Category — Sony

Since 2005, the SNL digital shorts have become regularly integrated into the show. By using a simple Sony hdv camcorder, they can create a skit filmed on various locations instead of on a sound stage. In my opinion, the best ones are ‘Lazy Sunday‘ and the emmy award winning ‘D$#! in a box“. Last saturday’s show was actually pretty funny with Jonah Hill.

Here’s Jonah & Andy’s short:

I definitely laughed pretty hard, but it goes too far in the kissing scene.

Smart People, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Quaid, is finally coming to theaters. I’ve been hearing buzz around this movie for quite some time. That’s probably because my friend Camille Mana, most notably from UPN’s “One on One” fame, has a pretty big part in the film. She plays one of Dennis Quaid’s students, as you can see in the trailer on Yahoo Movies.

It just premiered at Sundance, so I think it will be out pretty soon. Sundance is becoming pretty hollywood these days. They say there’s celebrities everywhere you look. If I was there, I’d carry a Sony HD camcorder and try to grab interviews and reaction shots the whole time!

Ellen Page also stars in the movie alongside Mana, Quaid, and Parker. Maybe the Juno buzz will carry over?

Well at least the Wall Street Journal is interested in this movie.

The democratic and republican primaries are in full swing. I’ve been way behind on the issues until I discovered that you can get great online coverage from Current TV’s website. Everything they air on their channel can be accessed easily using the internet.

Current employs a citizen journalism approach to each primary, which basically means almost anyone armed with a video camera can have a say. Then, Current edits all the footage from these citizen journalists together with other segments to give you various aspects of whatever primary they are covering. Some of the episodes even include professional documentary segments. I remember enjoying a segment from the New Hampshire primary that focused on how America is viewed by people in other countries. The opinions were gathered by random representatives who simply walked around a city with a Sony camcorder interviewing whoever they wanted.

The channel also includes feedback from the viewer, which they call viewpoints. A viewer can send in a video response to a topic or episode using something as simple as a web cam. Anyone with a computer and web cam can tape a response, attach it to an email and send it into Current within minutes! Sometimes it’s a lot more interesting to listen to random people’s opinions then see the candidates’s endless debates.

If you actually used a video camera, you understand that you need to be free to move with the camera. A sony camcorder power cord is somewhat of a hindrance when you’re shooting. You don’t see cameramen running around with a bunch cords hanging out from the camera. First of all, it can be a hazard to your actors. And secondly, it limits your shooting field.

My friend did have to use her power cord extension when her battery died. It sucked. Basically, she considered the camera a total loss after that since buying a new battery was a price of another camera!

You can have the option of filming using a wall outlet. But 99% of the time, you use the battery pack.

If you saw a sony camcorder 19 years ago, you’d probably think it was from some secret gadget used by the government.

I hear about all these directors who used to film movies on Super 8 or what not. You don’t hear many of them using a betamovie camera, that’s because it was very bulky and expensive. I always wonder what parents just let their kids use such expensive equipment. I remember going to a friend’s house and using a VHS camcorder, but definitely nothing fancy. We did a stop motion short film that we edited on the vcr. It was pretty awful, you could see our hands in tons of the shots.

I wonder what famous directors think about their first films. They should have a tv series that forces them critique their amateur films on camera. It would be educational and entertaining. Kinda like “Inside the Actor’s Studio” without all that seriousness. They could camp it up and make it like a game show or something. They could try and guess which clip they directed and like buzz in. Gotta do something to try and replace “The Price is Right”. I’m gonna miss Bob. Can’t believe he’s retiring.

But the man is old and deserves a rest.