Nov 14, 2024
Episode 22
The latest episode of Creating Fashion with Laurel is now online. Since it posted on Monday, it's quickly become our most-viewed episode. It's also receiving a lot of kind comments.
Whenever the number of views on a video spikes like this, I figure someone must have embedded it on a high traffic site.
I'd switch that thumbnail image (YouTube picked it automatically) with something design-y, but I don't want to jinx anything until the number of views levels off. Who knows, maybe the big X in the corner is helping.
Oct 27, 2024
1K on YouTube
The Laurel Hoffmann YouTube channel reached a thousand subscribers this week. It's been four years since we started posting episodes of Creating Fashion with Laurel. Thank you to everyone who is watching. I know from the comments that Laurel has a lot of great fans.
I'm currently editing the next two episodes, which were shot on the same day. Episode 22 will have its YouTube premiere around the start of November.
In this one Laurel talks about all the problems she finds in store-bought home sewing patterns. She has tried talking directly to the companies that produce them, but they don't respond to her. So now she's going to share her findings on the show.
I'm currently editing the next two episodes, which were shot on the same day. Episode 22 will have its YouTube premiere around the start of November.
In this one Laurel talks about all the problems she finds in store-bought home sewing patterns. She has tried talking directly to the companies that produce them, but they don't respond to her. So now she's going to share her findings on the show.
Sep 28, 2024
New paintings
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| sold |
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| sold |
These are all from the past few months (click images to enlarge). They're my usual painting medium and size, gouache and charcoal, 18x24". All of my paintings are completed during evening figure drawing sessions. I attend a couple of different groups.
Sep 13, 2024
Hiking pics
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| Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn |
Jul 16, 2024
AC vs. AI
I've been working on a video for the Household of Faith Deliverance Worship Center. It will star members of the church talking about its history and will be shown at their anniversary celebration at the end of the year.
The video shoot was held at the church last month, on June 22, a 98° day. When we started, there was an air conditioner rumbling away at the back of the room. I recorded the first segments hoping the AC was far enough away that the microphones wouldn't pick it up .
Then I thought better of it and turned it off. It was hot in there, but the participants were eager to make this a great video. There was a lot of sweating, but no complaints. I made sure the AC was back on whenever we weren't shooting.
Afterwards, I found that the audio without the AC sounds great, but that first part, with the AC running, soundslike this:
I did some research into removing air conditioner noise from audio tracks and discovered what I needed was an AI function called Voice Isolation; AI analyzes an audio track, removing everything it doesn't identify as a human voice. Unfortunately, Adobe Premiere (what I use) doesn't haveit yet .
There are several audio editing programs available that include it. I asked the Route22 group about it at our last meeting and was told that editing suite DaVinci Resolve has it, but only in the Studio version, not the free version.
Having used the free version, I know DaVinci is great for improving audio and color. So I bought DaVinci Studio, installed it, and pressed the Voice Isolation button.
The result is amazing. The AC is 100% gone, leaving the voices unmarred. I added some reverb to match it to the segments with the AC turned off and now I can't tell the difference.
AI saved this project from a muffled fate. The noise reduction functions I'd normally use aren't nearly as effective as flat out separating one sound from another.
I know Peter Jackson used AI to enhance audio for The Beatles: Get Back, but didn't realize until now that the software became widely available last year. Until the terminators show up, you won't hear me complainingabout AI .
Then I thought better of it and turned it off. It was hot in there, but the participants were eager to make this a great video. There was a lot of sweating, but no complaints. I made sure the AC was back on whenever we weren't shooting.
Afterwards, I found that the audio without the AC sounds great, but that first part, with the AC running, sounds
I did some research into removing air conditioner noise from audio tracks and discovered what I needed was an AI function called Voice Isolation; AI analyzes an audio track, removing everything it doesn't identify as a human voice. Unfortunately, Adobe Premiere (what I use) doesn't have
There are several audio editing programs available that include it. I asked the Route22 group about it at our last meeting and was told that editing suite DaVinci Resolve has it, but only in the Studio version, not the free version.
Having used the free version, I know DaVinci is great for improving audio and color. So I bought DaVinci Studio, installed it, and pressed the Voice Isolation button.
The result is amazing. The AC is 100% gone, leaving the voices unmarred. I added some reverb to match it to the segments with the AC turned off and now I can't tell the difference.
AI saved this project from a muffled fate. The noise reduction functions I'd normally use aren't nearly as effective as flat out separating one sound from another.
I know Peter Jackson used AI to enhance audio for The Beatles: Get Back, but didn't realize until now that the software became widely available last year. Until the terminators show up, you won't hear me complaining
Jun 15, 2024
The drawing board
I've been pondering my next submission to film festivals. I've started painting again, which leads me to wonder where I left off the last time I was animating.
A quick search though old posts uncovered these embedded videos of animated works-in-progress that I put on hold years ago. Watching them requires pressing the play button twice. I don'tknow why.
Just before the pandemic, I took a video editing course at PhillyCAM that sent my interests in another direction. Looking at these now, I realize I've leaned quite a bit in the past few years (particularly with AfterEffects) that could be applied to my animation.
Maybe I'll kick these projects around or create something new. I take it as a good sign that the telekinetic chef still makes me laugh. I'd also like to return to learning Blender (the 3D animation program) as well. That's another pursuit that fell by the wayside that I'd like to pick up again.
A quick search though old posts uncovered these embedded videos of animated works-in-progress that I put on hold years ago. Watching them requires pressing the play button twice. I don't
The Telekinetic Chef
Fatal Error
Fatal Error (storyboard)
The Park (rotoscoping experiment)
Just before the pandemic, I took a video editing course at PhillyCAM that sent my interests in another direction. Looking at these now, I realize I've leaned quite a bit in the past few years (particularly with AfterEffects) that could be applied to my animation.
Maybe I'll kick these projects around or create something new. I take it as a good sign that the telekinetic chef still makes me laugh. I'd also like to return to learning Blender (the 3D animation program) as well. That's another pursuit that fell by the wayside that I'd like to pick up again.
May 31, 2024
Episode list (1–21)
Creating Fashion with Laurel so far:
2020
*These are my personal favorites.
Missing links: We've removed the videos with mask-making in them from YouTube. They were looking a little dated. But Episode 1 is still on our PhillyCAM page, right over here.
2020
- Fabric Masks
- Scarves and Hand-sewn Masks
- The Invisible Zipper
- Right-lapped Fly Zipper
- Correcting Home Sewing Patterns
- Correcting Sleeve Cap Notches
- Correcting Collar Patterns
- Sewing a Convertible Collar
- Inserting Bust Darting
- PhillyCAM Anniversary Block Party
- Preparing to Fabric Shop
- Shopping for Fabric in Philadelphia*
- Sewing Machine Tips
(AKA: Laurel discusses sewing machines with a specialist) - More Sewing Machine Tips (Part 1 and Part 2)
- Sewing Darts and Edging with Bias Binding
- Seven Lessons and a Story: Sewing on Guage, Fabric Jams in the Race, Sewing Machine Manuals, Why Knots & Sewing Hooks, Sewing on Men's Buttons, Sewing on Women's Buttons, For the Quilters, and Aunt Hetty's Golden Thimble* (bonus shorts: Pattern Paper and Drafting Tools and Tips)
- Tight Cutting
- Interviewed by Maureen Edwards for 8 Simple Steps
*These are my personal favorites.
Missing links: We've removed the videos with mask-making in them from YouTube. They were looking a little dated. But Episode 1 is still on our PhillyCAM page, right over here.
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