I recently went out and bought a Paper Jamz guitar at target because it seemed pretty interesting and geeky. There are a couple of different styles of the guitars and they also have drums, and an amplifier. I went ahead and went with the fourth style which looks like this 
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Each different guitar style comes with three different songs built into it. I only wanted this style because it comes with one of my favorite songs “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones. The guitar comes with three different types of modes which are
- Perfect Play – This mode allows you to play with a song and when you strum it matches the beat.
- Rhythm – This allows you basically do the same as Perfect Play but you have to match the chords and slow / speed up the song.
- Freestyle – Allows you to play the guitar like it’s a real one. You can use different chords and create original songs.
When I got this, the first thing I realized is its made out of plastic and not paper and it is thin. The freestyle mode took me a while to understand because when I kept strumming, it would play the same chord and I didn’t know you had to press the white dots on the neck. But once I figured it out, it became pretty fun. The thing that I like the most about the guitar is strumming a long to the exact chords to the songs built in. I don’t exactly like freestyle yet but it’s still pretty cool trying to figure out what cord is what. Once and if I manage to learn the chords from the chord guide I might like it better and could make songs. I even have fun just by changing the volume from high to low by strumming down the neck!
The drums I don’t really like but that’s only because the drums aren’t physical like the guitars. It’s just a piece of cardboard or plastic with drums drawn on it flat. Overall, I have a pretty fun time with Paper Jamz even though it’s recommended for ages 8+. The video above is a more detailed review from demonstrating how the guitar works, and so forth.
Thanks for reading,
Racoon
In this blog post, I will explain the steps required to produce a Picture in Picture effect using Sony Vegas Platinum 10.0. The steps probably will work for other versions that has Track Motion. Now, what a Picture in Picture effect allows you to do is for example, watermark your video. Another way you can use this is if you are recording your screen and using your webcam you can show both at the same time. The first step is to open up your Sony Vegas video editor. Once you have it open create a new project. I prefer the HDV setting which is 1280×720.
Then, add the main clip you want to use and make sure it’s in the “Video” area. Once you have added that your going to have to add the image / video that you want to use as an overlay. When you have your PiP image, double check that it’s on the “Video Overlay” Track. You should see it overlapping over your first clip. Then, go to track motion on the video overlay clip and position it wherever you want and resize it. You can resize it by dragging down from the top corner and if you see a circle then it’s working. That’s how you do a Picture-in-Picture effect using Sony Vegas. You can also watch the video embedded to this post for more reference.
Thanks for reading,
Racoon
