Ice Climbing, the Video Version

Photo by Evan Brandt

Chris Acosta of West Pottsgrove makes his way up the ice wall at Birdsboro Waters Tuesday.

So here's the thing, despite many attempts and a genuine desire to master the craft, I'm not terribly good at making video, at least not video that looks any different from anything else a parent would shoot at their kid's birthday party.

Which is not to say I haven't learned anything.

I've learned how important sound is, and to rue the roar of passing cars and people talking off camera when they don't know you're shooting video.

But in terms of the technical tools, I remain, however much I might try, a text-centric person.

As an example, here is the merely adequate 45-second Tout video I made from some of the video footage I shot.


Luckily, I work in a place filled with talented people; people whose talents complement as well as replicate my own.

The young reporter sitting behind me is named Frank Otto and as anyone who has followed The Mercury's football coverage knows, the man has a way with the compilation video.

Photo by John Strickler

Proof that old round-belly did in fact cross 

the wire bridge over Hay Creek.

(He is also the guy who taught the old dog the new trick of picking pieces of different video segments you want and putting them into Tout. That's how I made the one you see above.)

So when he offered to take some of the video and make a longer, more complete report from it, "just to see if I can," I agreed with total confidence in the result.

And my confidence was not misplaced, as you shall see.

So yes, I hiked out through the snow to the Birdsboro Waters ice climbing site (sweating and shivering the whole while).

And yes, I crossed the two wire bridges over Hay Creek -- twice.

And yes, I shot the video and wrote the story which will appear in tomorrow's paper (but which is on-line right now.)

But let's face it, there is no way I could have assembled that raw video into the one I have embedded here below.

Certainly, it will be attached to my story on The Mercury web site, but sometimes they can be hard to find there.

So my blog readers, all five of you (I know that's a joke I use a lot, but I'm very attached to it), can now get a sneak peek at the most excellent 3-minute video Frank put together from the raw footage (do we still fall it footage when it's digital?) I shot Tuesday.



So if you think that looked pretty cool, make note that the Birdsboro Area Climbers Association will hold an open-house type event later in the year when novices can try their hands at traditional rock climbing at the site.

Check back here on The Digital Notebook or on my Twitter account (@PottstownNews) or on The Mercury web site for advance information.

Or you can check back on their web site, or their Facebook page for more information.