Video – Not Picking Up The Bike

Here’s my first attempt at a speed-edited 5 minute video blog. I have a lot of things to work out, but my goal is to be able to shoot a self-interview and edit footage from the day in under an hour. This took two hours because of my clunkiness with Final Cut Pro X but I’ll get some workflow tricks set up to make the process quicker. I’m still learning my Canon 70D but slowing getting used to all it can do. Music is from my old band dogs on ice. Please send any production comments!

*Warning* The ending of this video contains a gross reference to a ’70s’ porn star.

Notes to self:
– Shoot more conservatively – 2 hours of train tracks is too much.
– I need to get a color correction preset created. I look pinkish-red!
– I ducked the music while speaking but should kick it up at the end.
– Uploads directly from Final Cut Pro X are low resolution.
– I will need to build a library of instrumental music.

Pilot Dates and Destinations Set

As winter finally lets go of her iron grip on Gotham, the time for planning my pilot episode is now. I have been attending weekly production meetings with Maegan, the production supervisor and X the assistant producer. These two women pound on me hammer and tongs to get commitments on things like times and places. They both want this production to be as good as it can be so the devil must be dealt with in the details. My original idea for Popp Over America was to just drive around and wing it, but these two pros understand a whole hell of a lot more about production schedules than I do. I am honored that they are giving their time to the project.

The dates for shooting the pilot have been set: July 8th – July 11th. I have a list of places and events to visit and the four days will be loaded with adventure. The pilot will be based in New Jersey where I was born. Here is a list of destinations:

My apartment – NYC
The George Washington Bridge
The Palisades Parkway
Hiemer and Company Stained Glass Studio, Clifton
East Hanover, New Jersey
High Point State Park, Montague
Milford, PA
Paterson Great Falls, Paterson
Hinchliffe Stadium, Paterson
Libby’s Lunch, Paterson
Scarlett Pub, New BrunswickPerformance at 9PM Sharp!
Slater’s Deli – Leonardo
Silverball Pinball Museum, Asbury Park
Asbury Park Boardwalk
Atlantic City
The AHRMA Vintage Motorcycle Festival, NJMP, Millville
Wildwood
Cape May

I realize I’m leaving out a bunch of great locations, but all of these map points have a personal connection to me. Feel free send any ideas or destinations. Tune in early September to see how I connect the dots with a used motorcycle, a guitar, and strips of pavement. In the meantime, I’ll be posting a lot of fun preparation videos and pictures, along with micro-trip travel logs to keep things interesting. Another big thanks to everyone who helped fund the show and getting us past out Kickstarter goal.

BMW082
Paterson Great Falls