Big Trousers, Web, Design, Photography and new media.

Testing HD and the Zacuto Z-Finder

Philip — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:37:21 +0000

It rain and it rained big…
So the Zacuto Z-Finder attached to the Canon 5D Mk11 has proved to be the pivotal device for using the DSLR as a video shoot platform. Great stability is generated by using this device alone, but I now know why I need a lanyard on it. More later..

Keynote on auto schedule shutdown-startup

Philip — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:16:52 +0000

A very recent installation job nearly went pear shaped when a new “feature” in iWork 09 Keynote stopped us from scheduling a shutdown of a kiosk style big screen sideshow on 3 screens.

The job is a display of news and coming events on 3 big screens for The West Footscray Neighborhood House. The screens run separate keynote presentations containing HD video and slideshows all with audio in 3 different locations within the center complex. Three Mac mini’s run the program files in full HD resolution and they could not be more happy with the quality of the presentations.

There were a number of hurdles to overcome however and in the interests of others trying to achieve the same result we will list solutions to some of the problems we encountered.

Firstly because there are no keyboards or mice we needed control over the screens from another Mac on the network. A 22.5 inch iMac in the locked admin office could be used via screen sharing in house but we also wanted remote access. Once all the right bits of network apparatus were in place we could gain control over the 3 Mac mini’s using Back to My Mac over the internet from our office. We can transfer updated Keynote files, check the system for failures or launch an application. With high end bandwidth at both ends it runs perfectly. On reboot however the Bluetooth equipped Mac mini’s went looking for a keyboard and mouse. Not a very pleasant screen image to greet me on the first morning of trials. This was sorted by turning off all Bluetooth services. Open system prefs/Bluetooth and advanced. Uncheck “Open Bluetooth Assistant…” box and the system will stop trying on reboot to connect.

Now to get a file to run on reboot simply add it as a login item. Normally you would have an Application as a login item, like Mail or the persistent Skype… To make a file like a Keynote slide show a login item use the login items window in System Prefs/Accounts and select and add using the + or for big files we found it was necessary to drag and drop the file into the login window.

Finally the big hurdle, getting Keynote to close to allow automated shutdown. The screens need to shutdown overnight and reboot in the morning. This keeps the noise down overnight for the neighbors. A simple task made complicated by some new code requirement that Keynote check first if a file has been saved before allowing shutdown to proceed. A good idea for those editing presentations but a pain in the butt for our purposes.

The trick was to use Automator and create an iCal alarm that simply put shuts down Keynote without saving 5 min or so prior to the scheduled Mac Mini’s shut down. Open Automater, choose iCal Alarm, select quit application from the menu and drag it into the script window. Choose Keynote from the dropdown ( here you will need to say “other” and get Keynote from within the iWork folder), UNCHECK “Ask to save changes”, then save entering Keynote Shutdown as the iCal alarm name. iCal will open with editable parameters for the alarm in a new iCal Calendar called “Automator”. Set the repeat to every day, end never, and the timing of the event and click done.

If anyone has any other questions relating to the placement setup for function of a presentation kiosk using the Mac, drop us a line and we hope we can be of assistance. Our thanks also to Rod Langham Electrical for his great work with the physical installation and heavy lifting.

Sick Australia site goes up, taste in T-Shirt design goes down.

Philip — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:35:05 +0000

We made live the new site built for Fang and Dome from Sick Australia T-Shirts.
Jean-Luc is the guy with the designs and is probably better known for his work on the comic Modern Gentleman, the movie Cannibal Suburbia, and his own movie productions.
A talented man with a warped mind..bring it on JL !

sickaustralia.com.au

24 inch iMac runout stock

Philip — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:04:03 +0000

Designwise has the runout 24inch with wireless keyboard and mouse for $1699.

We know where to get a USB version keyboard and mouse MB419X/A iMac 24 inch for $1499. That is a wopping saving given the original price for this model.

Merry Christmas from Big Trousers

Philip — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:31:07 +0000

Christmas is for kids….

Blooper video online via Vimeo

Philip — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:10:35 +0000

We uploaded some new video to the video folio page.
Along with some HD embedded there is an old video I had forgotten about. The Bloopers tape from a daredevil like effort by Jos Van Hulsen aboard his dirtboard invention. Excuse the expletive at the end, it is hilarious.
Video folio page here.

Ferel Bloopers from Philip Greenwood on Vimeo.

Shooting heritage listed trees for TreeLogic

Philip — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:59:55 +0000

In shooting Melbourne’s best heritage listed trees this morning we decided to try a little piece to camera, just to see how it looked. Steve you are a natural.

Angophora costata (Smooth-barked Apple) from Philip Greenwood on Vimeo.

This is my favorite from the shoot, Cussonia spicata (Cabbage Tree) Cnr Inkerman and Hawthorn Rd Caulfield Park, Caulfield North, or as I called it the Manilong Sifficokus.

Louie Prez live stream from The Dog

Philip — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:22:38 +0000

The webcast from The Dog theatre went well last night and we will continue to improve our assembly of technical specifications for this type of event. The concept was for a lightweight portable and affordable two camera streaming solution.
Video to follow soon of the recorded stream.

Window Wonders record build attempt

Philip — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:20:21 +0000

Well after about 8 hours solid we have the rebuild for Karen at Window Wonders. Her old OsCommerce application was retired after an attack of the Trojans and a new Wordpress theme installed and modified for her purpose. We shot the whole shop content on a lightbox and uploaded the product images.

Well done Karen. Take a look and let us know if we need to sleep on it and rebuild in the morning.

Trojan in Woo Themes footer code

Philip — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:42:47 +0000

Whilst trying to fix a Wordpress install, I found some errant code in the footer.php for site files installed by a client. After a bit of sluething I discovered that the Premium Woo Theme used had come from a filesharing site or had come in via bit torrent and had been altered to subject the user to potentially dangerous callback connections for information carried within the site. Now at Big Trousers we have seen this sort of thing injected into shopping carts but never before delivered via a Premium Wordpress theme over file sharing.

This is a word of warning to all those who attempt the ’something for nothing’ route and again a warning to those using a bit torrent client.

My advice is to pay WooThemes for their fine Wordpress Themes. The other advantage of owning a license to your Premium theme is that it comes with a lifelong upgrade so that new improved code and bug fixes are downloadable in order to improve your site functionality. Some Themes are available from Woo for free in any event but if you are reading this to find a solution this is it.