TLR

 The twin-lens reflex camera is an excellent teaching tool, demonstrating how a camera works—one lens exposes the film, while the top lens shows the laterally inverted image. A perfect way to explore the mechanics of photography!  #Photography #TeachingTools lens.

Air Source Heater

 Going Green having a air source heater and new hot water cylinder installed to use the solar hot water and the air source heater. All new radiators to be installed too with the help of the Government grant and 0% VAT.

Dreams

 My wife realised a dream of being able to dance with Anton Du Beke in a dance workshop in London.

Powerboat Course

 

My wife is at the helm of one of the Upper Thames Sailing Club powerboats, taking her RYA Level 2 powerboat course. She is manoeuvring between buoys, learning how to perform a three-point turn in the water, practising man-overboard scenarios using a buoy, and honing her mooring skills.

Grey Days

We are out capturing photos on some very grey days. I am grateful for the f/2.8 aperture, which makes the most of the limited daylight! #Photography #LowLight

Is the new Version Worth it?

 Another new version of the software, Cubase 14, has been launched. Do I need the new features? Is it worth upgrading? Is it even worth looking at the new system and paying the money to upgrade when I might not want or use the new features?

Resolve Editing

 I'm currently editing a short film I shot in landscape. Now it’s time to reformat it for all the different social media platforms. Let the resizing marathon begin! #videoediting #socialmedia #filmmaking

Canon Rigged out

A simple rigged-out Canon 7D camera with a mic and monitor makes some of the videoing easier to see what's going on, especially when we want to do the low and close-in shots.

 

Quiet Day on the Thames

 It's a quiet Day on the River Thames. The water flow rate is returning to normal, and perhaps, if nature is kind, we might be able to get a few days sailing in before the end of the year.

Prize Giving and AGM

The Upper Thames Sailing Club hopes to attract more members to the Club's AGM by giving prizes. Paul is celebrating one year on the committee, which he has enjoyed so far.

Filming in the Lab

 Time to do some more filming of experiments in the Lab

Right to Mend

 The pad fell off the arm of the chair - easy to fix, we will do the screw-up - except there was no way to access the screw without drilling a hole underneath and then trying to find the screw and manoeuvre it into position before screwing it back on. This is an excellent example of how to stop the right to mend.

Theatre Organ

 I am turning the Wersi into a theatre organ using the Midizer. The problem I am trying to solve is how to get this to work over Zoom using the same computer.

Affect of mass on momentum

The velocity of different mass objects stays the same. But the mass increases. How does this affect the momentum?

Thumbnail on the phone

 After all the editing and rendering, the video is now short. Now, the thumbnail has to be created and fixed on the phone.

Setting the Camera Clocks

 One of the great features of modern photography is the date stamp. All cameras need their clocks changed back to GMT. Video cameras are better because they always sync to one device.

YouTube Filming

We are currently filming for our YouTube channel, featuring students who are participating in the video production process. We are making better videos with the student's viewpoint.

What time is it?

What time is it? With the clocks falling back one hour, many of my radio clocks told different times. What time is it? Time to change the batteries.
 

Testing

 Before we can film, we have to get the experiment working, determine the best way of filming it, and find out what works in the film and what doesn't. Only then can we work on the final copy of the script.

Converting styles

 Getting a whole load more styles for the Wersi from the Genos. The Wersi style converter can get one of the Yamaha styles and put it into Wersi format, thus extending the range of styles.

Showreel

 Working on a new showreel for the website. It is surprising how long something like this takes to film and edit.

2 Shorts

We made 2 shorts and Published them a day apart because editing takes time. One gets x views, and the other 3 times as many. Later sorts had even more views. What did we do differently?
 

Non Drone, drone shot

I used the Polecam as a drone where I am not allowed to fly a drone to get some of those drone shots. I tried out a few poles, but I have found that this Wolf Tools pole works just as well and can support a large DSLR as well as a lighter 360 camera or an Ace Pro.
 

Lots of silly problems

 There were quite a few silly problems, all fixed today. The server upgrade had a problem, so a new key was added—now it's okay. The weather solar panel fell over—now it's put back. The boiler valve is stuck—now it's fixed. The blocked guttering has been cleared, and the rain has stopped.

Allens Music Extravaganva

 

At the Allens Music Extravaganza in Peterborough for the day, seeing the new Wersi software being demonstrated, learning how to make the Wersi sound like a string orchestra and watching Laurel and Hardy silent movie to Tom ad libing a soundtrack on the Lowery Aria organ

Macrophotography

 When it is too wet to film outside, there is always the macro world to look at. Setting up the We-macro to create stacked images to increase the depth of field can yield some good photographs for teaching.

Weaving a tea towel

 

Passing the loom to my son—he's got the hang of throwing the shuttle effortlessly across the warp. The tea towel is taking shape nicely. By the time we're done, it might just be the most expensive tea towel ever—£1000 in costs and counting!

Synth Setup

 

Setting up my synth to do some background music. I can use both a hardware and a software setup; sometimes, I use the software to make the hardware sound different. Still looking for that signature sound. One day, I might stumble across it.

Editing Momentum Videos

 I just finished editing the Momentum video shorts. With these videos soon to be a bit longer, this will help the structure of the video, as I might be able to get some more teaching in, as a one-minute lesson is really a bit too short.

Ace Pro Up Close

 Using the Insta360 Ace Pro up close in high-speed mode to capture the weight as it shoots down a tube at 1.4m/s in a film measuring the terminal velocity of an object falling in water.

Loom

 Trying out some weaving on the Ashford Loom. Lots of new terminology to learn and attempting to get the tension correct. I am currently working all manually, but I might set the pedal up for more flexibility. #ashfordloom

Filming Terminal Velocity

 Today's challenge is Filming Terminal Velocity. Showing the equipment is one thing, but seeing the terminal velocity will undoubtedly be more difficult.

VCV Choice

 In the world of digital music creation, there is an enormous choice of modules available in VCV2. There are so many to choose from that I could spend days playing with them and not do anything else.

Aurora

A great light show to finish the evening. We went out with the cameras in the back garden for about an hour, watching our second Aurora display this year.

 

Scanning Photos

 Before using digital cameras, I had taken thousands of photographs, which were printed on cardstock. Using a dedicated automatic photograph scanner, these photographs can be archived and sometimes used again.

Not much like editing

 It doesn't look much like editing, but when my editor doesn't like the take we took, we go back to filming it again—to get it right this time.

360 Neck Camera

I'm wearing and using the FITT360 neck camera. It is useful when you don't want to hold a 360-degree camera, and this gives a 360-degree view of what I see. It's a bit easy to cover up the lens with clothes, but otherwise, it works.

 

Bird's eye view

 One of the Jibs is used at ceiling height to get a bird's-eye view of an experiment. Getting the best view of what is going on is the most critical aspect of a video.

Infographics

 I am working on a series of infographics to help the students learn more effectively in all the subjects I teach. I use existing packages and AI to create more novel ones for summarising sessions. Too many is bad but a few sprinkled here and there make all the difference.

Filming in Portrait

 

Filming in Portrait mode using DSLRs isn't as easy as it seems. Unless you have a portrait grip on the camera, which most of mine do, handling is more difficult, and tripod mounting is more complex, so the camera often has to be hand-held.

AC75

​Ineos Britannia is now the official challenger of record for the America's Cup, breaking a 60-year drought by beating the Italians. Now, to beat New Zealand, the current holder.