Teachers know the problem is not content the problem is delivery. They know what they need to teach. Their challenge is to ensure higher content retention in the time available. Screencasting allows lectures on-line providing more class time spent on homework.

Richard E. Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning suggests maximum performance occurs when visual & verbal materials are presented together. His book Multimedia Learning examines research on instructional based design and if we learn more deeply when ideas are expressed in words and pictures rather than by words alone.

Sales & Marketing’s problem is to deliver presentations, lectures, video based demonstrations and step-by-step instructions, delivering content “asynchronously”, at the audience’s convenience, regardless of their time zone, and “unattended” without a lecturer present and without the travel & expense costs. Successful screencasts are remembered and repeated.

Every organization is a learning organization, every student & employee needs to be kept up to date. Equipment and processes change, you can’t stop the factory and put everyone into a lecture hall. It is everyone’s problem. On-demand, just-in time multimedia learning is much more productive as it can focus on those who need it, when they need it.

Screencasting start with a Script.
Successful screencasts are re-written many times. When draft is written, consider how it may be reduced to essential ideas. What will it sound like when spoken? Could three points tell the story in 140 characters? Guy Kawasaki uses a 10-20-30 Rule of 10 Slides, 20 Minutes and a Font Size 30 for start-up funding presentations.

Editing allows segment distillation by cutting recorded elements and allows voice over & background music adjustments. Graphic call-outs and zoom & pan effects can be added to call attention to specific information.

Rendering edited projects allows completed video screencasts saved in a range of sizes & formats. Uploading of projects to YouTube, Vimeo and other hosting services such as Screencast.com or MediaCore. Provide iTunes podcast subscriptions, render in multiple video formats and embed completed videos on your website.

Examples of Screencasts:

• A video letter idea for CBC TV to consider improvements to their iPad app.

• Ideas to improve School Zone Safety.

• PDF Portfolios can contain a wide range of documents in a single portfolio + Send large files via Acrobat.com.

• Snagit is screen capture & image editing software . This screencast shows how to use the Send tab to share images with Skype contacts.

• Another Sending Files tip. Try free XOOMFILE software.

• A missing tip for Corel VideoStudio ProX4 made in Camtasia 16:9 format.

• Collection of Historical Travel Films. On-line on Screencast.com or iTunes.

Power Point to Video:
Convert presentations into video, don’t leave them on your desktop.

• For Power Point 2010 & Camtasia power tips click here: PPT to Video
• Camtasia & Power Point Add-In: click tutorial screencast or see below.

• All Camtasia tutorials here: TechSmith

Audio – Sounding Good:

• Good audio starts with a good microphone and a quiet room.
• Record script dialogue with free Audacity software.
• A recorded voice track serves as a guide to production length.
• Completed voice recordings can be into Power Point or Camtasia before rendering a video.
• Adding royalty free background music on a second audio track fills blanks & maintains listener interest.
• When recording Voice Tracks, if you make an error, pause then repeat.
• Record using a Dog Clicker to help you see audio errors for easy editing & deletion post recording.

• Before using Audacity see Ian Ozsvald’s Audio Recording Screencast below.

• For in-depth Audacity screencasts see Lisa Hartwell’s YouTube Channel.

In-Depth Tutorial:
Ryan Eash Instructional Designer for Camtasia Studio has an excellent 30 minute tutorial on his screencasting process with dynamic Table Of Contents.

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Lecture Presentations: Recording & Playback
Two camera set ups, where one records the screen and the second a presenter, are easy to blend into single video recordings with Singular Software Presto. This is a low-cost seamless method for blending video recorded elements of lecture presentations. For examples click here For equipment & set up info on recording lectures click here. Click below to see a 2 minute notated example of blended video with Steve Jobs introducing the iBook app for the iPad.

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TechSmith’s Camtasia Relay  is an excellent lecture capture system for Teachers. Permanent installations with rich media integration of PTC (Pan Tilt Cameras),  document cameras, PC output feeds and microphones are more expensive due to hardware needed. Options to consider are Sonic Foundry  and Winnov

Web Meetings: Remote Groups OnLine
There are many options, most include post meeting playback of recorded events, click here for a current list of software & service providers

Video in WordPress has differences WordPress.com Vs WordPress.org

• This screencast a shows Windows 7 search tip & plays on VideoPress.
• VideoPress seems to compresses videos reducing image quality playback creating blurred images not present in the original. There seems no default control to force the HD setting to stay on, so original rendering quality is reduced and looks fuzzy in standard playback.

• Compare with the original screencast below:

To integrate & auto size video on WordPress sites see Chris Coyier’s screencast

• CSS Tricks #103 Integrating FitVids:js into WordPress

Hosting Screencasts & Video – There are many options.

• YouTube free, but visually noisy & distracts viewers with links to other sites.
• Vimeo has free & paid versions all of which work well.
• Screencast.com allows a range of viewing flexibility with public, private, or viewer password log-in options in 25 gigabyte+ accounts.
• MediaCore provides outstanding end-to end site control with noise free customisable web pages & detailed analytics.

This topic to be presented at WordCamp Victoria BC Jan 14th 2011.
Tickets are on sale now, to register click here.

Warning: Portions of the presentation are prerecorded ; )

I. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Science & Technology Council Solid State Lighting Project

“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Science and Technology Council has identified a need for an unbiased investigation of solid state lighting (SSL) technologies, which includes LED emitters, for motion picture production. Issues with SSL have been identified regarding its ability to supplement and integrate with existing lighting technologies such as tungsten, fluorescent, HMI, and Xenon that are currently used in the production of motion pictures. The primary purpose of this investigation is to provide the industry with data needed to properly evaluate the impact of using SSL, as well as to provide a framework for the evaluation of future light emitting technologies as they are developed. The Council’s current efforts are focused on providing the motion picture industry with accurate and previously unpublished radiometric and photometric measurements (e.g., spectral power distribution, radiant flux, luminous flux, etc.) typical of various LED light sources currently in use.”

• AMPAS test set-up click here: AMPAS Test Set-up

• Video lecture & tests click here: Science & Technology Council Projects

Seven Symposium Videos:

1. Jonathan Erland Speaks on the Science of Color
2. Perception of Color
3. Reproduction of Color
4. Council Studies
5. Measurements
6. Emulsion and Color
7. Summary

Six Lighting Test Shoots:

1. Makeup Case
2. Costume Case: Part 1
3. Costume Case: Part 2
4. Props Case: Part 1
5. Props Case: Part 2
6. Props Case: Part 3

IIa. Zacuto 2010 Shoot Out – Film Vs DSLR 2010 (episodes 1,2,3)

Zacuto Films presents, “The Great Camera Shootout 2010: a three part web series where gunslinging HD DSLRs face-off against legendary 35mm Film.” The webisodic series showcases the top performing hybrid HD-DSLR cameras: Canon: 5D MKII, 7D, 1D, 550D/T2i Rebel, Nikon D3s, Panasonic GH1 and compares the image quality of these cameras against the gold standard of 35mm film. In addition, the Canon 5D MKII test includes the new 24p firmware. “This was an enormous undertaking,” says Steve Weiss, Web Series Director, “and great care was to make this an apples-to-apples test with scientific accuracy behind it.”

Each webisode of the series features various controlled camera assessment tests which include: resolution, latitude, sensitivity, speed & ultra high speed, noise, color & green screen. The battery of tests were administered under strict controls and conducted by Robert Primes ASC, Gary Adcock, Philip Bloom, Jens Bogehegn and colorist Ryan Emerson.

See the reactions to this test following 2K screenings, where “HD DSLR is compared to 35mm Film”. The test results were projected in a 2K theatrical environment at three screening locations: Stag Theater at Skywalker Ranch, LucasFilms Ltd., AFI (American Film Institute) Theater in Hollywood and the FilmWorkers Astro Color Timing Theater in Chicago. Hear commentary from the screenings by top ASC, Hollywood, Indie Film and Event & Convergence Photographers.

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IIb. Zacuto 2011 Shoot Out – Film Cameras Vs High end Digital Film Cameras (episodes 1,2,3)

The 2011 shoot out includes new cameras & tests of Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) which is a large scale technical camera comparison administered by Robert Primes, ASC. Side by side comparisons of the newest cameras manufactured by Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Phantom, Weisscam, Nikon, Arri, RED as well as the gold standard of 35mm film are included.

Film Stock: 2-Perf & 3-Perf 35mm Motion Picture Film Demo

More on Colour Editing & Management in Post Production
From Shane Hurlbut:  7 Tips for HD Color Correction and DSLR Color Correction

Editor: The Washington Post holds its neologism contest every year.

Following are the winners from a year with a particularly good crop of submissions.

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absent mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavoured mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

My favorite lighting design  neologism is from the Simpson’s. After looking at his father’s horrible attempt putting up Christmas lights, Bart Simpson looks at the holiday lights outside the house and says, “It’s craptacular.”

Ah… I can’t wait till next year to see the next batch of winners

In addition the Washington Post’s Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter to supply a new definition. Here are this year’s winners:

1. Bozone (n.) The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Cashtration (n.) The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
3. Giraffiti (n) Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
4. Sarchasm (n) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit & the person who doesn’t get it.
5. Inoculatte (v) To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
6. Hipatitis (n) Terminal coolness.
7. Osteopornosis (n) A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
8. Karmageddon (n) It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer.
9. Decafalon (n.) The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
10. Glibido (v) All talk and no action.
11. Dopeler effect (n) The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
12. Arachnoleptic fit (n.) The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
13. Beelzebug (n.) Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
14. Caterpallor (n.) The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.

And the pick of the lot is:*Ignoranus (n): A person who’s both stupid and an  *______.

Consult your Physician in advance. They will recommend if advance shots or other precautions are needed.

On the IAMAT website “Select your travel destinations, and get an instant, personalized guide to our medical services and comprehensive travel health information for the countries you are visiting. Print a copy or save securely for future online access. The Travel Health Planner is also accessible on your mobile!”

Personal Plumbing Management Tips for Diarrhea:

1. Bactrim (proper names Co-trimoxazole or Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole)
Kills a lot of common GI bugs. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Bactrim
Ask you Physician. You may want to get a prescription before you travel.

2. Loperamide (aka brand name Imodium) Think temporary chemical cork…
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Loperamide

3. Gastrolite Fizzy Tablets or powder you add in a glass of water to replace lost electrolytes.
http://www.drugs.com/cons/gastrolyte.html Many sports drinks have electrolyte replacements.

For more travel tips read Gulliver the Economist‘s Travel blog here.  http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver

Need help when you travel? Simple walk into a hotel, smile and ask the Concierge anything you want. They have heard all the questions tourists have asked before, and will have all answers to help you! Have a good trip!

Phototherapy lamps used have a special phosphor coatings only for bililights. As an added precaution the bililights I designed use a museum quality acrylic UV filter.

Newer medical research indicates a slight shift in action spectrum may speed photo therapy. LEDs can be used for this phototherapy. Much research has found them to be as effective as the special fluorescent bililamps, however as LEDs have a more pronounced spectral peak, it may be possible that superior combination of LEDs and phosphors may replicate a faster reacting action spectrum.

LEDs can offer similar, if not the same phototherapy as the best fluorescent bililamps, but as all lights dim in brightness as they age, control algorithms for LEDs can ensure maintained light levels are delivered for a 15 year bililight source service lives. This is not yet being done for phototherapy but I trust testing may soon start.

Depreciation commonly is used to refer to the decline in brightness over time as a light source is used, known as lamp lumen depreciation.

LEDs also degrade.

Degradation, many may think of chemical decomposition but there is also elegant degradation. One or both of these conditions seems commonly referred to, and one or both, may occur at the same time.

LED performance depreciates over time as less lumens are emitted. The more any light is used, the more a light source brightness dims over time.

LED lumen depreciation can be solely due to heat conditions. Research has verified this independent of LED operation.

Evidence of LED lamp lumen depreciation is useful, however we know in addition to lumen deprecation, LED Kelvin CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) changes over time.  If change in apparent colour appearance of an LED, and lumen depreciation are plotted at the same point, we can see how these changes may parallel each other in some LED sources, while for others, they may be independent.

Decline in LED lamp lumens and colour temperature change over time varies between manufacturers. It seems sensible to test LED Kelvin CCT measurements and plot them at the same time as Lumen measurements are taken when LED life performance testing is conducted.

The IOC may consider the track safe but the absence of barriers to prevent collision with columns certainly seems like negligent design.

I recall the Toronto Don Valley Parkway where lighting columns were installed in front of roadside crash barrier guard rails, when they should have been installed behind the barriers. Morton Shulman the Toronto Coroner made a strong case for negligent design in this case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner_Expressway

Vertical protection against collision with columns needs immediate installation, no need to wait for any lengthy inquiry.

Warning: Graphic footage of fatal crash at luge track.
See video here: http://bit.ly/a1BzVG

Killer Columns

All lamp lumen performance declines due to use. Lumen maintenance curve decline is also affected by the number of times a lamp is turned on & off, the thermal environment of the lamp and luminaire, and lamp ballast/driver electronics.

New research shows LED lumen performance declines due to heat without LEDs being turned on. During testing LEDs were turned on only for short duration lumen measurement data collection.

This has large implications for exterior LED lighting where high ambient temperatures are present, as is typically found inside luminaires exposed to direct sunlight during daytimes when luminaires are not on.

The higher the ambient temperature, the faster LED lumen performance declines. Not all high brightness LEDs perform the same way.  Different manufacturer’s LEDs exhibit different rates of decline.  Variation in lumen performance decline must be due to differences in LED manufacture technique and material.

I am interested to review Electron microscopic time-elapse images & data collected at different points along the lumen maintenance curve. No doubt, there is something new to discover to improve manufacturing technique & fabrication for more robust LEDs.

All Skype website download links for version 4.1 only download version 4.0.

Best to wait until Skype gets this sorted out.

Update: Skype download links for 4.1 are A-OK now.

Screensharing is the best new feature.