Just did an interesting experiment with the BBC. We used laptops to cut stories in the field and then fed over WiFi from Starbuck's back to the station. Pretty awesome demonstration. Also, used live videophones (handhelds from Motorola) to do lives over wireless. A little raggedy, but its coming.
HERE'S SOMETHING YOU WON'T LIKE
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cameragod
Well-known member
Why wouldn’t we like that Michael? Do you assume that we are all rabid anti technology? Just because we see kiddies with handy cams as a step backward doesn’t mean we can’t see the advantages of new ways of getting the story back to base. To be honest I’d start milking the BBC for all you can because I think Sony’s new XDCAM is about to kill VJ’s deader than the Dodo.
I played with a prototype in England last week. It is certainly impressive - particularly the optical disc (who knows if this will catch on or not), but the problem, as usual, is that it weighs a ton and costs a fortune. How many can any given station afford? one? Two? Still better (IMHO) to have 50 cameras in play than one admittedly unbelievable one. If I were running a taxi business, I would rather buy 30 Crown Victorias than one Porsche. Wouldn't you?
cameragod
Well-known member
Your thinking is so last year Michael. If you want to make it in the consultant biz you are going to need to move with the times 
XDCAM opens a whole new world of possibility that Mini DV will not be able to compete with. You think the cameras are heavy and expensive, I don’t accept that but even if they weighed more and cost twice as much, News will still have to jump at them. We work in an industry were speed is king and the new king is XDCAM. I can shoot edit and send back to the office all from the camera before you have even finished digitized your tape. And by the time you have finely done that your pictures will look like uncle Arthur’s home video compared to mine.
Have a look around London at the taxis there. The most expensive taxi for a company to buy is the black cabs. More than forty thousand pounds to buy as opposed to the three thousand pound heaps that the mini-cab firms buy. Do you see any black cab companies going out of business? People prefer to ride in a black cab for two main reasons. Quality of ride and the quality of drivers trained to an excellent stranded. When I lived in Kensington a friend of mine drove for six different mini-cab companies over two years as they each went bust. Yes they were cheap but the margin was tight so the cars were unpleasant and competition fierce as any idiot was allowed to do it.
As for you car analogy instead think of a PD150 vs XDCAM as an old model Scooter vs a new BMW 7 series at half price and you still haven’t got a clear idea of just how much better XDCAM will be.
XDCAM opens a whole new world of possibility that Mini DV will not be able to compete with. You think the cameras are heavy and expensive, I don’t accept that but even if they weighed more and cost twice as much, News will still have to jump at them. We work in an industry were speed is king and the new king is XDCAM. I can shoot edit and send back to the office all from the camera before you have even finished digitized your tape. And by the time you have finely done that your pictures will look like uncle Arthur’s home video compared to mine. Have a look around London at the taxis there. The most expensive taxi for a company to buy is the black cabs. More than forty thousand pounds to buy as opposed to the three thousand pound heaps that the mini-cab firms buy. Do you see any black cab companies going out of business? People prefer to ride in a black cab for two main reasons. Quality of ride and the quality of drivers trained to an excellent stranded. When I lived in Kensington a friend of mine drove for six different mini-cab companies over two years as they each went bust. Yes they were cheap but the margin was tight so the cars were unpleasant and competition fierce as any idiot was allowed to do it.
As for you car analogy instead think of a PD150 vs XDCAM as an old model Scooter vs a new BMW 7 series at half price and you still haven’t got a clear idea of just how much better XDCAM will be.
If I understood the Sony guy right, (and correct me if I am wrong) what you actually produce in the field is the EDL. Then you need the field deck to do the real edit. Is this right, or have I missed something. And I thought the quality of the images and the field editing, by the way, excellent. What cost did they quote to you for the camera. Because I remember it was going to be very very expensive.
cameragod
Well-known member
About $20,000US for the PDW510, $34.000 for the PDW530P. Less than a London cab. You can edit and send the proxies straight from the field using the camera and a laptop connected to the Internet.
Equipment price is irrelevant anyway, the Bean counters have never had any trouble forking out money for assets. It’s always been about staff that is a liability as far as they are concerned. Your model has been attractive to them because the three-week wonders are cheap and easily replaced… in three weeks in fact. If the News companies want to benefit from the quality of image and the speed XDCAM offers then they will need real cameramen who don’t think the cameras are too heavy.
New Zealand is often used as a testing ground for many industries, what we do here today the world usually follows and I’m not sad to tell you that the VJ experiment is over, dead and gone.
I see our New Zealand market going completely XDVCAM within the next two years.
Equipment price is irrelevant anyway, the Bean counters have never had any trouble forking out money for assets. It’s always been about staff that is a liability as far as they are concerned. Your model has been attractive to them because the three-week wonders are cheap and easily replaced… in three weeks in fact. If the News companies want to benefit from the quality of image and the speed XDCAM offers then they will need real cameramen who don’t think the cameras are too heavy.
New Zealand is often used as a testing ground for many industries, what we do here today the world usually follows and I’m not sad to tell you that the VJ experiment is over, dead and gone.
I see our New Zealand market going completely XDVCAM within the next two years.
Your analogy is crap. A Porsche is a nice car, but unsuited as a Taxi cab. I'd rather have one Crown Victoria than 30 rickshaws. I'd rather have a few quality cameras & crews, and than 30 jackasses with substandard gear. Why do you think that more is better? That baffles me.
Wrong NewsMan, nobody got "Pissy" at Michael.
"It was strictly business".
When I said "welcome back" I ment it. Actually, with all the heated exchanges that we had with Michael, we should all be grateful that (although I'm sure wasn't his objective) he warned us and gave us the inside about a new and well organized wave of shooters (VJs)that could seriously effect our business and our future. In few words it was a wake up call. For us veterans we either step up and widen the gap or step down and join them.
I know... I gues the "analogy is crap" type of comments is what I refer to. Personally, although I see where most of you are coming from, I look at Michael's insight as the inevitable. People making fun of Rosenblum and saying "if you're going to make it in the consulting business..."... blah, blah, just seems silly. The guy does more in a month than most of us do in a year. Fact is, he has made it in this business and does quite well. For me this whole discussion is making me rethink my freelance status. Mainly because I feel there is no way in hell to keep up with the changes. That's why I'm now conteplating looking for a "steady" job until all this new gadgetry comes and goes and the new format and direction is a bit more clear. Hard to tell what's truly "cutting edge" right now considering that "edge" changes faster than most of us can keep up with. Damn pessimism!!
I started thinking about the taxi cab question/analogy. My answer seems to indicate I have a problem. I don't know how much a Porsche costs, but I'll bet it's far less than 30 Crown Vics. Let's say it's three or four times the cost. I'd rather be the cab company guy with neither car. If we're talking money and the best way to divide it to create a business, I'd rather be the cab company with two BMW 5 series, 4 doors; something flashy and self-expressive.
Likewise, in the video production business, I'm not an empire builder. I'd like to work with good equipment and make quality images for quality stories.
But I get the feeling that thinking this way makes me a dinosaur of sorts.
And, the reason Rosenblum gets people angry is because he represents the stress we are all under to change. Personally, I don't want to change to fit Rosenblum's image of the future. Unfortunately, if I don't change, I may have no future since the Rosenblum vision must be enticing to these corporations who need costs to come down in order to justify the continuation of television news production.
Likewise, in the video production business, I'm not an empire builder. I'd like to work with good equipment and make quality images for quality stories.
But I get the feeling that thinking this way makes me a dinosaur of sorts.
And, the reason Rosenblum gets people angry is because he represents the stress we are all under to change. Personally, I don't want to change to fit Rosenblum's image of the future. Unfortunately, if I don't change, I may have no future since the Rosenblum vision must be enticing to these corporations who need costs to come down in order to justify the continuation of television news production.
cameragod
Well-known member
Good grief for a guy who calls himself NewsMan you seem a bit thin skinned.
For a start look how Michael started this thread, “HERE'S SOMETHING YOU WON'T LIKE†he’s not looking for a reasoned debate, he wants to play, for the first time in months I’ve got a free weekend between home handyman projects, so I’ll play. The consultant crack was an ironic statement in the same tone as his opening line, I even put a smiley face at the end of it to highlight that, sorry if it offended you sensitive nature
Look no offence but you seem to prove my point, you are a freelancer who embraced the PD150 model and now things are so bad you are looking for a staff job. I’m a freelancer that would only use a PD150 to shoot his kids dance class and I’ve had the best financial year in 20 years. Ok so I still don’t make as much as Michael but then none of the people he indoctrinates in his dojo will either. Their future is not too bright as the only thing they have going for them is they are cheap. This industry seems to go in cycles and after a period where selling the cheap and more is better model, I bet it won’t be long before Michael is selling the speed and quality angle. That’s how consultants make money, by follow the trends from the front.
For a start look how Michael started this thread, “HERE'S SOMETHING YOU WON'T LIKE†he’s not looking for a reasoned debate, he wants to play, for the first time in months I’ve got a free weekend between home handyman projects, so I’ll play. The consultant crack was an ironic statement in the same tone as his opening line, I even put a smiley face at the end of it to highlight that, sorry if it offended you sensitive nature
Look no offence but you seem to prove my point, you are a freelancer who embraced the PD150 model and now things are so bad you are looking for a staff job. I’m a freelancer that would only use a PD150 to shoot his kids dance class and I’ve had the best financial year in 20 years. Ok so I still don’t make as much as Michael but then none of the people he indoctrinates in his dojo will either. Their future is not too bright as the only thing they have going for them is they are cheap. This industry seems to go in cycles and after a period where selling the cheap and more is better model, I bet it won’t be long before Michael is selling the speed and quality angle. That’s how consultants make money, by follow the trends from the front.
Bodhistaava
Member
I can't stand ya - Rosenbleum. You small like a cosultant to me. Your one of the reasons journalism is "cheapening" and why I'm getting out of the business.
Bodhistaava
Member
PS - sorry I spelled your name wrong. BTW if you have time please enlighten me on WHY you think what your doing is a GOOD thing for TV? Money aside if you can f&*%*&^ do that...okay? Money aside...why?
Bodhistaava
Member
Oh ya, you are a consultant..........
First of all, I can not believe that I only have four starts while Mr. Bodhavista has five. Never the less, I was going to write in response to Cameragod that I really enjoy the give and take on this site. For the most part, it gives me exposure to the best professionals in the business, and these are ultimately the kinds of questions and issues I have to deal with in my work all the time. I have enormous respect for you guys, for your depth of knowledge and your devotion to quality. To answer Mr B's question, I do this because I believe in the democratization of television. that more than anything else. Television today, for the most part is terrible. It is terrible in terms of its intellectual content (not technical). It is for the most part vapid, banal and insipid. When you compare it to the world of print it is tragic. The average American watches 4 hours of TV a day. The average American reads one book a year. So what is on TV is important. And what is on TV, the range and depth is a function, in my opinion, of who has access to trying to make it. Television will not suddenly get better because Les Moonves wakes up one day and has an insight. Television will get better when millions of people try to make it...and only the best get published. This, after all, is how writing is done. Millions of people try to write a novel, and only the best get published. If we ran the world of print the way we run the world of TV, you would walk into Barnes and Nobles and all the best sellers would be by Katie Couris, Dan Rather and Matt Lauer. What kind of books would we have? What kind of vapid culture would we be? And TV is VASTLY more powerful and pervasive than print. So THAT, is why I do this. OK?
cameragod
Well-known member
The problem I have with that Michael is that no matter how many people try and make TV it still has to get past the same small taste impaired group that program TV.
More is not better, better is better.
I must admit I enjoy our chats to, It is good to think deeply about more than just the technical side of what we do every now and then even if I believe you are wrong at lest it helps me sort out what I think as to what I feel.
More is not better, better is better.
I must admit I enjoy our chats to, It is good to think deeply about more than just the technical side of what we do every now and then even if I believe you are wrong at lest it helps me sort out what I think as to what I feel.
I
imported_blank
Guest
Hello Mr. Rosenblum. I can tell you that no one enjoys you here more then I. You defend yourself very well against the army here. Gotta respect that. But until you admit the real truth as to why you do """THIS""", until then -- "WAR".
It is terrible in terms of its intellectual content (not technical).
Michael, with all due respect - what you're doing is making the technical part banal and very amateurish as well, that is the problem most of us have with you sir.
only the best get published
The problem is YOU are consulting for non qualified personnel to do network pieces (technical banal) !!!! I will come back and tell you more of what I think. Gotta go do things - I left you a cartoon at the uncensored , check it out.
Welcome back Mr. Rosenblum.
NO!!!, You do this because you found a way to make a lot of money for as long as you can! You are good at that, no doubt. I agree with you that there is a lot of terrible TV out there, including reality shows shot with "IMX CREWS". If everyone did "their job" then all TV should be good, as for content some women like watching soaps, some guys like watching football and so on. NO one person will like everything. As long as everyone does their job TV should be good.
It is terrible in terms of its intellectual content (not technical).
Michael, with all due respect - what you're doing is making the technical part banal and very amateurish as well, that is the problem most of us have with you sir.
only the best get published
The problem is YOU are consulting for non qualified personnel to do network pieces (technical banal) !!!! I will come back and tell you more of what I think. Gotta go do things - I left you a cartoon at the uncensored
, check it out.Welcome back Mr. Rosenblum.
No thin skin, no offense taken, no PD-150. The problem with my town is population. I stay for my wife. That's the only reason why I'm not doing "bigger and better" things. I also do not "embrace" the small time thang. I do understand that it is what appears on the horizon and I don't want to fight it. That's all.
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