Producing Disablity Content

I am thinking about signing & producing videos.

I don't often get a chance to sign with people these days so I'm a bit hesitant about this idea; however I also don't want to lose my ability to sign by not using it at all.

 

I've been putting some thought into this. The EASIEST way for me to do this would be a "semi-casual" setting. I have some ideas from other bloggers I've seen on YouTube & elsewhere. A combination of scripted content and off-the-cuff "Shorts" might be utilized to achieve my goal of spreading positive news about technology & other subjects I think would be of interest to my fellow HoH & disabled community.

 

While I'll be speaking & signing it won't be American Sign Language (ASL), it will be something known as "contact signing" - ASL signs but rearranged in English word order. There's an older term that's frowned upon these days called "Pidgin Signed English" (or PSE). That mode is most natural for me, so that is what I'll be using.

 

This could potentially be a political landmine. I'm aware how the Deaf feel about their culture being appropriated & that is not my intention. I think I have a good grasp of technology & how it can be used to improve the quality of life. But I don't seem to stumble upon that kind of content when I go looking for it - where people are signing when discussing it. I will NOT be teaching people HOW to sign - there are other places they can go for that: Bill Vickers online, or even Marlee Matlin's iPhone app to name just 2 off the top of my head.

 

I've spoken with my partner about this idea off & on for the last year or so, & she's on board.

I've been purchasing equipment & other odds & ends over the last year in preparation. Foam tiles, ring lights. I'm looking at Blue Yeti microphones, etc. I'm also going to "recycle" my old Lumia 1020 as the initial camera for recording "studio" video. I've got my Pixel and other devices to generate b-roll footage as well if needed. I'm not sure how complicated it will be at first, but I am sure it will evolve.

Thank you for reading my ramble. Have a great day.

Facebook

This is a test to see if I am able to post links to my blog.

Bait & Switch

The Reform & Alliance party performed one of the greatest political bait-and-switch swindles in Canadian history, right in front of our eyes.

They gave us Stephen Harper & Preston Manning, put a blue ribbon on Republican politics & called it "Conservative". And we fell for it.

 

Just look at the public displays - the F*ck Trudeau flags, groups showing up to harass the public. This is all planned & paid for with funds from the USA. Republicans want to destroy Canada because they can't stand the fact that we have a functioning democracy.

Nokia N8

I've thought about getting into 'serious' photography with traditional camera & film etc. The prime reason I got into smartphones was because I didn't have to mess with all of that other stuff.

I used the same reasoning behind adopting mp3 & epubs - less physical stuff to own. Having said all of that, the editors at Mobile Syrup have a nice write-up on the current film photography trend.

 

The bottom photo is my first actual smartphone (since my cell carrier informed me that it qualified as one and thus I lost my grandfathered data plan), the Nokia N8. It had a 3.5 inch screen, a 12 MP camera & that was damn impressive back in 2010. The photo itself is a point & shoot - a Canon Powershot something-or-other. It was pretty much the extent of my photography knowledge at the time. This Nokia changed all of that. I began understanding the science of light & how it affects photography a little more. The Lumia 1020 which came along a few years later upped the ante again - but that's for a later post.

 

Multimedia

One of the things I've realized in the last while is a rejuvenation of the PC, a shift towards more mobile computing with 2 in 1 form factors rather than a static slab. I'll admit I wasn't too interested until I learned about Bluetooth LE.

I've always had to chain myself to a PC as far as multimedia was concerned because that was the only place I could have any sort of real control over the sound. Bass, treble, depth, equalizers, sound mixers, I've tried them all. I really cannot overstate how liberating a technology like BT LE is. Right in my remote control I have those settings for equalizers - I can even mute the live microphone & focus on just the movie I'm watching, rather than the low brow people gunning their engines outside.

This also presents a bit of a quandry. I enjoy watching the Simpsons but I haven't always had captioning in order to understand whatever scheme Homer has planned this week. Now that I have them, should I start over from the beginning with that series? It's been on the air for over 30 years! That's going to take forever!