You can win some free video tools, just by donating to the Japanese earthquake relief efforts overseas. Or just donate to help because Japan needs our help, and they’ve supported our hobby, career and love of video creation all these years.

For years we’ve enjoyed their technological innovations, we’ve used their products, enjoyed their technical advancements, salivated over the latest techno ‘gee-whiz’ toy they released. Our visits to Las Vegas for the Consumer’s Electronics Show (CES) and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) every year remind us of their importance to our industry and our lives, now the Japanese are in dire pain and despair, and video producers are giving back. You have a chance of winning some video gear at NAB 2011 due to the efforts of producer-director Philip Bloom.

The massive earthquake, then the following tsunami, and now radiation in the very air they breathe, water they drink and food they eat, has touched every single person living in the entire island country of Japan in ways few can completely understand.

Factories that build our gadgets are closing, companies that deliver our goods are unable to process the orders, and benevolent producers like world-renowned documentarian Philip Bloom are reaching out to help.

Bloom posted a “Help Japan” message on his website, offering a chance to win an iPad – his very own iPad – as incentive to donors. Other manufacturers of techno and video gadgets stepped up to the challenge and also offered “prizes” in Bloom’s drawing for cash donations to the Japanese Relief fund.

Do you recognize any of these names? GoPro, Marshall, Kessler Crane, Letus, Zacuto, Digieffects, Redrock, Redgiant, and Cineroid? You should, we’ve written about every one of them in Videomaker and they all have some connection to Japan – either due to design, or build or accessories for their products. All of these companies have donated gear for the drawing.

Bloom’s drawing will be held at NAB 2011 in Las Vegas in a few weeks, and participants need not be present to win. Many people have donated to the causes posted on Bloom’s site stating they don’t want a prize, only to help those that have given so much to the video world. Where would we be today without these companies’ designs, innovations and support?

Everyday, Videomaker hears news from companies we work with – Robin Hoffman of JVC sent us a note confirming JVC’s employees are safe, DisplaySearch tells us the chemicals needed in some semiconductors and LCD displays are affected and the supply chain is on hold.

Our own CEO, Matt York, was in Japan just 2 days before this tremendous quake, meeting with Sony reps about their latest releases in the NXCAM family. Some Sony plants have been shut down, and other companies like Canon, Panasonic, Hitachi, Grass Valley and more – all companies you read about every day in the pages of Videomaker – have been affected. Sony is donating 300 million Japanese yen to help the country and 30,000 radios to help get news updates to citizens.

So check out Bloom’s site – or follow the links below. These relief agencies below are the ones posted to Bloom’s site. If you donate and can prove a receipt, follow up with Bloom’s site for a chance to win – or just join in the conversation.

World Vision , Mercy Corps , Islamic Relief USA , Red Cross

NAB 2011 will be a somber one this year, I know it will stand as a reminder of how small this world has become and how we all share in concern for our friends across the Pacific. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to all of those who have lost loved ones during the tragedy.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be a part of a press group, that for the first time ever, was allowed into Canon’s factory in Oita Japan.

As we pulled the plastic shower caps over our shoes to keep the factory floor contaminant free, I wondered what exactly we were going to see. Visions of oompa-loompas dancing around and singing about camcorders were quickly dispelled, but the site of hundreds of young Japanese workers busily assembling camcorders was no less astonishing.

I watched molten glass being transformed into various aspherical lens elements, and tape transports being tested robotically before being attached to the chassis. It was fascinating to watch as you walked around the floor, to see a series of parts take the shape of a camcorder with surprising speed.

Canon uses a “cell” system of manufacturing, rather than a traditional assembly line. The flexibility of being able to create a small teams dedicated to the assembly of just one product allows a great degree of control in reacting to the demand of a particular model.

Canon’s factory in Oita handles all the assembly of Canon’s digital SLRs, video cameras, and lenses. So if you’ve ever bought something in those lines, odds are they were made right here.

Some interesting statistics about the factory:

• This factory makes about 20 new products, and ships approximately 20,000,000 units each year.
• They create about 400,000 circuit boards per day.
• How long did it take them to make your camcorder? About one minute, from pieces in the bins, to finished camcorder.
• Each cell can pop out about 500 camcorders per eight hour shift.