So I’ve seen these new camcorders from JVC

Nice.

Of particular interest to me in the last few weeks as all I seem to have been doing is downloading video from tape which happens in real time, and then my PC takes as long again to process that into a file and again to take it into the editing package. So a twenty minutes of footage can take an hour from the time I plug in my camera to when I can actually get down to what I set out to do in the first place. An hour during which of course my PC is out of action for anything else and so I am out of action for all practical purposes too.

So, lovely. Here’s something that might help – a camcorder that records straight to a hard disk albeit in a less than superb format, but nonetheless, it must be worth having a look at. How can I get my hands on one?

Hey, perhaps they’d like a videoblogger to trial one for them – if he liked it a lot and then blogged about it, they’d get some good vibes in the blogosphere, which of course all press people know is “a good thing” – other videobloggers looking for a new toy might go out and buy one, etc.  Well I took a look at the JVC site and found the details of Niomi Jayasinghe in the press office and asked her by e-mail if I could borrow one for review purposes – isn’t that how it works?

Well yes, and no. After a little misunderstanding where she thought I was asking for a freebie to keep forever and ever, Niomi said  “The only way I can help you is by sending you a
review sample for two-three weeks.” Yes, that’s what I was after. “And usually I need to see a review before sending anything out” uh-huh.

Well that would be cool if I were from “What AmateurDigiCamCorder Monthly” but all I have is reviews of is men’s grooming products…ahem… So I tried again: “I do think this would be a great product for bloggers like us but
reviewing kit is just something we haven’t done before and we’re caught
in a bit of a Catch22 if we can’t start reviewing until we’ve done a
review.  If you could waive your usual rule on seeing prior reviews in
this case and let us borrow a camera for a couple of weeks we would be
able to turn something round very quickly and we’d be enormously
grateful.”

That was 2 weeks ago.

I just got mail from Niomi:

“I do
totally understand your predicament but I’m afraid until I see a review I am
unable to lend you any product.

technorati tags:jvc, camcorders, blogging, marketing, catch22, videoblogging, everio

So the Swan Youth Theatre of the eighties reunionised itself on Saturday night with fabulous help from Richard Jones, Clair Hector, Adrian Phillips and Kathy Jones. All of whom are pictured here together with Rufus Norris, Marc Dugmore, Ali Nott, Viv Norris and Richard Sockett (this was a recreation of a press photo of this lot dressed up as pearly kings and queens except with Richard Sockett taking the place of a sadly absent Gill Brewis).

As well as Gill, we (err… I) most missed seeing Rosie Blunn, John Doyle, Iain Hake, James Barriscale and those Eastwood siblings.

Helen has lots of pics and doubtless there’ll be plenty more.

Who else was there – my memory holds (excepting partners…in no significant order and with apologies for the use of maiden names and any obvious omissions I should be ashamed of) Sarah Kenny-Smith , Nick Blunn, Jane Kenny Smith, Simon Atkins, Tanya Davis, Graham Brown, Kevin Hector, Emma Griffiths, Rachel Houghton, Georgie Brewster, Caroline Derry, Sally Bowcott, Paul Hughes, older people were Chris Crosswell, Bob Peachey, Frank Wellbourne (thanks adrian), Renee Chester and a late entry by Paul Milton.

It was an extremely pleasant evening, what a lovely bunch of people to be part of and very nice to make contact with them all again (and give some of them google entries for the first time!)