Video in SHS

Something that I haven't played around much is the video import/export of Sonar Home Studio. Part of the reason is that, from what little I've monkeyed around with it, this feature seems really limited. Basically, you can import a video file (.avi, .mpg, .wmv, .asf, .mov), edit the accompanying sound track, and export it as a .wmv or .mov video file.

SHS provides zero video editing capabilities; you can't even insert an extra measure or two before the video begins. And I'd like to be able to export to .mpg or .avi files, but of course Cakewalk doesn't like MPEG. (But it can be made to work; see my entry on using the LAME mpg encoder.)

That said, if you just need to add a good quality soundtrack to existing video, SHS should work fine. To get started, just open a new file, then select File -> Import -> Video... and choose the video file you want to import. There are options for importing the audio and importing audio as mono; since the video files off my camera are all mono anyway, I didn't have to worry about that. It opens the video in a new window with the video enlarged, but because I do most of my work in the track view, I close this window. At the top of the track view will be the video track; choose the video thumbnail button to see frame-by-frame thumbnails in this track.



Below this will be the audio that was imported with the file; depending on what you're trying to do, you could use this as a reference, then mute it once you've created your own audio.

Once you've finished (and at intermittent points along the way, just to be safe), save the Cakewalk file so you can go back and edit later, if need be. To use the new video file, choose File -> Export -> Video and select the correct options.

If you have any other tips/tricks, I'd love to hear from you; either leave a comment below, or send me an e-mail. Have a great day!

Apple: Unlimited Music?

I just read an interesting article about Apple negotiating with the major labels to offer unlimited downloads for the iPhone and (possibly) the iPod. This is huge, and as a consumer, it definitely gets my heart racing.

The problem I have with it is that, assuming they sell a device with this option for maybe $50 extra, will this mean even less money goes to the artists and songwriters? According to the article, Apple wants to pay just $20 per device to the record companies - and that's collectively, not individually.

I don't like being pessimistic, but it seems that it's going to be harder and harder to make a living as a musician in the coming years. But am I missing something? Let me know what you think!

John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Seems to be Beatles week for me:

• Last week the American Idol contestants had to perform songs written by Lennon and/or McCartney,
• This week they have to perform more Beatles songs,
• And plus there was the whole divorce settlement thing for McCartney in the news. (And by the way, Mills complaining that she didn't get enough?!? If I had a tenth of what she got, that would make my decade!)

So with all that, I've been thinking about the Beatles and their music. Just listening to the range of songs chosen by the AI contestants has given me a renewed appreciation for the amazing range of styles and feels performed by the Fab Four. It's inspiring, but at the same time depressing when I think about how many songs I haven't written. Sigh...