For this project my partner and I shot a promotional video for the winter programs and equipment offered through the Outdoor Program at the University of Wyoming. For the project we interviewed a University of Wyoming student involved in winter-time backcountry recreation and an employee of the Outdoor Program on campus. To give our story a strong visual appeal, my partner and I collected Go Pro footage, from a few backcountry trips we embarked upon, over the course of a few weeks.
I liked learning to use the Go Pro Hero 4s that were made newly available through the University of Wyoming IT department. Initially using a Go Pro is challenging without a viewfinder or a starting concept of what field of view the camera is shooting. After viewing the footage from my first filming session, I feel I can use the Go Pro more effectively having developed a sense for the ultra-wide angle lenses employed by this camera. This extremely wide field of view is was surprising at first but now I view it as unique and interesting. In the future I would like to see what kind of footage I could capture from the ski helmet mount my friend lent me yesterday.
I think that I will probably keep a Go Pro out on a permanently renewing loan from the IT department until my graduation. Its durability and small size mean that the angles it can capture are only limited by my imagination. For example,tomorrow, I would like to experiment with it to film ice fishing from an underwater angle.
I think that filming will be a crucial part of creating the online multimedia stories that are the future of journalism. For me personally filming will be especially important. This will be because I like action packed, kinetic stories that are well suited to a video medium.
Link to the video: