I'm often trying to operate more than one camera at a time. It can verge on insanity. There's my large 40+ pound ENG camera complete with tripod. Sometimes I shoot b-roll stuff with a Sony HDV camera or with my Canon 7D. Almost all of the time I have my little JVC HD camera stuffed into a pocket ready to dig out. All of the footage for this blog so far has come from that small JVC camera. With all this stuff going on, from my point of view its become pretty difficult for me personally to get involve in the moment. I seem to be always on the outside trying to get the best image, find the story, have perspective and most of all get coverage so when I get back to the edit suite I don't wind up with an ulcer trying to do an edit. There are a few times when that "professional distance" breaks down and the welcoming to Kirina was one of those times. About ten minutes into this hour long welcoming ceremony I began to realize all of this planning, all of this effort, which must have taken days to organize, and all of this genuine kindness was in part directed at me. The warmth and enthusiasm was palpable. Unlike the others in my group I wasn't sitting back as a spectator but was in fact part of the action. I was dodging dancers. Sticking my lens in the chief's face and most importantly trying to avoid the occasional swat with those switches that the guy in the mask was playfully wielding. I was shooting in late morning, in full sun on a day that temperature would easily break 100+ degrees. Normally a grueling shoot. But after a short while I noticed how the participants, the performers and even the crowd were all helping me get to where they thought I needed to be to get the best possible shot. Some would run interference, make sure no one crossed my shot. Others would open holes in the ring of onlookers so I could get my camera closer. People would help move my tripod and there was always someone close by willing to hold my small equipment bag. After the ceremony I must have spent 20 minutes shaking hands, hugging and being hugged and thanking people. And they in turn were very glad I was their guest. I was deeply moved and even as I write this almost a month later I still get goosebumps.
dominic(at)medialabafrica.com
dominic(at)medialabafrica.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Twleve: Welcome to Kirina
I'm often trying to operate more than one camera at a time. It can verge on insanity. There's my large 40+ pound ENG camera complete with tripod. Sometimes I shoot b-roll stuff with a Sony HDV camera or with my Canon 7D. Almost all of the time I have my little JVC HD camera stuffed into a pocket ready to dig out. All of the footage for this blog so far has come from that small JVC camera. With all this stuff going on, from my point of view its become pretty difficult for me personally to get involve in the moment. I seem to be always on the outside trying to get the best image, find the story, have perspective and most of all get coverage so when I get back to the edit suite I don't wind up with an ulcer trying to do an edit. There are a few times when that "professional distance" breaks down and the welcoming to Kirina was one of those times. About ten minutes into this hour long welcoming ceremony I began to realize all of this planning, all of this effort, which must have taken days to organize, and all of this genuine kindness was in part directed at me. The warmth and enthusiasm was palpable. Unlike the others in my group I wasn't sitting back as a spectator but was in fact part of the action. I was dodging dancers. Sticking my lens in the chief's face and most importantly trying to avoid the occasional swat with those switches that the guy in the mask was playfully wielding. I was shooting in late morning, in full sun on a day that temperature would easily break 100+ degrees. Normally a grueling shoot. But after a short while I noticed how the participants, the performers and even the crowd were all helping me get to where they thought I needed to be to get the best possible shot. Some would run interference, make sure no one crossed my shot. Others would open holes in the ring of onlookers so I could get my camera closer. People would help move my tripod and there was always someone close by willing to hold my small equipment bag. After the ceremony I must have spent 20 minutes shaking hands, hugging and being hugged and thanking people. And they in turn were very glad I was their guest. I was deeply moved and even as I write this almost a month later I still get goosebumps.