If you read our last post, or
are friends with us on the Facebook - Instagram, you already know I managed to
put together a short video for submission into the Adventure CyclingAssociation’s Bicycle Touring Video contest.
If not, then, well, I did. While
I have a pretty extensive history with some aspects of photography and relatively
none with videography, this was my first real attempt at putting together a
project that, while I might not consider it professional, it was intended for public
consumption, and while the equipment I used was largely amateur, it is hands
down the most advanced and highest quality I’ve used to date, and I’d like to
think the film’s content and quality reflects that, at least a little. If you haven’t yet seen the video, or would
like to hear a little more about my experience in putting it all together, then
read on.
Let’s start from the
beginning. First, with the equipment I
used.
Last summer my aging
flip-phone was quickly becoming unhinged and unreliable. While I’ve always been a heavy proponent of
the whole pay-as-you-go plan, I was increasingly interested in the advantages
of having a smart phone for conveniences in traveling and cycling. Not only does a smart phone replace 4 or more
devices with one, the ease and availability of information makes otherwise
frustrating and hectic traveling issues a breeze. While I was at first hesitant about the
intrusion of technology and information into my own life, I came to understand
that this isn’t so much a given as a balance that you have to find the
discipline to control. So with all that in
mind, I made the switch and jumped on my brother’s plan and became one of the
99%, a smart phone owner.
Since then, I’ve fully enjoyed
the convenience of having my camera/computer/phone in one small and easily
accessible object. The iPhone’s powerful
camera was the biggest selling point for me, being basically comparable to most
point and shoots out there with HD video and numerous editing and uploading options. Unfortunately, nothing is that simple and I
quickly found out, much to Apple’s delight, that my outdated computer was not
able to relate with this new piece of technology, so I had virtually no way of
accessing the enormous amount of pictures and video I’d already amassed on my phone.
While I figured this would
resolve itself in due time, most likely with me having to drop some serious
cash, my father was enormously generous and dedicated his time and energy into
building me, from the ground, up, a powerful and advanced machine capable of
interacting with my new phone. Once he
had put the finishing touches on this computer and delivered it in time for my
birthday, I went ahead loading it full of pictures and music I’d amassed over
the short time I’d had the phone.
While I’d had the camera for
our Zion trip last fall, I was still figuring out the format and setup of it’s
video abilities, and so I took mostly pictures on that trip. But through my trial and error I was able to
start this spring’s trip with the understanding of how best to use my small
camera-phone to get the best videos. So
as soon as our winter was over and we took to the road , I was always pulling
out the camera and getting shots of us slowly grinding our way north.
As a side not, taking video’s
while you’re biking or skiing is a dangerous activity, and while my phone is
protected with a shock and waterproof case, I am not, and trying to film while
I’m doing these activities often ended up with me tripping, stumbling, falling,
or at the least, some wobbly videos. Most
of the sports I do involve being cold, and so I’m usually wearing a garment
that has pockets, but on the bike fiddling with zippers and pockets can be a
hassle, and dangerous when you’re riding, so a lot of people use some sort of
hands-free mount on their handlebars. I
really liked this idea and set up my own little adaptation of the idea. Online I found some DiY plans for a simple
little handlebar mount. A wall outlet
cover, some Velcro and hose-clamps and voila, I’ve got myself a pretty
reliable handlebar mount for my phone.
Hasn’t fallen off yet.
There’s a saying out there
that the best camera around is the one in your hands, and I’ve always taken
this to heart. While growing up, both of
my parents were in some way involved in the field of professional photography,
so it was no coincidence I spent a lot of my youth carrying around heavy 35mm
and medium format cameras, as well as bags of film, filters and lenses. While I had a lot of fun taking photos,
arranging scenes, considering light and layout, I eventually got tired of all
the gear and mechanical aspects included in this art form. I grew up in the dying age of film and spent
much of my time developing my own film and prints, and while I thoroughly
enjoyed this process as an integral aspect of the craft, as my life became more
mobile I was tentative to let others develop or print my images, and as such
slowly lost touch with the medium.
This isn’t to say that I’ve
ever really given up taking pictures, just that it’s had several iterations in
my short life. For some time after giving
up film, I took photos simply for documentation of my trips and adventures, and
while I always put effort into the light and arrangement of my images, I felt
somewhat less of a connection with this simple point and shoot type of
photography. Essentially, this is still
how I shoot today, mostly for documentation, and I do my best to arrange the
image and let the scene convey it’s own power.
I’m pretty lucky to spend a lot of my time in some incredibly beautiful
places, and as such I find it pretty easy to let those places do the talking in
my pictures. Now, whether I’m climbing,
skiing, or cycling, the camera I have is small and accessible, which mean’s I’m
much more likely to take it out and capture moments or scenes I otherwise
wouldn’t because of the hassle, not to mention, weight adds up quickly when you’re
carrying everything on your back or your bike.
Less is more.
After our trip was over and we
arrived in Leavenworth, I went to work uploading and editing the abundance of
images I’d taken along the way. With the
new computer this was an absolute breeze.
Along with the City to Sawtooth’s video you can see some of my earlier
attempts at film making on my Vimeo channel, suffice it to say, the equipment I
was using and frustration I had with piecing those videos together wasn’t
really even worth the effort. Up till
now editing and compiling video’s was a painstaking, time consuming and
frustrating process that yielded a blurry mess, I was not interested. But now, with this relatively amateur
equipment I was amazed at how incredibly easy and fast the process of compiling
the videos was. Without getting into too
much detail, producing he video on iMovie was simple. Selecting clips, music, transitions, editing
length and adding commentary was straightforward and easy, which left me only
to struggle with the concept of what I was trying to convey, what message I
wanted to show through the film.
I went back and forth with my
decision to include narration and music.
While I always wanted to include music, the rules of ACA’s contest
stipulated you must own the rights to any audio you use, which meant using a few
clips from my favorite band was out of the question. While this was a little frustrating, I could
have easily chosen some free, open-source music to use from online, but instead
I accepted the challenge of the contests guidelines to score a simple song using
another generous gift from my father, his steel 6 string guitar.
While this was a little bit
of a challenging and embarrassing task, in the end I was pretty satisfied with
the end product. I have no special
microphone or recording equipment, so the tone and volume of the piece was moderated
only by my playing the guitar, and how close or far away from the computer’s
microphone I would play. I’ve enjoyed
playing music for much of my life but certainly don’t consider myself much of a
guitarist, but I love the instrument and was welcome to the challenge of
writing a song suited to this purpose.
For those of you who are musically oriented, I settled on a simple
little progression based in the open DADGAD tuning. Nothing too fancy, remember that.
As for the narration, I felt
the images and video did a decent job of telling the story, but I wanted to
include a small amount of explanation about our history and intent on
undertaking this kind of trip and lifestyle.
While I might have been redundant and a little overly poetic, I think
that only sheds light on the endless amount of childlike enthusiasm I have for
this lifestyle, so while I might cringe a little upon hearing my voice and
silly words, in the end, I’m pretty happy with my efforts. Writing and speaking have always gone hand in
hand for me, whether I’m reading a book or proofing over something I’ve
written, speaking out loud is a simple and straightforward way to make sure
you’re spelling things out in a clear and concise way. There are a lot of different motivating
factors that have lead us into pursuing this lifestyle, and they all mean a lot
to me, so trying to reduce them all to the simplest statement possible was no
small task.
I certainly managed to learn
a lot during the short time I had to put this all together, and I’m already
looking forward to my next opportunity to work on this type of project. Video is an incredibly current and accessible
medium, not to mention powerful and moving.
I’m thankful to my family to have the simple tools to make a quality
video with a minimal mount of frustration and effort, because the easier this
whole process is, the more we can get out and make it all happen. I’m also thankful to the ACA for putting on
this contest and motivating regular folks like myself to challenge themselves
in new ways, it was a blast.
I think that’s about it. If you’ve got any other questions or comments
feel free to leave them here, or on the Face-tagram, I’d be happy to shed light
on any issue or consideration. Thanks
for reading and here it is, our 24 day, 600 mile journey from SLC through the
City of Rocks and the Sawtooth Mountains.
Enjoy.
Welp, blogger won't allow me to upload the video right now, so if you're still interested in watching, check it out on the Vimeo channel here.
Tim
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