Over the last few weeks, I have been doing some ‘investigative’ style research. It involves finding and testing the level of expertise and knowledge of the salespeople in the field that you see whenever trying to buy techie stuff. Camcorders, cameras, computers, tablets MP3 players and so on. And the stores? The usual suspects… you know who they are (and so do they!)

This has been by getting anecdotal evidence as well as real, honest to goodness face to face experiences.

And the result is – it’s dismal.

Pretty much these people want to sell what is the easiest to get your dollar. And that usually means the cheapest. Sometimes it is the product that the store has overstocked and needs to be shifted, or the item that gives the best commission, or a term you have possibly never heard of – SPIFF.

A SPIFF is a further bonus the manufacturer/distributor may give on sales over and above a target. This may be a cash incentive, points towards a holiday or large ticket item or even something such as a “free pair of Levis for every SuperWidget sold.

This of course takes into no account YOUR needs for the gadget you want to buy. So resist and press the point of what you need and want, and back this up with solid research.

Don’t be suckered into the retail rort.

Apologies for the lateness of this post folks. I have just had to do another 600Km round trip to Perth for another shoot – and this one nearly came to disaster through sheer less haste more speed silliness.

I had planned to do the shoot with the Canon XHA1 and my Azden radio mics and dutifully checked them last night to make there was power etc. As a backup, a Canon HV20 was also packed away and my Rode video mic – also dutifully checked. Tapes were striped, batteries charged and to be deadly sure, a third baby HDD Sony packed as well.

On location, the lighting was perfect, no background noise, I only needed my Velbon tripod not the big bruiser Manfrotto so all seemed sweet.
Except for the life of me, I couldn’t get any audio on the XHA1. In two separate ways. The first was my fault as I had forgotten to pack a single cable linking the Azden to the camera. Unforgiveable. As a consequence, I switched to the Rode video mic and that was simply ignored by the camera! The on-board mic was not suitable (I tested it) as the talent had a very low natural voice, so now I had a problem.

Now I am of the type that hates to fuss around on location while talent is waiting – especially if they are paying for the job or have made special effort to be there. I made the decision to switch to the HV20 and the Rode video mic.

Thankfully this worked and I got the shoot out of the way, but I have decided from now on to have a checklist in the lid of my camera case and not just rely on memory the night before. In this example, there are many ‘ifs’, but let’s say I hadn’t packed another single item through being too hasty, I may have had to do another 600Km round trip – and also show a degree of unprofessionalism, nay, incompetence.

Last week I was asked to do a video shoot of a floor.

Not just any old floor mind you, but the floor of the new Rockpool restaurant in Perth’s Burswood Casino. This floor is apparently very special as it is made of the recycled timber from Queensland’s Hornibrook Bridge.

I was also to interview a representative of the company that laid the 250 square metres or so of the floor.

This is a major trip as I am based 300Km south of Perth – a good 3 hour drive on a fine day – so nothing could be left to chance, or behind without lots of grief and possibly causing a reshoot on another day. This was actually not an option as the footage had to be on a plane that evening to be sent to Brisbane.

I would be doing the main shoot using my tape based Canon XHA1 in hi-def, but for safety I also took a Panasonic SD90 I had been testing as well as my Nikon D5000 for any stills that may be offered.

I also packed a bunch of spare tapes and SD cards, two sets of mics and even two tripods.

Thankfully it all worked, despite a scare when one of the tapes refused to play back.

Except for the fact it appears Australia Post may have caused a cock-up with the Yellow Express bag going astray as we “go to press” so to speak.
I have to apologise to the map makers of my GPS too; it kept rejecting the street name of the company I was to interview. I can’t read my own writing it appears.

There are just some things you can’t account for…

I have become a fan of the TV show ‘Time Team’ on the ABC at 6pm on weekdays. It is a project produced by Blackadder’s ‘Baldrick’ (Tony Robinson) and each episode shows a different archaeological site in the UK they dig up and solve some mysteries. The Team has a maximum of three days per project, and any project site can range from a hundred years ago to 4000 years ago!

I am fascinated by pre-history – think Stonehenge - and this is what drew me to the program. Sadly it finishes its current series this week to be replaced by yet another damn building renovation “Lifestyle” show, but I have enjoyed what I have watched and want to visit some of the locations shown.

A phrase used in this evening’s show especially struck me; the Time Team is on a remote island in the New Hebrides west of Scotland called Barra, where a particularly savage winter storm had broken apart a sand hill that was found to contain the remnants of a 4000 year old burial site and village. They are there during a normal day and if what they show is normal with howling wind, I hate tho think what a "decent blow" is like. I'd love it!

So what was the phrase? “We have been brought here to record and catalogue the site before it is blown away altogether, for ever”. Or words to that effect.

I wonder. How important is recording your life and those of your family, friends and even business using video and audio to you? Every second will NEVER happen again so is it not incumbent for our successors and their families and friends etc we document as much as we can?

Without a documentation of history, we have no way of knowing what happened – apart from word of mouth, and of course, distortions of that can lead to all sorts of nasties. Interpretation of religion based on word-of-mouth stories is a case in point.

If you have a videocamera, why not dust it off and use it for why it was purchased?

Link: http://auscamonline.com/issue/july-2011/article/how-to-become-an-accredited-sport-s-videographer

In editorial last week at www.auscamonline.com, I gave some tips on how to successfully become an approved/ accredited sports videographer (or photographer). There are many side benefits to this; it is fun and allows a smug “I’m-better-than-you” attitude towards the great unwashed, but also usually allows free admission, you can get closer to the action and often even get fed and watered. In some cases it can even pay.

There are also responsibilities though, with the main ones towards your health and safety. As I say in the article, being hit by a car at a motor racing circuit (which is my sport of choice) can be just as much a level of risk as being kicked in the face by a horse or a smashed nose from a golf ball at full tilt. In other words, know the dangers and take effective measures to avoid or at best minimise the possibility.

Which brings me very neatly to the sporting sujet du jour – The Tour de France? What on earth were those drivers/bike riders carrying camerapersons on board thinking? Had they just had a brain snap, as I would have thought they would have been the highest of professionals to perform this job and not just got a licence and a P plate last week.

It could be measured alongside the videographer standing on the bride’s train or deflecting a winning goal by getting in the way, distracting a player or similar with one small difference – it might have killed someone, or as in the case of the car driver, a number of people.

So no matter what job you do in your life or hobby with video (or photography), at all times remember your responsibilities. You are there to report on it, not be part of it.