RAAM: a little distance is good
When I finished filming RAAM, I thought it was a dismal failure. On top of being sick, I had allowed myself to be made crew chief of the rider’s team part way through the race, knowing that I’d have to give up shooting. The first two thirds of my footage are only from the first third of the race. I thought I had missed all kinds of story elements - especially the competition with the Brazilian team which egged our team on through so much of the race. I have to admit that this cynicism is a big reason why I procrastinated on editing it.
Now that I’m re-reviewing it all one year later, I see that there’s plenty of stuff here - including bits about the Brazilians. It’s mostly people talking about it instead of showing it, but it’s there. It’s amazing what a little space in time and in emotion. (And, thanks to friend and documentary photographer Amanda Koster for giving me the appropriate kick in the butt about keeping an optimistic attitude)
