CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

  It's been a busy few weeks and I must apologise for not writing a feature last week. This weekend I was in Switzerland for the Alpine Challenge, which was the final of the 2020 FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies.  This is the first time I have worked on a regularity rally and it is very different from the other type of rallies I have worked on.   In the FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship the cars compete against the clock, trying to be the fastest through a stage, with the fastest over the two or three days of stages being declared the winner.   In regularity the cars have to complete a stage in a set time, to the nearest minute. They mustn't be quicker or slower or they receive penalty points.  The further away they are from the set time, the more penalty points they receive.  The crew with the least number of points at the end of the rally are declared the winners. The events are held on public roads, with the average speed being ...

Over last weekend I shot several video interviews with drivers during the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and Michelin Le Mans Cup (MLMC) using a new Fujifilm X-T4 video rig for the first time. I have spent the last few months investing in the new X-T4 and associated gear with a view of using it primarily for video at the ELMS and MLMC events.  To this end I bought a second X-T4 last week and a Smallrig cage so I can attach a 5 inch Freeworld LCD screen and microphones easily. Here is an interview we shot with Algarve Pro Racing's Gaby Aubry who was interviewed in French by ELMS Communications Manager Sophie Liger. As you can see in the image at the top of the page, this interview was conducted in the paddock with the X-T4 video rig attached to 3 Legged Thing 'Jay' Carbon Fibre video tripod.  The lens used was the superb XF16-55mm f2.8, which was fitted with a Haida M10 filter holder with a 3 stop ND filter fitted to allow a wider aperture to be used in the brig...

I have just got back from the South of France where I have spent the last week at the official press season test and opening round of the European Le Mans Series at the Circuit Paul Ricard near Le Castellet. One of the things I have been doing during the Covid19 lockdown it to increase my skill set with regards to video production.  In 2019 I really started to shoot more video content, especially on the FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship, so I took a couple of online courses on video editing and production and last week was the first real chance to be able to put what I had learned into practice. Because the event was held behind closed doors and the number of media attending the event was reduced significantly, one of the goals for communications during the ELMS week was to increase the number of video interviews we produce so that the fans and the media had more behind the scenes content. One of the focus of the communications plan was the inclusion for t...

Over the past couple of months during the Coronavirus lockdown here in Scotland I have been taking a long walk around Belhaven and Dunbar as part of my daily exercise and my iPhone has been my camera of choice during this time.   Since buying the iPhone 11 at the beginning March I have been highly impressed with the quality of the images and video and while it will never replace my Fujifilm X Series system, it means I have a high quality camera in my pocket at all times. To improve the flexibility of the iPhone I bought into the Moment lens system.   QUALITY LENSES Moment are a Seattle based company producing, arguably, the world's best mobile phone lenses.  There are plenty of options to add addition lens options to your mobile phone camera but a lot are cheap plastic or glass that produce low quality results.   On the other hand Moment lenses are proper optical glass in a metal housing that fit into a Moment phone case with a bayonet mount for security....

Today we are unveiling the new theme tune and title sequence for One Man and His Boat. Barry Brunton has been working hard on his new fishing boat, the Lynsey B , since selling the Rockhopper of Percuel at the end of 2018.   Delays in the delivery of the part build Cygnus 21 vessel, and then some significant changes to the regulations concerning the build, have proved to be a challenge for Barry who has been documenting his journey on his new YouTube channel ' One Man and His Boat '. We had produced a new title sequence for his videos in 2019 with a new theme tune bought under licence from Audioblocks.com.   However the music has been removed from the website by the composer and while we were still legally able to use it, we decided to look for a new track to go with an updated title sequence.  The track we found is called "Celtic Trailer" by Valentina Gribanova. Once we had the music, the next job was to update the video clips and match it to th...

GoPro action cameras have a reputation for high quality video, as well as being well built and being able to withstand a lot of punishment.  You also pay a lot more for a GoPro, with a lot of cheaper action cameras available on the market which can also shoot at 4K.  So, are you paying for the name and reputation when you buy a GoPro or is the extra money worth paying?  Well I think it is and I will tell you a story of why I trust GoPro when working out in the field. I have been using GoPro cameras in the videos I produce since 2017 when I invested in a GoPro Hero 5 Black and a GoPro Hero 5 Session.  During last year’s FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship, I would place the GoPros in places I couldn’t stand to get some dramatic shots to add to the review videos I had been commissioned to produce from each event. In May 2018 I inadvertently put GoPro’s reputation to the test during a car photoshoot.  I made...