Advice please...

The plan was simple. Attach a dogcam to an air cadet's flying helmet and pop him or her into an aeroplane and film the flight. Simple. (I refuse to say Simples on principle!)

Except that the people who own the aeroplane don't want to do it with the dogcam, they want to do it handheld instead.

Now, that asks an interesting question. Whilst I can't see any problem with using a handheld camera inside an aeroplane whilst it's flying along quite nicely and above all straight, What on earth happens when it turns?

Not sure what I'm talking about? Well put it this way, when you corner in your car, if you do it slowly then you don't really notice much. If you are a bit more enthusiastic and do track days, you'll note that anything not bolted down gets thrown from one side of the car to the other when you try and go around that chicane. The question is, if an aeroplane does a tight turn, which way does the force go on the camera? Is it likely to produce a force large enough to remove the handheld camera from the hand, so to speak? What about Aerobatics? In short, how do you film inside an aircraft with a hand held camera?

Mounted cameras, easy - I've seen plenty of videos done that way and it's the way I'd nominally do it. Hand held asks so many questions. Sure, if it was a big airliner then handheld is no problem, but a little light aircraft?

So I'm stuck. Any suggestions? Anyone done it?

And yes, I have seen this : Isn't life easy with mountable cameras?

How long have I been doing this?

I missed something, I've now been doing this blog for a year! woo! *blows ridiculous party hooter thingy*

That is all.

Plans

Or lack of them, at the moment. Having just applied for one job, I seem to be left with time on my hands. Again.

At least I've got a whole year of teaching air cadets, and even better is the year of motorsport I've got lined up, Including a 24 hour race. I'm quite looking forward to that.

More plans - well I'm currently working on some programme ideas (again) and there's the 3 minute wonders to work out. Hopefully they'll go somewhere nice.

Other than that, trying to figure out where all my website visitors come from (some from twitter, lots from USF1 Journal and some who just seem to turn up, welcome to you all!) Things are rather quiet.

I therefore leave you with the last of the time lapse experiments.




The irony was that a week afterwards we got a LOT of snow, and I was out when it started! Bother!

Happy new year!

A happy new year to you all! I'm writing this in the midst of a big freeze as the news stations are insisting on calling it - The only problems I've got is the sheet ice preventing me moving my car (nothing some grit won't solve), and urchins throwing snowballs!

Over Christmas I made a mistake, and took part time night work at Sainsbury's. This was a mistake because working in the night proved to be able to drive me insane. I don't mind hard work, but hard work which goes unappreciated and accompanied by a system of bullying is enough to really drive me nuts.

But enough about that. Christmas was great with some interesting presents (you'll see one of them in a moment), and for once was white. Before Christmas I may have mentioned I was on work experience... I was logging rushes for a company called Boomerang, and their programme called "Children of Prisoners". It's on from Feburary 10th, and I should be very grateful if you watch the series, and look out for a familiar name on the credits. I've still got some work to do on that, so once again, watch this space.

Now, there's snow around, so that means it's time for the timelapse experiments again... Attempt one was set up in the hope of snow, and is 24 hours around here, Unfortunately, Autofocus in the dark is not a good idea...

Then snow finally turned up - right when I wasn't expecting it to - so turn on the timelapse camera quick! Caught 12 hours of snow melting.

There's a third part to this, and I'll show you that later.

So, to 2010. One of my Christmas presents was a new car - a VW Polo to replace my reliable, but aging Peugeot 106. I took it down to Southerndown (bad wolf bay, for you Dr Who fanatics) for some pictures and to enjoy the drive and mangaged to get this shot of the sunset. I wonder where these wheels will take me over the next year, and are there better times over that horizon*? We'll see

*actually over that horizon is Devon.

Originally intended for facebook

To those who are in the group "save Top Gear" I would say that as a TG fan and a telly person that although it's a great thing, sooner or later they will run out of ideas and the whole thing will die a slow death. Already they are beginning to struggle to be fresh and entertaining. It will end one day - don't think that this is nasty BBC taking away what you guys like, it's more the producers running out of steam - This is why Dr Who took a year off with only 4 specials this year. In other words a campaign to save a TV programme, wether public owned or not, is futile I'm afraid.

Wonder why it did that...

Not for the first time, Livestream baffles me somewhat. The player on the front page wasn't working earlier, yet it works now. How odd. I haven't done anything to it to make it work or not work.


Stopped off in a radio studio earlier and managed to avoid getting on the air myself, but it's something that I may be doing more of in the near future, particularly with the addition of a couple of cameras to the studio


I've actually been in Cardiff today in a production office logging rushes, after 45hours of working in a supermarket, it's a relief to be back doing a proper job, albeit for no money! I feel as if I've got two jobs at the moment, One I like but doesn't pay me, the other I hate but it does pay me... the conundrum is that I can't get rid of the one I hate. I know I haven't actually told you where my unpaid work is yet: All in good time though.


A fantastic Christmas present would be something a little bit more permanent though.


So, sorry for the confusion earlier. Carry on!

Temporary (I hope) problem.

It seems that the livestream player on the frontpage of the website is not working. I'm not sure why this, but I'll be trying to fix the problem tonight, sorry if you're trying to watch it - In the meantime, all the youtube videos seem to be working - Enjoy!

Will also do a proper post later on today.

Transmissions will resume

One of the many difficulties of writing a blog about working in the Telly industry (or attempting to) is that there's a lot that I can't tell you about until it's released. I can't really tell you about the work experience placement I'm on at the moment, and I probably can't tell you that it's with a large Cardiff based production company. Or that I've been logging cards for the last two weeks.

Oops.

I certainly can't tell you that my part time job in Sainsbury's is driving everyone mad because of a refit at the store, but I think I probably can get away with telling you that the shop is shut this week. Not that that makes any difference to working there. Apparently though, I can't tell you about the brand new ******* or even the new ******** because if I do, this post will probably be censored.

But I can tell you that the work's very hard, it's very pressurised, and that now my knee has packed up completely, so when dressed in a leather jacket, according to mum I walk and look rather like Herr Flick of the Gestapo.

Don't ask.

My life has gone crazy.

Argh! What happened? Someone look at me and think (rightly) that I wasn't busy? I've had an offer of employment from Sainsburys (accepted despite it being night work), a phone call today asking would I like some work experience next week at a ... um ... well established Cardiff production house (I won't tell you which one though!), an invitation to visit Hubbub again, an appointment with the bank (what on earth do they want now?)

Setting that up, then also add a remembrance Sunday parade to sort out radios for, attempt to do something on the subject of air cadet motorsport, find myself making 3D models of aircraft hangers on a whim (maybe it'll come in useful? I still want one of those hangers!) and try and keep my Grandfather mobile.

And I still find time to get to see a bit of Ice Hockey (first game in 3 years!). Devils were on top form last Sunday, although Belfast had the audacity to turn up 2 hours late then take the first goal!

Also, I've been thinking of experimenting with 3D... suggestions for subjects please.

Anyway, life is now crazy. Help!

New projects, New Directions?

About time for an update. Even though once again I find myself heading for work in Sainsbury's over christmas I'm still trying to get into the television business. It's just that I may have to find new and interesting ways of doing it.

So, Having been to a roadshow with the BBC's commissioning editor speaking, I am now working on 2 new documentary style programmes and updating R.S.T-UK with a new look and title. That's the idea anyway, hopefully someone will like them!

It occurs to me that I've never actually put any services that I can offer on this site. Prehaps it's time that I did!

Incidentally for any Motorsport website editors or broadcasters reading this, I have worked out how much it costs to offer a video news reporting service from all the rounds of the WRC to include interviews from mid day service, the end of day press conference, coverage of the ceremonial starts and finish, and anything else I can point a camera at.

We can dream, can't we?