New DVD Project

I'm pleased to report that there will finally be a new DVD coming at the end of the year. Needless to say, it's been a pretty lean stretch the past few seasons, so it's taken me a while to accumulate enough material to make a DVD I deem worthy of existence (and considering my standards are much lower than most folks', that's saying something). But alas, after three long years (the longest gap ever between DVDs for me) the follow up to "Out of the Blue" will be seeing the light of day sometime towards the end of this year.

The first rough demo is done, and just the raw video alone runs at around 97 minutes. No doubt some trimming will be in the works, as with additional bells and whistles such as titles, transitions, and a menu page, I'll be pushing my time limit of two hours (I like everything on a single DVD). I still shoot in standard definition video, simply because I can't afford the hardware necessary to store hours and hours of HD video. The laptop I'm writing this entry on is my only computer, and it just doesn't have the space (or power) to handle that type of storage and still be functional. I'm well aware how unpopular SD video is these days, and how far behind the 8-ball it puts a person who's throwing product out there to compete with the HD Vegas and Premiere using people, but I have no choice. This is what I can afford, and this is what I'll move forward with.

This is going to be a very raw, straight-forward DVD, like all of my others. There's a lot of imperfections. I've already discussed the format "limitation", but that isn't the extent of its amateurish charm. There will be little editing, which means a lot of running in/out of the car, frantically grabbing and setting up tripods. There will be some shakiness, as my low-end, lightweight equipment is often battered by strong inflow winds. But within all of that, I feel there is a nostalgic type of quality that, to a person with an open mind who isn't blinded by format and technological superiority, will make this a charming little "homebrew" of a DVD. Very modest, very real. I believe the lack of technical prowess will be overshadowed by what's in front of the camera.

As far as content, this DVD will consist mainly of just two events. There are a total of seven events that make up the first demo, but I can already tell you at least one of those isn't going to make the cut. Should we have a great Fall chase later this year, other smaller events will be in danger as well. April 14, 2012 and May 18, 2013 (barring an incredible Fall event later this year) will be the meat of the DVD. The Rozel, KS clip is one of my all-time favorite tornado sequences I've ever shot, and IMO will be the flagship tornado of the DVD. The flow of this video so far reminds me of older tornado videos or television specials. I can't really explain why, but I just get that "90s" feel when I watch it, which I love.

So anyway, there it is. New DVD in the works. I will be posting more on this as it gets closer to fruition, with more details such as the title (which I've had for over a year now) and the latest cutting room floor casualties. Thanks to all of you who read this blog and follow my chasing exploits. Your interest is appreciated more than I could ever say.