Transmissions from the pop culture battlefront, with emphasis on guerrilla audio technique

Thursday, December 6, 2007

I worry that the media-consumerist complex is creating a generation of introverts that won't compete well on a human level with members of other cultures.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Sonic Black Hole Effect


Often in the sound business, a good sound guy or gal is faced with what I refer to as the sonic black hole effect (SBHE). This occurs when a sound person who possesses the rare qualities of the master sound master (RQMSMs) attempts to perform high-quality sound adjustments on as many projects as he or she can possibly perform. This often involves working long into the night, making use of as many sound sources as possible to fabricate the impression of a unified sound essence (USE). This is great for the end-user's sound experience to be sure, but a number of secondary deficits may also occur. These deficits summed are what I refer to as the sonic black hole effect.
1. Time restricts perfection for the overly conscious. When a sound master is too conscious of the minutiae of the sound task at hand, time factors painfully into his inevitably disappointing result.
2. Sound is THE most effective tool for selling an illusion. It smooths the edges of both visible and invisible things. It is the main component of much of the subconscious trickery that occurs in media, across the board. A clever, media-minded project director knows the value of a good sound person--it's priceless. The value is. Thus, a final product that has not received the attention of the sound master feels devalued to the savvy creative director. Thus, more is added to the sound master's soundwork cue, taking us back to deficit 1.
3. The convenience and quality that results from a sound master's work hours can have a "chilling" effect on the sound capabilities of others. A sound master's greatest weapon is the EAR. He or she typically has two. Non-sound-mastered individuals also have about two ears. The problem, however, lies in an individual's confidence as it pertains to what they think they should be hearing. In truth, this value is subjective. Much of what we know about how our media should sound is conditioned by years of passive consumption. In other words, we want to hear things we don't even know we want to hear. Some of what we want is good. Some is bad. But those are matters of opinion along a sliding scale of variables. Your typical, non-sound-mastered individual looks at this gray area with trepidation. He or she may have tentative ideas about what sound-related issues need to be addressed, but those ideas often lose confidence-power when a sound master sits firmly in the workflow. Also, there is far less incentive for someone to learn basic sound processing protocol when they perceive that somebody else handles the tedious processes. Process-EASE. That's what they'll want. They'll wanna sweat over other things--things they believe they have better business sweating over. Now they don't know what's going on. Sound-wise. And now the sound master's soundpass possesses irrational value, which is described in deficit 2. Which leads, of course, to deficit 1. A perfect storm that only a sound master, like Moses, can successfully navigate with a displaced nation in tow.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Memorizations Relations


Took some video footage today of Timmy's Birthday at the MiniGolf Castle in Sherman Oaks. That's not exactly what it's called. I've been using the

DCR-SR42 30GB Handycam® Camcorder

from Sony for a lot of my personal journalizing lately. Takes a good quality standard-def picture... I like the colors it gets, especially while in Super NightShot mode, which mixes visual and infrared spectral signals into a hybrid output that's one part spooky, eight parts useful, and three parts exciting, depending on the compositions you are able to put together. Use your head.
The camera is flexible, small, reasonably quick... I like the zoom motor control. Tolerates a subtle touch. But,,, you may desire more manual controls, focus and exposure controls... Man, get yourself a different camera then. Shit, man. Don't look for conflict in your life. Look for opportunity. Everybody's drunk and they want to go home right now. People are ill. Party bitters. It can all change in an instant.

Remember things for your stories and tell your stories and share. And the sharing should be sharing. And then you don't have to worry about getting it all or missing moments or whatnot. They will be what they will be, and you get what you get and sometimes you are more active in seeking out what you are looking for and other times you look for the things that seek you out... But regardless, others will remember and tell and hopefully share stories. We will all share, BUT,,, because I've got 30 GB of hard disk drive space onboard my cam, and because I have editing capabilities at home and at work, and because memory is cheap these days, I am able to produce memorizations--representations of lifemoments that benefit from plentiful flexible footage sources. Most specifically the

DCR-SR42 30GB Handycam® Camcorder

, which allows me hours and hours of shooting opportunities and quick access. Sleek and nimble. Doesn't take too long to boot up from cold. Offloads as .mpeg files that Premiere 2.0 reads just fine. I use that programme on a PC computer.
And, for the record, I believe firmly that memorizations and journalizations are sisterizations, and, when taken together by the media-literate (which all preschoolers ought to be started on, education-wise), are totally great ways to rememberize things.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Greatest Virals Product

Howdy, Ya'all!
Just a quick 4:30ish post for yooandyers over yonder:
Working hard to crank out some genius today with Broadcaster Andrew--a Review and Response Special Product entitled "100 Greatest Viral Videos" or something like that (it's a secret project so I can't accurately quote the actual name). Going well, BA's a pro-fessEO-NAHL. Fo'SERRRs.

Mid-Week MonoCross


Middle o'the Week here at Broadcaster News, and the J.E.R.K. Squad (Journalize, Entertain, Report, Karate) is busy attacking a number of mid-week concerns (MWCs), which factor among them Data Double-Backup, Peripheral Edit-Storming, Focus-Source Entertainment Typing, and Advanced Plan-Acting. All very important, to be sure, but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit or jumping out of my seat or whatever. Hahah! Just kidding. Of course I am.
And let me just say, in this valuable Off-Time Reflective Moment, that this last two weeks of Broadcaster News has really seen some big, expressive steps forward for all of us. Formats have cracked, flexibilities have been tested; in the end, I am proud to report that our Squad is now gearing itself toward a Position of Industry Dominance! More on this exciting prospect soon! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Microphone Schema


Yesterday I used for the first time a Sennheiser ew112-p G2 wireless lavalier setup with Broadcasters Amy and Andrew for their Reviews and Snap Judgment™ segments. Two kits, actually, with two transmitters and two receivers. Both receivers kept in close proximity in the top pocket of my TASCAM's Portabrace. Low interference, satisfactory noise floor, although it alarmed my ears upon first computer playback following my TYPE-A(my) sound intelligence processing. Noise was greased away by capturing each take's sample "Noise Profile" and then applying a custom noise cancellation filter, which didn't degrade voice quality appreciably considering the segment's final flash video publication format. Head of Post Broadcaster Jody assured me he could easily synthesize two discreet microphone channels spanning a stereo track into his workflow, which eases one particular procedural burden rather significantly on my end. Great job Broadcaster Jody! Our Champion of Media Synthesis (CMS)!

Monday, October 8, 2007

QuickPost Express

Hello there, broadcasters! It is Monday Morning, and a faint, blue light illuminates the glossy, moist surfaces of the formless internet void!
Broadcaster Miller's educational foray into the Las Vegas Mediascape this weekend was, by all accounts, successful as an all-terrain hurricane clambake! Congratulations go to all involved...
Today both Broadcasters Amy and Andrew will be on hand, and a new microphone scheme will be tested. If you are a fan of schemes, stay tuned!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Behind the Scenes Initiative

Broadcaster News is proud to announce the groundbreaking "Behind the Scenes Initiative," an open-ended entertainment research venture that aims to capitalize on today's explosive interest in behind-the-scenes entertainment journalism by providing premium behind-the-scenes experiences for all ages.

Why not take our legendary 405-Series for a test spin? ©2008 BSI

Monday, October 1, 2007

Monday, October Uno

It's almost 10:o0 here at Broadcaster News and an exciting day of Journalization is already underway! At 11:o0 Broadcaster Amy will show up and we will get to the business of News Facts Reporting (NFR)! Her voice is toned and flexible, bright and magnetic, with just the perfect amount of the world massaged gracefully into every performance. Broadcaster Andrew will also be on hand today, to deliver this Nation's Greatest Reviews (NGR) in his charismatic, characteristic stentorian rasp of which I've grown so fond as of late. Fireworks anybody? I thought so!

Love,
Broadcaster Miller

Friday, September 28, 2007

Tests for the Poor

I suggest tests for the poor.

Love,
Michael Miller