In addition to installing and customizing Wordpress blogs for clients, I also am retained to do some “care and feeding” with blog content and here is a brief story of over doing it, but I think you’ll get a kick out of it.

It started a couple weeks back when one of my church clients asked me to post on their site the Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance clip that is featured below. The part that is implied with such requests is, “and Chuck, can you also draft some copy that we can use to explain / build / position the clip” which is something I thoroughly enjoy doing.

I had watched this Red Skelton clip earlier in the day then went for a walk with the dog. Along our walk we met some movers from Russia and Serbia. They were taking a break and wanted to pet the dog, Kasha, so we got to chatting.

When we got to the part where I asked them about the conditions and economy in their countries and what they thought of the USA, they both stopped petting the dog. They both stood up, faced me directly, pulled the cigs out of their mouths, looked at me wild-eyed and said, “What happened to America? You know, you used to be something and meant something around the world…”

I knew exactly what they meant and explained that nobody I know is happy with the theft of our Republic by incompetent, corrupt leadership and corporate interests run a muck.

More on this “moving conversation” in upcoming blog post but when I got back home, I drafted the following for my client’s blog and sent it to the Pastor to preview and approve before going public with the copy and video. I confessed in my email that I “might have over done it” and here is what I originally wrote:

The Youtube clip below is from the Red Skelton Show that first aired on January 14th 1969 on CBS. Red’s Pledge has since been twice read into the Congressional Record of The United States and has received numerous Awards.

It is a POWERFUL reminder of truth, one which those in Washington seemed to have abandoned - e.g., sovereign powers with people-first and leaders-second and not Federal-leaders dictating to the people; freedom for all and the right to live one’s own life as one sees fit even if that includes home schooling; to live one’s life without threats and fear or deceit or lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction; justice and principles of dealing fairly with others which is sorely absent in political races where the drive to win at any cost dominates …

Regardless of political sensibilities, Red Skelton’s version of The Pledge of Allegiance is a reminder for each of us, I, me, committees of one, to get off our apathetic butts, stop complaining about the state of our world, our country, our lives, our economy, and go out and live the positive change God wants us to live and bring back the respect for this great country our forefathers worked so hard to earn.

It’s not too late to be the change, live the change, and kick some butt in a positive way, one that would make Red blush with pride when he looks down from Heaven and says to Our Father, “Yep - that’s them all right. We The People!”

The Pastor has great sense of humor and sent back very funny email:

“… you had me whoopin’ and hollerin’ in agreement with your sentiment… however, I feel the need to tone it down for the sensibilities of our intended e-viewers. The following is an edited version - Rated W for wimpy pastors! …”

Needless to say I edited the copy per his direction and this is what “officially aired” on their site:

This Youtube clip below is from the Red Skelton Show that first aired on January 14th 1969 on CBS. Red’s Pledge has since been twice read into the Congressional Record of The United States and has received numerous Awards. It is a POWERFUL reminder of truth.

But this got me to thinking some more - e.g., What else could Rated W mean? After all, anybody who ventures out to use new media and Web 2.0 technologies is anything but wimpy in my opinion - it takes real leadership and courage to venture into new waters, especially those that are not certain or clear, like blogging with one’s congregation.

Thus when the site was updated, I sent back the following email:

… edits done and home page is live :>) … i’d say Rated W = “Wow - Thanks for Sharing!”

Earlier today I posted the Elliott Scheiner audio clips and am now in the process of archiving the project files when I came across a handwritten note to myself -

Mono Wins

The note was written in the middle of the night when the computer was busy rendering the master files and was a reminder to me for the next morning as to where to pick-up and which files would ultimately get published and streamed on this web site.

The original recordings were 44.1khz stereo wave files and I did all the editing at this resolution yet knowing I was ultimately going to kick it down and go to the web with mp3 clips. Thus part of the compression issue became one of stereo vs mono and balancing finished compressed file size with server-bandwidth costs and audio-quality.

Consider the fourth clip - Part 4 of 4 - it was the largest master file weighing in at 212 megs as finished stereo wave cd quality. I knew I wanted FM-radio quality for the mp3 versions (not CD but not AM either) thus rendered all four wave files first to stereo 96kbits 44.1khz for a total file weight of 40.9 megs as compressed mp3s … then I rendered separate versions to mono 64kbits 44.1khz for total weight of 26.9 megs.

While the audio quality is slightly inferior, the mono version was the winner because most of the audio is speech - thus the need for preserving sonic spectrum wasn’t truly necessary except for the killer sonic bug at the beginning of each clip that features me on keys, Jeff Wells on Sax, and Kasha (my 19 month old Labrador Retreiver - or perhpas better stated, “my wife’s Lab …”).

Sonic branding is a term I first heard a couple years back when talking to a staff composer for one of the most successful Soap Opera’s on air. We were talking about his business and skills when he said, “You know Chuck, the best shows on TV have Sonic Brands - that signature ditty that you can hear from another room and know that someone in your house just tuned into Cheers, Seinfeld, Taxi, American Idol…”

He went on to add that from his perspective, not enough American corporate managers are even aware of the importance of this branding let alone using or managing it effectively.

Point noted and ever since our discussion, I’ve been mindful about developing and managing my own sonic brands as well as those for clients for whom I’m retained.

Previous to my discussion with composer friend, I had composed a neat ditty for many of the CoolTea and GoBoardRoom audio clips - one which I referred to internally as “Purple Guy” but when I found myself selling a variation of this mix to a client, I was then at a cross roads for developing a new, more updated, more me, kind of signature for ChuckingIt.com and ChuckScott.com branding.

Hence the ditty, aka Sonic Brand, you hear in the Elliott Scheiner clips.

On February 4th 2008, legendary audio recording engineer Elliott Scheiner (Beck, The Eagles, Steely Dan, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Natalie Cole, Bruce Hornsby, plus others) spoke at East Coast Music Mall about his record producing experience and take on the music industry today.

I was lucky enough to attend this free recording workshop and had my trusty portable recorder with me hence the following four clips from that evening - enjoy!

Part 1 - The Music Business Industry and Trends

This audio clip is 10 minutes in length and 4.9 meg mp3 file - click here to download the clip … Some of the points Elliott discusses in this clip include: How he got started as New York’s first freelance recording engineer; Where to find the most work; Why The Eagles did not release their album on iTunes but went with Walmart instead; The reality of copy protection; Radio Head’s experience selling albums; and, How our culture has completely failed musicians and artists.

Part 2 - Working with Recording Artists

This audio clip is 12 minutes in length and 5.7 meg mp3 file - click here to download the clip … Some of the points Elliott discusses in this clip include: Common denominator in working with great artists; Getting the unique piano sound for Bruce Hornsby; Tracking vocals for Toto and how technology has made artist lazy; Crazy guitar players and their signature sounds; and, Getting work that is just fine vs good or great.

In my opinion, the story Elliott shares about Bruce Hornsby is really powerful lesson for all business people - it is one about the power of creative-tension, working with people who don’t get along, and the difficulty in selling something new - in this case, a new piano sound - and one that would go on to break the charts!

Part 3 - Mixing, Mastering and Surround Sound

This audio clip is 14 minutes in length and 6.8 meg mp3 file - click here to download the clip … Some of the points Elliott discusses in this clip include: The amount of time it takes to mix a record; Working with samples; Mixing Steely Dan’s Gaucho in surround sound; Mixing with satellite speakers; XM and Sirius codecs changing the surround mix changes the copyright; Monitoring levels and speakers; Kids and bass today; Loudness wars; Getting country music to sound great; Order of mixing instruments; and, the importance of hiring mastering engineers.

Part 4 - Audio Recording Tools, Technology and Techniques

This audio clip is 20 minutes in length and 9.5 meg mp3 file - click here to download the clip … Some of the points Elliott discusses in this clip include: Going digital vs analog; Software effects and EQ vs their hardware equivalents; Being a minimalist and using mics properly; Not depending on compressors and having the artist work the mic; Salvaging old reel-to-reel tape recordings; Consoles; Tips for people running project studios; Watching the levels in a mix; Cost of building analog room vs digital room; and, the cost and risks when working in new rooms.

Okay - here is a video clip that I did everything on - filmed, edited, recorded audio, photographed, special effects, compression, etc …

I had been working with my client earlier that day doing an audio meditation and had my camera in the car when Father Chip said, “Hey - lets go look at the church and I’ll show you some of the water damage we are working on” and so I gave him a mic with DAT recorder, grabbed the camera and voila - the resulting video.

I should also mention that I shot this during the summer of 2007 not knowing what I now know about setting up shots, using tripods, etc. (and it was the last time I would use a DAT recorder and went out and promptly replaced it with a new direct-to-smartcard portable disk recorder).

Thus it was really difficult in post to tell this story since a lot of the footage had camera shake from me walking around the grounds and in the church doing free-form shooting.

Thus my wife, Katie, created a little sign that hung on my desk during the editing process that said,

Wobbly = Still!!!

Which was my reminder to keep stripping out any shaky footage and replace with stills and then use keyframes with the pan-and-crop features to make the story move along.

Here is the lead copy on their site that sets up the clip -

“Take a tour of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral with Father Chip and Colleen … Filmed during the summer of 2007 and published in Feb 2008, this 13 minute clip takes you on a journey of the elusive source of the water damage that was being addressed during the recent renovations - enjoy!”

The video clip below is a project I participated with in early January 2008. I did the filming for the opening company (RAM) and the last company (RealTraps) but did not do the other companies inbetween (e.g., Painting, Fiberglass) but my camera was used for all the shooting.

Ethan Winer did the editing, music, narration, etc and he is the co-founder of RealTraps - the company featured here in this video.

Along the way, Mark Weiss provided some technical consulting and I learned several things from Mark including: a) don’t shoot interviews from low angle up (as I did with the RAM tour) as it creates an authority “top down” kind of interview energy; b) always use a tripod for shooting long form shots (e.g., when panning a 20,000 sq foot facility); c) keep tromboning to a minimum (this is the zooming in and out with the lens); d) when assembling clips in post, after a shot zooms in, then make a quick clean cut to another shot; plus several other tips on balancing audio, colors, and slides (stills) - enjoy!

Here is a link to a really nice article that recently appeared in Hersam Papers - kudos to Fran Sikorski, Scott Mullin, Sally Sanders, and team Ridgefield Press et al.

As an fyi, I thought Fran did an awesome job in looping the Dec 11th CoolTea Songwriting event, Frankie Vinci, Marc Huberman and Georgetown Saloon threads together.

I was also impressed by Scott Mullin’s photographic sensibilities - e.g., especially with his Nikon’s wide angle focus.

To be continued :>) cs

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to do an industrial video shoot - a documentary style video that shows a Connecticut metal fabrication company (50 people on shop floor; 25,000 sq foot facility) plus some really cool footage of the robotic welder I caught from dangling atop a 15 foot ladder overlooking the UV curtains.

As an added fyi, this is one of the first industrial films I’ve done outside of filming my own printing plant back in the late 1980s and early 1990s with VHS and Hi-8 cameras. In this case, I shot just under an hour of footage, and Ethan Winer edited it down to the 10 minute clip you see here on Youtube. Thus I plan to release some of the really cool machine and laser cutting clips as stock footage but to be continued in this dept …

One of the interesting things about this on location recording was that we did not use lav mics on the people speaking nor mics on overhead booms. Instead we used a hand-held direct to smartcard recorder to capture brilliantly clear sound - sound that dominantly captured the voice of people speaking yet also captured the background of their environment with a balance that sounds pleasing.

Note the robotic welder appears around 8 minutes 30 seconds into clip - it is akin to Terminator but better because you can make money with this robot!

Happy New Year Everybody!

Below is email thread forwarded from friend of friend … Accordingly, those doing instructional training videos might want to jump on this opportunity - I know I have! Cheers - cs

=== Email Forwarded From Friends ===
Hey guys - Sorry if this sounds like a commercial - it’s not, but it is such a great deal I wanted to pass it on.

If you have ever needed to make an instructional video by recording the action on your computer screen while you are talking, then you should check this out.

I use a program from the called Camtasia to help friends understand some of the less obvious features in Finale. Even more impressive, I recorded a visual scrolling score while playing the music.

The program I used, Camtasia Studio, normally goes for $299 US. The first time I saw it in action I was absolutely amazed at how cool it was. I’ve been using version 2.0 for awhile now. Right now, the publisher is offering a promo.

They encourage you to download a fully working, unrestricted copy of version 3.13 - in the hopes that you will want to upgrade to their newly released version 5. The publisher (Techsmith) is now promoting their “upgrade”, but version 3 works just fine and really does everything I need.

(Mac Users: This is a .exe file so I believe it will only work on PC.)

To get Camtasia Studio 3, follow these steps:

Download the free trial version of Camtasia Studio 3

Click here to go to a promotion page -> Complete your name, country and e-mail address … Techsmith will send you the software key to unlock the program …

Click here to see the company demo of the program made by Techsmith

There are so many uses for this software, I figured you had to at least know about this.

Saved you $299 too!.

Think of it as a Christmas gift from a frugal buddy …..

- fin -

For those of you who Santa delivered a Windows Vista machine, be sure to checkout this clip and my recommendation is to return your machine, get your money back, get a new machine with WinXP or maybe jump ship and get a MAC … ho ho ho!

Friday nights used to be date night, but now we’re an “old married couple,” with four-plus years as Mr. and Mrs., and one of the smartest things I ever did was marry her. But I digress; so let me loop back to Friday night, November 16th, when I attended my first Healing Mass at Saint Mary’s in Ridgefield.

The priest at center stage was Father Roy Henderson, and my wife and her people have spoken highly of him over the years; so when Katie, my wife, suggested that we attend his Ridgefield Healing Mass, I decided it would be a good thing to check out, even if on a pseudo date night.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going in. Both of us had our own list of things we’d like to be healed of - some of it physical, some of it emotional and mental, and some of it just plain tactical, like being healed of dead-end jobs and finding bliss in career service to others.

I had heard about the laying on of hands and people falling over with the power of the spirit. I had heard that some people experienced miracles, and yet I had heard from others that “nothing seemingly happened.”

The power of healing and health is something I’m sort of versed in and know that all healing comes from the Source - God. Yet I think I also understand that Source has a management team and that certain Light Managers are like departments and offices in such that some are more efficient in certain areas than others. For instance, why would we call on the Department of Motor Vehicles if we wanted to send a letter? Hence the Post Office and Department of Motor Vehicles are both branches of one government, a government of “we the people,” but still it is more efficient to use Post Office leadership for sending letters and the Motor Vehicle Department for renewing driver’s licenses.

Thus the Heavenly Management Kingdom has its own branches and departments - e.g., Saint Anthony is awesome at helping us find things lost; then there’s the guidance of the departments headed by Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and other Love Leaders; Mother Mary is awesome with her grace and gift of the Rosary; and her Son, Jesus, God’s Son, is most awesome in His gift of salvation, friendship and inspiring love and brotherhood among all of His Kingdom.

So when a man or a woman is purported to be a healing vehicle for the Divine, I take that seriously and honor their gift and their role in bringing about healing for the rest of us who are not so plugged into the healing lineage.

Father Roy is purported to be such a healer, and Friday, November 16th, was my first opportunity to see him in action. What a gift it was. Not so much because there was wild drama, but more because of the intensity of community and love in the room. Let me explain.

The scene was not in the church but in the auditorium. From the front parking lot, you walked in the doors and down a hallway; then you turned left into the auditorium, which is a rectangular room. As you walked in, the music team was immediately in front to the left, a congregation to their right, and all to the right was rows and rows of congregation, with the altar and priests up front along the long vertical wall. Normally in church, I hear sneezing, babies crying, people coughing and other human anomalies, but not this evening.

Father Roy and his fellow priest performed the Mass according to gospel. Then, after Communion, he started to explain what a Healing Mass was all about, what might happen, and his role in the process. He had such joy and enthusiasm in his manner as he walked from side to side, and he spoke with such relaxed clarity. Even before he started the Mass, he faced the crowd and said, “It’s good to be back in Ridgefield. I see you all haven’t changed.” With this a chuckle rippled through the house and I knew then I was in for a good show, so to speak.

Back to his explaining of the healing process. He mentioned things like why some people fall over and why others don’t. He also touched on the concept that all healing is from God, and all of us are entitled to His Divine gifts as He loves each one of us just the way we are.

That last part hit me as my compulsive nature and desire to keep bettering myself often leaves me unresolved, frustrated and easily beating myself up for the errors of my ways, so the reminder that He loves us just as we are - wow, cool - and a concept worth repeating over and over.

While Father Roy spoke, nobody moved. No baby cried. Nobody sneezed. Nobody’s head nodded with sleepiness. Everybody was fully alert, almost on the edges of their seats, fully processing this man’s authenticity, gracefulness, and sincerity of heart. It was a beautiful thing to observe.

But when it came time to get in line for healing, something occurred to me that stopped me dead in my tracks. As I looked around at those starting to line up, I saw blind people being lead to the front, people being wheeled up in wheel chairs, elderly people who looked frail, others who were bald from chemo and ravages of cancer, young people with mental illness, and a host of others all looking for healing.

And then I looked at myself. What was I doing here? What bag of stuff was I asking God to heal me of, and how did that compare to some of the really intense things others were praying for? All of a sudden, I felt small. I felt ashamed of myself to be asking for something when it could perhaps be given to others. Not that God is limited and that healings are in limited supply, but it was sobering for me to watch others and then look at myself and my little ego bag of stuff.

I remember talking to another healer, years back, and asking him about his process. He mentioned how easy it is for any of us to send love through our intentions to others across the room. I also recalled another conversation with a high-level saintly person who stated that oftentimes we can be healed by just being in the presence of a great healer.

Thus I took both these two data points to heart on Friday, November 16th, and resolved that I had already been healed by just being in the room with such charismatic leadership, and that I should sit quietly in the back row and become a spiritual cheerleader and send loving thoughts to each person in line as they stepped up to interact with Father Roy.

It was great fun and brought tears to my heart and mind. I was amazed not so much at the human spectrum in desire for healing as much as I was amazed at all the love that surrounded each one of them. Parents, friends, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neighbors from all corners, accompanied each of those who stood in line.

I cheered for God and His creation. I cheered at His grace in gifting us friends and family. I cheered at His Management Team, and I cheered for His miracles.

If only I had pompoms, my cheering would have been physically obvious, but perhaps it was best to leave it as silent cheers for ALL.

The next day, I was walking our dog and bumped into two neighbors who had also attended the previous night’s Healing Mass. Both of them recounted how they had received the gift of miraculous healing and how much they enjoyed Father Roy. It was fun to compare notes, and when I told them a little about my experiences and internal processing, they just grinned from ear to ear.

“Of course, Chuck, Healing Masses are for everyone, and you don’t have to be sick to appreciate the love that is the house.”

And so, thanks to my neighbors, I decided to pen this piece and encourage everybody to attend a Healing Mass. Even if you don’t need it, go put on your spiritual cheerleading cap and go root for those who do. Just don’t get too carried away and try doing cartwheels and splits!

Viva the healers among us, and bravo to the Divine’s Management Team!

- fin -

Click Here for Print Friendly Version of this article (130k adobe acrobat file) - Healing Mass is for Everybody by Charles R. Scott