“Back in my day” is always a common phrase in any business. “Back in my day it was better.”

But in my experience, in the film world, “Back in my day” sucked.

My first film project was shot on film. I had grown up on camcorders so it was a shock to my system to not to be able to see the image you were setting up, not to know indeed if you actually got it “in the can” until the “dailies” came back. And these cameras were sensitive. You needed a mass amount of lights needed to run a small country to actually get an image going.

And it took forever. Actors had more pressure than normal, because each take cost money. Everything was on the line.

And that was only the beginning of it. You had to develop the film. Yup, more money. You had to edit it, on these ridiculous machines that can only be described as close to a sewing machine, but much harder to use. If you wanted to find a shot you were working on that morning…yeah, good luck finding it in some “bin.”

And finally, when the film was done - you had to create a final print. Lug it around to theaters. Project it. Or put it on DVD and hope to god that the DVD wouldn’t freeze in the player of the festival judging staff or agent who might be watching it.

But today’s it’s different.

Today, even on my worse day on set, when I’m looking out to this amazing small camera that records HD images, that doesn’t need a crap load of lights, that can show me the image as I’m recording, that is super-user friendly, doesn’t cost money for takes - I am relaxed. Relaxed knowing I can spend the time to do the things that really matter. Get the performances right, get the story right, and actually enjoy myself.

And then when I edit, it’s  like I’m playing a video game. And when you send it out to people? Yup, you just send them a link. And it will play.

Some purists might want the technology to be back to “the good old days.”

Me? I think the “Good Old Days” are happening right now.