I misled my Windows Media Center last night and instead of recording some obscure 3am program on the ABC, I instead managed to record an old, long lost favourite of my pre-youth, Thunderbirds. (I still miss Fireball XL5 and Supercar!)

Now call me old fashioned, but even in middle age (careful!) Thunderbirds still rates up there with Lego, Meccano and model train sets as things to bring a smile to my face. I was initially attracted to Thunderbirds as a 6 year old due to the fantastic model making demonstrated by the skilled artistry of the workshops of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. I have always wanted to be a model maker, but have the skills and dexterity of a goal post.

You also have to remember that this was the beginning of the space age, and all sorts of weird and wonderful devices and ideas were being played out by people trying to guess the future and us kids lapped it up and had imaginations fired. We’d draw our versions of space ships, laser guns, death rays, flying cars and it was wonderful!

The exotic craft and gadgets of Thunderbirds were borne of those very minds. I distinctly remember seeing the first Toyota Crown (1973) and thinking, “Hey, I drew that as a one man submarine in 1966!” (I still dabble in 3D visualizations using Cinema 4D as a relaxation thing.

Back to Thunderbirds.

Okay the storylines might have been naff, and a pink six wheeled Rolls Royce would not be allowed today without a hefty licencing fee, but that wasn't the point! They were meant to be fun!

And that they were. Comparing today's TV is like chalk and cheese. We are swamped with US sitcoms with overbearing laughter tracks to non-funny dialogue and there is usually some daffy squeeky voiced blonde in evidence as the fall guy.

How about our TV and film makers being a little brave and stepping out of the comfort zone and bringing back some magic to the screen. There has been some of late; Dr Who springs immediately to mind as does Sherlock (the Stephen Moffat version). And Midsomer STILL drags in major audiences as does Grand Designs, the Vicar of Dibley and Doc Martin.

But what about something different apart from the 'kids in the coffee shop who live in the same block of 'apartments', the impossible crime scene, the hospital or the dysfunctional family. Surely there are writers and producers who can do better than this?

Go on be brave! Think ahead as against copying the mundane. I dare you!

Over the Christmas period, I have had a few changes in my life. The biggest has been a move back to Sydney’s Northern Beaches from the south west forests of WA. The second has been a bit of an epiphany.

Over the years I have collected all sorts of bits of pieces in the video and audio area; cameras, audio gear, tripods, editing software, special effects stuff and so on.

But the trip over – by car I hasten to add – meant I had to been brave and savage and offload a heap of stuff. There were two reasons for this. The first was simply for space saving as there is only so much I can pack in a Monaro with a rather large dog!

The second was realising I was falling in a trap to a degree, in thinking that a pile of top notch gear was needed to make the best movies and films.

So I have pared back to a Canon HV20, a Sony TRV10E, a cabled lapel mic and a Shure handheld.

I have kept Sony Vegas, Boris Red and Continuum, and using Smartsound for audio (along with Sonar and my Casio keyboard).
But there is a secret weapon involved as well.

I have been analysing a bunch of excellent TV shows in my spare time to see how these are made in terms of shooting angles and production values – specifically Sherlock, Dr Who, The Monarch of the Glen, Poirot and Spooks.

These have given me clues and impetus to look at script and technique as against the gear to shoot with.
Give it a try. Put aside the top shelf stuff and go back to basics and where you started. It might even be fun!

I am not a fan of shooting dSLR. Yes I can appreciate the filmic look and all that, but the ergonomics are all wrong. By the time you have bought all the accessories and rigs needed to get one suitably kitted out to act as a decent camcorder, you could have bought Pixar AND The Mill!

So I have been waiting for a decent camcorder using the interchangeable mount technology that IS a real camcorder and not a hybrid whatever. Yesterday I might have found the makings of such a breed in the Sony NEX VG20 E-Mount.

It has a true camcorder body with a 11x telephoto / zoom lens, records to Memory Stick, SD or even external hard disk and 5.1 surround capability from the inbuilt mic. It can even take 16MP stills in JPEG or RAW.

The 3” flip out LCD is a corker, and even in direct sunlight was visible, but hey, give me its viewfinder for framing any day.

The menu system via the touch screen is easily navigated though, even without a manual which cannot always be said.

There are a few party tricks such a second forward mounted record button, a programmable control dial also up front and HDMI output.

But of course the E mount is the USP. There are a number of lenses already available and Sony and others either have or are working on adaptors for A and F mounted lenses.

3K is not too much to pay for a camera of this calibre I reckon. Check it out if you are contemplating the dSLR route for video. I think this’ll change your mind. See www.auscamonline.com for a full review or www.sony.com.au for other details.

For those not in the loop, firstly shame on you! You should be subscribed to Hydrapinion AND Auscam Online!

But those that are in the know are aware that for the last week-ish, myself and Budweiser the Dog, complete with a Monaro load of clothes, electronics and other assorted paraphernalia necessary to exist, have been driving from Bridgetown, 300Km south east of Perth, to Avalon on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. A trip of 4500Km or so (with detours for the pedantics).

We have had a number of adventures on the way; nearly running out of fuel; majestic light show thunderstorms on the Nullarbor; Mr Plod deciding he didn’t like black Monaros in Victoria (I didn’t get a ticket as I had done nothing wrong) and a 10 kph 50Km + section of road in NSW due to low cloud, drizzle and dense fog.

I had the Monaro Wired for Sound as Cliff Richard would say, as well as for video. Over the next few days, or however long it takes, I am going to take the windscreen facing footage and audio I took and make a short, guerrilla based video of the 4500Km trip t oaround 5 minutes using ONLY the video and raw audio of the trip plus the occasional add in voice over explanation. The audio will consist of what I had playing at the time (music, radio news, ABC cricket, silence) and my comments, discussions with Buddy the Dog about Life the Universe and Everything, the occasional expletive (some roads are CRAP!) and my reaction to circumstance as they happened. Should be fun. There will be no pulling back I promise.

But one thing about this trip in hindsight worries me.

Technology in itself is wonderful, and I love it, but sometimes it can lead us potentially badly astray.

The ex pectedlast leg of the trip was from Marulan on the Pacific Highway south of Sydney to Sydney proper then on to the Northern Beaches, about 3 hours or so at worst. But a nasty cold front, or storm or something had bred itself appeared and all of a sudden the weather went from a balmy, sunny 26 or so degrees to a dark, foreboding, overcast and much chillier 16 degrees (we are talking Celsius here by the way overseas fans).

I had been driving for 7 hours at this point, was a little bit weary, Buddy was restless so I rang a Top Bloke friend who is one of my senior (as in top level not old) writers at Auscam to see if I could veer right and pull up a piece of carpet at his place in the Shoalwater area for the night.

No problem he said, so I re-programmed the brand new GPS (it is unfair to reveal the brand name and you’ll see why shortly) and off we went. Now I figured Mrs Sat Nav would have a few shortcuts up her sleeve; I knew the area and could have got there myself, but was hoping that she would be able to shorten to trip as the weather was decidedly nasty by now.

And shorten she did, by distance but not by time, as simply, she took me on a roller coaster ride through a series of hairpins and mountains through to Kangaroo Valley and back up the other side before again tumbling down to Nowra on roads that were absolutely blanketed in fog and cloud with greasy, wet drizzle and excitement adding to the mix and excitement.

At this point, I have to say I quite enjoyed it. The Kaiser Baas Car Camera captured the especially hairy bits where the visibility in the now early evening gloom was probably less than 50 metres and the Monaro was in its element as a sports tourer. It was fun.

But here is the thing. Hopefully without coming across too wanker-ish, I have been involved in cars, racing and rallying with journalism and testing thrown in for most of my adult life. I have driven everything from Toyota Echoes (Yaris) to Aston Martins and Lambos and Rollers. And in all sorts of conditions. I have a multitude of Advanced Driving Courses in my pocket and hold a CAMS licence.

So I consider I have the experience to deal with the conditions that, let’s face it, Mrs Sat Nav threw at me. I didn’t choose them.

I have seen this before when driving in Europe. That is, no account is taken into the CONDITION of the directions given for the best possible journey by Mrs Sat Nav. In the case of yesterday, a P-Plater with a week’s experience by themselves could have been placed in a very nasty position if they had simply accepted Mrs Sat Nav’s advice and followed the suggested route. They would have met B Double’s on hairpins, idiots with no lights on, locals who know the roads backwards and simply kept normal speed or more, wet roads, very low visibility and very nasty conditions. Without fog lamps it would have been a nightmare, and there were many cars parked waiting for the conditions to improve.

So. Is the next generation Sat Nav one that also talks to the Weather Bureau and gets and then gives another level of dimension of advice?

After yesterday, I hope so for the sake of inexperienced drivers and enthusiasts alike.

(But I can’t wait to edit that footage, just quietly!! Whatv a blast that was :))

As of today I am in transit via the (mostly) trusty Monaro back to a life in Sydney. Yes, The Shed has been packed, cleaned and vacated and the Nullarbor and beyonf infinity beckons. The boot is full of ‘stuff’ (including water, spare fuel just in case although probably not needed) and a pile of essentials and Budweiser the Hound will be on the passenger seat scouting ahead with those keen eyes for hints of any problems.

Mostly flocks of budgerigars I am told – and no, hopefully not the Tony Abbott type but the green, blue and yellow feathered variety.

I also have the Monaro wired for video and sound with three fixed camcorders (Canon XHA1, Canon HV20 and Kaiser Baas Car Camera) and a Sony TRV 10E available for handheld to record the trip. My navigation will be true via a TomTom Sat Nav system, music powered by a Belkin FM system from a spare phone to the Monaro’s Bose 8 speaker setup, a Nikon dSLR is ready and waiting with an 8GB Sandisk card formatted to go and a Casio pocket camera with another 8GB Sandisk and GPS capability for stuff on-the-fly.

An HP Mininote will record trip notes, internet access is via a Telstra 3G USB stick, my main tablet is a Samsung Galaxy TAB 7” and I’ll watch recorded episodes of Spooks on my HP Touchpad at the various stopovers (Esperance, Madura, Ceduna, Victor Harbor and Echuca. The total distance is 4500Km give or take a bit!

I only forgot one thing. To ask anyone for sponsorship! So anyone happy to chip in oh, say $300 or so for major exposure on Auscam with the videos of the adventures I no doubt will encounter, record and voice over?

And if you are a pet food company, I can help you too!