http://thejuniorcompositor.squarespace.com

I have imported all the old posts from this address and am in the process of transferring the old graphics and videos across.  You can find the old posts by going to the top of the page and clicking on “Old Posts”.

At the moment I am trialing using a basic account with Squarespace, which means I don’t have a unique URL.  If all goes well I will look at upgrading and hosting www.thejuniorcompositor.com at Squarespace.

Hopefully this will mean less disruptions on your end and a lot less frustration on my part.

I didn’t get into to much detail about the actual eqipment that I use in the video, so here are some pics and links of the stuff that makes the magic happen!

DigiDesign MBox 1 rear panel

I believe I wrongly called my audio interface an MAudio, but it was actually made by DigiDesign (much like Autodesk, Avid seems to own everything audio/video and it gets confusing!). I am using the MBox1 USB audio interface which is a bit of a dinosaur these days, but it does what I need.  The temptation was there to get something with more inputs and a mixer because they look cool and have lots of knobs on them, however the fact is that I do most music and audio recording by myself, so will only be using a maximum of two microphones (one vocal and one instrument).  Resist the urge to buy equipment you don’t really need, but try and futureproof as much as possible.

Shure SM58 - the industry workhorse

For a microphone I looked long and hard but in the end I couldn’t go past the Shure SM58 for performance at a very good price.  As I was just getting into audio recording I didn’t want to splash big bucks on equipment that I didn’t know much about.  As I get better with home recording I will have a better idea of the qualities I am looking for a in a microphone.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro - Niiiiiice

Okay, okay, I splurged a bit on these headphones, but these are your direct interface with your audio.  I have a nice pair of Sennheisers for listening to music but they are *not* the headphones for mastering music.  They up the bass and do crazy things to make the music “pop”.  That’s great when I am listening to the Flaming Lips, but when you are mastering audio you want a flat, non-enhanced version of the music hitting your eardrums.

17" Macbook Pro HD

Za beast!!  I wouldn’t technically call this a laptop as if you have to carry it around in a satchel for an hour your shoulder feels like Mike Tyson did a bit of warmup work on it.  However, a fantastic computer all ’round.  Get the anti-glare screen as the reflections on the glossy screen are truly insane.  Unfortunately I only have a 20″ monitor to share with my PC workstation so they are both limited to 1680×1050.  This will soon change with 24″ monitors being so cheap these days.

Wacom - worth the money

While I use the Wacom for the work, I tend to use the mouse for the vidcast as it just seems like I need to do a lot of precise clicking and keyboard work.  I have started using a Wacom in Maya as well due to have a sore wrist (yay for RSI) and it is starting to become second nature.  The Intuos 4 looks sweet, but unless you really, really need it, it might be an idea to pick up an older but cheaper Intuos 3.

The rest - MS mouse, MAudio Axiom 25 and my pig mug.

The rest of the motley crew.  The MS mouse has lasted for years and is still comfortable to use.  I finally picked up a midi controller earlier this year, the MAudio Axiom 25 and it is totally sweet for making muzak.  Nice keys, pads and dials for under AUD$300.  The pig mug is my constant companion and has been with me since I was a kid.  Thank goodness I just find a tea store in Melbourne and it has been full of proper Early Grey all weekend (coffee at work, tea at home is my motto . . . until I get a coffee machine at home ;p)