My American Scorpion Documentary

[Nomadinexile]

O.K. So It's looking more and more like I'm gonna be hitting the road again. I am going to probably be going to a little spot I know where I might be able to find some work for a while. Hoping to be able to get a decent video camera and some extra batteries out of it. Then, hitch-hiking maybe olympic park down coast, thru desert, down to the keys in florida. I could probably video 40+ species on the way. Do a little edumacation. Of course, wouldn't be giving out to detailed of locations for scorps. And would be more from a nature doc/road trip movie than a "how to hunt". Anyone have any suggestions for me? I have hitched over 200,000 miles in the united states. So... Not worried about that. More what kind of stuff should I film that you would want to see. Or, what kind of camera I should get. Or, should I bring a spot light. (I know more about hitch-hiking than filming).


So, yeah, It may not be award winning or anything. But its going to be fun, copyright free, and should provide some nice footage that most won't get to see. So fire away..... Thanks! Ryan

P.S. When time comes around, I may ask some of you to meet me on your turf, teach us about your local species!

 

[pandinus]

try doing a search for documentary in this forum, there are many who have started such products, but never finished and im sure you could probably contact them and see about using some of the resources/film they may have collected. come through my way and ill teach you a thing or two about mesic vittatus



John

 

[Nomadinexile]

Thanks for the help! I won't be using film though. I am going to be carrying as little as possible. All digital. I can get a nice HD vid cam and either a portable hard drive or I am going to have to Unload footage online somewhere until trip is over and I can work on editing. (Unless I can pull a macbook out of nowhere, as well as cam, between here and there.) Possible though. Are there Macro Video cameras? *That you don't have to be CNN to afford.

(I want thousands of hours of footage to work with, I couldn't carry that much film! Never mind the camera and water!)

If I make it to kansas, I will expect that lesson!

 

[Nomadinexile]

Hmm, I didn't find much searching.....

Anyone have any suggestions as far as cinematography goes? I have only taken point and shoot pictures. My camera has to be in macro to see most of my scorps. How will that relate to video cameras? (small subjects)

Also, anyone have any experience shooting small objects with Black light on Digital Video????

Hmmmmm..... This is gonna be fun.

If everything goes right, I should have all the time in the world. I can set up nice panorama's with sunset---------blacklight on.... scorps come out....film all night (run film 10x speed)----sun up......

It's gonna be good. I'm not just going to film me yapping about them!
Again, it's not going to be filmed in IMAX or anything. Probably not going to every see a big screen.... But I want to make something nice for the world.
A little gift.

 

[Aztek]

Just get a tripod and a camera with zoom.

Don't do all the explaining while recording, go ahead and add narraration seperatley incase you mess up or have to go back to remember a species name.

Add the specie name in the screen when they are introduced.

Maybe you can add a bonus chapter or something filming some scorpions from people on here(or yours) that aren't native to the U.S.

 

[Nomadinexile]

Thanks man, good ideas. I am afraid that I am going to have to sell everything I own here soon though.(when I say hit the road, I mean live on it. With a backpack.) I won't have any. But, I do see myself going back to some peoples houses for interviews, and to film hobbyist and their exotics. Maybe have a mini-movie "the Hobby"???? I don't think it's just going to be wild U.S. footage though. I'm thinking half croc hunter/ journey man pictures// half "on the road" jack k. / road trip. I want footage of gutter punks tattooed and pierced head to toe squirming when I hold one in front of them. I want footage of the ocean crashing into the coast off big sur. Maybe some footage of hitch-hiking to these spots. Border Patrol questioning, etc. If I can make it work, I will take it overseas next.
What I really need I guess, is tons and tons of footage to work with. And I am going to need some help. Hmmm But I want some americana in there too!

Oh, and I can try and narrate as I go and edit it later if it's weak right?

Just get a tripod and a camera with zoom.

Don't do all the explaining while recording, go ahead and add narraration seperatley incase you mess up or have to go back to remember a species name.

Add the specie name in the screen when they are introduced.

Maybe you can add a bonus chapter or something filming some scorpions from people on here(or yours) that aren't native to the U.S.

 

[Nomadinexile]

It's still in pre-pre-pre production stage. So... If you have any other ideas, please let me know. I could just do a pbs style doc, but I want it to be fun, funny, exciting, interesting. I want it to be awesome. It's going to center around scorpions. Majority of it should be scorpions. But I want to mix it up a little bit too.

 

[Nomadinexile]

I want it to be the most watched movie of all time. Come on, ya'll got something for me don't ya? It's gonna be bad. I think I can get some dj's to spin a soundtrack. Footage all across the country. High def. Ohhhhh, I have got to get on getting a camera.... this is gonna be good...

Ouch, the camera I want is $12,000. I'm gonna have to work hard. Or maybe I don't get the professional camcorder with wide angle lens. we'll see.

 

[Galapoheros]

I can barely comprehend that adventure. Have you read Peter Jenkins "A Walk Across America"? Sounds close to that but he wrote the book with a few pics, no vid. I recommend reading that book before you go if you haven't read it before. It might help you to organize and fine tune an approach. I'd just use common sense when filming/vid (some people still use the word "film" for any video taken). I'd try to take vid of what is interesting to you, if it's interesting to you, it probably will be to other people. Take hours and hours of vid, you can always cut stuff out but you can't add stuff if it's not there. Maybe you could have the camera out all the time some way, maybe around your neck(?) Because by the time you dig it out of the pack, it could be too late. I don't even have a vid camera, just a point and shoot with rough, short vid capability, but I think you will need to buy a bunch of extra memory cards for the vid camera. They are real small, about the size of a quarter I think.

 

[Nomadinexile]

I spent a decade+ traveling around the U.S. and had a bunch of adventures. Everyone always says "write a book", but honestly, I try to stay busy living. This way, I can "write" part of my story while I live it. But in a much different way. I don't want this too be my story. I want it to be a glimpse of America. Told through our scorpions and my travels to see them. The images and sounds are so fantastic that I can't possibly describe them all in words. I would rather just go and record them. I want this to be a highly watched movie. Once done it's going out with an Anti-Copyright and I want to make something that the whole world will want to watch. It's gonna be about the natural world, scorpions, and us.

Yeah, It's the memory and power that is going to be the toughest part. I am reading up right now on stuff along those lines. I think I am going to have to have a good amount of storage with me, and netbook. Then, when I get somewhere with wi-fi, I dump all my stuff on online storage???? I could also get a huge hard drive and carry it around. But I want to film 8+ hours a day for months. I am also planning on hooking up solar panels to a dc battery charger that will go on my backpack so I can juice why I walk. OH, and if I can, it's gonna be high-def, so files will be huge.

(when I go walking in the desert, I usually carry around 4 gallons of water If there are plans for an overnight. You can see where weight and storage becomes and issue real fast.)

thanks for help and ideas!

 

[Kathy]

Nomad, what an exciting adventure. I know I will be anxious to see the end result!

 

[Nomadinexile]

Thanks kathy. I still have some things to do, and even more to figure out before I go, but incase you are super banned at the time or something, I will take it.

 

[DireWolf0384]

Good luck! Can't wait to watch a Documentary dedicated to American Scorpions!

 

[Nomadinexile]

Well if there are any species you will really want to see in wild, let me know.
I will of course have all the obvious ones. I think I will get 3/4 of american species on film. Some more than others though. If there are any with extremely peculiar habitats/behaviors that you hear about, pass them on. I am going to get reddelli cave footage, maybe some footage in the superstition mtns. I don't know.... There is so much to think about. And so much to do to get there.

Good luck! Can't wait to watch a Documentary dedicated to American Scorpions!