pre-production

As with any production, the various elements are still in the works and will not be finished until shooting has started. Last night I tried to assemble the scaffolding but I had I some of the wrong size pieces so this morning I needed to exchange them. I also plastered and painted the background for the green screen and met with Evan and Roland and worked out the details for the camera and external monitors (2). I was also building the transformation chamber and the Partybot5000 today, with Margaret's help. The bot uses magnets, the chamber uses glue. I bought a glue gun yesterday, it is my new friend.

another fine mess

Iwas determined to work hard all day editing my video project only to discover that one of the important audio files is corrupted. I went to the university to see if anyone could help fix it but everyone felt that it was a lost cause. The file has a size but just won't play. Very frustrating. While there I cleaned up the classrooms that I'd been using as work rooms because they are classrooms again as of tomorrow. My office is now an even crazier mess. The image above is what it looked like last week, so you have to imaging what it is like now.
So this evening I looked at my email and Roland sent me a message pointing out a help forum where it was suggested to import the file as raw data into a shareware program called Audacity. It worked! Now I won't need to try to dub the film and I might get it done on schedule. Thanks Roland, you came through yet again!!!

Go forth

The continued construction of the theremin occupied much of my day today. I made good progress, much to the credit of our department technician Roland Bourgeois. Roland is one of our hidden secrets, he keeps the machines afloat and the software (relatively) bug free. His background is in electronics but he has kept up with the changing needs of the department and is very well versed in the maintenance and operation of all of the computer-based aspects of the department, the Avids, the Final Cut Pros, etc. Today he pulled me out of the fire by finding me a replacement resistor and a replacement capacitor that my Theremin kit was missing. He has been hugely generous with his time and experience, teaching me how to solder, lending me tools, and giving me loads of advice. My hat is off to our unsung hero, Roland Bourgeois.