RATIONALISATION: 1 of my bad habits.

About two years ago, my partner and I strolled into a religious building which we are familiar with and we discovered the clergymen had some audio gears which we were in need of and if we had asked for any of them, chances are that we will not receive. At a corner in the audio store was lying a pair of a beautiful mini speaker purchased maybe by worship days' offerings or some form of donations but this output gear was being under utilized. With none watching, the gear was gone. What's popping in your mind? No. Yes, you dudes stole. What? You are an accuser of the brethren.

I had reasons to justify our actions even if we were seen and called to the outer court, though my partner was not sure if the act was right or wrong (by the way, he was the one who took the gear) I gave him several reasons justifying our act: 

• the first was that it was purchased from the missionary's purse (offerings, donations etc).
• the second was that the gear was under utilized and I believed the Creator of the universe would not have been happy about the condition of the gear.
• the third was based on our need.
• the fourth was that (an assumption), if we had asked, our need would not be meet.

Recently while in church for a mundane Sunday service, I heard the preacher talked about certain acts which we ought to desist from in a sermon titled the dangers of spiritual window shopping and she made several comments about standing straight with God. What struck me was her comment on restitution even though I have heard about it a million times. I gave in.

While having my brief bible study, I read  Hebrews 4 from the NKJV and verse 15 says For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all point tempted as we are, yet without sin. The High Priest was in all points tempted as we are, this caused me to put on my thinking cap and questions began popping in my mind. Was the High Priest tempted with sex? Did He ever had a girl friend in the first place or did He see nude babes? Did married women offered Him sex? Did He ever thought of living a luxurious life style like present day monarchs and missionaries? Was He in charge of the temple's treasury and in need of money for His personal up-keep and took from it without being authorized?

MICROPHONES

MICROPHONES

It has been ages since the first microphone were invented; the name microphone was coined in 1827 by Sir Charles Wheatstone and several kinds of microphones have emerged after Thomas Edison’s carbon microphone (1876) for all sorts of uses. From the fluid microphones that made unintelligible sound (until the coming of Alexander Graham Bell) to condensers for studio and laboratory recording purposes and to laser microphones invented for spying devises and nowadays, we have contact microphones which can be used to record the heart beat of snails. But for the sake of this magazine, we shall limit ourselves to a few commonly used microphones. But first, what are microphones?

Microphones are input devices that convert sound waves into an equivalent electrical energy. In a simplified way, a microphone is used to capture the sound an instrument or voice makes either for recording or for a live application. Having the appropriate set of microphones as well as other appropriate components for your job, will enable you deliver an effective and pleasant sound to the hearing of your audience.

TYPES OF MICROPHONES

DYNAMIC MICS: These categories of microphones are till date the most widely manufactured and commonly used types for sound reinforcement. If you were to fragment a dynamic microphone, you’d come across a capsule, in it lies a moving coil which is being pushed by a diaphragm. When sound hits the diaphragm it moves gently which allows for a minute electrical charge to take place along the coil. As a result of this action, an electrical pressure is sent to the console which is then being preamp to increase whatever sound is coming in to a more audible level.

RIBBON MICS: Ribbon microphones are another form of dynamic microphones but are fragile and rare nevertheless, they have had a name for a superb sound quality. They rely on step-up transformers usually built into the microphones to get the sound to a level to be heard.

CONDENSER MICS: Condenser microphones are very responsive to a wide range of sounds as a result of how they were designed. They are capable of extreme high-quality output and are more responsive to high frequencies. Condenser microphones are powered by phantom power that is, they require a power supply for the microphone either directly from the console (9v-48v) or an external battery being inserted into the microphone. It is interesting to note that the entire range of orchestral instruments would utilize the condenser microphone as well as the guitar during recording and live applications.

A lapel microphone is a variation of a condenser microphone which is usually clipped onto a person’s shirt with a cable that leads to its transmitter.

The Shotgun microphone is another condenser microphone variation which is mainly used for broadcast and film. These extended and thin microphones are capable of picking sound frequencies over a fair distance which makes them vital when trying to segregate one sound from another.

POLAR/ PICKUP PATTERNS

All microphones can be manufactured to have a unique pickup pattern that fits whatever purpose for which that microphone was made. Some microphones could pick all frequencies available in a room whereas others could only respond to sources directly in front of them. Having said these, we will move on to discuss the various polar patterns.

TYPES OF POLAR PATTERNS

Cardioid microphones are directional with a heart shaped polar pattern. What this means is that they pickup sound mainly from the front and are least sensitive to sound from the back. The good thing about the cardioids microphones is that they can be positioned to mic or record a particular voice or instrument while ignoring any unwanted sound.

Bi-directional microphones have the shape of figure of 8, such microphones pickup from the front and rear and have null points on both sides. They can be used to mic two vocalists facing each other.

Omni-directional microphones pick up sound from all angles, virtually giving a 360 degree coverage. They are good for picking up the tone and reverb of rooms and tend to sound very natural when positioned close to instruments.

BASIC RULES WHEN DEALING WITH MICROPHONES

During sessions of recording, the engineer always aim to get the overall sound of the voice or instrument he/she wants to record, for this reason, the engineer needs to position the microphone away from its source. Except, the engineer needs to get a localised or a particular sound from the source that he/she will have to position the microphone extremely close to the sound source. For example, if I want to get a bass sound from a vocalist, I’d rather place the microphone to the point that the vocalist’s lips will have to touch the microphone basket.

Another important rule while recording which should be in mind is the 3:1 rule. This rule comes into play when using 2 microphones to get different sounds from the sources. The rule simply states that if microphones were 1m away from the source, the microphones should be 3m away from each other in other for each microphone not to overlap the other.

BEFORE PURCHASING A MICROPHONE

There are several factors which one has to look out for before making a purchase, before purchasing, you should consider the purpose which the microphone is out to serve. Is it for worship, studio recording/mixing, broadcasting, etc? One could ask for technical support if one is new in the subject. Then ask yourself how many microphones are needed for this purpose. Quality/output is another factor which should not be taken for granted, this is because we have to think of our long-term investments. Price/cost is another factor. Compare prices from different manufacturers.

I hope you do find the right bargain for your microphones.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: CONCEPT & BENEFITS

Public relations is one vital aspect of the communication mix which business owners still fail to optimize its usage. What then annoys its practitioners is when they are being seen as ad people.

What is PR?

PR as a concept, allows favourable ties, contacts, dealings and relations for organisations, products/services, places, institutions, events, persons etc with its stakeholder groups through diverse media. It also can be seen as developing a brand identity for an entity with its stakeholders (employees, suppliers, resellers, end-users, shareholders, financial agencies, journalists as well as government officials) Ismael D. Tabije sees PR as the art and science of managing communications between an organisation and its key publics to build, manage and sustain its positive image. Put in another way, PR deals with image enhancement and reputation management.

WHY YOU SHOULD ENGAGE PR IN YOUR ACTIVITY

PR has evolved over time, that is to say that conventional methods of gaining publics' attention through print and broadcast media can no longer be sustained in this flat world which we presently find ourselves. Practitioners and proactive business persons now use social media, bulk sms as well as viral marketing to support their PR tactics. PR now entails managing conflict/crises that impend the image or reputation of an entity in focus. It has incorporated corporate social responsibility (CSR) in building goodwill among an organisation's external stakeholders. PR intimately monitors and samples public opinion as far as an organisation, product/service is concerned. PR creates awareness and favourable stories by the use of third-party endorsement for products and organisations. Unlike the cost of advertising, PR is relatively cheap.

Even though PR, ad, and other forms of communication in the marketing mix are employed to reach a targeted audience, PR and these forms of communication are not one and the same thing. One strong argument to this end is because PR capitalizes on the influence of third-party. As a result, PR as a form communication can be and it's been used to brand or re-brand an entity if the need arises. Thus, once this is done, customers/public turnout increases as well as the ROI.

Unplanned Vacation turned Greed for Self Re-invention.

While expecting the news from my supervisor on when the office will be opened for work this year, I rather heard him on the phone say he would be travelling for four weeks and I should take this as a vacation for myself. Though I'd barely worked with the company for a month. This is four weeks to be precise.

Within these four weeks, I have come across several online materials to assist me on my job, not just because I do PR, but these will evidently help me as an individual who wants to succeed in all I do. Within this period of my vacation (which I didn't bargain for), I have been following successful biz gurus on twitter and I have subscribed to several online platforms. Really, my learning consumption is increasing by the day and as part of what I have achieved, is an online test Certificate of Completion on Managing Supplier Performance (an online purchasing course I took).

I have read Stephen M.R.Covey's The Speed of Trust once before and I am reading it for the second time. This is because there are loads of things to be learnt from the text at the same time, I am reading Ashley Wirthlin's Public Relations Book: A Guide to Public Relations Best Practices, Social Media, and PR Careers. I have downloaded E-books on how to write news releases and how to utilize social media. I read not because I want to impress myself but because I have to demonstrate what I have learnt and what I will learn as I progress in time. I spent my four academic years learning how to read, write, and be analytic. The authentic reading and writing starts now for the self re-invention. This is because self re-invention is what will make me remain indispensable in today's flat world.

Harbay Ct

Hanging out with my friends Harbay Ct

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Home turned Cinema

Hmn,
the entire sitting room used to be off white but the colour on the walls changed since the plan to move out of the apartment changed.
The three out of the four walls now carry a tony-red paint while one part still carries a touched off white. Weird you might think right?  This is courtesy of Olayinka in expectation of a 32" tv and a 5:1 surround sound home theatre system hung on the walls as well as an interactive AV system which tends to be wireless.
But we can rug the walls in the sitting room even though it is newly painted, can't we? This is another weird thought. Do not crucify us yet. Well, we think we are smart and creative. Rugging the walls will make our sitting room acoustics befitting while the painting makes it look dark and cool.

Better than yesterday

My blog has a few final touch to make it dazzling. Really, it will be a fun site to for you to be part of. To follow Abiodun Olaniyi, click on the company tab.

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