Rockaway is a bit of a departure for me. This video features more elaborate video and sound editing. Up to this point, the videos have been realist, depicting things more or less as they are naturally. This departure happened pretty organically. I just started messing around in Final Cut and it was fun. This messing around sparked the idea for the music that I made to accompany the film. Subconsciously I might have been growing tired of the kinds of videos I was doing, and the editing experimentation was a way of moving on, but I didn't really set out to try something different this month, it just happened.
This video is a clear nod to one of my friends and influences, Ben Gerstein. Ben has been doing things like this for years and I highly recommend his YouTube channel.
The footage here is from Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY. This is my usual surfing spot. On this particular morning, I paddled out and the first wave I missed (I can't honestly say I caught it) took me "over the falls" as slammed me hard into the bottom, ass first. Luckily I wasn't seriously injured, just a little bruised, but it was enough to make me overly cautious for the rest of the session. You don't catch a lot of waves if you're overly cautious, at least on a day like that, so I threw the towel in after an hour and decided to get the camera out.
After editing and piano recording, I messed around with the piano recording, layering it in spots. This is also something I hadn't done up to this point, and I enjoyed it. I should say that there are some issues with the video and sound quality this time. The manipulation of the sound created some crackling side effects. These sounds I actually don't mind; in fact they kind of remind me of a record player. However, the video quality is not as high as I would like it. For a reason unknown to me, this video didn't upload very well. I tried it a few different ways and decided to just live with it as it is.
I hope you enjoy Rockaway.
