Areas of Expertise:
- multimedia design
- multimedia production
- audio production
- marketing
- consulting
- speaking
- writing
Biography
Multimedia
Digital Media Insider Podcast 28: The Mind of the Maker
Publish Date: Oct. 30, 2008
There are a whole lot of things that sound good the second you start making noise on them: Door springs. PVC pipes. Waterlogged Gertie balls. The Fat Man demonstrates how a DIY, Maker approach can help you find your signature sound.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 27: Steve Horowitz and the Code Ensemble
Publish Date: Aug. 29, 2008
Composer Steve Horowitz has written soundtracks for movies, dance, video games, TV, live orchestra, and even computerized piano. Now comes the world premiere of his multimedia extravaganza Invasion from the Chicken Planet, and New York City may never be the same.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 26: One Glorious Note
Publish Date: Jul. 21, 2008
In many ways, music technology has become a numbers game. Today's digital instruments are often sold on specs, not sound. In this episode, the Fat Man goes back to basics, gleefully playing everything from an ancient test-tone generator to a spicy Excaliburrito to demonstrate that one glorious note may be all you need.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 25: Greatest Bits
Publish Date: Jun. 6, 2008
DMI hits 25! Listen in as we explore our favorite moments from the first 24 episodes and unearth some never-before-heard bonus material. From vocoders to space-helmeted cover bands, from the secret sound of Goldfrapp to harmonious fat men, here are Digital Media Insider's greatest hits.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 24: 200 Digital Audio Blogs
Publish Date: Apr. 24, 2008
To celebrate his 200th blog entry, O'Reilly Digital Audio Editor David Battino shares the sounds behind the stories. Hear how a bad pianist inspired the first computer music program, the surprising benefits of high-resolution distortion, and sneaky uses of voice recorders.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 23: Inside Intel Inside
Publish Date: Mar. 28, 2008
Last year, O'Reilly Digital Media's David Battino got an amazing gig: the chance to compose and record the theme music for Intel's internal podcast on Open Source developments. With some slick music software and the freedom to explore endless musical ideas, he wandered into several hilarious dead ends before remembering some great advice and finding his voice.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 22: Synthesizer Sound Design
Publish Date: Feb. 15, 2008
Part of the joy of playing electronic musical instruments is exploring the unique banks of sounds inside. This month, we speak again with Francis Preve, a Top 10 remixer who also works as the principal sound designer for Ableton and a consulting sound designer for Korg. Hear how he creates the sounds behind the hits.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 21: Remixing Tips with Francis Preve
Publish Date: Jan. 4, 2008
Francis Preve produced six Billboard Top 10 remixes last year alone, but he graciously found time to share his insights and techniques. Hear the Preve magic in before-and-after musical examples and learn how he turned a shockingly small pile of gear into a production powerhouse.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 20: Precision vs. Feel
Publish Date: Nov. 8, 2007
One of the fascinating challenges in modern music production is balancing the creative tension between computer precision and human feel. Hear how playing with quantization (timing correction) can make or break a groove.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 19: Inside the New Media Expo
Publish Date: Oct. 4, 2007
In this special guest episode, DIY digital media expert Michael Dean interviews podcasting's rock stars to learn where the format is going and how we all can get involved. Recorded live at the premier podcasting show, the New Media Expo.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 18: Better Arpeggiate Than Never
Publish Date: Sep. 7, 2007
It's about the most fun you can have with one finger. Arpeggiators turn a single note into a spiraling flurry of sound for instant musical fun. Hear how they work and explore some surprising applications.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 17: Secrets of the Demo Gods
Publish Date: Aug. 23, 2007
Top music technology gear reviewers Jim Aikin and Mark Nelson reveal how they create their web audio examples. Listen to some of our favorites.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 16: Cover Yourself (A Radical Approach to Copyright)
Publish Date: Jul. 27, 2007
Open source enthusiast Lucas Gonze wanted to record cover songs and share them online. But copyright law and web spiders crushed that plan. Then he found a mother lode of free music on a government web site.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 15: The Fat Man Sings...Digitally
Publish Date: Jun. 28, 2007
The DigiTech Vocalist Live stompbox listens to your guitar playing and automatically generates vocal harmonies. Listen up as the Fat Man puts it through its paces and predicts where this breakthrough technology will lead.
Digital Media Insider Podcast 14: Doug Wyatt
Publish Date: Jun. 15, 2007
Renowned music software programmer Doug Wyatt deftly fuses vintage electronics, Swedish vocals, and digital technology into remarkable soundscapes on his latest CD. We visit his home studio to learn how.
Blog
December 03 2008
When in Hollywood, as the saying goes, be sure to visit Universal Studios. I just did on an unusually slow day and had a great time exploring how theme-park designers create an immersive experience through clever technology and storytelling. read moreMoldy but Good: Keyboard Performance Hacks
December 01 2008
Watch Moldover deconstruct a toylike keyboard and reassemble it as an innovative musical performance controller. read moreNovember 19 2008
BoinxTV is a striking example of how digital creativity tools are changing. As our tools begin to work in real time, they become less tools and more instruments. We begin to PLAY them, and playing is the heart of creativity. Can you think of other examples? read moreTiny MIDI Keyboards for Your Laptop
November 19 2008
Heading out the door to a laptop jam session today, I eyed my chunky little MIDI keyboard, but even it was too big to fit in my backpack. I ended up typing out melodies and chords on the computer keyboard itself. Not very expressive. What you really want is velocity-sensitive,… read moreYahoo Media Player 2.0 Released
November 13 2008
What's probably the easiest, cheapest, and most flexible way to add an audio player to your site just got a whole lot better. Yahoo Media Player version 2 launched yesterday, adding a bevy of new features, including faster load time and support for several new audio formats beyond MP3. read moreWhere Did My Great Guitar Riff Go?
November 05 2008
It's the enduring creative mystery: You're noodling along on your instrument, stumble on an amazing lick or chord progression, and then something interrupts (phone, doorbell, power outage) and you forget your burst of genius. Where DO all the lost riffs and solos go? One of the cleverest new products I saw… read moreOctober 29 2008
It's Halloween again, and what better way to set the mood than with a new soundscape album from Mark Greenfield, aka Darwin Chamber? Thanks to intelligent, computer-aided composition, it's much more immersive than the standard serving of ghost moans, melodramatic laughter, and werewolf howls. read moreAES Moments: A Tasty Field Recorder
October 28 2008
You can find some great stories at the Audio Engineering Society Expo. This one bordered on the legendary: A photographer snatched a $2,500 digital audio recorder from the jaws of death. read morePaper Case: Music and Video Meet Origami
October 21 2008
Here's a clever Web service: Find a CD or DVD online, click the Paper Case link, and it will print the cover image and details. Then you fold the paper, tuck your disc inside, and slide the package into a binder, saving lots of space. read moreAmazon MP3 Store: Excellent Customer Service
October 13 2008
While sweeping some of the detritus off my desktop today, I discovered a free MP3 download code I'd sliced off a disposable cup from a sandwich shop. Seemed like a good excuse to try out Amazon's MP3 store. So I entered Amazon's MP3 Downloads area, input the first disposable song… read moreOctober 13 2008
In our recent review of the otherwise slick Yamaha Pocketrak 2G digital recorder, we complained that its MP3 recording topped out at just 128kbps. Yamaha just released a free firmware update that boosts the resolution. read moreBusiness Tips for Creative People
October 02 2008
Lots of beautiful noise in the LinnDrum as well.... Drum machine inventor Roger Linn once told me, "A creative mind is a loud mind. It has lots of thoughts popping up in different directions." For creative people, focusing can be difficult. That's why I was intrigued by Michael W. Dean's… read moreSeptember 26 2008
I have exactly one yellow musical instrument, and since the moment I unboxed it, I've dreamed about somehow painting it a different color without damaging the controls. Now comes something much slicker. At StyleFlip.com, you can design your own adhesive vinyl skin for a variety of music gear.... read morePortable Audio Recorder Noise Tests
September 09 2008
We've reviewed ten handheld WAV recorders so far, and one of the most common questions we get is "How good are the mic preamps?" You can get a good idea of each recorder's sound quality from our audio examples, but here's a site with detailed lab-coat tests. read moreR.I.P. (Rumble in Perpetuity), Don
September 02 2008
"In a world..." voiceover legend Don LaFontaine died yesterday. After watching a few brilliant YouTube videos of him in action, I thought I'd download them for posterity. Fortunately, I'd just found an excellent tool for that. read moreAlso find David on:
