Lose Yourself In Colors

Alright, so as you all know, my trip is coming up. It really snuck up on me. I swear a couple days ago it felt as if there was still two whole months stretched out before me - taunting me. But alas, here we are. Under a week. Am I excited? Yup. Anxious? Yup. Nervous? Yup. But it is all good. Every single piece of it. I honestly can't wait.

Combine my excitement with some frisbee playing and you're going to have an end result that is pure cinematic bliss. Believe it or not, I've been studying since I first made this trip official. No, not my spanish - which I have been doing every night - but my cinematography. My filmmaking. My art. I don't mean to sound pretentious at all, but this is really important to me. Ever since I first started shooting, I've loved film and photography because it captures a moment - makes it yours (less so now that we are headed toward digital). Yes, we all have our memories. People say they last a life time - which they do, but they break down after a while. Get hazy. Pieces are lost. With film - you actually have something in your hands. Physical, chemical proof it happened. Unfortunately, I'm not rich, so I can't shoot my trip on film - although if I could - believe me, I would. So digital is my next choice. I already know I'll remember this trip for the rest of my life, but I want to make something that I can pop in, if I want to relieve it. Turn on my computer or TV and just be in the moment. No one will be able to relate to it as much as I can, but I want it to move others if they watch it. Get as much of an experience out of it as I did.

I want my work to be beautiful all the way to the core.

So I've been watching techniques. Plowing through films. Time lapses. Photo exhibits. Watching music videos for inspiration. I've shot test footage around my neighborhood - getting strange looks from people because I have a camera strapped to my chest. 100% it's all been worth it.

And tonight I'd like to share two with you:

The first piece is just gorgeous. A man set out to film a time lapse of the leaves changing color in New York. How is that possible? Since it takes almost two months and no camera battery lasts that long, no memory stick is that large, or no way some random person would walk off with the camera? Well he went out, about every two weeks, and shot footage, in the same spots, during the same hours of the day and combined them on his computer, with the help of some programs. Yes - this wasn't done all in camera, but it is ok. The filmmaker never claims that it was, so it can't be called cheating. For now, lets just label it as "creative" (ways you can tell some CGI was used: leaves on the ground never move or disappear and the sky is always clear....in New York? Yeah right). Still a ridiculous amount of work which culminates in an utterly beautiful piece.

Fall from jamie scott on Vimeo.


Next is another film by North Face (the same company that did the mountain climbing/skiing video I posted last week). Buckle yourself in, because this is another long one - almost twenty minutes, but you'll know what direction it is headed in early on. There are plenty of moments your mouth will hang open - wondering how the men in the video have the courage to do what they do. I love how they throw in a little family life and mix between color and black and white. The color palettes juxtapose each other marvelously and add weight to the shots each time it changes. It really grabs yours attention. Throw in a couple amazing close up and you have a pretty complete package. Even if you don't watch the whole thing - it is worth skimming through just for the images.




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