Now Hear This

[Mike Bement]

I finished watching the 'Now Hear This' DVDs.

Bad news first:
There are a few cosmetic problems that don't affect the content or learning at all. A perfectionist might be bothered, but he'd miss out on all the good stuff that's available. To me, it is no big deal.

Good news:
Disc 1 was a very good, comprehensive introduction (for some) or review (for others) of basic concepts and equipment. I have read or heard most of the material before, but not in one place, as you get it on the DVD which is very convenient.

The term, "dead cat" was used in a new context, which brought a smile to my face. I hate cats (no need for cat lovers to respond). I can imagine some very funny, practical jokes at this point.

Also, I learned completely new uses for condoms and hair bands. (Why can't I think of things like that?)

Disc 1 would be especially good for someone involved in videography who wants to strengthen their knowledge of basic audio, including learning about the various pieces of hardware and connectors that are available.

Disc 2 provided lots of new information, including helpful presentations of actual audio editing, use of plug-ins, EQ, and compression.

Watching the editing process, and hearing Douglas describe what he was doing and why he was doing it was very helpful. I saw quite a few things that I will be able to do differently/better.

I will view Disc 2 numerous times to make sure I get everything out of it that I can.

I did not yet have an opportunity to look at any of the supplemental materials.

Overall, I feel that my investment in the DVDs is very worthwhile, despite the previously-mentioned cosmetic problems.

Unless you are a real expert in this stuff, you will probably find it useful too.

Just one thing that I picked up on Disc 2 will be worth the entire price of the program. I am too embarassed to admit what it was, but I had a misconception straightened out that will be a big help in the future.

If anyone has any specific questions, shoot me an email.

I thank Douglas for making some of his expertise available. in "Now Hear This".

Cheers,

Mike

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Thanks for the comments, Mike, both in private and public.

The 'cosmetics' that Mike refers to are some artifacts that appear to have been induced by a dirty head that pops up once in a great while. This wasn't part of the original project, but we ended up having to recapture and reshoot a lot of things due to a clearance hassle that we should have handled before production.

There is also an 11.5 second video blank at approx 44 mins into the first disc that we believe was induced at the replicator as the files are fine on our end. We've already posted the video to the blanked area on our website. The audio is there, but the video disappeared for some very odd reason that we're still digging into. It's the first time we've had anything like that happen.

It initially took us 3 months to do this, then we ran into a clearance issue with a manufacturer that was not resolvable for more reasons than I care to go into. I can only say "THANK YOU" in a VERY big way to the folks at Audio Technica, B&H, Mackie, and Sony for helping us to get this out. We had 12 days to redo much of the DVD and we turned it out to an editor that is not in-house to complete it. We're pleased with how it turned out other than the 11 second thing and the occasional DV artifact that pops up.
We hope to see some actual reviews of the DVDs fairly soon, but Mike's comments are indicative of what many folks that are in the biz have had to say.
We have an additional 2 hours that were supposed to go on these DVDs, but decided that 5+ hours was enough for this one. We'll launch volume 2 sometime soon, I hope.