Hi def hell…

OK – definitely need a new computer. My five (???) year old Macbook is struggling to process high definition video. I’ve worked on some projects before…but short ones.

This current project – a series of interviews on camera with quite a bit of titling – is rendering hell. And to make it even more of a challenge, I’m trying to condense 3 to 5 minute finished files to email-able size. Ouch…takes about an hour each and even then final size is sometimes too big to include in my email.

Technology is moving so fast that if you sneeze (or snooze as in my case) you’re left in the dust. Just hope I don’t get any breakers…doubt if I could turn them around in a reasonable amount of time.

Sigh…

First post-retirement gig…

Well that came about sooner than expected. Tomorrow I embark on my post retirement career of occasional shooting/editing/producing gigs.

Thank you craigslist for the pointer. Just a simple series of interviews to be posted on the web…and something I can take back to my students (as a volunteer) about working with and educating a client so they get what they want. This will be fun!

Must…motivate…self…

This retirement gig is both awesome and awful. I find myself puttering around the house, cleaning…hopping online…getting dirty in the garden.

Unfortunately the video camera spends too much time in the bag. So to avoid that, I plan to challenge myself to shoot at least three videos a week and post them.

Got a couple for today already…my husband’s kitten loves to play with paper bags AND this is National Mosquito Control week. I got my mosquito fish about half an hour ago…and as soon as I dump them into the sheep watering trough I’ll post the video from the pickup point of both mosquito lava and mosquito fish.

The thing to remember is that video is not always about storytelling but also about simply showing what you’ve seen, hopefully in a way that will be memorable. So the kitten shot is on the floor and the mosquito video is extremely close-up.

BTW my youtube moniker is thinknews…and once I get this going on a regular basis I’m moving the project over there.

Who knows what tomorrow brings…

Be(ware) aware of the law…

One of the things I’ve always taken for granted is the right of a photographer to shoot in public places. Now that appears to be in danger, according to a Gizmodo report on citizen videos posted to Facebook and youtube and police reaction.

According to this article,

In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

The premise is based on existing laws that prohibit recording (audio) without the consent of all parties – if that is the law in your state. Apparently this applies even if you are on public property.

The cases involved are citizens recording what they consider to be abuses by law enforcement. In one case it even involved a man recording his own arrest. The charges he was arrested for were dropped – but the charges related to “illegal recording” were not.

The summation:

…recordings that are flattering to the police – an officer kissing a baby or rescuing a dog – will almost certainly not result in prosecution even if they are done without all-party consent. The only people who seem prone to prosecution are those who embarrass or confront the police, or who somehow challenge the law. If true, then the prosecutions are a form of social control to discourage criticism of the police or simple dissent.

This has a chilling effect on both the citizenry and mainstream media. In my mind the media IS the citizenry – always on the alert to protect the rights of those it serves. For now these laws have not been applied against working media. However, this shouldn’t matter because NO ONE should be able to define who the media are.

What are those 45 words? Oh yeah:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That aside, for some good advice in regards to this issue, check out a report from Al Tompkins in which he interviews some lawyers about your best defense if caught in a situation which might place you in jeopardy.

Oh – and always be aware of the laws in your state. What is implied consent today (there you are with camera obviously up, logo on the gear, oh so very much the employed newsperson) may change in an instant. And you could be the case that decides it for the rest of us.

Need a VJ?

Two weeks and I’m officially off the district payroll (no longer teaching) and unofficially looking for the occasional job. Here’s how the ad reads:

Master storyteller, visualizer seeking compelling stories. Thoughtful coverage, precise writing, solid shooting and editing skills. Available for hire as freelancer or long term contract basis.

Wishful thinking maybe…but then if you’re a regular, you know already I can’t live without a camera in hand.

The Destroyer…

Pigeon-holing. We all do it. When I was still in the news biz, I used to divide the world into two categories. Producers and consumers. People who make things and people who use them. Of course, being a producer I kinda looked down on consumers. And I produced more than news…I can hang sheetrock, re-wire lights, build an ordinance compliant chicken house. Even pluck a chicken. I did consume, but was a work-a-holic producer for years.

That time is past…however, yesterday an epiphany hit me. Maybe the two main categories are Creator and Destroyer. Being a newsie, I’ve seen enough of the Destroyer. War…poverty…hate. Senseless crime.

What takes years…decades to build can be destroyed in an instant. A sand castle, lovingly built against tide and wind, kicked down – why? Monuments…cathedrals…destroyed by war. Human lives snuffed out in anger and war. Bullies killing the spirit of youth by forcing it in a corner with no escape but death. You all know these stories. They are the bread and butter of news.

Which in a round about way brings us to my point. Over on thinknews I posted about a senseless crime at a local community college. Two juvies, with spears and knife in hand, brutally attacked and killed a dozen koi in the campus fish pond.

It appears I know one of the youths. Deep sigh.

How to explain this? Too often you see and hear friends, family, and neighbors say, “It was a total surprise. There’s no way we could even imagine s/he did this.”

Pause for a moment.

The Destroyer has struck again.

Why? I don’t know. It disturbs me deeply. The day I shot the video (yet to be edited) workers on campus were ready to lynch the perps. I kind of agreed – it was a stupid act. Whoever did it was the worst kind of animal.

Now I am confused – the youth in question is a good person, polite, honest. Straightforward. What happened? What moved him from a place of respect in my mind to fodder for the daily news? I don’t argue that it is not a story – now that I’m off the road and have time I will edit and post it. Sans video and photos of the perps because they are juveniles – under that 18. My heart will be heavy as I work on it…and I find I need to look around for a change…

So I’m making a plea. Yes, I covered and saw way too much crime and destruction in my years in news. Also – like most newsies, I fought for the occasional feel-good story. Not just for the sake of feel-good, but for the good of the community. We need balance – we need to know the reality of what is going on in our world – but we also need to know that it is balanced by an equal amount of positive force – otherwise we will slowly wither away in hopelessness.

I read NPPA’s monthly online magazine…and have watched for years what seems to be the focus of most in-depth and investigative news. Generally it focuses on The Destroyer in all his aspects. How often do you hear, see, read a story that is about pure unabashed joy…why is news committed to revealing ugliness.

Don’t answer…I know the answer, because I worked that beat. Give a voice to the voiceless…expose corruption. Shock people into reacting to evil.

But every now and then….give yourself a threat. Find a hidden treasure…a jewel…and let the world rejoice in your joy. I know I’ll be out there looking.

NOTE: don’t ask why I am even bothering to post the Koi story. Simply put, it completes the cycle. Not posting is not an option for me at this time…I will be searching for possible answers as I work through this.

The right camera…

…is a very personal choice. A few weeks back I had a posting where I discussed possibilities for my next camera.

And now I’m torn between three. Fortunately there is no reason to rush, so I’ll continue to study and may even change from the two front runners.

The HMC40 leads the pack right now for pricing and features. Only thing I don’t like are the mini-jack audio inputs. It does have three quarter-inch sensors.

Next up the HMC150 with three 1/3″ chips AND XLR audio ins. Sweet but more than $1300 more than the 40.

And my last choice is the granddaughter of my old JVC GY-DV300u – the GY-HM100u. It is priced halfway between the above two with a shorter 10x lens, XLR inputs, and three 1/4 inch sensors.

The problem is I’m familiar with the bodies of each of these cameras and love them equally. Since I’m on a budget I suspect the 40 may be my choice. It’s all about compromise. What I can afford – what I need – what I’m really comfortable with. Oh – and what I want. And I do want to move on to the next new thing – and get out of tape.

Alert to all of you out there on tighter budgets: sometime in the next three or four months I will be putting my old gear up on eBay. Not the mikes, but probably cameras, the Bogen tripod, and lots of other random stuff.

It’s time to live light and clean.

Hello world!

What happens when you let kids loose with good lighting - they went crazy taking photos of everyone and everything!

It seems we climb forever, striving to reach goals we set and reset and then…

…hmmm

What exactly are we aiming at or for? Are we aiming at a goal to make ourselves better people? More money? More prestige? Are we doing this for ourselves? Others?

Twice I’ve aimed – and now, twice I’ve
Stopped.

The last day of this month marks my last day of employment by Lodi Unified School District. The actual last day of work with students was Friday, May 28.

Somehow I can’t write as I did in my Goodbye to News posting. This move is more of a Hello World – What Next? article. A new beginning with no boundaries…no rules…a world of freedom and unknown choices.

I can finally dig my garden boxes and fence and shape it the way I’ve always wanted to. There are stories to be shot (what would life be WITHOUT a camera in hand? Unbearable). Trips with Newell and trips with Ron. Volunteering (oh year – don’t worry kids – I will be back on campus to hold your hands and guide you). Endless work on the property (fences, gopher patrol to name a few). Try my hand at writing for magazines. Maybe go back into education – this time as a student and aim for the next degree. Watch the sunset from the Drunken Hippo (aptly named because she is so slow and bulky that steering her is just like trying to motivate an inebriated water beast – which she is. Our tiny floating home on the Delta). Oh – and for those of you patiently waiting – finish that blasted book now that I have TIME.

All of that time that seemed too compressed now stretches out in front of me with no horizon in sight in any direction.

I know there will eventually be an end. As I tell my students, we all die. It’s what we do in that brief interlude between life and death that makes a difference.

The difference I make – as a videojournalist, parent, teacher, human being – will not be marked in history books, but in tiny pieces of myself that have touched others through teaching and stories. And in a life I can remember with peaceful content.

…see ya on the road…