Home

Content

Kevin Railsback

The Broken Silence	2votes
September 23, 2008 04:59 PM	Views: 166 Favorited: 0 Comments: 3

	Filed Under: Commentary
Tags: Yellowstone

I was reading another filmmakers blog the other day about people purposely creating noise to ruin their shots.
I've run into the same situation myself on numerous occasions. Mostly it seems to occur when I'm shooting close to a road or in areas where larger groups of people happen to be.

Some people take great delight in honking horns, yelling, peeling out in their vehicles, whatever they can think of to be disruptive.
I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is behind it all. It seems that whenever you're in an area that is easily accessible to the public, you have these issues.
As soon as you get fifty yards off the road and hike down a trail, people suddenly develop manners. They'll wait for you to finish a shot. They will stop talking if it looks like you're filming. They'll take a different path to not scare away your subject.
I think it all boils down to these people have respect for nature and wildlife. It's like they feel you've taken the effort to go beyond the being tourist driving down the road with their camcorder hanging out the window as they talk on their cell phone.
When you lose sight of the roads, the general stores, the ice cream shops, you enter a world where the horn honkers are too lazy to venture. You only come across people that truly respect nature and enjoy the solitude it can provide.
Of course, it's a two way street. If I see people approaching, I'll hold off on taking a shot or I'll take the time to explain what I'm shooting and why.
Off the road, people have respect for you and your gear. I wish that were true everywhere and not just off the beaten path. I don't know how many times I've been to places like Mt. Rushmore's observation deck and had people grab my camera on the tripod and start turning it try and get a better view of the Presidents. I usually point the camera down or away from the subject to discourage this practice. One guy was even upset that I had the lens cap on and he couldn't see anything.
Sometimes you can't help but shoot near the road or on a boardwalk crowded with people. You just have to grin and bear it. Most days though I find myself grinning. Not because I think these people are funny but because I tend to record a lot of my footage in slow motion. When I do that, my camera doesn't record any audio. So they can hoot and holler all they want, they'll never ruin a shot.
But, sometimes whenever it gets to be too much, I just step off the road and enter a world where people have respect for each other and their surroundings. If only the rest of the world could be that way.

Comments

Will Mahoney

September 26, 2008 12:07 PM

Well put, sir!

I completely understand what you are talking about. When I film in an urban area, with traffic and people all around - I do get hecklers and whatnot. But that's people, man. Sometimes that's just the way things go. But I do feel for you.

Now, off in the woods. You are spot on. People are out there to enjoy and experience nature. They're more laid-back. Instead of screaming into the lens, they wait patiently for me to notice them, then ask a smart question. And I politely take the time to explain what I'm doing.

Man, I love people. Keep shooting.

Steven Dempsey

October 10, 2008 10:17 AM

Kevin,

I've had the exact same experience on many occasions and it really pisses me off.

I was doing a shoot a little while back for a local school district and stopped my car to get some shots of a lake nearby. While shooting, a car sped by with the window open. I felt a burning sensation on the back of my neck and then I realized someone had thrown a penny at me from the open window. I couldn't believe this dangerous behavior. I could have been seriously injured or my gear could have been damaged. On many other occasions, I've had people deliberately walking in front of the camera while I'm shooting. Some have just passed by and others have actually made obscene gestures, completely ruining my shot.

When these kinds of things happen I have a choice. I can either get really pissed off with the person by verbally commenting or I can simply let it go. Almost one hundred percent of the time I simply let it go. I'm not going to risk my gear and personal injury because of this kind of stupidity.

Kevin Railsback

October 10, 2008 04:06 PM

Steven,

Sounds like you've had worse experiences with this than I have!

What is it with these people?

For me it's been mostly the younger ground, teens and twenty-somethings.
Usually if someone older ruins a shot it's because they didn't realize they were doing so.

More often than not, they apologize profusely for getting in the way.

I realize most of the time I'm in a public place and people have a right to be there just as much as I do. But why go out of your way to ruin someone's shot?

I'm like you, I usually let it go. Nothing like a carload of kids wanting to impress their buddies by stomping the lone filmmaker.

Maybe it's just that parents don't teach the younger generations respect anymore.

I was out filming last night, doing a long time-lapse and an older couple was having their pictures taken by the river as the sun was going down.

I was set up by the only rapids on the river and I knew they were going to come over in my direction.

They tried to get as close as they could without getting in my shot but I was really wide so I could see they had already entered my frame.

I told them they were more than welcome to get closer to the rapids if they wanted a better shot as I wasn't filming, just taking in the beauty of the water and reflecting on the day.

My shot was ruined but they had been so careful to try to stay out of frame, I didn't want to make them feel bad.

They got a great shot and I sat and watched the rapids and remembered that while my camera didn't capture the shot I wanted, my soul did. No amount of horn honking is going to take that away from me.

First Name:

Last Name:

Title:

Comment:

Indicates Required Information

Fairfax, Iowa,

United States

Contact Member

Bio

"Born in Chicago as the son of a career Marine Corps father, travel was in my blood from an early age. Two tours in Washington, D.C. made me a regular at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum where I marveled at the magnificent creatures that were on display there. From an early age I wanted to capture the incredib

More...

Silver Phoenix, LLC