An experimental video shot on iPhones.
Train travel in China is pretty great. I’ve ridden several, from regular commuter trains, to high-speed rail, and even a brief ride on a Maglev from Shanghai to the airport. All have been very nice and the high-speed and Maglev are super smooth rides. The stations are incredible, too. Many are brand new and feel more like decent-sized airports. They operate efficiently and I find it a great way to get around China.
Arriving at the Xi'an station for a train to Hanzhong, April 2018.
However nice your train is, the one on the next track is always nicer.
On my most recent China trips, I’ve started shooting slow-motion video out the train window on my iPhone whenever we approached a station. It started as an experiment — a way to pass the time on a long ride — but I really liked the look of the resulting video. I mean, it’s just phone video, it’s not like I’m making great cinema here, but I like the way the motion of the train feels like a long dolly shot. I believe most of the stations I included in the video are found between Shanghai and Hangzhou or Jinan, but there might be a few scenes from around Xi’an and Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province, as well.
I’ve been working more and more in Adobe Premiere and was looking for a little project to experiment with — no pressure of a client’s expectations, just a chance to play with the software and try some new things out. I remembered these clips on my phone and thought I’d try stringing them together to see what happened. Again — it’s not art — but I kind of like the results and, better yet, I learned a few new things. You can view for yourself below:
Music: “Enter In” by Hyson — Free Music Archive
