Okay, so check it, today I wanna talk about this thing I was messing around with – Ivan McGuire’s video stuff. You know, just trying things out, seeing what sticks.
First thing I did was, obviously, hit up the search engine. Just wanted to get a feel for what people were saying, any cool angles I might be missing. Saw a bunch of stuff about his skydiving accident, which, yeah, it’s heavy, but I was more interested in the video aspect, the whole idea of capturing that kind of moment.
Next up, I started digging through videos. Not just that video, but anything related to skydiving, POV shots, anything with that kind of raw, shaky-cam feel. I wanted to see how others were doing it, what kind of gear they were using, what kind of editing tricks they pulled.
Then came the fun part. I grabbed my old GoPro – it’s ancient, but it still works – and tried to simulate some of those shots. Obviously, I wasn’t jumping out of a plane (ain’t nobody got time for that!), but I did some running, some climbing, even strapped it to my dog for a bit (he wasn’t thrilled). Just trying to get that sense of movement, that feeling of being right there in the thick of it.
After that, I threw all the footage into Premiere Pro. Honestly, the editing was where I really started to learn. I messed around with stabilization, tried to smooth out the shakiness without losing that raw energy. Played with color correction, trying to get that washed-out, almost dreamlike quality that you see in some of those videos.
I spent a ton of time tweaking the audio. Wind noise is a killer, so I tried a bunch of different noise reduction techniques. Also messed around with adding sound effects – swooshing noises, wind gusts – just to enhance the sense of speed and movement.
One of the things I really wanted to nail was the feeling of disorientation. So I experimented with some jarring cuts, some quick zooms, even threw in a few moments of complete blackness. The idea was to disorient the viewer, to make them feel like they were losing control.
Finally, I exported the whole thing and watched it back. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. But it was a cool experiment, and I learned a ton about shooting, editing, and the power of visual storytelling. Plus, it gave me a new appreciation for the risks those skydivers take. Mad respect.
Here’s a quick rundown of the stuff I used:
- Old GoPro (Hero 3, I think?)
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Lots of coffee
Things I’d do differently next time: Definitely invest in a better microphone. The wind noise was a real pain. Also, try to get some smoother camera movements. Maybe rig up some kind of стабилизатор to the dog? Just kidding… mostly.
All in all, a pretty interesting day of messing around. Definitely worth a shot if you’re looking for a new creative challenge.
