Everything I need to know for my IPP I learned from MacGyver

My independent professional project (IPP) is in full swing.    I know, I know, it's not due until March 2012, but my schedule is fast tracked due to my subject matter.  I am making a video documentary about local ultra-marathoner Dwayne Sandall.  Dwayne is running in the Big Horn 100 mile Run in Wyoming in the middle of June and yours truly is going with him to try and capture it on video.  So I have just over a month to organize equipment, crew, and do pre-race shooting.

I have been shooting Dwayne training on the trails of Birds Hill Park for the last couple of weekends and trying to get comfortable enough with the video and audio equipment to be able to chase after Dwayne in the hills of Wyoming.  I have also met with Forde, my advisor, to review some of my shots and make sure I am on the right track.

Getting still shots of Dwayne training has not been too difficult.  I even ran along side him and behind him holding the camera and may have got some usable footage.  But this past weekend I decided I wanted to attach the camera to a bike and ride ahead of Dwayne getting shots of him running toward the camera.  But with limited time and budget I knew I would have to make some kind of camera holder myself.  So I went to my parents house and ventured into my father's garage, where I knew I would find the tools and materials I needed to build the contraption I imagined. 

And all it took was a couple of hours, two pencils, an old bike helmet, and some old strips of wood, my trusty swiss army knife, and a wack load of tape. 

I have to admit that I felt a little like MacGyver while I was making this thing.  With my impending shoot the next moring I was racing the clock, and using my wits to fight the forces of evil. All I was missing was  a mullet and a brown leather jacket....and some forces of evil.





So here is the final product.  And I am happy to announce that the camera did not fall off the back of my bike (thanks to some trusty bungy chords) and the shooting was a success.  Thank you MacGyver.

Soupy out.