Portapak
Encyclopedia
A Portapak is a battery powered self-contained video tape analog recording
system that can be carried by one person. Earlier television cameras were large and relatively immovable, but the Portapak made it possible to record television images while moving around. Before Portapak cameras, remote television news footage was routinely photographed on 16mm film and telecine
d for broadcast.
The first portapak system, the Sony
Video Rover was introduced to the market in 1967. It was a two-piece set consisting of a black-and-white
composite video
video camera
and a separate record-only helical scan
½" VCR unit. It required a Sony CV series VTR to play back the video. Although it was light enough for a single person to carry and use, it was usually operated by a crew of two: one carrying and controlling the camera, and one carrying and operating the VCR part.
This model was followed up by the AV-3400/AVC-3400, which used the EIAJ-1
format, and had 30-minute capacity, as well as playback capability. Later Portapaks by Sony, JVC
, and others used such formats as U-Matic
videocassettes (with reduced-size 20-minute "U-Matic S" cassettes) and Betacam SP (for which a Portapak, unlike a camera-mounted deck, allowed the use of the larger "L" cassettes, for up to 90-minute recording time)
The introduction of the Portapak had a great influence on the development of Video art
. Footage could be played back instantly instead of waiting for film processing, and, at less than a thousand (1967) dollars, it was much more affordable than film or existing television cameras. Suddenly motion pictures became accessible to artists, experimenters, and social commentators, not just well funded establishment production companies.
Lord of the Universe, which won a 1974 DuPont-Columbia Award
, was the first Portapak documentary produced for national television.
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
system that can be carried by one person. Earlier television cameras were large and relatively immovable, but the Portapak made it possible to record television images while moving around. Before Portapak cameras, remote television news footage was routinely photographed on 16mm film and telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
d for broadcast.
The first portapak system, the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Video Rover was introduced to the market in 1967. It was a two-piece set consisting of a black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
video camera
Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
and a separate record-only helical scan
Helical scan
Helical scan is a method of recording high bandwidth signals onto magnetic tape. It is used in reel-to-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives....
½" VCR unit. It required a Sony CV series VTR to play back the video. Although it was light enough for a single person to carry and use, it was usually operated by a crew of two: one carrying and controlling the camera, and one carrying and operating the VCR part.
This model was followed up by the AV-3400/AVC-3400, which used the EIAJ-1
EIAJ-1
EIAJ-1, developed by the Electronic Industries Association of Japan in 1969, was the first standardized format for industrial/non-broadcast videotape recorders...
format, and had 30-minute capacity, as well as playback capability. Later Portapaks by Sony, JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
, and others used such formats as U-Matic
U-matic
U-matic is an analog recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various Reel-to-Reel or open-reel formats of the...
videocassettes (with reduced-size 20-minute "U-Matic S" cassettes) and Betacam SP (for which a Portapak, unlike a camera-mounted deck, allowed the use of the larger "L" cassettes, for up to 90-minute recording time)
The introduction of the Portapak had a great influence on the development of Video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
. Footage could be played back instantly instead of waiting for film processing, and, at less than a thousand (1967) dollars, it was much more affordable than film or existing television cameras. Suddenly motion pictures became accessible to artists, experimenters, and social commentators, not just well funded establishment production companies.
The Portapak would seem to have been invented specifically for use by artists. Just when pure formalism had run its course; just when it became politically embarrassing to make objects, but ludicrous to make nothing; just when many artists were doing performance works but had nowhere to perform, or felt the need to keep a record of their performances; just when it began to seem silly to ask the same old Berkleean question, ‘If you build a sculpture in the desert where no one can see it, does it exist?’; just when it became clear that TV communicates more information to more people than large walls do; just when we understood that in order to define space it is necessary to encompass time; just when many established ideas in other disciplines were being questioned and new models were proposed — just then the Portapak became available.
Lord of the Universe, which won a 1974 DuPont-Columbia Award
DuPont-Columbia Award
The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award is an American award that honors excellence in broadcast journalism. The awards, administered since 1968 by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, are considered a broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, another...
, was the first Portapak documentary produced for national television.