John the Arborist
... Video Production Blog ...
(7-5-2026)
I meant to get these uploaded a few days ago but this week got crazy busy and I'm just now finding the time. It's my birthday in a few days and so I get to go on my annual mountain climbing excursion. I have a few mountains in mind for this year; I'll know when I get out there... The winds of the great magnet will show me the way.
When I get back next weekend, it will be foot to the floor on this project and my novel. So expect a lot of progress to occur throughout July and August.
Best regards,
Will
(6-27-2026)
Of the 64 clips which made the initial cut, 25 of them stood out as "Exceptional" and so I focused on those to begin with. I trimmed them down further to get to the essence of each clip, color graded, and further processed them into the 1st round of Master Files which will be used in the Initial Assembly Edit, through the revisions to come, and ultimately the final cut.
The 25 "Exceptional" clips make up about 35% of the total usable footage, as illustrated in the photo below. Throughout the revisions I will refer to this list of other clips for B-Roll, Segway bits, and supplemental footage. Every shoot will generate a list like this and a similar phase in producing the usable master files.
(6-26-2026)
(6-25-2026)
We had a great trip to Maryland to see Sonya's folks. Went to the most epic indoor playground and learning center in Baltimore. It was 4 stories tall, maybe more, and had tons of themes and masterful carpentry, mechanical, electrical, and paint work; there were people and kids everywhere - naturally we all got infected with this years cold virus... Still healing but nearly there.
It didn't stop our fun though. We champed through it and made a lot of cool memories. I got to see my first fireflies (cross that one off the bucket list). Just an all around good time with family.
Now... Back to work :) We have another shoot scheduled next week. The plan is to continue in much the same fashion as our initial shoot, except more close-up and medium shots of the crew (individually) while they are doing their good work - with a focus on getting more head-on/straight shots and 3/4 profile shots.
The drone will be getting closer and will also be more noticeable as you work. Just ignore it, unless you want to interact with it or dance or do a touch-down mini tribal... Whatever's clever... Just know that it will be closer and it's completely on me and not on you in any way if the drone gets banged-up and I have to replace a prop. I have extras.
See you all next week. Have a blessed weekend :)
Will
(6-11-2026)
Will be on vacation (out of studio and state) until 6-19-2026
(6-9-2026)
(6-8-2026)
(6-6-2026)
Will be out of studio until 6-8-2026
(6-5-2026)
Tech Check on the current YouTube compression algorithm. Got all the project files and folder structures setup today, some editing and image processing completed, establishing efficient workflow, and dialing-in the finished look of the project.
(6-4-2026)
Things are progressing smoothly in large part due to the success of Shoot #1 a couple days ago... The footage exceeds what I was expecting. On sunny days with lots of shade on the subjects, it is a true challenge to get good exposure. With such a difference in light intensity and color between what resides in the shadows and what resides in the highlights, the issue of over exposure in one part of the image, coupled with the issue of under exposure in a different area of the image; it becomes an issue of choosing or compromising one or the other - this is where one of the main struggles arises in photography... Compromise; It's my least favorite condition in creative work. Thanks to technology, true technology which solves problems and justifies its existence - unlike tricknology - Neutral Density filters saved the day and made this shoot literally perfect. I'm continually grateful for ND Filters, and wouldn't bother filming anyone or anything on a beautiful sunny day without them.
With so much action going on in every direction and the need to capture those moments, keeping the technical area of the brain engaged while the creative hemisphere of the brain is demanding all the resources, it becomes a full-throttle experience. An interesting thing happens though in moments of peak demand like this and I feel like anyone who does dangerous work will relate to this... Bliss and serenity arrive, so long as one surrenders their control and focuses entirely on being present and fully in-the-moment. From the chaos come true calm and serenity. It's a rare thing, days like 6-2-2026, when everything aligns... Perfect light and chroma, engaging and interesting subject matter, and being prepared; all three conditions align in poetry and land on my camera and eye balls. It was a perfect day... It was my creative fuel - highest octane - a true beauty of a day. The guys were doing their work like a well oiled machine, in optimal coordination and precision - true pro's... Art in motion.
... Pertaining to Work Flow ...
...The initial weeding-through and summarizing of footage is complete for Shoot #1. I pulled screenshots from the footage to help me when I storyboard and create a narrative for the project. I also formulated summaries for each clip that made it through the initial pruning which will help keep things efficient and creatively unhindered as I edit everything together and create narrative threads. Those lists look like this...
Shoot #1 yielded 64 individual and usable clips (about 5 hrs of usable footage)
... So ...
The next step is to prune/clip more of the undesired areas of the usable footage, creating individual clips which will then be qualified, assembled, and edited for further use. Expect those clips to arrive here as they are created.
... Also ...
The screenshots come with a bonus feature, which is for you. Feel free to download the web version of the individual screenshots straight from this page by right-clicking, or if you want the master image (high resolution) for printing or personal archive or any other use, contact me at willwilde@lightboxstudioz.com for individual requests and I will gladly email you the high-res images. If you would like me to print them on archival high-gloss paper, that is also an option for a modest fee.
All the best,
Will
Screen Shots from Shoot #1 (6-2-2026)
