Learning to race part 4

Things you learn from being in race media 
or
How to balance your work life and family time

There’re a heap of things that you learn when you become a friend’s media team: the physical, mental, emotional and chronological aspects. And that is just the start.

"Go hard, go fast."

Physically motor racing is a very demanding sport for not only the driver but for the support crew and the media or in this case me.

Why physically demanding if all you do as media is take photos and videos?
That’s easy! You are travelling to the track wherever it is; state or interstate, you are always on the move. On top of this you have to prepare gear; charge batteries, wipe memory cards, charge phone and iPad then pack cameras, chargers, power boards, laptop, tripods, clothes and anything else you need for usually four nights and three days away from home. Adding to this is all the bags you will be lugging around into cars and through airports. 

A car is easier to load as the gear can be easily packed in the boot or piled on the backseat, a plane is more difficult as you are pushing the envelope with all your gear in two carry on bags (camera equipment usually is uninsured so the airline will hate putting it in the hold and damaging it and having to pay for it, or so I’m told same goes with laptops) and a suitcase stuffed with nearly no clothes and the bulky equipment and all is heavy and can just slide under the 20kg mark. 

And this isn't all the equipment needed

Once trackside you will have to lug around all said equipment that you need (two cameras, a video camera and possibly go pro or two and variants, tripod and flashes) as the car will either be parked a long way from the garage allocated to your driver. If you are luck and find a spot not claimed by the driver’s mechanics, race car and resting spot that is out of the way PARK YOUR GEAR THERE! 

It makes lugging gear so much easier. And by lugging gear it means you will have to survey each track and find the spot to shoot from or several depending on the track size, you also have to set up gear and make sure you follow the shooting rules as well as walk to and from said spots, garage and car. Once practice, qualifying and racing are all said and down and you return home you start the hardest part of the shoot, sorting photos and editing videos. This tetters on the mental as well as there is only so many things you can watch or look at before hair is pulled as something isn’t working. 

Travel can be the most relaxing part of the job

Mentally the job is demanding. Before you even get trackside you are thinking about everything “Do I have anything important that I have on instead of racing meets (weddings, funerals, birthdays, social events or urgent matters)?” “When is the next round?” “Is the weather going to allow me to shoot trackside?” “Am I dressed for the weather?” “Did I pack the right gear?” are just a few of these thoughts.  

Once trackside you are forever going through scenarios in your head “If I shoot from here will it look good or do I shoot from over there?” “Are the cameras on the right settings?” “Is the correct lens on the camera chosen?” “Are the batteries fully charged?” are just a basic ones. 

Once off the track and everything is prepared for editing your mind is still racing with questions “Did I get the shots I want?” “Is the client going to like the shots?” “Did I film too much?” “Is the footage ok or over exposed?” “How am I going to edit the films or photos?” each is a challenge to deal with and it can get emotional.

Exhale and press the shutter button

Emotionally shooting at a track is a rewarding experience but it does have drawbacks. Half the time you will be happy that you get to spend three days at the hallowed places of speed. Other times you’ll be angry as the perfect shot has been ruined by overexposure, movement, wrong zoom setting and a host of other things. Then you’ll be anxious as your subject might be having a bad time going around the track. And then there is the whole day of boredom as racing has only two rounds that are a long wait between both. Which bring us to the chronological aspect.

Once more waiting for the next race in an hour or so

Racing is all about numbers: times, position, date and time. The dates of racing are varied from year to year but usually around the same time, which is a good way to plan by. Always make sure that you know your calendar front and back as if you miss a family wedding or birthday or any other important event you will be shunned as you turned your back on:

1. Your family so you can go to the racetrack 
   
2. Everyone else that can get time off their work
   
3. Your family to be at a race that someone else can shoot for you, right?
   
4. An event that only happens once in a life time while you’ll be at the track for X amount of times in a year
   

When you have your calendar down pact can you proceed being in racing media and not be hated by you family. 

Review in the down time, so much down time

When trackside all it comes down to is the least amount of time it takes to get around the track and the position of where the driver is on the track, for you it is a little more complicated. There is the time of day for shooting is important as your lighting might be inadequate and your settings will have to change in the morning compared to the afternoon. Then there is the tedious wait times between races, even after getting food and talking to the crew you do get as tired as the driver as the waits can be for several hours. 

Import, edit, add soundtrack, review, export, upload, repeat

To cap it all off there is the time of getting to the several shooting spots you have allocated to yourself wether it’s the wall, grandstand, garage, pit lane or “that corner”. After you have finished up for the three day tour it is back to the computer to look at hundreds of photos and several hours worth of video, then you edit it all together and make it look good. The selection and editing process takes a lot of time as there is the culling of hundreds of photos, the cutting room floor for the unwanted footage and the hours of song searching and selection. Three days later you have a movie fit for YouTube and a sporadic album posting on the web and social media.

Fox