trudging forward

It always starts slowly. Every time I have taken on a project where I know there will be no quick gratification (like a 2-minute video blog that takes a day), it really takes will power to get the process going. In high-school physics, we learned all about mechanical advantage, and thats the best analogy I can summon. Its like gears... it takes very little effort to move a small wheel compared with a large wheel, so the same amount of effort yields more rotations the smaller the gear. So imagine the number of rotations as a measure of excitement and that feeling of accomplishment.

With a small project, you get that gratification quite quickly. Its also easier to focus because you know its just a day or two to put together a 90 second piece on FInal Cut. But when you are looking at a 70 minute project, you are talking one big-ass gear. And it takes some time to move it all the way around, allowing the smallest measure of satisfaction.

It took me about two weeks, but I stepped back and took a look at how far I had come. All said, the results in terms of narrative look pretty darn good. I have edited a 3:30 opening, and have probably edited about half of the Kosrae narrative, which will clock in around 15-20 minutes. And when I watch the parts that have been scrupiously sliced down as per Occam, I find myself smiling.

As a special bonus for my few subscibers on Blogger and Networked Blogs, I will post part of the opening (mybe 1:30 to 1:45) for a day or two. But first I have to get some B-roll from a third party and do audio sweetening. I want it to look almost broadcast ready before I let it out on vimeo. So if you read this through a post on FB, you might want to subscribe so you can see it when its finished.

How many steps in a journey?

Perhaps the most difficult part of this process for me, in terms of post-production, is that I am trying to do it piecemeal with my "spare time." Realistically, that gives me from three to four hours after I get home from my day job, interrupted by other chores and dinner. Weekends really don't offer a larger chunk of time, simply because there is so much more that needs to be addressed.

When you look at the numbers, it looks like I have a potential additional 40 hours a week I can dedicate to editing. Numbers lie. Going at a project of this size in small chunks is already becoming a little maddening. It takes me at least a half hour to boot the system, launch FCP, review the section I am working on, review the notes, and figure out what to do next. Momentum plays a large role in terms of progress, and it has been very difficult to gain traction from the start.

But, like walking on wet ice, you can still get there. It takes longer, feels slow, but in time, you get there.

Speaking of getting there, the show is loaded and ready to be toyed with. I'm working on the Kosrae section - perhaps the single most beautiful place I have been lucky enough to visit. Going through the footage brings back a surge of memories. It was an amazing place, and really about as far away from everything as you can get, and some of the last pristine nature, above and below the water line, left on this planet. Katrina and Bruce were wonderful hosts, and Kosrae Village Resort (also known as Kosrae Eco-Village) was as accommodating as possible on such a remote island.

I'm off to edit. Tom Goreau is in New York today and plans to stop by this afternoon. I need his help matching footage of particular species to the narrative. Its funny - you figure that by now I would be able to identify most coral species. I've been working on "Putting the PIeces Together" for more than three years. If I money and time were no object, I'd take a few courses. Until I have that luxury, I will have to rely on experts.

Okay.. time to edit. This is my weekend, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Forward....

First, allow me a moment of celebration by posting this link to a really cool press release on my PADI contest success. Views of the video have spiked over the last few days.

Second, I want to again address all those people who supported me in this contest - old high school mates, friends in distant countries, family, co-workers in NYC and other cities, NPOs that were integral in making this film happen and their supporters, dive shops I've worked with... basically, anyone who cast a vote for my video. I want to thank you for two reasons. The first, and most obvious one, is for the support you have lent me through the last eight months. Each and every vote counted towards the win.

More importantly, you have become an inspiration. Until people started telling me -- after I won! -- that they were voting a few times a week, I had no idea how much support there was for my entry. It has given me, for lack of any other suitable term, a warm and fuzzy feeling. But it also changed the landscape.

Before, the only one who had any investment in "Putting the PIeces Together" was myself and a few marine conservation organizations I had been working with. It was a quiet, unknown project. But now, having put it smack into the center of the spotlight, I have a large group of people I must answer to - namely, everyone who cast a vote. Before, I could have walked away any time after "Corals of Trawangan." Now, after learning of the support out there for my project, there is no way I could pull a lame stunt like that and let my supporters down.

With so many people rooting for me to win, I have a new obligation. I must finish this documentary. You have all invested in me, for which I am grateful. And I will not let you down.

This morning, I was awaken at a little after 3. I managed to fall asleep for another hour, but came awake again. Rather than curse the darkness and measly 4 hours of restless sleep, I turned on Final Cut Pro and went to work, eager to see what I could finish before work.

So thank you all again - not just for voting for my entry, but for giving me the inspiration I needed to get back to the job. Cheers!

It's official! Won the PADI Sea the Change Conservation video contest

Here is the official announcement on PADI's site.

http://www.padi.com/blog/conservation-contest/conservation-contest-winner-announced

Results expected today

PADI is supposed to announce the winner in the "Sea the Change" conservation video competition today. Once the results are official, I will post them on here.

Thanks again to everyone who cast votes for my video!

In the meantime... editing has been slow. The process of building something this big has challenges I never anticipated. I find I second-guess myself quite a bit more than average. I've even asked aloud to an empty room whether I should use a piece of narrative or put it aside in case it comes up in another segment, and then struggled with the decision. And this is at the roughest stages of the edit!

The slow speed of my edit system doesn't help. To compound matters, I wound up shooting one interview from Florida that I wasn't going to use at first. For one thing, I mistakenly had the frame rate at 30p, not the 24p I had been using. But I recently realized I needed some of that interview for the opening description of coral reefs. So now the system is trying to cope with dissimilar frame rates, and not doing it very well.

Looking ahead, I may have to re-conform the entire narrative layer to a single standard. It will have to be 24p, because most of the interviews and topside b-roll is shot that way. The underwater video is shot in AVCHD, DVCproHD 60i and 24p, and quicktime heuris. I will spending so much time rendering when it comes time to start throwing b-roll around I might need a whole 'nuther RAID.

So, in case you can't tell, I'm hoping for good news later, which would mean a new edit system is on its way and these little conforming problems will be taken care of very easily. Wish me luck, friends!

Voting has ended.

VOTING HAS ENDED! A big thanks to all of my coworker, my very supportive family and friends around the world, and the immeasurable support from the following organizations and companies: Global Coral Reef Alliance, Coral Restoration Foundation, Kosrae Village Ecolodge, Ocean Earth, Deep Sea Divers Den, Big Bubble Diving, GiliCat, The Marine Mammal Conservancy, Gili Eco Trust, Keys Diver, Fantastic Endeavors. Thank you all for voting for me over the last seven months in the PADI "Sea the Change" contest. Because of your support, I have had a tremendous opportunity to gain exposure for a little-discussed, but critically important environmental issue: the health of our hard coral reefs.

There were a number of excellent entries in the contest, and I applaud each and every contestant for taking the time to put together a video to enlighten and educate people as to the numerous issues facing our failing oceans. With luck, this PADI contest has raised awareness and generated interest in preserving all of our marine resources. To me, that is the biggest success of all.

Thank you, PADI, for giving people who care a voice in the community.

Its on!

Three years was enough.

It was a fantastic three years, filled with great people, beautiful places, and wonderful experiences that I would never have had otherwise.

But eventually, as with all good things, it too has past as post-production begins in ernest.

For the last two weeks, I have slowly gained momentum. At first, it reminded me of the morning after a giant part when my eyes painfully opened to the harsh morning sunlight and the realization bubbled through the headache to consciousness: that bitchin' party last night was my own house party, and this pizza carton and beer bottle detritus will have to be cleaned up.

Slowly, like the host left with the mess, I started to organize. My instinct to carefully log and transcribe every little detail started paying off as my mind sorted the recyclables from the crusts and spilled plastic cups (to continue the metaphor). A few quick flips through the nearly 300 pages of interview transcriptions, carefully organized, helped me find connections and structure between different interviews easily.

The pieces started putting themselves together. Forward momentum has been achieved. It will take some time, but It's underway.

So thank you, all three of my actual subscribers, for sticking around this long. Things are afoot!

Cheers.