Another Los Angeles Videographer

Michael Johnstone

Michael Johnstone

Member
Hello all. I’ve been lurking for the last year or two and finally decided to join DVX User only to find that I’d already joined up back in 2007 and forgotten about it! Of course I’d forgotten a lot of stuff since suffering a massive infection and lapsing into a coma in 2011. It’s a long story and a long haul back to health but I’m back now and ready to reinvent myself one more time. Back in 1978 I learned to operate a television camera on peds, out on the end of a crane, handheld and edit on an old CMX derivative called a Mach One. In those days computers loaded from punch tape; just ran EDLs, controlled Quad, C, B or U-Matic format VTRs and automated Grass Valley switchers. If you wanted digital EFX you spent $100K on a Quantel. In 1980 I graduated to being technical director in early music video production (pre-MTV) which was mostly live multi-cam concert stuff. Then in the mid 80s I got out of television and opened a recording studio in L.A. and did that till video gear got cheap enough that I could personally afford it and didn’t have to work for “the man”. I also played steel guitar in country bands and did a little TV acting along the way.
Then I fell into shooting depositions for 4 years until I got sick in 2011. Needless to say I got a bellyful of lawyers and their nefarious doings so now here I am looking to get back into something a little more fulfilling and artistic.
 
Welcome to the forum Michael and good to hear that things are getting back on track.

I was brought up on most of that kit and it is amazing what we have at our hands these days but at times its such a shame that it is all let down by poor content and storytelling.

I must get back to LA some day as we filmed inserts for a British TV music show called The Tube there in 1982 and 1986, happy days of nights in Barney's Beanarie and fantastic burgers from an old train carriage on sunset blvd.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top