Tech Blog 3 - Jeff Layton

For this Tech Blog, I am going to do something a little different. Instead of writing about an App, program, or technological advancement, I am going to write this tech blog about an engineering technique I have discovered that is geared towards my career interest.
The item is called a Fog Chiller. This contraption combined with a standard fog machine, is used to create that spooky low laying fog seen in horror/sci-fi films or every Halloween.
First let's talk about the fog machine itself. For those who have never seen or heard of one before, a fog machine is a mechanical device that heats up a special non toxic liquid to produce a smoke/fog like substance into the air. Now if you remember 6th grade science, when a gas gets hot it rises. Therefore no matter what fog machine you use, it will produce a smoke effect that drifts off into the air.
 Demonstrated in this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC7At4OiQvw
This is demonstrated on a 400 watt machine which is on the lower end and is something you can easily find at a local party store. However as you can see after several feet the fog solution rises into the air.
So how exactly does a fog chiller work? It's easy. A fog chiller does exactly what its called, it cools the temperature of the fog allowing the fog to linger on the ground for a longer period of time. Now they do sell professional made chillers but those can be quite expensive. 
http://www.valuefind.us/p/Vortex-Chillers-Home-Series-Cold-Fusion-Fog-Chiller-9746288.html
or you can by a fog machine that produces a low laying fog.
http://www.amazingshop.us/p/400w-Medium-Duty-Low-Lying-Fog-Machine-With-Wired-Remote-68592595.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAvKunBRCfsum9z6fu_5IBEiQAu4lg4nZ8gesu9V_Yz6H7v-eT3lb-EyVyaqu4kMcNNvFqxtsaAnaC8P8HAQ
If like me though, you are on a tight budget. One can make a fog chiller easily out of several household items like in these two links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku1fBghJF84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2247534967&feature=iv&list=UU0_GsJiQ9P2rXxxr-Fm9l3Q&src_vid=ku1fBghJF84&v=MfGBbLusXQ0
The fog machine used in these videos is the Chauvet Hurricane 700
http://www.amazon.com/Chauvet-Hurricane-700-Fog-Machine/dp/B0002D0JX8

These chillers if you do not have any of the supplies at home cost only about $5-$20. These Designs save you hundreds of dollars and produce a great effect.
Here is a design I recently created as well. I also use the Chavet shown in the videos above.

This design cost me roughly 25$. The finished product cost me around 40$ for spray paint and a 2inch drill bit. However I subtracted those two items because the spray paint is not an essential and you can cut a 2 inch hole easily without a drill bit.
So this design consists of several items. The body is a large Pretzel jar that cost about 5$. Then you drill a 2 inch hole on the cap and on the opposite side of the container for intake and exhaust. On both sides I took 2inch plumbing connectors and screwed them into the 2inch holes. Not required but suggested, I added cut down 2 inch pipping on either side so i can add pluming elbows to angle the smoke or machine is a direction I need. Also suggested is a mesh like material over the caps which will make sense in a moment. Assemble time took me about a half hour for my first attempt. Not only is it cheap, its easy and fast to make and is easily transportable. In order to use the design, unscrew the lid. Fill the body with Ice. The optional mesh added inside both end pieces will help prevent the ice from coming out of the pipes and keep it inside the chillers body while still allowing air flow for the fog to pass through.
So if you are starting from complete scratch with no chiller or no fog machine, you are looking at spending around $40-$65. This is still half the price for just a lower end chiller and it produces the same effect. Another factor in the quality of look is the fog fluid itself. Check the recommended fluids for your machine to gt the best results. really cheap fluid will lead to a really cheap looking effect, but a fluid to thick for a lower end machine can lead to clogging in the tubes. Find a perfect balance for a perfect look.
There you have it. A cheap DIY fog chiller. Now go out a spook the little children on Halloween. I will be posting a DIY video in the near future on how to create this design with a demonstration.
-Jeff Layton Over and Out

Smackdown 2 App

Smackdown 2 SoundHound

SoundHound is one of many apps that allow a user to record a small portion of a song and find out the songs information from sound recognition. So let’s say you are driving in the car listening to the radio. A song comes on and you realize you really like the song, but the DJ did not announce the songs information before it was played. What you do is after the app is downloaded, you bring up the app on you mobile device. You click giant orange icon in the center that has the apps icon in the center. After several seconds of the song playing, the screen will show the artist of the song, the songs title, and the album the song was on. If you can’t get to a computer or laptop top right away, Sound Hound saves your history so you can check out the song information at a later date.

I have used this app for several years now. I have yet to find a song that it did not recognize and I have used it to find information on over 100 songs. I have recommended it to several of my friends and all of them really like how easy it is to use. Sound Hound has a vast repertoire or music and it even recognizes many non-mainstream  songs as well.  Best part about it, ITS FREE!

For anyone who is constantly trying to increase their music playlists, this is a great app to have.

 

Jeff Layton Over and Out

Jeff Layton Tech Blog 2

For my second tech blog i am going to be talking about the Nikon D5200 DSLR Camera. What I enjoy most about this camera is how easy it is to use the camera. For those who are not tech savy, or those who just want to do photography for fun but nothing serious, this is the perfect camera. Now at the time of when i purchased the D5200, i was very torn between the Canon Rebel T3i and the Nikon 5200 and from having experience with the T3i, I decided to try something new. I certainly was not disappointed in that choice. What i like most about the Nikon is how comfortable the hand grips are. It just feels very natural.

Like most DSLR cameras, The Nikon D5200 has a huge variety of lenses and add-ons which was my ultimate deciding factor in my purchase. Another reason i bought the camera was for its video quality. The Nikon is able to film in 1080p 60i format which is very great quality. i have used this camera to film several videos and I cannot get over how amazing the quality looks in post production. With the correct lens and post production, you can turn a small time video shot on the Nikon D5200 into a cinematic quality masterpiece. The best part about the camera, its only $550 on http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/dslr-cameras/1501/D5200.html. Talk about a great price. Like I said, for those who are looking to do photography just as a hobby, or want to make an Indy film on a tight budget, this camera is the perfect candidate to suite your needs. For any other information about specs feel free to check it out on the link provided above.
-Jeff Layton Over and Out

Grey Matter and SSTV

On Monday Feb 2, 2015, I received the opportunity of a life time. But before I get into that, I'm making this blog highlighting that media production filled day. At 2 pm i rejoined Stockton Student Television (SSTV) in helping film their weekly Channel 14 news program. Now this isn't your typical news station. While some reports are factual and national news, other programs on it, like Stocktainment are short skits of entertaining news. Some skits are comical while others dark and serious. The SSTV channel 14 news offers a wide variety of skits, news, improvisation, and parody. Since it was my first week back after a year and a half since my SSTV internship and this semester there are 7 interns, I was given a supervisor esc role in he control room. Here is a link to the final production of Season 5 episode 1 of SSTV's weekly news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVgJbgvyJfE

The show is filmed every Monday from around 2-4 pm in the SSTV studio in Lower E-Wing.

Now onto the fun stuff. Later that day, along with several others from SSTV, we had the awesome opportunity of working on the set of a film called Grey Matter based on the short story by Stephen King and is being produced by King HIMSELF!!. Alumni Bobby McGruther is directing and leading this film adaptation. Feb 2nd started principle photography of the film with several more dates of production in the near future. This was my first ever production and I am very grateful it was on the set of a Stephen King film. While on set my main job was the boom microphone technician. I also had a few smaller jobs like setting up lighting, equipment and prop handling, and making sure certain objects were not in plain sight of the camera like scripts or wires. All in all this was a fantastic experience and I cannot wait to join the other production dates. Everyone on the set was really great to work with, had some funny moments off camera due to the nature of some scenes (don't worry i wont put up spoilers), and gained a lot of experience. Below are some photos from the shoot. 

Ready Set Action!

My Friend Tia and I

Director Bobby McGruther peparing
the Panasonic HMC 150

Tia putting on the soft box

BOOM! 

Cast going over things with Bobby

Crew getting things ready

Tia playing with the Clapper 

Scene Rehersal

Jeff Layton Over and Out. 

Tech Blog 1

                   My first Tech Blog Assignment is on IMDB.com. IMDB stands for Internet Movie Database. This web tool allows a user to search a movie, television series, independent film, videogame, director, actor, and other crew members while also providing trivia, plots, movie mistakes, and reviews. The website also allows users to submit a résumé and post new material for an annual fee. This web tool is very useful to someone in the Film industry or film major because it allows searching virtually every production known to man. I have used this web tool on numerous occasions to search specific actors and directors and study their genres.

            The site was first introduced in 1990 by computer programmer Col Needham. In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon.com. According to Wikipedia, as of Jan 2015 IMDB lists over 3,100,000 titles and has over 6,000,000 personalities in its database. The web tool also as over 58 Million registered users and is an Alexa top 50 site. 

            Overall, this a very useful web tool even for the average user. I know many times I have found myself looking up movie titles because i could not remember what it was called but I remembered the actors who were featured. It is very easy and user friendly for first time users and is a huge benefit to the entertainment industry.