Done!!

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I just came from VICO 421 class #20, the deadline for finishing our long documentary projects. Yes, it is finally and completely done! Well, in the sense that it’s turned in for this quarter. I think it could definitely be continued. I’ll visit Eric’s place a few more times over the summer hopefully and see how progress is going. And yes, my soundslides piece could be improved a little. I really didn’t think the pictures moved that fast when I first tested it. But, seeing as how I can’t change the past now, I was happy with it overall.
Linky link http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~bs135004/ to view it. Hope ya enjoy.

production weekend

Hey hey. So, Thursday I wrapped up shooting on my long term documentary project at a backyard freeride park here in Athens. This weekend I’ve been working on producing my final show to turn in Wednesday. Suprisingly, everything is going smoothly! I cut a 3:30 audio track in Final Cut and then built a soundslides piece around that. I’ve seen soundslides before, but this is my first time using it for production. So easy!! Anyways, I’m to my final cut on that I think. Only took me 9 tweaks of the audio! Now I’ve just got some more tweaks to do, batch everything else, and burn a DVD.. Wow. I can’t believe a whole quarter’s worth of work is coming to an end! It’s exciting.

my strongest frame?

Hey all. Hope final production is going well for the rest of ya’ll. I think I’ve got a working final edit done! Yep, just pulled out my original RAW’s (thanks Kleinfeld) for each of the three chapters and I’m ready to reconvert them to Black-and-white using a custom action I acquired during my internship. It’s a “warm” black-and-white look, which is awesome. Just hope it works well for this project. I’ve tried it on a few frames and I think I like it. Here goes nothing!
Anyways, I wanted to post this frame because I think it could be my favorite one from the entire project. I think it speaks well to the combination of hanging out and riding that goes on out there. The layers are all there, it’s interesting, and telling.. Hope ya like it.

Oh, also, I have three ideas of how to present this bad boy. They are:
1. Full multimedia with video clips and interviews and photos (Final Cut)
2. Photo slideshow with Eric’s interview as a voiceover (Soundslides)
3. Photo slideshow with a music track and part of Eric’s interview (Soundslides)

A telling photo?

I keep coming back to this photo. To me, it speaks something to how biking permeates throughout one’s life. It affects relationships, in this case, Pete’s relationship to his wife. I hope you get the same thing out of it.

final week!

Well, I can’t believe I’m in the final week of my project. What once seemed like an eternity to spend on one project has flown by. I’m sure it’s because I’m super passionate about my subject matter and I’ve enjoyed shooting it so much. It hasn’t seemed like work at all. Hasn’t been like other projects I’ve worked on. This one has been more fun.
So, the project is falling into place. I’ve got my 3 chapters broken out plus decided I’ll use a few pictures and possibly some video interviews to set the piece up. I shot some of those intro photos as well as a short but insightful video interview with Eric tonight. It was good to be out there not in the context of riding. I took my shot list with me and was able to cross off a couple things I wanted to make sure I got records of. Overall, I see this story as a story of how a place has changed, and the people who gather there and are thus the agents of said changes. It’s not about individual people’s lives or personalities, it’s about how we come together at this one place and put individual egos aside for a while to do something we all have in common.. Yeah, personalities show through somewhat, and I hope to show that some, but it’s more about the commonality. That’s why I chose to narrow the story to a single place.
So I’m stoked to finish this beast up. It’s been a fun shoot. Now just hope and pray that production goes well and I can make it happen (and that everything works unlike my SHORT DOC) by Wednesday. Peace.

May 17 postdated

Too bad for blogging. The days of back dating journal entries are gone. Anyways, yes, I am late with this post from last week, sorry. On thursday we had a gathering for Pete and his wife before they leave town for Seattle. That was sad. The riding, however, was awesome. I had my beloved Tina with me too! That made it extra special. Everyone else that rides showed up too it seems like. All together I think there were 10 of us on bicycles. Randall, Sam, and Jason all came from P-Burg to check out Eric’s trails for the first time and they were impressed I think. We built a new drop, beers were drunk, hamburgers were burned, and everyone generally had an awesome time. It was a good time.
Now, an actual project update. I’ve pretty much decided on narrowing the story down to just Eric’s house here in town. I did this for a couple reasons. First, that’s the only place we’ve been riding. Secondly, I think it will make the story easier to edit and more focused. I’m thinking about breaking it down into 3 chapters: 1) Riding 2) Building 3) Chillin’. I’d like my final presentation to include some video, maybe some audio or some of our favorite songs, and some sequence photos to give a feel for the action.
Here’s a few shots I’d still like to get this week:
~ Point-of-view shot – either fisheye or 12 mm
~ Solid pan shot – especially overhead like the one of Pete at Catholic
~ Something to really connect Eric to the house
~ Video of Eric talking about the trails, how they got started, and his vision for the future.
~ Video of Pete talking about riding in Athens and how he feels as he gets ready to move.

1 week to go!

Pete is Tired

It’s been a long day. THe riding and the emotions of moving away catch up with Pete for a minute. I watch as he puts his head down and then I squeeze off 1 frame. That’s it. It was fleeting, but there. Personally I thought it was a really good catch. Finally, I’ve been able to start to illustrate some of the emotions I wrote down on my roadmap. This frame also really illustrates how I feel at this point in the quarter. I’m tired. Not tired of this project, but confused. Tired of school in general. Missing my future-wife. Really longing to be done. Done with deadlines, done with worthless assignments, done with things that aren’t my passion.
It’s been another whirl wind weekend. Friday I was out all day riding, shooting, and filming. We hit both athens and Parkersburg. So I got another location for my project, if that’s what it ends up being. I’m back and forth on the whole “Eric’s place” versus “riding in general” themes. If I narrow it then I disqualify some good frames, including this one I’m posting now. So I’m just not sure.. Also I shot a ton of video which I’m not sure what to do with either. I’d like this to be a multimedia project, but I’m not sure I have the time or skill to pull off a really good production.
Oh, Randall talking about riding and drinking beer – “can’t do one without the other”

MAy 10 – EriC’s AgAiN

WHAt iF it’s a story about a place. WHat if It’s still about riding, but it’s narrower than that. Tonight was a good time. Did very little riding and a lot of documenting. I Got some of the missing pieces though, such as some shots to illustrate “camaraderie” and just hanging out shots. It was a really nice night, and we had a good crowd out. Pete, Corey, me, Jimmy were all there. Jimmy’s still trying tailwhips and still taking a beating. Blood was flowing by the end of the evening. Oh plus he wrecked hard while riding my bike off the stinking 20-foot biggest gap we have out there.. That was fun…. For him maybe. Anyways, got some pics of all that. The road gap also got Eric once too. It was an eventful evening. Anyways, I hope that this evenign will add some depth to the project. Something Pete said stuck with me. KAra said to him that she felt “trapped at work” and PEte responded “that’s why I come out here to ride”. Priceless. Every evening is tainted with some sadness though as Pete’s departure gets closer. Sure, he’s excited and we’re excited for him, but I’m not sure if it’s really sunk in yet…. WE’ll see..
One PLace. What’s the value of this place? It’s unique. It’s where people come together. It’s a little oasis of freeriding in what’s pretty much otherwise a desert (if you’re comfortable with that analogy).. It’s where all the emotions come together.. Anyways, I will think about that idea some more… Got an all-day ride and shoot lined up tomorrow to cover some more locations, though that may end up being the opposite way I want to go. WEll it’s late so I will post a photo tomorrow that illustrates more what I’m talking about. Signing off for now. See ya out there.

inspiration

“Interpret more” Interpret. Interpret. Interpretation. Pull something out of there. Gotta get deeper into this project. Emotion. Need emotion.
So I went for a ride to get inspired. Just a short one. Just messed around up here at my apartment complex.. Put the iPod on shuffle and just went for er.. It was fun. Tired myself out and was deep in thought by the time I was done. Inspiration hit.
Some of my favorite emotions I listed:
~Happiness
~Frustration
~Pain
~Satisfaction
~Determination
~Excitement
~Focus
~Energy
~Friendship
~Obsession
~Passion
~Power

project update

This photo is late, from last week, but I wanted to post it up anyway.. This is a picture of our youngest, and arguably the best, rider in our crew. In this shot, he’s disappointed after not hitting a super sketchy 9-foot drop.. It was cool to see him try it, but I know he hates to walk away from something without doing it.
Update wise, I know the project hasn’t progressed a whole lot in the last week. Not a ton is happening right now, but I feel there’s some big things coming up. I appreciated the feedback in class of people saying they wanted more culture. I agree. It’s on the way. Right now I’m trying to build up some base of riding, building, and people photos. Overall, I think it’s going ok. This project is allowing me to be really creative I think, which I’m liking a lot. Hopefully I can develop some more variety this week.