*soon to be 32!
In July and August of 2016 Morrocco Media spent 12 epic days filming Mark Beaumont doing loads of fun, inspiring, memorable and a couple of dangerous activities all over Argyll, for the AITC. When the project was originally muted by Carron Tobin of Rural Dimensions, it was going to be a 7-day adventure and film trip. Over the course of a few months it morphed into the behemoth that was Wild About Argyll. The editing side also expanded from a few videos to what we have now; 31 (soon to be 32!). We never thought it would be this big, but it was a great project to be a part of and a massive challenge for, what is essentially, a one-man-band supported by some talented freelancers.
As you can imagine, the editing process was long. The bulk of the videos were finished for the launch of Wild About Argyll at the end of January earlier this year. The launch event showed the five main edits to come from the project and we even had to create a short 2-minute edit to be projected on the outside of Oran Mhor in Glasgow, where the event took place. Individual sport edits, for each of the 14 activities Mark did, followed, then 30-second edits, each with their own theme, local area edits, a cinema edit and an edit with Mini Mark, exploring more of the younger and family markets. You can find them all in the link above. To say both the filming and editing were epic is an understatement.
As we have almost completed the project, it is a good time to reflect back on what was the biggest filming project Morrocco Media has ever undertaken. It's amazing that such a small company managed to pull this off, but it's because I am just one person (supported by freelancers), I am reactionary and I am the constant involved at every step of the process, from ideation to final production, that I successfully delivered such a big filming project for such a great client. It's amazing what can be done when you have creative vision and the support of three talented freelancers who are all comfortable working in remote and challenging environments and have a particular interest in outdoor activities. Using freelancers allows Morrocco Media to build a specialist team for any project. We can call upon the best person for that project, which is what we did for Wild About Argyll.
It shows what can be achieved when you bring together creative direction, stunning cinematography in challenging environments and high-quality editing and graphics. As a small and nimble company, I am prepared to work long hours, be reactionary to changing conditions and situations, but always have the creative thought process at the forefront of my mind, so that I can evolve and adapt ideas and plans organically rather than have to go up a giant food chain that would be the case within a much bigger agency. The client benefits in only having one person to deal with, and that person is directly involved in the creative process, rather than a 'Project Manager', which would also be the case in a big agency.
Our kit is specially selected for this fast-paced filming in remote locations. It's lightweight, but still of cinematic quality, which allows us to travel fast and capture stunning images. For example, towards the end of the trip we filmed Mark at the top of the Cobbler, so we all had to carry our kit to the top and back down, all within a few hours, just to capture about 10-15 seconds worth of usable footage, but it was a definite highlight of the trip. We not only have to have the skills for filming fast-paced action sports, but also have to capture it in such a way as to showcase the stunning Argyll landscapes. Not easy when you are on a tight time schedule! We think we have succeeded in doing this.
Here's a testimonial from Carron Tobin from the AITC about our involvement in Wild About Argyll:
'The Wild About Argyll film and adventure project was epic in every way. With it spanning 12 days, 12 Sports and every corner of Argyll, the logistics and timings were complex. Mark Beaumont totally embraced everything we were seeking to do and the combination of this with Stefan's work ethic and 'can do' attitude made my job so much easier. His creativity speaks for itself - check out the edits! The pre-planning of storyboards and specific shots paid huge dividends. Stefan was thinking of the final edit at all times. It has to be said at times we wondered what Stefan was up to and 'why do you want Mark to do that..' - we later found out. I was so impressed with how quickly he got the action shots he needed - very few re-takes. His skills in capturing something as it happens we're demonstrated when we did the Hebridean Way launch in 2016 and he applied this across the 12 days as Mark undertook the many adventures we planned across Argyll. The team spirit we had was incredible - Stefan and the team all bought into what we were trying to achieve - and 4am starts to catch tides and late night finishes to catch the sunset were never questioned. I came home feeling like I had just been on an amazing adventure holiday with friends - not the logistically challenging project it actually was. We had ten different funding partners and local players supporting what we were doing - a lot of people to keep happy! Stefan's approach and attitude - and team spirit ensured no hiccups as we filmed and made the end product what it is. I have since worked with Stefan on a number of projects - and know many people he met while we were filming Wild About Argyll have since used his services. I would have no hesitation in recommending Morrocco Media.'
We're looking forward to our next 32-video project! If you have an idea, do get in touch to discuss - info@morroccomedia.com