Reflections

Dead Technology

I’ve finally been able to accommodate the tech challenges from when I started the project.

You know, when tech got in the way.

Oh, the challenges of that first mini-dv footage. Aside from dealing with gear that was nearly two decades old issues – the camera had to be plugged in because the battery wouldn’t hold a charge – I discovered I couldn’t edit the footage.

First it was that my laptop didn’t have the ports to accept the cable inputs. Then the new cables that talked to the ports wouldn’t talk with the camera. My digital editing software systems (yes, plural) wouldn’t recognize the camera to injest the video. I finally had to turn to an old computer stuffed in my closet, a new set of FireWire cables, and a version of Premiere that was outdated at least five versions ago to get the video into an accessible digitized form.

This week I am actively working with tech best considered “dead.” The focus is fuzzy, not perfect. The video doesn’t play nicely even when imported. The card runs out of space while shooting. Challenges galore.

The land doesn’t care.

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