4th of July video: Racine’s Fourth Fest Parade 2009
The video above was shot entirely on a Flip Ultra HD and edited with iMovie HD 6. I recommend clicking the full-screen button and watching it at 720p HD.
Note: For current dates and links to Racine-area parades and other events, see my Calendar of Events & Festivals.
There was something about this year’s Fourth Fest Parade that was absolutely transcendent. Seeing so many Racinians and our guests, from all walks of life, gathering together on our charming Main Street in the Midwest — to simultaneously perform and spectate, to see and be seen, to display and witness slices of each other’s humanity amidst the larger compass of America’s history and its founding cornerstones of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” — was just incredibly elevating.
Waking up, Amy and I weren’t sure we were going to attend, but we decided to go watch, and maybe shoot a few pictures or a little video. We grabbed some plastic baggies on the way out the door to protect the cameras in case it rained.
The weather cooperated very well. The morning was a little on the cool side for summer, overcast and threatening to rain at first, but it gradually warmed and brightened, with some sunshine enhancing the colors from time to time. Had there been more sun, the marchers surely would have been less comfortable.
I ended up with 83 video clips, totalling just over an hour, from the three-hour parade. Not every parade entry was captured, but the majority of them were. Looking at some of the clips upon returning home, I felt like I wanted to share them.
YouTube’s limit for a single video is 10 minutes / 2 gigabytes. Using iMovie, I imported my clips in chronological order, one by one, and trimmed each one down to a few essential seconds.
This took most of yesterday. I began at around 8 a.m., just as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick were facing off at Wimbledon.
I was finally adding the titles after 10:30 last night, while Chicago’s 190 North (segment inserted above) was featuring North Beach, the Racine Art Museum, the Racine Zoo, beer at Shillings Irish Pub, kringle at Larsen’s Danish Bakery, and Salute Italian Restaurant.A couple hours of my Sunday were also spent freeing up space on my hard drive. Editing HD video eats up disk space at an alarming rate.
Exporting my project back out into MP4 format took about another 90 minutes, and then YouTube informed me that the 700 megabytes would require about three and a half hours to upload. I let the machines handle that while I went to sleep.
This morning, it’s ready for you to view in glorious HD.
If you were in the parade but I missed you, I’m sorry. I missed Mayor Dickert, Miss Racine, and many other participants too, so you’re in important company. I am just trying to share as much of this outstanding event with the world as I can in 10 minutes.
I hope you enjoy it.
