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Q&A with Alex

(calm music) Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the workshop. Now, let's go into Q and A's with Alex. What a set of few days, Collin. Yeah. Is this day four, day five? I can't even remember now. It feels like it's been a week. been pretty long. (both laughing) But, I think I've learned a lot. I've been carefully watching you work on the field, and as you were doing the editing scenes in the studio, and I've gathered a set of questions, that I think will be useful to these guys. So, without further ado, I'm gonna start and jump right in the subject. And the question is, how to see in time-lapse. How to see life in time-lapse. How do you pretty much, how do you know when to set up your time-lapse, when you drive around in daily life? Yeah. I mean, you'll see an inspiring image, but, is that something that you should time-lapse? How do you know that? Yeah, well, I think that if it makes you curious, then you should pursue that for time-lapse. If it's something...

that you feel like you wanna see how it develops, how that scene develops into something new, something different. Curious. I mean, everything changes, nothing's permanent. So if you take that point of view, and apply it to everything that you're looking at, there's something that's changing in that environment, in that frame, that you have in mind that you can capture. So just keep an open mind. Keep an open mind. So you say follow the curiosity and look for change. Uh hmm. Okay. So what's an example for like, change? Let's say you walk through the city tomorrow, Where are you gonna look at? How are you gonna see things? Well, I go running a lot at this one spot. It's called Sawyer Camp Trail. I live in the Bay area. So it's pretty close to where I live, and I go there a couple times a week. I go at different times of the day. Because I go there pretty frequently, I see how glassy the water can be, or how the fog can come over the hills. I've seen every variation of that environment, I feel. I feel like I've seen it in every season, every time of day. I've seen it when there's lots of people, there's no people, when it's closed. And I've seen the construction that goes on in a nearby area around there. The more you are familiar with an area, and the more intimate you can be, in the knowledge. Well, it's interesting, 'cause you bring up the weather like from the clouds rolling in. (indistinct) Yeah, the fog that rolls over the hills. The water being still or moving, and the reflection you can get out of the water. Yeah. Awesome. But then the people sell us, so you still keep the humans, so like, seeing the runners go or- Yeah. There's a lot of families there, and it's just like, it's a really positive environment, like it makes me feel something, and I try to think about what I can capture there, because I just like the feeling I get from that place. Okay. So what you say to these guys is, like pick someplace that's familiar or develop familiarity with the place, and then look for weather patterns, natural features and human activity? Will that be some of your principles then? Yeah. Those are the things that draw my attention. That's what I think about. Yeah, no. It's interesting to hear it. Because I think, I mean for me, like if I wanna set up a time-lapse, now that I've watched you work, I think I feel a hundred percent confident that I do it. But- Nice. That was my goal. As a success. Yeah. But I feel like I'm still gonna be wondering, where should I set up? Is it worth it? Yeah. Committing eight hours of my life to it? Yeah. Exactly. So, just hearing what are your tips is really eye opening on what to look for. Yeah. So. I mean, the more time you spend anywhere, the more time you're committing of your life, like you have to, you wanna capture something that you're committed to, that you're enthusiastic about, and that you wanna learn about. So, don't just go out and shoot something that you're so-so on. Shoot something that you really wanna learn about. That takes me to one of the questions I had, is like, what is a good, what would you tell somebody who wants to start tomorrow? Where do they start? Where to start? Start with something that's inspiring. Okay. Start with something that you actually care about, and that may be hard, but it will be so satisfying to explore. So when you say care about, meaning, so something that's like kinda closer to you, like that you pay attention to? How do you define something you care about? Something that creates like, a really strong feeling in you. Like I saw- Okay, so it's like an inner thing. Yeah. I mean, I can give you an example. Yeah. That I told you. And told you about, is when I was starting out with time-lapse, I didn't really know what I was doing. You would think that you would wanna start small, and do something more safe. So that way you're not spending so much time, like figuring out the process, and then refining that process. I just took a huge leap, and I went up to the top of Half Dome, and shot all night. And I didn't even know what I was doing. So my second time shooting, actually shooting time-lapse, so I went up there and I captured some time-lapse, and I didn't use the correct interval. I didn't expose anything correctly. I shook the camera. I did all these things wrong. All mistakes. It didn't matter that I didn't get a good time-lapse. It mattered that I pursued something that inspired me, and made me wanna come back and do better. And because I saw how beautiful it was up there. Like I experienced that through my own eyes or I saw the change happen. It didn't matter that I didn't capture a time-lapse that I could post to the online, or like, get a job with, because it looks so great and it's impressive. Like, I know I can get there. I just don't know if I'll always have that desire and inspiration to spend my time working on that. So just doing something that I felt like, I would wanna continue to care about, and invest my time in was important to do. And then, did you post that anywhere, or you just kept it private? I think I posted some of those to Facebook or something. Okay. Just circle of friends? Just to my circle of friends. I probably made the album on Facebook, and called it like Half Dome, 2010, or something like that. Well, this is good then, so experimenting private. Yeah. So yeah. You went all in. Yeah. But then you kinda kept it private, as an experiment? Yeah. And I'm not like suggesting that anyone who creates bad stuff doesn't share it, like, share whatever you're excited to share. And if you're excited about other people, if you're excited about it, other people will be excited about it. So you advice to share, even your experiments. Yeah, totally. Okay. Sweet. Well then, moving on, I heard you to this days to the workshop, talk about bringing the viewer in. And that's actually something that I'm really interested in. And I'd like to know, what's your take on that? What do you mean by that? How so in bringing the viewer in? Well, you were just saying that we can have this movement, that this brings the viewer into the scene. So, how do you define that? How do you use that? 'Cause you've said it a couple times, so, I'm trying to dig a little deeper in there. Well, I love watching movies and I study movements that I see in movies, inspire me, in documentary films that I watch. And I don't know exactly what movements are gonna exactly achieve a certain feeling, or a certain goal, but I know how movement makes me feel when I've seen it in film. And if you use movement in time-lapse, it can achieve the same goal. You can create a more deep feeling in a shot, by adding movement. And if you take the viewer closer to your subject, that could make them feel closer physically or emotionally to their subject. Okay. There's different ways that you can use it. And I think it's important to remember the importance of motion, when you're shooting time-lapse. Yes. Or any type of filmmaking technique. That's true. But then do you need movement to bring the viewer in? No, you don't. How else can you bring the viewer in, without a fancy slider? Without a fancy slider? Yeah. You can just shoot something that really, there's something happening there that in the composition of your frame, that's the most important thing, is that you are framing your subject in a way that communicates something to the viewer. So what are you communicating? When you look at a still image, how do you draw the viewer into your image? You can do that. You don't need motion. That's why photography's so popular. That's a good point. It's because the strength of a photo is in the composition of that photo, in the view of that. and in the point of view of the photographer, people will invest their interests in how that person sees. And so, that still applies to time-lapse, it's still a photo. It's True. So you say, it's a composition thing. Yeah. But the thing about drawing your viewer in it with time-lapse, because it can be part of a film now, not just a body of work or a collection of photos. It has to compliment the other shots in your project. So if it's a time-lapse only project, how are you gonna connect? How are you gonna use movement or use these other tools to connect images together? If you just have a bunch of static shots, static, that could be cool, but maybe there's something more that can be done to create a more cohesive image, and guide the viewer more through these videos. So it's almost like you're writing a song, when you make a time-lapses. Yeah. So you look for connecting points between each shot? You do that? What's that? You look for connecting points between each of your shots to make the film. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So if I- Do you use a pattern or template? No. I think- Going in, then going out, then going left and going right. Is there anything like that? I mean, is there a template for making a film, for making a movie? Like there are rules, there's like, keep your subject like, in the rule of thirds. There are things that can help guide you. And I think that those are important because they help give you a place to start, and help you move forward, and grow in your style, and your technique that you're trying to create through your images. So like, maybe the advice then it'd be like, learn filmmaking? Yeah. Study filmmaking. Watch as many films, watch behind the scenes, commentary. That's how you started with the BTS of like planet earth? Yeah? Yeah. Yes, exactly. Okay. Yeah. I was watching people. They didn't talk about, why they? I don't remember as well as I do when I watched it three years ago. But I think it was more technical. It wasn't about the emotions or the point of making that movement. It looked really cool. And it was just a lot to explain. Yeah. So I think that's why they only had so much time to explain all that. But I'm sure there were a lot of other things that filmmakers could have added to give you more insight into why. To the BTS. Okay, this is good, so learn film rules. Yes. Okay. When do you know when to stop shooting? They say you started time-lapse. When do you know when to stop it? Well, you know when to stop it, based on a schedule that you built yourself. So, you can't get sunset, and then get sunrise in a totally different place, if you have to sleep and then drive to that location, So the stopping time is dictated by the schedule? Yeah. You have to have a schedule. Okay. You have to have a schedule, beautiful. Okay. Perfect. You could not have a schedule, but it's good to know what to expect, so that you can know how long. What if you really like this shot, and you didn't expect to get really amazing. Do you wanna keep going? You wanna know, is it worth it to keep it going? Or is it worth it to breakdown and go over there? You're only one person. You're not like a 20 person film crew, so if you're just by yourself, you need to know where you can make sacrifices, and when you would rather not get that shot. Yeah. In favor of just strengthening the shot that you're already working on. Okay. So time is a limit. I love this, useful schedule. I like schedules. Okay. Yeah. I didn't always use schedules and I definitely- So that's you would have- told that to myself in the past. Here you go, Collin- Build a better schedule. Yeah. Cool. Now I have another question. And it is, obviously you've built this like project for a year, like you sent in a project. Yeah. And is there a reason why should people make a long project? Like if I told you, should I start a long project? Would you advise that? Totally. Why? Because I think that it will teach you something about filmmaking, that you can't learn just by making one shot. Okay. So I went with the intention of just capturing time-lapses at the top of Half Dome. And Sheldon and I had planned this. We both went up there and when we came down, we realized we had some really amazing images, and they couldn't just stand alone. They couldn't just be one like, they couldn't just be posted by themselves. Okay. Or used by themselves. They had to have more, there needed to be more context. And I think that when you learn how to create context, and create, develop a story, through combining multiple images, and it will teach you about what is valuable, and what's not valuable, where you need to trim the fat, 'cause you can't just go out and shoot and shoot. Because then you'll do what I did, and capture 200 time-lapses and only use half of them. (whispering) 200 time-lapses. So. But you still advise, even based on that, you're advising me, or guys watching, to commit to a long-term project if they can. Yeah. It depends on what long term is. Like a year, I think it's pretty starting to begin long-term. Yeah. Well- It's pretty fair assumption. I think that's a different type of time-lapse. If your goal is to capture change over longer periods of time, then that's the only way to do it, and that's what you should do. Okay. And definitely experiment, and make sure that your technique is worth it, so that you don't waste a year of your life. But I encourage people to do long-term projects, but time-lapse doesn't have to be a long-term project. It could be multiple short term projects, for sure. Multiple short term projects. Okay. It all depends on the needs of the project. You've encouraged me to start my long-term project, so I am gonna start it. I'm not making you any promises here, but let's assume I'm gonna start it. Okay. Start my long-term project. No, you're doing it. Okay. I'm doing it. (both laughing) So what challenges mentally and physically will I endure during that long term project? Can you help me prepare for that? Oh man. I think you're ready. I think you can do this, But why, what do you- But what's different than what you already know? Yeah. So I think- Or the guys at home watching- I think you should be ready to carry a lot more gear. Okay. Carry a lot more gear. You're gonna carry a lot more gear. Find a good buddy. And mentally, you're not gonna wanna do it alone. Yes. Because, spending four hours standing in one place. By yourself. Unless you can leave your camera alone. But I'm not, I'm kinda too chicken to do that. But yeah, being in one place for too long is, it's mentally exhausting. And then you start to, I mean, it could just be me, but I think we all- (indistinct) Yeah. I think we all get lonely, you know? Oh yeah. So I think that it's just like, you're naturally, it might be hard for you to stick with a time-lapse, 'cause you might wanna go home, and just go back home and start another day. That's why I think what you can be prepared for, is to stay out there longer, and commit to the endurance, and like the test of commitment to doing the shot. Yes. And to seeing it through even though if you're not sure about it, like just to evade the doubt. Okay. So you're advising get ready to carry more gear. Get a buddy or multiple buddies, and be ready for type two fun. Yes, exactly. Okay. All right. Even if I'm in a city because I'm still, does that apply for in an urban environment? Or is it the wilderness that makes it harder? I think it's just the isolation and the wilderness, yeah. And what if I'm making- Or if you're away from home. Actually, yeah, if you're traveling. You know, we travel for work sometimes. And even if you're in a hotel or you're in a city. Yeah. You're still away from your family, your friends. So I think a lot of us understand that it's hard to be out there in the wilderness. It's hard to be anywhere when you're away from home. Do you have any tricks to stay busy in the wilderness when it's just you? Podcasts. Podcasts? Podcasts, listen to- What do you listen to? I listened to Game of Thrones when I did the John Muir Trail. Oh sweet! So, it's just like something that- Oh, company. Yeah. Something to listen to, something to keep you engaged and yeah. I mean, I like to take the headphones off sometimes. Yeah. Listen to- You know, it's really nice to have that in, if you're out there under the stars, that's usually not the loneliest point, that's a pretty cool place to be and- Yes. If you're by yourself. What is your mental game? Like what do you say to yourself through a time-lapse? Is it through one year time-lapse, or even through cold night? What do you say to yourself to endure change better? Is it an easy process or is it a hard process? I'm thinking right now. Yeah. What'd be your mental talk? It's mostly the shots where you have to wake up early, That's the rough one. Those are the hardest, or wake up in the middle of the night to set up a new time-lapse. Oh yeah. (laughs) And you're always looking for excuses. You're always like, well, I already got that first one. Your sleeping bag, like no. Yeah, no, that's good, your body want is giving you so many good excuses to just not- Oh, selfish. Work harder. And that's always for me, at least, when I'm waking up. And to get past those feelings, and to just get up and do the shot, I try to remember what a shot I got before looked like, and what a situation where I've done that. I mean, you have to have an experience where you had that- You bring that back. Doubt. Or that, yeah, you have to bring that back, that feeling where you didn't think that it was worth it to get up, and then you got up and it was amazing. So have you have this database almost of feelings? Yeah. You have to like- You just play them over and over like a tape. Yeah. I mean this whole project I've been trying to like recall a lot of those feelings. Yes. And it's hard because they're buried underneath, so much like pain and suffering. And you're just like, is it really worth it? Like, am I crazy? Like, is it just stupid that I do this stuff? Like, I don't even make that much money doing it, so. Okay. So, it's like, yeah, there's so many reasons to like not do it, and just like, do something else. Beautiful. I think that applies to a lot of things in life. Like just play the good memories over and over. Yeah. You just have to remember, like you have to have a good memory. Memory. Yeah. I'd be harder as I get older, and I become more feeble, and like, not having a great memory. I might be like, yeah, I'm too old for this. It's true. Yeah. But for now, I think it's important that you just built this database. Yeah. And you just recognize it. And then each time you're suffering, you take it in. And you're like, all right, I'm suffering now, but I know this will lead to this pleasure. Do you do that? Yeah. I can't wait to share it. Like when I'm doing it, I'm like damn, this is gonna be a good story to tell later, like I really wanna tell my film buddies about this shot. As soon as you see the light, you're just like, as a photographer, I think most photographers will just be like, oh my gosh! Like, all those feelings go away. And it's just hard to get up when there's no light, or there's clouds in the sky. Yes. And you're like, maybe not. Maybe it's not worth it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But this is beautiful. Thank you very much. (Collin chuckles) I think this is... Any more questions? I'm good. Yeah. This is probably the- You must be pretty tired. No. I think it's hard to do this step by myself. But like, when I'm talking to someone- It's fun. It's easy to like, pull out the fun rays. It's good to talk, man. Thank you. Yeah. (soft music)