Graduation Observation

I almost forgot this is the rush through Steffie’s graduation. My father was the first to notice there were hardly any video cameras and a boatload of digital still cameras. Five years ago the audience would have been packed with camcorders and a few film cameras for stills.

Hmmm. That’s very strange, because the common thread through advancing technology has always been that it brought new or better features. Video is certainly more advanced than still photography.

The secret is: utility and simplicity win out over more sophisticated technology.

Once you shoot video you’ve got to do something with it. My guess is most people are leaving it on tape, never bringing it into their computer to edit and transcode&#185. Editing video makes all the difference in the world, starting with (but not limited to) removing the boredom factor for your viewers.

Sending video via email isn’t that difficult – though there are no turnkey solutions. Even the easiest process takes dozens of steps you have to figure out more-or-less on your own.

On the other hand, photos are easy. And, even if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can send pictures via email.

I can tell lots of people are shooting and don’t know what they’re doing, because I’m always getting huge photo files, too big for any screen. If they’re not too big, they’re poorly shot pictures screaming to be processed in Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or (the free imagery program) Gimp.

Maybe, someday, this will change and video will regain its status. For the time being, enjoy the stills. Getting them via email is still very cool.

&#185 – That I get to use the word transcode says bundles about why so few people process their home movies!

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