Newsletter #140 - Video Tapes
Memories I forgot I had.
A few months ago, I found a box of old video tapes in my garage. It was a mix of Digital 8 and MiniDVs. The Digital 8 tapes were from a camcorder I used between 1992 and 1999, and the MiniDVs were from a camera I used between 1999 and 2003.
The only way to view these tapes is to use a camcorder compatible with the type of tape it used. I still have my MiniDV camcorder, so I could play and watch those tapes.
That said, I wanted to find a way to convert them to digital, so I wouldn’t have to worry about these tapes and cameras anymore. I bought a device called a ClearClick Video to Digital Converter 2.0 so I would be able to transfer all of the MiniDV videos to digital quickly and easily.
I no longer own a Digital 8 camera, so in order to view and transfer the Digital 8 videos, I had to borrow one from a friend.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the ClearClick wouldn’t work with this camera. I tried both the AV Cable and S-Video cable, and I got no signal.
The only thing left to try was the Firewire port. I was trying to avoid this because it would send me into dongle hell. It took me weeks to convince myself it was worth the time and money to figure it out. But I finally did it.
This is what I acquired to get it to work:
From the camera into a 2023 MacBook Pro running Final Cut Pro:
Sorry, this story is getting technical, might not make any sense, and requires a lot of Apple boxes.
I don’t just mean what the cables came delivered in, but also the backgrounds I’ve been using to make these photos.
I’m not sure I like these apple boxes as backdrops. They just don’t feel right.
I wonder if there are any more rustic ones for sale on Craigslist.
Boxes. Crates. Same thing basically and for $6, I’m in!
I bought 18.
I made a sculpture outside my studio as soon as I got home.
And these boxes definitely work better as a background. Should I reshoot everything I’ve made up until this point? Shit. No. It’s fine. Come on Noah, move on. You’ve been working on this for a week.
Once I got all of the cables strung together, I plugged one end into my camera and the other into the computer and it worked immediately. I honestly couldn’t believe it.
It took about two days to transfer all of my old Digital 8 tapes to digital files. I never have to worry about losing the ‘memories’ embedded on these tapes and held hostage by poorly functioning camcorders ever again.
These are important memories, and I am glad I invested the time to do it. There are memories I forgot I had.
Like me standing in a closet when I was 12 years old.
And my brother and I playing ping pong in the basement at our mom’s house.
To be honest, most of the footage on these tapes is inane unwatchable nonsense. But there are a few fascinating and compelling moments.
This is a video of my friends and I playing basketball.
I liked to set up the camera on a tripod and just roll video of time passing.
Interestingly, I never stopped doing that.
It’s possible none of this footage would be considered good or interesting to anyone other than me or my close friends and family. But viewing them, I was able to see the kernels of how I began to perceive the world as an artist.
But the most striking realization I had watching these videos is how much I haven’t changed. Besides my physical appearance and the way I talk (I’ve had at least three different voice affectations), my personality has always been basically the same.
I think that’s why it’s so uncomfortable for some people to watch old videos of themselves. It exposes the core of who you really are.
No matter what you try to do, no matter where you end up going, no matter how much you might try to change, you are who you are, and that very particular and unique type of personality you have stays with you forever.
It’s fascinating, painful, revelatory, and embarrassing.
FOR SALE
Apple crates - $12 each.
VIDEO
Digitizing tapes from the 90s and making a startling discovery.
In this video, I talk about using the Clear Click Video 2 Digital converter, but it’s mostly a video about regret. Stick with it, you want to see the footage I roll.
*I will make a new video soon about digitizing MiniDV tapes using the newly acquired firewire cable dongle system which is technically the correct way to convert DV tapes.
You can tell which one is the correct digital transfer, right?
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Julia Sforza zoned out during that technical part.
Zach Vitale wants to know how many boxes of apples make a bushel.
USB-C on the top Firewire 400 on the bottom (also known as "The Dongle Mullet") 😂
Welcome to the wonderful, lucrative world of apple crate vending