Local Racing in San Antonio -- Video

[griz11]

First full day of shooting with the Varizoom Dv Rig Pro under my camera and I must say the results are stunning. Nothing like keeping the camera steady to improve the quality.
A few tricks I learned from one of the local photographers on exposure thrown in as well. Best quality I've shot so far. The Vari keeps everything nice and steady but doesn't get in the way. Its balanced with a weight that attaches to the part that goes over your shoulder to balance the weight of the camera and mounting rail with handle. Once you have it adjusted the viewfinder remains right in front of your eye. You pull forward on the handle to seat the shoulder piece against your back and its like the thing is part of you. No fatigue either. I shot a 15 and 30 minute main back to back only resting while they were getting the next race started. Very lightweight and balanced.

I have quite a bit of video and its all this quality. Some unique shots that I used the articulated arm and clamp to set up. That thing is turning out to be a real jewel. It will clamp on almost anywhere and you can position it any way you need to get the shot framed. The first scene it was attached to the starting gate so you can see the vibrations of the cars and the gates dropping. I have some other unique views as well. I'm ordering another one its much better than a tripod and I have tripods if I really need them.

First up is a little Teaser. Some footage from the buggy and truggy A-Main. The truggy race was a $125.00 winner take all race. Some excellent battles and thanks to the VariZoom I was able to follow them up close and personal.

Embedded
www.promofo-racing.org/T4BB-Teaser-121.html

Download
http://www.promofo-racing.org/video/...Teaser-121.wmv

More to come but it will probably be Tuesday before I can get another one out. Have to take my wife to San Angelo so she can help care for her mother who is having a difficult time at present. 350 miles tomorrow after 160 today I'll be stiff as a board. So I figure Monday will be couch time for me.

Griz

[rltanner]

Sweet video dude

[griz11]

I looked at it this afternoon when I woke up and it is still a little hard to believe that the footage came from my camera. The Varizoom really lives up to its marketing. Took maybe an hour of shooting to get fully comfortable with it. To the point of not even realizing it was there. It doesn't get in the way and allows you to move in any way you could move without it. But provides rock solid support for the camera and dampens any little movements via the weight balance on the arm. Just sit it on your shoulder and use the handle to pull away from your body seating the whole thing and you are good to go. The spring loaded 'pod' besides giving support and dampening also provides something to push against when you move the camera down. Smooths out the whole motion that way. Here is a pic of this device I've been raving about.



As you can see it will work with honker cameras like the Canon XL. So should I win the lottery or something like that I'm covered

Griz

[griz11]

I looked at it this afternoon when I woke up and it is still a little hard to believe that the footage came from my camera. The Varizoom really lives up to its marketing. Took maybe an hour of shooting to get fully comfortable with it. To the point of not even realizing it was there. It doesn't get in the way and allows you to move in any way you could move without it. But provides rock solid support for the camera and dampens any little movements via the weight balance on the arm. Just sit it on your shoulder and use the handle to pull away from your body seating the whole thing and you are good to go. The spring loaded 'pod' besides giving support and dampening also provides something to push against when you move the camera down. Smooths out the whole motion that way. Here is a pic of this device I've been raving about.



As you can see it will work with honker cameras like the Canon XL. So should I win the lottery or something like that I'm covered

Griz

[griz11]

Still a little tired from the weekend so I just went to another shortie today. This is from practice and qualifying. A couple of pretty cool scenes. Can't believe I caught them both. Hopefully I'll be back to normal tomorrow so I can get started on the mains. They will be much longer as I recorded most of the race from the landing on the drivers stand. Plenty of action especially in the money race for the trugs.

Embedded
www.promofo-racing.org/T4BB-Qual-121.html

Download
http://www.promofo-racing.org/video/...B-Qual-121.wmv


Griz

[petevette]

Hi Griz, your probably getting tired of the continous compliments, but that is a great video. Love the slo mo, great angles, and quality is awesome. Really appreciate it!

[griz11]

I never get tired of compliments Or constructive criticism for that matter.

Griz

[salteen]

hahaha the fence scenes were awesome!
good work as usual man.

[8ightScale/CJP]

[griz11]

I was hoping to catch someone clearing the fence at the end of the front stretch. Happens quite a bit actually. But that was the first time I've seen anyone go over the side fence. Then have it happen twice in one day and get them both on tape was great. Sitting here waiting on UPS to deliver my microphone for the rig. A Rode Stereo pro mic. I'm betting the sound will be super compared to what I'm getting now. The sound now is mono so it doesn't create the right ambience. I want to hear the cars go from one speaker to the next as they pass by. From the research I've done on mic's the Rode will get the job done. Hope so it costs more than my satellite cameras Going to try and head into Austin Sat to try it out.

Griz

[Jason Halvorson]

great vids!!!!!!!!

[griz11]

From time to time they run a 'pot' race at T4BB. Last weekend it was the Arena Truck's turn to go for the green. 125.00 winner takes all. Always a good race when there is money involved. Matzler must have smelled the green because he was on fire.

Embedded
www.promofo-racing.org/T4BB-Truggy-121.html

Download
http://www.promofo-racing.org/video/...Truggy-121.wmv

The Rode microphone came in yesterday. Tried it out last night for a little test. Man the sound is awesome. Can't wait until this weekend to try it out on the track. I'm ready for a little high fidelity stereo nitro sounds myself. Hope the weather holds.

Griz

[petevette]

Hey Griz,

Would love to hear what the microphone is capable of if you can find the time to put a sample together. Great footage + great audio = awesome clips!

Looking forward to seeing you next one.

[griz11]

If the weather man is right its not supposed to start raining here until Sunday. So Sat I'm heading over to Austin to try out the mic. Its easy enough to shoot some with the internal mic and then turn on the Rode to compare them. I could tell a huge difference just recording the TV in my living room. So I expect it will be even more pronounced with the cars. And its true stereo has two elements so that will make the sound even better. There is a new system out now that has either 5.1 or 7.1 sound. Neat thing is you don't need a multichannel recorder on site to use it. The mic pod sits on top of a little box that has a real time encoder in it to turn the 6 or 8 channels into matrix encoded stereo you can get back out at editing time. So you can mount the puppy on top of a mini dv and get really nice surround sound without spending 10K. But it is steep about 2500 bucks. But still a nice dip from 10K for mics stands multichannel recorder and somone to run it. I've been looking at mics for awhile but wanted to get the stability thing worked out first then tackle something else. Sound is #2 on my list of stuff that makes a good video. Good sound can add so much to the overall experience.

Griz

[petevette]

I thought I new a thing or two about a/v, but you just made my mind spin. I'll leave all that tech stuff to the experts like yourself. All I know is that I can't wait to see your next video!