VideoLAN Client (VLC) media player has a nifty feature built in: it can play movies (and still pictures!) as color ASCII. This means visuals appear reminiscent of old BBS and terminal art. Since it's automated, it's not the most precise conversion, but I put some concert footage through it and was all grins. Here's how you do it, at least on the Mac side (since VLC is multi-platform):
Go to VLC menu > Preferences.
Click Video tab.
Change Output module to Color ASCII art video output.
BEFORE
AFTER
Play a movie and get out the bitcrushed popcorn. To screengrab a still shot like this with Skitch, I had to drag it into the VLC playlist, play it for a sec, then quickly pause it.
A brief google shows me not many know about this, so spread the lofi word! Previously related is my "8 Inspiring Stories of ASCII Art" for Smashing Magazine.
If you've ever read an online magazine, after PDF, it's likely you leafed through one powered by Texterity. Coverleaf has a bunch of examples and one I checked out recently is the Costco Connection. I've found Texterity mags pretty straightforward and don't have any insidious quibbles with the format, but how to link to a page is unobvious. Turns out the answer is quite simple; just head for the Share button, as shown here:
Interestingly, the same principle works on other formats too, like transhumanist h+ magazine's Flash format, where the option is represented by a Digg icon and called "Social bookmark this page". From there, if you click the Google icon, it'll show you the page URL.
The Zoom H4n "Handy Recorder" is very versatile. Not only does it function well as a mobile field recorder, it also doubles as a USB computer interface. What's the point of that? Well, since it has built-in condenser mics (and you can also attach external mics via XLR), it's very convenient to record your voice, as I've done across many videos with my Mac.
What's even better is that it has built-in effects which are quite usable. For instance, there's a limiter which prevents digital clipping, and while I wouldn't put it in the same "creamy analogue" class as some of my fave DAW software limiters, it can still protect you from overloads. There's also an amp simulator which can colorize instruments you record, or in my preferred case, my voice. I took some time to tweak that today and came up with an effects setting which has deeper bass and greater presence. No doubt I'll continue to adjust it as I find more room for improvement, but as this video makes clear, it's sounding very broadcast-friendly already.
If you have a Zoom H4n and want to try out the settings, here they are. Keep in mind my male voice is fairly low, so you should adjust to fit yourself (and your environment) better.
Start the H4n while it's plugged to your computer via USB and connect as AUDIO I/F. (I presume you've done this before; if not, consult the manual.)
Press MENU button.
Select EFFECT (click the wheel).
Go to a blank effect (like No.50) and click EDIT.
On EDIT:EMPTY screen, edit each of these sections:
PRE AMP EDIT
OFF/ON: ON
TYPE: AG MPRE (short for Acoustic Guitar mic preamp, I find it sounds thicker than the VOX MPRE which is supposedly for vocals)
COMP: 1
DE-ESSER: OFF
LOW CUT: OFF
BASS: 0dB
MIDDLE: 0dB
TREBLE: 3dB (boost of sharpness — note this isn't in the video I did above, I changed it after, it's subtle)
LEVEL: 80 (I find going higher starts to result in unpleasant distortion)
ZNR: 3 (raise this to reduce noise in noisy surroundings, like a computer with a loud fan)
EFX
OFF/ON: ON
TYPE: LIMITER
THRSHOLD: 10
RATIO: 7
RELEASE: 10
LEVEL: 90 (I'm experimenting with this; if I notice too much distortion I'll drop back to 80.)
LEVEL: 80
Then…
Choose RENAME from the EDIT:EMPTY screen and give your setup a fitting title, like "AWESOME". I named mine "LIMIT3" for the time being, after an earlier revision.
Make sure to click STORE and click EXECUTE to save it into No.50 or another empty slot.
Now try auditioning before/after to compare the difference.
What about using those effects on the road?
Good question! I haven't yet checked this in-depth, but I know the H4n has a somewhat different effects config when it's acting as a truly mobile recorder, so try adapting the above if you're on the go and want to record with such effects.
I find setting up these effects is a great timesaver…
so I sound pro voiceover-ready directly into the computer, and I don't have to mess around with an app's audio tools. (Nor does Screenflow, the most common prog I record Mac videos into, have such a way to do this.) And of course, if you plug your H4n into another computer, you can also access these same settings, making it even more convenient.
Until June 30th, Antares Mutator can be bought from audioMIDI.com for US$10. It's an attraction to get you to buy the whole AVOX 2 bundle. I found Mutator fun but don't have a burning need for it — still, I hope you enjoy this video showing a bizarre range of what it can do:
Some people remarked I started sounding Asgard at the end, and I've done Goa'uld voices in the past. So as a tip of the hat to Stargate SG-1 and knowing the question comes up a fair bit, here's my tutorial on how to use a flanger + pitch-shifting in Ableton Live to sound like those parasitic System Lords. There's also a gate + limiter effect, but as I explain, those are optional.
The really awesome thing is after you have an effects chain setup, you can easily drop in just about any voice clip and Goauldize it. Easier than having to run one process after another in a sound editor that doesn't allow live chaining like this.
Add Joel Goldsmith's original score for the final authentic touch!
Critics are often failures at considering — or even being curious about — the artist's original intent. They then spew out various words which are really literary self-gratification rather than a helpful window into the art.
I've read a few (thankfully not many, it was becoming uselessly redundant) sloppy reviews where a musician was lambasted for using the Auto-Tune effect: in other words, audible pitch correction that made them sound robotic. The critique is often a clichéd one, such as "They can't sing, that's why they Auto-Tune".
Not interesting. I'd rather ponder why someone used Auto-Tune instead of assume. With me, you don't have to ponder: I simply wanted to have a lot of fun and show how Auto-Tune works, because so often, you hear the effect on a hit record, but aren't privy to the behind-the-scenes, how it's setup for a singer to wail into the mic and have their pitches tweaked to the 12 hard semitones of the Western scale.
THESE "SECRETS" MUST BE REVEALED. That's when I made these videos, lala!
This first one is an intro to Auto-Tune EFX, the simple (read: cheap) version.
And now I'm getting into a full-fledged song (yes, I sang/rapped this on the fly).
And now demo'ing Auto-Tune EVO, which is far more sophisticated. I can tweak all manner of knobs, and oh, I can play my MIDI keyboard to control my pitch. It gives sounds similar to a vocoder or talk box at times and there are shared concepts, but it's still different.
Remember: winners remember fun.
Things to ponder:
What would Michel Gondry do with Auto-Tune?
Has there ever been a track with Auto-Tune effecting a talk box through a vocoder?
I like to use Firefox's search toolbar to quickly Google within seconds. However, I was feeling irritated because I often right-click and copy links from search results if I know what's on the pages, and instead of the page's actual URL, I was getting fugly, long links like:
Blech! Turns out it's Google's click tracking at work, which isn't done on the Canadian (and likely others, I haven't tested) version of Google.
I remembered I had uninstalled the CustomizeGoogle add-on some time ago, so I reinstalled it. All you need to do is enable Web > Remove click tracking, and future copied links will show their short selves properly. It may improve your privacy, too.
and uploading them to YouTube. Purpose is simple and triple:
Share the joy of music with you, so that you may be inspired to play (or play more).
Document my own internal mental state, so I can rewatch in the future and be aware of how I was articulating performance techniques, sound experimentation, and so on.
Show off these awesome soft synth + effect plugin makers' creations. Even if they're just demo versions.
For example, I had a great time emulating glitch piano a la Ryuichi Sakamoto + Alva Noto thanks to Sugar Bytes Artillery. Haven't decided if I'm going to buy the full thing yet but maybe it helps someone out there make a more informed buying decision. (The official video they have is pretty helpful, and not slick in a deceptive way… hate those.)
Also, here I am showing off a demo version of Lennar Digital's Sylenth 1, it's got some really phat sounds reminiscent of the Access Virus and the combo FX remind me of Novation's "All effects onboard!" pioneering.
I film these on my Mac using ScreenFlow, which makes it easy to capture webcam + screen. Then you can see what my physical input's consequences are. I know I could edit further and I'm perfectly damn well capable of that… but that's not my intention, spontaneous creation is.
It's also my hope that when we've evolved to a generation that is as far beyond today's soft synths as we are beyond the keyboards Emerson and Wakeman grew up with, people will watch these and laugh at how primitive it all once was, before solemn smiles creep upon their faces and they pay tribute to their ancestors.
(And no, I didn't pay an actor to play stuff for me and air-keyboarded it. That is inevitably going to come up someday so I need to address it NOW.)
P.S. My watermelon pants come from Wal-Mart, my shirts originated from Thailand.
Yesterday I thought I'd sit down (as I tend to do when I'm in a chair) and record some videos of how to play synthesizer music — focusing on basics of emulating other instruments from a keyboard. Pardon the flipped webcam image, I've corrected it for future videos (thanks to everyone who let me know!). Here's the assortment:
I named mine "LIMIT3" for the time being, after an earlier revision. 
