What’s on your mind?

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Last year, I had the core music theory/performing/etc. classes at 8:30 every other day (it was all that combined into one class). Morning classes are definitely not my thing, especially as we listened to - and performed - extremely complicated stuff. I really do love experimental music and such, but several times, we listened to death metal/people literally screaming, noise music, and other really obscure stuff, and I just didn't like it at 8:30. Then I'd always go back and listen to it later, and I always loved the stuff - but not early in the morning like that. Of course I'd always need to be awake enough for when my other classmates came in with the assignment for that day, and we performed/sight-read them.

However, I did not mind Political Science class at 8:30, which was a lecture class (only 15 students, but still a lecture class). Had that class been in the afternoon, I for sure would have fallen asleep more than once.

In a perfect world, lecture classes in the morning, and more hands on classes in the afternoon, not the other way around.

On the contrary, however, I also don't do well super late at night, either, especially after a long day. Twice in the last year I have fallen asleep on the bandstand - while playing - because it was very late and I had not taken a nap that afternoon. This semester, I always took an hour-long nap before choir and combo rehearsals, which worked very well.

I, and most of the rest of the class, managed to sleep through a whole course on Botanical Anatomy.
It was scheduled straight after lunch, so we all had full bellies, and it was held in the coldest room on the campus, next to the air-conditioning plant of the Library. We basically all went straight to sleep as soon as we sat down.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I’ve never struggled with getting up. Especially if it’s an out of the ordinary get up like meeting a flight time or something. I don’t sleep all that well normally. Worse if I have to get up.

The two worst sleeps of the week are those the night before I have to go into the office. I get up at 6 and in the office for 7.30. Always a poor sleep. This week I'm in tomorrow and Friday!

 

[Apple fanboy]

The two worst sleeps of the week are those the night before I have to go into the office. I get up at 6 and in the office for 7.30. Always a poor sleep. This week I'm in tomorrow and Friday!

WFH tomorrow and no more Friday’s until 2025 for me.

 

[decafjava]

WFH tomorrow and no more Friday’s until 2025 for me.

Huurah! Enjoy your Fridays off, enjoy a cuppa tea and I will enjoy my next coffee!

 

[The Clark]

Someone placed a higher offer on the Condo I was excited for, and I am unable to stretch my budget any further. On the plus side, dentist went very well and Im enjoying some vanilla and honey tea.

@rm5 Thinking of you and your apt.

 

[rm5]

Someone placed a higher offer on the Condo I was excited for, and I am unable to stretch my budget any further. On the plus side, dentist went very well and Im enjoying some vanilla and honey tea.

@rm5 Thinking of you and your apt.

Aw man, that sucks you were priced out of your condo. Hopefully you can still find something else if your current living space is problematic. Though unfortunately people love to do that kinda stuff for whatever reason, doesn't even matter with what thing. Could be with property (as what happened to you), or items for sale, or projects, concerts, etc. But I'm very happy the dentist went well for you.

Yes, mine ended up being fine. Thanks for thinking of me! Another appointment tomorrow about an unrelated issue. Ugh. Regular check-up appointments are enough, why is there always an issue that needs further attention? But when I feel this way, I just think about how insanely lucky I am to even be alive, with all the stuff that happened when I was little. And that, at that time, nobody knew how I'd turn out when I got older. Of course this was a huge concern for my parents.

The doctors could make pretty good guesses, some of which turned out to be true, and some not. They took away things I no longer needed when they got better. Just now, some of that stuff still lingers and is not better--and that's okay. It doesn't need to be perfect. Sure, it's frustrating right now, especially since I'm in a non-acceptance phase, but ultimately it'll be okay! That puts things in perspective, and makes these things, that are still very big deals, feel a little less scary, and brings a little bit of optimism.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Someone placed a higher offer on the Condo I was excited for, and I am unable to stretch my budget any further. On the plus side, dentist went very well and Im enjoying some vanilla and honey tea.

@rm5 Thinking of you and your apt.

I remember guzumping (what it’s called over here) being a big problem some time back.
Hope there is something better out there for you.

 

[The Clark]

Just finished a cinematic intro for the keychron k3 max review and I forgot how much I love video editing. It's a shame that I have a full time job as I could literally do this all day.

Everyone having a nice evening?

 

[The Clark]

I remember guzumping (what it’s called over here) being a big problem some time back.
Hope there is something better out there for you.

Yes that kind of thing goes on all of the time here.
Vancouver is really bad right now for housing but there isn't anything I can do other than sit tight and keep looking. My current living situation is fantastic so I'm not too pressed, though it hurts to spend 2500 in rent every, single, month knowing I never see that again.

Okay I've made myself angry.

 

[BotchQue]

I am required to be enrolled in the meal plan (which essentially means that not eating in the dining hall is a massive waste of money), but I do my best there. The food is actually quite good, and naturally-sourced.

I spent my first 2.5 years at ISU, where the meal plan was required, and it was sh*t. One week we were fed lukewarm hot dogs three days in a row, and I stormed into the admin building and found the Head cafeteria manager, gave him an earful. He denied it, and I started a write-in campaign with the college newspaper, and things did get changed (my first/nearly last Activist period). The cafeteria always had an upstairs, which was just a salad bar, so I never went up there; but my last semester I wandered up there once, enjoyed the salad, and realized that's where all the hot healthy chicks ate! I ate well the rest of that semester! (though I missed the cheese/grease)
Transferred to SDSU and there we purchased ticket packages, so we tore off coupons for what we ate/didn't eat (food quality HAS to go up under that kind of system) and I could choose to cook for myself or go elsewhere. A much better system.

 

[rm5]

Just finished a cinematic intro for the keychron k3 max review and I forgot how much I love video editing. It's a shame that I have a full time job as I could literally do this all day.

Everyone having a nice evening?

Video editing is so much fun!! I haven't done much video editing for my own stuff, but a lot for other people/organizations/companies. In a lot of different "genres," if you will, too.

Got my start with music ensembles during the pandemic when everything was online. Manually assembled the "split-screen" style videos that were popular. Then when it was safe to do so, I invited five musicians from the ensemble over to my house and we did a livestreamed performance in my studio.

Then started doing work for production companies. Although the music stuff was great, the production companies were substantially more professional and efficient, which I really appreciated. The work paid well, and it was super rewarding. A lot less business since the pandemic died down so no more consistent work for us part-time employees, but sometimes I'll get a random text from the Head of Live Action at the company for a project. In fact, he just asked me if I could do a marketing video for an app. (This production company I speak of is a small business; larger companies have more consistent work.)

I've found my music performance, production, and audio engineering background has helped IMMENSELY with video stuff. As I always say, audio is perhaps the most important aspect of a video. You can have sub-par video quality and really amazing audio, and the video will be good enough. However, it doesn't work the other way around. All that careful listening, describing sound in technical terms, and knowing how an orchestra is laid out/ranges and dynamics of instruments are really fundamental skills for anything in music AND video. Hell, there have even been some instances (with music-related videos) where score/chorale/hymn reading skills have been useful.

EDIT: Also, video editing can very much be a full-time job. Entry-level "logging" or Quality Assurance roles don't pay all too well, but I've seen dozens of similar job postings.

Also, I realize I said all of that without giving an example, which won't help you!

1. If I think a piece of music/stock audio, etc. doesn't work in a video, I know why. I can say, "the XXX instrument is too loud, or out of place in the song." Or, "the chord progression should be this instead of that--if we changed one chord, it would work." Or, "a drum set would never be recorded that way, and that's actually wrong and is to the detriment of the song."
2. Anyone can say, "this audio sounds too compressed." But, only an audio engineer could say why, and explain how to fix it.
3. If it's a music-related video, and notation pops up on the screen, I can say if the notation is even accurate, or in sync, etc. Or, a better way to perform a piece on camera.

Now, my big problem is that I have a music background, NOT a film background. So I cannot point out issues in the visual side. Then the producer should take it to someone with that background and get their opinion.

If you're interested, here's a document all about describing audio attributes in technical terms: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-X-546INCPEwbUSPgMHZNP_P-msgQnJf/view?usp=sharing

 

[The Clark]

Video editing is so much fun!! I haven't done much video editing for my own stuff, but a lot for other people/organizations/companies. In a lot of different "genres," if you will, too.

Got my start with music ensembles during the pandemic when everything was online. Manually assembled the "split-screen" style videos that were popular. Then when it was safe to do so, I invited five musicians from the ensemble over to my house and we did a livestreamed performance in my studio.

Then started doing work for production companies. Although the music stuff was great, the production companies were substantially more professional and efficient, which I really appreciated. The work paid well, and it was super rewarding. A lot less business since the pandemic died down so no more consistent work for us part-time employees, but sometimes I'll get a random text from the Head of Live Action at the company for a project. In fact, he just asked me if I could do a marketing video for an app. (This production company I speak of is a small business; larger companies have more consistent work.)

I've found my music performance, production, and audio engineering background has helped IMMENSELY with video stuff. As I always say, audio is perhaps the most important aspect of a video. You can have sub-par video quality and really amazing audio, and the video will be good enough. However, it doesn't work the other way around. All that careful listening, describing sound in technical terms, and knowing how an orchestra is laid out/ranges and dynamics of instruments are really fundamental skills for anything in music AND video. Hell, there have even been some instances (with music-related videos) where score/chorale/hymn reading skills have been useful.

EDIT: Also, video editing can very much be a full-time job. Entry-level "logging" or Quality Assurance roles don't pay all too well, but I've seen dozens of similar job postings.

Also, I realize I said all of that without giving an example, which won't help you!

1. If I think a piece of music/stock audio, etc. doesn't work in a video, I know why. I can say, "the XXX instrument is too loud, or out of place in the song." Or, "the chord progression should be this instead of that--if we changed one chord, it would work." Or, "a drum set would never be recorded that way, and that's actually wrong and is to the detriment of the song."
2. Anyone can say, "this audio sounds too compressed." But, only an audio engineer could say why, and explain how to fix it.
3. If it's a music-related video, and notation pops up on the screen, I can say if the notation is even accurate, or in sync, etc. Or, a better way to perform a piece on camera.

Now, my big problem is that I have a music background, NOT a film background. So I cannot point out issues in the visual side. Then the producer should take it to someone with that background and get their opinion.

If you're interested, here's a document all about describing audio attributes in technical terms: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-X-546INCPEwbUSPgMHZNP_P-msgQnJf/view?usp=sharing

Whoa that's really cool. I find most creative professions are SOO rewarding, they're just difficult to come by.

You are absolutely correct regarding the importance of audio. I ONLY care about audio. I should put more time into my visuals, but I'm so OCD (by the way, I am diagnosed OCD - not just saying that to be obnoxious or insensitive) about audio because it's EVERYTHING. So many people will click off if their mic sounds bad, or it's not balanced well. I'm no audio engineer, but after spending over a decade making youtube videos I can confidently say it's where all of your money should go when starting out.

Which editing software do you use? I use Final Cut after years of using Adobe Premiere. Had to make the switch for the better optimization. I can do multilayer'd 4k footage with heavy effects, color grading/correction and transitions without breaking a sweat on the M3 MBA. That's the kind of stuff my old PC would struggle with (5800x with 4060).

"I've found my music performance, production, and audio engineering background..."
Just want to say that is an awesome background to have, especially the audio engineering side. I have an SM7B which I can use to sound great on a commentary, but I tried to record a few acoustic (piano and guitar) pieces and man, it was rough. I just don't have the knowledge to make it work.

I tried recording a simple mozart Sonata, some grade 1 piece I can't recall the name of, and it sounded terrible. The highs were clipping and the lows made it sound like a fisher price instrument.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yes that kind of thing goes on all of the time here.
Vancouver is really bad right now for housing but there isn't anything I can do other than sit tight and keep looking. My current living situation is fantastic so I'm not too pressed, though it hurts to spend 2500 in rent every, single, month knowing I never see that again.

Okay I've made myself angry.

Wow that sounds like a lot of rent. I remember when I bought my first flat (what you would call an apartment). We went from renting a tiny 1 bed place which was grim, to buying a two bed place which was quite nice. The mortgage payments were less than the rent had been.
Now I just have a few years left having moved a few years back. Before that we lived mortgage free for a good few years. Looking forward to getting back to that.

Don’t feel angry. Life’s too short. It will happen.

 

[rm5]

Which editing software do you use? I use Final Cut after years of using Adobe Premiere. Had to make the switch for the better optimization. I can do multilayer'd 4k footage with heavy effects, color grading/correction and transitions without breaking a sweat on the M3 MBA. That's the kind of stuff my old PC would struggle with (5800x with 4060).

The production company provided an Adobe license. But for any other project I use DaVinci Resolve. No way in hell am I paying Adobe, a corrupt company that has been sued numerous times for anti-competitive practices and anti-consumer practices $60/month. Premiere is terribly optimized and, while some things about it are better (easier navigation, I feel), it's just not worth it unless I am provided a license. And Adobe Audition is an absolute joke.

Considered buying FCP but it's Mac-only, and I'd like to be able to edit on any computer. I've used Logic Pro since I was a kid, but I've found in recent years it's gotten so buggy and so AI-focused (and forcing you to have Apple Silicon for many new features), it's just not good anymore. In July, I bought Cubase, which is just an all-around better program that's also cross-platform.

"I've found my music performance, production, and audio engineering background..."
Just want to say that is an awesome background to have, especially the audio engineering side. I have an SM7B which I can use to sound great on a commentary, but I tried to record a few acoustic (piano and guitar) pieces and man, it was rough. I just don't have the knowledge to make it work.

Recording is really hard, and so dependent on the physical space you are recording in. I'm lucky to own high-quality mics (AKG for large-diaphragm condensers and Sennheiser and Samson for small-diaphragm condensers--also have SM58s which are dynamics). Different mics capture different qualities of the sound. Good, expensive microphones will capture the sound better. I don't mean louder--I mean that the frequencies will be balanced, the microphone itself is built well, etc.

However, you can make something sound REALLY good using cheaper mics if you know the qualities of the mic, where to place it, etc. It just takes a lot of experimentation and trial and error.

I started playing around with mics and recording when I was around 6 years old. At that time, I just had the SM58s, which were originally my dad's. We've always had instruments in the house, so I'd just record those. Then when I was in my early teens I took some recording classes through the university in my hometown (for free, actually, because my mom was working at the university at that time). Bought all the good books on recording and mixing and just read them over and over again until I perfectly understood the techniques discussed. I also got books on orchestration and more hardcore music stuff, which, combined with the recording books, helped SO SO MUCH!

If you have a spare afternoon or something, just play around with stuff. Don't consult the internet or anything--just your own judgement. Just play around with stuff and see what happens. Learn what sounds best by doing that. THEN you can go buy the recording books and learn how it's typically done. That's what I did, and I'm really glad I spent my younger years just experimenting. I really can't put words to how valuable just playing around on your own is.

I tried recording a simple mozart Sonata, some grade 1 piece I can't recall the name of, and it sounded terrible. The highs were clipping and the lows made it sound like a fisher price instrument.

Sort of the same thing--I just think spending some time when you have nothing else to worry about (I know, big ask) and just experimenting. See what works and what doesn't. I could tell you solutions to this problem you've described, but I won't. I think that would be to your detriment. Not trying to be mean or anything, but teach yourself before consulting any other materials. Don't go look up how to mic a piano until you have tried numerous times yourself with no references.

I really love talking to you about this though, I hope you feel the same way! Happy to help you with music stuff, too, if you ever need!

 

[rm5]

Also, this is sort of unrelated so it's in a separate post. But I did the same thing with actual music performance. Didn't start taking lessons until I was 11. I was not that 5-year-old kid who took piano lessons. I experimented myself and figured out what worked and didn't work, and I actually came into my first piano lesson at 11 knowing quite a bit just because I'd taught myself some simple chords and scales. I even remember as a little kid, probably 4 or 5, playing the diatonic chords of C major and profoundly hating the sound of B diminished. Of course I didn't know what any of that was called, but I'd figured it out. I also listened endlessly to every genre of music. Classical, folk music, jazz, rock, children's music occasionally... everything. I just listened and listened. No one made me. But, having severe developmental delays, it was one of the only things I could do. Couldn't read, play outside or any of that. So in some ways that just made me really drawn to it. My parents have told me that they'd put an album on and I'd just sit there in front of the record player and listen to it.

Then when I started piano lessons, I actually do remember referencing jazz records--Kind of Blue, Live at the Plugged Nickel, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing, etc. because I'd listened to those a bunch prior. Then I could show my teacher at the time--who was a very well-known session musician and jazz artist in New York in the 1980s--the records I knew about. We'd show each other stuff! That's my favorite kind of relationship. But when I started lessons, I HATED practicing. I just was not used to the more structured nature of it. But I powered through and learned all the fundamental concepts, very quickly, actually. Although our lessons mostly focused more on jazz, I learned the etudes out of The Virtuoso Pianist, major and minor scales, etc.

I still don't love to read, and never have been drawn much to books. (Ironically, I'm taking my very first literature course next semester, and I'm kind of scared lol. It looks intimidating.) So I am not one who reads 8 hours a day. Instead, I listen to music 8 hours a day. Still anything and everything.

 

[Yr Blues]

I'm thinking Apple design peaked around 2016-2019. They've been letting the marketing/financial department run things ever since.

 

[bousozoku]

I'm thinking Apple design peaked around 2016-2019. They've been letting the marketing/financial department run things ever since.

Accounting departments are supposed to keep companies running but without a firm grip on them, companies tend to be destroyed by cost savings in creative areas.

Remember when Apple had guided instructions on how to do something? It's been more than 20 years since I've seen anything like that.

 

[Herdfan]

I'm thinking Apple design peaked around 2016-2019. They've been letting the marketing/financial department run things ever since.

Accounting departments are supposed to keep companies running but without a firm grip on them, companies tend to be destroyed by cost savings in creative areas.

If you have ever read Steve Jobs book, when he was in charge, Accounting and Finance didn't even have a seat at the design table. He wanted great design and didn't want the designers to worry about how to pay for it.

 

[bousozoku]

If you have ever read Steve Jobs book, when he was in charge, Accounting and Finance didn't even have a seat at the design table. He wanted great design and didn't want the designers to worry about how to pay for it.

That is likely how John Sculley was invited to join Apple as CEO.

 

[rm5]

Just started to digitize my vinyl records. It’s a process, but it’s been a lot of fun so far!

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Accounting departments are supposed to keep companies running but without a firm grip on them, companies tend to be destroyed by cost savings in creative areas.

Remember when Apple had guided instructions on how to do something? It's been more than 20 years since I've seen anything like that.

Remember when you bought something from HP and there was always something extra in the box? Now you're lucky to get what you bought...
I have several HP calculators where the weight and volume of the manuals (yes, multiple manuals) were three times the weight and volume of the calculator itself.

 

[The Clark]

Uber Eats driver just directly asked me for a tip via message before even arriving. I'm seeing red.

 

[rm5]

Uber Eats driver just directly asked me for a tip via message before even arriving. I'm seeing red.

Oh what?! I guess a confused emoji will suffice. 🤔 Yeah no, definitely a red flag!

I’ve never used Uber Eats, DoorDash, etc so can’t say I’m familiar. But could you have tipped them when you placed the order? Idk how that works.

 

[bousozoku]

Remember when you bought something from HP and there was always something extra in the box? Now you're lucky to get what you bought...
I have several HP calculators where the weight and volume of the manuals (yes, multiple manuals) were three times the weight and volume of the calculator itself.

I've bought very little from HP: a DeskJet 500, an HP iPod 4th generation with 40 MB of storage, and an Omen by HP laptop computer with 7th generation quad-core i7. I don't remember much documentation in any of them.

 

[bousozoku]

Uber Eats driver just directly asked me for a tip via message before even arriving. I'm seeing red.

I got something similar from someone delivering a pizza and more. "Five stars" he yelled. He gave me the pizza but he forgot to give me the more. Another person who delivered to me was friendly and didn't ask for anything. Besides my pizza, she brought ranch sauce and napkins.