Kessler Crane review: Mountain bike filmmaking
Our very own 8ft Kessler Crane Lite arrived in the post last week. We’ve made time to play with it so here’s the low down on what we think. Why buy a crane?
The affordability and quality of footage produced by many HDSLR’s has really opened up the filmmaking playing field over the last few years. Back in May 2010 I bought my first Panasonic GH1 and have been a HDSLR convert ever since.
DIY Cable Cam Video
Here’s the footage from our first experiment with a DIY cable cam. Read more on DIY Cable Cam Video…
DIY cable cam….how to.
DIY cable cam, sounds simple doesn’t it? A cable cam is something we’ve been toying with as an idea for shots in our ‘film in development’ currently named ‘State of Flow’. At first I thought it was impossible but increasingly I’ve been coming round to the idea especially if we keep it simple.
Todmorden Cyclocross 2011
The race took place on the 2nd January 2011 and includes the infamous cobbled climb! It was an all new experience for me and my first trip watching a cyclocross event. Shot on my GH1 and testing out my new Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod.
Cyclocross outing for my Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod
I wanted to test out my new Christmas present, a Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod, and what better place to experiment than Todmorden Cyclocross race.
As a videographer that enjoys that enjoys using DSLR’s I wanted a light weight, low fuss, support solution when filming. I haven’t been completely sold on the various shoulder mount options made by the likes of Zacuto and others because whilst they do get some good reviews they are ridiculously expensive and cumbersome. They seem to over compensate for DSLR’s not being standard video cameras and forget about the unique features of DSLR’s themselves. So after a little research on the internet I bought the Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod and I am chuffed with my decision.
Read more on Cyclocross outing for my Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod…
A beautiful and bonkers Indian adventure
My expedition to India last summer was a truly beautiful and bonkers experience. I saw so many inspiring sights and filmmed so much footage that I wanted to create a video to remind me of the adventure forever. I decided to experiment a little with my storytelling and create a splitscreen video to incorporate all the different types of footage I had gathered. Hopefully it comes somewhere close to providing an insight into the visual feast that comes with any Indian experience. I called my film ‘I ♥ India’…and I really do.
La Nina, daydreaming and snowboarding
I’ve been daydreaming about snow a lot recently and how I wish I had the funds to go boarding in this epic winter season we seem to by having. Oh to snowboard during the current state of La Nina. Last time I went boarding was in Fernie, BC during the 2004/05 El Niño which led to such mild temperatures the snow was washed away by rain.
Videos from my Raleigh Expedition to India
My Raleigh expedition to India this summer feels like many moons ago but I finally have something to show for it…(other than the amazing memories, friendships and shiny silver earings).
Since I’ve been back I’ve squirrled myself away in the office where I’ve sifted through over 200GB worth of video footage. After throwing out the crap and importing the good into Final Cut Pro, I’ve now have 3 short videos for the Raleigh International marketing department to use as they encourage more volunteers to take up the challenge. This is one of the videos which captures the Adventure Challenge phase down in Kerala. All footage was shot on my Panasonic GH1.
Government set to sell off public forests…..no thanks!
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT.
The amount of woodland in the UK now stands at 11,200 square miles, 11.8 per cent of the total land area (This sounds a lot but the EU average is 44% so we still have a long way to go.) The Forestry Commission own about 2888 square miles of that and their estate was thought to be valued in excess of £2.5 billion in 1990. The government are set to change the law to allow for the sale of large tracts of publicly owned forests in England (they can’t touch the Welsh and Scottish forests.)
Read more on Government set to sell off public forests…..no thanks!…
Algonquin backcountry paddling trip summer 2009
Our Algonquin Trip report
In the spring of 2008 I went on a Hen do, long story for another time, where I got talking to a friend who told me of an amazing trip he’d been on the summer before to a place called Algonquin. What a weird name I thought. After talking about their trip some more it realised it was exactly what I had been looking for. Since Hannah and I had been going out she had always talked about doing some kind of paddling trip. As this was a sport I had no real experience of I always banked the idea and moved on. This sounded like the perfect time to withdraw the idea and win some serious brownie points!
Read more on Algonquin backcountry paddling trip summer 2009…
Raleigh India Expedition 2010
Here’s a collection of photogrpahs from my recent trip to India as a videographer on a summer expedition with Raleigh. Raleigh is a leading UK based youth and education charity that provides adventurous and challenging expeditions abroad for young people from all backgrounds and nationalities. My overall objective was to provide a wide range of high quality videos for marketing both in country and for use in the UK at Raleigh Head Office.
Inspirational Mountain Biking Films – Coming soon
My first long awaited mountain biking film is from Reset Films and now available to buy. It’s called Find and is there sequel to previously successful video Home. They have shot in some amazing locations (although they are most well known for their Scottish venues) with some of the worlds best riders such as Hans Rey, Peaty and Danny Mac. Their focus was to produce a film that not only inspires you to get the bike out on the trails, but a film that gives you a unique perspective from people who live and breath mountain biking. It’s definitely on my Christmas wish list.
Read more on Inspirational Mountain Biking Films – Coming soon…
A Mountain Biking Film: Wharncliffe Woods
Our second Team Pickle mountain biking video this time filmed at Wharncliffe Woods near Sheffield. I tried to make the most of the autumn colours, off camber roots and technical rocky sections. It’s filmed on my Lumix GH1 and I also took along my glidetrack. Small colour alterations have been made using Magic Bullet Looks.
Biking and Filming at Wharncliffe Woods
Patrick and I recently decided to make the most of the autumn season and get out on the mountain biking trails to film again. We wanted to capture a forest track with blue skies and crispy autumn leaves so what better place to start than Wharncliffe woods.
Slow Motion Bike Film using Twixtor
Here’s a sweet little slow mo bike film that has used Twixtor to slow the video down to 10% or less. Everything was shot on the Canon 7D in 720p 60fps. Twixtor has had some mixed reviews but this little video is smooth..
Raleigh India Expedition Music Video
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. Get the mouth was out, gargle and sing along!
Ladybower Reservoir singletrack ride
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.
First mobile post from iphone 4
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!
Glimpse of worlds 1st professional HD Camera Recorder with Four Thirds optical system
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.
Read more on Glimpse of worlds 1st professional HD Camera Recorder with Four Thirds optical system…
Lee Quarry MTB Video Success
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.
My Videography Kit List for India
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.
My thoughts on the Panasonic Lumix GH1
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.
Cragg Quarry trail – mini review
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:
Ragley Mmmbop bike review
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;
