Well, it’s been quite a while since my last post and although I have been traveling quite a lot, there hasn’t been much chance to do any filming because of work commitments. I have just managed to grab a few days of R&R in Bangkok and got out the old trusty Canon XA10 for a few short videos, which I am in the process of editing.

All the shots were filmed hand-held and I could really do with some sort of lightweight (and cheap!) gimble stabiliser as that would have helped make the shots much smoother and more dynamic (you can’t really use a tripod, which I usually carry, on a boat because of all the rocking and vibrations).

That said, the stabiliser on the XA10 is pretty good and for added stability, iMovie can help smooth out any shaking in post (it does create some distortion and magnification though, which then makes the shot less sharp, but it’s better than having super-wobbly footage I guess). Using the camera stabiliser and the iMovie smooth short function, you can get some reasonably good fake slider shots if you can keep the camera smooth and level during the shot.

Anyway, here are the first two videos which were filmed on the Cho Praya River in Bangkok on the local ferry plying the river. It’s a great (and cheap) trip if you haven’t done it but can get a bit busy over the weekend when all the tourists  (like me!) are also out and about. The first video is going up the river while the second video is going back down the river.

I had so much fun I went back the next day to take one of the so-called long-tailed boats that ply the Bangkok waterways and are pretty ubiquitous in Thailand. They’re also pretty photogenic and I hope to have that video ready soon.