I’m still out in India filming on the Raleigh expedition but here’s a little music video which we’ve been creating over the last 6 weeks.
Filed under Videography, Videos by on Aug 30th, 2010. Comment. 
A busy Sunday around Ladybower taking in Cut Gate path, a super duper section of singletrack from Ladybower north from the reservoir. The return trip is normally to turn your bike around and simply reverse what you’ve just done and I have to say that’s a great ride right there. These pics show some sneaky singletrack sections on an alternate return route back into the reservoir. It’s insane singletrack with either 10m vertical drops to your right or 70 degree grass slopes. The riding is slow technical riding with plenty of opportunity to go ‘off’. Still, didn’t see a soul for the whole of the afternoon. Brilliant! 41km and 1300m of ascent. Well worth the effort.
Filed under Blog, Mountain Biking by on Aug 9th, 2010. Comment.
So I have recently, see Thursday, been converted to the church of Apple. After watching H scooting around on her iPhone for the last year I had become increasingly jealous! So here we are, a brand new iphone 4, writing a quick post whilst we drive home from seeing the folks, before you panic I’m not driving and posting, I’m a passenger! I loaded wordpress onto the phone, very fast it was, and here I am tapping away! It’s very easy to do, I have to admit to being impressed, particularly by the real time spell check. This is very helpful for people like myself who have club fingers. Viva la iphone!
Filed under Blog by on Jun 27th, 2010. Comment.
The AG-AF100 is the worlds first professional HD Camera Recorder equipped with the micro Four Thirds optical system used in DSLR’s. It is capable of recording up to 12 hours of video using its two SDXC compatible slots. It offers AVCHD 1080 and 720 video recording in frame rates of 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25 or 23.98p with the top two rates interlaced in 1080 mode. The camcorder also features industry-standard HD SDI and XLR connectors.
To top it all off the AG-AF100 is compatible with the company’s line up of Lumix G lenses, filters and adapters for using 35mm lenses which will let you capture a weatlth of film-like images with distinctive lens characteristics like shallow depth of field.
It will be a $6,000 (affordable) rig for professional users and a potential option for semi-professionals with cash in their pocket.
The bitrates are a crucial bit of information that is sadly not given but I think I want one. 
Filed under Blog, Videography by on Jun 24th, 2010. Comment.
We’re chuffed our recent mountain bike video shot at Lee Quarry has been so popular. People clearly loved the footage and after someone posted it up on the Singletrack website we saw a positive boom in the number of views and delightful comments from people who had appreciated our efforts. Not least of all Mr Brant Richands the founder and designer for Ragley who had designed the bike Patrick was riding. When Brant asked me to make a re-edit of the video with Ragley logos I was only happy to oblige.
Check out the Ragley remake below.
Filed under Blog, Mountain Biking, Videography, Videos by on Jun 17th, 2010. Comment.
I will very shortly be on my travels to India as a videographer with Raleigh International. I’ll be away over the summer for over 10 weeks and will no doubt face a number of physical, technological and emotional challenges. Eeeeek! It will be monsoon season for a start and I’m not entirely sure what to expect.
To help me embrace everything India has to offer I’ve invested in a few new bits of camera gear. First and foremost a new camera. I recently purchased the Panasonic Lumix GH1 a video DSLR which I hope will offer plenty of versatility whilst being super light weight. I struggled to decide whether to purchase a DSLR shoulder mount or a steadicam to compliment my camera and contrary to popular opinion I’ve plumped for the steadicam and more specifically the Black Bird Stabiliser after reading many positive reviews. Scarily it still hasn’t arrived in the post yet and I have very little experience using camera stabalisers so that will definitely be a steep learning curve.
I’m also a little concerned about how I will charge up my batteries and back-up my footage since I will primarily be living in tents either in a remote Indian village or in the middle of a national park. I’ve been told I’ll have access to car chargers and I suppose I’ll be making the most of any trips into town to borrow the use of plug sockets from local shops or cafes. I considered solar panel options but for heavy duty batteries they’re well out of my price range although I may well take our Powermonkey eXplorer to boost the battery life of any gadgets. I’ll also be carrying around a laptop (although not my own so lets hope it’s suitable) and a 5oo GB rugged Lacie hard drive.
Check out my full video kit list below;
My Video Kit List
- Panasonic Lumix GH1 with kit lens
- Manfroto 745xb Tripod & video head
- Spare Manfroto video tripod head
- Standard Glidetrack (and silicon spray)
- Blackbird Stabaliser
- Lumix DMC-LX3
- 4 16gb cards 3 4gb cards
- 5 GH1 batteries
- 4 DMC-LX3 batteries
- 1 Lacie Rugged 500gb drives
- Zoom H4N sound recorder
- Sennheiser wireless lav mics
- TC-252 timer remote control
- 1 Lowe Pro Explorer camera bag
- Kata E-690 waterproof camera cover
- SLR Gorillapod
- Hoodman Loop D300
- UV filters
- Pen & paper
My Video Wish List
- Panasonic H-F007014 lens
- Zacuto Tactical Shooter
- Z-Finder
Fingers crossed I have enough video kit for India but no doubt I will return home wanting and ‘needing’ more.
Filed under Blog, Videography by on Jun 15th, 2010. Comment.
In May 2010 I finally dug deep into my pockets and purchased the Panasonic Lumix GH1. Panasonic’s reputation for making outstanding video cameras is very well known. I personally got into videography using the Panasonic DVX-100 of which I’m still very fond. However I’ve recently noticed a positive boom in the number of videos created with DSLR’s and I love the depth of field and aesthetics displayed by many of the videos.
The Lumix GH1 is Panasonic’s first strike at a video DSLR. The GH1 is essentially the G1 with video capabilities but don’t be fooled into thinking the video is a mere ad-on feature. The 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 kit lens has, in terms of aperture control and focusing, been optimized for shooting video, it transforms the GH1 into a true stills/video hybrid that can record HD video while at the same time producing high quality stills images. The lens is totally silent in autofocus mode and the stabilisation is also very good. The GH1 is not a 35mm camera as it uses the micro four thirds technology which allows manufacturers to produce smaller cameras that act more like compact DSCs whilst offering the quality and versatility of a DSLR. The 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 kit lens for example roughly equates to 28 to 280mm in 35mm terms.
Frame Rates & Codecs
HD video is not just one standard, but many. The highest resolution is 1920X1080, which the GH1 can shoot at 24fps in Progressive mode. But, while the camera is recording 1080P/24 it is actually wrapping it in 1080/60i for AVCHD encoding. Panasonic also does this with their latest tapeless HD camcorders, the GH20 and HF10. The GH1 can also shoot in either AVCHD or Motion JPG. The advantage of Motion JPG is that it is not as highly compressed as AVCHD and therefore takes up less memory space and can be edited right out of the camera – no transcoding is necessary. But MJPG can only be shot in 1280 X 720 / 30 while AVCHD can do full HD and lets face it MJPG just doesn’t look as good as properly transcoded AVCHD. It’s only real advantage is that it removes the transcoding step, sort of like the convenience factor of shooting JPG rather than raw with stills. One unexpected hiccup I did face after shooting footage was that my Final Cut Pro 5 wasn’t able to properly transcode the AVCHD which meant I had to fork out extra money to purchase Final Cut Pro 7. There were cheaper alternatives/products to get round the issue but I had been putting off the upgrade which I knew was inevitable.
The Lumix GH1 can shoot both 1080P and 720P, but at different frame rates. I have really enjoyed shooting footage 720P/50 as it’s provided me with the ability to slow the footage down on the timeline.
Favourite Features
There are many great features about the GH1 that make it a great camera for both video and stills.
- For a start the GH1 sensor is effectively 12MP which allows the camera to shoot various still aspect ratios, from 4:3 to 3:2 to 16:9, all with the same coverage angle.
- It has full manual controls for ISO. You can change the shutter and iris manually whilst filming, no exposure lock needed.
- Unlike many other video DSLR’s on the market at the moment the LCD swivels to almost any angle just as you would expect of high end video cameras. In my opinion the swiveling LCD cannot be underestimated when trying to establish awkward angle shots.
- It can shoot 1080P/24 which is the Holy Grail for indy film makers looking for the “cinematic” look.
- 720P/50 from the GH1 is truly excellent with motion, and it shows almost as good resolution as 1920 X 1080 on anything other than a large monitor or TV screen. Subject and camera motion are both as smooth. Since the GH1 shoots 720P at 50FPS you can easily slow this footage down by 50% by in Cinema Tools creating very smooth slow motion – a brilliant added bonus. See my mountain biking video below for an example of this trick.
- There is a very good optical stabaliser in the kit lens.
- The inbuilt sensor that detects when you are using the view finder which turns off the LCD and saves valuable battery power.
- The auto focus works really quite well whilst filming both in centre frame mode and using facial recognition mode.
Potential Downsides
- A big negative feature of the GH1 applies to EU owners. There is a 29 minute maximum record time for EU issue cameras, the camera in other regions does not have this time restriction and its all to do with EU tax law.
- Those interested in producing cinematic productions can embrace 1080/24P but be aware of its fast motion limitations, which those used to shooting traditional video may not be used to.
- For people used to traditional video cameras rather than DSLR’s the sound limitations of any DSLR will be a challenge to overcome. I’ve plumped for a H4N Zoom external sound recorder to overcome the sound limitations. Saying that the GH1 does come with relatively good onboard mics options for a DSLR.
- Another general difficulty for all video DSLR cameras at the moment is their lack of motorised zoom. While a lot of amateurs zoom far too much, having a slow smooth zoom capability is often welcome but doing manual zooms with a still camera lens while shooting video just isn’t smooth enough most of the time.
Sample Video
The video below was my first practice with the GH1 using the kit lens. I shot all the footage at 720P/60FPS which I placed on a 30 FPS time line and slowed it down by 50% which has given me the very smooth slow motion. I also used my Glidetrack to add the extra smooth transitions.
Filed under Blog, Videography by on Jun 15th, 2010. Comment.
Cragg Quarry trail, the mini review – the latest addittion to the Adrenalin Gateway project, I believe, is completed and being ridden.
How to get there;
Cragg Quarry can be accessed from either:
Lee Quarry, on the Red section at the furthes point out where a path joins the trail from teh left, go up the trail and follow towards a yellow burnt out landrover. From there head along the ridgeline with the landy at your back following an indistict path. As this approaches a wall/fence trend left going uphill. This will pop you out onto the Mary Towney Loop (Pennine bridleway section.) Ride this down hill, stay left and inside 5 mins you will be at the start of the trail.
Travel time 20-40mins depending on fitness.
or
Park on Cowpe Road and cycle up Rooley Moor Road and turn right at the top on to the Mary Towney loop Pennine Bridleway. Ride this down hill and stay left and inside 5 mins you will be at the start of the trail.
Travel time 10-20mins depending on fitness.
The Riding.
The line is flowing singletrack which moves up and down the terrain. It varies in width from abotu 18inches to about 2m wide in places. There’s loads of nicely banked berms and pumps with a few bigger jumps dropped in towards the end. I found that I rode it with my seat down so I could feel as confident as possible on the down’s. This did mean it was a real workout, I spent a lot of time stood up on my pedals punding up the ups. You can ride this trail in your saddle no problems but it will pay dividends to get stood up and work the trial. The signage is still a little basic, look out for pink arrows spray painted onto the trail and rocks, saying that there’s few places to get lost so no real worries.
The first time I rode the line I was a little dissapointed, in this day of big payback flowing trails I think we get lazy. This isn’t a winch up and blaze down type of trail rather one that rewards the more you put in. It wasn’t until I rode it the second time that it started to make sense. The more you push, pump and work the terrain the more flow you will keep and the less you will need to pedal. My better half put it nicely comparing it to a giant pump track. You’re going to be working hard on this trail. The more familiar it becomes the quicker you’ll be able to ride it and the more it makes sense. The first time I rode it with my saddle up I found some of the downs a little intimidating due to not being able to move around on my ride as much as I was used to. The second time I put the saddle down, stood up to pedal but got much more speed and flow by being able to move around on the bike so much more. With the saddle down I had to work proper hard, a real anerobic workout! The best section is, as ever, saved for last, you gain a high point and from there you get to put you’re new found trail mojo into practice. A few nice jumps and some faster flowing sections reward the confident rider with a blazing ride back to the start with more than enough grin to get you going on the outward loop again!
Conclusion.
A really good trail to practice your riding skills on and a great addittion to the area. Visit Lee Quarry, add this on and you can get a whole day out. Alternatively visit Cragg Quarry trail and blaze around as many times as your legs can stand it, you decide.
Cragg Quarry, Bacup from Tim Royle on Vimeo.
Filed under Blog, Mountain Biking by on Jun 13th, 2010. 2 Comments.
Ragley Mmmbop bike review from a lover of full suspension bikes.
So I killed a Trek Remedy a few months ago which was a case of ‘user is an idiot’ rather than defective product. This put me in the situation of needing a frame of some sort in a hurry. I had some very specific requirements;
1. 1.5inch headtube
2. 31.6 seat tube diameter
3. Burly enough to take some abuse
4. Good value for money
After some questions on singletrack I was pointed at the Ragley Mmmbop amongst a few others. The Ragley fits all the bills so I spoke to the nice people at the bike chain, based in Edinburgh and I purchased an Mmmbop. The bike arrived and I built it up with Lyrics, Mavic Ex 321+ 2.35 single ply minions, a short 50mm Thomson stem, KS i900r, wide raceface atlas handlebars and other general xt kit. It is worth pointing out that when I say ‘I built it up’ what I really mean is the bike faries at Evans Cycles Deansgate waved their magic wand and returned a bag of bits and some aluminium tubing, looking like and riding like, a rather excellent bike! A fairly burly build you might say. It weighed in a 32lb. I will say that I haven’t really ridden a hardtail in the last 6 years since I’ve been riding seriously so I will try to seperate the hardtail differences with my impressions of the bike.
So I took the bike for a shake down at Lee Quarry on a Saturday which went well, spent a fair bit of time tweaking positions of various stuff, taking it easy. Early impression were good though. Today I went to my regular testing ground at Llandegla and gave it both barrels to see how it went. My normal route at Llandegla is the black with some laps on JJ’s jumps, then throw in some laps in the skills park at the end. The ride up to the top was quick, the Mmmbop was fast and direct from the start, standing up and yomping on the pedals on the steeper sections was met with the expected reward. Cruising along the flatter sections was particularly rewarding with the bike keeping speed well and eating the small bumps. The build is quite heavy so it was noticable when the gradient increased the bike certainly slowed a fair bit but that’s due the the finishing kit. The fun really began, as you would expect, as I reached the top and started the traversing section of red with some small jumps and bumps. The bike performed great, when pumping the bumps it felt tight and snappy, partly due to the inovative 3 finger chainstay feature. I built up some great speed. The Mmmbop railed the hard corner at the end of the first run well and felt really solid. The next section was fast and flowing with some tighter corners and small jumps. The mmmbop certainly dealt with everything I threw at it, I felt like the bike was alnmost as fast as the remedy I had ridden before, certainly snappier and quicker in the turns. The more I pumbed and pushed the bike the more it delivered.
In the steeper downhill section the Mmmbop also impressed. My love for all things suspension meant I wasn’t expecting to be grinning from ear to ear but, surprise surprise, I was. The slack head angle, comparable to my revious bike, coupled with the lyrics left me feeling stable at speed whilst being able to move the bike around and make some really fun fast turns, again rewarding the pumping and efforts to carry speed. In JJ’s jumps, a series of table tops, with the odd double thrown in the bike most impressed me. It really took to the air. Unweighting the bike on the lip was a confidence inspiring event and landing in the transition was remarkably smooth. The largest double, which always gives me the willies, was taken at speed and the Mmmbop performed flawlessly. Big grins all round!
Conclusion.
As a big guy with little in the way of finess on a bike I am hard on my stuff. I was nervous of getting a hardtail, the Mmmbop has completely changed my thoughts. The bike is confidence inspiring, has some real muscle hiding in its relatively slim tubing and still sprints rather than weezes it’s way up the hills. Point it down something steep with the recommended 150mm travel forks and you’re going to eat it up like it’s your favourite meal. In a typically British understated fashion this mountain bike is really rather good!
The picture above is a still from a film we made using the mmmbop, you can check it out here
Filed under Blog, Mountain Biking by on Jun 5th, 2010. 2 Comments.
I liked the aesthetics of video with DSLR’s so I recently dug deep into my pockets and purchased a Panasonic Lumix GH1. I now need to practice lots before I head out to India as volunteer videographer for Raleigh International in July. This is my first practice. The video follows Patrick mountain biking at Lee Quarry on his Ragley Mmmbop bike. I also took along my glidetrack. I’m looking forward to lots more DSLR filmming and getting to know the Panasonic GH1 a little better.
Filed under Blog, Feature, Videography, Videos by on May 31st, 2010. 1 Comment.
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