Mini-Doc of the Week 5 – Mardi Gras

Behind the scenes at Sydney’s Mardi Gras.

Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in the first week of March. This year is the 42nd event. There is a lot of organisation (obviously!) that occurs behind the scenes and on the day of the parade a long lag time while everyone arrives, gets into their positions and waits for the parade to start. This is a great opportunity for photographers who are behind the starting line.

A few years ago I joined in on the Sydney Mardi Gras to celebrate diversity in the Emergency Services. It was a LOT of fun.

I have put this new clip together as part of my 2020 challenge to publish a mini-documentary each week. I am aiming to improve my video production skills. The only way I’ll do that is if I practice. So, here’s another practice run, this time fiddling about with repeating short sequences. I don’t think iMovie is the best software to use for that.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, I’ll be as good as George Lucas! Huh!! 🙂 If I last that long! It’s not as easy as the Photo of the Week Challenge!

I took the footage in March 2017 and put this clip together a couple of weeks ago. Shot on an iPhone 8 and edited in iMovie on an iMac. Music by Justin Mahar via MusoPen

Australia’s Day? Mini-Doc 4

Should we change the day we celebrate Australia Day?

This clip was taken down at Wollongong Harbour on Australia Day 2020. While offering no answers, it raises the question “is the 26th of January the best day for celebrating our nationhood?”

Should we choose a different date or should we commemorate it in a different way?

All footage on iPhone SMAX edited using iMovie and Spark Video on my phone.

You can find lots of information about this issue. This SBS News clip is a good place to start.

Mini-Doc of the Week 3 – Making Pasta

Is making your own pasta worth it?

I have been investigating ways to reduce my grocery bills, plastic packaging and keep an eye on what is in my food. I thought I’d give making pasta from scratch another try. I’ve done it a few times before but still had more problems than I thought I would.

A little longer than the advertised 1 minute! I’ll get better at making shorter ones as the year goes by.

I hope you enjoy my struggle!

Recipe

600 g flour

370 g eggs (4 really big ones!)

Kneaded by hand for 12 minutes

Then mixed in an ancient Kenwood for about a minute

Rested for 30 minutes

Mixed again in the Kenwood!!

Another rest (for us both!)

Then struggling with the pasta roller!

If you want to have a look at someone who really knows what they are doing, check out this lady! She makes it look easy!

As it turns out, given pasta is cheap, lasts well in the pantry and tastes more or less the same as the homemade stuff, I don’t think it’s worth it. A packet of dried lasagna costs $A3.70. My afternoon’s efforts made the equivalent of 3 boxes for around $A5:00 – a saving of $6… let’s not factor in the labour cost! I did have some fun which should be factored in.

Shot entirely on my iPhone SMAX and edited using iMovie on my iMac.

Mini-doc of the Week 2

Early Morning in Narooma

Continuing on the theme of fires on the NSW South Coast. Once again this clip is from Narooma, a village about 4 hours drive from Sydney. I used to spend holidays there in my early 20’s. I have plenty of fond memories.

These areas rely on tourism, especially in our summer school holiday period so they will be doing it tough. The main crisis has passed now, but the people in this area need to put their lives back in order.

Support them if you can.

All footage on iPhone SMAX edited using iMovie on my phone.

Launching Mini-Doc of the Week

Last week I finished up a full year of a Photo of the Week challenge. In the spirit of adventure, I am going to morph this into a video challenge. I am challenging myself to create a short (1 – 5 minute) mini-documentary each week. Or as I like to call them Chookumentaries! (It makes me laugh!)

To get a head start I will use some archival footage I have shot “on location”. Some clips will have already appeared on my Facebook page, so apologies to those who have already seen them!

I will most likely knock them together with my iPhone and iMovie so they may be rough and ready. I’ll use it as an excuse to experiment with a few other video creation apps as well.

Wish me luck! The theory is that I’ll get better with practice! Oh and I’ll make a new graphic for Week 2, I wanted to use the same one for this week before heralding the change in format.

Week 1: Ashes in the Sand. Smoke in the Sky

This clip was filmed in Narooma while I was on deployment for the State Emergency Service to support the local Rural Fire Service. This area, the Eurobadalla Shire, had been badly hit by fires on New Year’s Eve and was facing ongoing issues from falling trees.

Active fires were still burning in some areas.