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.