Opening up the eagerly awaited parcel that has just arrived, I spot a small, hard black plastic box and I’m struck by the similarity of it and the proverbial ‘black box’ of a plane.  After all, this device should hold all the information I need it to.  Later research tells me the box is actually a Pelican Case, a highly enviable airtight, watertight, pressure valved carry box for your video camera.

And that is what is at the heart of the box, a shiny new video camera.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to use it.  This video camera, a ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Panasonic NV-GS400, is a gift and as I reverently retrieve it from its case, I realise it has arrived sans instructions.

Never fear, Mr Google is here!  A few minutes later, with the help of a less than perfect internet connection, I have a digital copy of the manual.  While that was downloading, I figured out which cable was the battery charger but needed the manual to work out how to remove the battery.  Perhaps I’m more of a technophobe than I thought.

After figuring out the basics, and being very glad it is pretty much ‘point and shoot’, it is time for the first project.  As an actor, I need this Panasonic to shoot my own scenes and first cab off the rank is a video competition entry.  In this case, a hefty travel voucher is the carrot I need to get out into the park next door with a housemate at the helm and a smile on my face, ready to roll.

This is where we really work out how to use this thing.  In about three hours we have each blown a fair amount takes but we have enough footage to put together the required three minutes.  Now the only problem is how to cut it.

I have also been given a video editing program and through trial and error have worked out to use that with scenes shot from a similar camera during class work.  That was pretty simple: insert DVD, open program and play. 

Not so easy with the Panasonic.  Without a DVD, how do I get it to talk to the laptop?  After a thorough inspection of all it’s incoming and outgoing ports, I realise it has the same connection as my digital camera.  Ah, it is a piece of cake after all.  A few minutes later, I have dug out the required cord, plugged it in and an external drive is about to appear on screen.  Any minute now.  Still waiting. 

Go into problem solving mode, I tell myself.  Check the connections.  Check both laptop and camera are turned on.  Do the standard tech support quick fix: unplug, turn off, turn on, re-plug.  Still nothing. 

It is time to swallow my pride and consult the manual.  Again.  How embarrassing.  Lucky no one is watching. 

The manual tells me that particular connection is for transferring data from the SD card which is there to store images for the still camera inside this machine.  Reluctantly realising that makes sense, I go on another exploratory mission to find how else I can transfer the data I need.

Re-examining the diagrams in the manual, I spot a whole section sealed off by a well disguised rubber cap that I had completely missed on first inspection.  Opening it up, I breathe a sigh of relief at recognising the DV port.  The only problem is, I don’t have a double ended DV cable and a salesman at the local tech store tells me they don’t exist. 

By this time my giftor has rung to see how I’m going with the new toy.  I relay the cable disaster, admit defeat, and ask how it should be done.  This is when I find out the salesman in the tech store must know not one jot about technology because double ended DV cables do exist! 

Going back and talking to someone who does know their stuff, I come away with right cable.  At home, it all works as it should.  Data transfer is smooth and effortless.  The program recognises the data in the form it is currently in, I edit out all the bad takes and put together a (hopefully) winning entry.  I even manage to upload the entry straight onto the net without a hitch.

From never having held a video camera, I have worked out how to use it on myself and others (in a completely non-threatening manner), upload it to my computer and make the end product saleable.  Feeling pretty impressed with myself, I open the door and sign for the package.  My new DVD player has just arrived…

By Juanita Grayson

Juanita Grayson has been acting from the age seven and while she is working towards her Academy Awards she can be found on set of movies, television shows, documentaries and commercials. No stranger to theatre, she enjoys the thrill of a live audience but is secure with the proximity of screen. Having been bitten by the film bug in her teens, she includes mountain tops, pool bottoms and beaches as her favourite location shoots.

Often sporting a rather feisty attitude, Juanita comes with a passion for travel, food (both cooking and eating), glass painting, a good argument and cycling on flat ground. She completed her first crossword about two years ago and has a rather large pool of useless, miscellaneous facts. Taking up Squash on a challenge, she is yet to win a game but surprisingly adept at returning tricky shots. Juanita has an obsession for hammocks and is the creator of what may be the worlds first Cherry Daiquiri.

For more information on Juanita, please visit www.at2.com.au/Juanita.Grayson