What is your favorite #LED #video #light?
— Carol Lane (@videops) April 9, 2013

A Matter of Perspective

As I was currently shopping around for some new lighting gear, I was reminded that it takes a lot of research and work to decide what equipment to buy and what to pass on. Video production is a complicated beast. Is it best to be on the cutting edge? The bleeding edge? These are all questions one has to ask repeatedly in the production business. Each new tool requires hours of research and thought and then one has to learn to use it correctly and to best advantage. Repeat after me: reading manuals is fun!

I always try to keep it simple, though. All the equipment complexities still come down to one essential thing, does it look good? Production is certainly a complicated business. However, to keep things in perspective, a common saying you'll hear on sets everywhere is "it's not brain surgery." True, rarely does a life depend on camera placement or good audio, and during a technical crisis this saying is a grounding reminder that helps to calm people down and keep it simple.

However, I have always wondered what the brain surgeon says during a tricky procedure when the unexpected happens and things get dicey; perhaps she'll pause and turn to her colleagues and say "let's not make a big production of this."