All aboard!: Win N Trak model railroad group

A couple months ago I mentioned that I had started filming my first documentary on model railroading. And today I’m happy to announce that it is officially complete!

As I expected, the models were amazing; the venue, perfect; and the guys were enthusiastic and certainly not camera shy.

But the main problem I suffered from was information overload. I didn’t just shoot the evening set up and show day, I also got the chance to film one of their monthly meetings, a demonstration, and a layout in Gooch’s Hobbies where one of the members works.

It all seemed a good idea at the time, until I was sitting in the edit suite watching back the footage and came to the conclusion that I had about seven different stories lines and not all of them would fit together nicely.

I also realised that when shooting extreme close ups hand held (which I had a lot of, based on the nature of the topic) the lens is fully extended and it’s pretty hard to get steady shots – even the slightest movement throws off composition.

It took me a few days to come up with a decent storyline, and the result is a more general take on the hobby, the group, and why each member is interested in model railroading.

The guys from Win N Trak have invited me to their end of year meeting to show the video, so here’s hoping they’ll like it!