Interviews
Explored non-professional use of portable video recorders
I began writing letters to one company after another, mostly Japanese companies, because in that period, the 60s, is when the Japanese companies such as Sony, Canon, Panasonic and others began pioneering the possibility of exploring the consumer and non-broadcast potential of video. So, one of the key early respondents to my letters was a company named Akai. We received a grant from Mr. Akai of 12 of these so-called portable, or PortaPaks. At that time we had to wear like backpacks on our backs and the camera itself was carried separately, connected to a backpack. It was extremely heavy.
Although people laughed at me in the beginning. People that were professionals in broadcast television thought it was ridiculous, thought we would get nowhere, because the equipment did not compare. The whole point was to explore any kind of potential that doesn’t exist.
Date: September 15, 2017
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Jennifer Cool
Contributed by: Jennifer Cool, Matthew Purifoy
