From Portapak to Handicam: how portable video empowered activists and journalists

ConsumerDV
ConsumerDV
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2022-09-27ć«å…±ęœ‰
šŸ“¹ Late 1960s and early 1970s was the time of "the real beginning, people picking up a portable TV studio and putting it on their backs and making programs" thanks to a portable video recorder developed by Sony in 1964. Later, consumer-grade video formats fully democratized the media.

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Recommended reading:

ā€˜Subject to Change: Guerrilla Television Revisited 1st Editionā€™ (1997) | Deirdre Boyle | The book is out of print, but can be found used.
ā€˜Video Days: and What We Saw Through the Viewfinderā€™ (2012) | Nancy Cain | An easy to read little book from a former member of Videofreex, TVTV and the CamNet.
ā€˜We're now a nation of camcorder owners. But has the camcorder democratized the media?ā€™ (1994) | Laurie Ouellette

Excerpts from the following videos have been used:

ā€˜The New Waveā€™ is a seminal compendium of independent video work in the early 1970s. (1973) | WGBH | www.ubu.com/film/wgbh_video.html
ā€˜Here Come the Videofreex!ā€™ tells the story of a 1960ā€™s and 70ā€™s video collective. (2015) | videofreexfilm.com/
ā€˜Bumā€™ by Les Levine (1965) | The Standby Program | vimeo.com/157665249 (clips)
SONY AV-3400 Ā½-inch EIAJ Portapak demo | FirstStateProAudioVideo | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā SONYĀ AV-3400Ā 1/2"Ā EIAJĀ PORTAĀ PAKĀ WORK...Ā Ā 
Women's lib demonstration NYC (1970) | Videofreex | www.vdb.org/titles/womens-lib-demonstration-nyc
The business of local news (1974) | UCV | www.vdb.org/titles/business-local-news-excerpt
Democratic and Republican conventions (1972) | TVTV | mediaburn.org/
History of Sony - Retro corporate film | Sony | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā HistoryĀ OfĀ SonyĀ -Ā RetroĀ corporateĀ filmĀ Ā 
Sony 1974 VO-3800 Umatic Portapak Intro | Sony | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā SonyĀ 1974Ā VO-3800Ā UmaticĀ PortapakĀ IntroĀ Ā 
ā€˜Cuba: The Peopleā€™ (1974, JVC color portapak) | DCTV | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā Cuba:Ā TheĀ People,Ā PartĀ 1Ā [Trailer]Ā Ā  (trailer)
Panasonic portable VHS commercial (1979) | Panasonic | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā PanasonicĀ portableĀ VHSĀ 1979Ā TVĀ commer...Ā Ā 
Sony Betamovie commercial (1984) | Sound Distributors | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā 1984Ā SonyĀ BetamovieĀ Commercial,Ā Hunts...Ā Ā 
ā€˜Video Cre8tivityā€™ | Sony/Vidatron | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā TransferĀ DVĀ 8mmĀ Hi8Ā Digital8Ā TapesĀ to...Ā Ā 
ā€˜America's Funniest Home Videosā€™ (1990, S1E9) | ABC | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā 1990Ā -Ā America'sĀ FunniestĀ HomeĀ Videos...Ā Ā 
The Koppel Report: ā€˜Revolution in a Boxā€™ (1989) | ABC | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā TheĀ KoppelĀ Report:Ā Television,Ā Revolu...Ā Ā 
ā€˜I Witness Videoā€™, Part One: Hurricane Chasers intercept Hugo in Puerto Rico, 1989 | NBC | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā IĀ WitnessĀ Video,Ā PartĀ One:Ā Ā Hurricane...Ā Ā 
ā€˜Shock Videoā€™ | HBO | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā HBOĀ ShockĀ VideoĀ (AmericaĀ Undercover)Ā ...Ā Ā 
ā€˜The Price of Truthā€™ (1991) | Jon Alpert | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā RobertĀ ScheerĀ &Ā JonĀ AlpertĀ -Ā TheĀ Pric...Ā Ā 
Ukrainian historian says Putinā€™s invasion is an imperialist war akin to U.S. attack on Iraq | Democracy Now! | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā UkrainianĀ HistorianĀ SaysĀ Putinā€™sĀ Inva...Ā Ā 
George W. Bush Makes Verbal Slip-Up While Discussing War in Ukraine | The Bush Center | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā GeorgeĀ W.Ā BushĀ MakesĀ VerbalĀ Slip-UpĀ W...Ā Ā 
ā€˜The 90sā€™ 25th Anniversary | MediaBurnArchive | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā TheĀ 90'sĀ 25thĀ AnniversaryĀ Ā 
ā€˜CamNetā€™, episode 101 | Nancy Cain | mediaburn.org/video/camnet-episode-101/
New Era in Television: 2005 Launch of Current TV | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā NewĀ EraĀ inĀ Television:Ā 2005Ā LaunchĀ of...Ā Ā 
Current TV Vanguard series' Journalist Angela Sun examines the changing status of women in China | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā CurrentĀ TVĀ VanguardĀ series:Ā Journalis...Ā Ā 
Al Gore at Today show | NBC | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā AlĀ GoreĀ DefendsĀ SaleĀ ofĀ CurrentĀ TVĀ to...Ā Ā 
From Russia With Hate | Current TV | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā FromĀ RussiaĀ WithĀ HateĀ -Ā CURRENTĀ TVĀ Ā 
The Journey Is Over | Bald & Bankrupt | Ā Ā Ā ā€¢Ā TheĀ JourneyĀ IsĀ OverĀ šŸ‡·šŸ‡ŗĀ Ā 
ć‚³ćƒ”ćƒ³ćƒˆ (3)
  • @ConsumerDV
    This is a re-edited version of an earlier video with the same name: I shortened it, removed many technical details and references to feature movies, and changed the ending to make it tighter and more to the point. Subtitles are available.
  • @asapfilms2519
    Basically imagine the porta-pack as the YouTube. At first only a few people had access to it. Those people were mainly artists and other people who could afford the camera. So they found a new tool, a new pen. Then started making videos different from everybody else. That was not for the large screen or for the masses. It was created only for a niche people.