Last week while I was in San Francisco for Google I/O and the MashMeet SF After Party, I shot a short little “day in the life” documentary of Pete.

I shot the video with the same set-up I used at the Olympics, my 5DMKII, the RØDE VideoMic, and a Litepanels Micro LED light. The neck strap I’m using is the BlackRapids Rs-5 (perfect for storing my iPhone and extra memory cards).

I shot most of the party shots at 6400 ISO and used the LED to light people’s faces when they were talking. Next time I’m going to put a CTO (orange) gel on the LED to give people a nice tan, instead of the ghostly whites. Cuz let’s face it, us tech peeps need all the tan we can get. :P

Photo by Ken Yeung.

I used the 16-35mm f/2.8 lens that I rented from Lens Rentals Canada, an awesome new online rental site. I ordered it online and the lens arrived within 2 days. I highly recommend it for trying out pro gear before you buy or just to experiment with L-lenses as they are soooo sexy.

A lot of people are asking me what I am using to record my most recent videos covering the Olympics, so I thought I’d share my set-up with you.

It’s nothing super fancy, except for the 5DMKII :) For lenses I’ve been primarily using the 35mm because it’s the widest lens I’ve got. Plus, my 50mm f/1.4 had a small accident and is currently in the Canon’s hospital for sick camera lenses. I rented the 16-35mm f/2.8 this weekend and absolutely fell in love with it shooting the crowd scenes in the Ignite your Dream video.

I’ve experimented with longer lenses, my 85mm f/1.8 used in the stadium during the victory ceremony video and the 70-200mm IS f/2.8, but found it impossible to keep steady while shooting hand-held and possibly clapping or screaming which seems to be a requirement during the games. Also, tripods and huge swarms of people don’t seem to mix well. I tried it once during the games and nearly punctured someone’s liver.

I’m using the RØDE VideoMic (Directional Video Condenser Microphone) for sound which has worked out alright. It’s obviously not ideal to shoot in noisy crowds like this video I shot in a crowd of enthusiastic hockey fans. But it’s a great, low priced mic that I’ve used in many video projects. You can tell the difference in using the VidMic compared to the on-camera mic at the end of this video.

For extra lighting in night scenes or in door shooting, I’m using a Litepanels Micro LED light. This small LED light panel runs on 4 AA batteries and has an integrated dimmer dial that allows you to control your lighting output. You can also put coloured gels in the flip-down filter holder to correct any white balancing issues.
The mic and the litepanel are connected to my camera’s hotshoe using the Cool-Lux MD300 light and sound bracket.

This is my first time shooting with the 5DMKII and it has absolutely blown my mind how crisp and vibrant the footage looks even at ISO6400. Well, that is when it’s in focus! It is definitely a challenge to grab focus in night time shoots, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it.

Any questions or comments?

Maybe I’m biased because I’m a proud Vancouverite and ex-figure skater, but this Winter Olympics feels immense to me. I feel massive amounts of pride and nervous tension, as I hold my breath for the next 17 days. But, while I was throughly weeping watching Clara Hughes’ teary eyes as she lead the Canadian team into the stadium, the internet shrugged, said “meh” and asked, “what’s happening on YouTube?”

The 2010 organizers are vocal about being the first Olympics to have a “Global Social Media” campaign, but they are still miles away from connecting to heartbeat of the internet and engaging with the masses of apathetic, web-addicted cynics like, well, me. 

Comments of Twitter directly following the Opening ceremonies ranged from the inquisitive, “Dude, what happened with the torch?? #torchfail  to the whining, “How hard would it have been for Gretzky to shoot a flaming puck into the cauldron?” to the bitter, “Lol @Canada. Thanks for showing up how to NOT do Olympics & healthcare” to the sarcastic “This just in: Olympic torch pillars being recalled by Toyota”. 

There was a much more positive “Go Canada” vibe on Facebook, but then again people are generally nicer on Facebook. I think it’s the whole “if you happen to find me tagged in a drunken, embarrassing photo, please don’t forward it to my mom” silent agreement that keeps troll comments to a minimum. Most of my Canadian friends on Facebook were w00ting and my American contacts where complaining about the crappy NBC coverage of the Opening Ceremonies and giggling at their own “Blame Canada” jokes. 

While I wasn’t surprised that the internet latched on to the “epic torch fail” moment, I was surprised at how little people were actually talking about the Olympics online. In fact, the Olympics only trended on Twitter for about three hours, then it was booted off in favor of #thuglife. Blame violent video games, Michael Bay movies, or Wikipedia, but the internet audience has about as much attentiveness as a flee circus. Days, weeks, and months seem to mash into one giant lol, fml, pwn or fail. At the end of one day’s “torchfail”, another “OMG rofl” moment is born somewhere else, most likely on a Japanese game show.

Perhaps it is the buzz of just living in Vancouver, footsteps away from the heart of the action, that has sold me on this Olympic Games. I’m loving every minute of 2010 excitement and even my overwhelming desire to make snide comments about the four phallic-shaped totems that slowly rose from the ground as dancers shook and shimmied around them has been squelched. 

If you think this is weird, you should see the outtakes! Oh boy. I’ll post the behind the scenes video once I recover from this all-nighter. ZzZ.

I had a lot of fun making this video and playing with the Voices app. There is nothing funnier than sounding like a drunk robot or a possessed chipmunk. Especially at 3am after being up for 30 hours and engulfing massive amounts of helium.

The lights were so smoking hot they popped a few balloons including the one that surprised me in the video!

Best $29 I ever spent. How can you not love a raccoon hat?

For more info & fun, go and checkout all the voices sound bites I made on the Taptaptap blog. The Voices app is only 99¢ and worth every penny.

PS. Chipmunk costumes are unbelievably hard to find. Hot business opportunity, any takers?

My Twitter page has been restored finally! Turns out someone hacked into my account and deleted it. They then locked me out of my account by creating a fake email in my name and linking it to my account, so I couldn’t reset my password. Awesome! *writes a list of people who may hate me*

At any rate, I have learnt some valuable lessons in protecting my social media from being hacked:

1. Set a Very Strong Twitter password. One that isn’t your favourite sports team, colour, a sequence of numbers like 123456, the word “password” or “iheartRobertPattinson”.
2. Create unique passwords for your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Blog & other social nets. If one is compromised, you could lose your entire lifestream. I used the same password for many accounts. And though it was a strong password, I think the fact that I used it for everything made it vulnerable.
3. Be careful giving out your Twitter username and password to 3rd Party Apps. I had four 3rd party Twitter apps on my iPhone, two desktop apps, in addition to TwitPic, Flickr to Twitter app, Twitter to Facebook app, and many others I didn’t even remember I had signed up for. Be very cautious and keep track of which apps use your password.
4. Link your phone number to your Twitter account, so that it can be used to retrieve your password in the event that your account and email address is compromised. You can plug your phone number into Twitter under the device tab.
5. Back-up your Twitter! I would’ve never even considered this before, but the thought losing 2 1/2 years of tweet history made me sad. So sad I had to eat many cupcakes. Many. It wasn’t pretty folks. There are several services that allow you to back up your Tweets, including BackupmyTweets, TweetBackup, TweeTake & Twistory. I’m going to try few. I’ll get back to you on which one is the best.

After nearly a week of being without a tweet, I realize how pathetically dependent I am on Twitter and how much time I actually spend Twittering. Because without it, I wander the web aimlessly, listen and download an embarrassing amount of tv shows & indie music. Then there’s the watching of said depressing music, tv shows, and the slow deterioration of said tv shows from witty British mockumentaries to crappy CW teen vampire dramas.

All I have to say is vampires should eat cheerleaders, not play football in the sunlight. #vampirediaries

Do you have any tips on how to protect or backup your social media?

Dear Twitter,

My Twitter page @mostlylisa has been hacked and deleted. It’s GONE!!! I am currently catatonic. Please help me restore my account, it’s like, my meaning in life.

Much love to whom ever helps me!

PS. If you miss me like I miss you, you can always be my Friend OR Fan on Facebook. I know it’s not the same, but it’s all I have now. *hold me*

Back to School doesn’t have to be the end of fun! Well, in all honesty it does, but at least you can soften the blow of returning to the grind by treating yourself to some great geeky gadgets.

1. Neverlate 7-day Alarm Clock ($34 + shipping thinkgeek.com)
After a few months of enjoying blissful afternoon sleep-ins, that first week of 7am wake ups are going to smart. To make sure you aren’t late for your first semester of classes like I was in 3rd year University, you might want to invest in a serious alarm clock.

This alarm clock allows you to set 7 independent daily alarms for each day, so you don’t have the nightly annoyance of setting your alarm. You can also customize your snooze time from one to 30 minutes and set a midday nap alarm with the push of a button.

2. Canon SD960 IS Digital Elph Camera ($299)
So you’ve managed to drag yourself out of bed and grab some caffeine and Coco Pops. You should really capture this pivotal moment. Why not snap a picture with the new Canon SD960 IS Digital Elph camera. The slick, pocket-sized point and shoot comes in four colours (blue, pink, silver & gold).

It’s packed with a 12.1 megapixel sensor that takes crisp, vibrant images and stunning HD (1280×720, 30fps) movies. This little camera has the best looking video I’ve seen from a point and shoot in a long time.

3. Space Invaders Messenger Bag ($49 USD + shipping 16BIT.etsy.com)

I guess it’s time to head to school or all that hard work getting out of bed will be for nothing. You definitely need a sweet bag to match your Converse sneakers and ironic tee. 16-Bit has some amazing, handcrafted retro gaming messenger bags that will store your laptop and all your school essentials. From Super Mario to Donkey Kong to Space Invaders, these limited edition bags are as funky as they are functional.

4. IkimonoCamera ($20 Urban Outfitters)
For those of us with maxed out credit cards and groceries to pay for, I present the $20 Ikimono Camera. This tiny, palm-sized camera comes with a keychain, roll of 110mm film, and a cute cartoon animal on the front. Click away and experience the olden time joy of developing your film!

5. Nintendo DSi ($199)
Let’s face it. The first week of classes is an absolute joke. Lengthy introductions, going over curriculum, revising old materials, and zzz, oh sorry, I drifted off for a bit. Secretly playing a few games on your Nintendo DSi when the teacher’s back is turned may keep you awake or in detention. But hey, nothing the chicks love more than rebels.

This snazzy portable gaming device is internet ready, which means a bunch of fun games are available at your finger tips. I’m currently playing Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. It’s annoyingly difficult for a kids’ game.

6. Olympus Pen (E-P1) ($800)

After cramming calculus in your brain all morning, you may feel like getting a little creative over lunch hour. Grab the Olympus E-P1, a new retro-styled, interchangeable lens camera. This revolutionary Micro Four Thirds camera delivers dSLR quality while maintaining the compact size of a point and shoot.

The Olympus Pen, which comes with a 14-42mm kit lens, is a stylish, zippy little camera that is just plain fun to use. Explore your artistic side with the 6 Art Filters including, Pinhole, Grainy Film, Pop art and several others. If you feel like turning up a notch, why not take some HD video. The Pen records up to 5 minutes of 720p 30fps high-resolution video in one shot!

7. Darth Vader MIMOBOT designer USB flash drive ($24.95 mimobot.com)

The day is almost over. Phew. You just need to back up some files on a from the school’s computer and head home. Trade in your tired white rectangular USB flash drive you got from a Futureshop bargin bin, for a designer MIMIBOT. Each bot comes packed with extras like wallpapers, audio clips, icons, screen savers and more!

With hundreds of famous and original characters to choose from, these pint-sized USB keys are ridiculously cute and highly collectible. From Halo to Hello Kitty to Star Wars, there is a MIMOBOT to make anyone “Awww”. Be warned, once you have one Star Wars MIMOBOT, you may feel a strong force to buy the entire collection.

8. Griffin PowerBlock Reserve ($39.99)

There is nothing more annoying than turning on your iPod on the bus ride home and seeing the flashing “dead battery” icon. Even worse is getting stranded out in the middle of nowhere with an overheating car and a dead iPhone. Thankfully, the fine folks at Griffin have come up with a marvelous rechargeable backup battery for use with iPhones, iPods, MP3 players, or any USB chargeable device.

The PowerBlock backup battery is easily charged by plugging it into a wall socket. When the battery is charged, simply detach it and carry it with you. It is the smallest reserve battery I’ve seen (about the size of a matchbox), and adds hours of battery life to your devices. You can buy the PowerBlock Reserve at the Apple Store or Walmart.

9. Eye-fi 2GB SD Share Card ($49-79 Photojojo.com)

Imagine walking in your front door and instantly uploading all your photos and videos from your first day at school directly from your camera to your computer wirelessly? How about directly to Facebook, Flickr or YouTube? No cables, no fussing around with photo editing software, no waiting for your files to upload on the internet. Well, it’s all possible with the Eye-fi SD Card. Sharing photos and videos has never been easier. All you have to do is set-up the Eye-fi software on your computer.

Choose the wi-fi network you want your camera to use and where you want your photos or videos to upload to (home computer, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Picasa). Plug the SD card in your camera and snap away When you come home, turn on your camera, and voila! All your photos and videos are automatically uploaded onto your computer and the web (if you choose).

Oh and don’t worry, you can control privacy settings with the Eye-fi manager, so there’s no fear that those Freshman Jello shot pictures will end up splashed across internet without you knowing.

10. Blackbox M14 ANR Headphones ($249 Blackbox.com)
Finally, you settled in your cozy place, about to dip into a large pot of KD and watch a flick, when your musician roomate decides that 10pm is the perfect time to start band practice. My suggestion, pop on a pair of Blackbox M14 ANR Noise Canceling headphones. Even with no music playing, these bad boys will knock out your roommates out-of-tune squawking with a flick of a switch. Experience the joys of booming bass and crisp sound without outside noise creeping in.

What are your favourite back to school gadgets?

I’m actually really proud of this show and everyone involved. It was my first time producing a show this big, technologically challenging, & live! I lost about 5 pounds in sweat, literally. There were moments when I just wanted to crawl into the fetal position a cry. But we had such an amazing team who pulled several all-nighters to get this show up and running.

I was so grateful that my Redpilot partner, Ryland Haggis, came down to help oversee some of the technical aspects, including running all over San Francicso looking for 8 core Mac Pros, graphics cards, mics, & every possible cable imaginable. And thanks to GDC09 for only finding one firewire PCI Express card in entire city of San Francisco.

Huge props to the Boinx guys, Bastian & Tino, AKA “Ze Germans”. Their ability to deal with a plethora of audio, video, live streaming, green screens, & graphics was flawless. I also quite enjoyed Tino’s Austrian Governator accent. “Come with me if you want to live!”

My co-hosts, Veronica & Crazy Chris Pirillo, were awesome as always with their mix of professionalism and jocularity!

I just arrived in San Fran after an awesome, snow filled, American snack attack, couple of days in Portland.

I’m in lovely SF for the most anticipated live show of the year! The MacHeist 3 Bundle Reveal show is this Tuesday night at 8pm EDT (5pm for west coasters). We’ll be broadcasting the show from San Francisco at Pixel Corps studios.

Hosting the show will be: Veronica Belmont, cat lover & host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on PSN. Chris Pirillo, media-friendly geek and Tech Expert for CNN.com. & Me, host of living room puppet shows, Zombie Impersonations: The Podcast & creator of SockGobblins.net

Chris, Veronica & I at Pixel Corps for rehearsal.

Be sure to tune in! I may even ask my evil Russian spy twin to pop by. But, you know Sophia… Always in the middle of conjuring up some sort of devious plan.

I’m producing the show so I’ll be in panic mode until the whole thing has finished and is successful. Keep your fingers crossed…

Leo is going to kick start the show and then it will be up to me to entertain the masses in what will surely be a most epic undertaking.

You can win some awesomely geeky prizes to give away during Movie Night:

• 4  Tees from ThinkGeek
• TuneFlex Aux with Smart Click, PowerDock 4, & an Air Curve from Griffin
• 20 Tasty iPhone Apps (10 Classics Apps & 10 Parablox Apps) from taptaptap.

There is even a Frakkin’ Pre-Event Prize Giveaway!

Tweet this text on Twitter to win this tee:

@mostlylisa Movie Night with Mostly Lisa is gonna be frakkin’ cool: http://bitly.com/movienight

I will tweet the name of the prize winner on Twitter Saturday night, so follow me @mostlylisa. ]]> http://mostlylisa.com/blog/movie-night/feed/ 6