I have a new film out today. It’s called “The Seven Summits of My Neighborhood.” With things like this, I always hesitate to write too much of an introduction to the film, but here’s the link for you to watch now, or save for later. I wrote a little bit more below the video screenshot if you’d like to read it first or afterward.
In previous years, I spent a lot of time at adventure film festivals, watching beautiful and inspiring movies on the big screens at Banff, Mountainfilm, 5 Point, Kendal, and others. I even got to direct and produce a few short films that showed in those places, and I got to rub elbows with talented directors, cinematographers, and storytellers there, and it was a true joy.
But lately, I’ve been getting inspired by the films I’ve seen on YouTube, by people like the Australian adventurer Beau Miles, my friend Ryan Van Duzer, and other people, who sometimes have a whole bunch of people involved in the making of their films, and sometimes just do it all themselves.
So when I started thinking about making a little film about the adventure I started calling “The Seven Summits of My Neighborhood,” I wanted to see if I could pull something together with only the equipment I could carry in a running vest: A GoPro on a small GorillaPod, and my iPhone. I did hire a friend to do some drone shots, another friend to make some fun music, and one more friend to polish up my editing (and more importantly, cut footage I couldn’t bring myself to cut). But that’s it.
I don’t think anyone’s going to recreate this adventure exactly (nor would I recommend it), but I hope it might encourage people to make up their own contrived thing to do with a day or a week’s worth of days. I love this kind of stuff.