3 Perspectives Video

 


Video Link: Take the Risk?

"Take the Risk?" engages three perspectives on the concept of risk in rock climbing. 

The first perspective comes from the audio. I took clips from several episodes of the Climbing Gold podcast that I felt best (or most interestingly) communicated some of the thoughts surrounding risk. Some audio clips ask questions, like how to justify taking certain risks, while others explain the memorable experiences and character building that are the result of taking those risks. It's worth noting that Climbing Gold is hosted by Alex Honnold, one of the most daring and well known modern rock climbers, and invites dozens of other professional alpinists, mountaineers, and climbers. Because of their experiences, they offer different perspectives than I can.

The second perspective comes from two quotes, one by Liz Robbins and the other by Craig Muderlak. Both are seasoned climbers, but I chose their quotes because I resonated most with their words - not because they came from experienced climbers. This perspective merges others' experiences with my experiences and offers a common ground. And the audience always engages with written material differently than visual or auditory material. 

The third perspective comes from my own climbing videos - consider it found source material. Because going out and shooting climbing videos during a regular school (and work) week is tricky, I wanted to use what I already had. Most of these clips were dispersed throughout my camera roll and came from a variety of adventures. As a visual element, the videos show what sound and word cannot. The videos are far from the experience of the actual place, but they offer a taste of what that place looks like, what climbing looks like, and what successful risk taking can look like. 

Or, the three perspectives could be questioning risk ("before"), taking risk ("during"), and experiencing life after risk ("after"). Feel free to interpret. 

On a technical note, I both liked and disliked the editing process. The program I used was confusing at times, and I had trouble uploading and placing the audio. I also felt like I had little training in video as art, and I often second guessed myself when choosing the order of clips or selecting audio. It's also hard to fit a whole sport's culture (a culture defined by risk-taking) into a five minute video. I put a lot of time into editing this (more than I expected!), and I ultimately feel (mostly) satisfied with the final product. 

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