This evening I've been working on the music that will accompany the chapter on Portmeirion in the 'Year in Snowdonia' DVD. It is now the correct length and the dynamic follows the general flow of the pictures. Next I will make a master recording of the finished mix and take it to the video editing PC. I will transfer the WAV file of the music to the PC and import it into Vegas, the editing software. The pictures can now be tightened to the music so that the pictures change in time with the music, the changes are not sudden cuts but nonetheless it makes for a more satisfying flow done that way. Often editors will use a piece of music to edit pictures to, even if this won't be heard in the final package for just this reason. The music on this DVD will all be arrangements of traditional Welsh tunes and this one is Cwm Rhondda or as it is known in English, Bread of Heaven.
I have finally fitted most of my equipment into the space I have available, and this evening I found a space for one of my favourite synthesisers, a Roland SH101. (top left) This is the oldest synth I own and dates from the 1980s. I used to use one of these back then when I worked with a friend on recording demos for Duran Duran wannabes, all dreadful but good practice for the two of us. We were Old Coulsdon's answer to Stock, Aitken and Waterman... not sure which one I was... Waterman I guess.
I popped up to Blaenau this morning to have a look at the stalls on the platform which had been organised in a similar style to Blaenau 30. Not such a good turn out from the traders which is a little disappointing, however Merddin did not disappoint.
I've been busy in the office for the last few days and the sun hasn't really got it's act together but this afternoon it has been lovely so I grabbed the chance to get one more shot in the bag for the WHR postcard. I drove over to Hafod y Llyn and set up the camera by the foot crossing so that I could zoom right in 'ski jump' where the overhanging trees frame the line nicely.
It is a replacement for a shot I did when 87 was still ghostly grey. I arrived in plenty of time to set up and rehearse the shot a few times and so when the train arrived the camera was rolling and all went according to plan. I've put the whole shot on here as it is quite pretty but in the cut of the postcard it uses about 3 seconds worth. This shows how time consuming it is constructing a package like the DVD postcard.
I had a busy day with the camera yesterday. In the morning I travelled on the WHR from Dinas down to Caernarfon and then back to Rhyd Ddu thence to Dinas. The sun was out so I got everything I needed for the DVD postcard from the train. This means I now only need to get a few more shots from landside and we can go ahead and get the card manufactured which is good as stocks of the first version are getting low and high season is approaching.
After the afternoon service train on the WHR returned to Port a special WHHR train ran from Gelert's Farm to Hafod y Llyn. I arrived at Poo Corner crossing in time to record 143 and its train heading for Port. This is a location which has improved visually in the last year or so as the overhead power lines have vanished and the farm yard has grassed over. The sky was blue and the evening sun was a nice warm colour so this shot will make it onto the postcard and also various other places.
After a wait the WHHR train arrived at Pont Croesor which you can see from the crossing. I got some nice shots of it approaching and departing with Cnicht in the background. Then it was jump in the car and race off to Hafod y Llyn, observing legal speed limis, of course.
Driver David Lampert, the only man passed out as a steam driver on both the WHHR and the WHR.
I arrived just behind Chris Parry and just as Gelert and train came round the corner into view. It ran round and many pictures were taken before it sedately set off back for Porthmadog. Good to see evryone playing nicely together, long may it last.
I took a trip to Boston Lodge this afternoon to get some footage of the continuing work which is being undertaken by the railway to restore a Metropolitan Railway carriage on behalf of the London Transport Museum. While I was there I took some shots of other work in progress which I thought might be of interest.
This is a close up of the carriage number painted on the inside face of one of the unique round topped doors; they were shaped at the top to allow them to open in the cramped confines of the underground tunnels.
Today I went out with the camera to capture a special anniversary on the FR. Linda arrived here 50 years ago and to mark the occasion she was out on service trains. The sun almost shone and she ran like a well oiled machine making a most satisfying exhaust note.
She carried a headboard made specially for the day. Loco number 590, 50 years on the FR and 119 years old.
I took the car to TYB via a pause at Gwyndy Bank to get a shot of the train passing. Unfortunately the sun which had been doing it's best to shine darted behind a cloud just as the train pulled into Minffordd, such is life; at least it didn't rain. At TYB I shot the arrival of the train and then boarded the first coach to get some on train footage.
On returning to TYB I jumped in the car and dashed back to Port to edit the days shots and upload it to Youtube, you can see the results here. A bit of a rough edit which I will polish up for the 'Year in the life' chapter.
With the weather being a bit rubbish still I've used this week to get some time doing music for the WHR DVD postcard and now that is done I've moved onto the Year in Snowdonia. I'm on the second version of Men of Harlech to use over the Harlech Castle section, V1 came out a bit too jolly and inane so I'm trying to do something with a bit more gravitas... we'll see.
Suddenly it wasn't raining anymore. There were even areas of blue sky so I jumped in the car and drove to Rhyd Ddu in time to catch the 12:20 train to Port. Most of the shots that are still outstanding from the WHR postcard are views from the train so this was an opportunity to get at least half of them in the bag.
Having arrived in plenty of time I set up at the Port end of the platform so that I would catch the arriving train from Port and also the Caernarfon train. The clouds were moving about very quickly making the light levels change all the time so getting the exposure right was going to be a bit hit and miss, you can see the cloud shadows running along the platform in the shot of 143 coming in from Porthmadog.
Anyway, once the trains pulled into the platform I climbed aboard and found a space in the open coach where I could set up the tripod on the road side of the train and I also had room to get to the doors to get shots looking forward and backwards going hand held. The sky was blue and off we went. I've put the bits I got into the postcard and they fit nicely, Now I need to do the same thing from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu and add in a few more lineside shots and it will be done.
Here is a package of the shots I took from Rhyd Ddu to Pitts Head road bridge. You can clearly see the silhouette of his face as the road rises up to pass over the railway, I've pointed it out in the video. Apparently it isn't Pitt anyway but a much older representation of a local poet... or so I've heard, looks like a bloke with a pointy nose anyway!
Only a few seconds of this footage will make it onto the postcard but it never harms to have too much footage to cut the best bits from.
Big grey clouds looming overhead but carefully framed out of the video
The rain continues to pour down so there is little point in getting the camera out to film that, so I took it to Dinas to get some footage of the loco shed extension. I also used the new camera mounting light for the first time. It didn't punch much of a hole in the overall scene as the loco shed is a big building but for some of the close ups it helped fill in the details.
Here is what I shot, I'll go back later in the year when the track is bolted down and the space is in full use and add that to this package.
