PMW-EX1 Update 2

• Adam Van Voorhis of Boston Camera says that the EX1 does indeed supply Y/C video, using the same VMC-15FS cable that works on the HVR-V1.
• Reader Mark Weiss ran a formal audio analysis for line-level inputs, with interesting results.

My EX1 review has been updated with these tidbits.

What’s the Buzz? Curing Audio Problems

Two things drive me truly crazy: 4:3 video stretched out to fill a 16:9 screen, and hearing hum or buzz in the audio portion of a program. I remember being on a tour of the multi-million-dollar Kodak Cinesite facility when it first opened, sitting down in their private screening room…and hearing hum in the audio. Which could have been fixed for as little as $20. I’d like to share a few ways you can fix it yourself.

What’s the Buzz? Curing Audio Problems

Two things drive me truly crazy: 4:3 video stretched out to fill a 16:9 screen, and hearing hum or buzz in the audio portion of a program. I remember being on a tour of the multi-million-dollar Kodak Cinesite facility when it first opened, sitting down in their private screening room…and hearing hum in the audio. Which could have been fixed for as little as $20. I’d like to share a few ways you can fix it yourself.

Effective Sound Effects

When start composing a song, I’m not interested in only the notes and beats; I’m even more interested in the mood I’ll be creating. And as a person who relies heavily on loops to compose my music, I’m also interested in how I will set this piece apart from those others might create with the same core loops.

To help set a mood while adding an original flare, I regularly rely on a large sound effects (SFX) collection in addition to my normal sample CDs. I use these both as features of the final piece, and as band aids to cover up the bits I don’t want a listener to hear.

When presented with the hundreds or thousands of sounds in a typical SFX library, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. To make it easier to parse the sounds as well as what I might use them for, I typically group them into roughly four categories - hits, events, ambiences, and rhythmic sounds. Here are some ideas on how to use these various types of sounds in a composition.

Straight Advice on Loop-Based Music

For many years now, artists have been creating music using loops - musical phrases that can be repeated or strung together as building blocks of a song. This technique opened music creation to a large number of artists who may not be musicians themselves, but who had strong musical ideas: they could arrange these blocks into new compositions of their own without having to play all the instruments. We’re not talking just hip-hop or dance music, or phrases “sampled” from other songs; this movement is supported by literally hundreds of fully-legal copyright-clean dedicated loop libraries available from musicians and producers in every genre you can imagine.

Straight Advice on Loop-Based Music

For many years now, artists have been creating music using loops - musical phrases that can be repeated or strung together as building blocks of a song. This technique opened music creation to a large number of artists who may not be musicians themselves, but who had strong musical ideas: they could arrange these blocks into new compositions of their own without having to play all the instruments. We’re not talking just hip-hop or dance music, or phrases “sampled” from other songs; this movement is supported by literally hundreds of fully-legal copyright-clean dedicated loop libraries available from musicians and producers in every genre you can imagine.

Mangling Music Masterfully

If you are fortunate enough to have music custom-composed for all of your visual work, this article is not for you. However, if you are regularly handed music you have to make work underneath your visuals, and that music is not exactly the length you need, read on. We’ll discuss how to find the best places to slice it, whether you are trying to reduce its length or need to repeat a section to make it longer. We’ll then show how to cover your edit points and introduce variations. This will help you create your own custom version of the track, better suited to your needs. Click here to download source and project files you can use to follow along.

Mangling Music Masterfully

If you are fortunate enough to have music custom-composed for all of your visual work, this article is not for you. However, if you are regularly handed music you have to make work underneath your visuals, and that music is not exactly the length you need, read on. We’ll discuss how to find the best places to slice it, whether you are trying to reduce its length or need to repeat a section to make it longer. We’ll then show how to cover your edit points and introduce variations. This will help you create your own custom version of the track, better suited to your needs. Click here to download source and project files you can use to follow along.

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