Thought Theater

I Hate Instruction Manuals genre: Indie-Script

I hate instruction manuals. Last fall, I went to the New York Film Academy to learn digital filmmaking. The camera we used for the program was a Panasonic AG-DVX100. The good news is that we received hands on instruction and training in using the camera. Panasonic came out with a new camera early this year, the AG-HVX200 which in simple terms is a high definition upgrade to the DVX100 that uses both Mini-DV tapes as well as Panasonic's new P2 cards (similar to a still camera SD card). I knew they were going to introduce the camera last fall so I decided to wait to purchase the HVX200 rather than the DVX100 that I used at NYFA.

I've had the new camera for a couple months but I haven't taken the time to read the instructions...truthfully it's quite similar to the camera used at NYFA. Last night I decided I would get up early this morning and upload a digital short I made at NYFA to You Tube (basically a video hosting site). Well as they say so much for the best laid plans. My digital short wasn't in a format that is compatible with You Tube so I set out to convert it by downloading the Mini-DV through the new camera into Final Cut in order to change the format. Speed painfully forward to midday and my little plan has hit enough speed bumps to warrant a new axle.

Anyway, I haven't had time to post some new entries to Thought Theater so I thought I would at least offer my lame explanation. As my friends can attest, I have an aversion to instruction manuals which usually means that if I don’t take a class where the training is hands on and visual, then I learn through trial and error. Well this morning turned out to be heavy on the error. The good news is that I'm stubborn enough that I don't give up easily. Bottom line, I expect to get the digital short posted after a few more twists and turns.

In the meantime, please take some time to look back on some of the older postings. The April archive is quite large and you can also peruse the "genre" list in the right hand column to pick from a variety of topics sections. The content mix is quite varied so hopefully there is something fro everybody. Thanks for visiting Thought Theater.