Update... Changing My Blog... Soon...

Marty hitchhiking the Carretera Austral - Coyhaique, Chile

It's been several months since my last post... I got busy wandering several months through Patagonia and getting myself back to the U.S. I have had lots of content I wanted to share but am working on developing a new blog site before I do. 

Change is good. And I've decided it's time to change up my blog and direction.

Until that happens, I wanted to fill you in on a few things since the last post if you haven't seen or heard from me...

I shot two short documentaries that I'm currently editing for the Glimpse Correspondent program. One film is a video portrait of the street dogs in Chile layered with my personal experience of living in foreign country with themes of communication, isolation, love. The second film is about one of my best friends, Rex, who joined me on a 3.5 month backpacking trip through Patagonia. The film explores Rex' pursuit of his dream as a professional poker player and how his early success allowed him to partake on such an adventure with me.

After Patagonia, I said goodbye to Rex and travelled solo via hitchhiking and bus 6800 KM to Lima, Peru. I was broke and just needed to get home. With not a dollar in my bank account, I bought my plane ticket on credit. On my way to Lima, I made a visit to Macchu Picchu. I needed cash and few places accept credit card and many that do can be sketchy if they're mom and pop shops. I figured out that I could go to the casino using a credit card to buy chips, play slots for 10 minutes, and redeem the chips and walk out with a bunch of money.

Macchu Picchu and Cuzco were awesome but can be very disorganized with tours. There's simply too much tourism and chaos for it to be handled in an organized manner. I was broke again on my last day there. I was several hours late getting back from a tour and I needed to get to the bus station to take a 24 hr bus ride to Lima to get on a plane back to the U.S. the next day. I no longer had time to run to the bus station from my hostel or go to the casino for cash. Luckily, some friendly Argentines who I ate lunch with on the tour gave me cab fair.

I made it to the bus just in time with the equivalent of $ 0.50 USD. I just needed to get to the airport and home and was planning to fast until I do so. The next day, the bus stopped for lunch. I went to use the bathroom and I couldn't believe it! There was about $ 3 in change on the window of the bathroom stall. There was no way to tell whose it was so I pocketed the change and accepted a big lunch of fruit from a nearby market. Thank you universe!

Once in Lima, I went to the mall. I needed a little bit of cash for a cab to the airport. I went to a smoothie stand and negotiated with customers, in Spanish, if I could pay for their order with my credit card if they gave me cash. They did, and I was on my way to the airport.

I arrived in Washington DC on April 2nd. The band IAMDYNAMITE, good friends of mine, picked me up from the airport at 3am after I was held up for having coca leaves on me- they let me keep my chia seeds. I spent the next 5 weeks on tour with IAMDYNAMITE as they played from east coast to west coast. I lived in their van and hotels, eating free continental breakfasts and venue food, and directing their new music video here:

Mid-May I got back home to Michigan and have been spending time with family and friends after a long absence. There's still a lot of people I want to see, but I've been working away getting my life back together.

I sold my car while travelling in Patagonia and meant to save money for a motorcycle or used car upon my return to the U.S. but that didn't happen. I bought a bicycle and have decided to do without a car. I came across several travelers in Patagonia who were doing the trip on bicycle. I thought that was really awesome and would like to do something like it one day. I've learned that if I have a goal or dream, it's important to start making small steps towards them, right away, no matter how small. I figured by buying a bicycle capable of such a long-distance touring trip, I would have the necessary tools for such an adventure when the opportunity comes. The longer I commute, the more I love my bicycle and the freedom my feet and legs provide.

At the beginning of June, I started working at a health foods bar making juices, smoothies, and foods. I've been working 50 hour weeks focusing on getting my physical health and financial health in top shape. I've already got myself back out of debt and am working on saving for the next adventure.

Working 50 hours a week is a big adjustment. The job is fine and all, it just takes up too much of my time which I'd rather focus on goals and dreams for the the future. Not finding time for such dreaming is frustrating. I want to complete my documentaries, publish my new blog and content, and get an exhibition together of photo, video, and writings to bring closure to The Pan-American Dream project. I hope to scale back my hours at the health bar soon to part-time to make my dreams not so part-time or spare-time.

When The Pan-American Dream project started three years ago, I dreamed it would be possible one day to become a travel filmmaker and photographer if I just persist in that direction. A few opportunities have presented themselves along the way and I'm still optimistic. Most recently, I submitted a 5 photo essay from a hitchhiking experience in Patagonia to WorldNomads.com 2013 Photography Scholarship. Winner goes on a 10-day assignment to the Arctic Circle in Greenland with National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards!

So, visit my submission here for the first preview of some of my Patagonia experience. Please let me know what you think either by commenting on my blog or the contest site.

I look forward to sharing more content with you soon!

Peace!

-Marty

Change with Film: Minimalism + IAMDYNAMITE Music Video

I've been experimenting the last several months with a more minimal process of filmmaking, partly out of necessity, and enjoying it:  Less people, less camera equipment, and less complication.  All the gear and tools I need to create, I can carry in one backpack with my own two feet- that is a liberating feeling!  It allows me to shoot and move fast while adapting and improvising on the way.  It can make filming much more fun.  Although I do enjoy shooting projects with large crews of close friends and colleagues with fancy film equipment, this is a nice change for now.  I don't have to create a production schedule around many actors, crew members, etc, which often causes delays, stress, etc...  When I want to make something, I just do it.   One-man crew style if I have to.  Boom!

Above is the new music video I directed for IAMDYNAMITE "Where Will We Go."  If you haven't seen them, you need to.  They're on tour right now.  They are incredible performers and awesome to see live.

I shot this video with the tiny GoPro Hero2 HD camera along with GoPro's headband mount.  We shot guerrilla style moving all around the beautiful city of Ann Arbor without permits for two days.  We were able to move fast and almost unnoticed as it was only a two-man band, myself, one assistant and a small camera.  We could walk down the street and film almost unnoticed.  Most people may have thought I was just being obnoxious walking down the street with a loud boom box.  Moments after passing, they would realize and say something like, "Oh my god!  They're making a video!"

Adjusting the camera mount on Chris Martin.

It took some practice with the band (Chris and Chris) to get used to the camera setup on their head.  For example, it was necessary to really exaggerate the facial expressions of the performance, mainly the lips, to make it look good or natural for the camera with its wide fisheye lens, even though it felt somewhat unnatural.  After a while, the headband mount became uncomfortable so we improvised more padding with a gel foot insole we bought from a convenience store.  After a rehearsal shoot the night before and a few hours on set, the Chris' had it down and the performances were able to shine.

Aside from concentrating on performing and moving while staring into a camera that is six inches from your face, which is difficult to do when you're walking through the woods over rocks and tree roots, the Chris' would also have to roll and stop the camera since I would often be hiding off screen with the boombox for playback.  When we filmed this, GoPro had not yet released their WiFi BacPac accessory so there was no way for me to monitor the camera while filming.  I would watch the performance from a hidden distance and review playback on the small LCD screen later.  Without a monitor, we had several 'lost takes' in the beginning:  "Yes!  That looked great guys!  ...Fuck!  We weren't recording... let's do it again..."

I give a lot of credit to Chris and Chris.  They each did about three full takes at each of the several locations.  It was a lot of work and they kept the energy every time.  By the end, everyone was pretty exhausted, the band rightfully so.

For me, it was more exhausting editing the video.  If you think you are dizzy from watching it once, imagine watching it for eight hours a day for a couple of weeks.  I hope you enjoy it!  Otherwise, I just killed a lot of brain cells for nothing...

Change in Age: Oh Hey Birthday!

It's my Birthday!  Here's a video!