Saturday, April 9, 2011

What has Video Done to this World

I remember the date, November 22, 1963 as if it were yesterday. For those of you who were around and are history buffs, you might recall that date as the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas Texas. I remember listening to the radio at school and hearing reports of what happened. A lot of the newscasts that night were done through phone interviews from various reporters, and I don't remember seeing anything live until Lee Harvey Oswald was shot as he was leaving a building in the custody of Dallas police.

Things have really changed. On March 11, 2011, we saw tragedy unfold right before our eyes on television, the internet and cell phones. The ground hadn't even stopped shaking in Japan when the first live television news reports were being seen all over the world. You Tube has changed everything!

In the past 50 years or so, television and broadcasting has changed so drastically that we can watch events almost anywhere in the world as they happen. I never saw a tsunami until the Indonesian earthquake occurred.

Since the Japanese people embrace video like we embrace sports in this country, almost everyone has some type of recording device, whether it be a video camera, a digital camera with video capabilities or a cell phone. Video transmissions came almost as quickly as the tsunami.

I have never in my life, ever seen the graphic and clear videos that showed the tremendous force and power of the tsunami that struck Northern Japan. These were not shaky, out of focus or grainy videos. They were crisp and clear, as if I was standing right there watching the water come at me right out of my television.

In today's world, most people would not know what to do without video cameras or the internet. We have become a society that relies on these sources for our information. In fact some of the videos were already on the internet before the major television networks broke the story on national television.

I have to admit that when I was a kid hearing news of the Alaskan earthquake and JFK's assassination, I wanted to see what was going on. Sometimes it took hours and sometimes it took days. I would wait patiently to see the story on the evening news. Thank goodness things have changed. I No longer have to wait to see what happen. Let's not forget that over 25,000 people have either died or are missing, not counting the countless thousands of people that will die as a result of the nuclear fallout from the damaged reactors.

This article has been was written by myself for my newsletter and since the author is the same person, permission for use is granted.

Joe Sabol is an Internationally known videographer with almost 28yrs experience in the video industry. Please visit us at http://jandjvideoproductions.com for more information.

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