Just a reminder that I am running a documentary production workshop between the 7th and 15th of June. Based out of Denver, USA this will be an amazing adventure, road-trip and intensive workshop all rolled into one week. Only 3 places remain at just $1,500 USD per person, plus accommodation. Please see this page for full details. This year is a La Nina year, so we can expect more storms and tornadoes than on average years. May and June are the peak months for severe storms in the USA. We have seen in the past week the power of these storms. One important note is that the storms that killed so many people last week were travelling at 50 to 60 mph across the ground. One of the reasons for chasing in June is that the storms tend to move much more slowly, often only 20 mph so there are far more opportunities to stop and shoot. In addition the weather systems move onto the wide open plains of Colorado, Nebraska and the Dakotas giving incredible vistas.
I’m planning on running a Documentary production workshop and 3D workshop based on a Storm Chasing trip to the USA from the 4th to the 12th of June. The trip would be an excellent chance to really put your documentary skills in to practice and learn more about your cameras and workflow shooting a short film about the violent weather that hits Tornado Alley every spring. We can even shoot in 3D if that’s what people are interested in. I can provide a PMW-F3, lens kit and EX1R, but hopefully you would bring your own cameras and I can teach you how to get the most out of them. depending on the weather each day there would be a classroom session or practical on location session covering everything from sound and interview techniques, to camera setup and shooting tips. Will will do a lot of timelapse, make use of cache record (if you have it) and work in some very challenging lighting situations. Each member of the group will be given different roles to play as part of the “crew” each day so that they may gain a better understanding of the difficulties of each role. At the same time the idea is that each person will also create their own personal short film about our storm chasing adventure. With luck we should see incredible thunderstorms, giant hail and maybe even a tornado or two (I’ve been storm chasing for 12 years, it’s my speciality). The cost for this comprehensive and very exciting workshop will be $1800 USD per person for a place on the course. In addition to that each student will be responsible for their overnight accommodation. Typically we will stay in hotels/motels that cost approx $100 USD per night, so you should budget for approx $800 for accommodation bringing the total to $2600. We will depart from Denver, Colorado so you will have make your own travel arrangements to/from Denver. This will be a real educational adventure. The previous trips I have run to Norway for the Northern lights, Arizona for lightning and Tornado Chasing have been great successes with many people returning for more. We will spend a lot of time on the road, visiting many parts of the Mid-West. It will be fun and you should come away with improved video skills, a great short film, and amazing stories of adventure and excitement. Please use the contact form if your interested. Places are limited.
Cinematographer and film maker Alister Chapman's Personal Website
