Long Lens Shot Video Contest

If you’re like me, you got your first video camera but had no fisheye lens for a while. Not that fun, right? Then you finally got the fisheye and you might as well had glued it on, because from there on out, every shot was filmed fish. It’s just easier that way. It made stuff look big, it made slow seem fast. Plus it never took a steady hand- just hit record and aim.

But, there is essentially only one way to use a fisheye- getting in the action. Filming long, you have so much more freedom of angles, vantage points, dramatic zoom, dynamic elements, foreground framing… The list goes on.

For this contest, we’re ditching the fisheye. A long lens shot can be so much more powerful than a fisheye shot if done properly. What really inspired this whole contest was this shot of Trey Jones by Ryan Navazio @ 2:14 (check it out to see what it takes to win this contest.)

Why that shot would win:

• The pan into Trey using his shadow is so dynamic. It leads your eye seamlessly into the actual rider. It also shows character in the spot.
• The timing at which Trey enters the frame (exactly at flat bottom, about to hit the bank).
• The slow and steady zoom in, while panning and tilting.
• No portion of the rider is cut out of frame during the trick.
• It’s crisp, in focus and has good colors.

Let’s see your greatest long lens shots. The winning filmer will receive a Push It A Stop prize package and the rider will get gear from TCU/OSS.

Guidelines:
HD or SD – Any video camera can be used (although traditional video cameras have an advantage over DSLR’s- mostly the ability to zoom smoothly).
Clip can have been filmed whenever (doesn’t have to be new).
You can enter three clips (put them all in one file or upload separately- without music).
Handheld / tripod / zoom / rolling shots are all good (although there will be tripod shot and rolling long shot contests in the future).
Include an appropriate amount of heads and tails (time before the trick and after the trick).
The difficulty of the riding will NOT be judged, only the filming.

How to enter:
Join the Vimeo group and upload your clips, titled “Long Lens Shots” into the “Long Lens Shot Contest” album.
For help with exporting/compression (for SD) go here.

Deadline is March 10th. Any questions or comments can be heard here.