CAT220 — Interactive Multimedia

Two Audio Players for WordPress

2011-09-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

To see these working on my chess blog, go here.

First Player:

Obviously this is a very simple player! But it works and though it may not be obvious, you can drag to raise and lower the volume and you can scrub back and forth within the song.

1) Save your audio as an mp3 file, which you can do in a variety of programs.

2) You will need to upload the file to a server on the web so you'll have a URL to point to. I use FileDen, which has a lot of annoying ads but is free. Just go to FileDen.com, sign up, and then upload.

3) Once the file is uploaded, you will see its URL at the bottom of the window, as in this image:

4) Copy the URL to the clipboard.

5) In WordPress, in your "New Post" window, go into html mode.

6) Enter the following code but substitute your URL for mine, although of course you could test it with mine. Yes, it's just the word audio followed by the URL, with the whole thing inside of brackets. Simple enough!

[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/3/31/2386669//Musicals - A Chorus Line - Sing.mp3]

7) Publish and play.
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Second Player (SoundCloud)

1) Go to soundcloud.com and join (for free).

2) Record, upload or search for music.

3) When you have your track, click on SHARE then WORDPRESS then copy the EMBED short code

4) In WordPress new post window, go into html mode, then paste in the code.

5) Publish and play.
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For more info: http://en.support.wordpress.com/audio/

Using SnapZ Pro X

2011-09-22T13:58:00.001-07:00

Snapz Pro X 2.1 Manual.pdf (2.988 Mb)

You can capture any video (and audio) that appears on your screen, even from a copyrighted DVD or from Flash or QuickTime video that is set not to be savable. However, you can usually only do a few minutes at a time.

Snapz Pro X works in the background and is accessed with the following key combination: Command-Shift-7. Here's what you do:

1. Have your video ready to go from the spot where you want to start capturing.

2. If you are using DVD-Player, set the View to Actual Size, not full screen.

3. Activate Snapz Pro X with the key combination Command-Shift-7.

4. Click on "Movie" (but note that you can also use this to grab a still from a DVD) and check the destination. (Let's leave it on Desktop, okay?)

5. Use the hand tool and the familiar eight handles to drag a marquee over the video window.

6. Hit the Return key.

7. Name your file and click Save.

8. "Action!" This means it's recording, so yo have to hit the play button on your video right away.. But don't worry, if you record some non-action, you can always delete it later in QuickTime.

9. When you're done recording, hit Command-Shift-7 again.

10. Save the video and audio track. It will render out a file that you can convert to whatever format you need. A copy of the manual is attached as an external file.

Putting Audio on your Blog

2010-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

You first have to upload your audio file to a file sharing service, then link to its url on your blog post. Here are the steps.

1. Save your file in either .aif or .wav format
2. Join FileDen by going to their web site FileDen.com and registering. It's free but — warning!! — you will have to wade through a lot of ads. Just keep clicking on Skip This Ad.
3. At the top of the FileDen web page, click on Upload.
4. At the bottom of the Upload page, click on Browse Files and select your file.
5. No it hasn't started uploading yet. At the bottom of the same page, click on Start Upload. You should see a progress bar.
6. When it is finished uploading, you will see its URL. Copy this information.
7. Open the New Post window for your blog.
8. Go into Edit HTML view and paste in the following code:
<embed src="URL_OF_YOUR_AUDIO_FILE" autostart="false" loop="false" controls="console" height="62" width="144"></embed>
9. Highlight "URL_OF_YOUR_AUDIO_FILE" and paste in the actual URL from step 6.
10. Publish the post, view the blog. You can of course add other text, images, etc. to this same post.

Here's an example:

RSS in Plain English

2010-08-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Podcasting in Plain English

2010-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Blogs in Plain English

2010-08-27T07:38:00.000-07:00