Monty Roberts Tour Blog - 1

Are we there yet?

It's strange to think that I jumped in my van and drove across the country from Stafford to Norwich (where's Alan Partridge when you need him?), to have my breakfast this morning. Three hours and forty minutes, late last night, got me to my sleep venue for the demonstration by Monty Roberts today.

I didn't manage to create a blog for the first show which was in Kent last week. Monty was on form and the horses benefitted from his 70 years of horse knowledge. I should say upfront this blog won't be a blow by blow account of each demonstration as I have enough trouble remembering my name by the end of the evening. I guess there may be some flashbacks ever now and then though!

This blog is more about the photography and filming side of the tour, useless statistics and occasional stand-out points from the tour.

Useless Statistic: I will have driven just under 2500 miles by the end of the tour, filming 30 hours of shows, and visiting ten locations in the UK from Kent to Scotland!

Normally, I tour with the lovely company of my wife (Sue), however, four weeks ago she had our baby son. Deciding that the care of Philip was more important than listening to me snoring and moaning about the marshmallow quality of Travelodge beds!

Hadlow College

Hadlow College, in Kent, is a long standing venue for Monty's Autumn tour. For me, as a cameraman, it is a real challenge. Many of the tour venues don't have lighting that supports filming. There isn't the budget to bring lighting for the show, so it's a case of make do. Hadlow is a challenge as the surface for the venue is very dark, and sucks up what light there is. The lighting is also low level, so the camera has to be set to high gain, making a contrasty image.

High Gain? - For those of you who want to know. It is a process where the camera amplifies the signal it receives. The problem with it is that what you gain in being able to "see" a little better, you lose in quality of image. Think of it like putting your favourite bit of music on your iPod (there are other makes available), then turning the volume on full power. It distorts the signal and the quality is impaired.

New cameras don't have as much of a problem with this sort of thing. But, I don't have inexhaustible amounts of money to parade new tech. I use a Sony Z1, which has been my companion on tour for many years. I can take it apart and repair it. A big advantage I can tell you....

What is it like to film Monty?

It's brilliant. I'm into horses anyway, but I have the best seat in the house. Although, it isn't a seat. It's a ten foot high scaffold stand, which puts me right in the way of any cold wind that blows through the venue. Trust me, it does get cold. A venue near where I now live recorded minus 14 degrees at lunchtime when I was filming!!

I can vouch for the fact that Monty doesn't touch the horses before the evening performance. He sits outside the round pen, and overseas the "health check" in the afternoon. That's it!

Well there will be more soon, I need to get my backside in gear and get to the next venue. Easton College near Nowich. Having never been there before, I want to check it out from a filming point of view.

TTFN!