Trying to drum up some business
I made a patent application for an aftermarket add-on that would change the aspect ratio of your TV set (back before widescreen was invented) because anyone old enough to remember will recall that there weer black bands at the top and bottom of the picture when watching SNES or MegaDrive screens- mainly because 525-line video hardware (fine for US and Japan) didn't fit all 625-lines on a UK TV.

Called the regional ITV station, asked if they would be so kind as to publicise my invention- as luck would have it, slow news day (in Cornwall this is often, hence so many news items about village fetes and sponsored bike rides)so they sent round a reporter and a cameraman.

The bloke gave a standard blurb and then asked me to explain what my invention was.

9 takes it took me, I kept forgetting words in the English language after 15 seconds, but eventually they took some generic footage pertaining to the item (you know the kind of thing, e.g. 'Local man is charged £5000 for phone bill by mistake' and they show the man and his wife looking at his phone bill with a sad expression) and we're all done.

Neatly edited to a 45-second news item for Western Cornwall. Unfortunately, fuck all came of it as after the SNES and Megadrive, the console companies sorted it out, and now every man's dog's TV can flip between about 5 aspect rations. BASTARDS!

apology for lack of hummus. Just is trufax.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 11 Jun 2009, 19:02, Reply)