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Issue 14 of Wideopen Magazine is out. Wideopen is without a doubt THE best free thing on the web. So check it out.

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Open publication - Free publishing - More 4x

New Logo

So I made a logo today. I was fed up of not having something proper so I knocked this up.

I didn't want anything too distracting and I didn't want anything too much or tacky.

So this is what I made, simple and to the point, also means people can see my website address!

I'd love some feedback, and tell me what you think I should change. Also, if anyone is willing to knock me up something on Photoshop I'll love you forever!

It's been a while!

It's been ages since my last post. I've done a bit since then, but haven't posted anything. Need to work on some content for the off-season.

So,in the last month and a bit I've pretty much: got a new camera, started on a full length (non-biking) movie, done a few assignments at college, got a job, and planned a few more things for 2011 and this winter.

So first off, new camera. It seems everyone is now shooting with a DSLR, I love their image quality and the type of shots they give you. I really think it gives a great feel to a video and I think mixed in with a specific Video Camera they can make a real good image.
So I just bought a 550d. Pretty much Canons consumer HD SLR. I bought it Body Only off eBay as I already had lenses. I then bought a Sigma 24-70 off Keith Valentine (Phunkt.com). What a great lens that is! Really impressed with it.
Anyway, me and a few mates went up onto the Moors a few days after I got it for a quick test shoot. Pleased with how it came out.
I'm also using Vimeo a lot more now, getting into putting videos in groups etc and getting more views on there, so add me as a contact or subscribe to my videos or likes or whatever!

Haytor at Dusk from Southside Productions on Vimeo.

So next up is the full length movie I'm planning with a couple of friends. Can't give away too many details apart from that it'll be a horror movie, runtime of about 1 hour 10, and it'll be screening late July next year. Look out for a Facebook page and Trailer around June 2011 time. Might post a few updates when we have storylines, scripts and other things sorted.

I've done a few assignments at college too. Music video and Corporate video are currently going on at the moment. Should have them online within the New Year but don't expect anything special, Music videos are definitely not my strong point I've now realized!

I'm also now a Sainsburys colleague! Yay. Hopefully will be using the money from that to make my 2011 plans come to fruition.

Finally is my plans for this winter and 2011. I'm going to be releasing a series of "Wintersodes" featuring riders from the South West at riding spots across the South West. Riders featured will include: Olly Hooper, Adam Price, Lee Huskinson, Ben Deakin, Will Soffe, Rich Thomas, Isaac & Joel Anderson, Adam Lock, Jay Williamson and a few more! Gonna film these at various riding spots across the South West, some you will recognise, some you wont. But look out for these dropping on various websites including Dirt.
Plans for 2011 are to get to all the Euro World Cups and World Champs. Should be great fun and me and another videog are possibly planning a cool idea for a good film for next year! Watch this space.

JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK!

I set up a facebook page about 2 months ago now and it's a great way of keeping you guys up to date with what's going on. Currently at 248 fans and rising every day!
Don't forget to help me out and invite all your friends too. The more the merrier.

Also, I've been working on plans for winter projects too. I don't want to hype it up too much but they should be awesome and really give a good idea of the talent from the South West featuring Current World Cup riders an Future ones too!

Instead of doing a full length this winter I've decided to leave that to Milky, and not call mine Locals 2, and in fact make a series of webisodes. I'll be sure to post up here once I'm done shooting.

In the meantime. Take a look at these two awesome videos from Vimeo!

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

Pixel's Revenge timelapse showreel from David Coiffier on Vimeo.

Last round of the BDS!

It feels like no time at all I was up in the woods at Rheola in the sun filming my first race and the first National of the year. In reality it was almost 6 months ago. So about 4000 miles, 20 tapes, 6 weekends and a whole lot of good memories later it's the end of the season.
Dave & Si have done a wicked job this year with the Nationals and the National Champs weren't too shabby either. I've met some wicked people and I'd like to think I've established myself better as a videographer and blogger in the UK Downhill Scene.
I've gotta say that out of all the rounds, Llangollen was definitely my favourite. The great weather, the awesome people I went up with, the fun car journey, the great riders, the awesome track, and the chilled out saturday night sat down by the river! Ae forest was a pretty good event too, although the conditions were a little challenging, it made for great footage and I think that was easily my best video of the year so far!
Anyway, this weekend!
I'd never been to Caersws before, and I feel like the only one who hasn't. It's been a race venue for years and holds tonnes of races each year yet I've never been. Anyway, with a race this late in the year I knew it was probably going to be pretty cold. And that it was. We left early on saturday morning and got there for the start of practice. I stupidly decided to walk the course with Dom and Olly Hooper and by the time we got down to the bottom it was almost 11 and sign in was almost closed. I went up the hill and despite some big time hold ups from someone nailing themself on a tree stump, and some weapon knocking himself out and forgetting his name.
Sunday was pretty standard and as usual consisted of lots of waiting around and chilling with the media posse and listening to Mono scream at Milky for selling his bars. (haha)
Anyway, my college timetable is changed now which meant I couldn't edit on the Monday, so Tuesday it was. I had to export it twice (annoyingly) because the first time for some random reason I had no sound. Then I had to upload it twice as out plumber took the plug out of my hard drive mid-upload.

Anyway, it's up now and here it is!


BDS Round 5, Caersws >>



I'm also doing a few more Behind the Lens interviews on Pinkbike to post up soon, and hopefully doing some stuff for Wideopen too which I'm excited about. Anyway, until the next time!

Timelapses

I've gotten really into timelapses recently. I think they can add a lot to a video if you use them in the right place, and use decent ones.
I've been experimenting with a few, but only out of my front window, obviously no-where near as epic as these two I'm about to post. It really does suck living in a small place like Exeter. There's not much interesting stuff to timelapse, and not many big hills to get out onto. Hopefully I'll be able to get some much better ones next year when I'm travelling.

Anyway, I follow John Reynolds 'likes' on Vimeo, and he liked these two stunning Timelapse videos. I find that Vimeo is a great tool not just for uploading videos, but for watching. I 'follow' a lot of great videographers on there so I can see their likes and it enables me to see some awesome videos that otherwise I wouldn't see.

Anyway, first off this one. I'm going to try and film something similar to this at some point, as stars aren't hard to come across, you just need somewhere with hardly any light pollution, and obviously, no clouds. But oviously minus all of the meteors!

Joshua Tree Under the Milky Way from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

I'd reccomend following the link and watching it in HD on Vimeo. Also, look out at 31 seconds in the bottom left for a meteor actually burning up and turning into dust.

Second is probably my favourite timelapse video of the year, or in fact, ever. You don't realise what clouds actually do when you look at them from below. The name of "The Unseen Sea" is really appropriate. This is why somewhere like San Francisco is so much better to film than somewhere like Exeter.
Again, follow the link to watch in HD.

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Last of the Summer, and a few experiemental timelapses.

I keep saying to myself that I'm going to update this more, but I never think that I have anything interesting to say. So I'm gonna do some more interesting things with my time!

Anyway, first up I've realized that my National 4X Champs video didn't post. Whoops. So here it is!


Right. A few weeks ago now Adam "Pinner" Price mailed me asking if I wanted to go up to his local out at East Hill and do a little video with him and some mates. So I went out and made one! Wasn't the greatest days filming and didn't get heaps of footage but got a lot of good stuff which made for a pretty cool edit. I'd been wanting to make a chill edit for quite a while now, so that's what I did. A few people have said that the music isn't good. But personally I love it and think it fits cool. Would have liked to have had more shots though, but nevermind!


MPORA Action Sports >>


Now I've recently started using Vimeo a lot more for uploading and watching videos. One popular videographer who's work I've bumped into is Phillip Bloom. Not only does he get some stunning shots but he also does some absolutely amazing timelapses.
Timelapses are a thing I've always liked in videos as they break it up a little, but mine have always been a little bland and not that creative. They've been of the clouds or something. I also used to always shoot them on my video camera. So I set it running, then sped it up in post. But that takes ages, and it takes up tape space. So I wanted to learn how to do it with my photo camera.
The first one I did was at night. I set the camera up just outside my bedroom window on a tripod (I live in a bungalow). I had a stopwatch, and I set it to 2 minutes. Every 2 minutes, I got up from my desk, went to the camera and pressed the shutter. then taking a 30 second exposure. I did this for about an hour thinking that would be enough. I then followed Phillip Blooms instructions on how to make the timelapses, and got them into QT Player 7 and created the timelapses. The first timelapse I did (shown below) was the one I did for an hour. And it's only 3 seconds long.


I wanted to obviously make it longer, but not have to get up all the time. So I went and bought a remote shutter so I could sit at my desk and do it from there.

So I tried one in my front room looking out towards the hills and the sunset. This is the first one I did. It's a little jumpy as I did one every 10 seconds. If I missed that 10 seconds it would appear faster, if I did it too soon it appears slower. It's pretty hard to do. Anyway, here it is.



And now, finally. The one I figured it out. Someone then told me I had an 'intervelometer' on my computer with the software that came with my photo camera. So I loaded it up, and there it was. An Intervelometer is something which tells the camera to shoot a photo every so many seconds. You type in how many photos you want it to take, and how long apart, connect your camera to your laptop, and leave it, and it does the whole process for you. The sunset isn't so great in this one, but at least I know how to do it now and I can go out and get some better ones!



Until next time!