
community
Dec 17, 2018
Throughout every year, the team at GoPro gets to work with our friends over at Videomaker Magazine - ensuring they have a chance to put our products through the paces so they can share their impressions with their readers. We see them in-person at tradeshows and when we do big launch events. We correspond regularly on email. We are big fans of the work they do to empower their audience with encouragement, inspiration and information about the tools that enable them to go out and make videos.
Videomaker's HQ is in Chico, California, placing them at the doorstep of one of the worst wildfires in history, affecting the entire team and leaving a significant portion of displaced. We invited Videomaker to share their story with us, with words, with footage they were able to capture from fire zone, and with information on how we can all support their recovery.
Words By Sean Berry of Videomaker
This extra-long fire season has left Northern California devastated. The Camp Fire burned through Butte County and destroyed the entire town of Paradise. Evacuees have been displaced and the road to recovery will be long and hard.
The Camp Fire is officially the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. It ignited November 8th, 2018, and wasn't fully contained until November 25th. In its nearly three week lifespan, the fire killed 85 people and destroyed almost 14,000 homes, leaving the entire community of Paradise displaced all across Butte County, California, and - for some - the country.
Paradise was a peaceful and beautiful town before the fire; there was no better name for such a place. After the fire, the tranquil town is almost unrecognizable. Videomaker, a magazine media company which focuses on video technology and technique, is located only 15 minutes from Paradise. They went to Paradise before the evacuations were lifted with a few GoPros to document the destruction:
The footage is hard to watch knowing what the town used to be. During the time of our shoot, many Paradise residents had not yet confirmed whether their homes had survived the fire. The evacuation orders are now being lifted in phases, but many are still unable to return. Unfortunately, even after all evacuation orders are lifted, much of the community will still be left homeless with nowhere to go.
360 video offers a unique perspective
It's no surprise that the Camp Fire has attracted the attention of both local and national media outlets. Professional and amateur journalists alike have done their best to record the devastation of the fire using everything from cell phones to camcorders to drones and even law enforcement body cams. All over the web, photos and videos document the destruction and recovery efforts and animated graphics give context to statistics about the fire.
But despite this extensive documentation, nothing can convey the emotional impact of this historic fire quite as well as immersive 360-degree video. 360 video gives viewers the ability to look around the scene and focus on specific areas of interest, making it especially well-suited communicating the deep and lasting impact the Camp Fire has had on the town of Paradise. We hope this perspective will emphasize the community's urgent and on-going need for assistance.
The fire may be out, but the crisis has just begun
The Camp Fire has left a huge housing crisis for Butte County and surrounding areas in its wake. 14,000 homes were destroyed in the fire, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Officials have declared a state of emergency in their homeless shelters, and federal funding is needed to help temporarily house the evacuees.
Butte County already had a homeless problem before the fire with about a homeless population of around 2,000 prior to the fire, with half of them not using the emergency shelters and transitional housing. That's according to a report by the Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care. Now, the number of homeless has skyrocketed.
Jennifer Griggs, the Continuum of Care coordinator, said that after the fire not only did all of that vacancy rate get swooped up right away but now it's even more of a challenge to find any type of housing for anybody, regardless of their housing status prior.
Simply put, there's just not enough housing in Butte County to house the Paradise evacuees. The number of people seeking housing in the county has greatly increased since the fire and it seems nearly impossible to find options. Many have had to camp in make-shift campsites around the county, one of those places being a Walmart parking lot in the nearby town of Chico. FEMA is helping put evacuees into hotels and giving out money out for rental housing, but there's simply nothing out there to rent.
Its a heartbreaking situation that currently has no clear answer.
A long road to recovery
There are efforts to rebuild the town of Paradise, but it will undoubtedly take years. But many of the residents can't imagine living anywhere else, but there are some that are wary to return because of the high fire danger of the area. The question on many people's minds is whether or not it's safe to rebuild in Paradise - not to mention the trauma and healing process that prevents many residents from wanting to rebuild.
California has been stricken by severe drought for years. More frequent and more powerful wildfires have become the norm in the state. Nevertheless, there are ways to rebuild Paradise will make the town much safer and resistant to fire. More escape routes can be built, fuel breaks can be made and buildings can be created with more fire-resistant materials and design features.
A quarter of Videomaker's staff was displaced by the fire, and many lost their homes. They've set up a fundraising effort to support their staff and former staf
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
18/09/2025
DirecTV continues to expand its women's sports offerings by adding Sports Fanatics' and Whoopi Goldberg's Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) All Wo...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport's fall seas...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON After issuing audit letters seeking Equal Employment Opportunity data from a randomly selected group of TV and radio stations in August, the Federal ...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen have signed a new, long-term, multi-year deal that covers measurement for all Warner Bros. Discovery platforms acros...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK As part of its ongoing efforts to develop better measurement solutions, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced the launch of t...
18/09/2025
IRVING, Texas Following threats from the Federal Communications Commission and the announcement that the nations largest station group, Nexstar Media Group, wou...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learni...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challeng...
17/09/2025
It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...
17/09/2025
During August, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous month, accounting for 25% of TV viewing.
Discl...
17/09/2025
CYPRESS, Calif. FOR-A America has named Jo Aun as senior manager of product engineering, a new role responsible for guiding the planning, development and rollou...
17/09/2025
PlayBox Neo, in partnership with CIS Group, a leading provider of media and broadcast technology solutions, has successfully deployed PlayBox Neo's Dual Cha...
17/09/2025
In a relationship that mirrors societal advances in sustainability, Brightline Lighting and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Headquarters have en...
17/09/2025
Clear-Com is proud to support the world-class productions of Alley Theatre, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit resident theatres in the United States. With...
17/09/2025
Arch Platform Technologies (www.archpt.io), a pioneer in automated, scalable cloud infrastructure for high-performance workflows, today announced a Strategic Co...
17/09/2025
Over 300 selected decision-makers from start-ups, corporates, and VC funds worldwide will gather for the third edition of the event, united by a single goal: to...
17/09/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, is excited to announce that its flagship Vantage platform and its next-generation AI capabilities re...
17/09/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions that profitably connect the right content to the right audience, proudly announces its three Best of Show...
17/09/2025
In a move to further establish a firm foothold across South East Asia, PlayBox Neo, the well-respected name in broadcast playout and channel branding, has appoi...
17/09/2025
Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless audio solutions, announced two major wireless solutions at IBC 2025 (Stand 8.D30). This includes the Portable RF-o...
17/09/2025
Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to acclaimed programs Severance, The Studio, The Penguin, SNL50: The...
17/09/2025
Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo The weeklong contemporary music program will run January 5-10, 2026.
By
Colette Greenstein
September 17, 2025
...
17/09/2025
Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia Through ELIA's UAx Platform, six students from Kyiv joined Berklee Valencia for a week...
17/09/2025
Earlier this year Avid announced Kenna Hilburn as its new senior vice president of product. Recently Hilburn was promoted to Avids new Chief Product Officer, su...
17/09/2025
Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery
Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...
17/09/2025
NEW YORK Madhive has announced that the Fox Television Stations have joined its Live Sports Marketplace....
17/09/2025
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Sony Electronics has announced that it is partnering with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University to provide state-of-the-art equipment, hands...
17/09/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced that the first smart projector using its Roku TV operating system, the Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube, is now avail...
17/09/2025
Today's creators are equal parts entertainer, producer and gamer, juggling game commentary, scene changes, replay clips, chat moderation and technical troub...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
17/09/2025
Jo Returns to FOR-A as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering...
17/09/2025
For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...
17/09/2025
Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway
The County Parade returns f...
16/09/2025
SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026 By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 10:15...
16/09/2025
VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate G...
16/09/2025
ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising C...
16/09/2025
IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From th...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
At DSEI 2025, James Dunne of L3Harris Maritime UK chaired a panel on aligning the supply chain to the warfighter, where leaders discussed modernising support fo...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
College Football Scores Top Telecast in August with 16M+ Viewers on FOX, Followe...