buy a small number of them and experiment before buying a larger quantity.

This will make you recording sound much cleaner and will significantly cut down on your editing time later on I highly recommend them and look forward to continuing to use them.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] Thank you very much for listening.

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The post Acoustic panels – What are they & why use them appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to the computers with ease podcasts. My name is Darrell Hyatt in this episode I would like to continue with my series on working with audio. Today I’m going to talk about the editing steps that I do with each of the podcasts that I work on including this one.

Each of the steps I’m going to describe and each of these steps is done in that particular order that I described them to you, once I create the audio file itself the first step that I do is create a backup of the original audio file so that if something happens during the editing process I can go back to the original recording and start again.

The next step but I do is remove any background noise in the file itself, the next step in my workflow is to then increase the volume of the overall audio if necessary sometimes this is required than other times it’s not just depends on the individual audio file itself.

The next step is to remove any clicks pops or extraneous unwanted noise throughout the entire file itself and this can take some time and depending on how serious you want to be with your noise removal. It can be a very tedious process but after a while you will get used to doing it and you’ll get used to your own individual speech patterns.

For me one of the things that I have to do is remove the excess silence between my words and things like that, but you will get to learn your own speech patterns and overall this process will become second nature to you the more that you do it.

I hope this has been helpful I look forward to hearing your comments please feel free to email me any questions you may have at [email protected] Thank you very much for listening.

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The post My audio editing workflow appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to the computers with ease podcast. My name is Darrell Hyatt today I’m going to continue with my series on working with audio and today’s topic is going to be some audio recording tips and techniques.

The first tip that I have is to use notes before doing your audio, It doesn’t matter what form those notes take for you whether there short keyword items or something a little more extensive. The important point is make sure that the notes remind you of the key points that you want to present, in my case I’ve actually got my notes here on my iPad that I’m looking at as I record this particular podcast.

The next tip is be in a quiet place whether that’s a corner of your office again it doesn’t matter where it is as long as it’s a quiet place. What I recommend is do a sample recording in that room to see what the sound levels are before you start recording your podcast or whatever it’s going to be.

I also recommend leaving some empty quiet space at both the beginning and end of your recording this will help later on with the editing process allowing you some quiet space to get your background noise and do removal of the background noise much easier.

Don’t stop over small blips in your recording, if for example you say the same word twice don’t stop the recording and start over again you can edit those things out in your editing software. Stopping and starting tends to distract you and the ruin the flow of the audio that you’re working on.

Probably the most important tip I have for you when recording audio is relax be yourself as much as possible and let your personality come through in the recordings.

Thank you very much for listening, if you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] Thank you very much.

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The post Audio recording tips you too can do appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello and welcome to the computers with ease podcast. My name is Darrell Hyatt, as we all know audio quality is an important part of any project and I thought I would start a four-part series on audio here in this podcast and I wanted to start with the audio software that I use for both the podcast you’re listening to and my video projects.

The first piece of software that I use is one called Audacity, it’s an audio editor that’s available for both the PC Mac and Linux and it’s available for free. It has a lot of the features that you would expect in an audio editor, has a great range of files that it will work with without conversion.

You can do a lot of the basics such as noise removal, increase the volume etc. one of the other things that I like in audacity is the fact that you can save in a lot of known formats including wav and mp3.

Another program that I use is one called Mixpad and as the name implies it’s a mixing program to allow you to take two different audio files and combine them together into one, so for example in the case of a podcast you could have music at the beginning and end of your podcast.

Then the podcast file itself and you could put three of them together and using something like mix pad you could then create the one file that that you would put up as your podcast.

When it comes to working with video I not only use the same two pieces of software  I have a zoom recorder and a Rode lavaliere mic that I wear when I do video so that I can be across the room and create good sounding audio for the video.

This does of course mean that I have to sync up the audio on the video later, but once I have the audio that I’m going to use for the video project I again use both Audacity and Mixpad to create the final best sounding audio that I can for the particular video project.

All of these tools, not only the software but the hardware itself does take some time to get used to and learn how to use it effectively. But it’s well worth the effort and the time.

I hope this has been helpful starting point when you’re working with audio if you have any questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] I look forward to your comments and suggestions thank you very much

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The post Audio/video tools I use to create my content appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Hello welcome to the computers with ease podcast. I have been doing podcasts and some videos for several years now and I remember when I first started that it seemed like there was so much information out there in various places on the Internet etc and it felt somewhat overwhelming.

When I was starting, trying to make sense of all this information and do all the things that one needs to do to create content etc, as I sat and thought about it one of the things that I wish I had easy access to was someone to sit down with me and help walk me through the entire process and show me the shortcuts and tips and tricks to allow me to get to the point where I was creating content and felt comfortable doing it and most importantly confident in the content that I was creating.

So one of my projects for this year is to help individuals who are creating audio and video content, help them create their content easily and effectively with less stress etc. to this end   I want to have somewhat of a conversation with individuals who are starting this process and provide them a way to ask their questions and get specific answers in a non-technical sense and in a more comfortable conversational way.

What I would like to do is give you an opportunity to talk to me and ask your questions and I will provide specific answers and help you in any way that I can, to start what I would like to do if you have a question please leave it below in the comments for this podcast.

I will answer any and all questions that come through as comments and you can also feel free to email me at [email protected] with your questions. I look forward to helping you with your questions as well as assist you in getting your audio and video projects completed Thank you very much.

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The post I want to talk to you about your audio/video projects appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.

Welcome to the computers with ease podcast. Are you one of the individuals or companies that has decided that 2017 is the year you’re going to start creating audio’s or video’s for your company?

If so I know you have a lot of questions at this point and possibly not a lot of answers, I have a question for you is there a program or a skill that you would like to learn? Do you know what tools or programs you want to use to create your audio and video content?

And finally have you tried the program or tool that you want to learn about in the process of creating a content and by that I simply mean does the program you wish to use have a trial version and if so have you downloaded it and started working with it?

As you begin to explore the area of creating your content questions will come up no matter what program you actually use to create your content, there’s going to be times where you don’t know what to do, how to do it, or how to get the results that you’re looking for.

And at that point when you’re frustrated confused and don’t know which way to turn or how to solve your particular question I recommend taking a deep breath walking away for five or ten minutes doing something else, clearing your thoughts and then going back to it and at that point use some of the resources available to you that help within the program itself.

One of my favourite resources happens to be Google because you can ask almost any question in almost any language and there will be some sort of an answer, you may have to search through before you find the exact answer you’re looking for but it will be there.

The other thing that I found extremely useful is practice, practice with the program practice creating and refining your content. If it’s video for example shoot two or three different examples trials of what you want and then look back and see which one you like best, which one works the best for you brings out your personality with whatever it is that’s important to you and carry on the more that you do it no matter what it is the better you will get.

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you would like to stay up to date with all my podcasts please feel free to sign up at www.computerswithease.com Thank you very much.

 

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The post What tools will you use to create your audio/video content? appeared first on Computers with Ease » Podcast Feed.