By Cristina Clapp, June 9, 2004
So even though most of my day consists of accidentally erasing taped interviews and misidentifying camera model numbers, I do occasionally have a rock star moment. And last week I had, like, a serious rock star moment.
To launch Sony Connect and United Airlines' Mileage Plus Music initiative-a partnership that lets users redeem United Mileage Plus members for music downloads on Sony's Connect online store-Sony Connect GM Jay Sanrit devised the idea of holding an in-flight concert.
"It took a couple of months before people realized I was serious," Jay admitted, as we were chilling in the Chicago O'Hare Airport Red Carpet Club. "And then everyone worked like maniacs to make it happen." And here we were, pastries in hand, ready to board a chartered flight with Sheryl Crow.
Now, the part you and I really like comes next: The in-flight concert was being recorded with Sony's XDCAM and PD170 cameras and then edited using Sony's Vegas 5 software. Between the cheese plate, Sheryl Crow and the video equipment, I was in heaven. What could be cuter than a P.A
. buckling a seat belt around some KinoFlos?
Here's what you need to know if you ever, oh I don't know, shoot a performance on airplane: The FAA won't let you use the plane's electricity or any wireless devices. (Anton Bauer batteries were piled into the last row of the plane.) There is a lot of, uh, ambient noise, so you'll have to really think about your amps and mixers. ("We're creating a very Phil Spector-like 'wall of sound,'" one of the engineers told me.) There isn't a lot of room for your Steadicam operator to move down an aisle. And you might have to create a camera mount using duct tape and an overhead luggage bin.
The concert, of course, was awesome, and the cameras, decks, lights and mixers worked beautifully. (If you're flying on United in June, you'll see it as part of the airline's in-flight video. I'm in the fourth row, grinning like an idiot.)
And now, as I get back to writing about compression and codecs, I keep (tunelessly) singing the first verse of Sheryl's song "Steve McQueen": Well I went to bed in Memphis/And I woke up in Hollywood/I got a quarter in my pocket/And I'd call you if I could/But I don't know why/I gotta fly.
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