Experiments in Video

Experiments in Video Small format video like the Sony Portapak was the affordable choice for videomakers in the 1970s. Of course formats evolve and trying to keep up was always an expensive chore. I was able to produce a number of Portapak and small format videos during this period that stretched into the experimental range. I was always interested in time changes and used super-8 film with its stop motion capabilities and manipulated video to capture some of this. Banjo Feedback was an analog video feedback loop triggered by the banjo-playing fingers of master musician Billy Faier. We spent some time playing with his performance, so that the effects could be scanned, recorded and then colorized. The original was shot in b&w 1/2” video. The wonderful Experimental TV Center, then in Oswego, welcomed me to finish the work with their engineering help and array of colorizers and effects machines. Drawings of the World was a compilation of images from pen and ink drawings by my brot