Transcoding is the process of changing a file from one format to another. Last week having edited as aif students needed to convert to a Wav file. Its common to have to do this converted from one to another and back again. The conversion to MP3 is also very common. These are all different CODECs.
Here is a post I wrote earlier this year about Switch - a free Mac app that makes it easy to convert from one audio format to another.
The file conversion site Zamzar is another favorite of mine. This works on all sort of file types - image, document, media.
The producers of Switch also make a free - multi platform audio editor called Wavepad Sound Editor, it looks good and will do the conversion to multiple formats too. The open source fav is Audacity - which I have found to be good. for simple stereo editing Sound Studio is neat and very mac-like. It only runs of Mac and doesn't convert to MP3 sadly, oh yes and costs $80.
You have to get used to understanding formats and develop your own toolbox and workarounds. There isn't an easy cheap one stop shop. Or maybe there is? Let me know.
This post carries on from part 1 and details the practical aspects of writing your blog.I also cover assessing reflective writing and list some blogs you might like to subscribe to.
How do you blog (using Blogger.com)?
Here is a quick introduction from Blogger.
You might prefer to use WordPress.com. Here's this post using that blogging engine.
Layout. The great thing about about Blogs is that they allow you to present your ideas and writing without worrying about the HTML code that underlies the blog - which is really a website. But you still need to think about how you make the limited number of choices about layout. Its easy to post your first blog and then experiment with different styles and looks - called templates. These will alter the form but not the content of the blog. Make sure your blog is readable. Grey text against black is not a good idea. Some of your selections can affect how they read when the blog is accessed by a Reader. Check! Here are some ideas, from the web usability expert Jake Nielson, about positioning pictures and information - the F-shaped pattern.
Widgets. These can add great content to your blog and are quite easy to set up. Add, check and remove if they detract. See cliches below! About you. Include some information about yourself - who you are, why you are blogging, what you hope to achieve, what someone might learn from your blog. You are more likely to get people subscribing if they have these information. (Post) Title. This is what as known in web design as 'microcontent'. Choose the title for your post very carefully. It needs to be simple and informative. Again Readers display the title. Subscribers might scan just the titles while deciding what to read. Then mark as read anything that doesn't appeal - missing your beautifully crafted post. Structure. The opening paragraph needs to summarise the post, but in a way to raise interest. I often write this last - before publishing online. Its easier once you can see what you have said, to craft the introduction. There is a difference between academic writing and writing for the web. The structure is closer to the journalistic 'inverted pyramid'. Links. Without any links the posting has no context. In an academic essay you are required to include quotes that support the ideas you are discussing. Then at the end of the essay there is a bibliography that relates to the reference. The idea being that interested parties can trace the reference back to the original source. How much easier is it to do this on a blog! If you find a useful site and use it, link to it. If there is more information that relates to your post, link again. Be aware that if you want to link to a blog post make sure you use that postings url (permalink) and not the blog's home page. (Whats displayed on the homepage will change.) Multimedia. Not using images, video and audio is to criminally under use the blogging medium. As they say a picture can say a 1000 words. Not only that but this is a media course. So include media, both yours and others (its about context again). You can upload video and images to Blogger. They get stored on your account - Picasa. You can download Picasa as an application and use it instead of iPhoto (I think its better). The free storage for Picasa is actually quite modest.
You are better uploading to your YouTube or Vimeoaccount and embedding the video into the blog. Still images could be embedded from Flickr or Photobucket. (Keep track of your accounts and passwords). There are uploaders for iPhoto that will help you manage uploads. iPhoto will upload to Facebook and Picasa. Videonic will upload from your mac to Youtube.
Here are 13 blog cliches from Jeff Atwood's blog that are worth thinking about. Writing. Just because its not an essay doesn't mean that you don't have to spell, capitalise, punctuate, and paragraph. I expect to see all of these displayed to degree level. There's a spellchecker in Blogger. Use it , then check it - its US English. We require UK English! Its normal to have 2 spaces at the end of a sentence - it makes the piece easier to read. Use one space after a comma. If you cut and paste from WORD you will get problems with your blog. Use a plan text editor instead, like TextEdit on the Mac, NotePad on a PC. Organisation. Labelling (or tagging). You have the option to tag/label your posts. This is basic metatagging. It makes your blog easier to navigate. It makes sense for you, your readers and its good media practice. Things need to be organised so that you can store, search and find things. The labels allow you to catagorise your posts. If you are interested in the ideas of organisation - and they are relevant to you and your studies, watch this presentation by David Weinberger (or read his book - its an easy read!)
Content. Your content needs to be legal, fair and decent. You must avoid libel, slander and deformation of character. Your blog is public not private.
As students this is where the bulk of the marks will be given. It would help to start by thinking about what use blogs actually serve. Whom are they aimed at? Here are some broad descriptions:
A diary/daily journal - what you did, what you think,
Commercial support - development and problem solving with users
Interest groups - sharing information with like minded people on one subject, area or topic
Personal thoughts and ideas - reflecting on topics and subject(s) that interest you
Your blog may need to have some journal type of writing (1). As well as your thoughts and ideas (4). Description. Whatof what happened,what didn't happen, and what were the consequences etc. Reflection. Detail thelogic of decisions and choices. You should comment on alternatives you might have taken and whether that might have been better/worse for whatever reasons. Context. You also need to contextualise your work and thoughts - that is relate them to other examples, current practice etc. A lot of student writing tends to cover descriptive writing quite well and be less effective in reflecting on and contextualising their work. Lessons learnt. You should also comment on what you feel you learnt, what you feel you need to learn, illustrating it by explaining how you might perform the task/exercise if you were to do it again. How do we judge 'reflective writing'? Broadly we might define reflective writing like this:
Excellent reflective writing has these qualities: Reflective language that describes, analyses and plans subsequent actions as a result of reviewing processes and events.
Good reflective writing has these qualities: Use of vocabulary, writing style and expression indicate engagement with the reflective process. Evidence of self-evaluation and awareness of the wider context.
Poor reflective writing has these qualities: Writing style mainly descriptive but some engagement with the reflective process. Reflection largely confined to the personal, with little attempt to connect to the wider context.
Very poor reflective writing has these qualities: Use of vocabulary, writing style and expression entirely descriptive, showing very little engagement with the reflective process.
As with all things you get better with practice, but you can also learn a lot from just reading a range of blogs. Here are some you might like to read and subscribe to in your Reader (they may also provide context for some of your studies): Phil Bloom Freelance Director of Photography and exponent of cinematic style video shooting. (Often on DSLRs). Powertothepixel Great site that attempts to gather news and information about transmedia developments.
Wired magazine UK based version of the US techie site. Good for tech news with UK slant. Readwrite More tech news this time based in the States, but very comprehensive and up to date. Smashing Magazine Highlights design issues. Often something of interest.
Stu Maschwitz Stu wrote the DV rebel handbook and is a post production guru. Interesting and thought provoking. Some of his stuff on colour grading etc is very informative. (His books worth a read too. Check out the library.) The Guardian (Media section) classic resource on the Media (Monday's paper issue - but there's more online)
Good luck with your blogging. If this has helped you, or you think it can be improved - leave a comment. That's also very much part of the art of blogging.
Mike J
This post carries on from part 1 and details the practical aspects of writing your blog. I will also cover assessing reflective writing and list some blogs you might like to subscribe to.
How do you blog (using Blogger.com)? Here is a quick introduction from Blogger.
How do you actually blog?
Layout. The great thing about about Blogs is that they allow you to present your ideas and writing without worrying about the HTML code that underlies the blog - which is really a website. But you still need to think about how you make the limited number of choices about layout. Its easy to post your first blog and then experiment with different styles and looks - called templates. These will alter the form but not the content of the blog. Make sure your blog is readable. Grey text against black is not a good idea. Some of your selections can affect how they read when the blog is accessed by a Reader. Check!
Widgets. These can add great content to your blog and are quite easy to set up. Add, check and remove if they detract.
About you. Include some information about yourself - who you are, why you are blogging, what you hope to achieve, what someone might learn from your blog. You are more likely to get people subscribing if they have these information.
(Post)Title. Choose the title for your post very carefully. It needs to be simple and informative. Again Readers display the title. Subscribers might scan just the titles while deciding what to read. Then mark as read anything that doesn't appeal - missing your beautifully crafted post.
Structure. The opening paragraph needs to summarise the post, but in a way to raise interest. I often write this last - before publishing online. Its easier once you can see what you have said, to craft the introduction.
Links. Without any links the posting has no context. In an academic essay you are required to include quotes that support the ideas you are discussing. Then at the end of the essay there is a bibliography that relates to the reference. The idea being that interested readers can trace the reference back to the original source. How much easier is this on a blog! If you find a useful site and use it, link to it. If there is more information that relates to your post, link again. Be aware that if you want to link to a blog post make sure you use that posting's url (permalink) and not the blog's home page. (Whats displayed on the homepage will change.)
Multimedia. Not using images, video and audio is to criminally under use the blogging medium. A picture can say a 1000 words. Especially so if you are blogging for a media course. So include media, both yours and others (it's about context again). You can upload video and images to Blogger. They get stored on your account - Picasa. You can download Picasa as an application and use it instead of iPhoto (I think its better). However the free storage for Picasa is actually quite modest. You are better uploading to your YouTube or Vimeo account and embedding the video into the blog. Still images could be embedded from Flickr or Photobucket. (Keep track of your accounts and passwords). There are uploaders for iPhoto that will help you manage uploads. iPhoto will upload to Facebook and Picasa. Videonic will upload from your mac to Youtube. There is also Divshare - this will allow you to embed and stream audio and video from your Blog.
Writing. Just because its not an essay doesn't mean that you don't have to spell, Capitalise, punctuate, and paragraph. I expect to see all of these displayed to degree level. There's a spellchecker in Blogger. Use it , then check it - its US English. We require UK English! It's normal practice to have 2 spaces at the end of a sentence - it makes the piece easier to read. Use one space after a comma.
Organisation. Labelling (or tagging). You have the option to tag/label your posts. This is basic metatagging. It makes your blog easier to navigate. It makes sense for you, your readers and it's good media management. Things need to be organised so that you can store, search and find things. The labels allow you to catagorise your posts. If you are interested in the ideas of organisation - and they are relevant to you and your studies, watch this presentation by David Weinberger (or read his book - its an easy read!)
Content. Remember that your content needs to be legal, fair and decent. You must avoid libel, slander and deformation of character. Your blog is public and not private.
From a student point of view, this is where the bulk of the marks are likely to be given. It would help to start by thinking about what uses blogs actually serve. Whom are they aimed at? Here are some broad descriptions:
A diary/daily journal - what you did, what you think,
Commercial support - development and problem solving with users
Interest groups - sharing information with like minded people on one subject, area or topic
Personal thoughts and ideas - reflecting on topics and subject(s) that interest you
Your blog may need to have some journal type of writing (1). As well as your thoughts and ideas (4).
Description. What of what happened,what didn't happen, and what were the consequences etc.
Reflection. Detail the logic of decisions and choices. You should comment on alternatives you might have taken and whether that might have been better/worse for whatever reasons.
Context. You also need to contextualise your work and thoughts - relate them to other examples, current practice etc. A lot of student writing tends to cover descriptive writing quite well and be less effective in reflecting on and contextualising their work.
Lessons learnt. You should also comment on what you feel you learnt, what you feel you need to learn, illustrating it by explaining how you might perform the task/exercise if you were to do it again.
How do we judge 'reflective writing'? Broadly we might define reflective writing like this:
Excellent reflective writing has these qualities: Reflective language that describes, analyses and plans subsequent actions as a result of reviewing processes and events.
Good reflective writing has these qualities: Use of vocabulary, writing style and expression indicate engagement with the reflective process. Evidence of self-evaluation and awareness of the wider context.
Poor reflective writing has these qualities: Writing style mainly descriptive but some engagement with the reflective process. Reflection largely confined to the personal, with little attempt to connect to the wider context.
Very poor reflective writing has these qualities: Use of vocabulary, writing style and expression entirely descriptive, showing very little engagement with the reflective process.
As with all things you get better with practice, but you can also learn a lot from just reading a range of blogs. Here are some you might like to read and subscribe to in your Reader (they may also provide context for some of your studies):
Phil Bloom Freelance Director of Photography and exponent of cinematic style video shooting. (Often on DSLRs).
Powertothepixel Great site that attempts to gather news and information about transmedia developments.
Wired magazine UK based version of the US techie site. Good for tech news with UK slant.
Readwrite More tech news this time based in the States, but very comprehensive and up to date.
Smashing Magazine Highlights design issues. Often something of interest.
Stu Maschwitz Stu wrote the DV rebel handbook and is a post production guru. Interesting and thought provoking. Some of his stuff on colour grading etc is very informative. (His books worth a read too. Check out the library.)
The Guardian (Media section) classic resource on the Media (Monday's paper issue - but there's more online)
Good luck with your blogging. If this has helped you, or you think it can be improved - leave a comment. That's also very much part of the art of blogging.
Mike J
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Posted By Mike Johnston to Mike j's Blog on 9/03/2009 01:12:00 PM
As part of the Foundation Degree in Media Production we require students to blog as part of their course work. This post explains what blogs are, how they work, and why you have to blog. There is a second post that covers the practicalities of student blogging.
It's important that you know:
What a blog is
Why you are blogging
How to blog
What they need to blog
How the blog will be assessed
What is a blog?
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
Commoncraft have produced an excellent guide to blogging.
But blogging is only half the story. It's the filtering and finding of information - the 'broadcasting' or distribution of your blog, that makes up the other half. This is achieved using RSS. Or Really Simple Syndication. Lee Lefever (sounding rather tinny) explains again.
How can I use RSS? There are several ways. The first is by using a 'Reader'. Since we will be using Blogger.com which is owned by Google, its easiest to use the Google Reader since you'll already have a Google ID or email address. Once more (and I tried to find someone else to explain this, but Lee's version was way better an the others.)
Or you can create a web page that updates with the blogs or 'feeds' that you subscribe to. Examples of this are Netvibes, Pageflakes or My Yahoo. Google also offers the Google page. I like Netvibes - here is one I use to share FD Media Production blog feeds. The choice is really yours. Experiment, it's all free!
I favour using the Google Reader. Since I have a Gmail account, I use iGoogle and have set up my iGoogle desk top with the Google Reader widget. That way when I open my browser (its my browser's Home page) and I can see my Google desktop with all recent posts from feeds I follow. I can also see activity on my Facebook account, Gmail account, Twitter etc etc.
Why blog? The best way to answer this is to think of the short term and the longer term. Here's the short term logic to using blogs rather than essays.
Traditionally students write to show that they have understood what they have been taught. It's also part of the way we assess and qualify the student. As part of the course we could ask you to write an essay. However with the Internet we have (arguably) a better way of you presenting your work and ideas, since you can embed media and link to items that have informed, inspired you or support your ideas. These elements are drawn together by your reflection on them. A key part of that is to show your work as part of similar work that has or is being done (placing your work in the context of others). Reflective writing, and practice, is necessary in order to develop 'learning autonomy'. This is where you take responsibility for your learning and development. Students usually find reflective writing difficult if you need extra help, learning support is provided at university and colleges.
Since we are working in an area (the Media), that's currently undergoing radical and constant change, you need to be part of that! Utilising the web, like this, is the most effective way of being up to date and part of the zeitgeist. There is an employability issue underlying this too - you need to understand the theory and practice of this way of working - Web 2.0. It's likely to play a large part in the way you consume and create media now and in the future. Your blog might well morph into your online portfolio and therefore become part of the supporting material for a job/freelance application. It might say more about you than a traditional CV. Here are some interesting comments, taken from the Film and Digital Exchange website, about creating an online portfolios from Chris Martin an animator and motion graphics artist.
