updated
06/1/07
CYBER Television
STUDIO IN A SUITCASE TM
Year... 2007
|
CYBER Television STUDIO IN A SUITCASE TM Year... 2007 |
The History of
the CYBER TV STUDIO
It probably all began in the late 1980's when I was
asked if I had any ideas on how pilots of the
Navy's Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds could critique themselves in the field immediately
following a show or practice performance with just using off-the-shelf (read
inexpensive) consumer
gear. I had at the time the NEW 8mm Sony V-9 Handycam & the GV-8
TVCR; both
used the new
metal particle 8mm tape. This apparently did the trick. They
flew and I shot. They landed and I was
immediately ready to play back their 45
minute flying routine. They then would
watch and hear on the
GV-8's 3" LCD screen and
3" speaker what they just did
moments before. Today they use Sony 3
chip professional camcorders and
dual editing machines, Laptops all costing thousands
of dollars
and basically providing the same service I gave them in 1988;
well... it's only TAX dollars folks!
Then I was challenged to address a videographer's
worst nightmare; the loss and/or stolen equipment,
either
while in route to or from a job shoot. This meant I would have to come up
with some way to
maintain positive control (i.e. possession at all times) of high value camcorders, monitors, VCR's
and
etc. This can become some what of an involved situation when on assignment;
strange neighborhoods
& cities doing weddings, location shoots for
clients or when lugging & carrying
this video equipment
in taxis, buses, subways
or planes. I found trying to resolve this issue almost impossible, if not elusive
for months on end. I was challenged again with, "could a new field of endeavor be
found, that was
potentially more rewarding, but a lot less specialized as wedding,
legal & even event videography?"
About this time, thru contacts, I was asked
to provide video coverage of a highly classified seminar
for the military. The
ground rules surrounding this military event were to say the least, extraordinary!
There
were no elevators, just stairs. I could arrive & setup as early as needed,
but once there could
not leave because of security. I couldn't bring any assistants
or helpers (not even my teenage sons).
I would
be entirely on my own. It was due to the
classified nature of the shoot, that all editing would
be
done at the location.
Materials, tapes & recordings utilized would have to be relinquished to the
military before exiting. I couldn't bench edit, title or even perform a clean-up edit off
premises. but I
did recalled reading in 1989 articles in Camcorder
& Videomaker magazines
that constantly referred
to the "Wave of the Future... Miniaturizing & Making
More Portable All Things Video."
It was finally the introduction of Pana
WJAVE-5 video mixer that made it possible in December 91
"TV Studio In A SuitCase"
first live demonstration. It basically consisted of 1 steamer trunk
that
weighed 85 lbs. along with an assortment of several gym bags of cables and wires that allowed all
the necessary equipment carried by one person in almost
one trip. This would go a long way toward
resolving the previously worries of loss, theft
and even
creating that New Field in Videography. I
should point out in hind sight the invaluable help I received in October '91 by
using ... The Internet.
Now, back to our military video. The agenda called
for one host, one guest and an MC that would
open and close the event. The audience would consist of about a hundred pilots. First
would be an
introductory greeting pre-taped by me; then five minutes of motion picture film that I decided to also
transfer to tape; 36 slides, 24 overheads and
3 key photographs. I decided to place
all on a video tape
and index them in the order of
their use and playback on my player VCR. Additionally, all end credits
and music would be loaded
into the titler memory and on my Sony Walkman cassette respectively.
The edit master
& the customer tapes would be pre-formatted with headers, lead-in's, logo's, dates,
places and titles. Since I was to provide my client with 3 VHS tapes, I decided to wire
my set up so
they would be created at the same time as the edit master. So now my customer
VHS tapes, like my
Master Edit Tape would in fact be First
generation and all videos Fully Edited
and all
in Real Time!
What I rationalized was I would cover my key subjects
& audience with over lapping camcorders,
thus eliminating the need for cameramen. Now not needing videographer's; I
did not need tripods.
I only used brackets, clamps & light stands; which are
more portable. Not risking
battery problems,
everything was plugged into a/c. outlets. I
used two
wireless microphones, I did not have to rely
on
inferior camera mic's. This would then cancel
the need for any long audio cable lines to
be run.
Video cabling took some experimentation. Monster S-video cables allow me to run lines 150'
or
more, with no appreciable image loss when compared to coaxial, RCA or
BNC type connectors.
Back to our important Central Control Area layout and the
reasoning that went behind it's design
of my master control would be the then new audio/video
mixer/switcher WJAVE-5 with its titler
attached. My
primary camera was the also new Canon
L1 which I would place on bus A & have
right
next to me for the basic straight-on shot. Because, I realized the WJAVE5 had only
2 inputs
buses, so I added a JVC JXS-900 switcher to the second (B) bus. Now I
had 7 more inputs for
other video type sources to be mixed. I first added my playback
VCR, Sony cassette Walkman
and 4 additional cameras covering the shoot. On my
right Control Area setup was the play back
cassette deck & VCR. My left was stacked the master record VCR Toshiba FF-990 creating
a
S-VHS master edit, plus 3 VHS VCR's
for my customer tapes. In front of me was the WJAVE5
with titleler attached.
The 1 wired mic for audience questions was plugged into the
mixer front audio
jack,
while two wireless mic's were transmitting backed to my L1. I could do this only with the
L1
with its MM-200 mixing mic that allowed the wireless mic's (Azden WR22-PRO)
to be mixed with
the L1 shotgun mic. A 9" color TV provided me
a program out monitor
while 4 Sony GV-8 TVCR's
gave me monitors for my 4 video sources (2
for the mixer, 1 switcher & 1 for the VCR playback).
There were head phones
& Radio Shack 2-way comm. system used to give
directions in the studio. .
Camera One (L1) allows for remote control operation
of its 15X lens from in back since the IR sensor
pivots. Sony 8mm and 3 other small Hi8 cameras on light stands rounded out the cameras that
were
deployed for this shoot. Camera 2 would be a reverse angle that covered the audience
scenes while 3
& 4 were alternate podium shots. These cameras were
picked not only because
of small size for
portability, but their low
light characteristics, inconspicuous presence, high resolution & maybe more
importantly, for their S-video out terminals.
All in all everything worked out OK.
I had the speaker do a dress rehearsal the day
before, to perfect his timing, catch any bugs in
equipment connections, tuned my audio levels, setup an EDL for rough camera switching, shot
angles & a
heads up time table for off camera rolls of
pre-recorded material. Next day and 'Only
Minutes'
after the final words were spoken & while the host and guest were still shaking
hands with
the audience, I presented the guest, host and master of ceremonies a finished,
edited & titled VHS
tape (including all closing credits & back ground music) of the
2 hour lecture! It should be pointed
out for dramatic impact the customer tapes should
be Fuji
H471S recorded on SVHS VCR's,
BUT
at the VHS
setting. This will generate a very exceptional customer tape,
especially if ALL
video paths are Y/C
connections. Remember, that both the edit master
and customer tapes are
FIRST
generation tapes. Your Client and Your competition will be amazed!
Today, we have made a giant leap into the next
Millennium and have gone Digital, more precisely
consumer mini DV. We have now been able to reduce those suitcases, steamer trunk
to just ONE
roll-aboard and a piggy back soft bag and we can now include an Editing Laptop
computer as well.
Our camcorders are no bigger than a box of raisins even though they can contain
3 CCD chips,
optical stabilization, Flash Memory removable storage devices of 1+ GB & lenses
with names like
Zeiss, Fujinon, Fluorite Canon and even Leica. Our titler is embedded into
our Laptop Software,
thousands of transitions and special effects are part of our systems profile,
streaming video editing
is almost like child's play and full audio surround and multi channel sound is
blended with multiple
balanced sources for audio layering, blending and mixing. Now we can say
that we not only have
been able to bottle a Television Studio but a Hollywood Studio as well into our
Cyber Suitcase !
I am often asked and even challenged as to what can be done with the
videographer's back up
tapes, out takes, master edits and duplicate customer materials. Most wedding
Videographers will
tell you quite honestly that they sit and rot in storage only to decay and be a
total loss. Almost never
is the answer to when they are ever needed, requested or used again to replace
missing, lost or
damaged originals. And here we are talking about priceless wedding memories. Can
something be
thought of and done to remedy this. I think I have found a possible
answer. Put the master edit
on a DVD+RW and sell it as an emergency back-up to be stored by the customer
where ever
they choose it to be safest and most convenient. For a small fee,
duplicate media can be streamed
off and re-accomplished and for a minimum charge to assure the repeat
business. Certain copy write
measures can be added to make it more difficult for a friend to start to spin off
copies, if this is thought
to be necessary. Now all back-up, camera originals, duplicates and other
materials used in the
original production can safely and efficiently be recycled, reused or put in
refuse & pitched. End of issue.
Standing back for a moment after everything was
laid out and in place, I thought just maybe I could
not only have a one man studio, but also reduce my trips to the vehicle to just one! Back in
1991 this
was accomplished
by using Hi8 mini cams, view cams and palm-corders.
In the 21st century a new
technology arrived on the scene: (Digital Video). We can now increase substantially the video quality
as well as the hourly or daily charge rate by a factor of double, triple or more. The
introduction of the
2nd. wave of DV cams in 98 came with Firewire,
Viewscreens, Optical stabilizers on board,
improved optics & all not much bigger than a box of butter
will allow us to carry six studio cams, two
DV VCR's & 15" monitor attached to a P4 3+GHz Laptop
as our studio controller and as our
preview out screen. NOW our laptop will be our character generator,
mixer/switcher & even a substitute
TelePrompTer! Before we used the Videonics
S-Video equipped character generator TM-2000 &
MX-1 mixer/switcher. Both of
these are wedge shape and stack compactly
along with our 6 or
8 DV pocket
view camcorders in an airline type roll aboard luggage
system. PORTER
CASE of
Indiana makes an excellent 2 piece non crushable,
hard shell, non-descript
carry-on that's suitable for
high
value video equipment for a go anywhere
luggage system. The Alessis compander is one choice
as a compact field audio
mixer. BUT, now our DVLaptop replaces this unit as well. Our LCD Laptop
comes with a High Definition UXGA 1600 by 1200 resolution screen in 15, 16 and
even 17" Wide
form factors. The 15" is equal to a 17" monitor BTW.
All of this is quite light weight and fits in our
our
roll-aboard along with our mini disc audio source unit.
All of our wires, cables, adapters, mics,
batteries, earphones, power cords & adapters are carried in the piggyback
saddle bag. Azden
diversity dual mics, PZM mic and NRG mite lights
can also all be packed in either luggage bag.
Our mini VCR for Master Tapes was the Sony GV-D900
at 5" X 5" X 2". It is now the Laptop
HDD @ about 80-120GB. The PORTER
CASE on the road, rail or in the air is multi-functional.
Ideally this would put the roll-aboard under the seat in front you,
while the side bag would go in the
over head or lap for security & control (this
should apply to buses & subways ). When we travel as
passengers in a taxi, airport limo, vans or strange autos the roll-aboard will stand upright on the floor
by our feet and the side
bag is in you lap and never
out of sight. Porter Case has come out with a
new model designed Just for us Videographers with dual Locks and lid brace
and is called the ELITE.
For 2000's we have the
BLACK Mamba2
Flagship DV 3 CCD Top Loading cam with it's German
Leica high quality optics, Flash Memory reader / writer, 4 Million Mega
Pixels, Optical Stabilization
and very important... great Low Light capability... even the famous Zero Lux
Night Shot as well. Now
because the cams are so small and compact carrying 4 or even 8 cams is a
reality if it is Ever Needed.
We also in 2004 just got our first TWO upgrades to
FireWire that will now allow
FireWire to travel
1 foot or 10 feet or 70' or even 100 feet! Our FLIGHT3 has 7 FireWire and
9 USB2.0 sockets. We
also now have our Bluetooth AudioRAZR for wireless communications and excellent
Audio editing.
The prices have gotten better in recent years
and the new Flash Memory
systems the size of a postage
stamps for SD and MMC that Mamba cams above can use
is 2GB going on
4GB this year with Out years
planning to reach 18 GB by end of 2005 and with Blue Laser 40+ GB by 2006.
Amazingly !
Today (2008) we now have in place HDMI sockets and Long line Cables that plug
into BluRay Laptop's
like my new Sony Vaio 5lb FZ model that can store, burn and make copies of Blu-Ray
discs upto 100GB.
I use the new HDMI equipped 1080p Canon High Def ultra tiny cam HDV-DV20. I
prefer this type of
camcorder that uses DV tape instead of mini disc formats because I can record 2
hours or more if needed.
Now, Lets look at what has been done by others
with such a mobile and compact system…
Briefings, Lectures, Talks, Panel discussions,
Inventories, Advertising, Seminars, Testing,
,
Teleconferencing, Certification,
Re-certification, Conventions, OJT, Instructional
& Safety
classes, Meetings, Classroom, Licensing, Guest Lectures, Field location work,
Accident and
Insurance
investigation, Demonstrations, Star & Exceptional employee cloning,
Real-estate
presentations, Training Tapes, Schools, New equipment training tapes, Record
archiving &
discretionary taping; police & law enforcement, govt. agency
(local, state, federal, military);
privacy subjects by professionals (lawyers, doctors,
medical institutions) surveillance;
public resources, criminal activity, environmental
pollution/poaching & etc. You name it!
Being selected for a shoot or wining a bid there's an important checklist that must be accomplished
prior to the shoot. Like wedding videography, a schematic of the shoot, detailing all the possible
camera angles, any obstructions, lighting requirements,
location of electrical outlets, audio paths,
microphone placement, lens
filters, control room arrangement & any potential problem areas that need
to be mapped out.
All audio and video materials to be demonstrated and used for the shoot has to be
prerecorded for internal playback. Copies of all
speeches, names and locations of all players, list of all
credits, spelling of all titles,
samples of all programs, agreements of all items to be listed, a copy of all
directories & a sample of all invitations should be on hand. Make sure you have a Contract that says
Exactly what
is Expected & what is Required. We know that nobody wants to be
churning out
duplicates all night in a hotel room, especially when on
the road for a customer that has
a demand for
numerous tapes (more than 16) within 24 hours... Therefore, an arrangement
for spare VCR's on or
off site for all this dubbing has to be arranged ahead of time. Otherwise,
you will be forced to provide
copies from your home base and thus loose one of the
'SuitCase' prime advantages and dollar earners...
and that is its immediacy.
Please don't forget this point folks!
Plan Carefully!
Producing all the customer tapes
simultaneously at the end of the shoot or providing
on site editing-on-the-fly master
recording capability is the most important part of determining costs
and rates charged.
Some clients you may not
wish to offer
this choice due to conditions, overhead
costs or just professional discretion. Remember, you have a unique and specialized
service that's
immediate, precise & sophisticated... Do NOT hesitate
to charge accordingly for this expertise.
Many of these edit-on-the-fly, TV Studio In A
Suitcase shoots have been accomplished from coast
to coast & even Japan. Lately
I have been on the road giving talks and demonstrations
at many
video events and conventions. Many prominent names are used & usually each product represents
the manufacturer's state-of-the-art model.
Because of your tremendous response to implement
this
concept by the thousands we have more than earned their respect. We have
earned their trust as well.
When new models and new technologies
come out, we have been asked to beta test and even help
recommend improvements to equipment
prior to their public release. 1995 an example was
the first
proto-type of a video switcher/mixer with redundant inputs (4 or
6) and outputs
(4) of S-video, RCA,
and
DV; only now we have the Flight3 computer for
real time editing, streaming and DVD archiving!
Perhaps the genius of all this is that anyone
in video can now substitute their own existing equipment
for newer technologies quite easily.
Then when jobs and money come in, up grading can be a
snap.
This will allow the videographer to begin to charge more as he adopts & invests
in more professional
equipment. An excellent example might be a $500 charge
for 1 day shoot using existing DV cameras.
Once these are replaced with 3CCD camcorders; charging $2000 for the same
shoot is quite possible
and really quite reasonable. After all we are now providing
the client Beta Cam levels of quality in
digital format! A hidden bonus is that everything
in the suitcase can & will be utilized back at the
studio edit station to great
advantage as a multi-functional upgrade.
BUT, Choose Carefully!
The items described here fit to form a very compact, light and powerful
portable television studio. They are listed
here as a guide line only. Larger & heavier equipment will
destroy these advantages
and make this concept impractical. "Bigger
Is Not Always Better."
This entire concept in the future will be reduced
to a shoulder tote bag and will be HDTV! Ease of
operation, simplicity in
design, compactness in size and quality
of workmanship by trademarks of
'Made in USA' and 'Japan' are the Hallmarks of
the Cyber Television Studio in a Suitcase
you
have before you. So much for tomorrow; Today the power of Cyber
Studio is in your hands limited
only by YOUR imagination & creativity. Grasp this knowledge and you will have all the tools you will
need to succeed. Good
Luck to all of you & drop me a line from time to time and if it
is important
we will pass on to all the others so everyone benefits.
Millennium ADDENDUM
We have some new updates to add to this mix...
Now you don't have to throw away any of your old favorite
editing equipment.
The Videonics MX-1 or Pana mixers and with three
or
five of these Codec's you can make all the Digital
& analog signals from
your camcorders
input through the S-video or even RCA input socket. With the
MX-1 4 input you will have
for a fraction of the cost an A/B/C/D roll even
with live feed of multi track audio as well as
video. The 3rd or 5th Codec would
be for output and could go right to DV tape, analog tape
or even a computer Raid
hard drive. These Codec's are the exact same size as a box of
raisins & are
even lighter in weight. Now any video camcorder can have analog inputs with
the
Codec as well. There are many uses for this unique product.
MY Video Editing Laptop is
a State-of-the-Art system with features such as full motion, streaming video
editing. This unit
has over 100+GB HDD, Pentium IV @ 3+GHz speed, 1 GB Ram, 128MB V-Ram, UXGA 17"
Cinema-wide 16X9 screen with my UFO 7 FireWire/ 7 USB
DV In/Out along w/ 2 'On Board'
DVD burners, SD Reader/Writer, WiFi & Bluetooth. Communication system
is WalkAbouts!
BLACK Mamba2 3CCD 4 will fit Laptop Video Editor / Control Room
M2, 9hr bat, Wide Angel Remote
Videonics MXProDV bottom right INFO
HERE.
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