Eighteen weeks in. Podcast 88 is here.
Four Selahs this week, drawn from three morning streams. By the time this posts, we should be home from our family trip, unpacking slowly and recovering from a very full couple of weeks.
In This Episode
Four spontaneous pieces from June 1 through June 3. The timestamps will match the YouTube chapters, and each link goes back to the full morning the piece came from:
Home Again
If everything went according to plan, we made it home yesterday. After living out of suitcases and covering a lot of miles, this weekend is mostly about resting, unpacking, and settling back into normal life. This is the extra episode I worked to finish before we left so the weekly rhythm could continue while we were away.
I expect the trip will show up here again once I have had time to sort through it. There are stories to tell and probably a few pictures worth sharing. I will include some of those details in a podcast a couple of weeks from now.
Still Wrestling with Piano VFX
I tried quite a few things while producing this episode to improve Piano VFX. One known MIDI timing problem has been addressed, but a longer render still develops enough drift that the falling notes do not stay locked to the real keys all the way through the performance.
For now, the reliable answer is manual. I split the VFX layer by song in Final Cut Pro and use its Retime controls to bring each section back into alignment. It works, but it adds another two or three hours to production. I am still deciding whether that weekly cost is worth it. I do like the finished look, especially now that the camera is directly over the keyboard.
I also used my agent to help create a new set of effects for this episode. They feel more natural around the notes and piano than the flame effects used in the previous two podcasts. That part was fun, and it is one reason I keep working on the visual side even when the timing problem makes me wonder whether I should stop.
A Disklavier Fix That Worked
There was another improvement this week that will be less obvious on screen. After listening tests on the Disklavier, I refined the MIDI workflow so it changes release velocity only for tight repeated notes while the sustain pedal is down. The rest of the performance stays untouched. It is a small adjustment, but the repeated notes respond more cleanly and the original playing still sounds like me.
This Week’s TCC Worship Short
To close, here is At The Altar Pt4 from the June 7 TCC Sunday service. Take a minute and let the worship draw you back toward His presence.
If the embed isn’t loading for you, the direct link is youtube.com/shorts/cPmdTpngo14.
Thank you for listening, and thank you for praying.
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