Today I have chosen to turn
the spotlight on another esteemed member of the Casablanca Community... a name well known in both North America and around the planet -- by the name of Carroll Lam.
Carroll grew up in a small farming community in Central Texas (USA) and went off to College at Texas A and M. It was there that he joined the Air Force ROTC. Carroll has always impressed me a very learned man and that was confirmed when he shared that he earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering -- his doctoral thesis was in Gamma Ray Spectroscopy. In this amazing age of information that we live in, a quick search provided me with a link to his work from 1965 (you can see the summary here: Doctoral Thesis
Carroll was with the US Air Force until he retired in 1979 and came to Tucson, Arizona. It was there that he worked with Defense Department Contractors working on development of Image Sensor Technology, Advanced video, and Electro-optical Technologies.
He was working in Washington DC on a project during this phase of his life that he met Donna whom we married. Donna is a legal professional, -- with the title of Assistant Attorney General in the state of Arizona.
When asked when he began with video/film - Carroll shared
Carroll's first video camera was in 1995 "it was a little JVC mini-cam that my wife gave me as a Christmas gift - JVC was the first company to offer a DV camcorder model"
With his experience and knowledge about computers -- Carroll was aware of the challenges back then for computers to perform the complex operations of processing video data. It was at this time he saw an advertisement for the Casablanca Classic in Videomaker Magazine.
After some investigation, he placed an order and received one of the first Casablanca units, a Casablanca 040 that had a whopping 9 GB hard drive!
The first time Carroll got to see a Casablanca editor (or get his hands on its trackball was on the unit that was shipped to him.
Carroll enjoyed the editor so much and believed in its potential so much that in 1998 he talked with the company about becoming a dealer (reseller). Arizona already had a successful reseller named Greg Hales who was based in Flagstaff - it was suggested that Carroll partner with Greg... and they did just that.
With the excitement in the video community growing about this revolutionary tool called the Casablanca (remember back then, video editing was moving from linear editing -- VCR to VCR -- and the other digital solutions were either _very_ glitchy or _very_ expensive) there were growing on-line communities like the forums at Videomaker.com.
Carroll recalls "there were a lot of posts by folks using PC based video editing applications in those early days who would share their frustrations about this or that, and asking how they could get their editor to work. Myself and others using Casablanca would often share 'we're using a Casablanca and it's working just fine... have you checked out a Casablanca editor?... I do that all the time on my Cassie with no difficulty'. I guess one day these poor frustrated colleagues had enough of our success , they labeled us 'That Darned Cassie Cult' (but they used a different work than darn). So I stuck with that moniker and use it on my website still today"
It was then that Carroll started to network with other Casablanca enthusiasts within their own group.
"At first I would send group emails to those folks who had found each other in these other forums and then they would pass along the name and email of a friend who was editing on a Casablanca. When it became such a large list that became daunting (and my Internet Service provider was complaining about what they thought was my broadcasting of spam) I moved the Forum to the List Serv format we enjoy today."
Incidentally the Cassie Tips List, with more than 4,000 subscribers is free and open to all Casablanca enthusiasts - you can subscribe on this web page: http://www.clamcamvi
It was at this time that Carroll and his partner Greg Hales came up with the idea of getting the Casablanca faithful together as one big group, to have a share-fest of ideas and tips for those using the Casablanca editor. That gathering - which had about 90 attendees - was held in Sedona, Arizona in a school facility -- hosted by a teacher who was editing on a Casablanca. Carroll heard the event was quite successful -- I say he heard it was a success as he was not able to attend. Just three days before the Sedona Casablanca Conference Carroll suffered a heart attack. He recalls receiving a 'get-well' video that folks at the conference had created while there.
From that gathering in Sedona, Arizona - the following year Draco Systems (predecessor of MacroSystem US) put on a Casablanca Convention in Boulder, Colorado. Carroll also hosted one of the 2-Day Casablanca Conferences in Tucson, Arizona (April 2006) where he presented sessions and where the picture at left was taken
Carroll developed his business into his own Casablanca dealership and it today one of a handful of MSUS Gold Star Resellers. In addition to continuing to provide Casablanca hardware, software and knowledge/tips - Carroll in recent years opened a production company in Tucson, Arizona.
"I concentrate primarily on event videography - community events, plays and performances. We have a lot of performing arts here in the Tucson area. I also serve as a 2nd shooter for wedding videographers."
Talking with Carroll it is clear that he loves his toys... he has purchased many, many video cameras over the years "after that first JVC camcorder, I purchased a Sony and have worked with many of the Sony Digital cameras -- I started with Sony cameras PC1, PC7 and then the PD series all the way up to the PDW-F350."
For video editing - Carroll has a powerful Mac desktop computer with Final Cut Pro software, which he uses on occasion. He runs 'Boot-camp' software on the Mac which also enables him to use his Sony Vegas (Windows software) when needed. But he adds 'I still use the Casablanca for my primary editor"
Carroll has recently taken his video expertise and knowledge to an additional area and is the creator of an iPhone app that provides a tool for videographers on location (application)! I will be providing the history behind his iPhone app along with a review in my article on my other blog 'Your Technology Tutor' this coming Saturday, November 14th. You can read that review beginning tomorrow here www.ChetDavis.com.
You can visit Carroll's website here http://www.clamcamvideo.com/
While youre visiting Carroll's website - be sure to check out the Gallery to sample his video
Thanks Carroll -- for your many years of service to the Casablanca community, and for your willingness to share a little about your story with us today!
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