Thoughts on Digital Video

For those who don't regularly browse youtube content or browse slashdot obsessively... I suggest something which I think is well worth the bits to download.

Here's a link.

But you don't come to Pro Bono Geek for links to the latest media content. There are better blogs written by much more interesting people out there for such things. So, in addition to the link above (which I repeat again here for your convenience), here are some thoughts on digital video...

I've been considering getting Sarah a digital video (DV) camera for Christmas. Not really sure if I can afford to the level of quality I would want to get her, so it may have to be pushed off until after I strike it rich playing the California Lotto. They have a lotto down here, don't they? Anyway, since the idea came into my mind I've been thinking about what I might do if I had access to such technology.

So far... haven't come up with much. Sarah wants/needs the camera for school. Learning how to use it now will make doing ethnographic film making easier when she gets to that point in her graduate studies. So she's got a rationale for the expensive little bobble. I, on the other hand, have really no justification other than it has cool buttons.

I'm an avid fan of The Show with Ze Frank and his show is made possible by a DV camera. But I'm sure not that funny, nor committed, to doing such a thing. It's already risky that I, a person with political ambition, write a blog... heaven forbid if there were sound bytes!

There are other uses for a DV camera. Like, I'm told that a group of guys once went to Los Vegas with a fancy camera and took a bunch of pictures of their exploits. But that may or may not be true. But how often do you really produce that kind of footage? And, after you've created the footage, what in the world are you supposed to do with it? How often do you rewatch home movies?

All of these questions got me thinking... maybe I'm approaching the question all wrong. Perhaps a DV camera is not a means to a particular end, but a tool for general innovation. For example, I have this new case for my media server. The case includes a vaccum florescent display. At first I thought, wow... what am I going to do with that. Now, about a month later, I've written little display and control apps that allow me to manage my media collection without having to turn on the TV. Neat and energy efficient!

So the question becomes, would I have thought of the idea had I never owned the case? Probably not. But since the tool was available my mind got thinking and eventually innovation struck. Perhaps a DV camera, then, is not technology to be purchase because I have particular goals in mind... but because having the technology will present opportunities I would never have even considered... oh, and because Sarah would like it