Every now and then I visualise a project without the pressures of working for a client. I pick up my gear, head out and capture. Sometimes it can be months before I revisit the footage; I never force creativity, I always wait for that divine intervention, that moment of clarity, that creative spark that helps me to see the end goal (no pun intended) of the project.
After getting my hands on a Zhiyun Crane 2, I decided to grab my gear and my new motorised gimbal and head down my football club (Sure, I manage a local football team). The 1st team had to win their final game to get promoted, while their opponents needed a point to stay up.
Sadly, the game finished 0-0 and promotion was missed. Naturally after the disappointment of this, I struggled to find the motivation to do anything with the footage. Fast forward a couple of months, I watched Vancouver Whitecaps (soccer, if you like) closely followed by Seattle Seahawks (American football) and both sides came out to the same entrance music - The Drum, by The Siege - both were goosebump type moments.
All my short films are built on visual concepts. Unless I can visualise the end product, I struggle to cut it. I can't force creativity. As soon as I heard that banger of the track, my mind was transported into the rushes folder and I started to work with it in my head.
I couldn't wait to get back and get started on the edit, and here it is.
Sure, it's possibly slightly self indulgent for a local football team to have a 'promo video' but at the end of the day, if there is someone in the ranks who can do it, then why not. I wasn't asked to put it together, I just thought it would be fun. Plenty of local football teams have photographers turning up at every game to capture the same old images - with video, you can really capture that energy of an occasion.
I'm consistently learning every time I head out with the camera and that is why I do it. Technically, I'm not fantastic with a camera, but the only way to get better is to keep going out and keep filming - any excuse to pack my gear and head out, I'm there. I have so much footage from the past few years, some of it is awful some is passable. Some I will never use, some I will end up using six months to a year down the line.
Doing things like this allows me to enhance my editing skills, and experiment with things without the pressure of delivering to a client. I spent time working on some enhanced transitions, visual effects and various bits of movement to try and replicate an authentic football ident/cut - you know, the kind of thing you see at the end of a Sky Sports production.
Locations: Grove Road, Whitecroft Football Club.
Music: The Siege / The Drum
Gear: Sony A7SII, Sony E-mount 28-70, Zhiyun Crane 2. Shot in Cine4 & S-Log2. Shot in Pal at 100fps.