Misty in Marina- UFO Drift-O-Cross

In an ever changing world, the one constant you can count on is, finger numbing, lip chapping, eye irritating cold weather in Marina, Ca. Great for engines, bad for filming. Very similar to the last time I was there, but slightly colder. The mist and wind made for a challenging edit, nearly every shot was bland and lacking true color. The past Three days I have been taking a crash course on Color Correction, something that has plagued me in the past. It was actually a good opportunity to break out of my shell and learn a little bit on the subject. All in all, I feel the picture quality is a vast improvement on what was originally captured, giving me some confidence in color correcting.

As for the event itself, one couldn't ask for a better set up than what Dennis and Peggy of UFO brought us. Splitting the day into two parts, $40 for either the morning or after noon sessions, or $70 for the entire day. The first half of the day had two separate courses that ran two cars at a time. It was all self governed, meaning drivers ended their run when they felt it was over. This is great for getting as many runs in as possible, and it also showcases the respect each driver has for one another. The second part of the day was one big course where drivers did their best in one consistent run. Everyone had plenty of seat time, and at $40/$70, how could you complain? Last time it felt as if the event had gotten to be a bit out of control, long lines, not much driving time. This time around, that was not the case. What seemed like more drivers, was actually much less hectic, and everyone received plenty of driving time, which is the main goal in a practice event like this. It was just an awesome day with a great vibe. You could see nothing but smiles in all of the drivers, everyone had a blast.

I had a great time filming these guys, a whole lot of great talent, as well as some less experienced drivers who where practicing the correct way. I always preach to new drivers how you gain so much more experience at one drift event than you would a whole year of street drifting. Not to mention, you keep your car, yourself safe, you stay out of trouble, and you don't hurt anyone. So watching some new drivers at this event was great and it helps the motorsport move in the right direction.

Dennis and Peggy where extremely nice in letting me roam where ever I wanted to get different angles. To the flaggers who watched over me as I was filming, thank you. I don't know when the next UFO Drift-O-Cross will be, but during a conversation with Dennis, there is a chance they will host up to five events next year. Something for everyone to look forward to. Hopefully by then my car will be running so I can take part in the tire burning festivities myself.

I did what I could to keep my hands steady in the cold, but I inevitably had to resort to my tripod. The entire day was shot in 60i at 1/250th shutter. The intro clips where slowed down with JES Deinterlacer. The quality is amazing when you take the extra time to use JES to slow down footage. The opening two shots speak volumes for people unsure if going the extra mile is worth it. I have finally found a fluid slow motion work flow and I could not be happier. I also went a head and tried some new things. It isn't that convincing, but I tried to create a triple tandem shot. I had fun with that and I'm happy with the results for now. Soon I hope to be able to make the shot so good, you have to ask if it was real or not. Another new addition to this video is we have a sponsor. Geoff Pitts of Thunder Drift, thunderdrift.com , and I have come to an agreement and he has sponsored this video to promote his up coming "Mustache-Style" Full Track Event on November 15, 2009. Visit thunderdrift.com for all the details on the epic event. What an awesome way to get those who are interested in drifting to see when the next drift event in the area will be. Thunder Hill is still one of my all time favorite venues to drift and I urge everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to drive there. It has claimed one of my engines already, but I still keep going back for more. Hero Productions will definitely be there doing heavy media coverage. If anyone would like to sponsor a video, or even just a section of a video, contact me at: LocalStreetHero@gmail.com. Most of these videos you see have been viewed anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 and counting. Its a fast, painless, cheap, easy way to promote your event, business, or service.

I hope you all enjoy, and if there are any questions, just drop me a line on here, via email, on vimeo, in person, what ever! I'm an easily accessible person, reach out to me which ever way is best, I want to hear from you. Click on the video title to follow it back to vimeo to view the video in its best quality.

Thank you for watching,
Andrew Zaragoza
Hero Productions

UFO Drift-O-Cross Marina, Ca Sept. 12, 2009 from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

Just Drift/Ziptied All Star Bash 2009!

If anyone is remotely interested in cars, motor sports, or action sports, it is a MUST to experience what is known as All Star Bash. I was thinking this was going to be the best non-pro event to attend, my thoughts quickly changed to the BEST DRIFT EVENT IN THE STATES, period. No big sponsorships, no TV cameras (except Hero Productions :-), corporate America was non existent. Only the people who have a real passion for the motor sport. It simply does not get better than this. The event took place at Willow Springs International Raceway on two separate tracks within the raceway. Drivers had a rare opportunity to drift on Streets and the second track for the event was the now legendary, Horse Thief Mile (HTM).

It was a last second decision to go. We looked at the clock as it read 12 o'clock and decided it was going to be worth it. Took off around 1am Saturday morning to get to the track early so we could start the day. The drive was exactly 6 hours, am I crazy? No. I had the same passion and determination as a driver and that carries over quite well into this realm. "You have to be working while the next man is sleeping if you want to get ahead". Words from my dad that have stuck with me my whole life. Driving through the night, no sleep, just to get to a drift event to film? Yes.

I knew the event was going to be "hot", but I didn't know it was going to be HOT. Temperatures were well over 100 degrees causing most cars to overheat and causing me to run the car parked with the A/C on full blast between filming. Even with the heat, drivers were still doing what they do best. At an invitational only event, everyone was trying to do their best and they did not disappoint. People from Socal to Norcal, Arizona to Washington, big ups to those from South Dakota to CHICAGO! Everyone showed up for this event. Its that big of a deal.

This is my biggest event to date. I still have very little experience, but that did not stop Charlie from Just Drift from granting me my media pass. I know it was nothing, but just as easily as Charlie said "yes" to my request, he could have easily said "no, we need experience". So I must give a special thanks to him, thank you Charlie. I hope this video can put me and Hero Productions on the media map. I normally publish videos in 2-3 days, this has taken me a full week of non stop editing. I feel it is by far my best to date and I can not wait to view the feedback and responses from everyone. I even got a hand from Corey over at coredesignz to help me with my logo for this one. Visit him at www.coredesignz.com

I had a blast. I've driven many events, spectated many, but non can compare to All Star Bash. I met so many cool people and finally put some faces to screen names and cars that I've seen on the net for years. I hope the tradition lives on and by this time next year, I can be posting the 2010 rendition of All Star Bash. I do hope you like what I have composed here. I knew I wanted to get this video out while the buzz of ASB was still apparent. Too everyone that was there, you guys were awesome! Next year I hope to meet even more of you crazy animals.

With that said, I present to you, Just Drift/Ziptied All Star Bash 2009 by Hero Productions!

Just Drift/Ziptied All Star Bash 2009 from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

Feeling the heat at Thunder Drift!

Its been 7 months since the last time I paid a visit to Thunder Hill in Willows, Ca. Enough time to forget exactly how hot it can get. Having the hot sun beat down on you with only a hat for shade, it can be unbearable for some. Only few can take it, luckily, I love to film or else I would have packed it in early. I miss driving drift events, but with every event I film, I enjoy being part of the media more and more. I took this opportunity to play with a few settings on my camera, as well as test out my new Velbon UP 40DX II, which I HIGHLY recommend for anyone who shoots similar footage. The mono pod allows you to be very mobile. I was running up and down the skid pad, jumping on barriers with ease. Get one, you will love it. I recommend this particular mono pod because it has a smooth tilting head. That is a huge advantage over other stationary mono pods.

The video itself is not the most exciting one. I was not able to get many angles, its just a big square skid pad, 4 corners, basically 4 angles. Not only was there minimal spots to shoot from, but there were not many drivers. I don't remember what the exact number was, but it was very few as you can see from the video. Good thing the drivers were good so I got some great footage. A bitter sweet moment when I filmed the collision with the wall, we hate to see it, but at least we got the shot. The video was shot in 60i HDV. I moved away from shooting 24 frames per second in this video, it seems like shooting 60 frames makes for a cleaner look for fast moving objects. I tested out many different shutter speeds, from 1/8th to 1/2000th. The majority is in 1/100th, the others will be for testing that I might post up soon. This day was meant to fine tune some settings and do some experiment's before All Star Bash in Socal next week. Be on the look out for that one! For now enjoy what I have so far, and please comment with anything that's on your mind after watching this video. Follow to vimeo for the best quality by clicking on the title. Any questions, email me at localstreethero@gmail or post here or on the vimeo page.
Thanks,

Hero Productions
Andrew Zaragoza (Local Street Hero)

ThunderDrift 7-18-09 Thunder Hill Willows, Ca from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

Just Drift - Willow Springs International Raceway - May 30th 2009

Woke up Friday morning to go to work at 6am ready to get the weekend started. Little did I know that the next opportunity I would have to actually sleep would be 48 HOURS LATER. Normally one wouldn't complain about having a quote "really long weekend", but this was the exception to the rule. Sitting back after it was all said and done, after all the editing was finalized and I can watch the video, I guess it was worth it.

Loaded my friend's car up on my trailer and left Woodland (near Sacramento) around 8 PM. Only 3 hours later than planned. Drove to Salinas, loaded my friends truck and prepped everything for the following day. We got no sleep through the night and left at 4 AM, only an hour later than planned. We drove all morning only to take wrong turns here and there and finally made it to the track at 10 AM, about 2 hours later than planned. This was only the beginning.

As I start to set my Camera up, I realized I had left my tripod at home. Huge let down. I came all this way to forget a very intricate part of my arsenal. I'll now make a check list for future filming so I don't forget anything important. I was now going to have to rely on the top handle that my father and I made, even though when we made it, it was designed to be used with the tripod. I had never shot with it before, but by the end of the day, I had mastered the art of the top handle. Not so much, but I got by ok.

The entire day I shot in PF24 HDV, which would later be converted into 24P. I used Tv mode with the shutter speed at 500. I didn't think to switch it up, I wish I did just to see what looks better/worse. Of course, the project looks better than it does on vimeo, but I think it looks great. Here is the video, please follow to vimeo to view in its highest quality:

Just Drift - Willow Springs International Raceway - May 30th 2009 from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

I love the "Pleasantville" effect. I just had to try it out. I did not want to over due it, so I figured the intro would be best fitting. I had to adjust some colors, but not much. Only one car looks a little pink-ish as opposed to its red actual color, but I can live with that. I set the White Balance myself at every different angle. I think it vastly improved the color of the shots and made for less headaches when editing in post. If you have any questions, please post them here. Any productive criticism, please post here. I do appreciate every comment I receive, from praise to despise.


Thank you and Enjoy,
Andrew Zaragoza aka "Local Street Hero"

28th & B Skate Park, Sacramento CA

Now with the RAM upgrade, HDV footage was not going to be a problem, so I went out to the 28th and B Skate park, or EPIC Skate park, in Sacramento to get better footage than a YMCA soccer game (lol). Again there were a couple things I still forgot to do, but the montage was a much better video than my previous ones. Color Correction, White Balance, Sound, and better filming were areas that hurt me this time around. Even with a few obvious mistakes, the reaction I got from the video were all positive. I'm really looking forward to filming more skate videos, I just need to learn how to skate so I can film some good lines and not fall and break something. Here is the montage, be sure to follow to vimeo to view in its best quality:

28th & B Skate Park Sacramento, Ca 5/2/09 from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

Although when you watch in "HD", it still seems to lack the true "HD" feel. When I first got my Canon HV20, I wasn't planing on using HD, now that I'm using 60i, I feel that it is not good enough. So the next step is filming in 24P. Think of those daytime soap operas and the way they look. They're high produced projects, but still don't look like full on movies. They look extra clean and crisp. That is how I'm hoping my next project will look when I film in PF24 and remove whats called "pull-down" and edit in 24P. Don't worry, you don't need to understand everything, you just have to sit back and enjoy.
The next project was filmed in socal yesterday (may 30th) in PF24 so we'll see how good it turns out. Be on the look out for that video real soon. Thanks.

I guess I can edit HDV Footage - YMCA Soccer Game

After doing hours and hours of research and taking advice from other Mac users, I went ahead and tried to film and edit HDV video. I had plans on going to my nephew's soccer game, so I saw this as a great oppertunity to see what I can do. I filmed in HDV - 60i. I wasn't planing on sending this highlight reel to ESPN, so I caught some simple footage to see if my MacBook could handle the bigger, more complexed HD files.

It is said that laptops are not made for editing HD footage, who ever said that did not own a Macintosh. I was able to capture and edit the footage with ease on my stock White MacBook. Although the 1gb of RAM could not handle special effects, I could still edit the footage with out long render times, or any hiccups in between. Here is the soccer game I filmed to use as my test subject. Follow to vimeo.com if you want to view in its highest quality:

Asa's Soccer Game from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

After coming to the realization that I was going to have to upgrade my 1gb of RAM, I quickly ordered a pair of 2gb Memory RAM sticks and installed them. The process took me 5 minutes and cost less than $50. Post a comment if interested in where I got the hardware and how I did it.

At this point my Mac was even stronger, faster, and ready for more. The next video will again test my machine's power.

My first Drifting Video - UFO's First Drift Event, Marina Ca

The epitome of what is known as a "bitter/sweet" moment. Although I was beyond excited to use my video equipment for the first time, knowing that I was not going to take part in a drift event was a tough pill to swallow. I guess its what old veterans feel when they're forced into retirement, they don't want to sit on the sidelines. Fortunately, I have gotten over that feeling and now I've realized I can still enjoy the motor sport that I have loved for so long, but in an equally enjoyable, and a MUCH cheaper alternative.

Let the unprepared rookie get to work. For some, the next few statements might seem a little off the wall. When I went to film this event, it was officially the first time I had ever used my Canon HV20, a Tripod, multiple lenses, an external microphone, a lens hood, and headphones to check my sound levels. I stayed pretty much in one spot the entire event, never set my white balance and completely ignored the barrel distortion I was getting with my Wide Angle lens. Live and learn. I shot the entire day in Standard Definition, not knowing I was capable of editing HD. I later found out that was not the case, but we'll leave that alone for now.

As soon as I captured all the footage onto my Mac, I was astonished at how fast and efficient my machine was for video video editing. The entire project was completed in 4 days! A project like this would normally take me weeks if not months to complete on my PC. This was also a first for me. I had just switched over to Mac from PC, and to this day, I'm still learning more and more on Final Cut Pro every day. Looking back, I see many problems filming, as well as many problems editing. I'll let you decide what you think of the video. Watch here or click the link at the bottom entitled "UFO Drift Event in Marina, Ca", you can also read the original excerpt from when it was posted:

UFO Drift Event in Marina, Ca from Andrew Zaragoza on Vimeo.

My inexperienced shined through in this gem, but I'm glad I have something to look back on as I fine tune my skills. Let me know what you think!