Grab your camcorders and mics, (and maybe some zombie make-up!), and get ready to video-tape the first of what promises to be an annual event: the world’s largest “Thriller” dance!

In tribute to Michael Jackson, and because it’s good clean fun, someone started up the international Thriller dance-a-thon that is supposed to go on all over the world - at the same time.

A website, Thrill the World, was created just to organize this event, and you can find out there where the Thriller dance is going on in your neighborhood, or try to get one started… but hurry, the dance is happening this coming Saturday.
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As I predicted, the larger part of our small-town lost power again last night in our first BIG storm of the season.

Not being able to use any electronics, instead relaxing in the semi-dark with candles and a roaring fire, sipping hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows made me realize that the Holidays (with a capital “H”!) are just around the corner.

So with the Holidays approaching,  you’re thinking you need a new camera to make sure you capture all the twinkle, sparkle, radiance and laughter during the over-commercialized season, right?

(Read our latest 2009 All Camcorder’s Buyer’s Guide here, that we just put online this morning, as an advancer for your early Holiday shopping pleasure!) Read the rest of this entry »

The FTC, (Federal Trade Commission), announced this week that it is beefing up the rules regarding paid endorsements by bloggers and Tweeters saying they love/use a product but in reality are shills for the company. This new regulation by the FTC is the first real change they’ve had in the rules since the early 1980s. From celebrities endorsing products on shows like “Oprah” to unknown so-called “users” who rave about the products on their blog, Twitter or Facebook pages, the Truth in Advertising guidelines didn’t touch social media until now. Read the rest of this entry »

Where are all the shooting gigs? How do you find them? Craigslist? Your local newspaper want ads? Some other vague work-for-hire site?

I just got back last night from shooting a 3-day gig with my brother down in central California. His specialty has been architectural, environmental, lighting and product images, my specialty has been all about people: interviews and sound recording. Together we made a pretty good team and wondered how we’d shop ourselves around better.

Serendipity made a visit to my email this morning, with the announcement of the WorldofShooters.com site. It’s very easy to zero in on your expertise and gear type, and easy for others looking to hire you to zone in on their needs, too.

With more and more companies downsizing, the freelance producers that can grab their gear and go are going to get the gigs when companies send out their plea for work. World of Shooters has you register by the type of still camera or video camera that you use, so everyone can easily sift through the first question: What do you shoot with?

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What’s the best camcorder? What’s the best editing program? What’s the best mic? If you’ve asked these questions in the past week, there is something that I have to let you in on. You, are a beginner. And that’s okay.

As a matter of fact, it’s great to see people out there trying every which way they can to grab as much information as they can. At first it seems like there is no question that can express what you really want to ask. And later, it seems like there is never an answer that seems like you can provide. This is the life of a video enthusiast. We have all gone down this same route.

So as educators it is up to us to field these questions, each and everyday. And yes, sometimes it’s that same question. Sometimes its all three, one after another. The answer is, it’s up to the user in the end and always will be.

The user receives specific moments of glory that they will always attach to a camera, mic or editing software. So I hope I have cleared up these common, and often repeated questions. It’s up to you.

As more video comes to light from the struggle inside Iran, one must marvel at the technology making this all possible. Even a decade ago, people had to reply mostly on images smuggled out of an area of conflict by journalists working for the traditional media. Now, with all the quick down-n-dirty ways of getting images on the airwaves, anyone who can get footage to the right sources can get their footage seen by the world.

A story from FOX News is an example of ways some people within Iran have gotten some of the graphic images to the press: by a James Bond-like spy camera embedded in what looks like an ordinary writing pen.

Unlike tiny spy cameras of days gone by, this one records to a flash drive and can be exported through a common USB port. FOX News reports that thousands of these pens were sent to the citizens inside Iran to get these images. Once the Iranian government found out about the pens, they began to confiscate them, and new unknown devices have since replaced the pen-cams. Read the rest of this entry »