As some of my readers know, I have a history of creating videos. My repertoire includes videos of sports teams, life retrospectives of the bride and groom played at wedding receptions, family reunions, hunting expeditions, and my biggest production of all, an original short film that I wrote, directed, and produced (“A Cup of Joe”, link).

Despite being paid for most of my work, I would still consider myself an amateur videographer if for no other reason than the fact that I don’t currently make a living doing it. Still, it’s something I enjoy and I frequently look for ways to combine my love of video with other passions.

Take motorcycling for instance. I love to ride my V-Strom, especially on multi-day solo trips around the Pacific Northwest. It was a natural thing to think, “How can I make a video of a motorcycle trip?” I thought about producing a video a la Warren Miller’s ski films, complete with narration and amazing scenery. When I added up the production costs and level of effort involved I quickly realized it would be far too expensive and time consuming.

The next thought was to go minimalist and simply tape myself talking into the camera, sort of like The Blair Witch Project sans spooky plot lines. That would certainly be easy to make but who would want to watch it?

Do I want to be a videographer first and a motorcyclist second? Will the focus be on the scenery and locations, the riders, or the riding itself (lots of rolling on-bike shots)? Will I need a chase car with a cameraman plus driver?

So many questions, so many options.