Behind the scenes of "the video"...
We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.
This last week we have been concentrating on our video project.
We spent a lot of time last summer filming, and a pile of time over the winter processing what we had filmed. And then we confirmed what we had wondered about - the first video is going to be way too long for most people (over four hours - turned out to be six!!), so we needed to film a short version for the average rider.
We also learned that the camera we thought was good - really was… past tense. Not so good any longer. So with a new camera we have now filmed footage for the basic video in HD. It is coming along well and looks pretty professional, at least to our non-techie eyes.
And we have become much more proficient in our filming set up this go round. We have markers to help with consistency in set up. OK, so they’re 6” spikes with flagging tape stepped into the ground, but they work!
We have cue cards. Nothing like felt pen on newsprint clipped to scrap wood to make remembering what you have to say easier. Besides, they can get reused as packing paper when shipping trees...
Our equipment for getting those difficult shots is multipurpose and "experienced".
And the overall set up to avoid glare on the lens as well as other obstacles that could get in the way is, I must say, rather resourceful. (Anyone want to buy a truck box liner? It’s for sale!)
But we’re really encouraged by how the videos are coming. From what we have seen, there is nothing out there on western saddle fit produced by people who primarily work with western saddles, and there needs to be.
So despite the home made set up, the final product is looking pretty good. Now we just have a few more hours of filming bits and pieces for the Full Meal Deal video (which we ended up calling Well Beyond the Basics) and a ton more processing on it, and all the processing on the Basic Facts (which we should have called More than Just the Basics, but didn't...) video.
We’ll let you know when it’s ready… (They both are!!)
Do you know how happy this video makes me? Do you know how happy and educated it will make others? I have been able to find nothing on western saddle fit that's worth a toot. We have riding clinics here at our farm and I see so many poorly fit saddles. And unhappy horses. Which creates an unhappy rider when they get tossed. Thank you.
