Greetings dear reader, as I choke and cough from all the dust in the air created by me brushing this thing off for the first time in a few months. It's been a fun and interesting time recently, as I've successfully found new ways to feed the chase passion that forever burns inside of me like a lantern that never runs out of kerosene.
In the wake of The Debris Show, which had a great run but slowly faded the past few years into virtually nothing, I decided it was time for me to create something new that I alone controlled. Despite the fact I loved doing TDS, over time I began to feel pressure to keep myself in check, because sometimes I can be a bit too over the top and the recoil comes down not only on me, but everyone associated with me. Also, my creative bursts hit when they hit, and when you're working with other people, scheduling conflicts can be a huge issue (and can also kill creative momentum). No, I needed something new, something simple, and something I could do whenever the fancy struck.
So I created a new thing on Ustream called simply "The Shane Adams Show." It was fun, and ended up being more popular than I anticipated. But after a month or so, I grew bored with it because it started feeling like TDS again....not what I wanted. I walked away from it, but the urge came screaming back to be on camera telling it like it is. I resisted, while waiting for someone else to take the torch. No one did, so eventually I decided to come back, but with a bit more thought put into each show. I didn't want to do Lewis Black type rants exclusively, because I'd done that to death and it gets old quickly, for both me and the audience. I had to find my groove.
The day I decided to come back and do a show was the same day I heard about Robin Williams. I remembered the movie "Dead Poets Society" and thought it sounded cool, so I changed "Poets" to "Chasers" and created a new show. Nobody has ever really asked where the title comes from, but since naming the show based on a Robin Williams movie, I've come to feel it has many other meanings. Mostly now I enjoy the title because I feel it somewhat invites controversy.
Ustream eventually failed me, by not notifying me I was running out of free storage space before simply stopping my live recordings, thus destroying my ability to archive. DCS has become a 95% archive driven show, so my inability to record live broadcasts was simply unacceptable. I slowly migrated the show over to Google Hangouts, which ended up being a great move. Popular platform, great reach, and easy to use. The show has done well, with an average of over 65 views per episode, which is close to what Debris used to hold throughout a 2-hour live broadcast in its heyday.
I've decided to start simplifying my website, partly because I'm lazy and will probably never get around to finishing all the novella-style chase summaries I've still yet to start from years past, but mostly because there's just too much content to keep up with the way I've been doing things. I hate writing chase summaries to begin with, so I tried to make them interesting in the "creative writing" style so as to entertain myself enough to keep me going. However, it's 2015 and I still have summaries from 1999-2003 that have never been written, as well as several more from recent seasons (2010-2013). I simply don't have the time or interest to keep writing detailed chase logs, complete with several embedded links, that few besides myself (while proof reading) will ever see.
I decided to start losing all the hyperlinks within the summaries themselves (an idea I stole from Doswell a decade ago), and just throw the images up on the same page with the text. The text itself will remain as is (after all, if I ditch the complicated reads for simplicity, I still have to re-write them all), although moving forward I may start scaling down the Stephen King type details and just stick to the whens, wheres, and whys. Time will tell on that.
Lastly, for the aesthetic angle, I've decided to do away with my long time color scheme of Passion Twist Purple Blue and Fuchsia. I've reverted back to my roots, back to what has always been my favorite color scheme - black and white. I can never lose the black backgrounds, as IMO those have always trumped anything on any website ever. I've received complaints over the years about how hard on the eyes my bright text on black is, so to eliminate that issue I'm opting for white and gray. Easy on the eyes, visually pleasing to me, and simple enough to not have to change ever again. The only motley shade I'm leaving will be the main Passion Twist purple banner at the top of the home page. Beyond that, I'll let the images themselves provide the color.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Baby It's Cold Outside (And I Love It)
It's cold outside. It's wet and gray and what most people would describe as "miserable." But I love it. I love an all-day cold, wet, grayfest where you never have to leave the house. You just sit inside and enjoy the warmth, good food, good wine (later), and take advantage of the fact you now have a ton of free time to catch up on some internet stuff. Like writing in your blog.
I actually laughed out loud when I first revisited this thing, well after our 2014 season had come to as unceremonious an end as the entire body had been, because of the title of one of my last entries: "A Return to Greatness?" Comical, perhaps ironic, that this post was followed by the single worst season of my chasing career. But it's good to be able to laugh at yourself. Besides, one good thing has come out of my recent lack of chasing production: the time for website, blog, youtube, and social media updates is aplenty.
There's been a lot happening in my tiny little chasing corner of the Universe. Website updates and changes, blog revamps, and a webshow on youtube. New things are coming down the pike, and it might be that I'll actually need this blog to provide updates to those things. So check in every so often for new offerings. If it's happening in my world and it's worthy of note, you'll know about it here. Thanks for reading.
I actually laughed out loud when I first revisited this thing, well after our 2014 season had come to as unceremonious an end as the entire body had been, because of the title of one of my last entries: "A Return to Greatness?" Comical, perhaps ironic, that this post was followed by the single worst season of my chasing career. But it's good to be able to laugh at yourself. Besides, one good thing has come out of my recent lack of chasing production: the time for website, blog, youtube, and social media updates is aplenty.
There's been a lot happening in my tiny little chasing corner of the Universe. Website updates and changes, blog revamps, and a webshow on youtube. New things are coming down the pike, and it might be that I'll actually need this blog to provide updates to those things. So check in every so often for new offerings. If it's happening in my world and it's worthy of note, you'll know about it here. Thanks for reading.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Video Review:"Full Circle"
Chaser Adam Lucio returns with his sophomore effort "Full Circle" consisting of his best chases from 2011-2013. Normally I like to write DVD reviews just after having sat down and watched one in its entirety, but I've been so busy that's been pretty much impossible this year. However, the chapters on this disc are so captivating and entertaining, they resonate with you. I watched the first third of the video a few weeks back, then a few days later the middle section. I only finished the DVD yesterday morning, and what a DVD it is.
The video begins with one of the best Fall setups in recent memory (November 7, 2011), and Adam & company take full advantage of the opportunity. What at first seems like a last chance desperation run, as their initial target busts and they race back east to catch up with an ongoing tornado, turns into one of the most enjoyable video segments I've ever watched on any DVD. They catch the first tornado as it begins the rope phase, and capture some great colors and contrast as it almost poses for them, having seemingly waited just long enough to offer them a sweet consolation prize. Before this one can completely die, the next one forms to their east. After waiting perhaps a bit too long while shooting the extended rope out of tornado number one (and when you see the video, you won't blame them), they break east for the ongoing multi-vortex and the chase is on.
What follows is a masterful job of getting back into position on the storm, with a multitude of tornadoes ranging from wispy ropes to massive wedges. What struck me most about this chapter were the colors. There's every type of tornado "mood" on this chapter, with beautiful, calm milky blues, grays, and whites. There are darker, brooding tornadoes that conjure up equal elements of envy and fear. And there are difficult tornadoes that play hide-n-seek within wrapping rain curtains, turbine farms, and even mountains. I found myself reliving some of my own Fall chases, as there's just something about Autumn tornado days that are different. My favorite chapter on the disc.
2012 is a quick-hitting, consolidated piece that showcases the brief highlights from a difficult year for Adam. Despite his troubles, a tornado intercept in Kentucky is an example of the dedication and (albeit it brief) success that dedication has produced, as he has no qualms about strapping in and going wherever the storms go, even for a momentary glimpse.
After the 2012 interlude, 2013 roars off the screen with the May 18 Rozel/Sanford tornadoes. Adam's video of the former reminds me of an old NOVA special, great contrast from a perfectly mid-range distance/angle. In some ways it reminds me of the 1979 Seymour, TX tornado that NSSL crews shot. In any case, it's a superb clip, followed by the encore tornado that ropes out to a brilliant pink as the day fades away. But Lucio's not done yet, as this is just the first of a tornado day hat trick. May 19 features some excellent close range positioning/strategy, as he and his group stay close to the action but never really put themselves in danger, while getting some chaotic but cool close up shots. The debris whirl in the field just southeast of them is excellent. Then comes May 20, and the vicious Moore, OK tornado. His crew find themselves on the wrong side of a river that keeps them from following the tornado, but before it escapes their view Adam gets some great video looking north at the tornado. Great contrast and boiling motions, as this monster roars in front of them, gradually vanishing behind a wall of rain. May 18-20 was a fantastic stretch for Adam, as this portion of the DVD confirms.
But then comes May 28 and the incredible Bennington, KS meandering wedge, a tornado so amazing, it will make you forget about Rozel for a while. The entire sequence is shot from one spot, on tripod, and features some of the most incredible rotation and motion I've ever seen on video or reality. The tornado cyclone itself (before the tornado) will have your jaw on the floor. And then it appears, the signature tornado of this DVD. A near-stationary, up to one-mile-wide, perfect contrast beast. Simultaneously deadly and wondrous, this tornado will have you mesmerized, a smooth-sided mammoth dancing over a lush green prairie foreground. The kind of video that forever transports those who were fortunate enough to witness it back to that incredible moment, and stabs the hearts of those who did not. Though this clip is not my favorite segment on the DVD, I think it's arguable the Bennington tornado is the signature tornado of Adam's career thus far.
Following this dose of sensory overload is May 31, which features a rare blunder/missed opportunity for Adam in 2013, as they position themselves out of play to view the historic El Reno wedge. However, they grab a nice consolation prize later in the day, with a brief but close encounter with a tornado in the town of Tuttle just before twilight. Adam is not lost on the tragic yet historic impact of this day despite not being on the El Reno tornado, as a nice tribute to the members of Twistex is included.
This would've been a wonderful ending to a fantastic DVD. But it's not done yet.
It's cool to score an Autumn tornado day and feature it on a DVD. But to have three of them, all on one disc, and two in the same year, is nothing short of downright impressive. Adam was on fire in May and that carried over into the Fall, beginning with a very close call with a wedge tornado near Wayne, NE. I've seen this clip a dozen times, and every time they drive north, even though I know they start backing up south to escape being hit, I find myself leaning forward, my pulse quickening, and my palms sweating, as I imagine myself in that scenario and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. I want to scream "Go south!!" at the screen every damn time. Adam eventually figures it out, just in the nick of time, and what ensues is a scary-close brush with a violent tornado. And it was a closer call than you might realize. I don't think they had 15 seconds more to make up their minds. For those who love close range, dramatic, escaping the tornado type video, you're gonna eat this up.
After what starts to seem like an endless stream of incredible tornado video, "Full Circle" finally does just that, culminating with the marquee tornado of the November 17 Midwest outbreak. Adam & crew find themselves with a large EF4 southwest of them, and as the twister begins to emerge from the rain, he sets himself up for a fantastic shot from north of the tornado, as it roars by to the south in excellent contrast. A farmstead in the foreground (that was not hit) as the huge tornado moves behind provides both an eerie feel and a great barometer for the sheer size of this animal. They eventually get overtaken by backside wrap around, as the tornado disappears back into the precip to their east. Later on they get a brief look at a distant white stovepipe, and the video fades to black.
After viewing this production, it's clear that Adam Lucio has staked a claim as one of chasing's new heavyweights, possessing a rare blend of desire, dedication, and skills necessary to excel. Note that I didn't include "resources" in the last statement, meaning that Adam doesn't have one major component most of today's most successful chasers do: unlimited resources. What makes Adam one of the best (IMO) these days, is his dedication and sacrifice, to be able to hang with the corporate giants and factory teams of chasing. He works a day job, he pays bills, and sometimes he just gets by. But he still juggles a real, working life with the dedication to chasing tornadoes that few "lifers" have. And that, IMO, is what separates him from most of the newer chasers. Add in the fact he's based out of Chicago, and about 70% of his success has occurred multiple states away from his home base, and you've got a guy who's going to be around for a long, long time. And kicking ass the whole way.
Oh, and the DVD? That's the proof. You can see for yourself here.
The video begins with one of the best Fall setups in recent memory (November 7, 2011), and Adam & company take full advantage of the opportunity. What at first seems like a last chance desperation run, as their initial target busts and they race back east to catch up with an ongoing tornado, turns into one of the most enjoyable video segments I've ever watched on any DVD. They catch the first tornado as it begins the rope phase, and capture some great colors and contrast as it almost poses for them, having seemingly waited just long enough to offer them a sweet consolation prize. Before this one can completely die, the next one forms to their east. After waiting perhaps a bit too long while shooting the extended rope out of tornado number one (and when you see the video, you won't blame them), they break east for the ongoing multi-vortex and the chase is on.
What follows is a masterful job of getting back into position on the storm, with a multitude of tornadoes ranging from wispy ropes to massive wedges. What struck me most about this chapter were the colors. There's every type of tornado "mood" on this chapter, with beautiful, calm milky blues, grays, and whites. There are darker, brooding tornadoes that conjure up equal elements of envy and fear. And there are difficult tornadoes that play hide-n-seek within wrapping rain curtains, turbine farms, and even mountains. I found myself reliving some of my own Fall chases, as there's just something about Autumn tornado days that are different. My favorite chapter on the disc.
2012 is a quick-hitting, consolidated piece that showcases the brief highlights from a difficult year for Adam. Despite his troubles, a tornado intercept in Kentucky is an example of the dedication and (albeit it brief) success that dedication has produced, as he has no qualms about strapping in and going wherever the storms go, even for a momentary glimpse.
After the 2012 interlude, 2013 roars off the screen with the May 18 Rozel/Sanford tornadoes. Adam's video of the former reminds me of an old NOVA special, great contrast from a perfectly mid-range distance/angle. In some ways it reminds me of the 1979 Seymour, TX tornado that NSSL crews shot. In any case, it's a superb clip, followed by the encore tornado that ropes out to a brilliant pink as the day fades away. But Lucio's not done yet, as this is just the first of a tornado day hat trick. May 19 features some excellent close range positioning/strategy, as he and his group stay close to the action but never really put themselves in danger, while getting some chaotic but cool close up shots. The debris whirl in the field just southeast of them is excellent. Then comes May 20, and the vicious Moore, OK tornado. His crew find themselves on the wrong side of a river that keeps them from following the tornado, but before it escapes their view Adam gets some great video looking north at the tornado. Great contrast and boiling motions, as this monster roars in front of them, gradually vanishing behind a wall of rain. May 18-20 was a fantastic stretch for Adam, as this portion of the DVD confirms.
But then comes May 28 and the incredible Bennington, KS meandering wedge, a tornado so amazing, it will make you forget about Rozel for a while. The entire sequence is shot from one spot, on tripod, and features some of the most incredible rotation and motion I've ever seen on video or reality. The tornado cyclone itself (before the tornado) will have your jaw on the floor. And then it appears, the signature tornado of this DVD. A near-stationary, up to one-mile-wide, perfect contrast beast. Simultaneously deadly and wondrous, this tornado will have you mesmerized, a smooth-sided mammoth dancing over a lush green prairie foreground. The kind of video that forever transports those who were fortunate enough to witness it back to that incredible moment, and stabs the hearts of those who did not. Though this clip is not my favorite segment on the DVD, I think it's arguable the Bennington tornado is the signature tornado of Adam's career thus far.
Following this dose of sensory overload is May 31, which features a rare blunder/missed opportunity for Adam in 2013, as they position themselves out of play to view the historic El Reno wedge. However, they grab a nice consolation prize later in the day, with a brief but close encounter with a tornado in the town of Tuttle just before twilight. Adam is not lost on the tragic yet historic impact of this day despite not being on the El Reno tornado, as a nice tribute to the members of Twistex is included.
This would've been a wonderful ending to a fantastic DVD. But it's not done yet.
It's cool to score an Autumn tornado day and feature it on a DVD. But to have three of them, all on one disc, and two in the same year, is nothing short of downright impressive. Adam was on fire in May and that carried over into the Fall, beginning with a very close call with a wedge tornado near Wayne, NE. I've seen this clip a dozen times, and every time they drive north, even though I know they start backing up south to escape being hit, I find myself leaning forward, my pulse quickening, and my palms sweating, as I imagine myself in that scenario and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. I want to scream "Go south!!" at the screen every damn time. Adam eventually figures it out, just in the nick of time, and what ensues is a scary-close brush with a violent tornado. And it was a closer call than you might realize. I don't think they had 15 seconds more to make up their minds. For those who love close range, dramatic, escaping the tornado type video, you're gonna eat this up.
After what starts to seem like an endless stream of incredible tornado video, "Full Circle" finally does just that, culminating with the marquee tornado of the November 17 Midwest outbreak. Adam & crew find themselves with a large EF4 southwest of them, and as the twister begins to emerge from the rain, he sets himself up for a fantastic shot from north of the tornado, as it roars by to the south in excellent contrast. A farmstead in the foreground (that was not hit) as the huge tornado moves behind provides both an eerie feel and a great barometer for the sheer size of this animal. They eventually get overtaken by backside wrap around, as the tornado disappears back into the precip to their east. Later on they get a brief look at a distant white stovepipe, and the video fades to black.
After viewing this production, it's clear that Adam Lucio has staked a claim as one of chasing's new heavyweights, possessing a rare blend of desire, dedication, and skills necessary to excel. Note that I didn't include "resources" in the last statement, meaning that Adam doesn't have one major component most of today's most successful chasers do: unlimited resources. What makes Adam one of the best (IMO) these days, is his dedication and sacrifice, to be able to hang with the corporate giants and factory teams of chasing. He works a day job, he pays bills, and sometimes he just gets by. But he still juggles a real, working life with the dedication to chasing tornadoes that few "lifers" have. And that, IMO, is what separates him from most of the newer chasers. Add in the fact he's based out of Chicago, and about 70% of his success has occurred multiple states away from his home base, and you've got a guy who's going to be around for a long, long time. And kicking ass the whole way.
Oh, and the DVD? That's the proof. You can see for yourself here.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
A Return To Greatness?
I haven't forgotten about this thing. I've quite often sat in front of the computer and contemplated writing something. But nothing ever seems worthy of posting. Not even my own self-indulgent ramblings, specifically-designed for this dead end street of a blog, seem interesting enough to validate even a tiny gathering of readers. It seems as if I'm writing this thing to myself. Maybe I am. But it's therapeutic, therefore acceptable.
Another year, another fresh hope. The past three chase seasons have been lacking, to say the least. This even includes 2013, which was by my standards, a generally good year results-wise. But my hunger is deeper than just one great day every twelve months or so. I love days like April 14, 2012 and May 18 last year, but I don't want them to be everything....just a portion of an overall, larger greatness. That it took me three years to amass enough material for a DVD was doable once....but I cannot fathom this becoming a trend. Rather, I view it as an exception to the rule.
In 2014, I strive for a return to form, not just my ability, but the luck that must come along with it. Even the best chasers rely on luck more than perhaps they would like to admit, and I'm certainly no exception. During the heights of my success, there was always luck involved. Lately it seems, that luck has been absent. It's all random, really, but when you've gone as long as we have between great runs of success, there's a lot of time to sit around and analyze crap to death. Stuff you know doesn't really need analyzing, but you have nothing better to do so what the hell. And you haven't posted a new blog in a while either.
Only once in my chasing career have a I had a year good enough to justify a DVD all its own, back in 2004. A decade ago. It seems that's too long for a chaser like me, who's been out there a lot of years and has seen a lot of stuff. It really is a reflection of my body of work, but also how spread out that body of work really is. Great things, but not as often as I would have liked. This year, I'm really hoping to change that, even if it is for just one season. I envision a great 2014 season, good enough to justify its own DVD by year's end. It's kinda personal for me now, as I'm really wanting to make a splash, the likes of which I haven't made in several years. Not just a great event/catch. A great year.
Another year, another fresh hope. The past three chase seasons have been lacking, to say the least. This even includes 2013, which was by my standards, a generally good year results-wise. But my hunger is deeper than just one great day every twelve months or so. I love days like April 14, 2012 and May 18 last year, but I don't want them to be everything....just a portion of an overall, larger greatness. That it took me three years to amass enough material for a DVD was doable once....but I cannot fathom this becoming a trend. Rather, I view it as an exception to the rule.
In 2014, I strive for a return to form, not just my ability, but the luck that must come along with it. Even the best chasers rely on luck more than perhaps they would like to admit, and I'm certainly no exception. During the heights of my success, there was always luck involved. Lately it seems, that luck has been absent. It's all random, really, but when you've gone as long as we have between great runs of success, there's a lot of time to sit around and analyze crap to death. Stuff you know doesn't really need analyzing, but you have nothing better to do so what the hell. And you haven't posted a new blog in a while either.
Only once in my chasing career have a I had a year good enough to justify a DVD all its own, back in 2004. A decade ago. It seems that's too long for a chaser like me, who's been out there a lot of years and has seen a lot of stuff. It really is a reflection of my body of work, but also how spread out that body of work really is. Great things, but not as often as I would have liked. This year, I'm really hoping to change that, even if it is for just one season. I envision a great 2014 season, good enough to justify its own DVD by year's end. It's kinda personal for me now, as I'm really wanting to make a splash, the likes of which I haven't made in several years. Not just a great event/catch. A great year.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Distance To Empty Arrives October 31
Some readers may already know this, but the "official" release date for Distance To Empty is October 31. I wanted to release the video on Halloween for multiple reasons. First off, from the moment I decided on the title, the colors that came to mind were Autumnal; browns, oranges, and yellows. Naturally, these colors make you think of October/November. The main color scheme for the titles ended up being orange, so Halloween was a perfect fit. Also, I've never released a DVD in October before, and I like to move my releases around the calendar a bit; it gets old doing the same "two weeks before Xmas" thing every time. And to a lesser extent, I've always kind of liked putting my stuff out there before the wave hits later in the year. As I mentioned, most chasers wait until just before the Holidays, and of course by then the competition is fierce. In some way, I feel that getting a DVD out there early, on its own, maybe puts a bit more spotlight on it that might not be there if there were a dozen others out at the same time.
So anyway, just a boring information entry. New DVD out Halloween. I'll post the purchase link on the day of release. Thanks for reading, and have a good day.
So anyway, just a boring information entry. New DVD out Halloween. I'll post the purchase link on the day of release. Thanks for reading, and have a good day.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Crafting Homebrew (New DVD)
After a month of work, stress, screaming, and much heavy sighing, the new DVD is finally complete. It successfully rendered yesterday evening around 5pm, the second of two renders I attempted (the first was a total disaster). I'd like to thank my long-time friend and chase partner Mickey Ptak for offering to spend his only day off next week coming down here to help me finish it, when I was still in crisis mode and couldn't get it to render properly. I'd also like to thank my friend Scott McPartland, who offered me a few setting tips that worked brilliantly on my second attempt. So now Mick can come down next weekend and just hang out with his buddy he hasn't seen in over a year.
The DVD is called "Distance To Empty", a title I've had since 2007. On June 6 of that year, my long-time friend and chase partner Chad Lawson and I were in South Dakota, busting like champs. Towards the end of the day, we were just sitting on some lonely dirt road, watching our chances for success fade away as the sun fell towards the horizon. I glanced over at his gas gauge, and noticed the words "distance to empty" digitally displayed below it. I thought that sounded cool, so I stepped outside with my video camera, and looked for a shot that went along with that phrase. I eventually set up the vidcam next to the car, at ground level, looking down the dirt road at a dying storm, its tower blocking the sun and creating those biblical type rays, the proper term for which escapes me at the moment. I included a small portion of the left front of Chad's car, mostly just the tire, which was off to the right of the frame. I took a bit of video, and decided that would be the cover if I ever made a DVD with that title. It was just trivial.
However, the title was never used and eventually I stopped considering it. Less than a year ago, I offered it up publicly to whatever chaser wanted to use it (something I've done regularly over the years), as I had decided I no longer cared for it. Fortunately for me, nobody pays much attention to those title seedlings I occasionally toss out. I had a change of heart, when it suddenly became obvious this title was now very relevant to our situation, both in chasing and in life. Back in 2007 it had just been a cool title, but now it had meaning to me. Since 2011, we've had some fairly trying times, that extend beyond just the pursuit of severe weather. Lots of frustration, anger, uncertainty. Lots of wondering if we would survive it all, as a couple and as people. But mostly, lots of wondering how far we could be pushed until we reached our breaking point. In other words, what was our "distance to empty"? The once trivial title had become a perfect fit. They say "what's in a name" (I left off the question mark because I've always assumed that's rhetorical), and I get that. But for me, DVD titles have to come from somewhere, have to mean something.
The DVD itself, as far as content, is raw. Very little editing (a long-standing staple of my productions), and this time I used very few transitions. The more I watched the demo, the more this video had the feel of a 1990s documentary, with a lot of getting in/out of the car, setting up tripods, and build up to the tornadoes. So, I thought the best way to keep the feeling would be to lessen the amount of flashy transitions and other gadgets I admittedly enjoy using. The video is sometimes erratic, and there is a noticeable shake to much of it, as my lightweight vidcam and tripod are often buffeted in strong inflow. There are bad contrast moments. There's 26 straight minutes of Rozel. There's a lot of wind noise. There's many things that many people probably won't like. But I love the organic quality, the charmingly unprofessional feel of this DVD. It's bare bones chasing with bare bones equipment, which epitomizes what my chasing is all about.
I wanted to make this DVD as real as possible. I left in the jumping in/out of the car stuff. I left in me trying desperately to get my tripod/vidcam setup as the tornado continues in front of me. I left in my running around with the camera, trying to get the shot I wanted. I left in the in-car stuff where we're just talking amongst ourselves before I point for the next shot. I included some "couple" moments where Bridge and I are just being who we are together. But there's also twin tornadoes, a tornado seen from the top of a 100-foot overpass, a nocturnal tornado shown in slide form set to beautiful music, a majestic 26-minute EF4, and a brilliant sunset rope. I'm very pleased with this DVD. Do I think others will find it appealing? Probably not. This is not the kind of video people are used to seeing on youtube. This is not a video full of close encounters and harrowing escapes. It's not a video full of crisp, steady HD shots. And it's not a video that features chasers as much as storms. It's just a humble little homebrew made with experience, reality, and passion.
The DVD is called "Distance To Empty", a title I've had since 2007. On June 6 of that year, my long-time friend and chase partner Chad Lawson and I were in South Dakota, busting like champs. Towards the end of the day, we were just sitting on some lonely dirt road, watching our chances for success fade away as the sun fell towards the horizon. I glanced over at his gas gauge, and noticed the words "distance to empty" digitally displayed below it. I thought that sounded cool, so I stepped outside with my video camera, and looked for a shot that went along with that phrase. I eventually set up the vidcam next to the car, at ground level, looking down the dirt road at a dying storm, its tower blocking the sun and creating those biblical type rays, the proper term for which escapes me at the moment. I included a small portion of the left front of Chad's car, mostly just the tire, which was off to the right of the frame. I took a bit of video, and decided that would be the cover if I ever made a DVD with that title. It was just trivial.
However, the title was never used and eventually I stopped considering it. Less than a year ago, I offered it up publicly to whatever chaser wanted to use it (something I've done regularly over the years), as I had decided I no longer cared for it. Fortunately for me, nobody pays much attention to those title seedlings I occasionally toss out. I had a change of heart, when it suddenly became obvious this title was now very relevant to our situation, both in chasing and in life. Back in 2007 it had just been a cool title, but now it had meaning to me. Since 2011, we've had some fairly trying times, that extend beyond just the pursuit of severe weather. Lots of frustration, anger, uncertainty. Lots of wondering if we would survive it all, as a couple and as people. But mostly, lots of wondering how far we could be pushed until we reached our breaking point. In other words, what was our "distance to empty"? The once trivial title had become a perfect fit. They say "what's in a name" (I left off the question mark because I've always assumed that's rhetorical), and I get that. But for me, DVD titles have to come from somewhere, have to mean something.
The DVD itself, as far as content, is raw. Very little editing (a long-standing staple of my productions), and this time I used very few transitions. The more I watched the demo, the more this video had the feel of a 1990s documentary, with a lot of getting in/out of the car, setting up tripods, and build up to the tornadoes. So, I thought the best way to keep the feeling would be to lessen the amount of flashy transitions and other gadgets I admittedly enjoy using. The video is sometimes erratic, and there is a noticeable shake to much of it, as my lightweight vidcam and tripod are often buffeted in strong inflow. There are bad contrast moments. There's 26 straight minutes of Rozel. There's a lot of wind noise. There's many things that many people probably won't like. But I love the organic quality, the charmingly unprofessional feel of this DVD. It's bare bones chasing with bare bones equipment, which epitomizes what my chasing is all about.
I wanted to make this DVD as real as possible. I left in the jumping in/out of the car stuff. I left in me trying desperately to get my tripod/vidcam setup as the tornado continues in front of me. I left in my running around with the camera, trying to get the shot I wanted. I left in the in-car stuff where we're just talking amongst ourselves before I point for the next shot. I included some "couple" moments where Bridge and I are just being who we are together. But there's also twin tornadoes, a tornado seen from the top of a 100-foot overpass, a nocturnal tornado shown in slide form set to beautiful music, a majestic 26-minute EF4, and a brilliant sunset rope. I'm very pleased with this DVD. Do I think others will find it appealing? Probably not. This is not the kind of video people are used to seeing on youtube. This is not a video full of close encounters and harrowing escapes. It's not a video full of crisp, steady HD shots. And it's not a video that features chasers as much as storms. It's just a humble little homebrew made with experience, reality, and passion.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Almost There
The DVD project is beginning to wind down, after a two week process that saw me screaming, shouting, curled up in the corner weeping, and eventually, smiling. I was determined from the onset to figure this thing out and do it completely unassisted, and to this point I've accomplished that goal. My biggest triumphs have been figuring out the volume fade issue (who knew all one needed to do was simply drop a "fade out" transition tile at the end of the volume track), and building the menu page...something I'd never done before.
Now that everything is completed in the project file, all that's left are the final tweaks and then of course the rendering. I'm anticipating problems with the latter, due to the fact I'm using a 2-year-old laptop and I'm not confident it has the strength to pull it off. However the silver lining is, now that I've more or less got the PS16 software down, I can rebuild the entire project in a day, should I need to redo it from scratch (which I would be doing on the computer at work).
So, I've decided to take the week and just enjoy the fact I've finally completed the entire DVD project alone, and then tackle the rendering next weekend. If the render is successful, then I'll make a few extra copies, lock them away, and wait for the release date, which I still haven't decided on. If the rendering fails, I'll simply set aside a weekend sometime in October, and do the entire thing in one shot at work.
The only other detail still left to ponder is the cover. Bridge and I have been talking about concepts, and we have a few ideas we really like. These ideas will likely require a special road trip, to find a location that fits the mood. I'm both excited and dreading it, because obviously the artistic side of me wants to find a great cover shot but the lazy side of me hates the idea of wasting a Saturday doing it. Oh well, first world problems right?
Now that everything is completed in the project file, all that's left are the final tweaks and then of course the rendering. I'm anticipating problems with the latter, due to the fact I'm using a 2-year-old laptop and I'm not confident it has the strength to pull it off. However the silver lining is, now that I've more or less got the PS16 software down, I can rebuild the entire project in a day, should I need to redo it from scratch (which I would be doing on the computer at work).
So, I've decided to take the week and just enjoy the fact I've finally completed the entire DVD project alone, and then tackle the rendering next weekend. If the render is successful, then I'll make a few extra copies, lock them away, and wait for the release date, which I still haven't decided on. If the rendering fails, I'll simply set aside a weekend sometime in October, and do the entire thing in one shot at work.
The only other detail still left to ponder is the cover. Bridge and I have been talking about concepts, and we have a few ideas we really like. These ideas will likely require a special road trip, to find a location that fits the mood. I'm both excited and dreading it, because obviously the artistic side of me wants to find a great cover shot but the lazy side of me hates the idea of wasting a Saturday doing it. Oh well, first world problems right?
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Video Update (Pinnacle 16 Woes & Discoveries)
The new video project is coming along rather nicely so far. I've finally acquired Pinnacle Studio 16, the $60 piece of video editing software I've been coveting for months. I always go with the low-end version because I don't need all the Hollywood flash and tricks; I'm doing a tornado hunting video, not a comic book CGI-laden, imagination-starved Summer blockbuster. (Sad how "imagination-starved" and "blockbuster" can be used in the same sentence regarding the typical American moviegoer).
However, when I finally got the thing installed and fired it up for the first time, I discovered that Pinnacle had done a massive aesthetic overhaul on the latest version of their basic classic. The board is more akin to Final Cut Pro or Sony Vegas than it is the basic, classic Pinnacle. Pretty much the same functions, but all the levers and buttons and keys have been moved around, re-styled, and morphed into what looks more like the console of a galaxy class starship's bridge than the easy breezy, drag-n-drop storyboard template I cut my teeth on. Needless to say, this has created a few obstacles.
The main issue I have with PS16 is the storyboard feature. Unlike the previous basic versions, which were a simple board with multiple rows that would simply scroll down if you filled the screen up and allowed you to drag and drop/flip tiles at will, PS16's storyboard is a single line at the top of the work template, which works fine as long as you're simply dropping tiles in an exact chronological order and you don't run off the page. This storyboard moves side-to-side instead of vertically, and so far, seems to have no tile flipping function whatsoever. Any attempt to grab a tile and move it to another position on the storyboard only makes the entire storyboard line move, as if you were dragging them along a rail like a train, and as soon as you release the mouse, the tiles roll back to their original position. All I'm able to do at this point is add a tile (which never appears in the spot I wanted it), and delete tiles. Without the ability to add multiple rows of storyboard tiles, or to simply manipulate the single line left or right to a given point, the storyboard feature, which I've always used almost exclusively to edit, is useless. Perhaps there's a trick I've not yet discovered that will enable the use of this feature, but my learning curve is slow and I've run out of patience. So, I'm doing the editing this time around using the timeline feature, which admittedly, has been pretty easy. Laptop mouses are not my favorite thing in the world, and because the one I'm using is so touchy, I was apprehensive and nervous; after all, so much detail in creating these videos involves hair-trigger clicks and drags. However I've gotten used to the way this mouse works/feels, and have gotten fairly quick at making things happen.
Because I've had to bypass the storyboard feature altogether, it's changed the way I create the video itself. On all the other videos, I built everything in exact chronological order, just as it appears when you watch the DVDs themselves. Because I was unable to move title pages around on the storyboard, I had to build them all first (by doing the chase video before a title page, it created too much spacing on the timeline to be able to see/monitor while attempting further updates, and I started making a lot of placement mistakes). Once I did that, I began inserting the actual chase video in between, in the appropriate places. A pain in the ass of sorts, but it's working so far. I'm sure there's an easier solution to the way I'm doing this, but I'll never figure it out before my deadline. I just need it to work for what I'm wanting to accomplish, even if I'm taking the long way around.
Perhaps my biggest hurdle so far is my inability to figure out how to create a volume level fade mid-song. On every past version of Pinnacle I've ever used, all you had to do was grab a point in the volume line of a volume track, click, and then drag the line down manually, to where ever you wanted the music to fade. On this version, all that move does is drag the entire volume line down, which only lowers the overall volume of the entire audio track itself. I got frustrated the first day attempting to overcome this issue and have not since revisited it. The 'instruction manual" was a few rungs below worthless, regarding any insight as to how to make this happen. If my next attempts on my own fail to glean a solution, I'll search out online forums and ask there.
Beyond learning the feel of a very new design and the petty technical mysteries, I've actually been enjoying this project. I'm making every attempt to complete this entire thing all on my own, which would be a first. Mickey has helped me out on every DVD, although my role in the production has expanded on each one. I've always done all the video uploads, storyboarding, and editing myself, while Mick handled all the extras like the menu page, music, and the rendering. For the first four DVDs, Mick worked with me constantly throughout the project, to help in case I hit a wall and couldn't find my way past a problem. On "Weather" he worked with me on one session, then after a six week break, brought the computer we were using over to our apartment, and left me to complete it on my own. It was pretty satisfying to slip a disc into the tower, go to a friend's house to hang out for the day, and then walk back into our living room to find a brand new DVD waiting in the tray. "Blue" was kinda screwy, as I had built the entire project on my own (minus the menu page) several months in advance of it ever being released. After we saw Rice, I went back in, deleted the May 22nd and 23rd segments, added the Rice segment, and the DVD was pretty much done. However, I still didn't know how to make a menu page, and kept having failures when I tried to render any project over an hour long. Mickey came down for a weekend in mid-November, created the menu page, and somehow figured out how to render the damn thing. Again he had saved my ass.
But this time I'm on my own. Mick's three hours away and his life is much different and busier than it was in 2010, which doesn't allow him the ability to just fly down here whenever I'm in DVD trouble. So I get to figure it all out alone, and I'm pretty certain I will, because I seem to always find a way when I don't have a choice.
However, when I finally got the thing installed and fired it up for the first time, I discovered that Pinnacle had done a massive aesthetic overhaul on the latest version of their basic classic. The board is more akin to Final Cut Pro or Sony Vegas than it is the basic, classic Pinnacle. Pretty much the same functions, but all the levers and buttons and keys have been moved around, re-styled, and morphed into what looks more like the console of a galaxy class starship's bridge than the easy breezy, drag-n-drop storyboard template I cut my teeth on. Needless to say, this has created a few obstacles.
The main issue I have with PS16 is the storyboard feature. Unlike the previous basic versions, which were a simple board with multiple rows that would simply scroll down if you filled the screen up and allowed you to drag and drop/flip tiles at will, PS16's storyboard is a single line at the top of the work template, which works fine as long as you're simply dropping tiles in an exact chronological order and you don't run off the page. This storyboard moves side-to-side instead of vertically, and so far, seems to have no tile flipping function whatsoever. Any attempt to grab a tile and move it to another position on the storyboard only makes the entire storyboard line move, as if you were dragging them along a rail like a train, and as soon as you release the mouse, the tiles roll back to their original position. All I'm able to do at this point is add a tile (which never appears in the spot I wanted it), and delete tiles. Without the ability to add multiple rows of storyboard tiles, or to simply manipulate the single line left or right to a given point, the storyboard feature, which I've always used almost exclusively to edit, is useless. Perhaps there's a trick I've not yet discovered that will enable the use of this feature, but my learning curve is slow and I've run out of patience. So, I'm doing the editing this time around using the timeline feature, which admittedly, has been pretty easy. Laptop mouses are not my favorite thing in the world, and because the one I'm using is so touchy, I was apprehensive and nervous; after all, so much detail in creating these videos involves hair-trigger clicks and drags. However I've gotten used to the way this mouse works/feels, and have gotten fairly quick at making things happen.
Because I've had to bypass the storyboard feature altogether, it's changed the way I create the video itself. On all the other videos, I built everything in exact chronological order, just as it appears when you watch the DVDs themselves. Because I was unable to move title pages around on the storyboard, I had to build them all first (by doing the chase video before a title page, it created too much spacing on the timeline to be able to see/monitor while attempting further updates, and I started making a lot of placement mistakes). Once I did that, I began inserting the actual chase video in between, in the appropriate places. A pain in the ass of sorts, but it's working so far. I'm sure there's an easier solution to the way I'm doing this, but I'll never figure it out before my deadline. I just need it to work for what I'm wanting to accomplish, even if I'm taking the long way around.
Perhaps my biggest hurdle so far is my inability to figure out how to create a volume level fade mid-song. On every past version of Pinnacle I've ever used, all you had to do was grab a point in the volume line of a volume track, click, and then drag the line down manually, to where ever you wanted the music to fade. On this version, all that move does is drag the entire volume line down, which only lowers the overall volume of the entire audio track itself. I got frustrated the first day attempting to overcome this issue and have not since revisited it. The 'instruction manual" was a few rungs below worthless, regarding any insight as to how to make this happen. If my next attempts on my own fail to glean a solution, I'll search out online forums and ask there.
Beyond learning the feel of a very new design and the petty technical mysteries, I've actually been enjoying this project. I'm making every attempt to complete this entire thing all on my own, which would be a first. Mickey has helped me out on every DVD, although my role in the production has expanded on each one. I've always done all the video uploads, storyboarding, and editing myself, while Mick handled all the extras like the menu page, music, and the rendering. For the first four DVDs, Mick worked with me constantly throughout the project, to help in case I hit a wall and couldn't find my way past a problem. On "Weather" he worked with me on one session, then after a six week break, brought the computer we were using over to our apartment, and left me to complete it on my own. It was pretty satisfying to slip a disc into the tower, go to a friend's house to hang out for the day, and then walk back into our living room to find a brand new DVD waiting in the tray. "Blue" was kinda screwy, as I had built the entire project on my own (minus the menu page) several months in advance of it ever being released. After we saw Rice, I went back in, deleted the May 22nd and 23rd segments, added the Rice segment, and the DVD was pretty much done. However, I still didn't know how to make a menu page, and kept having failures when I tried to render any project over an hour long. Mickey came down for a weekend in mid-November, created the menu page, and somehow figured out how to render the damn thing. Again he had saved my ass.
But this time I'm on my own. Mick's three hours away and his life is much different and busier than it was in 2010, which doesn't allow him the ability to just fly down here whenever I'm in DVD trouble. So I get to figure it all out alone, and I'm pretty certain I will, because I seem to always find a way when I don't have a choice.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
The Persistence of Time
I think about death a lot. Not in a dreading, fearful kind of way (although once in a while), but more of a pensive type of thing. I wonder about all the people who believe in the christian god and all the people who believe nothing, and everyone in between. I wonder which group is right, and what might happen to the group that's wrong (I suppose the answer to that question depends on who is right/wrong). And all I ever garner from these thoughts is "I really don't know."
Maybe getting older manifests itself differently for different people. Maybe there's not always an easily-identifiable template of psychology that one can quantify. Perhaps that's what a "mid-life crisis" truly represents, that unique state-of-mind induced within each individual as they reach a certain point in life. In my particular case, I'm 41 years old and have no desire to buy a sports car, date a woman half my age, or go base jumping. I don't think I'll ever be the classic, stereotypical mid-life case because I've never been a stereotypical personality. Instead of a Porsche or a 22-year-old, I just think a lot more about the end. I wonder what it's going to be like. I wonder if I'm even in the ball park. I wonder if I'm wrong about the end, if I'll be right about god or whatever conscious being awaits. But maybe mostly, I think about the fact that regardless of all my thinking, death is inevitable. There's a strange comfort in knowing I can't mess that up.
The reason I'm writing about death is because there's been so much of it lately in the chasing world. Creeping infections, suicide, traffic accidents, tornadoes themselves, and terminal illnesses. As it does every day across the planet, death has arrived in many forms and shaken the chasing community. And it seems that as the years pass, its visits become more frequent. Even people who are still alive are being ravaged by diseases that systematically kill the spark of personality and character, as the memory steadily fades to the point of oblivion. To use a cliche, life hangs by such a tiny thread.
Another thing reaching middle age has done for me is make me realize there are likely fewer days ahead than behind. That thought does two things to me. The first, obviously, is that it somewhat alarms me to think that I'm on the downside of life. Just the thought that I've probably lived over half my life is rather unsettling when I'm in that certain state-of-mind. But mostly what it does to me is make me even more determined to see as many tornadoes as possible. I don't slowly lose my lust for chasing as I get older, replacing it with the need for financial and social stability. Oh, I desire those things as well, but they are below my passion and fire to be out there on the Plains, driving a long stretch of open road, craning skyward, all the while my mind racing with the possibilities of what wonderment I might be fortunate enough to witness later that day.
Getting older for me is basically like time is a person, who's always with me, always reminding me that I'm running out of it. This makes me want to keep doing what I've been doing almost all of my adult life. I've never felt pressure (true pressure) to be successful at chasing tornadoes, but I do feel it when I think about the fact that time is running out. I've seen fellow chasers taken away far too soon, some even before they've reached their prime. Along with the initial shock and sorrow this brings, it's also another example how anyone could be next, including me. This thought lights a fire in me to keep this thing going. I don't make a living from it, I don't get respect for it, and it doesn't really provide much tangible evidence to show what I've done with my life. But it's the thing I love, it's what I do, and for me, it really is my identity. Not as in "Shane the chaser" but "Shane the guy who did what he loved and didn't worry about what the rest of the world thought about it." It's not about chasing, it's about finding a chance at happiness and grabbing it with both hands and to hell with everything else.
I hate hearing about chasers I knew or knew of who die. I know everybody dies, but I always think "they had so much more in front of them." And they did. I think about the legacies these folks left behind and how they were cut short. I think about my own legacy and the burning passion inside me to keep building it. Each moment when time runs out for another, serves as a poignant reminder that time is always right beside me, but at any moment when I turn to face it, it could be gone.
Maybe getting older manifests itself differently for different people. Maybe there's not always an easily-identifiable template of psychology that one can quantify. Perhaps that's what a "mid-life crisis" truly represents, that unique state-of-mind induced within each individual as they reach a certain point in life. In my particular case, I'm 41 years old and have no desire to buy a sports car, date a woman half my age, or go base jumping. I don't think I'll ever be the classic, stereotypical mid-life case because I've never been a stereotypical personality. Instead of a Porsche or a 22-year-old, I just think a lot more about the end. I wonder what it's going to be like. I wonder if I'm even in the ball park. I wonder if I'm wrong about the end, if I'll be right about god or whatever conscious being awaits. But maybe mostly, I think about the fact that regardless of all my thinking, death is inevitable. There's a strange comfort in knowing I can't mess that up.
The reason I'm writing about death is because there's been so much of it lately in the chasing world. Creeping infections, suicide, traffic accidents, tornadoes themselves, and terminal illnesses. As it does every day across the planet, death has arrived in many forms and shaken the chasing community. And it seems that as the years pass, its visits become more frequent. Even people who are still alive are being ravaged by diseases that systematically kill the spark of personality and character, as the memory steadily fades to the point of oblivion. To use a cliche, life hangs by such a tiny thread.
Another thing reaching middle age has done for me is make me realize there are likely fewer days ahead than behind. That thought does two things to me. The first, obviously, is that it somewhat alarms me to think that I'm on the downside of life. Just the thought that I've probably lived over half my life is rather unsettling when I'm in that certain state-of-mind. But mostly what it does to me is make me even more determined to see as many tornadoes as possible. I don't slowly lose my lust for chasing as I get older, replacing it with the need for financial and social stability. Oh, I desire those things as well, but they are below my passion and fire to be out there on the Plains, driving a long stretch of open road, craning skyward, all the while my mind racing with the possibilities of what wonderment I might be fortunate enough to witness later that day.
Getting older for me is basically like time is a person, who's always with me, always reminding me that I'm running out of it. This makes me want to keep doing what I've been doing almost all of my adult life. I've never felt pressure (true pressure) to be successful at chasing tornadoes, but I do feel it when I think about the fact that time is running out. I've seen fellow chasers taken away far too soon, some even before they've reached their prime. Along with the initial shock and sorrow this brings, it's also another example how anyone could be next, including me. This thought lights a fire in me to keep this thing going. I don't make a living from it, I don't get respect for it, and it doesn't really provide much tangible evidence to show what I've done with my life. But it's the thing I love, it's what I do, and for me, it really is my identity. Not as in "Shane the chaser" but "Shane the guy who did what he loved and didn't worry about what the rest of the world thought about it." It's not about chasing, it's about finding a chance at happiness and grabbing it with both hands and to hell with everything else.
I hate hearing about chasers I knew or knew of who die. I know everybody dies, but I always think "they had so much more in front of them." And they did. I think about the legacies these folks left behind and how they were cut short. I think about my own legacy and the burning passion inside me to keep building it. Each moment when time runs out for another, serves as a poignant reminder that time is always right beside me, but at any moment when I turn to face it, it could be gone.
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