Cocco's Hot Tub

We just put up Damon’s great production covering that log hot July day in Indiana, Nudes a Poppin’ 2009.  A new year’s treat!  Great clear HD shooting with a prosumer camera, with an eye for the candid moments.  Enjoy!

http://www.coccovision.com/1-nudist-beach-new.html

I just received this title, in standard DVD format, and the video quality is awesome! (Also available in HD Bluray.)  Damon has a unique shooting style, getting some impossible angles in crowded conditions, as he solves the problems of covering this challenging event.

It appears he may have his camera mounted on an extended monopod that he is able to get almost arial views as he floats over the crowds unobstructed. Next he is shooting upward from ground level, with every scene being rock steady. He is constantly on the move, covering all possible locations throughout the park, with a nice mix of pro showgirls as well as casual nudists. He has a gift (and patience) for capturing very candid moments of his subjects, like a “fly on the wall” approach - it is like his subjects don’t know he is there. Very enjoyable shooting style, not like anything I have seen before.
http://www.coccovision.com/video-samples/damon-hot-blooded-09/damon-hot-blooded-09.html

Thank you for that nice review, Artiztik!  I was wondering if anyone would notice the extra effort put into the video.  Yes I did use a monopod much of the time.  It was tricky since you have to angle the flip-out screen so that you can see it when holding the camera way up.  I was terrified of losing control of the camera and having it come down on someone’s head.  That would have been bad.

A lot went into the editing, both picture and sound.  You may not notice it, but that’s what good editing is about… if you don’t notice anything much that is weird, it means the editing was well done.  Consider that mostly if you look at an amateur video from NAP, every time a shot changes, the sound changes.  This is because the only editing done usually is maybe cutting out the boring parts or where the camera gets too shaky. What you get is sound popping in and out suddenly, and with music playing all the time at NAP it can be very jarring.  So what I do, when I shoot I try to let the camera roll continuously for long stretches, even if I think I have finished a given shot; this gives me longer than usual, stretches of usable sound, in this case the background music.  When it comes time to edit, I watch and listen carefully to a minute or two of raw shooting.  I decide what sound, music and dialogue I want to use and what shot sections to use.  Then I look carefully to see when there is something in a shot that is actually VISIBLY in synch with something you can hear, like someone talking and you can see their lips clearly.  So for the shots I want to use, where there is visible synch sound, I make sure the sound and picture stay together.  All other shots can be chopped up and moved around with continuous sound underneath.  So now you have a sequence where the sound (the music) flows continuously but the shots change giving you multiple angles or multiple views.  Most of the shots are actually radically out of synch with the audio, but you can’t tell; the dancing, or whatever still seems to work fine.

Of course things are not always perfect.  the camera gets knocked, adding a CLUNK to the sound here and there, causing some editing difficulties, and sometimes I did have to chop up the music.  But if you listen to the beats and bars in the music you can often cut it in a way most people won’t notice it was editied.  I would say that 2/3 of my time editing is spent cleaning up the sound, layering it, cross-fading, etc etc.  I think it makes a big difference to make the video an enjoyable experience.

I did not include the wet t-shirt contest in the video.  Instead I made 5 clips for coco to post.  I don’t know when they’ll show them.  I did not have a great position and I could not hold my monopod up for higher angles.  Instead I used the monopod as it was intended to be used, to steady the shooting I could get from my position by letting it sit on the ground.  Still, this 25 minutes of video turned out not too bad, with a sense of the whole event from milling around at the beginning, to presenting awards.  Hope you enjoy.

And if you like NAP, please buy my movie at coccovision.  I get a royalty for every sale and it helps finance these efforts.  Thank you!

Just wondering if you were at NAP 2011? My wife was in the wet t shirt contest and in the crowd on both days, and I would love to find some video with her in it.

Kirbon, Damon and I all shot video at NAP 2009.  Njaya, have you looked at all the stills galleries for NAP 2009 here on Cocco?

Post a link to a photo of her, and I will see if Kirbon or I have anything. I understand Damon’s wet tee footage from NAP 2009 will be posting to Cocco video clips here soon. Or, if you are any where near mid-Michigan, I would be happy to shoot some new video of her ;-} Always looking for a good Muse!

Correction, there are already 2 wet-T video clips posted by Damon, with more to come.

Artiztik - I am wondering about NAP 2011, not NAP 2009. Does Kirbon’s 2011 video include the Wet T Shirt contest? None of the preview pics include the Wet T Shirt contest but I am wondering if the 4 hours + of video may include some 2011 Wet T Shirt footage. I don’t know how to post a link, but my wife is image # 41 in Kirbon’s NAP 2011 gallery. We are also interested in footage including our friend, who is in image #‘s 38, 39, and 40 of the same gallery. They were both in the Wet T Contest, my wife 4th place and the other girl 2nd place.

Njaya, The thread was all about the 2009 show, I did not go in 2011, but Kirbon made it. Unfortunately by Sunday afternoon he was feeling overcome by the heat, and did not attend the Wet-T show. Hopefully someone out there will read this and have that footage for you.

However, the ladies you seek DID catch Kirbon’s attention at the shower and swings. Only a few shots you mention made it to Cocco’s gallery, here is a link to one of your wife (She’s delightful!): http://members.coccozella.com/Kirbon/NAP-2011-photo-41.html (You will see her friend if you hit the gallery’s back button.)

Kirbon shot 45 stills of this charming pair in the shower and around the swings, Njaya. Send me an email and I will get these photos to you. artiztikfoto@hotmail.com

Thanks Artiztik. Maybe next year Kirkbon should try a shower to cool off! I sent you an email, and would appreciate it if you could send the pics. I love seeing what others have taken. And if anyone has video footage or pics of the 2011 Wet T Shirt contest, or of my wife and our friend, please post and/or let me know!