Video Production for Paradox Sports: Adaptive Rock Climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

While we don’t exclusively create multimedia for non-profits, outdoor-centric, or locally-focused businesses, we certainly seek them out whenever possible! Paradox Sports fits this bill as a non-profit that (among other things) creates adaptive sport communities and regularly hosts rock climbing clinics where folks with a physical disability are given the tools needed to ascend a vertical rock wall. Paradox has been on our radar for a while, and we finally got the chance to spend a weekend working with the volunteers, staff, and participants of the annual Paradox Rocks event held in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.

Behind The Scenes on a Documentary Video Production for a Non-Profit Organization

During the last few years in Southwest Colorado, Wilkinson Visual was fortunate enough to secure a project for the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to involving the public in the study of archaeology and Native American cultures.

Gear Review: The Caliber LED Portable Lighting Kit by LitePanels

While holed up in Denver, I got to test out a new "portable" light kit made by LED specialists, Litepanels. This 3-light kit can be powered by AA batteries, is lightweight, bright, and packs into a very small kit, which made it very useful for a traveling filmmaker such as myself.

Mike WilkinsonOctober 21, 2015 Comment

A Tribute to Ansel Adams Photographing The Tetons and Snake River

A trip through Grand Teton National Park resulted in waking up before dawn to re-create one of the most iconic landscape images from Ansel Adams.

PBR for Breakfast and a Rock Climbing Photography Session in Southwest Colorado

There's a hidden river canyon near the Utah border of southwest Colorado that sees very little traffic, from both climbers and hikers. The rocks are red, the river runs fast, and there are even bears about as well.

Lake Tahoe Mountain Bike Photography for the Over The Edge Sports Bike Shop

As Jen and I made our way around the western United States, we scheduled a few key stops to work on photo and video projects (it's not all whiskey and rock climbing!) While we were in Lake Tahoe, we managed to spend the day creating some images for a local bike shop, featuring skilled riders on some of Lake Tahoe's best trails.

Producing Two New Tourism Videos in Southwest Colorado

Wilkinson Visual was hired to produce two tourism videos focused on a couple of the smaller, sometimes unnoticed communites in Southwest Colorado, Dolores and Mancos.

Photo Gig, Video Production, Behind The ScenesMike WilkinsonAugust 30, 2015tourism, travel, southwest colorado, video productionComment

Creating a Logo for Wilkinson Visual: the Process, Collaborators, and the Final Design

In the last 4-6 months, I've been slowly working on re-aligning the focus of Wilkinson Visual, and strategizing on where and how to proceed next. As part of that process, I wanted to actually create a proper logo and rewrite what is basically the mission of the business, so that potential clients would know exactly the kind of work we specialize in, and hopefully get us better SEO ranking.

BusinessMike WilkinsonJune 27, 2015design, business, wilkinsonvisual, logoComment

Resource Mag Online Gear Review - The Lowepro Pro Runner RL x450 AWII

I’ve never been one to use a roller bag for my photography or video equipment, besides Pelican hard cases. My whole life I’ve used backpacks of one brand or another so that I can be as mobile as possible, as honestly I spend more time on uneven dirt trails than I do on city streets. But this new bag that I reviewed for Resource Magazine might make me rethink all of that.

Resource Magazine PostMike WilkinsonJune 10, 2015gear review, lowepro, photography, travelComment

Gear Review: The Axler Robin 20 Stabilizer for B&H Explora

During my New Orleans shoot with RGG EDU, I had brought along a handheld stabilizer called the Axler. Not unlike a Glidecam, it would float camera systems under about 7lbs and was great to use.

Mike WilkinsonMay 6, 2015Comment

Fstoppers Post: Hands On with the DJI Inspire Quadcopter, Capturing 4K Aerial Video

In the last few months, I've given myself a crash-course (small pun intended) in flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones as they are commonly called. Specifically, I was using the DJI Inspire Quadcopter, and in this fstoppers article I shard my experiences and opinions on that system for aerial video capture.

Fstoppers Post, EditorialMike WilkinsonMay 3, 2015dji, inspire, uav, drone, aerial, video production, fstoppersComment

New Orleans! The City That Never Sleeps, Or Sobers Up

RGG EDU has been a steady client of mine for a while now, and their latest project had me working in both their studio as well as in the streets and swamps of New Orleans, shooting, editing, flying drones, doing timelapses, and a whole lot more.

Shooting Video for The Michigan Ice Film, and Living as a Yooper for an Entire Month

I got to spend a few weeks helping shoot scenes for the Michigan Ice Film, all about ice climbing in Northern Michigan. I shot, I snowshoed, and I froze my ass off. Here's why.

Resource Magazine Article – A Beginner’s Primer on Shooting Timelapses for Video Productions

I started writing articles for Resource Magazine's online component, resourcemagonline.com. In this recent post, I break down how I setup and shoot a high volume of timelapses when I'm working on video productions. The focus is more on settings and how to have them working for you while you're busy doing other things (like shooting video!)

Resource Magazine PostMike WilkinsonJanuary 27, 2015timelapse, video production, photography, tutorial, resource magazineComment

Valley of the Gods: The free, more intimate version of Monument Valley

One of the benefits to living in the southwest is easy access to both desert and mountain regions. A month or so ago, I found an amazing, and free, location to go exploring in called Valley of the Gods.

Trip Report, Casual ShootsMike WilkinsonJanuary 13, 2015utah, valley of the gods, hiking, photography, outdoors, adventure, dogComment

Ascending India - an update on the documentary

What started as a conversation at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, then turned into a series of shoots in Kentucky and Michigan, then was spun on its head with VISA travel issues, now sits contained as a series of zeroes and ones on a hard drive that is the size of my hand. I've been plugging away at the massive undertaking that is editing a feature-length documentary film, and there is still plenty of work to be done.

Ascending IndiaMike WilkinsonDecember 29, 2014editing, video production, documentary, ascending india, rock climbingComment

Fstoppers Post: 5 Tricks to Improve Your Video Edits

I’m sharing with you my favorite editing tricks that I find make for better cuts and ultimately make videos easier to watch. You might already do some of these editing tricks, but if not you should definitely try them out.

Mike WilkinsonDecember 24, 2014Comment

Fstoppers Post: 12 Tips On How To Work From Home As A Freelance Video Editor

While sharing drinks with a friend, he started inquiring as to how I’m able to supplement my income with video editing projects. The more we talked, the more I realized that a lot of people have the ability and skill to do it, but they don’t understand the small things that can make or break being successful at it. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned about being a freelance editor.

Fstoppers PostMike WilkinsonNovember 24, 2014gear, video production, editing, post production, tips, educationComment

What Camera Should You Buy?

I'm always being asked for my recommendations on what camera, lens, or light to buy. This answer changes with the times, but also depends on your project. I've compiled a list of 3 different kits for you consideration based on project and budget. You're welcome.

EditorialMike WilkinsonNovember 13, 2014gear, canon, panasonic, gh4, 5dmii, B&H, budgetComment

Recharging the Creative Battery with a Trip to Kentucky

I ran away from Colorado to one of my favorite sport climbing crags – The Red River Gorge in Kentucky. This was all about climbing, hanging with old friends, and giving myself a break from the hard work it takes to be an independent producer.

Trip ReportMike WilkinsonOctober 29, 2014video production, rock climbing, kentucky, red river gorgeComment

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