First, I can't tell you how excited and stoked I am to be going to this. I never thought I would get to go and I was really disappointed I didn't get to go when it was at the Executive West. This type of gathering, is at the heart of my love of pool. Pool players coming from all around, to not just play a tournament, but to gamble. If I had a choice to watch a tournament or watch 2 players gambling for some high stakes, I would choose the action every time.
I have been batting around so many ideas of what I wanted to do on my trip and I had 2 choices. Keeping in mind this might be the only time I get to go.
1. go there as a fan and enjoy myself and take a few pictures and sweat lots of matches
2. Make this a project that I can cherish forever and try to make a contribution to the pool world at the same time.
I chose No. 2. Really didn't consider No. 1 for more than a few minutes.
So.... here's my plan. I have a High Definition camcorder and a decent camera. I'm going to go there for the purpose of creating a DVD of my 1st Trip to the DCC. I want to capture what the DCC is all about. My hopes are that it will serve to not only get people that have never gone, to go... but to also be a memory for all the people that have went.
This is the biggest event of the year, in pool, just like the Johnston City event was years ago. It was the place where all the pros want to go, and many unknown players also. And to many, the tournament is just a afterthought, it's the gambling is why many go.
So I want to videotape short chunks of many different matches. I want to videotape interviews from players, fans, vendors and the organizers. I want to be the man on the street, finding out from people why they come, what they love, what it means to them. I want to have in-depth interviews with Steve Booth, Greg Sullivan and some of the others that put this all together. I want to show some behind the scenes footage of how it all comes together. I want to show people that have never went, what they're missing. I want to forever preserve the DCC tradition, in case it ceases to exist at some point.
I'm going to do the best 1 man can do with limited equipment. I plan on having a blog going, with updates every night at the least, to tell everyone the action going on and summarize what's happened that day. I want to film all of this in the highest resolution possible on my camcorder which is breathtaking. 1920 x 1280 59.94 frames per second in Progressive mode. This is what you see on BluRay discs, for those of you that have BluRay players. High Fricking Definition Baby !!!! This would allow me to make a BluRay disc. But since many don't have BluRay players yet, I would also have to make a DVD version. Filming in High Definition takes a incredible amount of Storage space though. 5 mins of it, takes up 1 gigabyte of space. But it will be beautiful footage though. So clear you can see lint on Johnny Archers table
I will also be filming Steve's Hall of Fame Dinner so I can put together something for him to do with as he pleases. For so many of you that are not able to be there, I think it's important to be able to share it with all of you somehow. This allows some of the best players of this game we love, to finally be recognized for their accomplishments and I know it may mean a lot to some of them as they get into the twilight of their life. Something that may be important to their family and grandchildren to remember their father or grandfather.
So, I am asking for some help from some of the regulars here, to maybe help me get a interview with some notable guys that may be a little shy and the fact they don't know me from a hole in the ground I need some CLOUT... some BACKING! Help me get on the inside, know what I mean Vern?
I have never attempted anything of this magnitude before, but I am going to do it. Editing this video and trying to make a professional looking DVD is going to be quite the challenge, but is something I am willing to work on non-stop until I have completed it. The biggest challenge is going to be re-encoding all this video. Because it's such high resolution, it may grind away for days, 24 hours a day on my PC to just create a 1/2 hour of video. And if it locks up my PC or crashes.. you got to start all over
So if there is any ideas you guys have, any suggestions, I'm open.
I hope everyone thinks this is a good idea, I mean, really.. how could it not be. I might sound like a bit of a nutcase, but I really do respect this game and the players from yesteryear.
So wish me luck and if you see me there, put in a good word for me, so I might land a great interview, or someone won't think I'm some looky loo shooting some video. Some people don't like to be filmed, but maybe if they knew it was for a good cause, they would be supportive of it.
Oh, one final note. I fired off a email to Greg Sullivan (the guy putting this whole thing on and the guy you know with Diamond Tables) and thought what the hell.. I'll ask if he will give me the support of doing this and he actually called me tonight and said he loved the idea and would support me with anything I need while there. I am even more pumped after that, because I want to do something that maybe in some small way , can possibly help him continue putting this on for all of us. He deserves all the support of the pool community, and I want to try and contribute in my own small way.
I hope there would be some kind of interest in a DVD or BluRay of something like this... would you buy it?
Greg
I have been batting around so many ideas of what I wanted to do on my trip and I had 2 choices. Keeping in mind this might be the only time I get to go.
1. go there as a fan and enjoy myself and take a few pictures and sweat lots of matches
2. Make this a project that I can cherish forever and try to make a contribution to the pool world at the same time.
I chose No. 2. Really didn't consider No. 1 for more than a few minutes.
So.... here's my plan. I have a High Definition camcorder and a decent camera. I'm going to go there for the purpose of creating a DVD of my 1st Trip to the DCC. I want to capture what the DCC is all about. My hopes are that it will serve to not only get people that have never gone, to go... but to also be a memory for all the people that have went.
This is the biggest event of the year, in pool, just like the Johnston City event was years ago. It was the place where all the pros want to go, and many unknown players also. And to many, the tournament is just a afterthought, it's the gambling is why many go.
So I want to videotape short chunks of many different matches. I want to videotape interviews from players, fans, vendors and the organizers. I want to be the man on the street, finding out from people why they come, what they love, what it means to them. I want to have in-depth interviews with Steve Booth, Greg Sullivan and some of the others that put this all together. I want to show some behind the scenes footage of how it all comes together. I want to show people that have never went, what they're missing. I want to forever preserve the DCC tradition, in case it ceases to exist at some point.
I'm going to do the best 1 man can do with limited equipment. I plan on having a blog going, with updates every night at the least, to tell everyone the action going on and summarize what's happened that day. I want to film all of this in the highest resolution possible on my camcorder which is breathtaking. 1920 x 1280 59.94 frames per second in Progressive mode. This is what you see on BluRay discs, for those of you that have BluRay players. High Fricking Definition Baby !!!! This would allow me to make a BluRay disc. But since many don't have BluRay players yet, I would also have to make a DVD version. Filming in High Definition takes a incredible amount of Storage space though. 5 mins of it, takes up 1 gigabyte of space. But it will be beautiful footage though. So clear you can see lint on Johnny Archers table
I will also be filming Steve's Hall of Fame Dinner so I can put together something for him to do with as he pleases. For so many of you that are not able to be there, I think it's important to be able to share it with all of you somehow. This allows some of the best players of this game we love, to finally be recognized for their accomplishments and I know it may mean a lot to some of them as they get into the twilight of their life. Something that may be important to their family and grandchildren to remember their father or grandfather.
So, I am asking for some help from some of the regulars here, to maybe help me get a interview with some notable guys that may be a little shy and the fact they don't know me from a hole in the ground I need some CLOUT... some BACKING! Help me get on the inside, know what I mean Vern?
I have never attempted anything of this magnitude before, but I am going to do it. Editing this video and trying to make a professional looking DVD is going to be quite the challenge, but is something I am willing to work on non-stop until I have completed it. The biggest challenge is going to be re-encoding all this video. Because it's such high resolution, it may grind away for days, 24 hours a day on my PC to just create a 1/2 hour of video. And if it locks up my PC or crashes.. you got to start all over
So if there is any ideas you guys have, any suggestions, I'm open.
I hope everyone thinks this is a good idea, I mean, really.. how could it not be. I might sound like a bit of a nutcase, but I really do respect this game and the players from yesteryear.
So wish me luck and if you see me there, put in a good word for me, so I might land a great interview, or someone won't think I'm some looky loo shooting some video. Some people don't like to be filmed, but maybe if they knew it was for a good cause, they would be supportive of it.
Oh, one final note. I fired off a email to Greg Sullivan (the guy putting this whole thing on and the guy you know with Diamond Tables) and thought what the hell.. I'll ask if he will give me the support of doing this and he actually called me tonight and said he loved the idea and would support me with anything I need while there. I am even more pumped after that, because I want to do something that maybe in some small way , can possibly help him continue putting this on for all of us. He deserves all the support of the pool community, and I want to try and contribute in my own small way.
I hope there would be some kind of interest in a DVD or BluRay of something like this... would you buy it?
Greg
