stuff tagged with "c tolle run"
Recording Podcasts on the Run
In 2017, the C Tolle Run team decided to switch over to an audio-only podcast format. Instead of doing a traditional interview-style show over Skype, we came up with the idea to record Carrie and a guest while they went for a run. As a runner myself, I know the kinds of crazy, deep, personal, and often crazy conversations that occur during the course of a 10 mile run.
As the guy responsible for capturing the audio on one of these runs, however, I was a little worried. Even if we were recording people walking, we'd have issues with wind. What are we supposed to do with people running? All of that movement is a recipe for poor audio quality.
Another issue we have is that we haven't quite hit the jackpot with sponsors yet, so I needed to find a suitable solution while running on a tight budget.
If you're reading this, you're probably looking for a good solution for a similar set of circumstances. Let me save you the time and show you what I came up with!
What didn't work
In order to get to a point where we were capturing usable audio, we experimented quite a bit. Here was our first setup: 
Take 1 included our guests using a Sony lavalier microphone with a standard, flimsy wind guard attached to it.
We quickly discovered that the Auray Fuzzy Windbuster wind guards provided a night and day difference in ability to block out wind. However, the guards did not stay attached to the microphones all that well, which is obvious if you listen to our episode with Gabe Grunewald.
In addition, because of all the movement that occurs from running, we would frequently hear rhythmic bumping and rubbing due to the cords pulling in odd places on the runners.
What does work
Transmitting the signal
Our primary goal was to get the highest quality signal we can get with the most minimal amount of equipment possible. We figured that the easiest way to do that is to switch to headset microphones.
We now use the Sony ECM322BMP Professional Headset Microphone. In our most recent on the run episode with Kirk DeWindt, both Kirk and Carrie found the headsets to be relatively comfortable, and after a couple minutes, they didn't even notice they were wearing them.
One word of warning: make sure whatever headset mic you purchase is compatible with your wireless system. I can't give a direct Amazon link to our wireless system since we bought it 7 years ago, but the modern comparison would be the Sony UWPD11/30 Lavalier Microphone, Bodypack TX and Portable RX Wireless System. We went through 3 different headset mics before just giving in and dropping the money for the mic that was compatible with our "ancient" system.
Regardless of which headset mic you get, the key piece to cutting down on wind noise is the Auray Fuzzy Windbuster wind guards. Buy at least 6 of these little guys, they are worth every penny. (Pro tip: we went through 2 of these buggers before we got smart and put some gaffer's tape around the base of the wind guard to keep it attached to the neck of the mic.)
The position of the transmitter pack seems to not really be an issue for us, so long as:
- The antenna has a good line of sight to the receiver
- The cable connecting the headset and transmitter gets a little slack
- They don't place the transmitter in the same pocket as a phone
We purchased wireless microphone belts to hold our packs, mostly so we didn't have to fuss with people wondering where the transmitter should go, but those are totally optional.
Receiving the signal
Ideally, we are working to get the receiving end down to a point where Carrie can strap it onto herself and record as she travels around the world.
Currently, the receiving rig is powered by yours truly, following the guests on a bike roughly 10-20 feet back The receivers for the wireless mics are plugged into a Zoom H4n recorder. All three components are strapped into a repurposed water bottle holder (pictured above, which doubles as a great indicator to my personal fashion sense).
Once I turn on the recorder, I immediately hit record and lock it before even plugging in the microphones. My biggest fear is losing audio, and since these things can record hundreds of hours at a time, I'd rather scrub through the audio in post than risk forgetting to hit "go" once the runners are ready.
Next Steps
Currently, our rig is limited to the two inputs of the H4n. The next two things I'd love to tackle are live streaming the audio to my phone so I can do a Facebook Live stream, and recording more than two people at once.
If you have any ideas how I can stream the audio off of a Zoom H4n into an iPhone, or how I can best record multiple people at once, let me know on Twitter and I'll give it a shot!
Also, I'll keep this blog post updated as we refine this system. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve it, give me a shout on Twitter.
One last note: those links above are Amazon Affiliate links. Feel free to strip that code off if you are offended by those types of things.
C Tolle Run - Gabe Grunewald - 3000m Indoor National Champion
There was quite a bit of drama surrounding Gabe's dominant victory in the 3000m this past weekend, but now that the dust has settled and the proper rulings have been made, Gabe can finally call herself a National Champion.
Gabe is easily one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We've only met three times, but when we got to her place to interview her, she greeted us with hugs and genuinely seemed interested in how we were doing. I couldn't be happier for Gabe, and best of luck in Poland! (And if you ever figure out the secret sauce to your ridiculous kick, please let us all know.)
C Tolle Run - Carrie's 5 Minute Ab Workout
Sometimes, the simplest videos are the best. All we needed was Carrie and 6 minutes of tape to make what will ultimately become one of our most-watched episodes.
I love this ab workout as well. Carrie said she typically doubles each workout so it ends up being 1 minute per exercise instead of 30 seconds. I'm proud to say I can keep up with most of the extended version; I actually love doing old-school crunches. It's Katie's maintenance routine filled with planks and bridges that kill me.
C Tolle Run - Tollefsons Tackle Twin Cities
I'm so proud of Carrie for finishing her first marathon. Documenting the entire process was fun in and of itself, but being able to bike the entire course to watch her along the way was really something.
My job on race day was to bike around the course and get Carrie at key points. I ended up biking just under 50 miles that day. I didn't start to hurt until I crossed into St. Paul on Lake Street, but the real pain kicked in when the rain began to pour in the afternoon. Shannon ended up having to pick me up about 2 miles from home because I was so tired and covered in sand.
C Tolle Run - Fitness Apps for iPhone and Android
I had the pleasure of switching roles and being in front of the camera this time. I can honestly say that I have, at one point, used all of these apps to become a better athlete, and I actually use two of them (Runmeter and Check The Weather) on a daily basis.
It was also nice to get a little plug in for the Jed Mahonis Group as well.
C Tolle Run - Home Remedies for Aches and Pains
I think this is C Tolle Run at its best: short, informative videos that present valuable information in a unique way. I love filming and editing these pieces together, and I hope we get the chance to do more of them in the future.
Stay tuned for the abundance of high-quality bloopers at the end.
C Tolle Run - Strength Training for Runners with Kirk DeWindt
As everyone knows, people's attention spans these days are quite small. Bearing that in mind, we usually try to keep episodes under 4 minutes. In this case, however, it seemed like the length of the episode didn't really matter much. Kirk and Carrie have great chemistry in front of the camera, which you can really catch at the end of the outtake we show at the end of the episode.
Plus, the content in this episode is great for anyone training for a marathon, half marathon, or even 5k. Strengthening your hips and core is unbelievably important for staying injury-free.
C Tolle Run - Carrie's Road to the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - Part 1
It's funny how these "day in the life" type episodes shake out; we usually go into it with no idea what we're gonna do, and come out of it with a polished episode that gives a great look into Carrie's life.
Even if you're not interested specifically in Carrie's progress toward her first ever marathon, you'll love the back-and-forth banter she has with her husband, Charlie. Seriously funny stuff.
C Tolle Run - Get in Gear 2013
The Get in Gear Races were the first we attempted to cover when we started C Tolle Run. The reason we merely "attempted" to cover it was because the rain was pouring so hard that year, we didn't want to risk ruining our camera.
I missed out on last year's Get in Gear, but I'm really glad they brought us back this year. This was the first warm day we've had in Minnesota since October 2012, and it was awesome to be able to play out in the sun for a while. I think most of the participants we interviewed would agree; the vast majority of people around the finish line had huge smiles on their faces.
I really enjoyed cutting the first part of the episode. It's always nice to try out new techniques. The one regret I had from this episode was not keeping a consistant white balance. If you watch very closely, there are a few clips that look a little "cool" (meaning there is a bluish/purplish tint). Oh well, even after 123 episodes, we're still not perfect.
But, like Carrie said, "C Tolle Run fans don't judge."
C Tolle Run - A Day in the Life 4
Let's be honest: any video where Ruby says she wants a "baby daddy" instead of a "baby brother" or "baby sister" is gonna be pretty solid.
I love doing these "day in the life" segments, and I'm pretty sure our audience loves them too. I set the video to automatically publish at 8am, and due to technical issues, I didn't get to post it to ctollerun.com until 10am. By the time we went live on our website, we already had 20 views and a like.
I hope we start branching into more segments like this with other high-profile athletes. I bet it'd be a huge draw.
C Tolle Run - Carrie's Dumbbell Workout: Upper Body
This episode was shot in under a half hour and edited in under 90 minutes. We're really getting in a rhythm with this show. It's partly due to time constraints that we're all facing (me with my app development company, Julie with her freelance theatre directing and Carrie with her upcoming second child and other media appearances), but I mostly attribute it to our solid chemistry as a team. Carrie is nailing her lines in 1 take, Julie is writing solid copy and I'm cutting episodes together very efficiently. It's a cool experience when you can be a part of something so superb and efficient.
C Tolle Run - Kate Grace
Although we got off to a rough start with some technical difficulties, our Skype interview with Kate was a rousing success. For those who want a little more technical behind-the-scenes for how to record a video Skype call, we use Ecamm's excellent Call Recorder for Skype to record both streams to a single file.
We use an all-Apple Intermediate Codec workflow when editing our shows. We could keep the recorded Skype call in the same H.264-compressed MPEG-4 container, but two problems arise:
1) You can't watch the file in Safe RT; you have to roll with Unlimited RT. 2) The audio doesn't even render, making the whole thing useless anyway.
In order to just save headaches, I convert our MPEG-4 file to AIC with the infinitely-useful MPEG Streamclip. If you're a professional video editor using a Mac and don't have this as part of your tool chain, you're nuts.
Like I said before, Call Recorder for Skype places both streams side-by-side in a single file. That's pretty much what you see when both Carrie and Kate are on screen at the same time:
For those curious as to how we turn that into a single-clip, we just crop the video to the full width and height of Kate and drop it on a second track. In order to do the multi-track switching, I just cut the parts of Track 2 where I want to see both of them:
C Tolle Run - Katie McGregor's Maintenance Routine
Apparently, I am a terrible judge of determining which episodes will be successful and which will be total flops. I thought that an episode where we shot zero b-roll, failed to mic one of the participants and lasted for more than 8 minutes would surely be a flop. Fortunately, this is one of the most successful episodes we've aired this year based on social interaction. People have gone out of their way to tell us how helpful this episode was. While I'm sincerely proud of my work and glad I can help people out, I'm still just unable to see why this episode did so well, while other episodes I would assume would be popular just aren't.
Anyway, we've been hoping to have Katie as a featured guest since day one, and I'm really glad we were able to talk her into walking us through her post-workout routine. We actually had to cut a few good parts of the show because we only have two lav mics. We make do with what we have, but it's times like these I wish we had another lav mic and a field mixer. And a quad-copter.
C Tolle Run - 5 Date Ideas for Runners
Sometimes, the best episodes are the ones that get cut together in 10 minutes. When an episode comes together that quickly, that means all of us were on our game. Julie had a great script in place, Carrie was top-notch with her delivery and I was able to luck out with the lighting in the room. I laughed out loud several times while editing this one, and it's only a couple minutes long, so definitely check it out.
C Tolle Run - Andrew Carlson
Andrew is a really fun guy to interview, and he and Carrie have a great chat about the cancellation of the NYC Marathon and his unreal performances at the Olympic Trials and the Houston Marathon.
But just in case you're not all that interested in elite athlete recovery, feel free to jump to 4:25, where Carrie says she wants to take a tour of Andrew's apartment. This was, perhaps, one of my favorite spots I've cut for C Tolle Run so far.
C Tolle Run - Cooking with Carrie: Deena Kastor's Hearty Winter Chili
Another cooking episode. I didn't have time to grab our normal tripod, so I had to shoot this with the tripod Dale "found" at the middle school he works at. No wonder they were throwing that thing out.
Also, our wireless lav mics were giving me a lot of problems. I'm almost certain it's interference, which means I need to start getting good at setting the frequencies on those puppies.
On a lighter note, my favorite part of this episode was getting to sample some Midnight Ryder from Indeed Brewing. Some seriously great beer.
C Tolle Run - New Year's Resolutions
A new year calls for new opening credits. We tried to do something different this year, so we garnered inspiration from The Mindy Project and tried to make things a little more funky. Since it can be overplayed, I was a little worried about doing an episode on New Year's Resolutions. I think that we executed quite well, thanks in no small part to Carrie's personality and the good people who recorded resolutions for us.
C Tolle Run - Agility for Pregnant Women
Because the host of our show is pregnant, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do a series of episodes that would help mothers-to-be to stay fit and healthy during their pregnancies.
Even if you're not a pregnant woman, you will still really enjoy this episode.
Reason 1: this episode features show-favorite Bill Welle of Welle Fast. Carrie and Bill have a fantastic rapport that absolutely shines on film. The episode actually gets more funny as it goes, so be sure to watch through the end.
Reason 2: even though the exercises are modified to account for her condition, anyone can apply the principles preached in this segment to their own routines.
I really like Bill's approach of throwing additional stabilization moves in with "regular" lifts (e.g. Single-Legged Bicep Curls or Stability Ball Bench Press).
CTolleRun.com Redesign
🔗 a linked post to
ctollerun.com »
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originally shared here on
This week, we launched version 3 of CTolleRun.com. It's the result of several months of planning, organizing and development, and I thought I would take a few moments to share exactly what we've changed and the process behind it.
Our last redesign of the webpage was earlier this year. Truthfully, the site was rushed out in a hurry because we needed to have something live, so I pushed it out with the intention of upgrading it piece-by-piece down the line. Of course, we never got around to actually upgrading anything, and ultimately, we decided that time would be better spent on re-building from the ground-up.
The biggest conceptual change on the site was to give each episode its own page. This would give us a chance to better showcase our content, as well as drive our SEO. In order to implement this, however, required implementing a more robust, custom CMS1. Before this redesign, we were able to input the basic information: episode name, description, YouTube link, etc. Now, we are able to add several elements which make each page unique and more appealing for our viewers:
Links Almost every podcast I admire includes a list of links with each episode. This makes it easy to give viewers the chance to dive deeper into a specific topic, as well as share links we've mentioned in the episode. It also allows us to drive more traffic to the photo albums we've uploaded to Facebook.
Featured Guests We have the luxury of having some pretty awesome people on our show. Unfortunately, many of the guests we've had on our show aren't yet household names. Many people know who Kara Goucher is, but not a lot of people recognize Hassan Mead. If a viewer doesn't recognize who they're about to watch, it doesn't give them a lot of incentive to watch the episode.
To combat this, we included a short biography of each guest. We figured it's a simple way to boost viewership of those episodes as well as rank them higher on Google. In the future, I'm hoping to add links to these guest's social media accounts, as well as personal blogs or team pages.
Sponsors Before I became an avid podcast consumer (and creator), I loathed advertising. I ran ad-blockers on all my computers and I skipped over every sponsorship spot I possibly could.
It's really a shame, though, because a lot of the advertisers who throw money at podcasts like ours really seem to get it. They just want to put their product or race in the hands of people who maybe would've never even heard of it otherwise.
It's understandable that you don't want ads shoved down your face, though, which is why we've presented our ads in the ways we have. Each episode with a sponsor gets mentioned at the top of the show, and each sponsor gets an ad permanently embedded on the episode's page. We also have two "title sponsor" spots that are prominently displayed on the main page. That's it.
We think this is win-win-win: we are able to get you in touch with our sponsors, our sponsors are able to get permanent placements of their product and you are able to find out about some cool products, services and races without being hassled.
Social Media A huge focus for this redesign was to better integrate the site with social media. Here's what we did to optimize for our key three networks:
Facebook: If you're a developer, and you're not using Open Graph tags, you're missing out. By using Open Graph tags, we were able to turn our bland-looking links into this:
An added bonus: if you specify the OG tags for og:video and og:video-type, Facebook will embed the YouTube video in-line! Here's the code I used for that:
<meta property="og:video" content="http://www.youtube.com/v/<? echo $youtubeID; ?>?version=3&autohide=1" />
<meta property="og:video:type" content="application/x-shockwave-flash" />
Twitter:
If you're not simply sharing an article or some photos, Twitter's new Cards functionality is a bit more complex than simply adding OG tags. In order to make a functioning Player Card, Twitter wants you to build a page that gets embedded in an IFRAME. In a similar vein to what we're doing with Facebook, we're standing on the shoulders of giants and simply embedding YouTube's Player Card with our episode ID passed through:
<meta name="twitter:card" content="player" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@CTolleRun" />
<meta name="twitter:player" content="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ echo $youtubeID; ?>" />
<meta name="twitter:player:width" content="640" />
<meta name="twitter:player:height" content="360" />
And out comes this:
Note that the Twitter Card API requires the use of twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image and so forth. Thankfully, if you're already using og:title, og:description, og:image and so forth, you don't need to re-include them.
Pinterest: Unfortunately, Pinterest doesn't have a public-facing API yet. Essentially, all we can do is include a "Pin It" button for each episode. We'd really like to get a bigger presence on Pinterest, however, because it seems like a good portion of our target audience is there. Here's hoping for that API soon!
A note about Google+, App.net, etc.: I think it's important to not get too crazy with social networks. Sure, it's easy enough to drop a +1 button on each page, as well as a hundred other buttons. However, for each service you include, you're not only adding more visual clutter to your page; you're increasing the page's load time by executing a hundred different pieces of remote Javascript code.
If we get a huge demand to add another service to our site, or if Facebook loses a million followers, we'll go there. We're not dummies, but we're also not in the business of predicting which services will be the best. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest seem to be our best options today. We'll adapt as time goes on.
More Robust RSS Feeds Our RSS feeds (video and audio) aren't the most popular way to get our episodes2, but it's my personal favorite, so I made an effort to optimize this experience as well. Each item in the feed includes the linked list as well as the episode's sponsors. We also include the file size and run time of each episode, which means the fancy podcast clients will be able to show that information without any big-city processing on their end.
MailChimp We converted our mailing list over to the incomparable MailChimp. It's everything you could possibly want in a mailing list provider, but for free. My only gripe with them thus far is that the templates aren't 100% customizable, but it's just about the only fault I can find with them. Seriously, if you do mailing lists, you should be doing them through MailChimp.
Front Page Slide Show
Whenever a client requests a rotating slide show, my go-to choice has always been Nivo Slider. For this project, however, I needed a solution that allowed me to use two <div> tags for a caption (one on top, one on bottom). With Nivo Slider, the solution I came up with was to put two smaller <div>'s into 1 giant <div>. Unfortunately, that meant the image wasn't clickable, which defeated the purpose of the slider.
I tried a few different sliders and ultimately settled on Camera by Pixedelic. This awesome slider allowed me to place as many <div>'s (or any other kind of crazy mark-up) on top of the image while maintaining its clickablilty. My only gripe is that the slideshow doesn't work as well in IE, which is, of course, no surprise to anyone.
Internet Explorer Fixes
Speaking of every web developer's best friend, Internet Explorer provided the majority of trouble for this redesign. I kept getting alignment issues with IE while using Nathan Smith's excellent 960 Grid System, so instead of learning a whole new system (like the Responsive Grid System which I'm highly considering for future projects), I just added the <meta> tag which forces IE to render everything as if its IE7 (even if you're on a newer version):
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7" />
Of course, this is a very inelegant solution, but I'm just sick of wasting so much time making sites look good in IE when every other browser (even Opera) gives me less guff.
Embedded Tweets in the Footer It's all about keeping your site fresh and up to date, right? I thought the best way to do this was to write a script that cached our latest Tweet server-side. I'm not sure if it fully complies with the infamous Rules of the Road, but since our use doesn't really allow for tons of Branding®©™, I think we'll be okay.
I ended up using WebcodingEasy.com's fantastic Convert twitter created_at time format to ago format script to make our time appear like Twitter's "12 minutes ago" format, as well as another open source script (which I, embarrassingly, can't find right now) to convert all tweeted links into clickable links.
The toughest part was writing the Tweet caching script. Essentially, my script reads a Tweet which was saved onto the sever from the Twitter API. When it's saved, I append a variable called cached_Tweet_Time along with the current server time. When someone loads the footer, it will read the cached Tweet and check the time. If it's less than a minute old, the script returns the Tweet from the server. If it's more than a minute old, it fetches a Tweet from Twitter. If anyone is interested in the source code, let me know and I'll post it here.
In the future, I'd like to append the script so it only returns Tweets which aren't "at-replies".
In Conclusion This has been one of the most ambitious site designs I've ever completed3, and I am quite pleased with how it has turned out. Front-end design has never been my strong suit; in fact, most of my designs end up looking the same. This time, however, I forced myself to look outside of my wheelhouse and try something new. I hope you guys like it, and if you have any questions, let me know.
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Before this redesign, we were running everything on a custom CMS that was integrated with our owner's race results page. The new CMS consists of multiple, custom databases which all link together. :adjusts nerd glasses: ↩
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I believe (as of a few weeks ago) we have a combined total of 120 subscribers to these feeds, which is in the ballpark to how many people reach our page through our e-mail newsletters. ↩
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The only bigger project I can think of right now was That's Unpossible, and that underwent somewhere around 9 redesigns and spanned across 6 databases. ↩
C Tolle Run - Columbus Marathon 2012
It's always a treat when event directors bring us out to document their race. This is the third time we've been out to the Columbus Marathon, and every time I go, it makes me want to race it. I've never seen so many people run across the finish line with smiles on their faces.
C Tolle Run - Haunted Hay Run
I really enjoyed myself at this race. My girlfriend assisted on this shoot by running the entire course with a GoPro strapped to her head (thanks honey). The only horror-themed piece I've ever done was back in high school, so it was fun to try something different. If I had more time, I think I would've re-done the graphics package to be red instead of green, and I would've done an organ/halloween-style remix to the theme song to play over the closing credits, but all-in-all, I think this was a fun piece.
C Tolle Run - Outland Challenge Triathlon
What a fantastic race to film. Besides having a 1:1 ratio of volunteers to participants, driving awareness to endurance sports in rural America and simply outstanding weather, the race was organized by a college sophomore. Not many races I've filmed have gone off with this ease, and I think that's a testament to Luke's skill as a race director.
Be sure to watch all the way to the end, as Ruby shows off, yet again, why she's poised to take over as host once Carrie retires from her broadcasting career.
C Tolle Run - Marathon Training Guide - Part 3
Peak training is my personal favorite phase of marathon training. I loved being able to see the results of running all the hills and fartleks during the power phase.
If you're looking to run a marathon, you should watch this series of videos. It's a good overview of what you should be doing in the 16 weeks leading up to your big day.
C Tolle Run - Adam Goucher
We filmed Kara and Adam during Grandma's Marathon this year, and let me tell you, it wasn't a fun trip. I had both mono and pink eye the entire trip, so any time I wasn't behind the camera, I was passed out on the hotel bed.
But I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet the Gouchers. I did my best to stay out of their way; the last thing Kara needed before running in the Olympics was mono or pink eye. I did, however, get to chat with Adam for a couple of minutes about knee problems. He has such a positive outlook on his life after running, especially when his career was as riddled with injuries as mine.
I hope you enjoy this interview and if you're in the market for an inspirational running book (and who isn't?), definitely give Run the Edge a read.
C Tolle Run - Episode 58 - Pool Workout
Another one of my personal favorite C Tolle Run episodes. I think I might need to invest in a gym membership and hit the pool while I try to figure out my whole knee situation. In terms of producing this video, I must say that the GoPro is a really nice, inexpensive way to get those shots you wouldn't dare try to capture with your main camera. The quality of the shots you get from that camera are insane.
C Tolle Run - Mental Preparation
Being mentally weak is the reason I ran so poorly at the Twin Cities Marathon this year. I didn't go into the race with a great mental plan and I ended up doubting myself the whole time. Even when I'd get bursts of energy or encouragement, I'd still tell myself that I'm going to fail. The Sunburst Marathon tested my confidence in my running ability; the Twin Cities Marathon destroyed it.
Even though I may never run another marathon in my life (more on that in another post), if I learned anything from my marathon training class at the U, it's the importance of always staying positive. Of course, life will throw it's fair share of crap at you. Bills, work-related stress, dirty house, awful race, what-have-you. As long as you look for the positive in any situation and find joy in the things you do, you'll always make it through. Even if you run an awful marathon (or two).
Dennis Barker is the head coach of Team USA Minnesota. He's spent most of his career researching mental training and offers some great advice on how to prepare your mind for a big race. I used word cues during the Eau Claire Marathon and I'm convinced that they were the reason I did so well.
Anyone who is training for any sort of running event this year must watch this video. (And not just because I make a cameo appearance).