Studio Equipment and Software

Quality work is my main concern. If you are not happy with the job, then neither am I. With most Voice Over artists, you get what you pay for, but that doesn't mean that you have to pay too much. I pride myself on my gear, and maintain the latest in professional equipment.

Here's a list of equipment in my studio:

Microphone Chain
Electro Voice RE-20 Microphone
PreSonus Studio Channel Pre-Amp Compressor Parametric EQ
Mackie 1402-VLZ 14 Channel Mixer
M-Audio FastTrack Pro USB 2.0 DA/AD Converter

Dedicated DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
HP 64-bit Quad Core 8GB RAM 1 Terrabyte Local Storage
Adobe Audition 3.0
Sony Sound Forge 9.0 Recording Software
Izotope Studio PlugIns

Dedicated Video Workstation
HP 64-bit Quad Core 8GB RAM
1 Terrabyte Local Storage
Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 Video Editing Software
NewBlueFX Add Ons
Royalty Free Video clips by FootageFirm and ShutterStock

Peripheral Equipment
JK Audio Broadcast Host Digital Hybryd ®
Samson MediaONE Active Studio Monitors
Full UPS battery backup

LAN Network
BUSINESS CLASS 30MB Internet Service
Nortel 5520 1GB Ethernet LAN switches
Dedicated Dell 1550 Server with 2 Terrabyte RAID for file archives
Dedicated Dell 1550 Server with 300 Gigabyte RAID for FTP and Web Services
Nortel Contivity 600 VPN for remote access

Still have questions?
Use the contact me link below to reach me, and I promise to give your email prompt attention.

View my current demos here


WEBCAMMAX REVIEW

While playing around with Social Media I stumbled across an interesting site called USTREAM.TV. I immediately became hooked, and wanted to create a chanell and show, but was awestuck at the production levels of some of the shows out there. Obviously there were some on a real budget, but many were running on little to no budget, yet they were seemlessly switching cameras, inserting graphics, running banners, etc. I started to do my research and heard many programs being thrown around. Some were hundreds of dollars, some were free, but very few worked or did what I wanted.

The most used program was WebcamMax, and I immediately went to their site to evaluate it. The first thing I looked for was Vista 64-bit compatibility. YEAH! It was there, although in Alpha, but it DID EXIST! No issues on the installation, very clean with no reboots and I immediatly saw that WebcamMax was that it was plain SIMPLE TO USE!

Quite often when you deal with video software there can be a learning curve and compatibility issues. This is no where near the case with WebcamMax. It's a very simple point & click interface and very intuitive. That is critical if you are going to be doing a live show with 100 other things going on. WebcamMax has a ton of features for those that are looking to be professional with their streaming or to those that just want a new video toy to play with. You can get crazy with overlays that include adding hats and caps to your image. It also recognizes when your head moves so said peripheral item can move along with your movements as if you were actually wearing it. I think of my kids getting on the webcam and having a fun interactive session with their grandparents. Fun is to be had here.

Thats all great but if you need to present a professoinal feel to your stream, that can easily be done as well. WebcamMax also features a very basic background replacement. Granted, this would work the best if you have a green or blue screen behind you, it does a pretty decent job in when your face is well lit and the background is darker. You don’t have to be a video wizard creating the next action packed CGI film to really grasp this feature. Also included are sport logos to add on as a “watermark” of sorts to your video. If you have any knowledge with image editing and creation, this is where you can really spruce up or make your video more professional looking and well put together. Plus, you are not tied down to only one capability or feature. You can combine many of these and turn them each on and off at will through a simple control panel.

Other than the graphics, you can also share your desktop so the viewer can see exactly what you are doing. This could be great for tutorials for either your family or colleagues. You can also play video as either the main or image or use WebcamMax’s Picture in Picture capability to show the webcam and video you are showing. This is great for presentations or maybe even creating your own movie commentary for you movie buffs out there.

The best part of WebcamMax is the multi-video input ability. I need to run several cameras, and dynamically switch between them. WebCamMax lets me do just that. I can switch between these cammers with a click of a button. Very versitile and functional as well. All in all, this program is definitely worth your money if you are even remotely interested in getting more out of your webcam. I would also say it's a MUST HAVE if you are on USTREAM.TV or anothe rstreaming service and you host a “show”.

For more information on WebcamMax, visit their website at http://www.webcammax.com

-FLETCH