Typewriter Video Series Intro

Post-Script: This video production went rather smoothly. I was especially pleased with the audio, using the digital field recorder and lavaliere microphone. And the manual focus film-camera lens renders very nicely, though it's not quite as sharp as the Lumix digitally-corrected lenses.

Some of my videos have gone upwards of 15 minutes in length. This one was just a tad under nine, and therefore didn't take nearly as long to upload to You Tube. I also feel that having these slightly shorter videos makes them more watchable.

I have not yet decided on the content of the next video in the series, but most likely I'll be showing the major features of manual typewriters, and thus I'll probably be doing close-ups of a number of machines from my collection. The idea will be to help show the major differences between portables and mid-sized machines, so a potential buyer can decide for themselves what category of machine to go hunting for, and what features may or may not be important. It's also a good time to introduce to the neophyte the major differences in operation between manual typewriters and computer word processors. For us oldsters these concepts are virtually back-of-the-hand familiar, but for many younger people they might be altogether entirely foreign.

This raises the point that I don't have a full-sized upright machine in my collection, nor anything older than the Corona 4, and so I won't be able to demonstrate their features; nor do I have access to exotic machines like Olivers and such. But I think I have enough of a selection to familiarize the neophyte in what he or she might find commonly available at their local thrift or charity shops. Once they get more familiar with the world of typewriters they can discover for themselves the exotics and collectibles, if that be their forte.

I remember when I first acquired the Brother/Webster XL-747, used in this video and typecast, and how I fussed over it for several weeks, addressing little issues and slowly improving its performance. Taking it down from the closet shelf after several months of disuse, I was pleased with the way in which it performs, as compared to the Corona 4; which itself is not that bad. This serves as reinforcement to my hopes that it was a valuable addition to my collection; and you can't beat its diminutive size and snazzy color; and the carrying case is in much better condition than any Lettera 22 I've ever owned, making its portability entirely practical.

Did you notice how my outfit and the typewriter were entirely color coordinated? Yes, that was entirely by accident, I can assure you.