Lunch report: 2011-06-14 (Tuesday)

[Brock]

Happy Valentine's Day 2011 Four Month Anniversary everyone!

Lunch:
Some leftover ground beef with pasta. I added some Huy Fung rooster sauce for added enjoyment. The tea was/is Brooke Bond Taj Mahal.

G&L:
Question: Your favorite G&L model of all time. What is it? Why is it the favorite? If you have color combos, toss that info in too.

Video
This one's fresh from the overnight upload.
[youtube]Z6XXTMuBQjU[/youtube]

I added a fourth camera that was aimed out from the right side of the bike. How? I already had packed a tripod in the huge Wald rack in the back anyway, so I made sure it was bungied down extra well and then mounted camera four to it. A similar setup is how the shots of the logo bike were done for the into sequence.

Because TV Cycle is too exciting (well, maybe not), I have a more boring program called This is Ambient that follows it. Both of the 15 minute shows are very deliberately designed to be somewhere in intensity between a picture on your wall and what's normally on your TV. In musical terms, much of TV is death metal. People are yelling, there's violent deaths, there's anger and conflict. The two shows I have are more like the light jazz of TV. Like a photo on a wall, you don't have to stare at them all the time. Past the first three minutes in a typical week, you can play some music if you want and all is good for the rest of the half hour. Leave the room and come back if you wish. All is good.

Like with TV Cycle, This is Ambient shows episodes so far are still hit-or-miss by subject, technical merit, or both. I'm still learning how to put them together and what they should do. Here's an odd episode that I'd put in the win column. It's a turkey smoker in action.
[youtube]2-UCwYIIUt8[/youtube]

That episode might not have worked, but the wind is blowing all over the place, so the smoke shifts. The empty bag of La Flama charcoal moves, as do the streamers on one of the tricycles. The smoke creates shadows on the bricks. It's not a still, but there's not too much action. And yes, the turkey was tasty.

This episode was a bit high in the action category:
[youtube]-dhcXqy6KSw[/youtube]

I told people before I started This is Ambient was going to be "In your face away from you. Intensely passive." That's what I'm working towards. There is some prior art, like the Yule log videos, but for the most part, at least to my knowledge, this is largely new ground in video. It is rare that a single shot in any video goes over 5 minutes, let alone over 10 minutes. I have two shows running 10+ minute continual shots almost every week. Having 10 minutes go by without music or dialog is also largely unheard of. In a typical week, both shows clear the 10 minute mark with a continual shot that lacks music or dialog.

The shows are still puppies. I'm still figuring out how they work and how they do what they do. I'll get there. The biggest challenge so far is guest mounts for other bicycles on TV Cycle besides my Schwinn. I still don't have that all figured out yet.

[Kit]

Today is my son's birthday. My daughter's birthday is February 14, on Valentines Day; so both of them have their birthdays on the 14th day of the month.

"In your face away from you. Intensely passive." - That's what I believe people call 'sig material.'

Kit

[Brock]

Question: Your favorite G&L model of all time. What is it? Why is it the favorite? If you have color combos, toss that info in too.

My favorite G&L, if it exists, is a 1984 mahogany bodied L-1000 with an ebony fretboard and black hardware (I think that exists though maybe not with the crinkle). If those features don't overlap, I suppose I'd go with an earlier chrome model. I'm not too picky on the finish, other than I like to see the wood. I want the mahogany, though.

[blargfromouterspace]

Huy Fung is a damn fine chilli sauce. We call it 'Happy Cock' in my house, due to the rooster on the label and my being immature.

I love where you're coming from in the TV shows. The theory behind it is excellent. Most stuff on TV is terrible. Masterchef is number one on my hit list. I've only ever watched one segment of it where a bunch of grown men and women stood around and guessed the ingredients of a soup. Riveting stuff.

My favourite G&L is the semi-hollow Bluesboy because it's so versatile.

[darwinohm]

I had a great Cobb Salad for lunch today. Bleu Cheese dressing and a tall Grain Belt Nordeast. This is about as good as it gets.

Brock, I have to hand it to your for your creativity and ideas. Silence is wonderful but hard to find. Your ideas are intriguing. I hope this is all a success for you. There sure are some interesting ideas that surface on this board. Someone mentioned bicycle helmets. I have ridden motorcycle well over 200,000 mile with no major accidents (luck) and I still ride at times without a helmet, especially if it is hot. My main goal when I ride is to avoid getting hit and that doesn't necessarily mean passive driving. In fact it is often the other way to avoid others/situations.

It is very hard for me to pick a favorite. I find I am playing this particular G&L more than any of my others. I generally play unplugged and this one is sweet. Here is a pic.


It is very resonant, light and delightful to play. It has become one of my favs and I am practicing for a gig tomorrow. It will go with me.

Keep the cool stuff coming Brock. I will check in on Thursday night.

[Boogie Bill]

Hmm. Favorite G&L. Well I think the Music Man Sabre might be Leo's best design ever, but in a lot of ways it really missed the mark in terms of what players of that time wanted. But most players who have them, love them.

The Cavalier probably comes closest to the Sabre design. I'd love to find one some day. You have to love the x-body Interceptor, and I'd love to have a couple of those.

But, I have 16 G&Ls, which includes nine Legacys; and two each of the S-500, Comanche and Legacy Special models--so you'd have to say those are my de-facto favorites. I'm comfortable using any of those guitars in 99% of the situations I play in.

Interesting TV stuff!

Bill

[bassman]

I have a couple of questions, Brock. Can any modern digital camera be configured to function as a TV camera?

How are you recording all of that video? is it just to the camera' simm cards or is there another hard drive to record all of the video?

my current Favorite G&L is a 1983 L-2000 with a L-1000 neck:


The L-1000 that the neck was swapped with is the third bass from the right. Of course you can see some other favorites along with this one:



Great bike and ambient videos, Brock. Go Public TV!

[Brock]

I have a couple of questions, Brock. Can any modern digital camera be configured to function as a TV camera?

Yeah. If you have a 640x480 video mode, it's sorta like having a digital VHS camcorder. Not super high quality, but good enough sometimes.

Here's some I shot in India a few years back on a consumer digital still camera point and shoot (Samsung BL103) in 640x480 mode. Edited in Windows Movie Maker on a little ASUS Netbook:
[youtube]kT0xPIqKoBc[/youtube]
...and yeah, I can't spell 'Delhi'.

Some of the newer digital point and shoots have a 720p (higher resolution) mode.

How are you recording all of that video?

From the FAQ: (http://www.tvcycle.com/faq/)
The cameras are all digital with solid state recording (no tapes or hard drives). The following assignments could change out quickly, as could the equipment list. This is how it is at the time of writing:

* Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000A: Full 1080p camcorder. It’s typically on the handlebars facing forward
* Sony Cybershot DSC-S2000: It’s typically aimed up at the rider from the handlebars, and is running in 640×480 movie mode.
* Samsung BL103: It’s under the saddle on the cycle, and aimed towards the crank.
* Ativa D33F: It’s a small digital camcorder. Office Depot brand. It isn’t used at all in the first three episodes, but is used in later shows, providing additional looks at the ride.

... so digital point and shoots are use in video mode 640x480 for the rider and pedal views, and they are displayed 1:1 (640x480)

is it just to the camera' simm cards or is there another hard drive to record all of the video?

It's all on SD cards, and then editing is done on a AMD quad core PC running Ubuntu Linux with Kdenlive for editing. I eat tons of hard drive space. Backups are on DVD-ROM

my current Favorite G&L is a 1983 L-2000 with a L-1000 neck:


Nice!