Tag Archives: podcasting

Add Value with Video

CelesteHeiterFZBioIn case you haven’t noticed…video is everywhere! With the abundance of affordable recording devices, from smartphones to digital cameras and mini-camcorders, there’s no end to the possibilities. And these days, nearly every OS includes basic video editing software.

If you want to go pro…there are dozens of options, including Adobe Creative Suite, which now includes Adobe Premiere, a full-scale digital video editing program with all the bells and whistles to enhance your raw footage and even create some amazing special effects. Best of all, the web is loaded with tutorials to help minimize the learning curve.

And when it comes to venues for your video creations, they run the gamut, from the free-for-all known as YouTube…to the news reels embedded in the lead stories of nearly every media website. So if you want to up the ante on your web-based freelance assignments, think video and start offering clips to sweeten the pot…and your paycheck!

Celeste Heiter is the author of Turn Your PC into a Lean Mean Freelancing Machine, the creator of the LoveBites Cookbook Series for Kindle Fire, and the author of Potty Pals , a potty-training book for children. She has also written ten books published by ThingsAsian Press; and spent eight years posting her recipes, food photographs, and film reviews on ChopstickCinema .

Visit her website, and her Amazon Author Page.

Introducing the Freelance-Zone.com Podcast

It’s official–Freelance-Zone.com has joined the podcasting fray. This is our first episode, so we thought we would introduce ourselves and give a bit of background on who we are and how we got into the biz. It’s a bit basic, but since it’s Episode #1, we wanted to keep it simple, iron out any bugs, and get a bit more elaborate over time. Eventually we’ll branch out into video episodes, since there actually are things we do better in the visual medium–especially when it comes to improving your work with photographs, troubleshooting computer problems, even some grammar and sentence construction issues. We’re excited about this next step, and we’re looking forward to longer and more entertaining episodes in the months to come.

Click the icon below (the “play” button, not the speaker icon) to listen to the Freelance-Zone.com Podcast, Episode One.

[podcast]http://www.freelance-zone.com/blog/wp-content/podcast/episode1.mp3[/podcast]

Blue Microphones Snowball USB Bundle

blue-microphones-snowball-usb.jpgSome writers are content to simply blog, but there are some of us who yearn to venture into the world of podcasting. The PR might of a good podcast cannot be denied, and if you want to take self-promotion to the next level you might be ready to try your hand at this still-developing medium.

Audio podcasts are a great place to begin, since you can distribute your pearls of wisdom, snarky comments and timely observations via your own site, plus iTunes and other digital download centers. But where to start? Do you need a lot of fancy gear to do a simple audio podcast?

No. Blue Microphones presents the Snowball USB microphone, made to plug directly into your computer so you can use GarageBand, Adobe Premier, and other applications people use to create and edit audio files.

This bundle comes with the mic, USB cable and a mic stand, so you can plug in and start recording right away. Blue Microphones has a switch which lets you choose a between normal recording and a setting for loud sounds, which is most handy for recording musicians playing through amplifiers. In other words, it’s made as a vocal mic AND an instrument microphone. The Snowball also comes with a manual to walk you through the not-so-complicated setup and recording details.

The best thing about this pro-quality mic bundle is the price You can buy the Blue Microphones Snowball USB mic for $99.00. If you want to know more bout the mic, check out a video about the Blue Microphones Snowball mic I shot for Gearwire.com at a trade show in 2006. Please note, that is NOT me in the vid, it’s my old Gearwire.com co-worker Rob Warmowski.