RED Demo Now in Progress... catch a sneak peek

This week, we're working on a compilation of RED ONE footage shot over the past few months in several locales stateside and abroad; from Cape Cod to Las Vegas to Africa, and back home to the hills of western Massachusetts.

What you'll see here is very much a work in progress, as much of Mark Archer's footage from Mount Kilimanjaro has not yet been included. Stay tuned for the final version this fall.



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Dispatches from Africa #2: Lake Natron, Flamingoes, and the Grugrux King

This shallow salt lake is famous for its pink color and an incredible amount of flamingoes: A perfect breeding ground, Lake Natron is host to 2.5 million of the distinctive pink birds that live in the Great Rift Valley.

My Masai friend Thomas did a great job of sneaking close to the birds and waiting until I gave him the signal. Some other members of the team offered some blockage from the persistent wind oscillating the camera on what was never a perfect tripod. But once I had the RED ONE set up with a lens filled with birds, and the 4k sensor set for 120 frames per second, I was ready.

I gave Thomas the signal, he scared up the flock, and filled my frame with so many birds that I knew it was going to be an amazing, surreal shot.

Two out of three rubber tripod-leg caps decided to stay in the mud afterward, and were plucked out by Thomas. I would have liked to stay on the water's edge, following the birds and getting more shots. But with the RED on my back and the eight-person Land Rover looking smaller than a Matchbox, I got walking. Not before putting on the album I finally remembered I had on my iPhone, though: the Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey & The Grugrux King.

You know how music often becomes associated with trips? Our finished film will be filled with such music; from orphans to Masai Warriors, organized groups of dancers to an impromptu a capella treat by the porters on Kilimanjaro.

But I will also forever link DMB to my trip. It's One Sweet World!

More later,
Mark

Dispatches from Africa #1: Kilimanjaro: First Look Back

The first in a series of entries by Mark from the filming trip to Tanzania

This is one huge mountain!

I was mostly concerned with getting down, so I did not get a picture until this shot, somewhere around 14,000 feet. This is also the point at which I started to feel a little bit like I was going to live!

Although only seven weeks post-surgery, it was not my hernia that kept me from the peak of Africa's tallest mountain, but the altitude itself. Of course, I knew I had a battle going in ... my tallest training hike was only about 2,000 feet. And sometimes, the mountain just wins.

Still, all is well. I went to Africa and climbed higher than any mountain in the lower 48 states! and, most importantly, I made it down under my own power. The rest of the story, is a long one. Many photos, posts and video to come.

Jambo, Mark

Equipment Check, Mt. Holyoke Range

View past episodes here:

Part 2 Film Training

Part 1 Cardio Training

Lest we forget the filming...

In addition to plenty of cardio workouts, some training with the RED camera - both filming with it and lugging it around - was in order. Here is a snippet of the work we did on Cape Cod this month - special thanks to Cape-based band Earth Junior, who provided the soundtrack.

No Turning Back Now, Archer.

Mark's flight information for his trip to Africa to film Mt. Kilmanjaro with the RED ONE camera just came in. There it is, in black and white. Time to go big!

Shooting Mt. Kilimanjaro on the RED Digital Cinema Camera

Mark needs to ski, run, hike, walk, and weight train - not to mention practice doing all of the above while shooting with a 25 pound RED Digital Cinema Camera - for his trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in June, to shoot footage for Del Padre's ongoing work with the National Science Foundation's STEPS project. As the date of departure approaches, we thought we'd share some of the more entertaining moments from this training journey (which, incidentally, included Mark's last cigarette on Thanksgiving morning).

Here's snippet #1, featuring Mark and Del Padre's communications manager (and Mark's wife) Jaclyn. She's just happy to be here.

More to follow.