diving, skydive, sky dive, sky
diving, Extreme Sports, BASE jumping, BASE
MTV Sports B.A.S.E.
I more or less stumbled into this project. MTV Sports was
planning a 30 minute documentary about a student BASE jumper
going through the steps of learning how to BASE jump. I was
called to shoot images for the show and had to confess that I'd
never made a BASE jump. Rob Harris was going to teach me in
Chamonix, France but after the '95 World Meet I traveled home
immediately for a job, so I had no experience. I suggested
they call someone else and expected that was the end of the
project for me. A few days later I received another call
from the producer asking for a photo and, would I be interested
in learning how to BASE jump.
Will Ox was my instructor. We started with bungee jumps
from a tower. I think the bungee jumps were a great way to
feel how to do a proper exit in a low pressure environment.
I think I made twenty bungee jumps that day to practice and to
jump a variety of camera point of view angles. The next day
Will took me to 800 feet in a hot air balloon for my first low
altitude jump with BASE gear. The haze looked like a cloud
below, but not the kind you'd want to fall through because
somewhere in the middle of it was the ground. That jump was
truly an adrenaline rush as was the second jump that day.
Bridge Day at the New River Gorge was our next stop. Will
and I made three bridge jumps that day and interviewed with Dan
Cortez. Bridge day is an incredible event. The jumps
are legal and hundreds are made while an audience of thousands
cheers on. Finally, we journeyed to Venezuela to jump from
the tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls. Sitting
quietly at the top of the falls, peering over the edge, the view
is nothing less than breathtaking. The jump was a spiritual
moment, a taste of living.
produced by: janice molinari coordinating producer: meaghan foley audio: stacy hill coordination: josh king cinematography: jeff silverman rigging by: anne helliwell and will ox Instructor: will ox Student: me
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
