shooting a rock climbing gym...brainstorming

C Walker

C Walker

Well-known member
Grand Opening is this weekend. I sort of know the owner, so I'm shooting this for their website, free of charge. I just want my name on the site for the video work. Anyway, other than the obvious...people climbing...what would be a hook for you? I'm thinking of:

*Slo-mo chalk on the hands, getting some nice gritty chalk dust flowing around them.
*Fingers digging into the surfaces.
*Under & over angles of climbers.
*Close-ups, smiling.
*Ropes, clipping into harness.

hahaha, maybe I should film it and make it into a trailer for a movie such as Cliffhanger. Wind blowing, etc. looks dramatic, b-roll of cliffs, deep valleys, transitioning to inside the gym and the whopping 6-ft fall into the pillow-like crash pad.

Any suggestions?
 
Don't know about the one that you're shooting for, but at the place I rock climb they like to let peopel know that they can do bday parties and have area for kids and stuff for them to do... might want to add a couple shots with families/children for this.

I always liked the shots they used in this marines ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8RTlFxcUI

If you're searching for some sort of fun theme on the whole video, (you mentioned Cliffhanger) that could work really well as an attention grabbing opener.

With some good mounts I bet you could find some real unique POV shots. Go climbing and get some ideas. Sounds like a fun project.
 
Be careful with the chalk around the camera.

Here are some things you might want to consider:

Is this going to be a 4-6 min promo video or a 30 sec commercial?

What is the clientele like (target audience)? Is this place going after the more experienced climber, the girl scout troupe, or a mix of skill levels?

Are instructors going to be a big part of the gym?

Is the gym selling climbing equipment?

See if you can dig up other commercials for rock climbing gyms and other rock climbing videos, see what kind of shots they used that you feel would work for your video. Pick up some climbing magazines and see what the best pictures look like.

Is there anyone well known in the climbing community near you that you could use? (See if gym would be willing to pay couple bucks to get them in the video)

Use the owners (I'm assuming they are fairly experienced climbers) to perform more advanced maneuvers.

As arges03 mentioned, do some climbing of your own to see what the experience is like and how you can recreate the feeling through your camera.

But most importantly use the gym as one big camera support system, you can shoot from almost any position you can think of! Just make sure your camera is secured.
 
TMY said:
Be careful with the chalk around the camera.

Here are some things you might want to consider:

Is this going to be a 4-6 min promo video or a 30 sec commercial?

What is the clientele like (target audience)? Is this place going after the more experienced climber, the girl scout troupe, or a mix of skill levels?

Are instructors going to be a big part of the gym?

Is the gym selling climbing equipment?

See if you can dig up other commercials for rock climbing gyms and other rock climbing videos, see what kind of shots they used that you feel would work for your video. Pick up some climbing magazines and see what the best pictures look like.

Is there anyone well known in the climbing community near you that you could use? (See if gym would be willing to pay couple bucks to get them in the video)

Use the owners (I'm assuming they are fairly experienced climbers) to perform more advanced maneuvers.

As arges03 mentioned, do some climbing of your own to see what the experience is like and how you can recreate the feeling through your camera.

But most importantly use the gym as one big camera support system, you can shoot from almost any position you can think of! Just make sure your camera is secured.
Click to expand...

Here is their current website, along with some videos a friend shot: http://www.urbanrocksgym.com/index.htm

I don't really know much about their demographics, I'm assuming all age/skill levels, but I'll find out more when I get there. I have all day, so I'm not under any time pressure. There are a ton of pro-level climbers locally, I know some that I'm going to ask to come down with me, good idea! I have permission to take a few people in for free. Good advice about the mags, I'll pick some up today and thumb through!

Good stuff guys! Thanks!
 
on the job:
IMG_0425.jpg
 
hmm, now that i've been and filmed some, i think i'm going to go back with a better idea of what i want. it was impossible to choreograph yesterday because it was so busy. i'll go back when it's less hectic.
 
Last edited:
Cracker said:
on the job:
IMG_0425.jpg
Click to expand...

great picture. that's the one piece of advice i would have given if i had seen this soon. just stay off the ground as much as possible. i shot a rock-climbing doc when i was in school and the biggest problem we had was that the footage we shot from the ground ended up being all ass-shots, not very interest.

definately post the finish product when it's done.
 
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