Wow! XCam2 Attends Huge Music Festival!

June 22, 2001 - It’s such a small word, but it encapsulates so much. Wow. You can say it backwards. Wow. No matter how you say it, it sill comes out Wow! And recently X10 received a letter with the heading, "All I can say is Wow!"

Scott Kinley lives in Herrin, Illinois. Every year, Herrin has a large Italian festival known as Herrin-Festa which lasts 5 days, and starting with Memorial Day Weekend. This year the festival booked big-name musical groups such as The Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, blues legend Lonnie Brooks, and country star Phil Vassar.

Scott heads up the video side of the tech team which webcasts the entire event live. Scott says they are "a volunteer team consisting of some of the finest computer technology, computer networking, and video technical people in the Southern Illinois region." Scott also said that his team "produces a professional, three camera, live shoot of all the entertainment. We also post stills and video highlights of other events." This year, however, thanks to the XCam2, and the special they ran on the three camera one receiver package, Scott and his team were able to double that to a six camera shoot. "With the reliability, clarity, and compact size of the cameras, we were able to actually place the three cameras in the lighting grid of the main stage." That meant that they could provide their audience with nearly front row seats to the concert. Video that "in the past had been impossible to obtain." Scott talks about one of his favorite shots, which was "looking straight down on the drum stage. When the colored lights began to reflect off the drummer’s cymbals and drum heads, the shot was nothing short of fabulous."

Scott and his team have become a stopping point during the festival, for the visiting bands and dignitaries. Their mobile office has been dubbed the "Geek Trailer" because of all the "Computer Geeks" that come together during this festival. These men and women volunteer their time, equipment, and expertise to make this festival available to anyone who wants to partake, no matter where in the world they are. And since the Geek Trailer is the unofficial stopping point, Scott and his team love to show off any new and exciting equipment that they’ve managed to piece together for the festival. This year, the honors went to the XCam2. Scott said, "Most of our visitors couldn’t believe the size and clarity of the cameras." He also said "We in the Geek trailer are proud to have the XCam2 as part of our team." A team that they’re hoping to expand, because they operate on such a tight budget.

Scott paid for this equipment out of his own pocket for the festival, but he’s glad he did. He found them well worth the investment. And that’s coming from a man whose site receives over a million hits in a year. And for that, we say "Wow."

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