tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post2044839889547308066..comments2023-06-07T09:12:00.141-06:00Comments on Mountains and Water: How Internet Video is Transforming ClimbingPeter Bealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15576690594320743452noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-53988623446774769212011-05-02T10:30:20.211-06:002011-05-02T10:30:20.211-06:00I'd love to watch Sharma send Jumbo Love in 3-...I'd love to watch Sharma send Jumbo Love in 3-D.Micah Bryan Humphreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09051649321466387431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-88236036313517762422011-04-28T21:20:40.708-06:002011-04-28T21:20:40.708-06:00I'm not proposing big budgets, just basic cine...I'm not proposing big budgets, just basic cinematography, good cameras and lenses, and the kind of indie-prod production values people use when they want to be taken seriously. And as someone who works in LA with RED and other digital cameras both in production and in post, and climbing for longer than I care to admit, I can tell you that there is HUGE room for improvement in the current level of climbing video standards. Take a dolly and some tracks, a RED camera, and industry-standard prime (not DSLR) lenses to a bouldering area, and the knowledge of how to use them, and the difference would be immediately obvious. A 60' crane at the sport crags? Please. Are you saying these tactics are out-of reach for the larger climbing companies? I don't think so.<br /><br />Maybe climbing has yet to be perceived as a professional-level sport along the lines of skiing/snowboarding/surfing etc because it's never been shot professionally? As long as it's presented at the amateur level, that's all it'll ever be taken for? <br /><br />Writing this in the hope that the "big" companies will see it and start thinking...chance and realhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773822251556429200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-30996535520375574432011-04-28T15:59:19.225-06:002011-04-28T15:59:19.225-06:00Anonymous:
CORE seemed to be a fairly well-produce...Anonymous:<br />CORE seemed to be a fairly well-produced movie. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WwkWDHlFX0) Being shot with a RED camera is only part of that. And yes, Progression is another example of a more advanced climbing film. Sender Films' more recent works are being shown on Nat Geo all over europe -- I wouldn't say they use shaky, hand-held on-rope shots, for the most part. No, they're not Lord of the Rings grade stuff, but they are serious pieces.<br /><br />These days climbing filmmakers are doing plenty of fancy stuff: aerial rigging, helicopter or plane footage, cranes and lights hauled up on top of walls, use of monitors and pricey cameras. Perhaps your video library hasn't been updated since the days of West Coast Pimp?<br /><br />But the truth is, big-budget Hollywood tactics are ill-suited to climbing films, regardless of price. In fact, it seems like tinseltown is moving more towards the light, efficient filmmaking techniques that adventure cinematographers have been using for years out of necessity. Fringe and some episodes of House, the Book of Eli, etc. were all shot using todays more affordable digital cameras (REDs, DSLRs, and the like). They don't want to spend millions on every episode or movie, if they can create something just as slick using a rig that's 1/10 the cost.<br /><br />And with the pro-grade editing set-ups dropping in price all the time, more climbing movies will look more polished and produced without requiring giant budgets. <br /><br />Finally, as someone who's been around the industry for a while, I will say that making one big, high-end, super-expensive climbing movie doesn't hold much value for climbing companies -- even the big ones like TNF. If you want to spend a ton of money on a climbing flick, you'll have to make something like Cliffhanger or Vertical, cause that's the only way you'll get enough people watching to make it worth your while. If you want to make a climbing movie for climbers, you'll have to keep the budget leaner and the techniques simpler (for now). <br /><br />There will be evolution in the climbing-movie arena, just not in the direction you're proposing.jriggedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699626668535691274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-79413677566506731832011-04-28T11:13:30.436-06:002011-04-28T11:13:30.436-06:00Automated, thanks very much for the URL. Unicyclin...Automated, thanks very much for the URL. Unicycling or bouldering, the results are the same!<br /><br />The deeper issue is the desire of media creators to monetize their efforts which implies for most selling them up for money. However high production value films are worth less for learning about climbing than a huge number of free ones. Personally while I admire the breathtaking aspects of high quality film, that's just entertainment, not really instructional. After all what do football coaches watch most of the time?Peter Bealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15576690594320743452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-85047174323625171622011-04-27T17:59:17.243-06:002011-04-27T17:59:17.243-06:00"there are definitely high production value c..."there are definitely high production value climbing videos out there."<br /><br />Like what? Progression? It used hand-held (not even ENG-style shoulder mount) prosumer cameras that even low-budget indies only use for B-roll and behind-the-scenes footage. Actual cinematography, like on a movie shoot, with a cinestyle camera crew, aerial rigging, monitors/playback, lighting etc has never been done at the crags/boulders for the purpose of making a climbing video. <br /><br />The climbing companies could start off by shooting some test footage as proof-of-concept to shop around for investors, like low-budget indies do, but it needs to look professional, not the usual shaky-cam hand-held camera hanging on a rope stuff. Doing that for a day or two would be at most in the low 5 figures, if that. If done right, especially in 3D which is not as difficult or costly a proposition as it was even 2 years ago, has the potential to change public perception of the sport in a way we can't really foresee, because like I said, it's never been done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-31515007729654880852011-04-27T16:55:46.407-06:002011-04-27T16:55:46.407-06:00there are definitely high production value climbin...there are definitely high production value climbing videos out there. but i don't see a big correlation between production value and popularity. story telling seems to be hook that catches the most fish. without a story, even the best footage are just pretty scenery. (note that a story doesn't require talking -- the right footage edited into the right sequence can tell a story, words or not). <br /><br />but i think to peter's point, it's the rough and ready, home-grown stuff popping up on the internet that's facilitating a more rapid evolution within the sport of climbing. another place where video has had this effect is dance (breakdancing specifically), though even more evidently than with climbing, i'd argue. <br /><br />for a great talk on this topic, check out chris anderson's TED talk video: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/eng//id/955Automatednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-47633325334926423432011-04-27T14:41:15.090-06:002011-04-27T14:41:15.090-06:00in order for the industry to support that kind of ...in order for the industry to support that kind of production, turn in your prodeals, sponsorships, and expect to pay over $200 for a pair of rock shoes.<br /><br />business is all about the margin, and climbing companies have to run thin, lean, and mean.sock handshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01215898082941273671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790818505250918302.post-48723303667259980562011-04-27T10:27:27.398-06:002011-04-27T10:27:27.398-06:00The Real Question is, when are the larger climbing...The Real Question is, when are the larger climbing companies (Petzl Black Diamond et al) going to finance a video shoot at the crags with real production values. Not just some one hanging on a rope with a hand-held "prosumer" camera, or standing on top of Sharma's van with a home-made jib arm, but actual cinematography, with cinestyle cameras and lenses, cranes, cablecams/flying cameras, lighting, 5.1 audio etc, which to my knowledge has never been done. The CableCam company itself is staffed with current/former big name climbers...<br /><br />Climbing would also seem an ideal medium for 3D - one of the main aesthetic obstacles of climbing videography is conveying the dimensionality and not making everything look flat. With the advent of the Red Epic camera, 3D beam-splitter rigs are getting smaller and more manageable. We have the "Xtreme Sports" cachet, the personalities, the spectacular exotic locales and adventure...c'mon climbing industry make it happen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com