Greg:
Yes I won’t get you started about DVD and VHS formats (and now the burgeoning battle over the HD format). At least you are making the effort to convert your offerings whereas some of your competitors seem to take the attitude; VHS tape; take it or leave it. For my dollar I don’t buy tape any longer as there are too many benefits to the DVD format. Can you imagine if new car dealers or any other product mfg. that had new versions wouldn’t invest in the new technology, IMHO they are just slowly putting themselves out of business.
I understand you have a certain formula that you use that has proven successful for your videos. My idea was to try something different that blends history with an entertaining and informative format. Gabe Bradford and Herb Kelsey planted the idea almost 20 years ago when they published their Galloping Goose RGS Historical and Technical society publication. The spring 1988 issue featured an article titled "A day in the Life of the RGS" which chronicled Tuesday September 28, 1937. Now with Don Bergman’s RGS photo database I can search over 13, 000 published views that can be sorted by date, location, photographer etc. etc. Using the dispatcher sheets, timetables and various other documentation I think it would be possible to relive a day in the life of the RGS for instance. Adding weather, maps, manifest reports and other pertinent data it would be possible to really get a feel for what it was like, what was moving and why. So it is a combination of photos, film and timeline all scripted to tell a story much like Gabe and Herb did with words. Yes, I know a lot more work than just editing film and all the other aspects of producing a video product but then sometimes it is good to step outside the box…I don’t suggest that it would even be as marketable as what you offer now but I just see the potential for creating something that not only preserves the history but helps document it in a way that would be educational as well as having lasting entertainment value. I know there are grants out there for such endeavors and maybe it would take some seed money and a collaborative effort to pull off …just like all the locomotive restorations presently going on, all it takes is time, money and the human resources to bring it all together.
My 2 ½ cents for the day.
Rod
