I visited my birthplace back in early July. Erika and I spent a week in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Pensacola with my multitudinous family and friends. Here are a few of the images from the excursion. Everyone has babies now.
Here is another music video I worked on. I didn’t direct this one this time around, but I am responsible for the editing and visual effects & color grading.
A few months back, Mike and I got together and shot a nonsensical short video with some random puppets I own. I finally finished editing the thing. You can witness the result at one of the following locations:
El Sangre Rojo on Revver
El Sangre Rojo on Veoh
El Sangre Rojo on YouTube
Earlier this month, I spent a lot of time hiking to natural bodies of water and leaping off of various rocks into the pools. Malibu Creek State Park has a nice pool surrounded by canyon walls you can leap off ranging from 15-50 feet (more if you don’t value your life). My highest leap was about 35 feet. There is a photo in this set of a few guys leaping from about 50 feet. I’d like to give that a try eventually, but the somewhat shallow water and nearby rock scared me off.
Another spot we hit was the Punchbowls in Ojai. Another natural pool you can leap into. Somewhere near where we swam is a natural waterfall you can slide down. I definitely want to return and find that.
Today, Erika and I tried out something called orienteering, best described by Wikipedia as “a sport that combines racing with navigation using a map and compass.” Karl of Extreme Things set up the event and a number of us split into teams and trekked through a wilderness park seeking 13 digital markers hidden in a variety of locations and types of terrain. It was an enjoyable experience that I would love to expand upon by introducing more exciting elements—caves, raging rivers, rock-climbing, etc. Apparently there is a 24-hour Orienteering event. That could be something worth checking out.
Here are a couple of other music videos I worked on earlier in the year.
These are work related. There are two more in the wings.
They should be online within the next two months.
Earlier this year I worked on a music video for a band called Winds of Plague. The song is called The Impaler. It was directed by Jacob Avignone and Tony Ushino. I composited the last half of the video. I think you’ll be able to tell where the stuff I worked on starts without me specifying the exact time-code. Watch The Impaler Video Here.
I’m back from Louisiana and Florida.
All went well on the return except for the ants that are trying to infest our freezer.
I’ve been relatively silent for the last couple of months.
Thus, it’s time to play catch-up.
Here is what has been going on between April and the present.
I have often said that once genetic splicing attains maturity I want a prehensile tail and monkey-hand-feet grafted to my DNA. I like to climb things. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. Thus, the Extreme Things rock-hop through Malibu Creek State Park was an event I eagerly anticipated.
We headed into the park, leapt a fence, and hopped our way across huge boulders and streams. Karl’s description read: “Surrounded by picturesque hills, forests, and sheer rocky cliffs, our route will follow a canyon stream in the heart of Malibu Creek State Park, accessing areas that are almost never frequented by hikers. This off-trail adventure will include rock hopping, scrambling on all fours (relying on both legs and arms for support), and traversing over low angled rock face above 10-feet deep water (no current).” His description was accurate and encompasses how we spent a few hours. During the rock-face traverse, I lost my grip and fell into the water, as did a few others. It felt great. At the end of the trek, we were welcomed by a enclosed pond where we will return in July for the annual “pool” party. There was one unforeseen ocurrence unfortunately. During a staggered scramble down a steep slope, a loose rock bashed open the finger of a guest. She was a hell of a trooper. Karl bandaged her finger and she continued on with nary a complaint. Later she would need stitches and discover her finger was broken. Despite this, she is recommending the club to others because she had such a great time. Climbing rocks is so fun, even a bashed up finger won’t stop some people.
I’ve been relatively silent for the last couple of months.
Thus, it’s time to play catch-up.
Here is what has been going on between April and the present.
I had been looking forward to May 31st for a long time. Canyoneering (also called Canyoning) is a sport involving technical descents into canyons. Karl, of Extreme Things organized an introduction to the sport for a few of us to try. In our case, Canyoneering would mean rappelling down waterfalls ranging in height from 15 feet to 90 feet.
We met our guides that Saturday morning and headed towards Mount Baldy. For the next six or so hours, we would make our way down 6 waterfalls, each with its own personality. Rappelling is an exciting sport for a variety of reasons. You must fight some of your natural survival instincts. Each descent begins with a backwards walk over the edge of a cliffside. You stand at roughly 90 degrees pushing yourself away from the mountainside. Your only support is a rope sliding between your hands and safety gear. Your body naturally wants to collapse and pull itself towards the cliffside. You have to fight that urge, otherwise your descent will be highly uncomfortable and difficult.
The views were beautiful. The rappels were exciting, often frightening. The water was ice-cold. Our third descent brought us beneath a torrent of frigid falling water. It was exhilarating, disorienting, cold, and scary. It was a triumph, the sort of activity that teaches you about yourself and boosts your confidence. Erika had difficulty with the first two rappels. This one was the most treacherous—90 feet through an ice-cold waterfall. She was scared, reluctant. After conquering it, her morale soared and she started to really enjoy herself. Three more falls to go, a dropping Sun, and dropping temperatures. We were all looking forward to them.
We would end the day cold and drenched.
I can’t wait to do it again.
