Saturday 15 October 2011

The Police Came Calling...

Oops! It's been such a busy day, I posted a blog on the wrong site! Sorry about that. The blog is now back on my personal site, here.

Sorry about that! :-)

In Cycle Video Day news, we have all of the videos up except one....mine will be up tomorrow. Been so busy with the site and getting used to new video editing software that I've been very tardy.

I hope it's worth it when it is published!

:-)

Monday 10 October 2011

Let's Get Publishing!

So the day is here and in the UK at least, most of us will have finished our commutes. Some videos are up already!


So if you haven't already started....get that video edited and posted on youtube or similar!

Ok, it may take a day or so....it will in my case anyway, but let us know when your footage is up. To do that, look at the top of the page for the Submission Form Tab. You'll be able to send the link and other info there.

I hope you all had a  good day cycling! :-)

Sunday 9 October 2011

The Waiting is Over!

The camera is charged, the memory cards have been cleared, the bike has been cleaned...ok that last bit is a lie!

Yes, tomorrow is Cycle Video Day 2011.

Just one little fly in the ointment....the weather! Yes the weather is obviously controlled by a disgruntled taxi driver as tomorrow (for large parts of the UK....ok Glasgow at least) is looking a bit manky. In fact there it may even be torrential rain.

Oh well, at least the videos will be a true reflection of cycling in the UK! My video is likely to look like this



However, there is absolutely no excuse for chickening out on the ride tomorrow morning. Get out on your bike, video your ride and show everyone how brilliant cycling is, even if there are crazy weather conditions.

Later tomorrow evening a new page will go up here with a form to enter your video details and some other information if you are willing. Remember, to help us keep tabs of the videos you should have 'Cycle Video Day 2011' in  the title.

Have a great days cycling! :-)

Saturday 8 October 2011

Helmet Cameras to the Ready!

The 10th is fast approaching.

However, there is a problem. Due to the millions of cyclists simultaneously charging their helmet cameras at the same time we have created power shortages worldwide. So, if your in the UK we apologise if we interupt your viewing of Strickly Come Dancing. Elsewhere in the world, be thankful that you never have to watch it! :-)

Seriously though, don't forget to charge those cameras and clear your memory cards!

We are also wondering if when submitting your videos here in the days following the 10th, that you provide us with a couple of pieces of information that might be interesting to collect.

1. Rate your commute on the 10th out of 10. i.e it was fabulous, really enjoyed it then give it a 10. Worst ever give it a 1.
2. Give us the number (rough if lots!) of incidents that you had (i.e. close passes etc) Zero is a very acceptable answer of course!
3. Rough number of nice interactions you had with other road users. By that I mean smiles, waves, thank you's and particularly good driving
4. If you come off the bike for any reason let us know. I don't expect that to happen of course

Why are we collecting this? Well it might be interesting. It might be surprising... we don't know, but if your happy to share the information who knows what we might learn.

To simplify the set up process I will set up a submission form that will appear on the night of the 10th that should be self explanatory.

None of the information is obligatory of course, fill in what you want. :-)

Friday 7 October 2011

Posting your footage

The idea behind Cycle Video Day is to show the numbers of cyclists that are recording rides and showing what it is like for all of us on a single day.
So to make it easy and to have Cycle Video Day videos display in the suggestions on youtube after your video has been played, I suggest that we all use the same video name.

Something like 'Cycle Video Day 2011'

This is going to make it easier for people to find your videos and watch your experiences whilst we decide if we are going to do anything further with the videos (such as making a long video with clips from everyone).

Not long to go now until Cycle Video Day, have your cameras at the ready and enjoy your self :)

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Plenty of Interest

As you are reading this, it would appear you have made it to the official blog of Cycle Video Day. I thought it was a good idea to have a separate place for this project as it promises to be a good one.

For anyone who doesn't know me (what do you mean you don't know who I am!!!) I'm Magnatom, and information about me can be found here. However, I am not in this alone. I am sure others will help along the way, but I am pleased to say that Gaz of Silly Cyclists fame is onboard and might even post a blog article or two on here. It's our first collaboration!

I've been getting a lot of comments on my blog, on twitter and on cycling forums that suggest that there will be no shortage of footage collected on the 10th. Despite having a degree in physics, I tend to loose count after 25 and I've already lost count!

So if you want to be part of something that could be big and could produce some very interesting footage then join in. Let us know here and on twitter if you plan to take part. On twitter use the hash tag #cyclevidday

We can be contacted on the new e-mail address cyclevideoday@gmail.com and this is where you should send details of your video when it is ready.

I look forward to see your footage!

Magnatom

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Cycle Video Day - Detail

If you haven't already read this page and then come back here.

Ok, detail is too strong a word. I'm intentionally trying to keep the detail to a minimum. I think it is better that the output from this day is not too directed. It should be a bringing together of many peoples views and experiences of commuter cycling.

However, I'll clarify a few things.

Videos should be no more than 10 minutes long. Any amount under this is acceptable. I know some people have suggested that 10 minutes is too long. However, leaving the option of a 10 minute video would allow someone to post a video filtering past queues of traffic, or to be able to show off a particularly scenic route. It is up to YOU. You decide how long, and what is in your video.

You will need to load your video up to YouTube or a similar video hosting web site for it to be linked to.

It certainly doesn't need to be uploaded, edited etc on the day of filming the footage, but ideally if you could edit it before the 17th October that would be great. If you think it would be late, you could e-mail me to let me know. Not everyone is a dab hand at editing video!

You don't need to be a regular YouTube'er to do this. In fact this could be your first uploaded video. All videos are welcome. All posters are equal!!

I will set up (probably with some help) a blog or website dedicated to this, and post details as soon as I have it. There will also be an e-mail address set up for everyone to send details of the videos to.

There may be the opportunity to edit bits of everyones videos together to produced an overall video for the day. If you don't want your video edited in this way, let me know!

If your video is offensive etc then it may not be included. I don't expect that I would need to reject any, but please note, it is possible!

Anywhere in this blog and elsewhere where I say 'I' or 'me' I actually mean WE! I do not claim ownership to this. I was daft enough to come up with this crazy idea, but I will need some help. Help with the website, help with graphics, help with editing, help with publicity etc. So if you think you can help leave a comment below (or twitter message me, or send me a message on YouTube, until I get the e-mail set up).

Most importantly, DON'T cycle any different to how you do normally. DO NOT go looking for trouble (not that you would anyway). It should be a true reflection of your experience on that day, not manufactured to look good/bad.

Happy Video Camming!


Oh and if you can think up a catchy name for this event/website etc. Let me know!

Cycle Video Day

There are lots and lots of Helmet Camera Cyclists on the streets today. Some great and good (like me of course....), some I admire, some I'm not so sure about. Here is the list of those who are currently posting, or have posted YouTube videos.

There really is a large number in the UK and we are quite widely spread geographically. As a group I think we are having an impact and a number of us have made it into the news at the local and national level. However, every piece I have ever seen has always suggested that we are few, and are possibly just a fringe element (perhaps we are!!).


This got me thinking.....oh, oh, here we go..... What could we do to help publicise that we are a growing force on the roads? What could we do that would capture peoples imagination, whilst at the same time get the message out that we are all road users and we all deserve respect?

And then the clouds parted, the sun shone and angels started singing.....ok, perhaps that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I did have an idea, which is always worth celebrating!

Why not bring all of the helmet cam users together in a Day in the Life type project?

What if for one day, one specified day, we all captured and uploaded 10 minutes of our cycle commute. The particular 10 minutes would be up to the discretion of each cyclist, it could be an incident, an enjoyable section of the commute, a glorious sunrise, a bit of commuter racing.... anything that captured nationwide what cyclists were doing across the country on that day. Then all of the videos we collected and linked to from one location, each with a short 25 word description of what the video depicts.

I'm not even sure what it would consist of in the end, and what the final story would be, but I'm sure it would be a fascinating insight into cycle commuting and could serve as an educational and campaigning tool.

So what do you think? Are you ready to film a day in the life of your cycle commuting?

May I be so bold to select a date? How about Monday the 10th October 2011......

NOTE: Change of date. Now 10th October. Otherwise, us in the north would be filming in the dark!