Ready, Action!

This week, we watched two movies that I would not usually consider watching. One was a Danish-Italian film called Toscana and the other was an Australian film called Dirt Music.

In both of these films, the stars were not Hollywood starlets, they were not teenage heartthrobs, they appeared to be everyday people, who have followed their dreams to be actors and actresses.

Their characters weren't overly made up. Their outfits suited the scene and setting of the story and their characters were more or less ordinary people. Proof, that not everyone captured on film needs to look like a supermodel and be a hero.

Several years ago, I was in Budapest, Hungary at the time a Die Hard movie was being filmed. We discovered it while walking around a blocked off area. Thinking that something was about to happen, we hung around and watched the crew setting up.

After a few hours of watching extras arrive, sets being built, fancy cars moving in, lights being tested and cameras being rigged up…we moved on. In all that time, not a single thing was filmed. We went on to dinner, thinking we might see something on the way back…they were still setting up.

It got me to thinking, that sometimes we can spend so long preparing for something, that when the moment arrives, it is fleeting…over in a heartbeat. Depending on what it is though, it may be incredibly memorable and worthwhile…other times, it may feel like we blinked and missed it.

Deciding to take the time and effort to capture moments in life, needs to happen in advance. But, is it worth it. If we want to live in the present, what is the point of capturing the memory…whether it be writing it down, taking a photo or recording a video.

How often do I allocate precious time to reading about what I have already done, looking through my photo albums, or the scrapbooks that took me hundreds of hours to create??

The answer is, not much. But, the fact that they are there, I have written, looked at or made them, means that I remember the actual event with more clarity than the millions of special moments that I didn’t bother to record in some way or other.

That makes it worthwhile…and that is why I will continue to capture some moments.

Recently, I made the decision to buy a video camera.

This is not my first time having a video camera, but it's been a while. When my first child was born I bought a Sony Handycam. It was one that you could hold in the palm of your hand, it was still pretty chunky though and weighted a bit.

The film was an actual 8mm film in a cassette. I have some home movies of Oliver as a baby and toddler on the cassettes in the cupboard. One day I will have to dig them out and get them converted to something that I could actually watch again. Though from memory, they were pretty shaky and not easy to watch without feeling a bit ill.

Cameras have come a long way since then. I remember standing mesmerised in front of a store in a shopping centre years ago, watching footage of surfers and skiers doing their thing, often from their perspective. It felt as though you were the one on the wave. The video was clear and bright, not shaky, and sure didn’t look like a home movie. It was promoting one of the first GoPro cameras….?

I did some research online, then went to our local camera store and had a chat with the staff. I like to support a local business and buy local when I can, and as I don’t have a lot of time left before we leave, ordering online could be a bit risky with potential delays in delivery.??

I also thought there might be an alternative to the well-marketed GoPro. Something that wasn't the big brand name but maybe an alternate brand that produces just as high a quality product.

The owner of the camera store advised that GoPro have basically taken over the action camera market, and it is not worth him stocking any other options. There are a few out there still, that can possibly be ordered, however, when it came to quality and features, the GoPro was generally the preferred option.?

He also said that GoPro prefers to sell directly to the consumer and price their online product cheaper than he can sell them for, especially when they package them up with accessories.

Deciding that the GoPro would be sufficient for what I need, considering I don't really yet know what that will be, I figured I would give it a shot. I bought a GoPro Hero 10.

Now as we prepare to go on this new adventure with my new action camera I need to work out how to use it. I'm aware of the need for an enjoyable film to have good light and composition and for the sound to be clear. I don't really know how to do all that yet, but I'm sure it will improve with practice.

When talking to colleagues I am frequently reminded that when it comes to content on the internet people really like videos. I myself though tend to always have the sound turned off and just look at the picture, subtitles are handy…ah yes, the dreaded video editing…maybe my content will be raw, or perhaps I will develop some editing skills and it won’t take so long once I improve.

I'm yet to work out what it is that I want to achieve. Whether it's just for my own personal memories, which hopefully will last better than the 8mm film, or whether it's to produce content for the benefit and enjoyment of others, time will tell.