Adrian's Journal

Here's a photo of me with Dr John Kao, after a video recording session of his seminar on "Innovation" at the Civil Service College this morning. "Kao" is pronounced "Kay-Oh". Dr John Kao is a leading authority on the subjects of innovation, organizational transformation, and digital media. He is author of the best-selling Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek best-seller that has been published in a dozen languages, and Innovation Nation . The photo is taken with my new Samsung Omnia II. Not too sharp isn't it? Adrian Lee http://VideoLane.com Related articles by Zemanta Can Governments Till the Fields of Innovation? (innovationtoronto.com) Innovating innovation: An Interview with Scott Anthony of Innosight (fastforwardblog.com) 4 easy ways to increase idea flow (myventurepad.com)

I have been answering this question very often. "Does this country use DVD NTSC or DVD PAL?" A very technical question, but an important one. My clients wants to send their DVD to other countries. I have to make sure I burn them in the right format. While Singapore can play both NTSC and PAL DVDs, some countries can play only either one format. If you send a PAL DVD to Japan, their NTSC DVD Players will not read the disc. Here are the top 10 countries I get asked most frequently: Australia - DVD PAL China - DVD PAL Hong Kong - DVD PAL Japan - DVD NTSC Korea South - DVD NTSC Philippines - DVD NTSC Singapore - DVD PAL Taiwan - DVD NTSC U.S.A. - DVD NTSC Vietnam - DVD PAL I have created a list of 66 more countries with their DVD format. You can download in PDF format for free here... http://videolane.com/2009/07/dvd-ntsc-or-dvd-pal-format-in-other-countries/ Enjoy! Adrian Lee http://Twitter.com/AdrianLee PS: Here are more sites to discover about NTSC and PAL T...

The Singapore F1 Lighting is Up Again... I can feel the excitement... the deafening roar of formula one racing... Last year's race in Singapore was a new experience for me ... Looking forward to this year's... Singapore F1 - 2009 Formula 1 Night Race - Singapore Grand Prix ! Took this photo with my old O2 PDA phone from Suntec City after a conference video shoot. The lighting fixture is at the top, stretching over Singapore city skyline. Adrian Lee http://VideoLane.com PS: Did you know Singapore had a Grand Prix in 1966? Watch the video... Related articles by Zemanta Grand Prix holidays: plan your trips around the motor racing circuit (telegraph.co.uk)

I was searching for some news on any new version of Sony Ericsson Xperia X-series when I chanced upon the "Xperia Rachael". The Xperia Rachael may be the next phone I want to own. Being a professional video maker, when it comes to getting my next PDA phone, good camera and good video display are 2 critical factors I look for. First, the camera must be at least 8 Megapixel or better (12 mpx or more). The HTCs have a lot of catching up in camera specs. The iPhone is just not for me at 3 Megapixel. Second, the phone display must be high resolution and widescreen (16:9). Why? To watch and enjoy videos on the move. I have been using sony video equipment in my work, so I am sure Sony knows what is best to make a camera. Here are some information from articles I found and I quote what excite me: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_rachael_confirmed_ui_shown_on_video-news-1011.php " The fully-touch operated phone comes complete with an 8-megapixel autofocus camera, ...

"How to print passport size photos at home?" That's the question I asked myself, when my wife requested me to print out 3 copies for a friend. Yes! "For a friend" means for FREE! Oh man! I am an expert in printing great photo quality images on DVD faces and DVD case inserts. HOWEVER, printing passport photos is a different ballgame! I do not have the proper software. No Photoshop! ...AND passport photos have fixed size. I was given the photo in JPEG format. A very huge photo. Passport photo size in Singapore is 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm. The photo given to me was not even that size nor that proportion. I have to size it down and crop it to exact proportion. Fortunately, the photo is already well framed for ID cards. Taken in a proper studio. After some quick experimenting with whatever software I have, I was amazed I got it printed in less than 15 minutes using only 2 free software! Paint.NET and Google Doc ! For my own record, here are...

I am making the transition from mini-DV tape recording to AVCHD recording. I will be abandoning tape recording once and for all and move to memory recording. I say transition because currently my AVCHD recording is on hard disk inside the camera. I prefer memory card recording for maximum convenience, which will arrive soon on my new camcorder. AVCHD recording is the way to go for an Event Videographer who shoots long hours. I have been shooting 2-hour long seminars for the past two months and edited them to DVDs successfully. The editing is done on Sony Vegas Pro 8 and converted to DVD-compliant MPEG2 files. Here is the AVCHD workflow with DVD as the final product: Connect AVCHD camcorder (hard disk type) to PC via USB cable. Transfer AVCHD videos (.MTS files) to PC hard drive. Open Sony Vegas Pro 8. Drag and drop MTS files into Sony Vegas timeline. Edit. Add titles, cut scenes, add music, adjust sound quality, etc. Render project as DVD-compliant MPEG2 files...

I had a request this week to advise on how to sell videos online. The videos are already done up and are currently sold on DVDs. These are niche instructional videos that are neatly chapterised. They want to know how and the best way to sell these videos on the web. Should they sell the videos in one lot or break them up and sell by chapters? Can they make the videos non-downloadable and just streaming to view? Should they choose pay-per-view model or subscription model? Here's the first part of my answer... The 5 Requirements for Selling Videos Online . Adrian Lee http://VideoLane.com

I never taught I would find this from a third party. A "related posts" widget for my Blogger blogspot blog . I always taught it will never be the same as Wordpress. I am tired of wordpress blogs. They keep crashing on me! My last wordpress blog got hacked and all my data lost! I sticking with Blogger blogspot for personal journal . My earliest posts in Year 2004 are still there ! Going to install more Widgets from Widgets for Free . You need a little HTML knowledge to install this widget. The instructions were very clear and straight forward. Just copy and paste 2 sets of codes into the html template. The number of related posts appearing can also be customised. For the time being, I will let it run a few times before customising. Though the default number of related posts appearing is set at 5, I am getting 15 in this post . Still look good anyway, I will leave it as it is... tweak it later, maybe brighten up the blue texts. Going to install more Widgets from Widgets for Fr...

Image by Cengiz.uskuplu via Flickr Writing an autobiography is an ideal way to capture the stories of your life and the times you’ve lived in. When writing an autobiography about yourself, focus on three major things: who you are in life what life means to you and what your outlook on the future is. How to Write An Autobiography: Find a quiet and comfortable place to do your writing. Sit down in front of a computer or with a pen and a few sheets of paper. Brainstorm and get your mind thinking about yourself. Write everything you can think of about yourself. Think about your family, friends and relationships. Think about your accomplishments. eg. awards, medals or trophies you've won in school or out of school. Include things that you might even consider small. Think as far back as you can remember. Start off with facts about your life. eg. when and where you were born, where you live, where you go to school and who you live with. A logical beginning would be your...

Image via Wikipedia 4 July 2009 9pm: Spending Quality Time with Children Learning the Abacus Remembering the advice from Morris Allen School, to take interest in what your child reads, I decided to take interest in what my kids learnt from Abacus class. Have tried spending time with kids to go through their homework years ago. Stella had been doing it all the while, though I think I could do a better job in English, Maths and Science. My excuse for not spending time with kids was always that I have to stay late in the office to complete a video assignment that a client wanted delivered the next morning or "Dad got a shoot over the weekend." Things are changing. After firing more clients this week, even the big loyal ones, I have freedom to plan my schedule. No idea if this is the right thing to do, even with encouragement from reading Tim Ferriss 4 Hour Work Week articles. I have tried hiring staff, but that led me to spend more time going through the work of my staff and...

Cover of War of the Worlds (Widescreen Edition) 5 July 2009 7.30pm: Tom Cruise War of the Worlds Movie Review This is one unique movie, in my view, where the story revolves around father and daughter relationship. Unlike the usual tired script about love, as in romance. I can relate with the movie. I have daughters too, the little one around the same age as the girl in the movie. Somehow I put myself in Tom Cruise character's shoes and I could feel his emotions. I would do exactly the same things he did in the movie. Running and hiding from wicked aliens with a very young daughter is definitely not the same as doing it alone or with friends. Your reactions to life threatening situations are diffrent. You have your own helpless innocent little girl to protect. Even to split up momentarily in chaos is so heartbreaking. I thought if the daughter was a little older and slightly independent, the story will be different. It will also be different if the kid was a boy. I don't ...

Image via Wikipedia Here's a free video tutorial on how to use Windows Movie Maker on the XP. If you already have Vista, please go here. This video tutorial is for beginners, totally basic, and a great way to understand the step-by-step workings of Windows Movie Maker. To learn faster, please pause the video at every step and do the step on your own Windows Movie Maker. Taking action and experiencing first hand is the best way of learning. Thanks to AnasiraProductions for making this video tutorial. If you have further questions, please type your questions with the comment link below. Adrian Lee http://VideoLane.com Video On The Move... Related articles by Zemanta Windows 7 to Skip Photo, Mail, Calendar and Movie Editing tools (techpluto.com) Right cable can work with old camcorder (seattletimes.nwsource.com) Portable Windows Movie Maker Resurrects Missing Features [Downloads] (lifehacker.com) Windows Live Movie Maker Due Later This Year. Top Feature Request: Windows XP Su...