The Video II students have been working there fingers to the bone on a documentary style series of videos for Chile Rivers.org, a service learning project that intends to promote ecotourism to the rivers of Chile. This is an ambitious project that hopes to help halt the damming of Chilean rivers by stimulating another use of these resources: tourism. When this site is finished it will become a comprehensive guide for tourists and kayakers looking to explore the rivers of Chile.

The photo students are busy developing their skills in visual communication. After spending a semester learning the technical aspects of photography, photo students are moving into the next step of the trade: concept photography. Students will be given focused assignments such as lifestyle photography, landscape photography, whitewater photography, and abstract photography. Each student will produce a final project of their choice.

Stay tuned to the NRA kayak blog to see what our media students are producing.

See you on the water!

IR Update in Chile from stephen forster on Vimeo.

Tino

Make sure to visit the Rio Achibueno on your trip to Chile.

The kayak school has been hard at work producing a video guide series of all the major Chile Whitewater hotspots!

The last drop of the Siete Tazas

As you know, we spent the last week at the Siete Tazas, which are 7 clean pool drops ranging from 2 feet to 20. Everyone was super excited and had a blast learning more about boofing and tucking drops. The water was crystal clear aqua and as cold as ice, the deep rock gorges roes majestically above our heads, and the sun sprayed patterns that twinkled and shimmered against the water. It was like nothing any of us had seen before. Photo and Video took advantage of our location had awesome classes, with beautiful results.

Taylor Cote high up on a cliff where She and I had hiked up to take photos of people running the Entre Saltas

The food was another big win this week as well. The first night was delicious rice and “melt in your mouth” beef. It is something that my mother used to make in our crock pot on special occasions, and I was in total heaven. For me it was a taste of home, for everyone else, it was some darn good meat. Every morning we would have fresh made bread, homemade jams of cherry, peach, or blackberry, and eggs that had no doubt just been grabbed and scrambled for us straight from the chicken’s nest. I think we all looked forward to the next meal as soon as one was finished.

Haakon Samuelson being a moose after running some waterfalls

It was really cool not having electricity for a week. I would do my homework snuggled in bed with a candle. At first it was hard to figure out how to balance, and I nearly burned my physics book a couple times, but after I got used to it, it gave a romantic edge to doing homework. Ok…maybe that is pushing it. But it was a neat experience.

The mountains and land surrounding the little isolated hostel we were staying at was a dream come true for me. I do not even know how to describe it. On one of the solo hikes I took, I ended up in some far away nook that was like a fairly land. Gosh, I cannot even put into words what it was like. All I can say is that it totally captured my heart. I felt like this past week renewed my soul a bit, just by being in that area.

We were all sad to leave, but excited at the prospect of a night in a hotel with connections to the outside world again. I know all the boys were foaming at the mouth to email their parents…or check facebook. Either one. Curfew was 11 pm, and we had all afternoon to ourselves. Most of us students walked into the town center and looked at all the shops and markets. Clay, Haakon, Stephen, Alex, Eric, and I went down the the indoor pool (yes, our hotel had an indoor pool!!!), which ended up being the temperature of a hot tub, and swam around for an hour. And by swim around, I mean make total fools of ourselves by having cannonball contests in a four foot deep pool, and spitting water in each other’s faces. I tried to organize a handstand contest, but the boys were not having it. Every time I did a handstand in the water, I would be rudely shoved over. I had my toes pointed and everything. They were just intimidated by my skills.

Alex Anderson goofing off for the camera while we waited to take footage

This morning, after wonderful hot showers, and a delightful sleep in pristine sheets, we meandered down at different times to the complimentary breakfast buffet. There were eggs, yogurts, breads, fruit, pastries, juice, cereals, coffee, meats, and cheeses. We all felt duty bound to make the most of this opportunity and stuff our faces. At one point I felt full, and said as much to Melina and Taylor who were my eating companions. I was then told to stop being a baby and to keep on trucking through. I do not think I will be eating again until Christmas. On the plus side, Mum, I had about a field of fresh cut strawberries. It made me think of home.

We are leaving around noon today, so it is a lazy morning. Something I think we are all making the most of. I do believe I may go for a swim again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Tracy d’Arbeloff

Tino Specht Checking in here with a very late but needed coaches report. Now that my blog is up and running you can expect to see these weekly or more.

We have had a very exciting quarter so far with a ton of huge waves starting on the Ottawa River and then some amazing river running on the Gauley and Upper Yaugh rivers.

Our first destination was the Ottawa River stationed in Beachburg, Ontario. The Ottawa is known for its warm water and perfect play features but before we could get out surfing we had to run our safety clinic which teaches basic to advanced techniques of rescue and group dynamics. Here is the short video, video class put together to give you guys a peek into our first safety training.

Our weekly paddling schedule looks something like this.

Monday: Safety Training and Freestyle Technique ( we like to start our weeks off with safety training and a new technique every day, this way the athletes have safety fresh in their minds the rest of the week as well as being able to build upon their already solid river rescue foundation)

Tuesday: Safety Training and Freestyle Technique

Wednesday: Race Day and Down River Training ( On this day we scout extensively rapids together as a group and then hold some sort of a river race. This helps the athletes to pick apart a rapid and identify where they want to go with the easiest fastest lines that take the least effort or the safest lines)

Thursday: Freestyle Training ( We pick two moves a day and work intensively on them. This gives the athletes the confidence to try the moves on their own. Its all about getting over that first hump)

Friday: Competition Day ( All the skills and technique that the athletes have been working on all week comes to a point and they get to test themselves against their personal goals and their piers)

West Virginia

Since coming down to West Virginia we have had some epic days on the Gauley River since it is in our back yard. ( I know tough life eh?) The Gauley is loaded with great playspots for our freestyle training but the really cool thing about this river is that you can make it as hard or easy as you want to. Its perfect for the whole group. The river doesn’t run during the week so we have been doing tons of other outdoor activities after school. Frisbee Golf is a favorite of everyone and Dave Hughes learned that when you take a bunch of incredible young athletes and introduce them to a new game, they are going to get better than you very quickly. Anyway. Just a quick update of whats going on here.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Tino

Frisbee Golf

After an Amazing Turkey Dinner

Tino And Dave Flying the Helicopter

The Family After A Swimming Session

Taylor and Tracy making and amazing Dinner

Alex Scouting a hole on the Ottawa River during a Safety Class

Clay Throwing a rope to real someone in during a safety class on the Ottawa River

Yours Truly Doing a Pan Am on Corner Wave

Eric Showing that he doesn't need a paddle!

Enjoy!

this should be what you are picturing in your mind to create your shot

If you wish to film an interview in a professional manner, there are a few points that you need to focus on to make you video worth watching. Screen composition is a major part of all good interviews. Quality questions also contribute to expert videos, as well as the interviewee’s knowledge of their lines. Another important point to focus on is the interviewee’s position relative to the camera frame. These details all come into play when filming an interview, and they must be mastered to create skillful interviews.

The composition of your interview should include a hand full of major points. The most important tip to remember is the rule of thirds. To tell where to place the objects in the shot, draw a mental 3×3 grid on the shot. Humans eyes are naturally drawn to the cross points of those lines, so your focus point should be centered on one of those cross points. Another important one is the background. The interview should be filmed in a location with relevance to your topic. If you film an interview for biking in McDonalds, it would be confusing. Another important part of the scenery is to choose somewhere quiet. If there is major traffic or a roaring river in the background, the interview would have too much distracting noise.

The interviewees body positioning is important as well. The talker should be facing the open space in the screen; this gives the shot a friendly appearance, and makes the shot more interesting. The final tip you should follow is the foot positioning of the interviewee. They should have the foot closest to the camera at a parallel line with the camera angle. The rear foot should be perpendicular angle to the front foot. This foot positioning make the talker stand still, keeping them from accidently swaying out of the scene. It also helps their legs from falling asleep.

Your questions should be well thought out and concise. If you choose questions that are too wordy, then your interviewee will have a hard time remembering what to say, and, in turn, will take more time to get the right shot and waste more film. The questions you ask should be relevant to your video’s topic as well. Having questions that veer off topic will make the interview feel rambling and uninteresting. Unique questions help to make the interview stand out from others. Your questions need to be worth listening to.

Follow these tips and you are on your way to creating a professional interview. Perfect your scene composition. Make sure that your interviewee positioned correctly, and ask the right questions. If you develop these skills, you will be making professional quality interviews in no time.

this should be what you are picturing in your mind to create your shot