Dusting Off Video Postcards

So there isn't a good way to post a full length travelog on here, and even if there was I doubt many would stick around to watch it. I was thinking I'd like to share videos on this new blog though, and so the video postcards I've made over the years seemed like a relevant edition regarding my last post. I began to organize these postcards in 2006 by looking at all the vacation footage I had (although some had already been completed by then). I thought that it would be nice to show people the places I've been by just featuring a few of the highlights.

Putting the postcards together essentially became a self-motivated editing assignment. The goal here, unlike the travelogs, was to just show the destinations as opposed to a diary of the trip. Each video is only a few minutes long put to music and is framed like a postcard to emphasize the visuals, but I think the spirit of the longer films that inspired them is still there.   

Video Postcard: Ottawa
(Filmed 2000 / re-Edited 2003)
MUSIC: Return to Innocence - Enigma
 
Video Postcard: Toronto 
(Filmed 2000 / Edited 2000) 
MUSIC: Run On - Moby  
Video Postcard: Niagara Falls 
(Filmed 2000 / Edited 2000) 
MUSIC: Beyond the Invisible - Enigma  
Video Postcard: Disneyland 
(Filmed 2004 / Edited 2007)  
Video Postcard: Hollywood 
(Filmed 2004 / Edited 2008) 
MUSIC: California - Rogue Wave  
Video Postcard: California Adventure
(Filmed 2004 / Edited 2008)
MUSIC: Love Today - Mika  
Video Postcard: Las Vegas 
(Filmed 2005 / Edited 2007)  
Video Postcard: South Dakota 
(Filmed 2007 / Edited 2007) 
MUSIC: Going Up the Country - Canned Heat

Travelogs

The travelog is nothing new, but of the various projects i find myself doing, the travelogs are quite possibly the most fun. As a product of the film school environment you often find yourself swamped by 'higher than thou' guidelines from the artistic masses that insist good movies are like 'this'. Travelogs, for me, are a complete escape from that . . . copyrighted music? of course i'll use it.

It's not that i don't count my vacation vids (or VVs) as 'real' projects though, because based on the effort that goes into them, they're not really homevideos anymore. At best they're polished recollections of various destinations, events and experiences, and at worst they're just snappy music videos. However, for those who have travelled with me and have found themselves watching one of these VVs years later, you'd be hardpressed to find someone who wouldn't agree that the video became an essential piece of memorabilia in giving face to the experience. Better yet, with the varied soundtracks, it hasn't been uncommon for people to tell me that they'd hear a song on the radio and remember the place it was used in the video. Of course, this is a little bit of shameless promotion, but it's positive feedback like this, that proves the VVs are more than just masturbational endevours (even though they may start out as such).

Most recently i completed Rushmore, shot at the beginning of May on a road trip to Mount Rushmore and the surrounding area. Now we've likely all taken in the view of the open countryside from the passenger seat, but armed with my camera and a few hours of tape i captured a lot of scenery. It wasn't until i was back home that i realized how much i could do with the footage. Snappy editing between locales reveals a landscape of changing colour, texture and size. You can't really 'document' the trip the way you experience it, but the fun of it for me is trying to create that sensation of discovery by building up to what the audience expects to see. On the rushmore trip it was timelapsing the landscape to physically contrast the change on the drive down. In Vegas it was a buildup to a night landing showing the glowing strip from the seat of the plane. In California it was a series of long steady zoom outs from the beach, hollywood blvd, and amusement parks to reveal the energy and life of the locales. Like all my projects, seeing people react to them is the best part. And when someone can get excited about the way you organize images, and in turn, relate the project to their own experience or vacation without being there, it becomes more than just pictures of the place you've been. It becomes a conversation starter, something to share and reminisce over, and perhaps more than just a still photo, encourages a more immediate emotional response.

So here's hoping the trend can continue. Rushmore: The 2007 Road Trip is complete and i can't wait to share it. Of course, i'd love to see any videos or pictures that any of you have taken on your trips. Since i've used up all my money and won't be travelling for a while, it's the next best thing to being there, haha. I can't deny it though, after a month of editing this last project it's great to move on to something new.

Here's a preview from Rushmore.

A New Blog / First Post

So Luke's Emporium of Senseless Insanity and Wonder is no more, and here instead is Editing Luke; a blog about filmmaking, movie ideas, projects, goals and so on in the realm of a student filmmaker named Luke and his production pseudonym fandrix. It's been on my mind to do this for sometime, and I've had this blog sitting idle ready to replace the other for a few months. Keeping an online journal is work, but ultimately, I think it'll be a good way to focus my ideas in terms of thinking about what I'm doing as a professional career. I use 'student' filmmaker a lot (which I still am), but I feel it's time to start thinking of myself as a filmmaker (or video/media maker if you want to get technical). Whether you read this or return is clearly up to you, but I hope to use this as an outlet to motivate myself and bounce ideas around. I welcome any and all comments as things get underway (in fact I encourage and love comments) and hope you find some interest in my ramblings. Thanks for checking out the new space.