Media | Robert Ouimet

Video: Kris Krug at the Multimedia Gallery

Vancouver photographer Kris Krug is multi-tasking even more than usual during these Olympic Games, and that’s saying something.

He’s been contributing photos to DigiBC at VX Showcase events, his photos have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, he shares them with the world on Flickr, and at Staticphotgraphy.com (love the images of the skaters).

He and I got a preview tour of the Multimedia Gallery at the BC Pavilion last week, and I thought it might be fun to turn the camera around on him a bit – and give you a glimpse of kk+ in action…

You can find Kris on Twitter, or contact him through Staticphotography.com

The Podcast Desk

Here’s a peak at my podcast production desk.

Almost all the podcasts I produce for clients involve on-location recordings – so after the sound has been gathered, I spend a lot of quality time huddled with this gear, assembling the material and doing whatever post-production is needed to the audio.

Typically, production involves multi track mixes of eight to 12 tracks, and up until recently I’ve been doing that work with Adobe Audition.

I switched to Pro Tools last year and regret not doing it sooner – the learning curve is quite steep, but once it clicks, everything just falls into place, particularly if you’ve ever worked in a large multi track studio environment.

I should point out that even though I’m a huge fan of Pro Tools, I still recommend Audion to people – it runs well on just about any PC and is still an inexpensive way to get going with multi-track audio software. (When Adobe bought what was then called Cool Edit, I thought they’d bury the software, but Adobe has continued to support it)

Here’s the guide to what’s on the desk (click either image to see a larger version).

1. ProTools 8

2. Tannoy Active monitors

3. Ipod

4. Phone audio interface/patch for
recording phoners, like on BrainPicker.ca

5. Headphones

6. Microphone

7. CF cards from Sound Devices field recorder

8. Pen for Wacom tablet

9. Mixer for house sound

10. M-box (audio interface for ProTools)

11. Wireless keyboard

12. Must have – coffee

13. Must have – analog notepad

14. Midi keyboard

15. Mackie MCU control surface

In the field I use Sound Devices gear – their digital recorders and field mixers are simply the best. People accustomed to those tiny consumer recorders find the gear big, but for flawless & dependable field recording, there simply is nothing like it. I am almost always running on battery power, and I can go for a solid 4 hours without even worrying about a charge – and that’s with a full 4 channel mixer feeding into the digital recorder. And coupled with custom PortaBrace bags, I can use the stuff in any kind of weather.

John Ralston Saul – Podcast

“We start to accept that ridiculous language in which citizens are referred to by politicians and administrators as clients.

We’re not clients of government.

We own the government, it’s our government.

There isn’t a single thing of government which we don’t own, how could we be clients ?

And we aren’t buying shoes, we’re talking about the rights of citizens within their own society.

We’re not stakeholders, we’re citizens.”

– John Ralston Saul, speaking at the PLAN 20th Anniversary evening at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Vancouver, November 20, 2009.

John Ralston Saul is an award winning novelist and essayist, and one of Canada’s most outspoken champions of freedom of expression.

His most recent book is called The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World. It’s just the latest in a series of best selling works that have been translated into 22 languages and sold in over 30 countries. Earlier this year he become the first Canadian to elected president of International PEN, the association of writers devoted to defending freedom of expression.

John is also the patron of PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network), and he was the featured guest speaker at PLAN’s recent 20th Anniversary celebration in Vancouver.

I was asked to record the evening, and you now can hear the John’s keynote here:

John McKnight and Peter Block – Podcast

I recently had the opportunity to interview John McKnight and Peter Block – the first time these two men have been interviewed together.

The interview was done for Tyze.com and PLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship, and was released this week as part of the newly revamped Tyze website, which also features video content I created for Tyze.com.

These two men are known around the world for their work in community development and citizenship empowerment. Having the opportunity to meet with them was extra exciting for me. When I was first started out as a consultant, Peter Block’s book Flawless Consulting was in invaluable resource – and I return to it when I’m finding challenges in my work.

Here’s the podcast created for Tyze.

John McKnight’s landmark books on community development include Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets, and his series of articles collected in The Careless Society. He’s a professor of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University in Chicago, and co-chair of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern.

Peter Block is best known for his book Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used, and is the author of number of other best selling books including Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest and The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work.

Peter’s most recent book Belonging: The Structure of Community, has been called “the most important intergenerational book of our time”.

Runs 19:05

For more on John McKnight’s work, visit the Asset-Based Community Development Institute website. You can also read more about his work on the Northwestern University website.

You can find out more about Peter Block’s work on his website.

Podcast: Heather Johnstone, Edible Garden Project

Heather Johnstone runs the Edible Garden Project on Vancouver’s North Shore.

Just wrapping up its 4th year, the the project encourages residents to share their bounty with people in need, as well as putting together a variety of urban agriculture and community garden projects.

This week, Heather and team opened the Queen Mary Community Garden, located in the City of North Vancouver. Those of you who aren’t from the North Shore may not be aware that there is both City of North Vancouver, and a District of North Vancouver. Heather’s project involves both municipalities.

I spoke to Heather about the project and where things are going with urban agriculture on the North Shore. We met up at the Lower Lonsdale Community Garden…

Runs: 11:01

Podcast ISBN: 978-1-926758-03-9