Ablers is a series highlighting ordinary people making extraordinary moments.
Hugo is an adventure filmmaker and Lee Mumford a former racing driver. Like many people, their plans were up-ended by the Pandemic. Lee took up First Person View (FPV) drone flying, and Hugo continued his craft in-town. When we challenged them to show off a difference side of their city, their shared passion for capturing incredible moments shone through in this rollercoaster of a video!
We caught up with Hugo and Lee below.
What a film! What was the inspiration behind the collaboration?
Hugo: We didn’t want to make a typical product video but create something with a lot more meaning. As my past has been quite diverse, we thought it would be a cool way of showcasing something different.
Lee: The world of FPV is becoming increasingly popular as content creators use FPV as a means of showcasing a new and unique perspective. So with my FPV skills and Hugo’s insane videography skills, we decided this would be a good match for a very exciting project.
Talk us through the process from planning to shoot.
Hugo: After we came up with the idea, we started planning our shots straight away. As I was new to FPV, I had to put in the hours and get as much footage as possible which required the use of a lot of different locations. We also needed good weather to make the shots as impactful as possible so it was a bit of a waiting game at times.
Lee: Once we shot all the content, Hugo cracked on with the editing. Through the use of sound design, music, and colour grading, the final product started to come alive.
Lee, you transitioned from racing to FPV. What challenges did you face?
I’ve always had an interest for speed which is what attracted me to motor racing in the first place. After I gave up the sport and moved to Hong Kong, I’ve always been on the lookout for that something to fill the gap. When I first saw footage of an FPV, I knew this would be something I would love.
The slowdown of the current pandemic helped free up some of my own time which enabled me to put in the hours and learn the many aspects of FPV.
Motor racing taught me a lot to do with mechanics but not so much about micro electronics. This was a huge hurdle for me. I had to go back to the basics and learn as much as possible. A big part of learning to fly is learning your limits and therefore crashing is inevitable. Is it therefore vital you know the workings of the drone so you can quickly get it fixed and flying again.
Hugo, what was it like to tell Lee's story?
It was a fantastic experience for me, this is my first passion project where I could combine visual story telling, fpv, sound design, and colour grading into one craft. I have learnt a lot throughout this passion project, starting with tight planning, directing Lee with every shots, location scouting for unique fpv shots and giving enough time for Lee to learn FPV in such a short amount of time. I’ve got to say I enjoyed the creative process more than the final product itself as I believed progress over perfection.
Give us your thought on the Max. How'd you make it work for your adventure?
Hugo: I have a lot of gear and depending on the location / subject, my gear can change massively. The versatile nature of the bag really helped. We were often required to hike long distances to get to those unique spots so having those thick shoulder straps on the bag really made the bag a lot more comfortable to carry.
Lee: I must say, I just love all the pockets throughout the bag. FPV requires a lot of parts and having all these extra pockets really kept me organised.
Hugo & Lee took the Max Backpack in Tarmac Black on their adventure.
