A whole week, and not a single post from Tom? What happened?

Well, you can call off the dogs. With all of the stuff that has been happening this summer, the family decided that a trip out of town would be a tonic for us. And, was it ever. We turned the car loose northbound on Interstate 75 and headed to Atlanta for a long weekend. I got to watch my son Dominic drive… On a highway.. for the first prolonged amount of time…

And, we caught up on the news…

And, we even caught some air at Stone Mountain.

So, I was a little preoccupied to tend to the blog. But, that doesn’t mean that improvements weren’t made. In fact, some work we have done at the office has given me an idea on how to incorporate more video in the blog.

Let’s start with the basics… It used to take an incredible amount of time and money to get into video production. But, as the technology has improved – and the price has dropped – professional quality video editing and recording tools are finding their way into products we see more and more of.

Take for example the humble iPad. Sure, it’s a great little tablet computer that also serves as an e-reader, gaming console and about a hundred other uses. Did you also realize that the camera on the iPad is very high quality?  In fact, it shoots in HD quality, better than the shoulder-carried cameras we use in our office. With the proper lighting, they can shoot some impressive video.

I also bought a $15 tripod mount for my iPad, which means I can attach it to a standard tripod with a 1/4″ bolt mount, providing me a stable way to mount the iPad for quality video.

I also took delivery of a wireless microphone setup. With a receiver and a transmitter that can accept a hand held or lavalier microphone, it means I can get some high-quality sound for the videos. I also had to buy an adapter which allows me to plug the mic right into the earphone jack. It works like a champ!

I am even using an editing program on the iPad that allows me to edit the video and upload it right to YouTube – no fuss, no muss!

Now, what does the quality of the video look like coming off this rig? Here’s a video we shot at the office we did on an iPad mini. Not too shabby…

This means, of course, that you are going to be looking at more of my mug in the future. But, that’s OK. I promise to use this for the power of good!