Archive for May, 2009
Some Great Star Trek Bloopers
Star Trek has invaded the very fabric of our society. Some people describe the TV series as a western set in space. I agree it has all the elements of a good western but it warps the space time continuum of my brain if I think too much about it being a western.
One thing most people can agree on is that bloopers are fun to watch. Take a peek at bloopers from many of the Star Trek TV series. Interesting.
###
No Longer Science Fiction – Expensive Airport Travel Is Out!
Expensive airport travel is out and cost-effective online meetings and digital patch recording sessions are in!
Smart businesses are finding every opportunity to tighten their budgets. Now it’s cost effective to interact and collaborate over the web.
Interact -Web Conferencing solutions build interactions & collaboration with employees, customers and partners!
For conferences many businesses turn to cost-effective web conferencing to reduce travel costs while continuing to maximize employee and customer interactions! Web conferencing still allows for quality interactions and customer collaboration. Its no wonder that web conferencing continues to grow. I have used IBM web conferencing software, GoToMeeting and ooVoo. Prices and 
features for web conferencing vary greatly so look before you leap.
- Meet as usual with your customers, partners and employees
- Extend your company’s reach without extending your corporate wallet
- Increase the efficiency of your internal business communications
- Encourage brainstorming and speed of information exchange
Collaborate – Digital Patch and Virtual Studio Bring Actor and Producer Together
In a similar move audio post production is using technology to reduce travel costs and travel time. In 1991 Sound 
Works, an audio post production studio in Houston, introduced Digital Patch which allows a producer to record a voice actor from another studio anywhere in the world. Capabilities continue to evolve. Using this technology, travel cost and time is saved while still bringing a script to life. Add a video camera to the Digital Patch and the producer can see the actor as well as remotely record. For film and video production the same picture can be viewed at both the local and remote locations, all in sync! Virtual Studio takes this one step further and allows the producer to interact with the recording session without leaving home or office.
- Work with the actor of your choice – no travel
- Save time, record from the comfort of your home or office
- Increased efficiency, slash your travel budget
- Immediate results
Results now – this is not science fiction!
This is not technology for technology sake. There is no need to compromise the quality of interactions or collaborations. Best of all web conferencing and Digital Patch technologies save time and money! Both of these technologies leverage computing power and the Internet to get great results.
###
1000 frames a second and counting
Have you seen the new Discovery show Time Warp? It’s reminiscent of Myth Busters ~ take everyday and bizarre things and film them with a high speed camera. When you slow down the video it looks amazing!
Take a look … even a balloon in the face is amazing.
After watching several episodes I am hooked. Time Warp airs Wednesdays @ 8PM ET/PT on The Discovery Channel.
Today I ran across the reel for the SprintCam v3 show reel. It is impressive and was shown at the NAB exhibition. Very nice, I added this to my shopping list in case some of those Nigerian email money offers finally pay off for me. Most of the SprintCam demo is 1000 frames per second but the bouncy red Jell-O was shot at 2500fps. It’s featured on www.i-movix.com in case you want one too.
###
Once a Star Trekkie Always a Trekkie
When I heard that Mission: Impossible III director and Alias creator J.J. Abrams was producing Star Trek 2009, I was pumped. I was so impressed – this was the best Star Trek film ever! If you are on the fence contemplating on if you should see it on the big screen, do it.
I think the movie moguls did not realize the loyalty of the older audience would be cross generational. I saw the film in IMAX and other than a slight visual distortion to reformat the picture to the tall but not so wide screen, it was superb.
We remember the the classic science fiction Gene Roddenberry franchise created by the original TV show of the 70’s. This feature film embraces the rich history of the influential television and film series but also explores new territory. Heroes star Zachary Quinto exceeded my expectations playing a young Vulcan named “Spock” made famous by Leonard Nimoy, who also appears in the film.
My favorite roles were played by Chris Pine and Karl Urban assuming the legendary roles of Captain Kirk and Leonard “Bones” McCoy, respectively.
 From left to right: Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Lt. Montgomery Scott, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, John Cho as Sulu and Zoe Saldana as Uhura. |
The visual effects are super yet they don’t over power the story. As an audio engineer I must say I was impressed with the films soundtrack as well. The sound team did their job right. The sound track recreates the rich heritage of the Star Trek franchise but managed to better the “sound” experience over previous productions!
After reading a good behind-the scenes production story by Barbara Robertson in Film & Video, I wanted to share it. Read and enjoy:
Reinventing Star Trek‘s VFX – How J.J. Abrams Demanded, and ILM Delivered, More Story from Every Shot
###
Free Food Friday III ~ networking and free lunch
Our last Free Food Friday was May 1st. It’s all about networking and free lunch – what could be better! Here are some photos from our last event below.
Put May 29th on your calendar – it’s the next F3 event and we will be serving homemade summer salads with your choice of toppings and dressings. You are invited and can bring another business associate with you. Please RSVP to Bill @ w3@soundworks.com or call 713.960.8222 X1.
Viral Spot for Samsung LED TVs ~ Sheep wearing LED vests
Is this serious? It must be real, it’s a commercial conceived by The Viral Factory for Samsung. It had to take extreme shepherding and according to sources they kept it real. What no special effects guys? You watch the video and decide.
###
Post your comments below
What’s a blog anyway?
Once just a buzz word, blogging is now a business necessity. Webmasters struggling to keep fresh content on their websites to lure new visitors and prospective buyers have found blogs are an effective answer.
| What are Blogs?
Initially, a blog connected to a website will appear to be simply a series of articles or commentaries. But look closer – These entries allow you the opportunity to tell potential and existing customers industry news, updates, or how your product can be used in specific situations to alleviate problems. It’s also a beneficial way to share tips, tricks or to make visitors aware of new regulations related to an industry.
Who has time to blog? Anyone in business hates the thought of adding more work to their existing job. And who’s got the time to research AND write all those entries? One often overlooked solution is the stay-at-home mom, who can be hired very cost-effectively (and by the hour!) to research your industry and write regular blog posts pertaining to your business. The bottom line is to determine how a blog can benefit your business, setup your plan of action and make it happen! Blogs provide great supplemental content for your clients and direct attention to areas of your business you want to showcase. |
Business Barriers? – do you fear connecting with your competition?
by Dwight Cook
Do you hate your competition? 
I have run into many people who want to destroy their competition! Many times business leaders are trained to not trust anyone who competes with them. Their business view is a win/lose game and if they associate with their competitors they will lose.
I don’t think that this is they way to deal with the other team. I see that no two companies are exactly the same. Even if there are similarities between companies, there are even more differences. There are differences with people, services and products. Look at the differences as strength. It’s the differences make you unique.
Get past the fear of your competition and you can actually build mutually beneficial relationships and grow your business. When you forge relationships with other companies you make a bigger pie and can actually achieve greater levels of success. Some commonalities will always exist. If you are not operating from a spirit of fear you can reach a new piece of the market and get customers you would not connect with otherwise.
I’m currently chairman of the organization Only In Houston. It’s a diverse group of media and 
advertising creative professionals in Houston. The creative’s in Houston are spread out all over the city and OiH builds community. OiH has an online directory with a lot of web traffic. With that online directory, its blogs, social media, calendar and networking events this creative community connects. Together OiH members communicate the rich resources available in the Houston Creative community. The key word here is “together.”
Yes, the fear of competition does exist but it will diminish quickly as you engage yourself in new beneficial business relationships. Let me hear from you – what’s your experience?
###
MediaSlap blog 
3D next generation web technology
One technology to watch is from Google Labs called O3D. It’s actually an open source API that will generate 3D applications inside of a browser. It’s a long way from reality and I bet there will be other applications competing for a standard platform. But it is cool and if you are interested in generating 3D web media it may tickle your interest. If you have a minute to play . . . download the plug-in and navigate the demo with your keyboard in real time.
###
May 28, 2009 at 7:15 pm mediaslap Leave a comment