Hi Folks!

I was quite busy lately, that's why it was rather quiet around here. When already spending a huge amount of time in front of a screen workwise, I always try to get away from it in my spare time. Lots of things were going on and future is looking good though I'm not 100% sure were it's heading :)

With this blog entry I want to present you guys a personal project I was working on the last few months. It took so long because I always had to do other stuff/work/travels inbetween. Yeah, I'm talking about our little Indonesia trip movie. Some of you remember that Luke and I spent two awesome months somewhere in Indonesia last summer. And this is our little baby. I cant wait to watch this stuff in 20 or 30 years! Haha! Or just showing it my grandchildren sometime...
Since this trip I traveled already to Puerto Rico, Australia & Portugal, just another reason why this took me some time ;)

Check it out:
As always I recommend downloading the source file directly from the Vimeo page for the best viewing pleasure (quality). For some reason it looks darker as it actually is on the Vimeo flash player. Unfortunately there is still some banding going on (due to compression process) on the h264 file too. Finding the perfect balance between size & quality with a 30min 720p file is not the easiest thing ;)

Selamat Jalan, Indonesia 2010 from Roman Königshofer | rawmeyn on Vimeo.

It's challenging to do all of the filming on your own on a surftrip. It's a constant battle between your two passions, surfing and shooting. And furthermore between shooting video and/or photo. Often I'd love to shoot both at the same time. But this isn't going to work out and you constantly have to decide for one side. It was definitely a learning experience. I missed to shoot some of the best waves I have seen in my life due to trying to build up the perfect setup (sadly I have that perfectionism in me when it comes to capturing pictures, so I brought a little slider to this journey which I used exactly two times in two months, haha!) or because I was just too busy surfing ;)
Putting your movie together at home is a long process too and can get overwhelming at times. And time is limited due to making money (aka work) and living on a life... And it takes even longer with travel movies like this were you don't know what you will get. So there was no script to follow just rough outlines of some ideas. I'm stoked on the outcome though - a great memory!

I just created a facebook page too, so if you liked the movie maybe like it too and get more information about upcoming projects.

Some tech info:
Everything was shot on two GoPro HD cameras and my tiny Panasonic GH-1 (traveling as light as possible). But the big bummer was that the firmware update for the GoPros wasn't released already. As a consequence we had to deal with lots of fog in the waterhousing all the time. A big amount of the footage was just not useable (we also had no Anti-Fog Inserts). An annoying thing which resulted in just letting the camera at home very often. GoPro added the One-Button-Mode with a firmware update in 2011, exactly what we would have needed in Indonesia. It keeps the running time at a minimum and prevents to produce heat inside the housing. The next thing was that we were limited to capture everything in 30/60fps NTSC, but the final movie output is 25fps PAL. This didn't make things easier. Also GoPro's LCD Bacpac wasn't released already, so I never saw anything I was shooting...
At this time, around June 2010, the GH-1 firmware hack was pretty fresh and I didn't trust it already. I was afraid blowing up my camera just right before we were leaving. So I didn't install it. Afterwards I wished I had! The quality of the footage of a GH-1[3] (a hacked GH-1) is just so much better. Anyway...
I brought the kit lens (a slow 14-140mm) and two fast primes (the Lumix 20mm f1.7 pancake & a Canon FD 50mm f1.4) but I guess I was shooting 80% with the pancake lens on land.

All the footage was converted to ProRes (LT). The rough edit was done in Final Cut Pro. Then I brought everything into After Effects and did some speed adjustments, masking and the color correction. You are so limited with the footage coming out of these cameras, but I tried my best to let it shine. I denoised some of the dark GoPro shots and did all the color adjustments and the whole render (as a *.tiff sequence) in 32bpc (linear color workflow).

What did I learn from this? I learned that I suck in voice overs! Ha... I bet you had a laugh too. And I have miles to learn in audio postproduction or just work together with an audio guru next time :)

Thanks for watching and reading till this stage, seems like you are really interested ;) I hope the movie arouse some wanderlust deep in you...

Feel free to share it if you liked it! Would be awesome to reach loads of people from all over the world!

High 5!
Roman

A must see. What is this about?


COMUNE // SPRING BREAK from COMUИE on Vimeo.

springbreaksnowboards.com

I just saw this on korduroy.tv and felt like sharing it.
Check out the interview with filmmaker Pierce Kavanagh.


MANUFACTURING STOKE from misfit pictures on Vimeo.

manufacturingstoke.com

Breathtaking journey by Johnny Abegg. This is so good! I love it!


Two Weeks... An experience by Johnny Abegg (film) from Johnny Abegg Films on Vimeo.

This is the 20min 'Directors Cut' of Johnny Abegg's film 'Two Weeks', an online film premier presented by Patagonia.

For more details visit:
www.twoweeksfilm.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/twoweeksfilm
www.patagonia.com.au

Two Weeks has been applauded for it’s honesty and insight into the world of Abegg, for a bold attempt to capture the thoughts and realisations whilst being alone in the Tasmanian wilderness, during a period of unhappiness and confusion on approach to his 29th birthday. “Those two weeks alone in the wilderness were the toughest, yet most rewarding of my life”, Johnny says. “I hope through my testing experience, it allows others to see themselves through me, and realise they too are not alone in this world.”

Splinters is the first feature-length documentary film about the evolution of indigenous surfing in the developing nation of Papua New Guinea. In the 1980s an intrepid Australian pilot left behind a surfboard in the seaside village of Vanimo. Twenty years on, surfing is not only a pillar of village life but also a means to prestige. With no access to economic or educational advancement, let alone running water and power, village life is hermetic. A spot on the Papua New Guinea national surfing team is the way to see the wider world; the only way.


SPLINTERS Teaser from splinters on Vimeo.

Read the interview with director Adam Pesce over at surfline.com.
Official site: splintersmovie.com

Hi Folks,

I'm off to the south of Portugal for the next two weeks watching sunsets with my girl, eating good food and catching some waves :)
The Indo tripmovie edit is done. But I didn't manage to finish the color correction yet. So you guys have to wait approximately three more weeks until I can show you this little baby... until then enjoy your time!

Cheers!

Arrifana, Algarve.

Photo via Google picture search.

I love this! Can't wait to see the whole thing!


"BUI MAREUREU BAAP as worlds divide" - FILM TRAILER from AS WORLDS DIVIDE on Vimeo.

www.asworldsdivide.com
www.facebook.com/asworldsdivide
The trailer for the documentary film BUI MAREUREU BAAP as worlds divide.

What comparisons can be made between modern-day survival methods and that of an Indigenous hunter-gatherer tribe? Have our most treasured assets changed, and key values been forgotten throughout our evolution?

The documentary film BUI MAREUREU BAAP as worlds divide challenges these questions and provokes thought pertaining to our own judicious path, as we watch filmmaker, Rob, confronted by a growing uncertainty for survival in a rapidly-changing modern environment, abandon his steady job and city-lifestyle and embark on a solo journey to a foreign land, into the unknown.

In a venture steeped in philosophical enlightenment, Rob, guided merely by survival instinct, stumbles upon a civilization that has survived independent of the outside world for thousands of years through placing inviolable importance upon the basic fundamentals that would then ensure its very existence. Inspired by this logic, it’s here, in a hunter-gatherer society of Mentawai tribes that Rob finds himself living alone for almost a year.

Throughout this tale of one mans journey to another mans land we bare witness to intriguing discovery, and immense change, as Rob, wholeheartedly embracing this foreign way of life, overcomes the difficulties of adopting the native language, the knowledge of how to gather foods, the unearthing of survival tactics, cultural beliefs, traditions, taboos and values. Before finally, forced to question his own ideologies, torn between two worlds, Rob is faced with a challenge far greater than anything he’d ever experienced that would alter his life forever.

Australia, Work & Surf & Travel, March 2011, a set on Flickr.

I took my little Mju II loaded with some expired Konica VX100 with me to the Gold Coast a few weeks ago...

Alright, the boys are back in town! For quite some time already to be honest ;) Filming the Goldcoast ASP stopp was a great experience - again. I learn every time when traveling with those guys. Thanks Helli and Matthias for the sick trip! Can't wait for the next ;)
We got to know some nice new friends and ate thai food excessively. Great! Just the waves could have been a little bit better, but I'm not complaining! We caught some nice ones!

Helli & Parko


GoPro fun down under








More pictures on myFlickr.

Back in Austria I try to spent some last days on the mountains. Snow is melting fast... Good times anyway! Right now I also have some time to edit Indo2010 footage. Everyone is asking for the movie... I know it's about time but it also claims a massive amount of time doing it. Soon...

Oh and Red Bull finally set up a Surf Chronicles page: redbull.tv/Surf-Chronicles you will find all episodes there (right now headlines and episode are not matching sometimes, but I guess they will fix this asap).
Cheers!

The next few days gonna be fun for sure! I'm off to the Goldcoast until the mid of March. Working on this years first episode of Surf Cronicles with good friends! Be prepared for lots of new stuff coming!



The latest ASP news are that Mr. Slater is competing too. And I bet lots of eyes are on the tour rookie Julian Wilson! If you have seen his Indonesia section on his flick "Scratching the surface" you know that he is one of the most talented guys out there...

And for sure I'm gonna catch some waves too... can't wait! ;)

I want to see this.

A Dingo's tale tells the journey of a young boy who grew up in a violent and unstable environment but was saved by the ocean and surfed his way to the top of the world.
via velvetsea.tv

Add:
www.dingomorrison.com
Matt & Shagga's Blog - thanks for showing us around at the Gold Coast guys!