Many years ago, back in 1971, before there were videocams and long before there was digital, we purchased an ENG — Electronic News Gathering video system, like the kind used by the local TV stations and some networks. The unit weighed upwards of 30 pounds, and the battery likewise. One person carrying and handling the 20 pound video camera, the other carrying the giant “portable” helical-scan 1/2″ tape recorder.

The sun could burn out your camera’s vidicon tube. You couldn’t make a video in low light, and movement tended to blur. Breakup of the image was normal in this unit, and you’ll see lots of it, especially at the beginning of each tape.

Many of the earlier videos were experimental, trying to find out what the camera and recorder could capture. We bought two studio type cameras and a larger Sony video recorder for the house. The portable ran on batteries, the larger units did not.

Several of the videos were made at Red House, mostly in 1971 and early 1972, when we left Crestline for Cowichan Centre for Gestalt Learning, in Duncan, British Columbia, at the request of Fritz Perls, Ray Walker and Sarah Warsher. Continue reading →