I don't mean religious communion, at least not primarily. I mean things we do together, at the same time, preferably in the same space.

In the past there were: churches (not one I'll miss but an example non the less); football matches; theatre; concerts; festivals; and various annual events which we could somehow hang our culture on. Even TV, although not ticking the 'in the same place' box still had it's moments which brought us all together at the same time. Examples such as the moon landing, world cup, FA cup and even the original once a week soap 'Coronation Street' saw us either sitting down in our millions as that music started or locking ourselves in the front room of the house to put Pink Floyd on the radiogram loud enough to blot it out that music. But whatever our choices, we had things to do – together – a community.

It strikes me that the people now in control of our media and entertainment are unaware of the power of that communion in holding society together and in celebrating our diverse culture. The more we can watch any programme we want at any time we want it, is convenient, but another step down the road to individual isolation.

Cinemas now exclude those who can't stand the smell of popcorn, or object to people talking through the film. The managers are about the same age as the target audience for most American films and they see it all as perfectly normal. The idea of the lights going down and 200 people immersing themselves in a great story in silence, in communion, has become rare.

Football matches are so expensive that they exclude many people from what was a casual but important event in my childhood. In the name of profit both football matches and concerts (at least at the Madonna end of the scale) are obscenely expensive and only serve to separate us into revenue streams and further remove us from a sense of belonging.

Experiencing events at the same time in celebration of our life on the planet is hugely important. At present it would seem that the only things that meet this criteria have to be hyped to the nth degree in order that they fulfil the TV/concert promoters/theatre producers or TV networks needs for major return on investment and as such these events can only ever appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Maybe when the people who control our media sit down and talk about the future they should keep in mind that offering us all the choice in the world in entertainment when we want it they may also be adding to the very isolation human art grew to disperse.

Two years ago the car parks charged £3,80. That seemed OK to me. How is it that they can get away with that kind of rise? Why is there no competition. Do the council get a share of the huge profits? And yes I know Mr NCP that you've just built a new multi story at the station but the idea is that you invest and make a reasonable profit for your pains over the next 20 years not that you get it all back in three years and then make a fortune!

Moan, grizzle, whinge…

I'd rather shout about good things than complain all the time so: I bought an on camera video light from ProActive in Hemel Hempstead some 2 years ago. Used it twice and came to use it a few weeks ago. Guess what? It was dead.

Took it back to ProActive who said they would have a look at it and if it had to go back to the manufacturers then they would send it.

Spoke to them today and not only have they fixed the loose connection themselves but they are not charging me anything at all.

Fantastic service and good business practice: of course I will go back and I'm blogging about them. Everyone's happy.

Ray

Top tips for do-it-yourself video recording

If, even after talking to us you still can’t justify bringing in a professional videographer, then here are our top tips for do-it-yourself recording.

In most cases businesses wanting to video record someone or something will have little choice in choosing a location. It will often be in an office, boardroom, factory or seminar environment. Knowing what the problems with a given location are, in advance, gives you some chance of dealing with them.

Light

Video cameras, especially automatic consumer models, have a limited range of light they can deal with. If you stand someone in front of a bright window then the camera will see the bright daylight and adjust itself to capture that. The person in front of the window will be almost completely black. Always try to arrange it so that the camera is between the light source and the subject.

Sound

Sound is much more important to a professional looking video than people think. The built in microphones of consumer cameras are very basic. If your video camera has an input for an external microphone then consider spending around £79 on the Røde Video Microphone. It will transform your sound quality.

Camera skills

Most non-professional camera people have one thing in common – they feel like they should be physically doing something all the time. Like zooming in. Panning around the room. Walking about to get a better angle. Our advice:

• don’t zoom in or out ever
• don’t pan unless you have to follow some action
• use a tripod, set up the shot in the viewfinder then leave it alone unless you absolutely have to move.

If you must move, try to wait for a break so you can stop recording then move the camera and tripod. Reframe the shot in the viewfinder and then start recording again. If you are going to edit your footage on computer then you can always cut out the moves and it sometimes helps to keep the camera running to keep sound recording, but in general learn to look, frame the shot, record then stop before you do anything else.

Permissions

This is important. Even if you are recording your own staff you need to get their permission if you want to use a video recording in which they appear.

A simple form like the one here will suffice but don’t ignore this. I can’t tell you the number of businesses I’ve dealt with who have had to shelve video projects because someone objected after the event.

Audience

If there is an audience say, for a seminar then it helps if they know from the beginning that you are video recording the event. If they are recognisable in the shot then they also need to sign a release form. Some of my clients make it a condition of acceptance of an invitation to a seminar that permission is given for video recording purposes.

I am very pleased to have been awarded Master Membership of the Institute of Videography. It's always difficult to assess your own skills and clients may love the productions you hate and hate the productions you love – so it's good to have an independent eye assessing your work.

When I first found the IOV I thought it was mainly for Wedding videographers (which I'm not – too scary for me) – but now it has a large number of corporate and freelance members working in the industry.

Ray

This has nought to do with video production (although they do use video onstage) but anyone interested in performance really should see this show at the National Theatre. It is based around outstanding full size horse puppets and I defy anyone to see them and not be completely convinced that they are living, breathing animals.

There are people who believe that there is some mystical element that provides the life force to bone and sinew. These puppets are the best argument I have ever seen against such belief. The design and engineering of these animals provide a fantastic model of that bone and sinew. Add to that the skill of actors providing movement, sound and emotion through that model and you gladly give up any disbelief in their reality.

The show is a powerful story set just before and during the first world war. I was close to tears on a number of occasions. Not because of the (admittedly) harrowing events on stage but through the pure joy of seeing a life created before your eyes – we all love watching actors create character but seeing actors and designers creating life is another thing all together.

I've not before been an enormous fan of puppetry, apart from a fondness for the Muppets, but this has inspired me to look for more works in this area.

I believe the show is running into 2009 and a new booking period starts in December. Do try and go.

Very willing to do lots of video/audio/photography work as compensation to any kind company which may like to have what would basically be an in-house video facility on their premises. Any thoughts please do comment.

This week I needed to purchase a dedolight with a projector so I can make the backgrounds of interviews look a little more interesting. These things are fantastic, but expensive so I wanted to see one in action.

Cirro Lite, who are the UK distributors couldn't have been more helpful. They are in North London and I made an appointment in the morning to go down there in the afternoon.

They have a large demonstration rig with just about everything you could wish for in lighting kit and spent a good half hour showing me the kit I wanted and answering questions. I would highly recommend going down there if you are thinking of buying lighting for video or photography. Extremely helpful and knowledgeable.