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Returning home after 10 long days of shooting in Venice, we rested for one month. In June we left for 2 weeks of filming in London. I promised Kathi we wouldn’t work so hard in London, that any rain days would be “days off” for us.
It didn’t rain a single day while we were in London. We filmed virtual walks in Hyde Park, along canal in Little Venice, and on Hampstead Heath, among others. At end of two weeks shooting, we were exhausted.
We got on plane and flew directly to Rome for two more weeks of filming! And it didn’t rain a single day in Rome! We filmed virtual walks along Via Veneto, Appian Way outside Rome, and a walk in Pincio Gardens. At end of a month of filming we returned to US vowing never to commit to such an exhausting schedule again.
Soon after we returned from Rome, I received a call from my film editor friend in Los Angeles. He was editing Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's feature “When In Rome” and needed some night scenes of Rome. Did I have any night time scenes which they could purchase?
Weeks later they did purchase a number of my night scenes and used them in movie. And that’s how we got into business of selling stock footage of Rome, Venice, and London to television networks and production houses.
In October of 2003, we returned to London. This time we concentrated on filming in villages outside of London. We filmed virtual walks in Darent River Valley, in Otford, in Canterbury, in Salisbury, and some in London, along with usual tripod shots.
Today we are busy selling our “Treadmill Virtual Walks” of Venice, Rome, and London on Ebay and on our own websites: www.treadmillwalks.com, www.fitnesswalks.com, and www.europeanwalks.com.
In addition, we sell European stock footage of Rome, Venice, and London on our websites: www.europeanstockfootage.com and www.romestockfootage.com. Our footage has been used in commercials and documentaries on History Channel and new ABC TV series, “Life of Luxury,” starring George Hamilton.
In May of 2005 we will return to Italy for a three week shoot. This time we’ll be shooting High Definition (HD) stock footage of Rome, Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and Isle of Capri. We will sell this HD stock footage on our newest website: www.hdeuropeanstockfootage.com.
Life is good.
My wife Kathi and I own a video production company that focuses on European travel. In addition to our Virtual Walks Series, we also shoot stock footage of Rome, Venice, and London which we sell to television networks and production houses around the world.