Aaron Paul Vogel

I love being on the "inside"... that's why I'm a VJ. Maybe it's attributable to being on the outside in High School... hmmm... Anyway, weekend psychology aside, one of my favorite bits of "inside" knowledge was a way to conjure up one of the coolest Easter Eggs I've ever seen. Bruce the Wonder Yak was (is?) a cute little animation that will pop up in Final Cut Pro if the computer is left alone for a very long time. But there's another way to bring Bruce out of hiding. This from Eeggs.com:

In FCP, press [Option-J]
In the search field in the opened window, type "Bruce".
The search box will have "[shift icon]Bruce". Use the left arrow key to move the cursor left and delete the shift icon. Do not press [Return].
In the main field of the window, a button option will have appeared entitled "Call Bruce". Drag this button option into any window to add it to the customizable toolbars. Press the button.

Once you do this little Bruce will meander out to munch on a patch of grass while thought bubbles pop up with totally random thoughts. Apparently most are from some rambling notes embedded in the program's code by a frustrated programmer. For a picture check out FreshDV.com.

Anyway, the reason I lament right now is that I can't seem to find Bruce in the latest version - FCP 5.1.2 - of the program. I know it worked back in version 5. So I'm wondering where he went. If you know PLEASE let me know.. I need to get back on the inside!!

Audio electronics manufacturer Samson (not Samsung) has a new portable audio recorder out called the Zoom H4. Most of the announcements - there are yet to be any real reviews - are touting it as a cheap alternative to Edirol's R-09 and M-Audio's Microtrack 24/96, though at $300 (anywhere you can find one available) they're a mere $50 below the current street prices. Like all the others there are pros and cons to this unit and I felt I'd list them here for posterity. Mind you, this is all from reading specs and announcements from the company.

Pros:
• Combo 1/4" and XLR jacks - very nice to have options like this.
• Functions as a USB audio interface - helpful when you have the time and space to record straight to a laptop, rather than bother with memory cards and transfering files later
• Built-in mics - very similar to the Edirol R-09. Good for backups but that's probably about it.
• Uses AA batteries - very cool for long stints away from a charging source.
Cons
• Uses SD cards - For photographers who are already carrying around bunch of CF cards, having another card type to worry about is just a pain. On the up side though, get a 2GB card and you'll probably never have to take it out as you'll never fill it up, and you can use the device as a USB card reader.
• No 1/8" mic input. Not a major problem, but there are some useful mics (Sony, AudioTecknica) that use the miniplug, so that's kind of lame. (BTW, Sound Professionals has a module you can buy to make a miniplug work on the XLR inputs.)
• Small LCD. I can't say much about this because I haven't seen one in person, but it appears to have a screen similar to that of the PMD660, which anyone who's used one will tell you is absolutely useless. There is no good menu system that fits well on a 2 or 3-line display. Period. Obviously people can adapt once they learn the system, but I say the easier the better, and in terms of LCD screens, bigger means easier to navigate.

Obviously I can't make any comments as to the actual quality of the recordings, which are more than just a function of what recording modes are available. In looking through the manual this thing has a gaggle of special effects that seem geared largely to musicians, not field recordings.

The one thing I will say is that competition is good, and price competition is even better. So in general the introduction of a legitimate competitor in the portable, semi-pro recording department is definitely welcome. Hopefully this will push everyone to continue to develop and improve their products as well as work on ways to hit that $200-$300 price point that consumers want.

It has recently been brought to my attention that there's no contact info on my blog. Ooops! As many readers know I'm fairly quick to respond to posted comments, but that's not exactly a reliable way to get a hold of someone. Thus, you'll notice that my contact information has been added to the sidebar. I'm very much available for internships, freelance gigs and assisting opportunities. So please, contact me!

Miles: 800 and some odd including food detours
Hours: around 13
Cops seen: 19 (that's one every 42 miles!)
Fast food eaten: 2 chicken sandwiches
Coffees: 2
Energy drinks: 4
Potty breaks: 6
Gallons of gas: about 40