Pause: Least Favorite Video Things

Great hobby or not, videomaking has its share of irritating aspects. Let us not disparage the video craft, but don't you find some parts of it, well, irritating? Do any of these pet peeves resonate with you?

Wires, Wires Everywhere First, patch the wire leading from the mike to the mike jack on the camcorder, then the wire leading from the headphone output to your ears, then the wire leading from the video output to the monitor and finally the wire leading from the back or side of the camcorder to the ungainly AC/DC converter/battery charger (if you're shooting indoors without batteries). Got all that working? Good; now pick up the camera and follow the talent. A fly more easily flies through a spider's web. Those are just the wires of shooting; what about the wires of editing? Let's see--there are two audio wires, one video and one control wire coming out of your source deck. Patch the first two to your sound mixer, the next to your SEG--or computer--or record deck, and the latter one to your edit controller--or computer--or record deck. Keep going until you've gotten your character generator and audio and video monitors in the loop. Don't forget to plug them all into your power bars. Everything working fine now? Then why, when you hit the "edit tape" button, does your dishwasher start; why does the spouse keep the door to your spidery edit suite closed, locked, and barricaded when guests arrive?

No Place to Mount Things For instance: the receiver for a wireless mike, small sound mixer or on-camera light. Such accessories really help, but each of them needs a place to perch. Many cameras no longer sport the "shoes"--either "hot" or "cold"-- that would allow you to attach at least one of these devices. We see accessories everywhere dangling from cameras on those too-numerous cables like tin cans from the autos of newlyweds. These further reduce the mobility of the camera operator and increase the likelihood of short circuits and loose jacks. Else, we see the liberal application of duct tape to camera, accessories and camera operator. Wouldn't it be lovely if the makers of cameras and accessories all shook hands over a standard mount? Wouldn't we all rejoice if they came up with one that allows us to compactly mount accessories on top of one another? Forget the fly in the web for a moment. The camera operator is Moby Dick harpooned, trying to make headway while trailing a half-dozen whalin…