As with digital photography, mobile phones
have had a serious impact on traditional hardware and many people prefer the
simplicity and spontaneity of a smartphone. Some of them are capable of
shooting quite good quality video and in high definition too. However, they
can’t compete with the features offered by some camcorders. Take the GoPro Hero3
White Edition for example, a $308.45 digital camcorder that accepts up to 64GB
memory cards for storing video footage and can shoot 30fps at 1080p or 60fps at
720p resolutions. It has built in Wi-Fi and a Wi-Fi remote.
The
GoPro Hero3has an impressive array of body and equipment mounts for extreme
videos
That’s not the best part though, it is
mountable and wearable, comes with a waterproof case that can go down to 60m
and there are handlebar mounts, helmet mounts, roll bar mounts, chest mounts
and even a surf board mount. How cool is that? Get creative with your videos
and then transfer them to your PC via Wi-Fi!
Create
stop motion movies with a webcam and modelling clay using Hue Animation Studio
Another very unusual digital camcorder is
the Sony TD10E. This packs two high-quality lenses, sensors and image
processors and shoots 3D high definition movies. Of course, you’ll need a 3D TV
to enjoy them, but if you don’t yet have one you can still shoot and view
regular 2D high definition videos too. It can store 26 hours of video on a 64GB
memory card.
Let’s look at just one more product, the
Hue Animation Studio. This is a stop-motion animation kit. In the box is an HD
webcam, cable, software and... modelling clay! The aim is to create a Wallace
and Gromit style animated movie, which is a brilliant idea and for under £50
you could be the next Aardman. You can actually buy the software that Aardman
used to create A Matter of Loaf And Death and it was shot with Stop Motion Pro,
which is only £211 on Amazon.
This
Sony camcorder is capable of shooting HD movies in 2D and 3D with its twin
lenses
Getting back to traditional video editing,
a popular choice is Adobe Premiere Elements. It is, of course, a cut down
version of Premiere Pro but, unless you are a professional, it’s the better
choice (and a lot cheaper). Adjust the colours, use blend modes to enhance one
clip with the colours of another, add watermarks, add slow and fast motion
effects, use FilmLooks to apply cinematic styles and more.
An alternative is Magix Movie Edit Pro
Premium 2013, which is just £79.99 yet has video editing on 99 tracks, HD and
Stereo3D support, multicam editing for two cameras, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and
Blu-ray output. There are cheaper versions with slightly fewer features if your
budget won’t stretch that far. Corel MotionStudio 3D will add 3D titles and
animated text to your movies. It can also add fire, smoke, explosions and more.
Every movie needs special effects and MotionStudio 3D is where you can create
them.
Windows Movie Maker and Avidemux are basic
video editors with far fewer features, but you can still produce some
interesting movies with them and they are both free. Movie Maker is part of
Windows Essentials and you can grab videos from a webcam or load them from
disk, trim and rearrange them, apply effects and so on. It’s simple, but
useful.
Music Creation
It was the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
that brought computers to the attention of musicians over 20 years ago. The
MIDI standard was invented around the time, and this enabled computers to
control music instruments, notably MIDI keyboards and synthesisers. Those
computers are long gone, but there are lots of programs and hardware that
enable you to get creative with music on your PC.
You’ll
need a decent microphone for audio recording, like this Audio Technica AT2020
USB
To connect a keyboard or synthesizer to
play and record music you must add a MIDI port. This is straightforward and
there are USB to MIDI converters like the Roland UM-ONE priced around £29.
Roland, Yamaha, Korg and others make a variety of keyboards and synthesizers
with MIDI interfaces and prices range from a couple of hundred to several
thousand depending on how serious you are about music. To record quality vocals
a good USB microphone is required and the Audio Technica AT2020 USB is a fine
one for £99, but some say the similarly priced Blue Yeti Professional USB
microphone is better. If you need recording software then MixPad enables you to
mix an unlimited number of music, vocal and audio tracks, and record single or
multiple tracks simultaneously. It includes a royalty-free sound effect and
music library.
If you want to learn to play a real
instrument there are lots of PC programs that aim to teach you. For example,
eMedia Guitar Method features over 180 lessons that take you through chord
strumming, rock styles, playing melodies, and fingerpicking. You will also
learn guitar tablature and standard music notation. There’s eMedia Piano And
Keyboard Method, which features 300 step-by-step full-screen lessons and 70
video demonstrations. Playground Sessions is a great piano tutor for all
abilities.
LMMS
enables you to create music by arranging samples and loops in a multi-track
mixer
You don’t have to be a musician and there
are software packages that enable you to drag and drop sound samples and loops
using the mouse to build tracks. Take a look at Magix Music Maker, which is
available in Hip Hop, Dance, Rock and other editions. Music Maker Rock Edition
4 for example, provides over 1,000 sounds, riffs and audio effects to build
tracks from and they can be uploaded directly to Facebook and Twitter. More
expensive, but with more features is Samplitude Music Studio 2013 from Magix.
This provides an excellent set of tools such as a mixer with 128 channels,
recording in 24-bit/96kHz and more. It is aimed at professional and serious
amateur musicians.
A very popular music production system is
FL Studio. It enables you to mix up to 99 tracks, it has a step sequencer for
drum tracks, bass lines and melody creation, a pianoroll to enter music, an
audio editor and more. There are several versions and the cheapest, Express is
just £31. If that is too much, check out LMMS, which aims to do the same thing,
but for free.
If you want to become a DJ then Mixxx, Zulu
DJ, and VirtualDJ are all free, at least for home use. Play your music through
your PC, cross fade tracks, apply effects, loop sections, and much more. They
are great fun.
Do
you have what it takes to become a DJ? You can try it for free with Mixx audio
software
