Star Wipes

with Tyler Walsh

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• Cranking iPhone video up a notch

  02/24/2012 3:28 PM

  In my neverending quest to make the iPhone a legitimate tool in our newsgathering arsenal, I may have found a device that finally resolves all audio concerns.

  For anyone wh uses the iPhone for video, you'll know that the audio quality leaves something to be desired. For professional video newsgathering, you've got nothing without good audi

  Enter the Fostex AR-4i,  a lightweight battery powered device with all the bells and whistles to take audio to the next level.

  After picking up the unit several months ago, I finally got an opportunity to test it out...and WOW.

  It's got three input options with volume controller and a headphone jack with volume control.

  I took it into the Jets dressing room recently and got in on some player scrums.

  Using my wireless handheld microphone for the Andrew Ladd scrum, I was able to capture broadcast quality sound through the third input and secondary (backup) audio off one of the top mics.

   

  On the Blake Wheeler scrum, I used both of the top mics (which came with the unit) and ditched the wireless. I had to boost the levels a bit which led to more background noise, but it was still more than usable.

   

  The grand finale was the Claude Noel interview. He stands behind a podium and all broadcast media plug into a sound board which, up until now, was impossible with an iPhone. Not today.

   

  The Fostex comes with a separate app which allows you to set inputs to mono or stereo and a few other options. Good times.

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• Now THAT is a handshake

  01/24/2012 3:09 PM

  We all know sports stars are famous for their game rituals and the Winnipeg Jets are no different. We got a peek at the not-so-secret secret handshake some of the players participate in before every game.

  But if you thought some of the players' handshakes were interesting, check out the ridiculously elaborate moves of the Jets' training staff as captured by photographer Mike Deal.

  Oh, and it's a chin bump, not a kiss. I watched it in slow motion.

  video player to use on WFP

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• Top Videos 2011 - From Lake Manitoba to Lady Maria

  01/2/2012 12:12 PM

  

  Five big stories dominated our video hits this year: The new airport terminal, Maria Aragon, the Jets return, the spring flood and the new Bombers stadium.

  These videos allowed viewers to go inside the stories, literally in cases like the tour of the airport terminal or the new football stadium under construction. They allowed us to put a face, and more importantly a voice to Maria Aragon. We covered the spring flood in ways we never have before, through live video in the field or by attaching a GoPro video camera to the bottom of a plane for a never-before-seen perspective.

  Here's a list of our top viewed videos of 2011 and watch them all in the video player below.

  1. New airport ready for takeoff - October 25
  2. Aerial tour: Red River Valley flood zone - April 21
  3. Maria Aragon talks to Lady Gaga - February 18
  4. Maria Aragon performs "Just The Way You Are" at Hot 103 - February 17
  5. Mark Chipman on new Jets logo - July 22
  6. Welcome to Winnipeg: First passengers react to new airport terminal - October 30
  7. Maria Aragon appears on Ellen - February 22
  8. Flood fight - April 8
  9. Bomber stadium taking shape: An inside look - August 12
  10. MTS Centre crowd erupts after 'Jets' name announced - June 24
   

   

   

  I've shortlisted my personal favourite videos from 2011, in no particular order.

  Tour of destruction at Twin Lakes Beach - I've spent a lot of time at Twin Lakes Beach over the years and to see first hand the massive amount of damage caused by high water levels on Lake Manitoba was an incredible sight.
  Hot water vs. cold air - A fantastic original video produced by Creative Communications intern Kristel Mason. She put into practice the theory of tossing cold water into bitterly cold air and having it instantly turn to mist.
  Aerial tour of Red River Valley flood zone and Hey Dave Babych, can you tie my skates? - I've lumped them together for no other reason than they both make fantastic use of my beloved GoPro cam.

  These four videos can be seen below:

   

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• Winnipeg's 89-year-old comedian

  11/14/2011 3:20 PM

  The Winnipeg's Gone Wacky competition is on again this year and voters have picked the 10 finalists who will compete for the title of Winnipeg's Wackiest Amateur Comedian 2011, in front of a live audience at Essence Nightclub on November 24.

  Among those ten is the kindest, sweetest and perhaps funniest 89-year-old you will ever meet.

  We live-streamed an open call for contestants at the News Café back in September and right away I noticed Jean Morrison sitting near the front of the room. I wondered if she was just a spectator, coming out to support a grandchild perhaps.

  But when host Big Daddy Tazz called her name and she slowly made her way to the stage, most people in the room held their breath, wondering just what this woman was doing.

  Then she began her routine. It was a home run from the start. The audience, mostly made up of other contestants, gave her a standing ovation at the end of her performance.

  There is something so genuinely likeable about this woman. Her only reason for getting up on stage, she claims, is that she'd never done stand-up comedy before and wanted to get it off her bucket list before she's gone.

  Jean will be performing at the finals on November 24.

  Check out a replay of the routine that got her into the finals -- see it below, or watch it in a new window here.

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