Ferrets and Video 1988

While transferring VHS tapes to DVD for clients I went searching for the few remaining VHS tapes I still have of the "Early Years" of learning video production. Back in 1987 I bought my first VHS camcorder. I found a tape of footage I shot in 1988 and put together the video below.

I still have that old G.E. Camcorder! It's tube pickup works but images are shifted into the green spectrum. Back then there were no CCD chips, early camcorders had small tubes to pick up the image.

In those days I edited on a VHS deck and had to dub from camera to tape in the order of my cuts. It was not easy and mixing music and such to the edits was a bear. Later I got a Panasonic AVE-5 digital mixer and was able to mix cameras on the fly. I acquired a few old cameras and repaired them so I could switch and dissolve camera signals. To the right you can see my old editing suite.
But back in the day it was just me, my camera and tripod and a ton of in-camera editing as I shot. That camera was heavy but it went everywhere I went and I shot a pile of VHS tapes. I only wish i still had all of them. In time most were recorded over or thrown away.

It's hard to believe I was 27 back then.
It's also hard to believe that I turn 50 this month and I'm still shooting video!

Seems this has been a life long passion. My career in broadcasting began in 1979 when I accepted a job as a DJ on a local Country Music radio station, WBSJ. Not quite out of High School I worked the weekend shift. After graduation I became the night time jock working Monday through Friday 8 to midnight. I made (after taxes) $71 dollars a week and somehow survived on it.

Yes, I was skinny back then. But I loved the job and couldn't see myself doing anything else, even though I was probably starving more than I should. As I advanced in my broadcast career I became music director, program director and operations manager at several stations. Soon I made enough money to have a few luxuries and the camera was a huge purchase for me in 1987. Back then it cost $1000 and that was a major investment.

That old camera finally was replaced with a Hi8mm camcorder half it's size and today I own several, from huge shoulder cameras to the Mini-DV Canon HV30 & 40. And today i edit on a computer. A far cry from the old VHS tape days.

But still, I miss the old days. Even the pain in the ass editing decks. I was a younger man then. And I had far more energy and drive. Over the years I've learned much about video and adjusted to the changing technology. But that old VHS probably brings back some of my best and most treasured memories...