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VEGAS IN AMERICA
 The audio version of The Daily Show's book won the Grammy® for Best Comedy Album. |  |
When America (The AudioBook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction won the Grammy® for Best Comedy Album, Charles de Montebello, audio engineer and owner of CDM Sound Studios, Inc. said humbly, "I guess that means I get a Grammy too."
We're happy for Charles, and are doing a happy dance of our own after learning that he did all of the recording, editing, and mixing for this comedic masterpiece using Vegas 5 software.
"This project started and ended in Vegas 5, which is my production tool of choice for just about everything short of Mastering," said Charles. "I use Vegas because of its unparalleled ease of use, particularly with long form projects. I often work on projects that are up to eight hours long, so I need the workflow enhancements, speed, and choice of rendering options that Vegas provides."
What does Charles like best about Vegas software? "The fact that I never have to switch programs to access different types of media instantaneously is a godsend—particularly the fact that I don't have to wait for annoying conversions. Everything is real-time."
HAS BEEN? NOT LIKELY
If you're a Shatner fan (who isn't?), check out the William Shatner Mash-up Contest at ACIDplanet.com. A music mash-up is the art of combining two songs to create an entirely new track. In this case, contest entrants must mash-up two songs from Shatner's new CD Has Been.
Has Been was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and features numerous notable guest appearances, including Jon Auer, Adrian Belew, Matt Chamberlain, Joe Jackson, Lemon Jelly, Aimee Mann, Brad Paisley, Henry Rollins, and Sebastian Steinberg.
THE HD CONNECTION
 The Sony® HDR-FX1 is the world's first HDV camcorder. Vegas® software is the new standard for video-editing and production on the PC platform. Now, you can integrate these two leading-edge technologies with the Connect HD plug-in from CineForm.
CineForm Connect HD for Sony Vegas 5 includes HDLink™, CineForm's standalone HDV capture, conversion, and print to tape utility plus CineForm Intermediate™, a visually perfect intermediate codec.
Connect HD supports capture and print to tape for the following HDV devices:
• Sony HDR-FX1
• JVC JY-HD10U HD and GR-HD1
• JVC HM-DH30000U DVHS Deck
Using CineForm HDLink™, you will be able to capture your footage as native MPEG-2 HDV files, convert MPEG-2 HDV files into .avi format using CineForm Intermediate™ (a visually perfect intermediate codec), or capture and encode directly to CineForm Intermediate™ (recommended).
You will also be able to print compliant HDV MPEG-2 files back to all supported HDV devices. Compliant HDV MPEG-2 files for all supported HDV devices can be created using Sony Vegas 5.0d or later. [ more] CRAIG'S CORNER
Video Meets MiniDisc by Craig Anderton
The nemesis of Good Video is Bad Audio. When shooting the typical video—whether it's your cousin's wedding or a corporate demo—you'll generally see audio handled in one of two ways:
- Recorded through the camcorder's mic. There's trouble ahead, because mic placement for optimum sound pickup is seemingly never the same as the best camera placement for optimum video.
- Recorded through a separate mic, which then goes through a long, trailing cable to the camcorder (or goes through a preamp and then to the camcorder). If the words "long, trailing cable to the camcorder" don't fill you with apprehension, they should: Cables have some mysterious characteristic that makes people want to trip over them.
In 1998, some DJs over in Germany turned me on to MiniDisc as a great way to fly sounds into a DJ mix. I went out and bought a Sony ® MZ-R30, which I've used on stage, for recording interviews, doing field recording, and more. But I've also found it's a great way to record high quality audio for your video. [ continued]
Craig Anderton has released three loop libraries, written over 20 books on music technology, and remains active as a performer with the German group Rei$$dorf Force. Check out his Web site at http://www.craiganderton.com. SWEET AND DIRTY LOVE
Rocker Gene Simmons recently challenged ACIDplanet.com members to remix the track "Sweet and Dirty Love" from his latest album, A** hole. A total of 243 artists entered the Gene Simmons remix contest, and the winner was selected by Mr. Simmons himself. Simmons selected Jeff Crawford's song "Soundtrack For Gene" as the winning remix, saying that there is a "fascinating vibe on this moody track." [ more]
Other ACIDplanet.com contest winners:
ACID SOFTWARE HELP EN FRANÇAIS
Parlez vous Francais? If you answered "oui," be sure to check out the French-language site acidfrance.com for ACID software news, forums, tutorials, and more.
With 710 active members, and an average of 50 new visitors each day, acidfrance.com is a great place to learn and share information about ACID software.
 The creator of the site is a man named Olivier. Olivier is continually adding new content and publishing tests and reviews about using various VSTI/VST effects, sound cards, and hardware with ACID software.
After purchasing ACID Pro 2.0 software in 1999, Olivier was so impressed with its timestretching and pitchshifting capabilities, he was inspired to spread the word about ACID Pro software. "I wanted to create a community of French-speaking ACID software users and help others discover how ACID software can help them create music without musical knowledge," Olivier says.
"Today, with new technology becoming so affordable, many people are creating and editing video, photos, and Web sites," he continues. "I think ACID software is the ideal tool to create music for these projects."
SOUND FORGE 8 TIP: BATCH CONVERSION
With the new scripting capabilities in Sound Forge 8, you can streamline your editing tasks like never before. You can run the included scripts from the Scripting submenu under the Tools menu, or you can create your own custom scripts that perform exactly the editing tasks you need them to.
Let's take a brief look at some of the possibilities. Perhaps the most exciting benefit of scripting is that you can use scripts to perform repetitive tasks for you automatically. Maybe the best example of this is the new Batch Converter script (which is included and installed automatically when you install Sound Forge 8) that enables you to process multiple files with multiple operations simultaneously while you use your time to work on other projects. [ continued] GREAT SCOTT!
 Singer and songwriter Sharon Scott is making a name for herself in the competitive world of pop music. Her album Like a Flame was released in 2004 and showcases her classically trained voice.
Six of the tracks on her recent album were recorded using ACID software and Sony Sound Series loops and samples. "It was really fun to arrange the guitar, bass, and drums—like working with the best band," says Scott. "The music was so good, it inspired me to write the words, and melody."
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