My entry for the 13th of September was all about taking a couple of journalists along the WHR so they could make a short video feature for the telegraph web site and Visit Wales. This has finally emerged and looks pretty good.
This was what they made of the trip. If you surf back to the 13th there is a picture of them taking the shot just before Castell Cidwm. Makes it all worth while. Think I might visit... oh no, no need, I live there.
I've ben so busy in the last couple of weeks that I haven't had time to add anything to the blog so here is an update.
The biggest news is that I finished off the Year in the Life of the F&WHR 2012 and got that on sale. This involved creating an introduction complete with catchy music... doing a final tart up of the menu screens; making sure everything makes sense, adding a sound file to the menu on each disk. One is 138 passing by and the other is Merddin Emrys. I always make sure one disk has an FR image and the the other a WHR.
This is the introduction.
Apart from finishing the artwork and then manufacturing plenty of sets I've been busy trying to get the other projects moved on.
I've finished a very rough edit of the 'Fred' footage and I have high hopes that this will make an interesting programme. My next job with this is to go through and make a list of stills and if possible moving images to illustrate what is being discussed, I've found a certain amount from previous projects but I need loads more.
The second radio mic which I wanted for this turned up last week too, only a month too late. It will be very useful for future projects in this vein.
Here are both recievers mounted on the camera with the belt packs in front.
The other main project I've been getting on with is the Year in Snowdonia which now only needs the music finishing before it can be released too. The music is a slow process as it has to be fitted to the pictures both in terms of length and of appropriateness. I've now finished the track for Snowdon which is based on the Welsh national anthem and I've nearly done the winter finale section which is about five minutes, this just needs a couple of musical changes and a final mix to be finished which should take about half a day. Then the final section of music is for a chapter about the menai strait and its bridges... I have no idea what to do for this at the moment so this will slow things down.
A slightly blurry picture of the studio mid session.
Crikey, I've been busy in the last couple of weeks. Since I did the shooting for Fred we've had the FR autumn gala known this year as Classic Ffestiniog. This basically meant three days of intensive service on the FR including half a dozen gravity trains and freight workings and all sorts.
Once the weekend was over I had managed to get about 3 hours of video again but I really didn't feel it would justify a stand alone DVD this time and I was right. Once I got a chance to edit it down I got it to just over half an hour.
Waiting for a train to cross the bridge at TYB, a classic FR view if ever there was.
A gravity train rattles past Minffordd yard.
On Sunday the longest ever slate train in the preservation era was run with 52 waggons, this is just about as many as will fit in the station loops and makes an impressive sight. I haven't done a You tube edit of the whole weekend yet but I did do a quick and dirty Friday package.
On the Monday after the classic FR weekend a special slate train to Blaenau was run in conjunction with the rebuilding of the centre of town. The 2 slate waggons and small Hudson Hunslet which have been plinthed in the car park have been renovated and repainted in Blodge and have been reinstalled this week. Notwithstanding any of that it was a good excuse to take Merddin and a small slate train complete with brake van all the way to the top of the line. Unfortunately the weekend's good weather had changed to vile dampness so the camera spent the day in its raincoat.
Waiting at Groby Junction
Waiting at Glan y Pwyll
While the service train came and went the slate train took shelter in the sidings at Glan y Pwll. The train crew were happy to do some run pasts while I shot some video and Chris Parry took some cracking stills. The grey weather and the historic surroundings really suited the slate train.
Today I finished editing Classic weekend and Andrew Thomas helped add subtitles we then drove up to Blaenau to shoot the loco and waggons being craned back onto their new ground level plinth. Having stood around for and hour in the freezing cold it finally turned up and very slowly got plinthed.
Back in Port and I finished the cover and the first version of the finished Year in the Life 2012. I now need to check the whole thing for any hiccoughs and spellink moshtiks and then we can start duplicating it and put it on sale. Nice purple cover this year... watch this space.
Back in the studio tomorrow to finish the music for the introduction to Year and probably start the next piece for the Year in Snowdonia project. I also brought the camera home in case the weather is nice and I can pop out and get the finishing shots of Autumn colours in the sunshine.
