If you think modern LED programming on a cinema set is stressful, try operating an analog console while calling six carbon-arc Super Trooper spotlights over the roaring crowd of a 1970s Marshall Tucker Band stadium show.

This week on Old Guy Tech, Dave McCauley and I are breaking down the massive industry news of the day—the end of an era as ARRI changes family ownership after more than a century. How is this move into the live broadcast and sports market going to affect the cinema glass and camera bodies we know and love?

Then, Dave sits down with a true legend of the lighting grid, Randy Read. Randy brings over 40 years of battle-tested, high-end production expertise to the table—from touring with rock 'n' roll icons to his tenure at Cinetel Productions, Scripps Networks, and designing broadcast studios globally for ARRI.

#Inside the Episode:

The ARRI Acquisition:*We analyze the acquisition of the world's leading camera and lighting ecosystem by Thomas Riedel and what it means for the future of cinema post-production pipelines.

Psychedelic Pre-Show Origins: How Randy got his start at 19 using food dye, oil, water, and overhead projectors to create live, music-reactive visuals behind touring bands.

The "Super Trooper" Era: A look back at pure analog lighting rigs—manually syncing 180 Par cans, Leekos, and carbon-arc spotlights before software automation took over the industry.

The Bill-Payer's Eye: The brutal truth every young filmmaker needs to learn early: "Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder; beauty is in the eye of the person who writes the check."

The Multiple-Camera Art: Why true multi-cam set lighting is a dying breed, the raw horsepower and foot-candles required to pull exposure on older tube cameras, and why knowing the math behind amperage and power distribution separates the real lighting directors from the CAD drafters.

Check your feeds, lock down your power distribution, and listen to an elite professional who has truly lit it all.

What's the oldest piece of lighting iron or analog gear you've ever had to handle on a professional location?

Drop your crew stories in the comments.

This week on Old Guy Tech, Michael is flying solo in the booth while Dave is out in the field shooting B-roll. But we have an incredibly special episode as we welcome Michael's friend of over 20 years, Paul Jones!

Paul is a music entrepreneur with over 30 years of global industry experience and the founder of the production music library, Auralation. If you’ve ever watched true crime hits like Snapped or City Confidential, or tuned into cable giants like HGTV, DIY, and Food Network, you have absolutely heard his work.

In Episode 6, Paul shares his incredible journey from recording TV theme songs on a portable cassette player to running the studio where Dolly Parton recorded her Halos & Horns album (including a bluegrass cover of "Stairway to Heaven"!).

🎙️ In this episode, Michael and Paul also dive deep into:

• Paul’s hilarious first TV scoring gig, which consisted of just playing his lowest synthesizer note every time the scene changed.
• The reality of AI in the music industry—discussing tools like Suno and 11 Labs—and why AI is currently a fantastic iteration tool for songwriters, but isn't quite ready to take over the emotional heavy-lifting of scoring a film.
• Behind-the-scenes of scoring the documentary The Hidden Tiger and capturing the multicultural sounds of rural India.
• The booming true crime television industry that turned Knoxville into a massive production hub.
• UT's new music business program and the exciting future of dedicated scoring stages in East Tennessee.

👇 We want to hear from YOU! What is your favorite piece of gear or your craziest story from the set? Drop a comment below, and let us know who we should interview next!

👍 The "Cheesy" Ask: As Michael always says, it feels cheesy to ask, but it really does help the channel—please hit that LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss our upcoming "Cautionary Tale" mini-series on Michael's robotic total knee replacement.

#OldGuyTech #VideoProduction #FilmScoring #PaulJones #TrueCrime #DollyParton #Filmmaking #BehindTheScenes #AudioEngineering

NAB 2026 is in the bag, and the consensus from the "Old Guys" is... meh. Michael Samstag and Dave McCauley break down why the endless spec-sheet wars have hit a plateau. The most significant news from Vegas wasn't a camera launch, but the fallout from ‪@geraldundone‬ Gerald changing his content strategy and "retiring" from the exhaustive technical reviews that established his brand. We’re diving deep into the GoPro Scandal following the announcement of the Mission 1 Pro ILS.

We break down why ‪@TonyAndChelsea‬ is calling this interchangeable lens system a "punt" and a "scam" designed to distract from the company laying off 23% of its staff. From the technical absurdity of a manual-focus-only action camera to the "vaporware" nature of the 8K and 50MP claims, we discuss why this "sinking ship" is relying on marketing over real engineering. Finally, we have a "Knee Time" update.

Michael discusses his upcoming Knee Time Mini Series detailing his total knee replacement—a cautionary tale for younger operators about the physical toll of decades on your feet in production. If your tech doesn't last 10 years, it wasn't a smart purchase.

Make sure you follow:

Gerald Undone: / geraldundone

Tony & Chelsea Northrup: / @tonyandchelsea

Mike McGovern: / @mike_mcgovern

Gear mentioned: ‪@PanasonicLumixVideo‬ S1 Mark 2: GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS ‪@BlackmagicDesignOfficial‬ PYXIS 6K Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K ‪@DJI‬ Osmo Pocket 3 ‪@insta360‬ Luma DJI Osmo Pocket 4 HOKA Sneakers BMPCC 4K