Texas Giant testing video on Facebook

I don't know. The smoothness of a mounted camera has its value, but I also appreciate a handheld POV, if it's done by someone with a little skill. It seems like you get a better sense of the overall jerkiness and the sections of track that are more inclined to shake the rider. Plus, it's just more naturalistic.

Get a load of how different that track sounds though. That would take some getting used to.

Raven-Phile said:
I present to you:

Perez Bill-ton!

http://i.imgur.com/qZHIc.jpg

Ouch - in some ways I wish it didn't look QUITE so much like the regular me... ;)

I hear the ride soft opened to the public today.

Not really. Today was the commercial shoot and a handful of facebook fans were chosen to take part in it. I don't think you can show up this weekend and get a ride (though I may be wrong and if anyone discovers such, I will be the first one out there).

Did anybody else notice the weird noise the train made coming up the hill before the MCBR. Noise or no noise the ride looks awesome. And, it looks like after the MCBR it won't be such a bore fest like Mean Streak is. Can't wait for the first reports of CBuszzers after riding it.

It wasn't a bore fest before it became a steel coaster.

Photo shoot rider reports are saying it's better than El Toro (wouldn't take much for me), because it does what El Toro does, except it doesn't have horrible restraints.

Sounds like the new top steel coaster to me. :)

Matt who do u know that went?

Well, I thought it was when I rode it 5 yrs. ago. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

It wasn't a bore fest before it became a steel coaster, but it wasn't enjoyable either.

Shut up Andy. You don't like Shock Wave. You don't count! lol

Well at least I like Shockwave, does that count for anything? I just really don't care for Texas Giant, MS, or any of the other Dinn coasters.

You're betty than Andy. Just kidding between friends BTW.

Sounds like ^you got a bad ride on the Giant. It happens, especially in recent seasons. But it was loads of fun when it was running better IMO. Mean Streak never was.

^Mean Streak was great in 1991 :) It was fast as hell, smooth - boring compared to Giant, but a great ride in it's own right.

Then came the bumps... the kick-butt third drop was shaved off (re-profiled).. trims, more bumps, shorter trains., etc.

Ensign Smith said:
I don't know. The smoothness of a mounted camera has its value, but I also appreciate a handheld POV, if it's done by someone with a little skill. It seems like you get a better sense of the overall jerkiness and the sections of track that are more inclined to shake the rider. Plus, it's just more naturalistic.

There's some truth to that...

I've shot a fair amount of handheld POV and what I have noticed is that by hand-holding it, I can allow the camera to respond in the way a human would while riding. Some of that is to tilt a little on banked curves, some of it is to look ahead through curves.

The bad thing is that the better I get at doing it, the less often I'm actually permitted to do it! The mountain coaster POV I just posted is not a great example because while shooting with one hand I had to concentrate on holding the brake lever with the other.

First time I ever shot on-ride video: Knoebels Phoenix

Last time I shot on-ride video: Conneaut Lake Blue Streak

Better example from 2010: Coney Island Python

One of the "making of" movies about the one Indiana Jones movie (Temple of Doom, I think) talked about how they developed the "mine car" sequence and how they actually did some on-ride photography at Disneyland to try and find out what shooting style is more effective. It turns out that for their purposes, it worked better to NOT use a fixed camera.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

No offense intended, Dave...but I'm glad I rode Pheonix before ever seeing that. Otherwise, I may never have. :)

Definitely a big difference, Dave. It's the difference between slinging a Super 8 under your armpit and actual cinematography, if I can use a fifty cent word. I doubt there are many coaster videographers out there that understand the importance of what you did.

And I'm impressed you got that smooth a POV out of Python. That thing is a ballbuster.

Neat footage Dave! The Phoenix footage makes it look like vintage footage from San Antonio.

Acoustic Viscosity said:
Sounds like ^you got a bad ride on the Giant. It happens, especially in recent seasons. But it was loads of fun when it was running better IMO. Mean Streak never was.

I rode TG 3 yrs. ago, so maybe I did get a bad ride on it. I plain out refuse to ride MS, and just remember the semi-descent rides it gave in early '91. It's hard for me to beleive that MS will be 20 yrs old this operating season.

Ensign Smith said:
Definitely a big difference, Dave. It's the difference between slinging a Super 8 under your armpit and actual cinematography, if I can use a fifty cent word. I doubt there are many coaster videographers out there that understand the importance of what you did.

And I'm impressed you got that smooth a POV out of Python. That thing is a ballbuster.

The 12 megapixel image sensor in the camera doesn't hurt (CCD is 4000x3000 pixels while the active image area is only 1920x1080; the camera shifts the active area of the chip to do image stabilization and does an awesome job of it). And for what it's worth, the Phoenix clip *was* Super-8, shot during the ACE Spring Con in 1991.

As for the Giant, I never rode the original, but new version certainly looks...interesting!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave, the trick with the mountain coasters is to hold the break with your foot. Just be sure that your able to release it in case you come up on another rider. I try to make sure there is enough lead time where I can't catch up to even the slowest rider. Obviously that doesn't work if the resort is crowded though.