The first post is always such a strange thing. It’s like a ground-breaking. Like a chance to snag readers with what this blog will be about or to run off other potential fans because it’s nothing but a giant bore to read. This might be tough with this first post, then, because I’m not a one-thing-guy. My interests, my trains of thought, and my hobbies are all over the place. So what’s this blog about?
Here’s a quick glimpse of what might be in it:
Today, I think, I just finished the editing of my first movie. I filmed and edited it with Lila Scot using VideoPad and Audacity. The whole process was enlightening. I hate Windows as a platform for post-production work but refuse to buy into the wholesale brainwashing of consumers by Apple. I like iTunes and Lila’s iPhone but I don’t want to drop thousands of dollars on Final Cut or into a computer that I can’t easily crack open and readily swap out parts when the mood suits (and the budget allows). So, the plan for the very near future is to rebuild my first desktop (it’s coming up on it’s tenth birthday) and run it on the Linux-based Ubuntu. Part of my reasoning, too, is that I love the thought of being part of a community not based on how much money I can piss away on electronics or software that will be made obsolete by the newest release three years from now. I’d rather work with software like PiTiVi and Kino and Ardour 2 that is constantly being added to and tweaked by people who are actually using the software practically.
Next week, when I get back to work, I’ll be trying to troubleshoot the audio lines meant to route our DVD player in 5.1 surround sound to the digital beast that I call our soundboard. It’s a Yamaha DM2000 that does way more than is necessary most days in our theatre. But then we’ll get the likes of Irish band Lúnasa or the Reston Community Players or an unorthodox classical quartet like Sweet Plantain who need something that most groups don’t need or even know exists. Then, it’s so useful having those things at my fingertips without the need of all that outboard equipment.
Just gotta learn how to use it all.
