Feedback please

[danhauk]

Hey there.

My friend and I started a video podcast about music. Mostly dealing with indie/alternative less-well-known stuff to sort of bring that to people's attention. We talk about news, albums, artists, do interviews, etc.

Anyway, I'm looking for any feedback on the show. How can we make it more engaging? Any time I ask my friends for feedback it's usually not real feedback, just "more of this band."

Please help me out here. One idea I was thinking was possibly having shorter segments to keep it more interesting and moving along, so we may play with that a little.

Check it out at www.messofmusic.com or find us on iTunes and subscribe.

Also, we just purchased mics and will be implementing them in the next episode. So you don't need to mention that aspect :p

Anything would be great. Thanks!

[rabidbadger]

I love this cast. Watched all the eps. You two (three?) have great energy. Fun dialogue. Love the "covers" section. BUT..

What I like most is the "covers" section. Not just 'cause you find great covers, but because it shows you know you musical history shit. When you said, (at your age) that you knew the clash covered an even older song, then I was instantly in love. You know your stuff, unlike other modern rock casts who just say "here's a new cool song."

You two have a great energy, relaxed, fun, pleasant. But YOU young man, need to speak up more.

Also. lose the couch. been done before. Do a table. have the albums on there to lift and show. Know what I mean?

[danhauk]

Thanks so much for the feedback.

We've been talking about how to improve and we agree that he talks a lot more. He said he'll try to not talk over me and I'm going to try and speak up more. Maybe we will get a little tipsy. Who knows, it may bring out a more outgoing side of me.

We've also talkd about changing the "set" around. The couch is comfortable, but you're right, it has been done. I suggested maybe a pub table and stools might be more interesting. And we'll pick somewhere to set it up that has some visual interest behind us, and lose the sheet :)

Filming the next episode in a couple hours so we'll try to get something switched up. Glad you like the show! Both of us love doing it. We have a passion for music and I hope that shows through.

[boldfire]

Hey, loving the show, great job.

I've got a few areas which stood out as areas to improve on, the one which struck me most was the video quality. I'm not sure if it was the camera or the compression but atm it's quite blurry.

It could do with being slightly faster paced.

Apart from those 2 things you have a pretty darn good thing going there!

[esophagus]

Hey, loving the show, great job.

I've got a few areas which stood out as areas to improve on, the one which struck me most was the video quality. I'm not sure if it was the camera or the compression but atm it's quite blurry.

It could do with being slightly faster paced.

Apart from those 2 things you have a pretty darn good thing going there!I watched the last few shows and the most recent is the only one with blurry video. I'm guessing it was just an error rather than an actual downgrade.

Really enjoyed the podcast. It probably sounds trivial, but huge props to the overall design of your website and video intro. Looks great.

[rabidbadger]

I meant to compliment the design/graphics of the show/site, too. Especially the opening motion. Sweet.

[danhauk]

Thanks for all the positive feedback.

The latest episode was definitely a rendering error. Not sure what I did, but this past one was done on my PC while the others were on the Mac (which crapped out recently). Did some tests and playing around and it should be fixed for the next one.

I can't take credit for the opening sequence, but the other graphics/website design are done by me, so that is much appreciated.

[danhauk]

We've got the newest episode up. If you download from iTunes (or click the download link on the site) it's much better. Uploaded the 320x180 video to Viddler so it's quite blurry on the embed on the site. Rendering a higher resolution video to upload now.

Also, it's a big file because I haven't gotten the right compromise between bitrate and size. Looking to get around 150 mb for about half an hour. Running some more tests.

Any more feedback I could get on the latest episode would be awesome. We added mics (though not the best quality, definitely better than internal camera mic) and switched up the set a little. Not too sure if we like it or not so please let us know which you like better.

Also, we're going to be shooting on location at a show on Saturday. We have a couple handheld mics as well as the clip-on so hopefully we should be covered. Any advice on shooting in low-light, noisy atmospheres?

[rabidbadger]

Hmm. I just watched the new one that I downloaded a few days ago. It was really crusty video-wise. Did you switch it out since then? I only ask cause I wanna see my gorgeous face in the ep more clearly. :)

I know you can't do a LOT about the vid quality right now, but content is king, so keep concentrating on the "show."

But DanAndDan! Great content, I really think the changes helped at least visually. Loved the records in the background. I think the table works, but I think you two need to get used to it a bit. Maybe scootch over a bit so you look at each other more than the camera. 2/3rds of the dialogue you are talking to each other, Kinda like a charlie rose thing, so make that more prominent.

Good luck on the interviews! Don't be shy!

[danhauk]

Hmm. I just watched the new one that I downloaded a few days ago. It was really crusty video-wise. Did you switch it out since then? I only ask cause I wanna see my gorgeous face in the ep more clearly. :)

I know you can't do a LOT about the vid quality right now, but content is king, so keep concentrating on the "show."

But DanAndDan! Great content, I really think the changes helped at least visually. Loved the records in the background. I think the table works, but I think you two need to get used to it a bit. Maybe scootch over a bit so you look at each other more than the camera. 2/3rds of the dialogue you are talking to each other, Kinda like a charlie rose thing, so make that more prominent.

Good luck on the interviews! Don't be shy!

Yeah I switched out the video since then. It's now a 257mb file or something like that, but it's not as gross video quality. In order to re-download I had to unsubscribe and resubscribe after deleting. Or you could just download from the site.

[rabidbadger]

what kinda camera+software are you using?

[danhauk]

It's a little handheld MiniDV camcorder. Very basic, we're looking into possible HD solutions but money is pretty tight.

Software I was using Final Cut Pro on the Mac, but it crapped out. Getting fixed soon though. On the PC I have Adobe Premiere Pro that I'm not as familiar with. Still working out the right settings. Maybe I'll just release the larger size video on iTunes rather than two sizes (one for Viddler and one for download)

[phildopharcyde]

I hit your link, and you and your partner are doing a great job, I like the changes from the previous episodes of the set and the attire. Nice work, and the website looks good too. Keep it up, I think I will subscribe in Itunes.

[deffari]

dan
when making tv or shows both of you need to have identtity and character...u need to be different ie names appearence ..dressing.
...so i dont think you should both use the name dan on screen ..it will confuse the viewer
i watched episode 9 and its 25 minutes
i think its too long bcoz with internet tv people watch it from work on the bus train..etc and dont have 25 mins...5 or 10 mins episodes will be fine

episode 9 and you are asking for money already to buy a couch...thats a big put off...people will think you want to make money at all costs at the expense of quality material
you want to attract people first and get them hooked like a drug and then start ..aaskingg fr donations or etc
...also great quality videos but can be improve if you use a 3ccd camera
............................offer free advertising to big companies so that you introduce your name and they get to know that you company exist
sorry i think i was a bit too harsh ...but im from london and im used to say it how it is

[danhauk]

dan
when making tv or shows both of you need to have identtity and character...u need to be different ie names appearence ..dressing.
...so i dont think you should both use the name dan on screen ..it will confuse the viewer
i watched episode 9 and its 25 minutes
i think its too long bcoz with internet tv people watch it from work on the bus train..etc and dont have 25 mins...5 or 10 mins episodes will be fine

episode 9 and you are asking for money already to buy a couch...thats a big put off...people will think you want to make money at all costs at the expense of quality material
you want to attract people first and get them hooked like a drug and then start ..aaskingg fr donations or etc
...also great quality videos but can be improve if you use a 3ccd camera
............................offer free advertising to big companies so that you introduce your name and they get to know that you company exist
sorry i think i was a bit too harsh ...but im from london and im used to say it how it is

Thanks! Feedback can never be too harsh, in my opinion. It just wakes people up. I think we're going to keep using our real names though because we may play on it somehow in the future. Still working that out.

Asking for money is all a joke though. We'd love to get money for it, but honestly the experience is well worth it. We got to meet two decently well-known bands tonight and hang out back stage in dressing rooms at a concert. That's worth more than any amount of money for me. Plus we've got a couple more interviews coming up with awesome opportunities for meeting bands and people.

A new camera is definitely our next priority. As far as the episode length goes, we're trying to work something out where we don't ramble as much during the news segments. Maybe just a minute per news story or something. One of my ideas was kind of a "lightning round" news segment where we just fire off news stories and summarize them within two minutes or so.

We're definitely offering free advertising and publicity to the bands that we interviewed and will interview. Plus it gives us contact numbers for PR people. Already spoke to a rep from Warner Bros. which amazes me that we are able to do that at this stage in the game.

Thanks for your feedback and I hope you'll continue watching and tell your friends about us.

[rabidbadger]

Thanks! Feedback can never be too harsh, in my opinion. It just wakes people up. I think we're going to keep using our real names though because we may play on it somehow in the future. Still working that out.

Asking for money is all a joke though. We'd love to get money for it, but honestly the experience is well worth it. We got to meet two decently well-known bands tonight and hang out back stage in dressing rooms at a concert. That's worth more than any amount of money for me. Plus we've got a couple more interviews coming up with awesome opportunities for meeting bands and people.

A new camera is definitely our next priority. As far as the episode length goes, we're trying to work something out where we don't ramble as much during the news segments. Maybe just a minute per news story or something. One of my ideas was kind of a "lightning round" news segment where we just fire off news stories and summarize them within two minutes or so.

We're definitely offering free advertising and publicity to the bands that we interviewed and will interview. Plus it gives us contact numbers for PR people. Already spoke to a rep from Warner Bros. which amazes me that we are able to do that at this stage in the game.

Thanks for your feedback and I hope you'll continue watching and tell your friends about us.

I like the lightning round Idea, but hopefully not at the expense of a real news story that needs more fleshing out. And hell, look at diggnation, the rambling is half the fun, if done right. I can tell you two have a good rapore, but it's a little awkward on camera. You will loosen up with more experience, meanwhile, have fun with it. Don't apologize for saying negative things about bands you don't like. Do you see Kevin and Alex hold back their opinions?

I know the "send us stuff" is just a joke. All podcasters do it. We are ALLL desperate to make it work, somehow. But loving doing it is priority. Get the tickets, the interviews, the backstage fun. That's part of loving Music and part of loving podcasting.


Can't wait to see the interviews!

[dirtyhat]

A couple notes I had about the last episode...

During the interviews... I know it's hard not to, "talk with your hands", because I do it alot too... but during interviews I would try to keep that to a minimum... I DL'd episode 10 from viddler and I don't know what programs you have access too but I boosted and cleaned the audio from the second band and it was a lot better and you could hear what was said. I know the frustrations of audio... our last ep wouldn't encode because of audio so I had to re-do it... I was dissapointed at the result. I spent soo much time cleaning the audio the first time and it was damn near perfect, but the second time (for the sake of time) I let the computer do the work and auto normalized and auto-cleaned the sound. So it has places where there is noise and the audio fades in and out. Last thing, I wanted to add was I think I would have edited the "sign-off" unless you left it in there for comedic enhancement, which is cool too I've left stuff in that I could have cleaned up to look more "professional". But the truth is we are a couple new podcasts still learning the ropes and it's cool in a way to show we don't know exactly what we're doing yet =) or at least thats what I keep telling myself lol.... great job guys look forward to more.

edit... oh and when I said knowledgeable before I was thinking, you could tell you guys like music... Maybe you guys just pulled the articles right before and didnt know too much about it but your experience with music in general shows when your talking about it.

[danhauk]

Thanks so much for the feedback. Currently I don't have much access to any audio programs other than open source. The Mac is being fixed, but once that's back I'll have GarageBand. What did you use to clean up the audio? I'd love any tips on audio enhancement. I have little experience with that other than simple multi-tracking for recording songs, etc.

I did leave the "sign off" thing in just because we didn't have a sign off and it might be funny. Should have thought that out a little before hand I guess. I did like the fact that you left some of the "outtakes" in your last episode, including the clap (to sync audio and video is my guess, we do that too).

[dirtyhat]

What did you use to clean up the audio? I'd love any tips on audio enhancement. I have little experience with that other than simple multi-tracking for recording songs, etc.

I did leave the "sign off" thing in just because we didn't have a sign off and it might be funny. Should have thought that out a little before hand I guess. I did like the fact that you left some of the "outtakes" in your last episode, including the clap (to sync audio and video is my guess, we do that too).

I have Adobe CS4 Master Collection... so I use Premiere pro to edit and Soundbooth for the audio... A good free audio program is Audacity though...

Yea see as long as you left that in on purpose it's funny. I like it more when people can be humble and make fun of themselves... like how Conan O'Brien does on late night.... and yea the clap is for syncing purposes =) who needs one of those fancy production markers when you have a buddy with hands haha

[rabidbadger]

Haha. I used the clap on the only podcast I used two cameras on. Even with it, editing was a pain, but it sure helped. ANND I included the clap in the intro. Basically cause we fucked it up, and it was funny.

[dirtyhat]

Haha. I used the clap on the only podcast I used two cameras on. Even with it, editing was a pain, but it sure helped. ANND I included the clap in the intro. Basically cause we fucked it up, and it was funny.

Fun Fact.... when syncing two cameras use a camera flash... the flash will show up on both cameras for exactly 1 frame if I remember correctly from my vid. production class in high school!!!

[danhauk]

Fun Fact.... when syncing two cameras use a camera flash... the flash will show up on both cameras for exactly 1 frame if I remember correctly from my vid. production class in high school!!!

Awesome trick. I'll have to remember that. Seems like it flashes longer than 1 frame though.

[rabidbadger]

Fun Fact.... when syncing two cameras use a camera flash... the flash will show up on both cameras for exactly 1 frame if I remember correctly from my vid. production class in high school!!!

Damn, I wish I knew that back then. I fly by the seat of my pants, never had classes. Thanks for the tip!

[dirtyhat]

Awesome trick. I'll have to remember that. Seems like it flashes longer than 1 frame though.

thats what I thought at first too, but if I remember right (and Im really reaching back now, and could be totally wrong) but the "longer flash" is only perceived from our eyes adjusting... don't quote me on that though I could be completely wrong.

[danhauk]

We got more interviews for Friday at the Taste of Chaos tour when it comes to Philly. Definitely went about it kind of wrong.

Tried for the headlining band weeks ago but they never got back to us. Then we waited until last weekend when we realized we had no interviews for the show, and then freaked out a bit and sent emails to every other band.

Didn't expect more than one to say yes. We've got two confirmed interviews at the show, a Skype interview with the co-founder of the tour (and founder of Warped Tour), and Dan Berg wants to try and get an impromptu interview with the headlining band while we're backstage. Bumrushing them, I believe is what he suggested.

Haven't heard back from one of the bands, but at this point I'm hoping they say they're too busy because that's a lot on our plate for one episode.

But I'm excited nonetheless!

[rabidbadger]

Got your latest downloaded from iTunes, can't wait to watch it tomorrow.

[danhauk]

Got your latest downloaded from iTunes, can't wait to watch it tomorrow.

Forgot to bleep out an F-bomb. :eek:

[rabidbadger]

Forgot to bleep out an F-bomb. :eek:

COOL! I'm guessing it was that potty mouthed Berg dude, wasn't it? ;)

[danhauk]

COOL! I'm guessing it was that potty mouthed Berg dude, wasn't it? ;)

Yeah, though it was a quote so it's not as bad. We're trying to keep it as clean as possible. The interviews with the bands last night are going to be a bitch to edit. Tons to bleep from one band in particular.

[rabidbadger]

Dang, with just a few more minor improvements (color balance, touch better sound...) I would totally love to see this on Revision3beta. Or some way to get you smart fun guys a wider audience.

[rabidbadger]

The little outtake at the end was cute, especially cause I was thinking how well framed your shoot was. I like the little depth on the side with the shelves. Now that you got the table, (and I really think that works, both visually, and "conversationally" - you can talk to each other then talk to us more "naturally" it seems) just need a little something in the foreground. Maybe, on the table everyweek put something random and odd that has nothing to do with the show, change it out every episode, and NEVER mention it.

Could be a little hook: "what they gonna have on the table next week?"

[danhauk]

The little outtake at the end was cute, especially cause I was thinking how well framed your shoot was. I like the little depth on the side with the shelves. Now that you got the table, (and I really think that works, both visually, and "conversationally" - you can talk to each other then talk to us more "naturally" it seems) just need a little something in the foreground. Maybe, on the table everyweek put something random and odd that has nothing to do with the show, change it out every episode, and NEVER mention it.

Could be a little hook: "what they gonna have on the table next week?"

That's not a bad idea. It definitely does need something in the foreground.

Thanks for the huge compliments about how you could see our show on Rev3 Beta. We've actually been discussing that, and now that we have a couple more interviews under our belt we have something to show for our work. We just filmed a little thing that I'm going to splice in with some clips of previous episodes and if we like it we're definitely going to submit the show. Need some money for better equipment :)

[rabidbadger]

Don't quote me on this, but I don't believe Rev3 provides anything for beta shows other than a little publicity, and maybe (maybe) the opportunity to advance to the main site.

[danhauk]

Don't quote me on this, but I don't believe Rev3 provides anything for beta shows other than a little publicity, and maybe (maybe) the opportunity to advance to the main site.

Looked into it. From this source (http://www.tilzy.tv/revision3-beta-gives-talent-the-exposure-it-deserves.htm)...

If the programming team at Revision3 Beta gives you the greenlight, your video gets distributed on the site, said programming team helps you make it better, and you sign a contract that pays you a flat fee per episode ... in addition to a “fairly sizable” revenue share on the ads that run during your show.

If your show builds enough audience, you get promoted to the regular Revision3 slate of programming and sign a new contract that’s worth enough to actually pay the bills.

It's our current goal, though the experience is worth it alone. But that doesn't pay in cash.

[dirtyhat]

Just watched Ep. 11 one thing I wanted to see was in the news section when you mention something or someone, I wanted some sort of text on screen. Doesn't have to be fancy but when you mention No Doubt or kanye throw their name up for a few seconds... other than that, Great Job!

edit... oh yea and I like the new angle you filmed at... wish I had some more room in the garage so I could get farther away from the wall and get some depth... Maybe one day we will clean the garage for our friend haha... doubt it, but maybe

[dirtyhat]

Just watched ep 12... very cool to land some good interviews, I used to love Thursday's - War all the time album... I think the interviewing skills could use some work. I know it's nerve racking to interview these bands but just try to be natural. Your the one with the mic and cameras, these bands don't know your a small production... take charge and be assertive, but not cocky. Have good questions scripted but also be good on your toes to go off what they might say. It will get easier with time. and you guys are doing great!

One suggestion I would throw out there, Have one person in the band be the 'talker'. It's easier to follow and hear. Or when you ask a question direct it at a certain member of the band (ask before hand whos comfortable answering) Something that will keep only one person talking at a time. Keep up the good work.

[rabidbadger]

I agree with dirtyhat, but these new ones were much more comfortable than the ones a few eps ago. DanB is better at the group interviews, DanH is great at the one and one. Suits their personalities, too.

[dirtyhat]

I agree with dirtyhat, but these new ones were much more comfortable than the ones a few eps ago. DanB is better at the group interviews, DanH is great at the one and one. Suits their personalities, too.

Oh yea definitely better than episodes before and they are doing great... I agree about the DanB - group and DanhH - one on one too

[rabidbadger]

Any new eps coming out soon?

[rabidbadger]

Nice interviews this week... It's an f-bomb extravaganza!

Love how you guys are able to get some big names, that will help viewership and also give you guys a rep with other bands as being a cool couple of dudes to do interviews with, thus, more big names in the future.

[danhauk]

Nice interviews this week... It's an f-bomb extravaganza!

Love how you guys are able to get some big names, that will help viewership and also give you guys a rep with other bands as being a cool couple of dudes to do interviews with, thus, more big names in the future.

Yeah, haha, watched it many times before encoding just to make sure I didn't miss any of those slippery swears. I'm tempted to just say "fuck it" and slap the explicit label on. Would be less stressful editing.

Sorry for the late release. I do most of my editing on Monday nights, but we went to another show in Philly to interview Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide so I didn't get to do any editing at all.

I also couldn't find a video clip anywhere to edit into the news because we said "we'll show a clip." Therefore we decided to just put the interviews up in order to stay within a week of the show rather than a week and a half after the fact.

We got a couple viewers from our comments made on bands' MySpace pages we've made. Kind of spam, but not really. Just a "hey thanks for doing the interview. if you want, check it out at messofmusic.com."

We're going to re-shoot our video for the pitch to Rev3 Beta. Hopefully they are doing stuff with that. Also thinking about contacting some music-related businesses/products for advertising. It would be great to be able to fund this thing with something other than our personal income.

Anyone know how to go about making it an official business? That would be awesome, because then we could write off equipment as business expenses. I assume we'd need money coming in first in order to be considered a business though.

[danhauk]

Also, next ep should be fun.

Interview with Eef Barzelay, who is a pretty weird guy and was drunk, Kanye rants, and a new segment that will allow us to rant some more.

;)

[danhauk]

Latest episode is up. Cut out news to try and cut down on time, but ended up rambling and explaining new segments so we're still at half an hour show. Ideally we would like to be somewhere in the 15-20 min. range. Lots of people have said they often don't have enough time to watch the entire episode all the way through.

[rabidbadger]

Aww, no random goofy thing on the table?

Still, good episode, good interview, like the new segment and the goofy post-production fun stuff. (schoolgirl giggle, haha).

Not having news makes sense, I guess, but it's where I've learned about a lot of newer music lately. But also from your main segments too. So It's cool.

[danhauk]

Aww, no random goofy thing on the table?

Still, good episode, good interview, like the new segment and the goofy post-production fun stuff. (schoolgirl giggle, haha).

Not having news makes sense, I guess, but it's where I've learned about a lot of newer music lately. But also from your main segments too. So It's cool.

No random goofy thing, sorry. There's not a whole lot of random goofy things around the house.

DB was really happy with the way the interview went, mostly because he was a super chill drunk, which allowed DB to be relaxed and not so nervous about it. It was more of a conversation with him rather than an interview. It was about 15-20 minutes of footage, and the only real questions asked were the ones included in the episode. And because of that, we have a lot of footage of awesome drunk quotes from him that we may include in a short "segment" called Oh, Eef... where we just play a quote from him and then say "Oh, Eef..."

We hate to cut out news because we both love that part of the show since we get to expand with our thoughts, etc. But most people we've talked to have said it gets really long. Since we both like just bullshitting on camera, we may include a couple minutes at the top of the show where we just talk about what's on our mind, what's going on in our lives, etc. It will add some human element to it I think. Then we'll get into the segments.

Thanks for watching loyally, BTW! I always look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the latest episodes.

[rabidbadger]

OK. Review. Still needs work technically, but the hosts are really starting to shine. The fake out was masterful. DanH was calm and accepting, DanB was convincing as hell he was gonna quit. Straight face for the whole thing, I don't even think the TRS or Diggnation dudes could do that in one take.

Technically, though. You really need to find a white balance, or something on your camera, looks so yellow/greenish. Sound is OK, but I think it could be better if you moved the mics closer to your necks. Halfway down your shirt is not picking up voice so clearly.

Content.

I kinda miss the news segment, It's a good "lead in" to a music show. Sure, I understand it will date the show to some extent, but your biggest fans will subscribe, hear it fresh, and also wanna hear not just the news they may have already found elsewhere, but wanna hear your take and opinions on the news. And just the News you guys choose says something about your personalities and tastes, too. A podcast about such a common theme hangs on the personalities of the hosts.

Now, the biggie:

CRACKER???? you never heard of Cracker Before?

(I was so impressed you knowing an obscure early clash song was a cover of an ancient [ancient even to me!] song that I was shocked you don't know Cracker history. I was so excited to hear you take on Lowrey when I saw the tweet, and what you might say about him/them...)

You most probably heard this song from '93 and never realized it was them. Got ton's of MTV play, back when M="music" and not "mundane."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jywZEjSiCBM


and a few years later, after MTV died, and no one could see this amazing video for "I hate my Generation"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK9z70MFEwk

BUT before that Lowery was heading a great alternpunk band called "Camper Van Beethoven" and one of my faves of the day.

Biggest hit back then: Take the skinheads bowling. (new vid, old vid don't seem to exist)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1UgeOKN1DE


And as far as "got you covered" is concerned, they did one of the best covers ever:

The original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1cJFIGHkJA


Their version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShWNLlz4Ic4&feature=related

Oh, and you and Neverendingrant need your own forums. ;)

[dirtyhat]

Haha you should totally do mess of movies...

[rabidbadger]

Haha you should totally do mess of movies...

Argghh. Your thread was closed. I have no where to "rant" about how unwatchable your Vegas episode was. :confused:

[dirtyhat]

I forgot to add that I liked the news section too... It doesn't bother me that it is dated because I don't really read up on a regular basis about all music news... in fact I come to other sources, like your show, to get the news most of the time when I dont feel like looking it up myself

[danhauk]

Yeah we screwed up with Cracker. Never even knew they did that song you posted. It's a great song, though. Unfortunately I didn't do my research other than what was in the press release. It's their first release on a new label so it was a little confusing.

As per your comments...
Our camera is not the best. It's an old camera I bought about 5 years ago. We can't even find a replacement battery for it because they don't make them anymore. White balance is horrible. There's a few presets, but no manual settings. We may have to get a cheap camera to hold us over. At least it will be new and probably better color. We were hoping to score a nice HD camera from Circuit City. They had one on sale, 50% off $900, but someone grabbed it before we could get back there with the money. Oh well.

Sound is another issue. I've been meaning to take my laptop over when we record. Since the camera is so old and basic it doesn't have a mic input, so we've been using an external recorder. One of those cheap digital ones people take to lectures. Not the best quality. I figure if we just record right to the laptop it'll be a little better.

We'll see about news. We're going to give it a few more weeks before we decide to finally cut it out completely. Maybe we could each just pick one new story since we can't seem to stay on track. That's what took up the most time, when we had about 4 or 5 news stories to get through. I never really read up on music news regularly until we started this project either, so most people are probably that way. Maybe we'll reinstate a tweaked version of the news.

Anyway, thanks for watching. Since I don't want to keep updating this thread (we've pretty much got all the viewers we can from this forum I think, and we're 15 episodes in so I think it's time to stop asking for feedback here ;) ) I set up a forum for our show on the Mess of Music site. Check that out if you want to give us any feedback.

Thanks!

[dirtyhat]

As per your comments...
Our camera is not the best.
We use an extremely simple camera... It does have HD but I find encoding/uploading usually hinders the quality anyways. of course having a 3ccd camera will help but for our budgets (none lol) it works for us... for now ;)

Sound is another issue.
I record straight to laptop too. it seems to work pretty well. I use Adobe Audition it lets you adjust levels and has a clock that we use as our show timer.

We'll see about news.
Yea if anything cut it back to fewer topics... I can't speak for others obviously but I liked it.

[rabidbadger]

Newest ep was funny, with better light and sound. I said more on your forums (http://www.messofmusic.com/forum/).