Tech Diary | At Home with Tech

May 22, 2022

We’re Living in a Vertical Video World

If you’ve been fighting back against the vertical video revolution, it’s time to jump into the pool. The water’s warm. Here’s how I found peace with this disruption.

I recently had an epiphany about the growing trend of vertical video disrupting the fundamentals of video production. My mini “ah ha” happened during a Zoom interview recording at work, when one person’s Zoom feed was accidentally locked in a vertical position. More on that story in a moment…

But regarding the general battle between horizontal and vertical video… It’s already over.

The smartphone has effectively killed horizontal video. We’re just living through the transition. Yes, it’s going to take some years, but it’s time to acknowledge the truth.

And that’s been really hard for me to do.

The First Time
Ten years ago, I was producing a corporate video shoot inside a multimedia brand center. My business client walked up to me ten minutes before the interview was scheduled to begin and asked if we could shoot the video vertically. She thought the background of our video shot would look more compelling if seen vertically.

I looked closely for any sign that this wasn’t actually a serious suggestion. The moment felt like those western movies right before the gunslingers do their shoot out. I squinted my eyes, tapped into my inner Clint Eastwood and waited for what felt like minutes before I responded.

“Vertical?”

“Yes.”

It was a serious request.

Vertical Alignment is Coming
So, I explained that we couldn’t reset the shot in time, as our interviewee had already arrived. And I dodged the bullet.

But I remember feeling unsettled that the horizontal foundation of all video was so casually being challenged.

That was a decade ago. A lot has changed. The truth is my client was just slightly ahead of her time.

I have not forgotten this story, and it has been a reminder to me that creative winds and video boundaries are constantly evolving. That’s life. Everything changes.

Vertical TV Sets in your Home?
Today, vertical video is everywhere, primarily fueled by the social media apps on our smartphones. Vertical is natural. Vertical is comfortable in your hand. Vertical is accessible in every way, except on standard horizontal TV monitors.

But if you look around, there are plenty of vertical video monitors in public spaces.

It’s just a matter of time, until they show up in your home…

No More Rules
I know I’m fighting a losing battle whenever I try to correct someone who’s shooting a smartphone video vertically. Sure, I still work in a horizontal medium, though (here it comes) not exclusively.

Yes, today I am creating vertical video too. (There, I’ve come out and said it.)

And the transition to vertical video is only accelerating.

The iPhone has a Vertical Lock
So, back to my more recent story directing the remote interview via the Zoom feed. The interviewee was using her iPhone, which was fine. (The image quality was actually superior to the other three webcam Zoom shots in the conversation.) But for some unknown reason, the phone’s camera was locked in the vertical orientation. I asked her to turn her iPhone ninety degrees and then immediately back again. No dice.

I was stumped. I turned to the other crew members in our TV control room and asked for suggestions.

“Turn off the vertical lock!”

What? The iPhone has a vertical lock? (I had forgotten.)

I pulled out my iPhone and was quickly reschooled on this iOS feature.

That was indeed the solution for our remote interviewee, and her Zoom interview proceeded on horizontally.

Tap the Portrait Orientation Lock
After the interview, I looked again at my iPhone. I swiped down from the top right corner to access my Control Center screen.

It’s the “Portrait Orientation Lock” button. (The icon is a little lock surrounded by a circular arrow.)

If it’s activated, your iPhone screen and apps won’t rotate horizontally when you hold your iPhone horizontally.

Your phone’s screen is then effectively locked into a vertical orientation.

Huh.

You might wonder why that feature is even there. Clearly, there’s a need to prevent horizontal anything!

And after doing some research, I am reminded that this frustrating feature is not that new. Apple has been satisfying the vertical preference for quite some time. In fact, I first discovered this way back in 2018.

A Vertical Matrix?
Yes, you and I are clearly living a vertical video world, though admittedly with any number of horizontal holdouts.

This feels a bit like my own Matrix story. You’re welcome to join if you feel similarly inclined. (There are plenty of pods to house all of us.)

But guess what? I wouldn’t place all bets on vertical video. Oh no. The truth is video can no longer be restricted to any dimension. It’s not horizontal, and it’s not vertical. Sometimes, it’s square (of course).

Maybe video will evolve into the circular. Perhaps oblong? Who knows… Trapezoidal?

The days of vertical video as the mainstream will surely be numbered.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Learn to Love Vertical Video
For now, I’m simply happy to say that I’ve successfully discarded my horizontal bias. I have made my peace with vertical video.

I am comfortable working on digital canvases that orient both vertically and horizontally.

Barrett has evolved.

May 1, 2022

How to Pack your Camera and Travel Tripod for your Next Flight

When packing to go on vacation, delicate camera gear can be a particular challenge to carry on board a plane. If you’re trying to travel light, it’s even harder. Here’s how I did it for our flight to New Orleans.

My family vacation to New Orleans was a blast. But flying there in a cost-effective way took some planning. Our goal for each of us was to only bring one carry-on suitcase and a personal item onto the plane which would fit under the seat in front. (Paying for more luggage adds up pretty quickly.)

Our airline tickets were a tad expensive as we flew over spring break after Easter. So, this self-imposed luggage limitation helped to keep our airfare pricing in check.

Traveling light as a family carries a variety of benefits, but I gave myself a particularly difficult packing challenge. That’s because I brought my Panasonic Lumix GH5 II mirrorless camera and 12-35mm f/2.8 II lens (24-70mm – 35mm equivalent) along with my Manfrotto Befree Live carbon-fiber video travel tripod.

A big camera… plus a small tripod? (The Manfrotto is still 16” long when packed up.)
Impossible you say?

Not necessarily. Here’s how I did it.

Think Tank Shoulder Bag
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to safely pack my GH5 II camera and lens. My first thought was to use my Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7M Shoulder Bag as my personal item/camera bag.

But I quickly realized if I then put my travel tripod into my small carry-on suitcase, I really wouldn’t have room for much of anything else.

I really needed a personal item/bag that would fit both my camera/lens and my travel tripod.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack
To accomplish that, I bought a Peak Design V2 30L Everyday Backpack. I wisely purchased the 30L model as opposed to the smaller 20L version. The 30L model just barely fit my Manfrotto tripod within its zippered side flap (with the tripod positioned vertically).

Sure, my Manfrotto could also slip into one of the backpack’s two outside pockets, but remember, my Peak Design was my personal item for our flight.

Technically, the 30L Everyday Backpack is a bit too big to specifically meet airlines’ personal item regulations.

Personal item limit:
17” L x 13” W x 8” H
Peak Design 30L Everyday Backpack:
19” L x 13” W x 10” H

It’s close. (Plus, I told myself that I could squish the backpack a little smaller if needed.)

So, I didn’t want to flaunt my slightly oversized personal item by also having a tripod sticking out of the backpack’s side. Plus, that would have made the backpack even wider. (The smaller 20L model would have been a snap to carry on board, but it wouldn’t have fit my tripod within its interior.)

30L Everyday Backpack Works as Personal Item
As it turned out, I successfully brought my 30L Everyday Backpack through the gate and past several sets of official eyes without incident. (We flew JetBlue out and Spirit back.)

And the 30L Everyday Backpack did indeed fit under the seat in front of me. There wasn’t a lot of extra room left, but just enough to be able to extend one foot in. It wasn’t exactly a model for comfort (I’m 6’), but it was fine for the three-hour plane ride.

Of course, the Peak Design backpack could have also been stashed in the overhead, but my carry-on bag was already there. Plus, I wanted to maintain total control of my camera gear. (I didn’t like the thought of someone jamming in another bag next to mine in the overhead and possibly damaging my tech.)

Camera Bag and General Backpack
From a packing perspective, my Peak Design Everyday Backpack wasn’t close to being full after I popped in the camera and tripod. There was ample space left over for clothing that could be tightly rolled up.

So, it served nicely as both a camera bag and backpack while we walked around New Orleans.

Think Tank Too
Remember my Think Tank shoulder bag? As it turned out, I packed that as well.
How?

It went in my carry-on luggage. (I first stuffed it with rolled-up t-shirts, socks and shorts and then put the whole thing into my suitcase.)

And why bring two camera bags? The truth is I wasn’t sure if I wanted to schlep my Everyday Backpack around during our entire vacation. The Think Tank has a much smaller profile, and on the days when I didn’t feel I would need my tripod, I felt my shoulder bag would be more appropriate.

My Experience Walking the Streets of New Orleans
I used my shoulder bag during the first couple of days of our New Orleans vacation. As it turned out, it wasn’t that comfortable.

Once I packed my 24 oz water bottle into the outside pocket, I really felt the increased weight of the water, and it became more awkward to carry the shoulder bag all day with my camera. (I had the bag slung over one side of my back.) All of the weight hit my lower back, and my body didn’t appreciate it. (Yes, I do have some lower back issues.)

But when I eventually switched over to the Everyday Backpack, the weight was well balanced and focused more towards the top of my back, (The water bottle fit into one of the two outside pockets. And I still kept my tripod inside the backpack.)

Even though I was carrying more weight, it felt so much better. Plus, the remaining space in the backpack allowed me to carry extra layers of clothes for my family. And it also had room for a couple of gifts we bought along the way!

If you’re a parent with years of experience as a ‘Sherpa’ for your family, this backpack does really nicely as a day bag.

The 30L Peak Design Everyday Backpack isn’t exactly small, but it doesn’t scream, “Hey, I’m a huge camera bag with a tripod!” I was just another tourist carrying a regular backpack on the streets of the French Quarter.

Next time, I’ll ditch the shoulder bag entirely.

Maximize the Functionality of that Personal Item
New Orleans is a great place for a family vacation. I really enjoyed the opportunity bring along my gear to capture some cool photos and videos along the way.

Using a camera bag in the form of a backpack that can fit a small tripod and doubles as a day bag on vacation was my trick to flying with fewer suitcases.

As long as the backpack can also fit under that seat as a personal item on your flight, you should also be in great shape.

Happy travels!

April 24, 2022

Kid-Friendly Vacation Activities in New Orleans

Traveling to New Orleans doesn’t have to be all about Bourbon Street. I’ve got a few tips from our family trip.

New Orleans is actually a great place to take your family on a little vacation. We traveled there over spring break and really enjoyed exploring the city, learning about its history, listening to jazz, and of course eating all of that great food. It didn’t hurt that the French Quarter Festival happened to be going on during our last couple of days.

A key ingredient to our vacation’s success was doing a lot of our exploration on foot. That’s the way to really get a good sense of a city. As my sixth grader, wife and I all enjoy a good hike, it wasn’t a problem racking up some serious city-walking mileage.

If you’re considering a similar adventure and one that specifically avoids Bourbon Street, here are a few of our own highlights. A big shout out goes to my wife for doing the research to identify these peak experiences.

Spooky Family Ghost Tour by Unique NOLA Tours
We learned about the many ghosts haunting houses in the French Quarter. And along the way, we also got a nice New Orleans history lesson. It’s important to have a great storyteller as a guide, and we got really lucky with Dane Rhodes. He’s a local actor who’s been in a variety of movies in small roles. He told our tour group that his claim to fame was we’ve probably seen a movie on TV with his face exploding. Enough said.

Crescent Bike Tour by Buzz Nola
The only limitation to a good walking tour is you can only travel so far. The solution is to expand your reach on a bicycle. This three-hour bike tour took us to the amazing City Park and its live oak trees, the beautiful riverfront as well as Cemetery #3, where we learned about the complex process of managing generations of family members in above-ground tombs.

Audubon Park in the Garden District
To expand your view even further, you can jump on the St. Charles Streetcar and head out to the beautiful Garden District and Audubon Park near Tulane and Loyola universities. (The Audubon Zoo is also in the park, though we didn’t take the time to go there.)

A super lunch spot a few blocks outside the park is Tartine at 7217 Perrier Street.

Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour
If you really want to get out of town, then a swamp tour 45 minutes outside of the city is a worthwhile half-day excursion. (A bus picks you up in the French Quarter.) If you’re looking to see some alligators and other cool wildlife up close, this is the perfect boat tour.

HH Whitney House Bed and Breakfast
There are plenty of hotel options in New Orleans, but staying at a bed and breakfast really enhanced our experience. We loved our time at the HH Whitney House Bed and Breakfast just northwest of the French Quarter. (We had a two bedroom suite with a private bath.)

It’s located at 1923 Esplanade Avenue (about a 25 minute walk to the center of the French Quarter) and run by Glen Miller.

Beyond enjoying a fantastic home-cooked breakfast each morning, we really appreciated Glen’s hospitality and recommendations for where to go and what to do. Not that you can’t do your own research, but it was so great having a home base with someone looking out for you. By the end of our five days in New Orleans, it felt like we were staying with a close friend. Glen is simply fabulous.

Bring your Camera!
Finally, no vacation is complete without the opportunity to spend some time taking photos. And of course, New Orleans offered plenty of visuals for me to capture.

Time to Dust off your Luggage
After two years of relative isolation during the pandemic and really three years since our last family trip by plane, it felt so energizing jetting to Louisiana and exploring a different part of our country with my family.