As some of you may recall, I attempted to create a home made wind screen for my noise cancellation headset.  I plug that into my Sony Voice Recorder and then I can walk around outside composing and dictating as I like.

Testing Home Made Windscreen, DNS 10 & Windy Day

Well, until yesterday, I had not yet had the opportunity to really test the windscreen out on a very windy day.  Yesterday, was not only windy, but it was also noisy and so I got some video of one of my sessions where I’m writing a chapter for a novel in the NaNoWrimi contest (national novel writing month).

This particular chapter was not one of my best as this multi tasking thing of trying to shoot a video at the same time I’m trying to compose a chapter was a little much even for my UBER multi-tasking brain.  I got the chapter out, but it was not terribly good, and I will have to go back and seriously beef up the dialogue later.

You will not below the video also that the transcription that I ran when I was NOT running screen capture was a great deal more accurate than the transcription used in the actual video.  Multi tasking with Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 and the screen capture software that comes with FastStone Capture is not a good combination for accuracy(great programs running alone, but together a bit much even for a new laptop with a fast processor).  That screen capture program created a 500 mb video file and with Dragon compiling typically about 300 mb at a time while its running that’s almost 1 gigabyte of data in RAM.  Now, I do have 3 gb on the machine that was running this, but doing video and voice recognition is a little much. 

In general, the lessons that I learned here are as follows:

1. Don’t video yourself while writing a book
2. Focus on your words more when you are transcribing to a pocket recorder, try and envision what you are doing and what you are saying, you can enjoy the surroundings, but focus on your words (see point 1 as a bad distraction)
3. If you are walking for exercise, consider going a long distance as opposed to back and forth.  Mindless physical exercise can be good for writing, but if your brain needs to make decisions while you are writing it can distract you from your words
4. The equipment will do a great job, focus on your own thoughts and your speech quality.
5. Note. the sound quality in the video is from the microphone on the camera and not the actual microphone with the windscreen

Here’s the more accurate transcription results of the chapter without the video

Case of this quick test C. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is working

Falsely maligned

Jeremy had found his father and is now looking for the medicine man. He was heading in the direction of where the medicine man’s most be, when he encountered his sister else.

"Jeremy I cannot believe that you hurt Shiloh. Even after everyone in the tribe warned you not to act so stupid around. How could you do that, how could you hurt your own little brother. You’re supposed to be looking out for not shooting arrows at them" also said. "I told you I would make you pay for this, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do." She said all she turned and ran in the other direction.

Jeremy didn’t even have an moment to try to explain himself or defend what happened or explained that it had been him at all. Also was as old as

It also was his older sister, and despite the fact that he was now taller and stronger than she was, he still felt intimidated by her. Plus you can really fool around with someone that was the medicine man’s apprentice. The last thing the germinated was the spirit world after.

He kept on walking down the trail and pursuit of the location where the medicine man supposed to be. This took an up-and-down small hill, washed out goalie basically that it filled in with sand over time and when he came to the top of the hill, he could see the medicine man standing near a tree looking at some plants further up the rich. He walked towards the medicine man, and walked with a step it was a little bit louder than normal as he did not want to surprise the man. He definitely felt intimidated by the medicine man, and for some reason this to

And for some reason didn’t want to call out to the older man in jail and area

So instead he chose a course where he would walk relatively loudly up behind the man so that he could hear them coming. "Jeremy, is that you? The medicine man asked

"Yes, it is I. My little brother Shyla’s been hurt in a terrible accident. We were in the clearing hunting for rabbits, when a large bird attacked him. The bird was almost as large as the clearing, swoop down and picked up Shilo in his clutches with this giant feet. Ice shot an arrow at the bird, instructed but it did very little damage and barely slowed down. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the bird got tangled slightly in a tree, I don’t know what would’ve happened to Shiloh."

The medicine man took all of us in without the slightest bit surprised. Jeremy didn’t think that anything in the world could surprise the medicine and, not even the tale of a giant bird that no one ever seen or heard of before swooping down on attacking someone in the tribe.

"Well, let’s go see her brother, and along the way we will stop my hunt and pick up my pack of medicines." The medicine man said. "Described to me, tell your brother was injured, where he was injured in what type of injuries he received." The medicine man continued.

Jeremy said, "he was picked up by the feet of the bird, which seem to puncture his shoulders with the giant closet the bird had, when the bird got tangled in the tree the bird dropped germ

The bird drop Shiloh, and he fell close to 25 feet. He hit the ground in a relatively soft area, but he did break a leg and lost consciousness. I carried them back to our hut which took Olson our to do. He’s there with my mother now in my father’s on his way." Jeremy said.

The medicine man did not say anymore after that, as they walked very quickly to medicine man’s hut which was a few minutes away. Jerry waited outside while the medicine man went into the hut, and came out with a large deerskin bag full of a number of different things that Jeremy could not make out through the boldest. There were some roots and plants picking up sides, but even these he couldn’t recognize, and Jeremy felt that he knew most of the plants in the forest.

The rapidly left the medicine man’s hut, and crossed the tribal common area heading towards Je
remy’s a. When they arrived son already started to set it was getting dark, they inserted into the hut, which was now lit up with a large fire. The fire was lit more for light than it was for warmth. This was apparent because an opening in the ceiling was open wider than normal to let the heat of the fire escape the hut so as not to roast those inside.

The medicine man went over and converse with Jeremy’s mother, and they spoke together for about five minutes. Jeremy couldn’t quite tell what they were saying, but they did glance at him on several occasions. His father wasn’t in the hut, and Jeremy wasn’t certain what he should do next.

Just as he was thinking this, his mother said, "Jeremy go outside and catch up with her father. He searching the woods to find materials and make an appropriate splint for your brother’s leg. When he gets back, it will take the three of you said the little boy’s leg." She said

Happy to have a new mission, and the opportunity to leave the hut with his mother in the medicine man there, Jeremy quickly left in search of his father."

Here’s the transcription results as shown in the video

Case of this quick test C. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is working

Falsely maligned

Jeremy had found his father was now looking for the medicine man. He was heading in the direction of where the medicine man’s ghost be, when he encountered his sister else.

"Jeremy I cannot believe that you hurt Shiloh. Even after everyone in the drive board you not to act so stupid around. How could you do that, how could you hurt your own little brother. You were supposed to be looking out for not shooting arrows at them" also said. "I told you I would make you pay for this, that’s exactly what I’m going to do." She said all she turned and ran in the other direction.

Jeremy didn’t even have a moment to try to explain himself or defend what happened or explained that it had been him at all. Also was as old as

Also was his older sister, and despite the fact that he was now taller and stronger than she was, he still felt intimidated by her. Plus you can really fool around with someone that was the medicine man’s apprentice. The last thing the germinated was the spirit world after.

He kept on walking down the trail and pursuit of the location where the medicine man supposed to be. This took an up-and-down small hill, washed out goalie basically that it filled in with sand over time and when he came to the top of the hill, he could see the medicine man standing near three looking at some plants further up the rich. He walked towards the medicine man, and walked with a step it was a little bit louder than normal as he did not want to surprise the man. He definitely felt intimidated by the medicine and, and for some reason this to

And for some reason didn’t want to call out to the older man in jail and area

So instead he chose a course where he would walk relatively loudly up behind the man so that he could hear them coming. "Germany, is that you? Medicine Anas

"Yes, it is I. My little brother Shiloh’s been hurt in a terrible accident. We were in the clearing hundred for rabbits, when a large bird attacked him. The bird was almost as large as the clearing, slid down and picked up Shilo in his clutches with this giant feet. Ice shot an arrow at the bird, instructed but it did very little damage and barely slowed down. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the bird got tangled slightly in a tree, I don’t know what would’ve happened to Shiloh."

The medicine man took all of us in without the slightest bit surprised. Jeremy didn’t think that anything in the world could surprise the medicine and, not even the tale of a giant bird that no one ever seen or heard of before swooping down on attacking someone in the drive.

"Well, let’s go see her brother, and along the way we will stop my constant pick up my pack of medicines." The medicine man said. "Described to me, tell your brother was injured, where he was injured in what type of injuries he received." The medicine man continued.

Jeremy said, "he was picked up by the feet of the bird, which seem to puncture his shoulders with the giant closet the bird had, when the bird got tangled in the tree the bird dropped germ

The bird drop Shiloh, and he fell close to 25 feet. He hit the ground in a relatively soft area, but he did break a leg and lost consciousness. I carried him back to our hut which took Olson our to do. He’s there with my mother now in my father’s on his way." Jeremy said.

The medicine man did not say anymore after that, as they walked very quickly to medicine man’s hut which was a few minutes away. Jerry waited outside while the medicine man went into that, and came out with a large deerskin bag full of a number of different things that Jeremy could not make out through the boldest. There were some roots and plants picking up sides, but even these he couldn’t recognize, and Jeremy felt that he knew most of the plants in the forest.

The rapidly left the medicine man’s hut, and crossed the tribal common area heading towards Jeremy Scott. When they arrived the sun already started to set it was getting dark, they inserted into the hut, which was now lit up with a large fire. The fire was lit more for light than it was for warmth. This was apparent because an opening in the ceiling was open wider than normal to let the heat of the fire escape the hut so as not to roast those inside.

The medicine man went over and converse with Jeremy’s mother, and they spoke together for about five minutes. Jeremy couldn’t quite tell what they were saying, but they did glanced at him on several occasions. His father wasn’t in the hut, and Jeremy wasn’t certain what he should do next.

Just as he was thinking this, his mother said, "Jeremy go outside and catch up with her father. He searching the woods to find materials and make appropriate splint for your brothers leg. When he gets back, it will take the three of you said the little boy’s leg." She said

Have you have a new mission, and the opportunity to leave the hut with his mother in the medicine man there, Jeremy quickly left in search of his father."

Here to for, I’ve generally built videos and tutorials with the unorganized approach of recording some video while I do something and then going back and editing it into something useful.

Today, I was working on a viral video for a client and actually built a story board of the video before I put it together attempting to plan out how I would present the video.

This actually worked pretty well for me, even though the story board turned out to be very rough.

Here’s a quick video showing the MindManager map I used for this situation.

Plus, here is the resulting viral video that I created from the story board draft.

Note. there’s a technical sound glitch in the final product that is the result of a problem with Camtasia’s ability to render 2 tracks of sound and a slow motion video clip at the same time.  I’m hoping to resolve this by reworking the clips in Pinacle.  If that succeeds I’ll add a third movie with the corrected result. For now, there are a couple sections where the volume level is a little buggy.

So now, I have to crack open this new software, get it installed and start learning some advanced techniques.  Coming soon, I will have my office on the fishing dock converted into a green room studio, you won’t even be able to see the patio furniture when I’m done, but I’m not sure what I’ll do when the occasional duck flies through my office.

I have been conducting a few tests today with the Jing Video Capture tool from TechSmith.  I learned about this in September at the Podcast and New Media Expo, TechSmith had a great product and I didn’t need to be won over with advertising pens.  (note, it took me a few attempts to figure out how to install it on my machine running XP Media Center)

I noticed that when my microphone was set to red in Dragon Naturally Speaking, this seemed to turn off the microphone for Jing too.  Dragon Naturally Speaking does not normally have universal control over the microphone for other applications and I routinely shit in and out of it with other voice programs or recording programs.

I’m going to attempt to embed the video I created and published to TechSmith’s site, Screencast.com.

Here is the text I wrote with Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 during the test (not very polished, but it is what it is)

This is a quick experiment to see if I can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 at the same time that I’m using Jing. Jing is a video capture software program from TechSmith.

The first time I tried this program I had the microphone for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 turned off and I attempted to record sound with the video. The sound did not work on the video capture program. This time I have the microphone on for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I’m wondering if there’s an incompatibility with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Jing.

As you can see Dragon NaturallySpeaking doesn’t like to spell the word Jing very much.

Note, I to get the actual video installed, shared on this blog, the steps were not obvious and I had to backwards engineer some code.  I suspect that this will be an area that I will focus my initial efforts to figure out the best way to apply the use of this tool.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to talk with the developers of Snagit at the Podcast and New Media (Video) Expo in Ontario California.  This was my second year attending the show.  Next year it is growing up and moving to Vegas.

Anyway, I learned about a simple new screen capture program that TechSmith  (the makers of SnagIt and Camtasia) are working on.  Its a free software called, Jing.  It is like a super light and simple version of Camtasia.

You can snap screen shots, or capture video and upload and share it fast. 

Think screen capture mixed with YouTube, but faster and easier than both, oh and very very very basic and simple tools.

The Jing download is simple too, just 4.4mb and you are ready to run.

The .NET Problem

Jing requires a .NET installation on your computer to run.  I have .NET, but its installed on a separate machine.  When I attempted to run the installation, it died on me. 

So tomorrow, i will try and get VB .NET installed on this machine and then attempt to get Jingy on my machine.

If that doesn’t work, then I’ll try and contact the developers again to see what gives.

In the mean time, I’m diving back into my stack of work, as I attempt to catch up with a backlog of new business and projects.  I might as well mainline diet coke at this point or maybe get a diet patch for coke or something.  Anyone have a spare caffeine patch???

The new version of Camtasia is out and it is packing a very useful punch.  Camtasia is a full motion screen recording software that can allow you to record presentations, narrate a recorded presentation, provide a training video or a mobile training video in an MP3 file.   Camtasia 4 is the latest version of this software from TechSmith the same company that has also created the very popular SnagIt screen capture software.

Camtasia Studio 4 is now designed for mobile sharing.  You can rapidly make a screencast presentation and distribute it to mobile players including MP3 players and iPods.  Its even integrated with Screencast.com’s hoting service, which can provide built in RSS and ITunes subscriptions capabilities.

You can create essentially a subscription link for your workers or students to subscribe to lectures or training videos and watch those videos from the internet or from their Video iPod.  It also provides integration into Flash Projects for easy web deployment of videos on your website.