Welcome!

What is the Flip?

The Flip camera was originally created by San Francisco-based Pure Digital Technologies Inc.  At the time of its release, it was disparaged by technical insiders on blogs because they failed to see what the flip lacked for in extras, it made up for in convenience and simplicity.  The Flip was acquired by Cisco in March 2009.  At the time of their aquisition, Cisco’s press release hinted at their long-term strategy: “to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking.”

Flip Products

Mino (2GB) and Mino HD (8GB and 4GB)

UltraHD (8GB) and Ultra (4GB)

FlipShare

FlipShareTv

Flip Sales

In 2007, Deloitte LLPput Pure Digital at the top of its fastest growing software and information technology companies.  Their predictions proved accurate. In July of 2008, Pure Digital sold its 1 millionth Flip and has sold hundreds of thousands more since then.  In the same year, they gained almost a quarter of the US camcorder market share.  What does the company contribute to their success?  According to Ray Sangster, EMEA President at Flip Video, “Our amazing growth is down to our products becoming synonymous with the trend for uploading videos to the web, which is a very real part of many people’s lives these days for all age groups.”

Thanks to an increase in user-generated content, “Pure Digital is holding its own in the competitive consumer-electronics world, which is dominated by big conglomerates such as Sony, Panasonic and Samsung.”

Not only have skyrocketing sales of the Flip helped to grow Pure Digital as a company, but it can also be thanked for stimulating the video camera industry as a whole.  Analysts believe that Flip camera sales are responsible for “injecting some life into the camcorder business, which had seen sales stall at about 3.7 million units in 2005 and 2006 each. Sales rose to 4.1 million in 2007. Pure Digital has “eaten into the category but it’s also grown the category.”

Flip Competitors

The Zi8

Apple iPhone 3G

The History of Video Cameras: Before 1920

The First Motion Picture Cameras

The first moving images were not video as we know it now – they closely resembled stop-motion photography or slide shows. During this period, production was limited to those who were experimenting and inventing, rather than large companies or the general public.

Edward Muybridge pioneered this effort, most notably with his series of photographs of a horse in 1878. These images were viewed in a device called a Praxinoscope, and later in a device called the Zoopraxiscope.

In the early 1890s, Edison Laboratories introduced the public to the Kinetoscope, a camera that used backlit celluloid film to project moving images. Later, Edison Laboratories opened the first production studio, the Black Maria, a tar-paper covered building created for the purpose of making film strips for the Kinetoscope. The limitation of this invention was that it was only able to be viewed by an individual, as an eye piece and magnifying glass were needed for viewing. However, these were the first true “motion pictures.”

Louis and Auguste Lumiere continued the evolution of moving images with their invention, the Cinematograph, a combination recorder and projector. It created films in 35mm format, with 16 frames per second. Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory, their first film, debuted on March 22, 1895. The first commercial showing of their films was on December 28, 1895, and was a 20 minute program containing 10 short films.

Other notable early recording/projecting inventions include

• The Eidoloscope (or Panopticon), invented by the Skladanowsky brothers of Germany in 1895
• The Phantascope, invented by Thomas Armat and Charles Francis Jenkins in 1893
• The Theatrograph, invented by Robert William Paul in 1896

Integrating Sound with Motion Pictures

It has been said that although the motion picture and the phonograph were intended to be partners, they grew up separately.

-Edward Kellogg

Edison was interested in the invention of the motion picture camera in order to supplement his other invention, the phonograph. He theorized that sounds would be more entertaining with motion pictures attached, and vice versa, but did not realize that audiences would be so enthralled with the first motion pictures that they wouldn’t care about sound. Although inventors continued to develop film and sound technology, but they mostly remained separate from each other until the 1920s.

Motion Pictures As an Established Medium

Daniel Czitrom calls the period from 1905-1918 the most stunning period in motion picture history. This is due to two factors – the emergence of narratives, which led to longer and more experimental films, and the emergence of the nickelodeon as a commercial distribution center. Although nickelodeons may have been around as far back as 1896, their explosion of popularity occurred primarily after 1905. In 1911, the Patents Company reported 11,500 nickelodeons across the country. Film had emerged as a commercially viable product.

The History of Video Cameras: 1920’s – 1940’s

Scottish engineer John Baird invented the first working mechanical television system. The technology behind his video camera was based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk (a mechanical, geometrically operating image scanning device, invented Paul Gottlieb Nipkow), and was used in experimental broadcasts by the BBC in the 1930s.  Baird created one of his first recordings in 1927 through a process he called “Phonovision”, which worked similar to the first audio recordings of the time in that recording were made on wax discs very similar to gramaphone records. The concept behind the Photovision was that it would be a process for recording using a camera and recording system mechanically linked and synchronized with a separate mechanism for playback.(McLean,p75-76) Unfortunately the amount of noise and distortion on the recordings made the pictures unreadable on his playback mechanism, and the system never took off.

In 1927, American engineer, Philo Farnsworth successfully transmitted the first all-electronic moving image. The image was a simple straight line, whose source was a glass slide that was backlit by an extremely bright lamp. His television system, which used all-electronic transmitting tubes, included the first ever “Image Dissector” (a television camera that performed the conversion and dissecting of light).  This device, which makes transmitting moving images possible, works by breaking images into points of light that are converted into electrical impulses, and then collected and translated back into light.

In 1934 the all-electronic television was being used in broadcasts, and receiving rapid engineering improvements. Meanwhile consumer sales of mechanical receivers were quite slow due to their high costs. The advancements in all-electronic television put an end to mechanical television broadcasts, as it’s last broadcast came in 1939 — the same year that RCA purchased Philo Farnsworth patents and they began demonstrations at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. It was at this event that RCA and a handful of other manufacturers began advertising to the public the appeal of household televisions.

In 1938 RCA persuaded the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA) to consider adoption of its television system for standardization.  Following an RMA recommendation, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held hearings in 1940 to address the adoption of television standards. In the first set of hearings, opposition came from competition who argued against the RCA formed standards. In a final set of hearings, rival claims continued that RCA was stifling research and development into other alternative standards. This resulted in the FCC eliminating commercial broadcasting until an industry consensus on one common system could be made.

The History of Video Cameras: 1950’s -1970’s

The 1950’s brought with it the invention of the Vidicon camera tube.  The Vidicon tube converted a video image into an electronic signal and replaced traditional charge-coupled devices.  The invention of the Vidicon tube also made it possible to build smaller cameras.

The 1950’s was also a time of innovation for RCA.  An engineering team sponsored by RCA and led by Dr. Paul K. Weimer started developing a color camera.  The team introduced the first commercial color camera, the TK-40 in 1952. Three years later, Weimer and his team created a single-tube color camera based on the two-inch Vidicon tube.

At the same time the Vidicon tube and color camera were being developed, Ampex (an American electronics company) brought innovation to image recording.  Working with a team at Ampex, Charles Ginsburg developed the first videotape recorder (VTR). The VTR system used a rapidly rotating recording head to apply high-frequency signals onto a reel of magnetic tape. The VTR revolutionized broadcast television, as companies no longer had to rely on Kinescope Film, and the footage was much easier to edit.

Ampex's VTR

In 1962, Ikegami Tsushinki Co., Ltd. -a Japanese company that would later invent “Pong” and “Donkey Kong” – introduced the first portable hand-held TV camera.  CBS was the first to embrace the technology, when they used the hand-held for live coverage of the NASA launch of Aurora 7.  Piggybacking on this development was 1972’s “HL-33” camera, which captured color.

Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, the Philips Company developed a magnetic cassette tape that was half as wide as the standard 1/4-inch tape of the era.  This limited fidelity, but maximized portability.  Philips also made and marketed a line of Norelco professional video cameras.  CBS was again an early adopter of the technology, using the PC-60, PC-70, PC-72, PCP-90 models.

The History of Video Cameras: 1980’s

The early 1980s marks the introduction of the first video camera.  American inventor Jerome H. Lemelson was one of the minds behind the camcorder, though ironically, in 1977, his patent application was rejected; the idea of a portable video recorder was considered impossible.  Proving that theory wrong, in 1982, as a solution for consumers looking for a hand-held device to record for personal use, JVC unveiled its new mini-VHS format, the “CAMera/recorder,” or camcorder.

Several months later, Sony also released the Betacam system, which it advertised with the catch phrase “Inside This Camera Is a VCR.”  The Betacam system is a family of half-inch professional videotape products (Betacam camcorder, a Betacam tape, a Betacam video recorder or the format itself). The BMC-100 was the first Beta Movie video camera incorporating an internal Beta system deck.  A part of this system was a single camera-recorder unit, which eliminated the cable between camera and recorder and dramatically improved the freedom of the cameraman. Its convenient and portable structure turned the Betacam into the standard professional field camera for location video work.

In the years proceeding JVC and Sony’s release, all of the major camera companies jumped on the bandwagon.  In February 1984, Kodak entered the video market with the KODAVISION Series 2000 8 mm video system and introduced KODAK Videotape Cassettes in 8 mm, Beta, and VHS format.

Then, in 1985, Sony introduced the Video 8, one of the first chip-based camcorder capable of recording video on a standard 8mm videotape. The same year, JVC introduced VHS-C, a compact version of VHS cassettes.

During that same time, Panasonic, RCA and Hitachi began producing camcorders that recorded to full-sized VHS cassettes and offered up to 3 hours of recording time.

In 1986 Sony introduced the first digital video format, D1. Video was recorded in uncompressed form and required enormous bandwidth for its time.  Super VHS full-sized camcorders were released in 1987 which exceeded broadcast quality and provided an inexpensive way to collect news segments.

Then, in 1989, the famous Sony 8mm “Handycam” was introduced. This featherweight 790g model took the world by storm under the “Passport Size” marketing slogan. Featuring all the latest state-of-the art technology, this model offered video enthusiasts an easy and convenient means of recording on-the-go.

The onset of the camcorder sparked an early trend in reality-based TV, capitalizing on viewer footage for shows such as “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”  The show, created due to the popularity of the camcorder, ironically spurred even greater sales of the device itself.

The camcorder reached a new level of public awareness on March 3, 1991, when George Holliday caught a trio of Los Angeles policemen beating a motorist named Rodney King. The resulting furor prompted police departments across the country to install video cameras in their patrol cars.  Many disasters and news events subsequently would be captured not by news cameras, but by citizen journalists carrying pocket digital media.

The History of Video Cameras: 1990’s

In the 1990’s, Moore’s law greatly contributed to the decrease of video camera size and cost, and increase in image quality.  This led to a ubiquity of video-equipped electronic devices during this period, including the inclusion of video cameras in cell phones and laptops. A major obstacle in the miniaturizing of video cameras came in the ability to maintain image quality, because as optics size decreases so does the ability to capture and process light. A major advancement to address this issue for professional video imaging, was in converting from video camera tubes to charge-coupled devices (CCDs) as a method for light detection, processing, and conversion of light into an electrical signal.

The next major advance of video cameras in the 1990’s was the advent of the digital format (DV). In 1992 Ampex released the first video tape that used data compression, by using a format called discrete cosine transform (DCT). Utilizing this compression technology, DV was launched in 1995 through the joint efforts of major video camera manufacturers as a digital video standard for consumer equipment. DV camcorders include a compression chip that used the DCT process to individually compress every video frame onto tape. The DV cameras recorded onto magnetic tape that was then encased in cartridges and called Digital Video Cassettes (DVC). There were a variety of these tape formats, but the most widely adopted consumer versions of these tapes were the MiniDV.

This new digital format advanced several aspects of consumer video production capabilities. DV removed expensive barriers that separated consumer and professional video production. The previous barriers to entry (which included the expense of compression hardware, editing decks, and cameras) was removed by the entrance of low cost cameras that performed their own compression, and affordable software. The IEEE 1394 (FireWire, i.LINK) ports for digital video transfer, which were part of nearly all DV camcorders, added the ability to easily move video to a computer without quality loss.  This offered the ability for non-professional consumers to perform non-linear editing, and created a new market of affordable consumer video editing software.

As video production capabilities for the common consumer thrived in the 90’s, there were still large limitations in independent distribution. Individuals looked to the internet as the future delivery channel for video content. The problem at the time was with the large files sizes associated with video, and slow internet bandwidth. The internet gained traction in the mid-to-late 90’s, but broadband adoption was very slow, as only 3% of Americans had it in their home by 2000. To address these issues, several advances were made in video file compression. New video formats and codec made it possible to diminish the size of the large files, and introduced video delivery via the internet. The ability to affordably perform semi-professional video production and distribution opened up the door for independent film making and citizen journalism, which would ultimately thrive in the next decade as technology improved and costs continued to fall.

The Flip’s Place in the Consumer Market

The low price point of the Flip camera now makes it affordable for the average consumer to own a video camera. The small size, lack of accessories, and overall simplistic design make it completely feasible for individuals of all ages and levels of camera expertise to capture moments on the go. “Pure Digital aims to make the Flip the point-and-shoot of video, expanding the market for camcorders by appealing to first-time buyers, teens and even existing camcorder users looking for a super-portable gadget to throw in a purse or backpack.”

In modern times of commuting, long distance relationships and extensive travel for work and school, people are able to use the Flip to stay connected to their loved ones. Capturing and sharing live footage of dance recitals, 1st birthdays, graduations, vacations, weddings and adorable pet moments, just to name a few, is now possible anywhere on the globe. In times where people feel so far away, a small device like the Flip tends to shorten the distance.

When there are so many other mobile filming devices in the market, why is it that Flip that has been so successful? The same question can be asked as to why so many people have iPhones? Wear Northface? Drink Starbucks? Consumers are affected by what they consider “cool.” Celebrities and prominent figures who endorse and sponsor brands play a major role in trendsetting. Many Hollywood celebrities are creating user-generated footage of their own and distributing to their fans. Stars such as Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson and even Barack Obama’s camp are all “flipping” over the Flip.

Even the queen of talk shows has put her stamp of endorsement on the Flip. Back in 2007, Oprah gave out the Flips to everyone in her audience in her “Favorite Things” episode.  “The Oprah Winfrey Show” reaches 44 million people each week. And those numbers translate into big sales for the products Oprah recommends.”  “It is the entrepreneur’s dream to see Oprah holding his product and saying it is one of her favorite things. I was fortunate enough to see that happen,” said Jonathan Kaplan, CEO of Pure Digital and one of the four people credited with inventing the Flip cameras.  The power of celebrity endorsements has undoubtedly helped contribute to Flip’s success with the everyday consumer.

The Flip’s Place in Journalism

While the protocol for handheld camcorders was initially to provide consumers with a medium to capture family moments and personal milestones, increased portability and accessibility now make it feasible to transport video cameras whenever, wherever. The uses of the video camera have changed drastically. Professional journalists are no longer the only ones with access to live news coverage, nor are major film producers the only ones with access to an audience. In fact, in many instances, it is the professional who is actually relying on consumer content for ideas and inspiration.

It’s widely speculated that the field of professional journalism is in jeopardy with the new surge of “citizen” journalists. Citizen journalism is the idea that individuals without professional journalism training can use the tools of modern technology and the global distribution platform of the Internet to create and distribute media on their own or in collaboration with others.

University of Washington graduate student Nicole Siegel used her digital camera to capture an Orca while riding the Bainbridge to Seattle ferry.  She tweeted the picture  she took, and it appeared on the KOMO News broadcast that night:

The Flip camera facilitates the average individual’s ability to easily film and upload video content. Whereas the viewer used to tune in to the evening news for current event updates, sites like Twitter and Facebook allow the audience to post and view news as it breaks. No longer is it necessary to watch or Tivo the 6 o’clock news, nor is it necessary to lug around heavy, expensive and complicated camera gear to capture an event as it happens.

Because of the wide dispersion of so many excellent tools for capturing live events, such as the Flip camera, the average citizen can now make news and distribute it globally, an act that was once the province of established journalists and media companies.

Citizen journalism has taken off with the advent of portable video cameras like the Flip. Video footage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the ’60s and footage of police beating Rodney King in Los Angeles in the ’80s were both captured by citizens on the scene.

Footage from more recent events such as the tragedy in Haiti and devastation in New Orleans were also widely captured on mini recording devices such as the Flip. The convenience of the Flip camera makes it easier to cover events in conditions that may not be conducive to bulky camera equipment. Engineer and humanitarian, Tony Gupton recently traveled to Haiti to report on the aftermath of the earthquake and stated, “It’s a lot easier to get video out of Haiti using my new HD Flip camera than the television gear that we arrived with.”  Here is an example of one of his stories, shot with a Flip camera: Troops load supplies onto helicopters.

Singer Wyclef Jean, a native of Haiti, wants to turn Flip camera footage of earthquake aftermath and turn it into a mainstream movie, so the world will understand that the road to recovery is going to be a long one. The former Fugees star fears the “international media covering the catastrophe and its aftermath is turning away from the worst scenes and giving TV viewers the impression that the relief effort has been a huge success.”

In addition to video sharing on popular sites like YouTube, Hulu and MetaCafe, social media blog Mashable provides insight into easy ways citizen journalists can easily share and distribute video content on Twitter specifically:

• Vidly
• Twiddeo
• Twitc
• TwitLENS
• Tweetube

The Flip’s Place in Public Relations and Marketing

Public Relations

Especially during times of economic uncertainty, it is not always realistic to fund large-scale campaigns using expensive equipment and tools. For this reason, many brands are using inexpensive social media platforms for reputation management, customer relations and content distribution just to name a few.

Advertising and PR agencies have become Flip savvy to serve the best interests of their clients. Denise Graveline, president of communication consulting firm Don’t Get Caught, advocates the Flip as a digital must. Graveline points out the benefits of using the Flip in Public Relations: “The built-in USB port and uploading software, the small size and the simple operation combine to inspire and takes all the lugging, planning and setup away as barriers to capturing video. And while some communicators want to stick to their broadcast-quality equipment array, Flips and their like can inspire unusual approaches to communicating information about your company, organization or agency.”

Branding

Companies have learned how to capitalize on the Flip device itself by adding their own brand name to the camera. Companies such as Google, ESPN, and MySpace have marketed branded Flip cameras. Some companies are taking it a step further and combining these branded Flips with video contests – giving their customers a platform for direct engagement while reinforcing their brand name.

Philanthropy

Utilizing “affect” – the idea of using emotions and trends to sell – Flip has also gotten involved in philanthropic movements to strike an emotional chord with consumers and prove that they aren’t just about making money. “Video Spotlight provides steeply discounted access to selected Flip Video products to qualifying charitable capitalize organizations.”

Additional philanthropic efforts include Flip for Good that “enables organizations and individuals to raise money and build awareness for good causes by custom designing Flip Video Mino camcorders.” An example of this is the “Hope for Haiti” camera, designed by the GO Campaign in response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, where $10 from each camera sale will go towards the organization’s relief work.

The Flip’s Place in Education

Flip cameras are being used widely in the field of education. As Hanson Hosein notes, the Flip provides students the opportunity stay current by telling their own stories, digitally, without the bulk and expense of high-tech camera equipment. Texas public schools support the using the Flip in their school districts; according to the district technology specialist, “it is conducive to learning habits, since 90% of the brain’s sensory input comes from visual sources”.

Flips have made their way across the pond as well. UK teacher Mark Warner discusses what he feels are the benefits and usages of Flip cameras in the field of Education:

• School trips – a fantastic way of recording and reporting on these experiences
• Interviews – great for literacy work, and the ability to watch recordings and critique performance
• Impulse recordings – capture every moment – grab the Flip and record without advance set-up

Not only are Flip cameras being used in the classroom to facilitate in the student learning process, but many schools are also using the devices to evaluate teaching performance. One teacher tells Education Week.org, “The Flip has the potential to revolutionize evaluations and shadowing as we currently do them. Obviously, there has been the technology to do this for some time, but the equipment and methods were often bulky and complex. The Flip makes the process as simple as click, record, upload, and view. I have no doubt that this ability will revolutionize the way we do observations.”