Training seminar today up in Farmington Hills. Farmington Hills appears to be where all the film and TV facility companies are located. It’s where Stratton Camera is located. Stratton Camera is the only film camera rental house in Michigan and they’ve just taken delivery of two 24-frame progressive scan Panasonic digital video cameras.

My invite to this event came from Robin Browne, a cinematographer friend of Geoff Glover’s who shot Last Train with me several years ago. I contacted Robin through the BSC and it was a pleasure to meet him. He tells me to register with the Michigan Film Office to get in their 2004 directory, which I do. He also tells me most of the work here comes through the union. The union wants a $4,000 “introduction fee” before you become a member. Erk alors. We shall see.

Everyone at Stratton was really friendly and I left a few business cards. Lon and Diane Stratton provided lunch, which was nice, and insisted I take some food home. Either these people are wonderfully hospitable or I’m looking a bit thin. The seminar lasted three hours and all of that time was spent going through the various camera set up menus. Hmm. Who has three hours to set up their camera? No one, of course. The idea was to give everyone an idea of what’s possible.

Talking of what’s possible, of course Panasonic haven’t provided any firewire ports on their camera and, of course, Panasonic’s DVCPRO format is incompatible with Sony’s DV formats. However it is compatible with Final Cut Pro and the camera is very sexy, especially with 35mm film camera lenses on the front.

Later I will worry about work and not having a job and how on earth am I going to make this all happen. Later. I don’t have time right now. Right now I’m an independent film maker between gigs. So there.