Split Borders is a 360° video that was shot on the San Diego/Tijuana border. Directed by David Kano, and shot/edited by myself. We wanted to show what it was like being just a few feet away from the United Stares/Mexico border and how different the two sides are. While we were there, we were approached by a Border Patrol agent who seemed to think we were trying to set him up. It was an odd standoff situation that started our day of filming in a bizarre manner.
San Diego 360°
This is a 360° video. It may or may not work for you depending on what device you're watching it from. On your mobile device if you copy and paste the following link into the YouTube search bar you should be able to playback the video correctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhUnr-uucEY
In this San Diego 360° video you can go on a virtual tour to many of San Diego's Historic Landmarks and tourist locations. Enjoy!
Ray Roman 360° Tabata WOD
Checkout this 360 degree video I recorded, edited, and of course worked out in. It was tough to do all of these back to back with a 5 minute break in-between. I was gassed but in order to be able to capture all angles it had to be done. Due to the current state of technology the 360° video will only be viewable on select desktop browsers and devices.
Filmmakers Try the NEW VHS Camcorder App by Rarevision!
Last week I experimented with the new 'VHS Camcorder' app. by Rarevision. It's a fun app. to use for the old school VHS nostalgic look. I want to thank No Film School for sharing my video on their blog! I'm currently on vacation visiting family in Texas and spontaneously put this video together of my grandparents who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to their anniversary party -- but this is my gift to them and I'm glad they enjoyed watching it! If you have a moment check it out, and don't forget to download the app. and experiment for yourself. Have fun!
Using Snapchat to Create Short Films
Ever since Snapchat created the 'My Story' feature I have used the mobile app to create on the fly made up short stories, as well as what most people use the app for which is capturing what they're doing at that moment in their lives. Recently the app allows you to download your story, instead of these great moments disappearing into thin air - which we know isn't entirely true since essentially what gets posted to the internet stays on the internet or in some database somewhere. Just last week Snapchat now allows you to record your videos while the music on your phone continues to play, whereas before if you were listening to music it would stop the music while you hold down the record button. I've wanted this feature for so long and glad it's finally possible to incorporate audio playing from your phone in your Snapchat videos. I took the short film idea a step further when this was made possible and made a little short film titled 'The Unknown' being that I had no idea what kind of story I was going to create, again I was just creating on the fly.
Below is a trailer I made of my Snapchat story I downloaded, and posted it to Instagram to lead more friends to follow me on Snapchat as well.
I've previously wrote about using the in-camera editing technique with 8mm film, Vine, and now the same thing is possible with Snapchat, minus the time limitations that Vine gives you. I think with the capabilities these apps provide, it could help beginning filmmakers learn the basics of filmmaking, or even turn someone onto becoming a filmmaker if they learn to love creating stories to tell their friends in a creative way. However, I know most people aren't using Snapchat "creatively", but for those who are it's interesting to see what the possibilities are for the future of filmmaking.
Personally, I've been using these apps to tell short stories, create highlight videos, or as a trailer to lead people onto seeing the full video (as seen above). For the most part I've been using Instagram to create highlight videos also known as "montage sequences" of family events. Anybody can create a montage these days, especially with apps such as Flipagram, or FlipClip but I believe there's an art to it that most people don't realize. Sure you can upload your photos into these apps, add some music and your on your way to posting your own montage, but to personally create your own montage there's a lot more that goes into to really create a feeling that gets across to the viewer. As an editor I try to lead the eye of the viewer through the choices I make of what clips should go together, where to make the cuts, what transition to create, and most importantly what music to use to drive the montage. For me it's a great exercise to create these short 15 second montage sequences for Instagram, and it's also nice to have these mini-highlight reels of a family event to look back on later on in life. I know a lot of people have old home movies that they never go back and watch, who really has the time? But when you have the capabilites that technology offers you today, and the apps to help showcase these moments, why not take advantage and create these short videos in the most entertaining way possible?
Below is one of my recent highlight videos, if you'd like to watch more follow me on Instagram/Snapchat @RaymondRoman and search under the hashtag #RayRomanVideo for more edited videos.
Yancy Medeiros prepared for any opponent at UFC 172
Watch the full lead-up video I edited of Yancy Medeiros preparing for his fight at UFC 172 here. Medeiros was originally set to fight Joe Ellenberger on the UFC 172 undercard, but due to an injury withdrawal of Bobby Green; Medeiros will fight Jim Miller on the main card of the PPV event.
Vine Killer: Video for Instagram
The rumor was true! Yesterday Instagram released the new update where you can now post short videos. The difference between Instagram Video and Vine is you can post 15 second videos on Instagram compared to the 6 second limitation on Vine. You can choose between 13 custom filters on Instagram, and add a cover frame that people will see when scrolling down their feed. Also, there’s pretty much a “takes” feature that I suggested previously maybe it’s something Vine should incorporate. Personally I kind of like the limitations on Vine, I think it forces people to be more creative. However, I like the options Instagram brings to the table. I think it's exactly what Vine could have been. The only thing I dislike about it is the 15 seconds because of the loading time on mobile devices. I think 10 seconds would be a perfect amount of time to make something creative. Then again most people on Instagram aren't posting from a creative perspective. I was excited when Vine came out because most people were posting creative video skits, and now I wonder if the same idea will crossover to Instagram videos? For the most part I doubt it will because in recent months I've noticed my Instagram friends sign up for Vine and many of them have flooded the Vine feed with boring, everyday bits of video clips. These are the same people who might post 3+ photos, or 3+ photos of the same situation on Instagram. You know, the kind of people you want to unfollow but don't because they're your friends. I'm going to continue to use Vine because I find it's a more creative community, but I will also use Instagram for skits I can't fit within 6 seconds on Vine. I've already noticed some friends of mine use the Instagram Video in good and bad ways. I don't mind seeing random video clips of ones life if it's recorded nicely, they can almost be like a moving photograph. It's the videos horribly mashed together with no composition that I dislike. I must remember these videos are from people who have no basic knowledge for photography or video editing, so how can I expect them to frame a shot and successfully use in-camera editing? I really do wish they tone it down a bit with the excessive posting though.