Green Ways to School Promo Video!

Biking Down the Green Path to Glory

This quarter I worked with Tawn and People Power in coming up with a short promotional video for Green Ways to School, a subset of People Power that works with the youth of Santa Cruz to explore alternative methods of transportation.  The first step of the process was to meet with Tawn and discuss the video’s intended audience, its online distribution, and most importantly, the content of the video.  Tawn collected some footage for me and I also took some of my own footage during one of the rides that was organized through Green Ways to School, a trail ride in Nisene Marks.  It was most of the kids on the ride’s first time mountain biking which made for a really fun time; it also presented a great opportunity for some fun shots to include in the video.
The next step in the process was to digitally sew together the video itself.  I did run across a couple of issues in editing that I wish I’d have worked out while I’d been in Nisene Marks.  I’d mostly gotten action shots of the group as they were biking, and never got a photo of the group together.  I also would like to have captured some interviews with some of the kids but we had run out of time out on the trails and most of the kids had to go home once we got back into the parking lot.  The footage that I did get, however, added a fun element to the video and I’m glad I was able to include it.
As a whole, I believe the video manages to give off an inspiring display of the work that Green Ways to School has done in engaging the youth of Santa Cruz.  My greatest hope is that it will reach a kid here in Santa Cruz and motivate them to seek out the resources that Green Ways has to offer (and then, possibly become a part of Santa Cruz’s alternative transportation community!).  
I do want to address how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to work with Tawn on this project.  I am so inspired by his work with Green Ways to School and it has been awesome to be even a small part of the community that People Power is working hard to foster.  I hope that the video I’ve put together for them will in some way contribute to their environmentally responsible and community-oriented mission, and that Santa Cruz will continue to thrive from the influences of good people like them.

*Video to follow!!