Man that took a long time to do. After a long run of 500 miles, the first thing I don't want to do is sit down and watch it all over again in tediously long video clips. It's just like lemon juice on the wound.
So I let some time go by. I soak in the comfort of being around my kids and wife again. I get back into my job. And then, suddenly, it's summer - I'm on a 6,500 mile road trip with my kids and I find myself tinkering around with a few clips here and there late at night after they've gone to bed.  |
| This is my running shirt's original design, created by artist Ricky Sprague. It's a covered wagon shoe. |
This Wyoming video is my second attempt at a short documentary, following last year's Nevada Ultra Run video. The first one seems to get good reviews and I enjoyed the process. I'm getting much more confident at using iMovie and nearing the finished product of this Wyoming video, I found myself wishing I could do certain things that iMovie wouldn't allow. I used to laugh at people who smirked that Mac programs were limiting for the user. Now I find myself making some of the same claims. I still think that iMovie is the best "out of the box" movie making software available for new users, but I'm learning more about another program that I'm eager to delve into: Final Cut Pro.
Final Cut Pro is the industry standard for video editing. That just sounds like an awesome thing when you say it with one finger pointed down at the table and tapping out some of the key syllables. Don't forget to rock you head back while you say it too, for emphasis.
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| One of the themes of the film is the preponderance of No Trespassing signs in Wyoming, which this office door is making fun of. |
There were a few scenes I had to cut out that I regret were left on the editing digital trash can floor: there was a short clip of myself riding a snow fence next to the highway in a moment of delirium. It was out of focus and shaky. There was a brief encounter with a male sex toy on the side of the road. It was gross. Battery pack included. Ew. Great clip. Not helping tell the story. At least, not this story. Someone else's story, certainly, but not mine.
For the second time I've used music from Creative Commons. I'm starting to find favorite music artists and love the feel of their tone in my running shots. One of them is State Shirt. The other is Et_. Both are featured in both of my recent documentaries and I think they work very well.
Probably the only thing I'm not particularly happy with is the resolution of the final video on Youtube. In some browsers it looks much grainier than I would like. I tried to upload it with the highest resolution but I'll have to check it again and make sure something didn't get changed.
I have a feeling my videos would be viewed by a wider audience if they were shorter. I don't want to short the hard-core ultra trail runners who really want to see the whole story, but perhaps one thing to consider is a shorter version, say 8 minutes, and the full length director's cut for each state.
Until then, you gotta sit through the entire 16 minutes.
Enjoy!
Click here for the video of the 500 Mile Wyoming Ultra Run Along the Oregon Trail!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7INQ6a4LUCI
