SoundCloud Player Accessibility Test

Written by Lang Elliott on February 5, 2011 · 7 Comments

This post is for Jerry, Nicholas, Shannon and anybody else who is visually impaired. The question is whether or not you can easily play audio files that I am posting using your screen-reader software. I’m aware that my usual flash player works fine in this respect, but there have been problems each time I’ve posted using an audio player designed by a company called SoundCloud.

Both Jerry and Nicholas recently informed me that the “play button” for the SoundCloud player was not labeled in the web page code, making it very difficult to find. I contacted SoundCloud about this matter and finally received a response from Matas Petrika, one of their programmers. He informed me that he has added labels to the control buttons. This is very good news, but only if it works for you guys.

So here is an embedded SoundCloud player. Let me know if you can easily find the play button and listen to my recording:

Narrated Intros – Looking for Feedback

Written by Lang Elliott on January 29, 2011 · 4 Comments

When I listened to Woodpecker Interlude this morning, I felt that my narrated introduction sounded too contrived, as if it were being read. So I re-did it and uploaded the new version into the post, hoping to achieve a more laid back, personal style. Please check out the new version (included below) and let me know if you like the way I’m doing the narrative:

Dawn chorus and trickling brook. 5:19 am, 14 June 2010, Shindagin State Forest near Caroline, New York. Recorded by Lang Elliott.0:00 / 0:00

Here is the old version of the narrative. It’s slower and sounds to my ear like it’s being read:

Dawn chorus and trickling brook. 5:19 am, 14 June 2010, Shindagin State Forest near Caroline, New York. Recorded by Lang Elliott.0:00 / 0:00

I’m looking for feedback here! I want to home-in on the right style for the narrative. It should have a relaxed and personal feel to it, yet be brief and to the point (my yapping should last no more than thirty seconds).

like button facebook code

Written by Lang Elliott on January 5, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Go here to generate code:

http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/

And here is example of embedded XFBML script

jwplayer test

Written by Lang Elliott on January 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment

jplayer test

Written by Lang Elliott on January 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment

here is the player:

HIDE PLAYLIST

Wildflower Play — Halleleujah!

Written by Lang Elliott on April 15, 2010 · 1 Comment

Halleleujah! I’ve finally managed to post some wildflower video clips, thanks to a high speed connection at the public library in Cherokee, North Carolina.

> HD version.

These clips represent several of my first attempts at videotaping wildflowers (and a couple of other critters) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They include dolly moves made with my snazzy new “pocket dolly,” pull focus, pans and tilts, etc. I’m encouraged, but I’m discovering this is not an simple endeavor. I find myself fumbling with my equipment and struggling, often unsuccessfully, to get my camera positioned correctly. Plus I really need to study my clips in my studio . . . it is very difficult to assess technical quality correctly while on-the-road, using a small laptop. Still, the results are encouraging, in spite of problems with “jitter” on certain dolly moves.

Especially problematic is that I’ve had nothing but sunny, dry weather. No dripping foliage, no dewdrops—much too dry to my liking. And it’s been far too windy. The flowers start dancing early in the morning, forcing me to quit work before I’m ready to.

But I’m still positive. At least I’m not just sitting around on my butt! (well, truth be told, I’m almost always sitting on my butt when I’m shooting video). Please stay tuned . . .

An Open Door — Trickling Brook Reflections

Written by Lang Elliott on April 12, 2010 · 4 Comments

I have landed in Desoto State Park in northeastern Alabama, hoping to videotape Catesbys’ Trillium, an attractive species with beautiful “nodding” flowers that hang from down-curved stalks. While I found a number of specimens along the trails, none were in flower, though I spotted numerous swollen flower buds. Maybe they’ll burst open in a few days (after I’ve left the area).

Just before dusk, I discovered some amazing wavelets and reflections in a quiet section of a stream just above a waterfall. The patterns were entrancing. Some of my favorite clips are featured in the following brief video. I am calling it “An Open Door” because the patterns are hypnotic, begging one to step across the threshold and enter into the heart of nature, as if through an open door:

> HD version.