Plan B

There's a problem with this week's show!

I can't record it.

The reason I can't record it, is I'm a bit poorly. Not dramatically poorly, just a bit.

Poorly enough, that if I was in a proper job I'd probably throw a "sickie" or "duvet day" as I've heard it called, but I'll survive.

The real problem is that I've a heavy head cold and cough which makes me sound awful. No issue with sitting in front of the Mac all day, but really, you wouldn't want to listen to me for 30 minutes and I really don't feel up to recording the necessary couple of hours of material needed to edit down to 30 minutes.

This creates a major issue for me as there is no plan B.

At least, not formally.

Each weeks show is usually recorded a couple of days before the publication day. That way I can keep things fresh and responsive, able to jump on any new developments or new software that comes out.

The downside is that there is no buffer. If there's a problem like this week, I have no fall back.

Yes, I know I should probably have a couple of shows in the can for times just like this, but I haven't - something I should address perhaps, or at least have one show in the can at all times.

I'll try and sort that out.

So what to do for this week.....

OK, so to completely contradict myself, I have a spare show... sort of!

It's not a normal show, it's a short tutorial that was commissioned by a previous sponsor of the show to put on their website for a new release of some familiar software. I completed the recording earlier this week, before getting sick. My original intention was to record a normal, Mac related show this week (important point!), publish the normal show today as usual, and then next week, publish this short iPad episode as a bonus show.

As there is no normal show today, I could either not post anything, or throw this short tutorial in the feed so you've got at least something to watch.

But there's another issue (stick with me, nearly there).

It's about some iPad software.

Not just any old iPad software, but the gorgeous new version of Things.

So where's the issue?

Well, I promised that this weeks show would be about the Mac, and that was my intention. I've previously posted that I would not go iPad crazy and as I mentioned earlier, the plan was to do a normal Mac based show this week.

I've had less than a handful of emails and tweets from viewers concerned about the lack of Mac content in the past two shows (but lets be fair, one was an iPhone show and one was the live draw for the iPad giveaway) but I always figure there are more viewers who think the same that don't reach out to let their feelings known.

What makes it worse, is the recent announcement of the months delay to the international release of the iPad. So a huge swathe of viewers can't even get the iPad, and here I am putting out another iPad related clip!

Yikes!

All things considered, I still think it's best to put something out, rather than go dark for a week.

It's still a great application and the Cultured Code guys have done a great job on rewriting Things to take advantage of the iPad. I have to say, I'm pretty delighted the way the video has turned out too.

So I'll just tie up a few loose ends and get the video finished and post it later today.

For those without iPads, I'm sorry, but at least you'll get to see some iPad software up close and personal!

Live iPad GiveAway Show

Well, it's time to start preparing for the live show I'm planning to do tomorrow. Live is uncharted territory for me, I specifically went with the "ScreenCast" format in the early as I wasn't too enamoured with having to appear on screen (I'll leave out the usual "perfect face for radio" cliché...Too late!)

But after 4 years of screencasting and my more recent forays into YouTube videos and MacBreak Weekly, I should be able to cobble something together. Besides which, I'm always fascinated by trying out new technology.

So the plan is this....

I'll be broadcasting live on Ustream (and on the Ustream iPhone application) at 9pm UK Time on Friday 9th April 2010. If you're unsure of your local time, this should help (thanks to @DaveHamilton for the inspiration)

Fixed Time - World Clock 9pm UK Time - Click to check your Time Zone

The show will be anything from 15 minutes to 30 minutes long (hey, it's my first time) and I'll give you my first impressions of the iPad and a quick look at some of the applications. I'll also be taking some pre-recorded questions from the ScreenCastsOnline audience. Rather than try and handle these live, I thought it best to get some pre-recorded questions to keep it flowing! If you have any questions, please feel free to record a short video clip and send it into me (or a link to it on dropbox or similar) at screencastsonline@gmail.com.

Of course, the main event will be the live drawing of the winner of the 16GB iPad.

Although anyone can watch the live show, the iPad draw is only open to ScreenCastsOnline Extra Members who are in current membership at 5pm UK on the 9th April and have entered their names into the draw (or have joined or renewed since 1st March) - Terms and conditions apply. I'll be closing the entry at that time to weed out any duplicate entries before the draw show.

If you're an existing members and want to enter the draw, go to the special prize draw page.

If you'd like to become a member to be entered automatically, check this page for details.

If you can't make the live show, I'll be recording a high quality version and posting it to the ScreenCastsOnline members feeds as this weeks show.

So all that remains for me to do is to setup the studio and learn how to use some of this new fangled technology.

Wish me luck!

One slight hitch...

As you can see from the previous entry, all has gone to plan and I have my iPad.

I have to say that it's exceeded my expectations in almost every area (including weight!)

However, one thing that has caused me disappointment is that it won't play my ED (960x540) or my HD (1280x720) screencasts.

Nooooooo!!!!!!!

The good news is that it will play my iPod versions fine, but they are only 640x360 and may appear a bit "fuzzy" on the beautiful iPad screen.

I'll have to wait until next week before I can do any further investigation, but my gut feeling is that I most likely will need to create a new iPad version of the shows for members - drat!

There's probably something in the spec of the video support for the iPad that needs addressing so it's unlikely that the existing versions will ever run. If you're a ScreenCastsOnline member and want to download the iPod versions for now, just head over to the special members iTunes feeds and sign up to the iPod/iPhone feed.

Once I crack the problem with what is required to play HD versions on the iPad, I'll create a new feed for you to subscribe to.

If anyone has the time and the knowledge to work out what the problem is with the existing files and the iPad spec, I'd certainly welcome the input!

Update on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 11:06AM by Don McAllister

I've done some further testing and found some settings that create a 1280x720 version that plays beautifully on the iPad and Mac. The HD version looks truly stunning on the iPad!

The downside is that I'm probably going to have to make new versions of the current shows and you'll have to re-download them. I'll use the new format for shows going forward so there won't be a separate feed for HD and iPad, it will still be the same feed.

It's going to take me a while to encode and upload new versions of the older shows. I'll probably have to do them in batches over the coming months. 

So if you can be patient I'll make a start on this next week.

New Interview on The Screening Room

Telestream (the developers of ScreenFlow) were kind enough to interview me for their blog - The Screening Room.

Of course, I was delighted but a little bit unsure as to if they'd still want me as I don't use ScreenFlow exclusively. I do use it for all my video capture and for some assembly editing, but I still use Final Cut Pro to create the final version. I raised this as a potential issue to them.

To their credit, it wasn't a problem and I received back the response:

That’s fine. My aim isn’t to promote ScreenFlow over all other products. I really want to show how everyday users are using the program, so that people can maybe learn something new and compare their own processes to yours.

Very refreshing!

Anyhow, you can read all about my current workflow over on The Screening Room Blog

Thanks to Telestream for publishing the interview

Somethings gotta change...

Thursday morning and not a minute of the show is recorded. Slightly worrying in that it's due to be published tomorrow!

Now seeing as I'm a fairly laid back guy, I'm not panicking too much, besides which, I've been in this situation before and I always pull something out of the bag. Just means a long two days of recording and editing but I should be able to pull it off. I could really do without the added stress though.

Taking a step back, I need to see how I got into this position, as originally, I had planned on recording and editing two shows this week. I need to create some shows in advance to cover for an upcoming trip. On reflection, it's the usual story of overcommitting and underestimating the effort required.

The early part of the week was taken up with some commissioned work I'd promised many months ago and I thought I'd have completed over last weekend. Didn't happen, so that was Monday and Tuesday gone. Yesterday was catch up along with some other work connected with the membership, as well as some prep for this weeks show. Topic selection and some setting up. If I'm honest, I probably could have done some recording yesterday afternoon, but I wasn't in the zone, besides, I had a ton of other stuff to do.

Next to me on the desk is two months worth of paperwork to go through and I still haven't got around to updating the web site and forums.

So I can't work any harder, or any longer hours, so something has to change.

I think I'm going to have to start outsourcing some of my work.

I've already got help with membership and emails, it's the production side of stuff I probably need more help with, although it's something I've always wanted to retain and have complete control of.

As far as I'm concerned, the planning, preparation and recording is a minor part of the overall production process (with respect to time) but the bit with the most value. This is the bit that would be impossible to outsource.

The processes after that are more easy to outsource but not without challenges.

ScreenFlow Exporting: I take the raw ScreenFlow files and export them to lossless format. I then convert the lossless format files into AIC format for editing in Final Cut Pro. I have my reasons!

Assembly Edit: This is the process where I take the recorded segments and assemble them into the basic framework of the show. 99% of the time, these segments are recorded sequentially so there's no problem there. The assembly edit is really just cutting out the fluffs, removing any bad takes, and basically laying out the show in it's final form. This can be time consuming.

Final Edit: This is where the creative part of the editing process occurs in that I make a second pass of the entire show and add in pans, zooms, redub vocals (if required), add lower thirds and graphics, etc. Basically, turn the rough show edit into the polished article.

Exporting: This is where I take the master edit and create a master file. This then gets encoded into 5 different versions and uploaded to the Libsyn servers. There's an element of automation but I'm sure this could be automated significantly. Not difficult but time consuming.

Publication: Shownotes to write and publish, members website to update and publish, newsletter to write and publish. Again, all taking some content and applying it to various systems. RSS feeds to update and test. All repetitive and easily turned into a simple work flow.

On reflection, I could fairly easily outsource:

ScreenFlow Exporting - Deliver the raw set of Screenflow files to someone (around 800MB - 1GB) usually and they can export and convert. If working with someone remotely, I could also export and convert locally so we would have two identical sets of intermediate files to work from

Assembly Edit: Pretty straight forward. Basic Final Cut Pro skills required. I could probably teach someone in a day or two to do the basic editing. With having two sets of intermediate files, we could just swap the FCP project file between us.

Final Edit: Initially, I would probably still need to do the bulk of this but over time some elements could be migrated into the basic edit.

Exporting: Easily replicated by someone else. This section is deceptively time-consuming and does require a lot of testing and checking. Easy to create the workflow steps though.

Publication: Again, once the content is written, the mechanics of publishing is fairly straightforward albeit convoluted. Just needs some one with methodical approach and attention to detail.

Finger in the air, I reckon that I could eventually save myself 60% - 70% of the effort I currently expend putting a show together, leaving myself some spare capacity to get on with either creating more content or spending some time tending to some of the other parts of the business.

Of course, initially it would have a negative effect due to the time I'd need to spend training someone or creating documentation/processes that are in my head. But, the benefits are plain to see.

So how to move forward?

Do I take on an intern?

Do I take on someone full time?

Do I find someone who can take on some of this work remotely on a contract basis?

Do I hire by the hour?

Do I split the editing tasks and the publishing tasks between two people. There's no real need for the same person to do both.

Eeek!

I appreciate that this blog may cause a mini avalanche of emails or responses from people offering their services. Some have even expressed an interest via a tweet I sent out earlier in the week.

Just to set expectations...

I may or may not move forward with this.
I may do something in the next few days or it may take me a month.
I don't expect anyone to do this for free or for experience, in fact I'd rather pay someone a fair price for a job well done.
I would expect someone to have some experience in video editing.
On the video side, I'd probably need someone with a Mac Pro
Any arrangement would be on a trial basis.
I may not get back to you straight away.
No promises.

What do you think?

PS If you'd rather contact me directly, email me at screencastsonline@gmail.com but as I say, I may not get back to you straight away.

Update on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 9:12AM by Don McAllister

Thanks for all the comments and the emails offering assistance. I've not responded to anyone as yet, so don't feel offended if you've not had a response. I need to spend some further thinking time before deciding how to progress, if I decide to go down that particular path.

Don