Format wars!

 You would think that a modern comparison of obsolete, consumer grade equipment would be a waste of space but I love this stuff. It's a tech lesson, a science lesson a marketing a development lesson as well. This particular subject has a nostalgic feel to me not because I was around when this gear was new.
 (Now for the "I can't believe I'm telling on myself part")
It's important to me because it's pFormat wars! art of how us clowns got stories during the"Little Beirut" days of Portland.
Something would go down/kick off on the street or the in a civic building.Eventually whatever it was had it's day in court.
Lots of stuff was always going on so it's a triumph that clowns could easily blend into the comotion and be invisable in plain sight.
At some point all the press would crowd into the courtroom lobbys and hallways to get the scoop.
We were just reporting for our neighborhood and zines but we took it way seriously. We all had laminated press passes with our clown face on them. We used all the tricks we could muster to get in on that press pool info/footage.
If everything was failing, this was my in. I would get close to the most bored looking cameramen and start talking shop. "Hey that's a Beta cam right? Am I right? I read you guys use those somewhere." The guy who was ignoring me before suddenly smiles and is happy to say something like, "Betacam is the format that was used in the professional market, and although it uses the same basic cassettes as your home unit, but it also used components and later digital signals that were entirely unrelated to and incompatible with consumer Beta."
Then I ask. "So what's goin on here Tax stuff?"
 "No A protester was crushed underfoot of some riot horses by the Justice center."
 me: "I don't want to be anywhere near that."
Him: "Right, so stay away from courtroom 6-11b at 2 ockock."
I would do carny stuff like that all the time.
After what I just told you worked so swimmingly I started boning up on cam cam talk. Now I'm actually a fan of this matierial by osmosis.
Later they would still share info with us even though they knew we were shining them.
This was one of the things I don't tell you because it's from the bag of clandestine tricks that are just for us. Well Now you are us.
I'm helping to train street journalists now and I want to impart some trickery if not a notion to not just take the cards you are dealt. Rock on.