New York City! Damn! What a place! I was fortunate this month to have the opportunity to travel with my awesome friends at Richmond’s very own Flyzone, and spend six days shooting in the Big Apple! What is Flyzone? They’re a company that offers skydiving (what they call ‘body flight’) in massive wind tunnels. Essentially, a giant rotor beneath your feet lifts you off the ground making you experience the sensation of skydiving! AWESOME!

I was lucky to have met Peter Zaoralek, the CEO of Flyzone, last year during my vlogging adventures with Tourism Richmond. I actually made a video showcasing the technology and experience first hand. Check it out here:

So how did we end up in NYC? Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines had a grand unveiling for their beautiful new cruise ship the ‘Quantum of the Seas…’ and in classic RCL fashion included all the toys in their newest behemoth. Yes, they are putting a massive wind tunnel onboard the ship so you can skydive at sea! Crazy right?

Peter owns the only portable wind tunnel in North America, so he was tasked with trucking it cross continent to NYC to show off the sport during the world wide grand reveal of the ship. It was my mission to make an epic New York City Flyzone video capturing the excitement and energy of the event, the city, and the sport!

I had an absolute blast shooting in NYC! The city is HUGE and makes my beloved Vancouver feel like a little blip on the map! Honestly, I could people watch there all day. No matter where you are or what time of day it is, the city is alive and buzzing with activity! I definitely played the tourist and got to see Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the new Freedom Tower (former WTC), Times Square and of course the Empire State Building! We ate, we drank, we shot some epic video, and we had a blast skydiving and showing off the sport!

Getting the Times Square shots with the massive truck and wind tunnel was particularly exciting! I got to zip in and out of the monstrous crowds and chase the truck through probably one of the busiest intersections in the world! On top of that, there were cops on every corner due to the recent Boston incident! If you’ve ever shot in a *very* public place before, you know how touchy and sensitive authorities can be. When you add in the fact that our driver, (who LOVES his truck; it is pretty awesome), decided to stop dead smack in the very centre of the square, get out, and start posing for photos, I feel we got pretty lucky! It was a hilarious moment and the tourists were eating it up– he had probably 400 people taking photos of him and his crazy green truck, while blocking 1.5 lanes of traffic in the centre of Times Square. He loved it! LOL!

Skydivers are crazy. It’s a fact. One great moment on the trip was when my friend John Suiter, a legend in the industry and one of the founders of the wind tunnel, did a flight with NO ROOF! That’s right, they took the netting off the top and he flew probably 40 ft off the ground with no walls or ceiling… Just him and the NYC skyscrapers! This is incredibly dangerous… If a gust were to happen or he made a wrong move and fell out of the jet stream, he would plummet to the pavement. To give perspective, I took the first shot below in a fully extended cherry picker (crane) and he’s eye level with me! The dude has balls of steel!!!

You’ll be hearing a lot of more about Flyzone in the near future! They are breaking ground later this year and building a massive stationary wind tunnel at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC that will service the lower mainland. The tunnel will be fifty feet high and fourteen feet wide! Wow!! More video to come!

Thanks to Peter and company for the amazing opportunity! NYC was a blast!

You can find out more about Flyzone at their webpage: http://www.flyzone.ca/

As always, thanks for reading and check out the video!!!

- APS_Chris

Here’s my 2012 in a nutshell! Lots of travel and adventure footage as well as some commercial stuff and fun stuff. What a year! I had to pour over a truly ridiculous amount of footage to put this together so please enjoy!!

All footage was shot on either my Sony EX1, Canon T3i, and GoPro Hero 2 with the exception of the Helijet stuff which was RED Epic. I use my trusty Glidecam 4000HD for many of the ‘flying’ shots. I really love that thing!

Editing and colour correction were done in FCP7, and the opening title sequence was done in After Effects CS5.

Song is ‘Now Or Never’ by Outasight.

Special thanks goes out to Jake Dunbar and my family for their valuable feedback and support.

Please enjoy and thanks for watching!

I’d love to be Twitter friends:
twitter.com/ChrisStanleyHD

Facebook Fan Page:
facebook.com/pages/Amber-Pacific-Studios/6731267607

Thanks for watching!

- APS_Chris

After tons of hard work wrapping up these videos, they’re finally all done, approved, and handed off to their respective ports!!! It was a long time coming, and it feels GREAT! Time to show you guys what I’ve been up to overseas.

Ralph Grizzle, (The Avid Cruiser of www.avidcruiser.com) and I traveled for about a month and half producing 19 videos for the Southern France region. These videos included 2 port operations videos, 16 destination/tour videos, and 1 fun ‘fam trip’ video. I shot and edited every video myself, Ralph hosted. Below you will find links to all of these, as well as short descriptions and comments from me on each port. There’s a lot so I’ll keep them brief.

For every single video I had no more than a few hours to one day (at most) to get as much footage as possible. The tourism board dictated the locations and activities, and usually we had no idea where we were going until the morning of. It was crazy, fly by the seat of your pants, hard work. People generally associate travel video as super easy fun work. I can tell you I work my ASS OFF overseas, pulling 10-12 hour days every day, for weeks at a time. That being said, it’s ridiculously fun and rewarding to be able to see and experience all these fabulous destinations. Cameras will open SOO many doors for you.

Grab a coffee, tea, or bottle of rose and relax, it’s video time!

Fun Stuff First – Our ‘Fam Trip’

I won’t get into a lot of detail here as I’ve already written a full blog post with pictures here. This is a glimpse into 7 days of our adventure along the Cote D’Azur during an industry ‘Familiarization Trip”. (Fam Trip) We were wined and dined and probably saw more in one week than most people in a month. The pace was crazy, but oh so fun!

Nice / Eze / Villefranche / Monaco / St. Paul De Vence – Eastern French Riviera

• Nice - This was one of my favourite destinations to shoot. Nice was just wonderful, with its beach promenade and endless flowing rose wine. We visited some of most charming cafes I’ve ever been to. If you want the French Riviera experience, Nice should be #1 for you.
• Eze- The hilltop town of Eze was enjoyable and offered some great views, though I didn’t get to spend as much time there as I would have liked. Apparently, at the top there’s an amazing garden overlooking the entire French Riviera. You’ll notice in the video I shoot up at it… We never made it up due to time constraints! Damn! I’ll have to go back!
• Monaco - Money, money, money! The richest place on Earth. Excessive, lavish, exuberant! Makes somewhere like Vegas look like a Chuck E Cheese. We got a special permit to shoot the royal palace, which is a big deal since they don’t normally allow any professional cameras at all in principality of Monaco. When I worked for Princess Cruise Lines, they tried to deport me for bringing in a pro camera! Not this time! Ha!
• St. Paul De Vence - Touristy, charming, the France I imagine when I think of little hilltop medieval towns. Windy cobblestone streets meandering around a town filled with art galleries, fountains and hidden nooks. Always a pleasure visiting here.

Cannes / Grasse / Antibes – Western French Riviera

• Cannes - Cannes has always been super interesting to me, mainly due to the film festival. (I visited and shot the festival several years ago when I worked for Princess) It’s got a real beachy Hollywood vibe going on. Oh, and all the beaches area all topless.
• Grasse - Funny, we actually never visited Grasse due to time constraints. (though the video would make you think otherwise) We instead visited the Fragonard Perfumery at the base of Eze. (Grasse has a Fragonard as well; we’re so sneaky) I had a really great time there and the staff was amazingly friendly and welcoming. Making perfume is quite a process and it was interesting to shoot it and, of course, smell it. And yes, their favourite book and movie is ‘Perfume’.
• Antibes - Ooh, I loved Antibes. This place was just amazing!!! We were soo strained for time that we only got a few hours to shoot here, which was a real shame. Antibes is a beautiful walled city full of cobblestoned streets, little markets and art galleries. (This is where Picasso spent a portion of his life) While there, we were randomly approached by a man who saw our cameras and invited us to his absinthe den full of crazy hats, as seen in the video. This was totally spontaneous and one of those unique travel moments I won’t forget. No, I didn’t see the green fairy this time, though my shots definitely got more creative after the fact.

Thoronet Abbey [Tour] - Var Department of Provence

• Thoronet Abbey - This was my favourite tour of the entire trip! (We shot actual destinations AND individual tours as well, this was a tour) Thoronet Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located deep in the woods of the Var Department of Provence. The church is unique because of its incredible acoustics. It’s among the 10 best in the world. I’ve honestly never heard sound like it before– the video just doesn’t do it justice! You could literally hear a pin drop on the far side of the church. At the end of the video, a woman begins to sing… and it’s nothing short of haunting and magical. I will never forget this experience.

Contignac & The Troglodyte Caves [Tour] - Var Department of Provence

• Contignac - This was one of the most unique shoots of my entire life. (and I’ve shot some crazy stuff!) Ralph and I ascended a dried up waterfall dotted with ancient troglodyte caves, overlooking the little French town of Contignac. Wow! I had to climb the waterfall with my full glidecam and vest! It was challenging and SUPER FUN! Utterly unique.

The Rayol Gardens [Tour] – Var Department of Provence

• The Rayol Gardens - We spent a few hours exploring the beautiful Rayol Gardens, enjoying the scenery and the unbelievable crystal blue water. It was a really nice experience. The sea vista at the end literally took my breath away. It was one of the defining moments of my entire France trip.

 Saint Raphael & Frejus – Var Department of Provence

• Saint Raphael - Classic Southern France beach resort town. Pretty, clean, lots of beaches, and some epic churches. This is where Napoleon Bonaparte disembarked after the campaign of Egypt. We came on a perfect clear day and the views from the top of the church tower were spectacular.
• Frejus - Ancient Roman city. Got to visit an old cloister full of history and interesting imagery. I’m really happy with how this section turned out.

Bormes Les Mimosas - Var Department of Provence

• Bormes les Mimosas - Touted as the prettiest town in all of France, Bormes Les Mimosas lives up to its name. It’s a windy, flower covered labyrinth full of humming birds and hidden nooks. Running through its streets was one of the most enjoyable glidecam experiences I’ve had. It’s one of those places you just want to get lost in.

Les Embiez - Var Department of Provence

• Les Embiez - This was my favourite destination we visited in all of France. Les Embiez is a deserty, vineyard covered island, perfect for biking, or finding a private little grotto and swimming for the day. We did just that! (You can see a lot of that footage in the 7 Days on The Cote D’Azur video above) The island has a small stone fort high on a cliff dominating the island, visible no matter where you are. Funny enough, it’s been taken over by goats. Yes, you read that right. Free roaming goats currently control the island. This is one destination that I can’t wait to get back to.

Le Lavandou – Var Department of Provence

• Le Lavandou - Cute little seaside town famous for its beaches. Within the region there are 12 different colours of sands to choose from!

Porquerolles – Var Department of Provence

• Porquerolles - Cool little island, great for bike riding. Super scenic, almost Caribbean, views from the fort at the top of the island. Interesting Mexican themed square with great ice cream and a palm garden!

Port Grimauld – Var Department of Provence

• Port Grimauld - Did you know France has its own version of Venice? Neither did I!  Venice with a French twist. Hyper touristy, definitely just a day trip. I ate lots of Italian gelato there.

Saint Cyr Sur Mer – Var Department of Provence

• Saint Cyr Sur Mer -  Sleepy little seaside town. Only spent about an hour or so here. It has a mini Statue of Liberty in its main square! Weird right? The statue was made by the same architect that made the real Statue of Liberty. We caught a pretty amazing sunset on its bluffs.

Bandol – Var Department of Provence

•  Bandol - Seaside town of Bandol. Beaches, casinos, little markets, and one of the most inviting swimming bays I’ve seen in Southern France. (viewable at the end of the video) Unfortunately, I didn’t have time swim in it though! What a tease!!!

Gorges Du Verdon [Tour] – Var Department of Provence

• Gorges Du Verdon - The largest canyon in all of Europe, referred to by locals as the Grand Canyon. Insane winding roads with MASSIVE drops. Be careful driving here! Apparently in the summer the locals inner tube/float down the gorge. That sounds pretty amazing. When we visited the weather was REALLY nasty. I froze my butt off on this one! Who knew the French Riviera could be cold?!

 Cavalaire Sur Mer – Var Department of Provence

• Cavalaire Sur Mer - Touristy little seaside town. Apparently a huge watersport destination. The day we arrived the ‘mistral’ was happening: that is, a strong, cold northwesterly wind that blows through the Rhône valley and southern France into the Mediterranean. Due to this, we couldn’t take any water toys out. Darn! On the bright side, the skies were PERFECTLY clear blue due to the winds.

Le Castellet – Var Department of Provence

• Le Castellet - A pretty hilltop village in Southern France, boasting some great views of the surrounding valley and endless vineyards. Oozing charm. Tons of little cafes everywhere. We had a great lunch here with some of the best rose wine on the trip. Definitely a nice place to spend a day!

Closing

What an amazing trip! I’m a huge fan of France and the South has really grown on me. I sincerely hope you enjoyed watching all these videos! A lot of sweat has been put into these to make them possible.

Ralph and I have already begun planning destinations for 2013! It’s looking like an even more promising year, with plenty more cruise ship destinations around the world for us to check out! When I get some firm details I’ll make sure to keep you all updated! Thanks for watching!

If you’d like to connect with me further my Twitter is: ChrisStanleyHD

Facebook Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AmberPacificStudios

Thanks! See ya soon!

- APS_Chris

I knew it was going to be an amazing trip and fun opportunity to capture some great moments in the South of France! I was in.

We visited a ton of gorgeous Southern France ports of call and probably saw more in 7 days then most people in a month. We drank and ate in little French seaside cafes, we were guided through towering cathedrals, down windy cobblestone streets, through bustling markets… We caught some fantastic sunsets, cliff jumped, biked, went yachting, played petanque (French Bocce) with the locals, visited vineyards, ziplined… the list goes on. What an amazing week. The video below is my personal experience of the trip. (a glimpse at least) Check it out and thanks for watching!

The technical stuff:

Shot with a Canon T3i, GoPro, and a glidecam 4000HD.
Edited in FCP7, CC’d with 3-way and a little tiny bit of Magic Bullets.
Song: Undefeated by Jason Derulo

Please enjoy and thanks for watching!

- APS_Chris

We’ve all seen these funny contraptions before… But not on this level. Trust Redbull, the marketing kings of universe to create something this extraordinary and over the top. Those guys are insane, and I love them for it.

Enjoy!

- APS_Chris

For the full blog post on my 14 day journey as well as a to of photos and some video, go here.

Enjoy!

- APS_Chris

I’ll be getting into the France trip in another blog post. This post is about my first hand experiences traveling from St. Louis northbound up the Mississippi River all the way to Minnesota aboard the largest paddlewheel in the world, the stunning American Queen.  This boat was unreal; it was literally ripped right out of the pages of a Mark Twain novel. The decor was all richly decorated 1850′s style, the food was Southern ‘Mom’s cooking’ comfort food, and it just oozed that small town Americana charm that we all know and love.

I was contracted out by The American Steamboat Company to shoot a series of videos for them covering all facets of their paddle wheel experience: dining, accommodations, entertainment, philosophy, and shore excursions. As an added bonus I made them a trailer and shot a ship review with my colleague, Ralph Grizzle, The Avid Cruiser. (www.avidcruiser.com) We spent the first couple days just enjoying the ship and getting a feel for the pace of life onboard. After our crazy France trip, it was a much needed break.

The ship itself is furnished like a decadent Mark Twain inspired Titanic. Each room is filled with rich wooded furniture, crown mouldings, old book shelves and crystal chandelieres. Oh, and let’s not forget the taxidermied animals! (we are in the South!) They really did an amazing job capturing the era!

Of course, the biggest attraction is the paddle wheel itself. They have a fully functional paddle wheel that propels the boat up the river. (Not for show, this thing is the real deal!) The paddlewheel is a sight to see and kicks up a ton of water! At night, it’s illuminated by giant spot lights that casts massive shadows down the water which adds to the effect. This is about as authentic as it gets!

Night paddling was one of the highlights for me. Despite the incredibly windy and narrow river that is the Mississippi, the boat doesn’t stop, even when it’s pitch dark. They have massive spot lights on the top of the boat that they beam the riverbanks with. It’s really a sight to see at night. I would sit on what they call ‘The Front Porch of America’, in my rocking chair, green tea in hand and just watch the strobing lights beam the river banks as we glided up the river. Very cool.

I’ve cruised A LOT in my life. I truly love this industry. I worked for Princess Cruise Lines for 1 year spending 6 months visiting almost every major port in the Caribbean, and then another 6 months traveling around the Mediterranean and even some of Scandinavia. Ocean cruises are fantastic, but the running theme with them is… ocean. You look out over the side of the ship and you see nothing most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, this can be fantastic. I’ve done an Atlantic crossing and to look out at the massive expanse of nothing, literally in the middle of the ocean, is magical and haunting all at the same time. The stark difference with river cruising is that when you look out over the side of the boat there’s ALWAYS something to look at! The Mississippi, though a long river, isn’t particularly wide. I laughed when they made us do life jacket drills at the beginning of the journey– if the boat sank you’re never more than 100ft off shore! Ha! I’d jump in and swim! (fingers crossed, no alligators!)

So how did the shooting go? Really well! I brought along my trusty Sony EX1 and my Canon T3i, tripod, Glidecam 4000HD, and a host of other support gear and was off to the races. I shot most of the footage the first week and edited everything onboard the second. (a full 8 videos; roughly 26 minutes of edited video!) When I left the ship the entire project was complete; a great feeling.

The Mississippi is a beautiful river and we came at arguably the best time of the year to explore it. Autumn was upon us and the ‘fall colours’ were out in full force. The river banks were painted in bright reds, yellows, and oranges as all the trees changed colours. It was quite a sight and something that I, living in BC (evergreen country), never get to see in this magnitude.

The food was also really a treat. I’ll be honest I walked onto the ship not expecting a lot: Southern cuisine to me is stereotypically deep fried chicken and grits. Ok, sure, that WAS onboard but there was so much more. Every night we were treated to a 5 course meal with complimentary wine and beer! Damn! I had everything from hearty salads, warm mashed potatoes, savoury steaks, creole prawns, pork roast, fritters, to even escargot! (surprisingly not bad if you can get over the texture!) Of course, while in the heartland of America it was also important to wash it all down with some warm apple pie! Yum!

I thought it was also worth mentioning– Southern hospitality. It exists! I’ve always heard of this sort of thing but always thought it was a just an old stereotype that people were hanging onto. Nope. I met some of the nicest, warmest, and and friendliest people I’ve encountered on all my worldly travels while paddling up the Mississippi. People smile at you in the streets, ask how your day is going, and just generally try to make conversation… consistently! It was awesome! I wish more places around the world took this as an example. People are just soo friendly down there!

My journey up the Mississippi was a fantastic experience. The American Queen is a beautiful boat with all the amenities you would expect from an ocean liner, but with a small town Americana feel. The boat was stunning, the staff and crew were all really friendly, and I can’t wait to get back out there and experience the Southern end of the Mississippi in the future! Thanks American Queen for having me out! Enjoy the video below! Thanks for watching!

- APS_Chris

Special thanks to Ralph Grizzle for supplying me several of the photos used in this blog!

I’m a huge GoPro fan and am on my third one right now. They are such awesome little cameras; cheap, durable as shit, and the images are fantastic. And now… having seen the specs on these new ones I’m blown away– 4k?! Ok, so it’s only 15fps, but still. For a camera that small and at that price range this is insane. My EX1 is being out preformed by a GoPro. Damn.

The real thing that caught my eye however was 1080p @ 60fps. The holy grail. If you’ve watched my stuff, you know how much I love slo-mo. I will abuse this so hard! It’s about time GoPro!

Another noteworthy addition is the built in wi-fi. Do you know how many shots of I have of me, squinting at the camera trying to tell if it’s on? The built in wifi is a much needed feature.

I can’t wait to get my hands on one once they become available in Canada. Check out the video I made last year of our hike to the top of Panorama Ridge in Garabaldi Provincial Park, BC! (shot all GoPro Hero 2)

The GoPro Hero 3 Trailer – have spare shorts ready.

Have you seen the new GoPro advert? DAMN! They are notorious for killer ads… and they’ve really outdone themselves this time. If you noticed my 2011 demo reel, I actually edited it to GoPro’s previous advert song- that’s how inspired I was. This new one though… wow. They cranked things up a notch. Don’t take my word for it though:

Razor sharp editing, kickass music, and some insane photography. I’m impressed.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this badboy and beat the s*** out of it. I recently heard this great quote:

“If you’re not trying to break them, you’re not going hard enough.” #gopro

Are you getting one? What are your thoughts on it? Let me know! See you out in the field!

- APS_Chris

Having said that, when my good friends at Volleyball BC approached me wanting some video of the 2012 Beach Nationals held at Spanish Banks in Vancouver, I was utterly stoked! My two favourite things: volleyball and film. I would also get to shoot some of Canada’s olympians in action! NICE! Check out the results!

Tech Specs:

• Shot on a Sony EX1
• Glidecam 4000HD
• Edited and CC’d in FCP7
• Song: Pressure (Alesso Remix) – Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji

Thanks again Volleyball BC for having me out! Enjoy!

- APS_Chris

This July some friends and I decided to kick off the summer with an adventure to the stunning Hesquiat Trail, located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. This is a remote 50km trail that takes about 5 days of solid hiking to complete and is only accessible by seaplane. The trail sees about 20 visitors a year!

I knew this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to capture the raw untouched beauty of the British Columbia. I immediately packed my camera gear and prepared myself for what would be some of the most scenic coastline I’ve ever seen in my life.

They say the best things in life are worked for. After this hike, I agree with that statement! This was without a doubt one of the most challenging shoots I’ve ever done. The shots you will see were paid for in sweat and are probably some of my favourite footage I’ve ever taken!

Big thanks goes out to Air Nootka and our wonderful pilot Doug Kilian for allowing us to mount my GoPro to the wing of our sea plane. Super unique footage! Thanks Doug! Let’s fly again!

Also, special thanks goes out to my friends and fellow hikers: Dustin Schmaltz, Adrian Goodmurphy, Donna Lee, and Lynn Daoust! Thanks for putting up with my constant ‘camera breaks’ on the hike! I hope you enjoy the video!

- APS_Chris