IAmA McFlySoHigh Video

[BgWvDave]

Great videos! Have yet to see one I wasnt impressed with. When are you going to come to Eastern NC to film one? Quite a few 1000+ rated golfers east of Raleigh...

Anyways, keep up the great work. Thanks.

He filmed the Azalea last year.

Keep up the great work Marty!!!

 

[McFlySoHigh]

I have nothing to ask, but I will say, THANK YOU FOR BEING SO AWESOME AND TALENTED!

Thank you, Holly! I'm just looking forward to filming you someday. YouTube. Will. Break.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Glad to see you made it on here! Your coverages are perfection...just one question, why don't you do commentary?

Great question. I founded my channel on the "no commentary" mantra, and I plan to stick to my guns. I personally feel that most all commentary I've heard adds no actual value to the presentation. I would define "value" as, let's say, "What was going through Steve Brinster's mind as he played the final round of the 2013 USDGC?" So, if I ever came to an agreement with Brinster to do voice-over for that particular round, I'd probably eat those "no commentary" words!

 

[McFlySoHigh]

I've got a few if you feel like addressing any of them.

1.) What types of cameras do you recommend?
2.) How many people does it take in a crew to adequately film a round?
3.) In your opinion, what makes for a great course to film? Flip side, what makes for a really bad one?
4.) Who that we may have heard of seems to really struggle playing well while they are being filmed?

Thanks bro. Much love!

1.) Like most, I started out with a prosumer camcorder (Canon HF G10). They're almost "too easy" to use, and produce a pretty flat picture. I now use a DSLR (Canon 60D), which allows me more creative freedom (manually focusing and controlling exposure).
2.) For most courses, 1. For some, with major elevation changes and doglegs--like the Gran Canyon in FLA--you really need 2.
3.) For me, an "event" course like the Gran Canyon offers breathtaking scenery and that abstract "one of a kind" feeling you get when you're either filming or playing there. A really bad course, from a filmmaking perspective, is one that suffers from monotony in course design.
4.) Hmm. I can simply offer that I've been asked to move from a protected, safe spot in the fairway only once (by Barry Schultz, who has otherwise been a pleasure to film); and I've been asked to not film a person driving only once. (The latter was at the Collegiate Nationals. She explained that she could notice me there *well behind* the tee box during her pull-back.) P.S. I got the impression from vague grumblings that The Champ didn't like me filming him at the US Masters, even though I was careful to stay well out of his direct line of sight while putting. :/

 

[SoCal Mike]

Welcome to DGCR and thanks for doing what you do!!! I really enjoy watching your vids. Keep up the great work. :clap:

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Great videos! Have yet to see one I wasnt impressed with. When are you going to come to Eastern NC to film one? Quite a few 1000+ rated golfers east of Raleigh...

Anyways, keep up the great work. Thanks.

The Azalea Open (pro weekend) is definitely on my calendar again this year. Castle Hayne is easily one of my top 5 courses in NC. Dave George runs a great tournament, too.

 

[bhadella]

I love the style of your filming and lack of commentary. But I always love to know what disc a player is throwing. Have you considered documenting/tracking that?

 

[BgWvDave]

The Azalea Open (pro weekend) is definitely on my calendar again this year. Castle Hayne is easily one of my top 5 courses in NC. Dave George runs a great tournament, too.

Thanks Marty and we look forward to having you back this year!!!!!!

 

[McFlySoHigh]

If you feel like naming names:
Which pros are biggest hams for the camera?
Which pros do not like being filmed?

Keep up the good work

Whether or not he's playing superbly or just meh, Jeremy Koling is certainly one of the most gregarious golfers I've ever filmed. JohnE McCray and Brian Schweberger and also very, very outgoing. Oh, and how can one forget Terry Gallops?! TG is by far the most entertaining golfer I've ever met. And, he has a heart of gold that might get lost in the fiery competitivism he displays.

I got the distinct impression that Ken Climo didn't care for me filming him at the US Masters. However, I didn't get those same vibes earlier this month in FLA.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Just want to say thanks for the great work. Watched all of your coverage.

Do you play yourself? I assume you probably do...but seeing as how you cover so many events, do you ever have time to play in some?

I play 2-3 rounds a week, mostly at either Ashe Park or Highland Hills DGCs. If given the ultimatum of laying down either the camera or my disc golf bag for the rest of my life, the camera would be on eBay in a flash.

Fwiw, I started playing when I turned 40, almost 3 years ago. I don't throw competitively, but I'm probably a 900-rated golfer.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

your videos are some of the best! Do you plan on filming anything in Texas this year?

Unfortunately, no. I wish I had the funding to extend my early-season western road trip to include both the TX States and the World Am Dubs, but I've got to scoot back home after the Memorial.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

What type of camera do you use?

Canon 60D, a DSLR particularly well-suited for video.

 

[_MTL_]

Video does putting a reinjustice, especially putts in the 35 foot range.

It's pretty obvious when someone is within 20 - the circle range and pretty obvious based on jumping when they are 50 - 60 or so out.

But video really makes those putts from 35 - 45 look short and when they go in, its like "eh, whatever" and when they miss it's "pssh, how could you miss that?"

any plans to add in some effects of distance estimates to help eliminate this?

FYI, this is one advantage of commentary, I feel. But as a whole, commentary in our sport is bad.

 

[_MTL_]

Also, I would love to know how you plan to fund this operation long term. Obviously, you don't have to go into specifics, but when you see things like what Timmy Gill did in 2006ish and more recently Clash both fail, I would love to know your long term plans.

You are the best I've seen, well, you and Terry Roddy, and I hope that you can sustain what you are doing and not be another example when the next venture comes along.

 

[heartman]

I only troll on reddit. Seriously, there's a mobile app I use daily to keep track of what's trending on the "front page of the internet." I'm not registered on the site, however.

It's ok, I post all your vids on /r/discgolf for you ... and shamelessly take the sweet, sweet karma

Love your vids and keep up the great work! Hopefully you'll be filming some UGA guys this year at NCDGC

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Are there any particular players or playing styles that you find difficult to film? E.g. Fast players, slow players, lots of practice swings?

How much raw footage do you get to condense into a 25-30 minute video?

What's your average processing time? Has this changed between your first video and your most recent?

Fast players give me fits, being 1 guy hustling around following 4-5 players. Fastest-working pros I've filmed include Cam Todd and Michael Johansen.

I'd guess that approximately 2 hours of raw footage is whittled down into a 30-minute video.

It takes me between 3-4 hours to fully edit an entire round. When I first started, it'd be 5-6 hours of mousing and clicking. I've also edited more tightly over time, because I know that everyone's time is valuable, and attention spans are limited!

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Love your videos.
Thanks for all the hard work.
Thanks for not playing music, except on Intros.
Not a complaint, but my one request is that we see and hear more of the interaction of the Pros between shots and between holes.

There are some great (not private) conversations that I would love to see and hear. I like to hear the back-and-forth between the Pros, and I miss that on videos.

Funny thing is, the more advanced divisions I film, the less chatter I hear between players. I absolutely understand you guys treasure hearing the "insider talk," so my ears and camera are always on alert. The one exception seems to be FPO. Pros such as Elaine King and Sarah Cunningham are very vocal (and witty) during the round, which helps diffuse any tension or nerves that might be present initially.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Agreed on all points. One other thing that I'd love to see is what disc they threw, akin to CCDG. Being a gear head I love this, although I understand the extra legwork involved in acquiring such info.

Regardless, keep up the awesome work! Looking forward to more videos this season.

Extra legwork, involved, yes, and unless you've done a very recent "in the bag" with the player, you're doing what amounts to guesswork. Unless the player themselves verify what you're posting on every single throw/drive. Players shuffle similar-looking discs in and out of their bags quite often. And, some players (especially the vets, it seems) are rather secretive about what they're throwing. For all of the above reasons, I've chosen to not even try saying on-screen what I think they're throwing. Somebody at some point said something about "...rather than speak up and remove all doubt." Yeah. That.

 

[McFlySoHigh]

love your videos. I really like watching the big professionals play and you record them. You have the best videos on youtube. I would say that i have at least watched your videos 500-1,000 times. Over and over :thmbup::thmbup::thmbup:

So, it's *you* who made me #1 on YouTube! I never thought I'd get to thank that person personally. In all seriousness, I'm really happy to have brought you so much viewing pleasure. Over and over again!

 

[McFlySoHigh]

Video does putting a reinjustice, especially putts in the 35 foot range.

It's pretty obvious when someone is within 20 - the circle range and pretty obvious based on jumping when they are 50 - 60 or so out.

But video really makes those putts from 35 - 45 look short and when they go in, its like "eh, whatever" and when they miss it's "pssh, how could you miss that?"

any plans to add in some effects of distance estimates to help eliminate this?

FYI, this is one advantage of commentary, I feel. But as a whole, commentary in our sport is bad.

A very valid point, MTL, in how using a zoom lens compresses perceived distances. Me adding distance estimates would be just that--guesstimates (and I have no way of taking notes during the round). One thing I try to do after made birdie putts is allow the viewer time to count the number of steps a player takes to retrieve their disc. However, I do indeed cut away after missed putts and made putts that don't result in either a birdie or eagle, for the sake of time. Perhaps a solution can be found somewhere down the road.