ric

hi,

newbie -

i find this all terribly confusing - i contend with the new technology to get my experimental short films on disc, so that i can mail them out to my friends - that's transferring ciné film to dv: a headache ~ but there are ways ...

recently i landed a Panasonic M10 vhs camcorder in brill condition, it has an excellent lens, and i use it for long-time shots where the ciné medium couldn't cope (about 2.5 minutes of film per cartridge); it's a great cam, when you get used to its foibles, it hasn't let me down, it's a great piece of gear!

but vhs videos do wear out - dvd has that advantage over them; but i would never junk all my analogue equipment, which i still add to, it's just too much fun crossing analogue with dv!

but dvd's - i have a hell of a time with dvd's - i burn a disc, play it back, it skips - instant nervous breakdown - play it back again - no worries - it was the player! all my dvd players can do this to me, i have 3 in computers and one stand-alone: they can all skip and stutter when they feel like it, and then play the same disc as if nothing ever went wrong - it's enough to drive you bananas; at least with film, you know a dodgy splice is a dodgy splice - it is a known quantity - but dvd's ... i mean, what the hell? i never know what's going to happen when i spin a disc, and i never know what's causing a blip when it occurs: dust on the lens? grease on the disc, bad hair day? or what?

i still notice suitcases of full-size vhs casettes in most big stores, thank goodness - i will panic-buy if the call goes out to discontinue these, i will buy enough cassettes to last me out ... vhs is 'so' user-friendly ... yes, the visual quality is inferior to dvd (and film) but i count content over impression, i don't need 'high definition' images of cars doing their car things on endless motorways; but then again, i shouldn't turn my nose up at it either?

forward-compatible media? that's celluloid film, as long as it is produced, it goes on forever, if looked after; and the hardware is stable - projectors and ciné cameras, if they haven't been abused / neglected, will run on and on

it's a hoax, anyway:- celluloid is 'painterly', whereas dv is graphic (art); they are turning us into graphics consumers whereas what i want is Fine Art film / images; this is a huge pitfall in the dv equation ~ they are killing off the art with 'total graphics', imho

acrylic paint will not replace oils

dv will not replace celluloid

they are different media

vive la difference!

asteroid