Because It Is There: A Zero Emissions Odyssey

Having just read a post by Tom aka The Hungry Cyclist on Painting and Cycle Touring it got me thinking about the promise i made myself when i started planning this trip. A year ago i finished a degree in Digital Animation, a course that included animation (obviously), film making but also drawing classes. I never excelled in the drawing classes (or in the animation for that matter) if truth be told, but i made a promise to myself, after leaving, that i would continue to sketch every now and again to build up my skills to a level where i was quite satisfied. This never happened. I’ve been way too busy with everything else, so the only sketching i have done is little doodling on a scrap piece of paper whilst on the phone and i’ve put my little promise to the back of my mind.

Then i found this.

It’s a sketch/painting done by this guy just after Michael Jackson’s death. This image reignited my interest in Art and got me thinking about what a sketchbook would look like after a 3 year expedition through different parts of the world, experiencing different cultures and meeting many interesting people. I realized the expedition gave me the perfect chance to get back into Art. So i decided, throughout the expedition, i would try to make one entry into my journal each day (something that i had already decided on) and one sketch in my sketchbook each day. The sketch’s don’t have to be anything special, they can be a simple as a 3 minute sketch of an animal or person to try and capture their movements perfectly or a quick sketch of the view from my tent, but if time/energy/willingness permits i will try and do something a little more elaborate. And of course i will be using the sketchbooks provided by Moleskine

After months of contacting various studios and getting nowhere fast i can now officially announce that i have a found a production company willing and able (and perhaps crazy) to take on the challenge of helping me to document my expedition in the form of documentary film. Over the next 3 years i will be working closely with the Producer/Director Sandra Skibsted and the production company Fact not Fiction Films in bringing my experiences to the big screen for all to see. It’s been an ambition of mine, as anybody who knows me well enough will testify, to be part of making a film of some way, shape or form…i just didn’t think I’d be the ’star’.

This does however cause a problem in terms of my leaving date which was originally supposed to be the end of this month. Due to pre-production, the trip will be pushed back a couple (or a few) months. Although this is a little frustrating, as I’ve been building up to this point for a while now, it’s all worth it in the long run in my eyes.

So what will i be doing in the next few months to make use of my time? Well, as well as filming bits and pieces of training, i will also be fundraising for the trip, working on my photography skills, trying to get as much media coverage as possible and i will also be undertaking a 2 or 3 Micro Adventures (examples here and here) to try and sedate my wanderlust.