On Friday I received the Sony Xperia Z5 compact and so went to film some cows coming down from the mountains at 4K resolution using the H265 Video codec. I then found out that none of my current editing solutions accept H265. For this reason I spent the next day getting beauty shots of Nyon, handheld and in full automatic. From the variety of scenes above you can see where the camera is well suited and where it struggled.
Autumn is here and the leaves are turning. It is a good opportunity to go out and take video and photographs of trees and their red and brown leaves. This was shot with the Sony Xperia Z3. Image stabilisation was on. The mobile phone is so light, and the resolution so high that hand held shots are unrealistic. A tripod, monopod or other tool is needed to stabilise the camera. Sony has developed new technology which should help with image stabilisation.
“If you were young and healthy and if they needed labour then you were selected as slave labour. You would have suffered a slow death rather than a fast one”. This soundbite is 13 minutes in. In this documentary a concentration camp survivor takes two girls who are the age she was when she arrived through the camp and tells them about her experiences. We owe it to future generations to keep re-sharing these accounts and documentaries to prevent such actions from ever happening again.
In December I filmed some events at a staff party in 4K and never did anything with that footage because it was a private event. Two or three days ago I went to Geneva with the Sony Xperia Z3 compact and filmed some street scenes as well as the locks closing and transferring a small boat from the Rhone to the Lac Léman. I look forward to seeing what the Sony Xperia Z5 compact can do.
We have seen videos of people slacklining and we have seen videos of people mountainbiking but having a video where we see people slacklining on a bike is less common. This video shows us some beautiful landscapes with cycling somewhere in shot before descending the mountain towards a slackline and crossing. Kenny Belaey managed the feat. The images are impressive and what makes this edit stand out from others is the way in which we can hear the breathing of the athlete.
The three common forms of climbing are Rock, climbing, via ferrata and bouldering. Rock climbing is an excellent and amusing sport that requires living in the right place, having the right equipment and knowing the right people. I enjoy the sport but have not found a group to go with. Via Ferrata as I love to call it is Rock climbing for tourists. The equipments and routes are set out and prepared so that those with the correct experience, head for heights and equipments can explore the landscape in an interesting and dynamic fashion.
The Barrière de l’Esseillon are a line of fortifications two hundred years old and capable of holding two thousand soldiers in total.The fort Victor-Emmanuel is still standing and in it’s day could hold up to one thousand five hundred troops. This fort overlooks the via Ferrata. Some drone shots of the region in winter The Via Ferata du Diable is a series of via ferrata routes located around a bridge called Le Pont du Diable (Bridge of the Devil) which crosses the river L’arc (The Bow).
[caption id=“attachment_2556” align=“aligncenter” width=“660”] A chamois silhouetted against the clouds up at la Dole[/caption] When the weather is cold and grey as it is today people are not tempted by a walk in the mountains. Chamois at la Dôle are more relaxed, especially up at La Dôle. They are hidden by the clouds and if humans are coming then they will smell them long before we get to see them. On Friday of last week we were lucky.
One evening this week I was walking in the countryside at the foot of the Jura enjoying the evening when I walked by a couple. They were sitting on a bench looking across some fields towards the Mont Blanc, the Alps and of course the Lac Léman. Leaning against the bench were two e-bikes with good suspension. It made me think about retirement and free time. It encouraged me to think about the freedom and pleasure of exploring the landscape on a bike without having to make the same effort as if you were on a conventional bike.
The French have an interesting history of documentary film. Jean Rouch explored social questions with his film Chronique d’un été, a revolutionary film at the time because of the tech that they used. The Cinéma Eclair and crystal sound sync. A few decades later Yann Arthus-Bertrand is following in Jean Rouch’s footsteps with a net cast far wider. Instead of Paris and France we see interviews with people from around the world.