"Sunburned, sandy, sweaty..... I'm here"
That's all I could think while out filming the latest adventure. A few months ago a friend of mine from LA brought me in on a project. This project was the beginning of a reality TV show (which has more recently developed into a feature Doc) about 13-15 year old kids racing +-$50,000 offroad trucks. The story is not about the racing itself but actually focuses on the families and the kids unique style of racing.
My friend from LA comes from a background making feature type, narrative, scripted films. He initially brought me into just do audio. He quickly realized my skillset was more useful in its entirety rather than just focusing on the audio.
My background in documentary and corporate filming was extremely valuable for a project like this. Additionally having a photography background was a vital asset for the producers looking for social media content.
This project has been a total passion project. Its one of those projects that you are excited to go do. No matter how hot it is outside or how hot some of tension among the crew gets, it's a project worth doing.
As a filmmaker, I have learned so much on Modkids USA. It's become a bit of a training ground for honing in on stories and following story leads. The beauty of Modkids is that it's a story-rich environment. However finding the connecting tissue between the families is where the mastery comes into play. On the set we have had to learn a lot. How do you capture seven different families stories at the same time on a budget? How do you capture audio from all the family's radios as they guide their children around the course? Obviously a lot of this is not re inventing the wheel but it was for a couple guys who got thrown into a project from two different backgrounds and on a small budget.
One of the coolest parts of Modkids was coming on and then quickly seeing my work being put to use. A large portion of the photography and video is something that I either took or had a hand in. The producers have also been a lot of fun to work with, and they have worked incredibly hard to make this project become a reality.
It is a full time job just doing the social media which I have seen grow by the thousands in just a few months
I'm the guy on the left of the inflatable tire with the orange vest on
I absolutely love doing the photography on this project. It's dirty, gritty and exciting. We get right on the track where giant chunks of mud and rock is thrown at us. Then to be that close to the kids who you have either been following or filming at their homes and see them in the zone just feet away from them. I also really love the families. I guess I walked in with some preconceptions about what the families would be like and what I discovered was a lot of families were actually really down to earth. Most of them are truly the "American Dream" come true.
