Matt Radel writes:

Hey guys, kudos on the new [Highrise] intro videos you just unveiled. Very well done. I’m going to be working on some for the new app my company just finished, and I was curious if you could drop any wisdom. I’ve got Snapz Pro and Final Cut Studio 2 at my disposal, but I’m really not sure where to start. Did you guys follow a tight process, or just kinda wing it? Any info you could give a would be screencaster would be swell.

Thanks Matt. Here’s the process I used to create these screencasts:

1. Write the script.
2. Record the voiceover in Logic Express and export as MP3. Logic Express is helpful for moving tracks around, evening out volume levels, compressing tracks, adding background music, etc. Leaving extra space at the beginning helps ensure you’re ready to shoot when the audio begins.
3. Create a fake account flush with data so the video shows how an account looks when it’s active (but without revealing anyone’s confidential data).
3. Shoot the video while listening to the voiceover track. I use Snapz Pro, shooting at 15 fps, for this. (This step can require some adjustments in spacing on the audio track to make sure things sync up properly.)
4. Combine audio and video in Quicktime Pro. Export as .avi file.
5. Import the .avi file into Camtasia for final editing, adding zooms and pans, exporting to Flash, etc.

Running through this process in small chunks this way means you can solicit feedback from others along the way and retrace your steps relatively easily. (I imagine it’d be awfully frustrating to spend forever nailing a perfect combined audio/video take only to find out that the script needs to be changed or some other tiny thing in the video is off.)

Three random cooking/food tips:

Make your own soda
I avoid corn syrup. It scares me. That means Coke and the like are off the table. Instead I roll my own juice sodas (e.g. Apricot, Peach, etc.)

It’s a technique I picked up from my dad. It’s a simple combo of club soda and fruit juice nectar, which has a higher fruit content than typical juice. (Fyi, nektar is Latin Greek for “drink of the gods.”)

It’s simple: Put some ice in a glass. Fill it about 1/3 full with fruit nectar. I’m a big fan of Bionaturae organic nectars which I get from Fresh Direct. Top it off with club soda (I buy it by the case so there’s always some on hand).

Now you’ve got yourself one delicious, healthy, and cheap beverage. Call it the “soda of the gods.”

Always order the D-Roll
If a restaurant has an item that contains the name of the restaurant in it, order that.

For example, there’s a sushi place near me called Sushi D. It has a huge menu and the first time I went there, I wasn’t sure what to order. Then I saw the D-Roll on the menu. I thought: If they’re willing to name it after the restaurant, it must be good. And it was awesome. Last week at a place called Cafe Fresca, I ordered the Pizza Fresca. Also delicious.

If a restaurant puts its name on a dish, it’s probably a good sign that they’re proud of it. Reminds me of a piece of advice Edward Tufte gives: People should put their name on things — it shows your audience that you care about the content and take responsibility for it.

If that’s not an option, another ordering technique I like: Pick two items on the menu that sound appetizing and let the server decide between those options. They know what’s best on the menu (and, perhaps more importantly, what’s definitely not a good idea).

Or just go all in and order Omakase-style (i.e. the customer lets the chef prepare whatever the chef wants).

Sometimes people use important-sounding words to seem more impressive. Sometimes they use complex sentence structures too. Check out this opening line from an email we received:

[Redacted] creates the conditions for experimentation and quantitative understanding of the impact of novel management practices in large companies.

The sentence is structured like this: “We create _____ for _____ and _____ of _____ of _____ in _____.” It’s tough to have anything make sense within that structure.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the email goes on to mention terms like strategic planning, competitive intelligence, thought partners, management behavior, orthodoxies, and change management.

Then it ends with, “Let me know your thoughts.” Er, I think I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.

I watched Edward Tufte’s “Interface design and the iPhone” video and something about his voice sounded really familiar. Then it hit me: Compare it to Gene Simmons’ voice (his audio from that infamous interview he did with Terry Gross on NPR). They even strike a similar pose when, um, presenting information.

“You have to be willing to do things that the masses wouldn’t do, or I don’t think you will be able to separate yourself from the masses.”

That’s the reason Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti gave for his decision to hire new coach John Harbaugh over more experienced candidates. Bisciotti ran a successful staffing company before taking over the team and talked about why he likes to take chances and go with his gut when hiring.

When he fired Billick on Dec. 31, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said the decision was the result of a “gut feeling.” Choosing Harbaugh was no different.

Before becoming owner of the Ravens, Bisciotti took pride in hiring young, untested people for Aerotek, a highly successful staffing company in the aerospace and technology sectors. He used that method in choosing Harbaugh over an experienced head coach like Marty Schottenheimer.

“Do I like a guy that has to earn his resume? Yeah. I kind of made a living on hiring people with thin resumes and it’s worked out pretty well for me in the last 25 years,” Bisciotti said. “I think that works to John’s advantage. I said three weeks ago you have to take chances to be successful. You have to be willing to do things that the masses wouldn’t do, or I don’t think you will be able to separate yourself from the masses.

“Is it a little bit more of a perceived chance? Yeah, but the time we spent with John Harbaugh gave me a comfort level that we hired the right guy,” the owner said. “You go with your instincts, and I have pretty good instincts. ... I like the fact that John gets to build his legend right here.”

I always wonder why you see the same unsuccessful head coaches getting plum new jobs all the time. Bisciotti’s approach is refreshing…and offers a worthwhile perspective for hiring outside of football too.

OpenTable
Tony writes:

I was searching around OpenTable and stumbled across their page for prospective restaurateurs. They provide a quick summary and demo of what open table is and how it can benefit your restaurant. I thought this screen/graphic on their pricing page was a great way to communicate the value of their product without naming a price up front.

St. Louis Cardinals seating
Matt Galligan writes:

I was looking at getting my dad St. Louis Cardinal’s tickets for Christmas and happened upon their Seating Chart. It’s really cool, you pick where you are wanting to potentially sit, then click on the actual seat and it shows you a picture of what it will look like from that seat!

Apple survey
Brandon Kelly writes:

I was just at Apple’s support site, and a couple pages in I was invited to take a survey. I clicked ‘Yes’, but rather than being redirected or getting a big pop-up covering the active browser window, the type simply changed to what you see here (“The survey is available under your current browser window. Please wait until after you have completed your visit to take the survey.”). Talk about nonintrusive.

Have an interesting link, story, or screenshot for Signal vs. Noise? Contact svn [at] 37signals [dot] com.

American Idol’s back. That means it’s melisma season again. Melisma is when singers like Mariah Carey (and her wannabes) take one syllable and stretch it out into a run of many notes.

Here’s what Anthony Heilbut, music producer and author of “The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times,” says about the way melisma is used in pop music these days:

Often, there isn’t any musical justification of what they are doing. [Their runs] interfere with the flow of the melody, of the lyric, of the harmonies, sometimes of the rhythm itself. It’s frequently a very vulgar and ugly display. [That’s] the style of American Idol singers, most of whom are amateurs.

Sounds a lot like writers who think that big words will make up for a lack of ideas (or designers who think fancy images are an adequate substitute for meaningful content).

What’s the right way to get a song across? Check out this video of a master class [via MF] conducted by Broadway legend Barbara Cook (her bio).

It’s fascinating for a few reasons. For one thing, the amount of growth she gets from students in just a few minutes is really amazing. (It’s about 20 minutes per student, just watch the first girl if you only want a taste.)

There’s also insight here for writers, presenters, or anyone else who has to communicate with an audience. Some pointers from the class:

1. Communicate directly, be human, and make a real connection with your audience.
2. Merely regurgitating your training is boring and lifeless.
3. Truly be yourself — if you do that, there is no competition.
4. Speak plainly, say it the way you would say it “at the poker table.”
5. Know when to be “faithful to the page” and when to forge your own path.

My favorite part of the Cook video: Around 44:30 in, she whispers in the ear of a student what Irving Berlin really means when he uses the word “kissing” in the lyrics to “What’ll I Do.”

Put Buyers First? What a Concept describes the way Amazon bailed out a reporter after he realized his son’s PlayStation gift had been stolen after being signed for.

The Amazon customer service guy didn’t blink. After assuring himself that I had never actually touched or seen the PlayStation, he had a replacement on the way before the day was out. It arrived on Christmas Eve. Amazon didn’t even charge me for the shipping. My son was very happy. So, of course, was I.

The article goes on to discuss how taking care of customers can be the best way to build a lasting business, even if it comes at the expense of short-term results.

But I couldn’t help wondering if maybe there wasn’t something else at play here, something Wall Street never seems to take very seriously. Maybe, just maybe, taking care of customers is something worth doing when you are trying to create a lasting company. Maybe, in fact, it’s the best way to build a real business — even if it comes at the expense of short-term results.

It is almost impossible to read or see an interview with Mr. Bezos in which he doesn’t, at some point, begin to wax on about what he likes to call “the customer experience.” Just a few months ago, for instance, he appeared on Charlie Rose’s talk show to tout Amazon’s new e-book device, the Kindle. Toward the end of the program, Mr. Rose asked the chief executive an open-ended question about how he spent his time, and Mr. Bezos responded with a soliloquy about his “obsession” with customers.

“They care about having the lowest prices, having vast selection, so they have choice, and getting the products to customers fast,” he said. “And the reason I’m so obsessed with these drivers of the customer experience is that I believe that the success we have had over the past 12 years has been driven exclusively by that customer experience. We are not great advertisers. So we start with customers, figure out what they want, and figure out how to get it to them.”

Anybody who has spent any time around Mr. Bezos knows that this is not just some line he throws out for public consumption. It has been the guiding principle behind Amazon since it began. “Jeff has been focused on the customer since Day 1,” said Suresh Kotha, a management professor at the University of Washington business school who has written several case studies about Amazon. Mr. Miller noted that Amazon has really had only one stated goal since it began: to be the most customer-centric company in the world.

Explaining Highrise can be a challenge since it’s a contact manager, address book, simple CRM, and task manager all rolled together. You really need to see it in action to get it. To that end, we’ve been busy cranking out some videos that show the power and ease of use of Highrise. Check ‘em out:

Highrise introduction video
The HighriseHQ.com home page now features a 1-minute introduction video (upper right of screen). It’s a quick, “aha” clip showing how to use the product. (It also features some nifty zooming and panning courtesy of Camtasia.)

Click to go to HighriseHQ.com and watch intro video.

Highrise Tasks video
We also posted a brief video tour of Highrise Tasks. This video, which is linked from the Tasks blank slate page, focuses on how you can use tasks to get things done.

Click to watch Tasks video.

Highrise Cases video
Lastly, we’ve also added a tour of Highrise Cases. Cases help you keep related notes, files, images, and people together on one screen. This video also doubles as a blank-slate introduction.

Click to watch Cases video.

More videos coming soon. Stay tuned.

Save $10 when you sign up for Highrise

If you haven’t signed up for Highrise yet, here’s an extra incentive: Pick a pay plan and enter HRSVN in the coupon code field on checkout and you’ll save $10 on your first month.

It’s been neat to see these guys popping in to leave their .02:

SvN: Music producer Steve Albini explains his studio and the record business. Then: Steve Albini comments and explains why he dislikes contracts...

I sometimes hear the criticism that bands can mitigate these effects through negotiation (I’ve read such criticism in comments here), but this ignores another point of the article, that the result of negotiation is a contract, and contracts provide no protection for the weaker/poorer party signatory to it.

Contractual protections are only enforceable by the application of money, lawyers, courts and time, and record companies have such an advantage in all these areas that they may simply ignore their obligations to bands, while stringently enforcing the bands’ obligations. Such a contract is essentially worthless to the band that signs it, but remains an important coercive tool for the record company. I’m sure you can see parallels in the software and web worlds, but the disparity was most obvious to me when watching my peers navigate the music scene.

So that’s it. A contract is meaningless unless you have the wherewithal to enforce it, and can endure the time (sometimes years) it takes a dispute to wind its way through the courts (during which time you will be earning nothing).

For this reason I don’t use contracts in any professional dealings, and I am convinced this is the best way to maintain transparent and amicable relationships.

SvN: Lessons from Etsy on building community. Then: Etsy founder Robert Kalin comments on the post...

Thanks for the mention. When designing Etsy, 37signals was one of the sites I looked at for UI guidance.

Shows you how much these guys are “on the case” and want to be in on the conversation.

Now, does this mean Steve Jobs is gonna chime in on our next Apple-related post?