As the latest mission for the Sony DigiDad Project, we were loaned a Sony VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC mini laptop and told to go record a class trip or some other family outing.  My kids are too old for “class trips” and I wanted to do something that actually included the VAIO P, because it has such an unusual form factor for a computer.  And the “P” is a full-blown computer.  It may be light in weight, but it is far from a lightweight when it comes to features and computing power.  To demonstrate, my kids and I created our own spoof of an “infomercial” for the VAIO P.  We call it a “P-Mercial.”  Let us know what you think.  More about the Sony products and making videos with your kids below the video.

As a work of art the VAIO P is a stunning and impressive bit of design and engineering.  It really is gorgeous to behold (and really easy to hold).  It is also a great idea to have something so light and small actually be a full power PC and not a light but limited netbook.  In addition, wireless broadband and an integrated GPS makes a tremendous amount of sense in such a truly portable PC.  Kudos to Sony for putting all this power and features together in such a stylish and attractive package.  That said, gorgeous and cool as the VAIO P is, I found the the high resolution screen much too difficult to read, and the “pointing stick” track ball a bit too awkward to manipulate.  As much as I would think it would be cool to have one of these to toss in my bag, I could not imagine actually using it for any length of time.  Perhaps someone with better eyesight and smaller hands would feel differently.

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

My favorite part about participating in the Sony DigiDad Project has been the opportunity to involve my family in some fun activities that were inspired by the various equipment Sony loaned us.  In this case, Ethan, Olivia and I had a blast shooting our little “infomercial.”  It was a fun, creative and engaging way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and the end result is a video we’ll be able to share and laugh about for a long time to come.  We shot the video with the Sony HDR-XR500, which is probably my favorite item of all the Sony gear I have had the chance to play with as part of this project.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Sony HDR-XR500 is a beautiful piece of equipment.  It takes gorgeous, almost professional looking High Definition video, and it records it on a massive 120GB internal hard drive (up to 48 hours of video storage in HD mode).  I would definitely consider purchasing one of them, especially if my kids and I want to continue producing “infomercials!”

Have you ever collaborated with your kids on a video production?  With all the digital creation tools we now have available it is a fun and memorable way to spend the day.  What do you think?  Is digital content creation going to become the family pastime of our time?  Please share your thoughts (and links to your family video productions) in the comments.

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

This post is part of series called the “Sony DigiDads Project” by Sony Electronics where a group of dads, including C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear.  If you want to know more about this project visit the Sony Electronics Community.