Full version - Exploring my 5km limitation
3-part video, complete release.
This is the complete version of the 3-part short video series and I think it actually works better as an all-in-one release. I am also including the story behind this series below the video.
Behind the scenes of this series
This short video series and its content initially felt like somewhat of a deviation to my Vlog content, away from videos about West Cork locations or activities. Maybe it was the impact of being confined to a 5km radius from home for much of last year and the start of this year, but I realised that I had a choice: I had started West Cork Discovered at the start of the first lockdown back in March 2020 and thought I would use the time to come up with a plan and lists of places and adventures I wanted to feature as soon as restrictions were lifted. But then, that didn’t really happen and it was lockdown 2…and then lockdown 3…and here we are. So, one option was to pause the venture and get back to the original mission when things got back to “normal”. But then it started to become clear that this wouldn’t be a short-term situation and that there might not be a back to normal.
The other option was to re-think and find ways to create content within my physical limitation. So, I started thinking of a concept that would allow me to work within a small radius around Rosscarberry and Leap, within 5km of where I live. That’s when the idea of the “Exploring my 5km limitation” series came about. With everything Covid-19 related that was and is going on I didn’t feel doing a Vlog on locations surrounding me was appropriate. It felt too much like; “hey, maybe in a few years you can come here”…so, I started thinking - what could a different style of video look and sound like.
I started exploring the idea of a slower paced, more reflective video with a voice-over narration. Something that also captured the mood of the time whilst being positive. But to be honest, I just didn’t feel I had the skills yet to pull that off. Also, I knew that if I wanted these every-day locations to look somewhat cinematic, I needed to think differently about how I shoot video and take photos.
I settled on the concept of trying to answer this question: “What can I find in my everyday surroundings in 1 day, if I thought differently about them…if I looked closer?”
So, I took to google maps, measured distances and tried to identify 3 spots that would be very different and where I could leverage a sunrise in one location and a sunset in another and where the third would work in the middle of the day. I settled on Warren Strand in Rosscarberry for sunrise, on a forest area near Leap for midday and a small random Lake also near Leap, which I thought might work well at sunset. Being positioned between Leap and Rosscarberry, both were in reach. Whilst each episode is about 4 minutes of finished production, shooting time for the footage for each episode was around 3-3.5 hours per location. It was going to be super tight seen the day only has about 10 hours of daylight that time of year.
I knew it would be easier to shoot it over a few days as particularly at sunrise and sunset the light changes very quickly and I would need a very solid plan for the scenes or I would not be able to fit it in the window of time I had. But I was adamant for the authenticity of the story that it is shot in 1 day on 3 locations, back to back. I also knew I would have to work on my own so I would have to fly the drone, shoot b-roll video and take photos by myself within that time-window. Also, I knew that if the last episode at the Lake for some reason didn’t work that day, I would re-do the whole thing from start.
Well, after the 4th failed attempt I was serious questioning my sanity... Luckily each time it didn’t workout, it was on the first location at sunrise and I was back home by 9am to warm up and regain feelings in my hands.
However, on the fifth day, I knew I was onto something special when I realised after arriving at Warren Strand that finally, what I was hoping for materialised…mist over the breaking waves along the cliffs and a sky that suggested a magnificent sunrise. It was very very cold, but so perfect. After that, things started to flow and come together very organically. I eve had time in between scenes to nip home for a quick hot coffee.
I must admit, the part I was most nervous about was the Lake because I really had no idea if the sunset would do what I thought it might do to the colours of the surroundings. There is really nothing spectacular about this Lake normally, but I was totally blown away when I arrived and the light started to change and it was as if the sky just pulled a blanked of warm, velvet red/pink/purple light over the whole scene. I actually ended up not colour grading those clips at all - I left them straight out of the camera.
I waited a few weeks before starting on the editing as I wanted to think about the narration and the music for this production. I wanted it to be contemplative without being sad and most of all I wanted it to be very authentic and a reflection of my own thoughts and feelings about my surroundings, the time we live in and what I am learning from it.
I initially released it over 3 weeks in 3 parts. Now, I have re-edited it as a complete release and I actually think it works better in terms of telling the story of what I have learnt from this day.
Yes, I wish I could have spent the past nearly year now exploring lots of amazing places around West Cork and sharing them with you. But the good news is, I still have that list and all going well, perhaps later this year or next year, I will get out there and get to them. But for now, I have really never been luckier to live in this amazing part of the world. My daughter, my fiancée and I continue to try and find new “adventure walks” as we call them within our immediate surroundings and we find new little spots all the time that we haven’t seen before. Suddenly, a small and unspectacular little waterfall you accidentally find, becomes so much more.
I feel I have answered the question I asked myself when I went out: “What can I find in my everyday surroundings in 1 day, if I thought differently about them…if I looked closer?”
The answer I found was: “More than I could have ever imagined, but only if I changed my mindset!”
Warmest Wishes from West Cork,
Michel
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