ProMax Shutting Down

Word came over various mailing lists and forums today that Promax, longtime VAR to the video industry and sponsor of the NAB Digital Media Cafe, is shutting down. Lots of people are justifiably lamenting this, and wondering what it represents to the industry as a whole.

Personally, we hadn't order anything from Promax in close to a decade, after some bad experiences with them selling us removable media (Jazz cartridges, when they were all the rage) that were clearly used, some even containing other people's data. The first time it happened I wrote it off as a simple mix up. But it happened again, and Promax never was able to provide a decent explanation, or, for that matter, an apology. So, needless to say, we stopped ordering from them.

Our situation must have been the exception, however, because Promax had a reputation for integrity, something that isn't always easy to find in the cut-throat world of hardware sales. Charles was a good guy, always friendly and gracious when I'd see him at industry events.

The industry has changed a lot since Promax opened in 1994. Building hard drive arrays is no longer the black art it once was back in the SCSI days, and technical information and support is readily available online, making it much easier for people to build their own systems without having to rely on VARs. Margins are razor thin, competition fierce. Our faltering economy only makes matters worse.

Interesting times...

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My Very First Camera

Going through some old tapes in our warehouse recently, I came across a bunch of old Hi8 tapes. Remember Hi8? I sure do. In fact, it's the format that started my career. Sit back, my friends, and I'll tell you the tale. Yessir, right about near the end of the last century, oh, about nineteen hundred ninety, as I recall...

I was in the midst of my college career at the University of Maryland (go Terps!), and had recently switched from being a vocal music major (I'm not kidding about having a lovely singing voice, you know...) to RTVF, Radio Television and Film. I'm working at the RTVF Tech Center, the campus TV studio, having a blast, learning all I can about the TV engineering world. It's a fairly well-equipped facility for the time, with 1" machines, betacam decks, a Chyron Scribe, an ADO 1000, and a brand new Grass Valley 200 switcher. Two studios, one for the students to beat up on (equipped with Norelco PC-70 cameras!) and one for the "real" production work, primarily the athletic department's coaches shows.

I was getting some freelance jobs, tucking away some money, and I knew I wanted to buy a video camera for myself. But what to buy? (Cue the choir music, the footage of the clouds parting and beams of light shining through...)

Sony had just introduced a new tape format, Hi8, and the flagship model of the Hi8 line was the CCD-V5000. Full sized, shoulder mounted, VU meters on the side...hoo boy, this baby fed my naive techno-lust by the shovel full. I saved up my money, got on the waiting list (they were in very short supply at first) and eventually got the camera.

Dave was a very happy boy. Ignorance was bliss. I didn't know what a nightmare Hi8 would end up being in terms of dropouts (Fuji eventually came up with a tape formulation that worked, but it took a couple of years), didn't know that the initial run of these cameras had backfocus problems, didn't know how limiting it would be that the camera was single-chip.

Nope, all that stuff came later. This thing was the bees knees, it looked so dang professional, and as long as there was plenty of light it really did make some fine looking pictures.

A few years later Sony came out with the UVW betacam decks, which allowed us to enter the "big leagues", format wise, and later miniDV was introduced. We used to jokingly call miniDV "Hi8 that works," since they filled the same general niche in the production world. These days it's DV50 and HD, with no-excuses gear that makes drop-dead gorgeous pictures, runs without a hitch and never complains.

But that first camera, well, I suppose it was partly the fact that it was mine, my first investment in trying to make a real go at this professional video thing. That camera was pretty special to me.

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Cheap Umbrellas!

Here's link to what appears to be a pretty snazzy deal on an umbrella lighting kit -

LINK -Handheld Items

I'm guessing that none of this gear is particularly beefy, but the price is right and it's one of those things that's very useful to have in your bag of tricks.

An umbrella give you a nice soft light source, very flattering to the talent. I suspect this particular kit still gives a bit of a hotspot, since the light source has no reflector directing all of the light into the umbrella. Still, this could be useful for lighting someone in an interview, or for lighting up a green screen.

One popular methods when working with umbrellas is to actually us the light coming through the umbrella, rather than the reflected light. So you aim the pointy part of the umbrella at the talent. You get less light, but it's very soft and even.

The down side of umbrellas is that you have very little control over the light, which tends to spill all over your set and background. This can be a problem, especially in small spaces. That's why most soft lighting for video is done using Chimera's, which provide much more directional control over a soft source than an umbrella. They are also much more expensive, but in my own experience they are a worthwhile investment, making it much easier to achieve a nice lighting effect quickly.

Still, having a couple of umbrellas in your kit is a good thing, and at these prices it's hard to go wrong.

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Bad Weather

Stuck at my local Mall, waiting for the office workers to clear the snowy roads so I can make my way home. In the mean time, thanks to my local Apple store, time to post some thoughts on situations where you find yourself in the midst of inclement weather.

Obviously, if you're a shooter you need to be prepared with rain gear for your camera. I've always been a fan of PortaBrace rain covers - They're tough, well made and come with the best warranty possible. You can even send them a bag or rain cover for a cleaning and "tune up" and they'll check it out and make sure it's up to snuff. For free. Keeping your gear dry isn't something you want to fool around with, so it's worth investing in quality rain protection.

Back when we were producing highlights videos and TV shows for the University of Maryland Terps, I spend many an afternoon in the pouring rain, covering football or lacrosse. The PortaBrace covers never let me down.

A few years ago I was hired to do steadicam for the lighting of the national christmas tree in Washington DC. It's a fun, VIP event, with the president and lot of muckity-mucks in attendance. Barbara Eden, TV's Genie, was cohosting, along with country music legend Roy Clark. I was positioned at the front of the stage, and it was my job to lead in Roy Clark, who was dressed as Santa for the big show. It was a beautiful, snowy night, perfect for the planned festivities. 

President Bush makes his entrance and sits, along with the first lady, safely behind their plexiglass shield. Roy Clark makes his entrance from the back of the audience, and I walk in front of him with the steadicam, backpedaling while my cable puller keeps me out of trouble. This is live TV, going out around the world. My big move goes well, and Roy makes his way up on the stage. I reposition myself to grab reaction shots of the crowd. Suddenly, I realize that something's not right. The crowd has that mixture of horror and amusement that washes over when something unexpected has happened.

Turning back toward the stage, I see that Roy Clark's Santa-pants have fallen down around his ankles. Even worse, he doesn't know it, because he's wearing black leggings underneath to keep warm. So he's going on with his act, thinking that the audience is eating up everything he saying ("Gosh, these old jokes are really killing tonight!") but in fact they are laughing at Mr. Clarks presidential performance, being done sans trousers.

Barbara Eden finally ran up and saved him (funny how no one looks at Roy Clark when Barbara Eden is on stage...). But as much as it pains me to admit it, the best moment of the night went to President Bush. He sauntered up to the mic and said, "Looks like Santa could use a new belt for Christmas..."

Gotta love live TV!

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My Favorite Light Kit

Lighting is probably the most important element for creating quality video. As a friend of mine likes to say, "Videos without lighting are just home movies." Yes, there are certainly plenty of moments when you need to run-and-gun, and have no choice but to use available light, but most of the time (and with good planning!) you should be able to have control of your lighting.

One of the most common set-ups we find ourselves shooting is the single camera talking-head interview. No, I don't mean a sit-down with David Byrne, (My high school english teacher taught David Byrne. He used to do her bulletin boards. How cool is that?) I'm talking about a simple, straight-forward single person interview, the kind where you don't see or hear the person asking the questions. Think more Ken Burns and less 60 Minutes.

My favorite light kit for this situation is the ARRI Softbank IV. Two 150 watt Fresnel's, a 300 watt Fresnel, a 600 watt Fresnel and 1K open face with a Chimera, providing a nice, soft source. This kit is almost perfect, but you'll want to add an additional light stand (which will fit in the wheeled case), some colored gels, diffusion, wood clothes pins (when you're on-set you'll want to call them C47s), and a few other odds and ends we'll cover in upcoming posts.

I know, I know...if you're just starting out, you're probably saying, "Holy crap, Dave! This light kit is almost three grand! That'll buy a lot of burgers, pay a lot of rent!"  Yes, indeed, it will, but investing in a lighting kit like this one is one of the best things you can do for yourself when starting out. Why? Several good reasons.

First, because lights don't become obsolete. I've had by Softbank IV kit for over ten years, and I'm still using it all the time. My kit has travelled all over the world (it was a lot easier pre-9/11), collected its share of battle scars, but other than a few minor repairs and regular lamp replacement it's been a workhorse. And in that time we've been through several tape formats and camera packages, from Betacam to DV50 and now HD. Good, quality lights can last for decades when properly cared for, and ARRI lights are top-notch.

Second, because fresnel lights provide a lot of control and are much safer than open-faced lights. The more control you have, the more creative options you'll be able to explore. Remember, good lighting is as much about where light isn't as it is where light is. 

When I first started out I had a Lowell Omni kit that I purchased used from a friend for a few hundred dollars. (I still have it, and it does occasionally see use. Lights last forever...) Lowell makes quality lights, for sure, and there are circumstances where they are the perfect tool for the job, but I found myself frustrated with the lack of control I had over the lights, especially in the small spaces we often find ourselves in when doing corporate talking-head interviews. Investing in the ARRI kit gave me so much more control, and my work got better because of it. There were so many new, interesting creative possibilities to explore. It was thrilling!

To be fair, Lowell has come out with some really nice kits in the nearly twenty years since I bought that kit. Still, the ARRI Softbank IV remains my favorite, all-around go-to kit for quality and versatility. The wheeled case makes it relatively easy to tote around, and my crews never tire of hearing me joke about how heavy a light kit is. (Right guys? Anyone?)

In a future post we'll go into detail on how I like to light a single-camera talking head interview. In the mean time, what's your favorite light kit?