Monday, September 04, 2017
Memory Lane - 1989
Here we go folks, another trip down Memory Lane. My memory lane to be exact.
For sometime now I have wanted to transfer all my old VHS tapes to a format that was more secure (not fade away with time) and easier to access. I have copied a few to CD's but that was very time consuming and dangerous. I've accidentally erased parts of my some of my old VHS tapes trying to figure out how to transfer them. I'll never get that recipe back again as Richard Harris said in "MacArthur Park."
I had considered paying a service to transfer my precious VHS tape memories but at $25 a pop, that was just more than I could afford. Plus, I didn't want to send my tapes to India (and that's where they go folks) and take a chance on losing my original tapes, which I read happens. No thank you sahib.
A few weeks ago I was searching Amazon.com for equipment that could more efficiently process my video tape transfers I came across a place called Lotus Media. All their reviews were excellent and they only charged $10 a tape. Viola! I took a chance and send forty-three of my old VHS tapes in that large cassette format out to "Kirk" (the owner of the company) in a large box via UPS, sealed tightly.
Last week I received those tapes back with a tiny flash drive containing all my VHS tapes. I plugged the flash drive into my computer and viola! (yes, another "viola!") This is what I found, looking at myself on sometimes too long tapes but none the less interesting.
I'll be the first to admit the tapes are boring because they are too long. However I plan to cut and paste those tapes in my account at You Tube and make a lot of small vignette videos. I'm just not sure how to do that yet, I don't want to lose any more of my original tapes. I hope I can take a portion of the taped recording out and create a new video with all the bells and whistles like a beginning and an end. I want to send them to my relatives and friends. Unfortunately the friend you hear on this tape died a couple of years ago. He would have loved to seen this video.
Looking at these videos I am again reminded at how fast life goes by. This video was taken in November of 1989, twenty-eight years ago! Wow, where DID the time go? One thing is for sure, I won't be here twenty-eight years from now. But another thing for sure, my memory of my life will be here for all to see in You Tube, if they're interested.
Enjoy!
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9 comments:
$25 each?! Glad you found something more reasonable. 28 years went by like a flash, didn't it?
Ron - just put some cool electronic music as background and give it an avant garde title and maybe it'll be picked up by Cannes. Perhaps Raybeard will do a review on one of your films.
Pat
That was definitely the easiest way to transfer your tapes - I think it was worth the money. Fortunately they weren't lost in the mail - that would have been my biggest concern.
I started transferring my old VHS tapes to CD when I lived in Texas, but - as you said - it's very time-consuming and tedious.
Ron,
You filmed yourself reading the newspaper?
Lar
Hey Lar,
I have another video of me watching a TV comedy show and yet another of me cooking in the kitchen. I thought it would be interesting (for me of course) to watch a video of myself doing a routine activity. Of course I could probably splice those videos together for an avant garde video and submit it to the Sundance Movie festival. I make no apologies for my videos. I take them for myself. If someone finds them interesting, fine for them but in the end I make all my videos for myself. However, I will attempt to upload them all to You Tube because there may be someone who is interested in me and my life long after I'm gone. My "legacy". That's also why I keep a journal, for myself. If someone else is interested great but that's not why I keep them. Writing a daily journal for me is my catharsis.
Ron
Jono,
Yes, $25 each was way too much. I couldn't get by that price. Talk about taking advantage of the market. The person/company I sent my videos too is doing a good business, and that's because they offer a great service for a reasonable price. That's what capitalism is all about, competition.
Ron
I've already considered that option Pat!
Ron
Jon,
I transferred several of my old VHS tapes to CD's, but the CD's don't last forever either. This is a much better way, transfer them to a flash drive. And much quicker by sending them out to a service. Every winter I was going to make good use of my cooped up days inside the house, staying out of the freezing weather, and transfer all those VHS tapes but for some reason I just never got around to it. Something else more interesting always occupied my time. I'm so glad I found this service.
Ron
Ron,
You could splice some together and sent it to a film festival as a tribute to Andy Warhol.
Lar
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