I recently launched a video site (yes, yet another video site in the world) that required a flash media server to record video from webcams.  The concept is simple:  Record 6 second interviews/answers to questions asked by people around the world.

I had two awesome experiences during this web dev experience .. Learning Flex, and working with Wowza Media Server.  Both of which are a breath of fresh air in terms of code/deployment

Wowza offers its media server in two flavors .. Self hosted or licensed through Amazon EC2.  I'm already a gigantic fan of Amazon's S3 (I'm practically a tech evangelist for S3!), so naturally EC2 should be awesome, right?

Well ... IT IS AWESOME!  EC2 awesomeness is a whole other post, though ...

Getting started with Wowza Media Server Pro on EC2 is simple.  First you sign up with their Amazon link.  Then you launch an instance of the Wowza Media Server machine image in the EC2 panel.  Done.  The server is up and running!

Granted, you need to setup the proper application on the Media Server to be able to record vid, but that's a simple xml document.  On top of that, if you suddenly need another media server ... you just LAUNCH iT!  EC2 is beyond awesome.

The site I used the Wowza Media Server on is: GrokFlok - Check it out and let me know what you think

Teft

Zeep Mobile - Cool SMS gateway, that's free!  Recently I had to build a web app that utilized SMS messages to cell phones .. The client was on a shoestring budget and needed an a gateway that wasn't going to cost anything to get up and running.  Luckily, he found ZeepMobile.

It's a really cool system, and simple API if you understand how to use cURL in PHP.  Setup is a snap .. You enter a unique name for your app, which is used for mobile users to send messages to your server end point, and then you get your API key and secret code.  Oh, you also setup your mobile urls for Read the rest of this entry »

Most musicians feel that giving anything away for free is taking away from their bottom line.  Let's face it, music today can largely be found for free with just a little googling.  So the mp3 is not 'special' anymore.  It's actually become more of an advertising tool than an actual product!

Think about it, if you play a ton of shows, the best way for people to see your show is Read the rest of this entry »

Welp, I haven't made a post to this blog in over a year and a half.  But recently I've been feeling inspired again to chat about music, marketing, and web tech .. So, I'll (hopefully) be posting more consistently over time and maybe somebody out in the web-o-sphere will get some benefit

Talk soon,
Teft

The film that is a world wide co-creation from Spike Lee and online user content is coming to a close soon ... but, we still need your submissions!

Act 3 is about death.  Your submissions don't have to be about a person dying, or a death scene ... instead, it can be anything that symbolizes the end of a phase.  Like a flower wilting.

Also, music is tremendously needed right now!  You can submit music via video onto the JumpCut platform for submission into the film.  And Spike said that he needs much more music than what is currently been submitted so far.

Either way, Spike needs your content!  Audio or Video!  Go over to Nokia Productions right now and start submitting!!! 

What happens when you convert a jazzy R&B beat to some electronica dirty groove? You get my remix! And that's what I did to that "American Boy" track on the radio right now

Here's the YouTube version ...

I found the accapella online and was thrilled because Read the rest of this entry »

Yo!

I've been a bit quite over the past few months ... lots of work, songwriting, promotions, etc .. you know the drill. But, what's really exciting is that I'm helping out on a project that involves Spike Lee and Nokia. Basically, the project requires lots of people to upload lots of movie clips, photos, songs, and even text messages.

First, check it out at www.nokiaproductions.com and Read the rest of this entry »

Miracle Beats -- It says it all ....

The song in the middle and end is "Take Me" by Mimi & Teft

Ok .. this one I've been waiting for a while now ... I've been getting progressively excited about Aperture 2! And now, it's finally here. The biggest thing that I am looking for is improvement in raw processing and speed. But, to begin with, Aperture 1.5's raw processing was already excellent to begin with! And the speed wasn't bad.

The real difference is in how fast you can achieve quality results. For standard photo processing, the differences are not going to be huge. You definitely have more creative control without having to export to Photoshop for some photo tricks, but in the end it's still another tool.

One of my favorite photo effects that I REALLY wished Aperture had was Read the rest of this entry »

Hey Guys ... so I was VERY fortunate to have the amazing experience of having a video shot on the new Red One video camera a couple of months ago ... the video is going to be released in a few weeks!

First off ...

This camera is nuts (and expensive)!! Imagine, for moment, that you could take a Canon 5d and make it snap photos at 24 frames a second .... that's right! 12mp at 24 frames a second. But wait! There's more. It can not only double, but triple that speed!! In the movie industry they call this resolution "4k". It's basically 35mm film, only saved to compact flash card!

Some stills ...

Ok, so these aren't 4k stills ... not even standard definition stills! But they're Read the rest of this entry »