The producers of an upcoming user-generated short documentary about harness racing have released a promotional video for the project. In it, driver Anthony MacDonald takes viewers through his typical 'harness racing day' in an effort to inspire others
within the industry to do the same on Saturday, August 6, 2011.
RACE DAY will be created entirely from contributed content. All of the footage used in the film will be shot by the people who love, live and breathe harness racing. Iron Horse Photo Inc. is urging harness racing participants and enthusiasts to shoot their harness racing day on Saturday, August 6, 2011.
By relinquishing control of the video cameras to racing enthusiasts and amateur videographers, the producers hope to receive candid and honest footage which captures the colour, emotion, character and characters of the greatest game in the world.
The most compelling and distinctive footage will be used to create a 20-30 minute short documentary illustrating life’s highs, lows and colourful in-betweens in harness racing, all captured in one single day.
MacDonald is currently ranked third among all drivers in Canada for wins. In this promotional video, the animated and often outspoken reinsman takes viewers through his daily routine. MacDonald shot all of the footage himself.
“At this stage of the project, we're soliciting for participation from the industry to shoot their harness racing day on August 6,” explained Race Day Producer Kelly Spencer. “This project relies entirely on footage submission and I felt we needed to demonstrate how easy it is to participate.
“I asked Anthony to shoot this promotional video because I knew he'd approach it with enthusiasm and do a fabulous job. Within this five-minute clip, the viewer gets a taste of his personality, his love of the sport, and how it fits into his life.
“Because it's a user-contributed film, we have no idea what the final Race Day documentary will look like. But, if we have commitment from people like Anthony to film their day on August 6, I'm confident we'll have a film which is an accurate, balanced and compelling portrayal of this great industry.”
MacDonald's promotional video can be viewed here: http://www.racedaydoc.com
RACE DAY will premiere at the black-tie O’Brien Awards gala on January 28, 2012 in Mississauga, Ont., Canada. The O'Brien Awards celebrate the absolute best in harness racing over a given year and are the highest honour the sport bestows upon its heroes in Canada.
Following its premiere, RACE DAY will be available online at www.RaceDayDoc.com and on the RACE DAY Doc YouTube channel. RACE DAY will be supported by a publicity team which will promote the film for inclusion in film festivals and contests, and for distribution across global broadcast mediums.
RACE DAY will be used as a tool to increase exposure for harness racing through the power of film.
Iron Horse Photo is hoping for submissions from around the globe, and is accepting footage from anyone 13 or older. Snippets of footage from all contributors will be included in a RACE DAY MashUp video montage to be released online two weeks before the release of the final film.
Contributors who make the final cut will be acknowledged in the final film credits. There is no monetary reward for footage submission.
TIMELINES:
:: All footage must be shot on one day: Saturday, August 6, 2011.
:: Footage must be submitted to RACE DAY producers by August 31, 2011.
:: A trailer for RACE DAY will be released online on January 1, 2012.
:: A RACE DAY MashUp video montage (includes clips from all contributors) will be released January 14, 2012.
:: The final film will premiere at the O'Brien Awards in Mississauga, ON and will be released online on January 28, 2012.
:: Publicity efforts to maximize exposure for the film, and the harness racing industry, will be ongoing throughout 2012.
This project was inspired by last year's global experimental feature documentary Life In A Day which invited YouTube users to take a video camera and record their day on July 24, 2010. The producers received 80,000 videos containing 4,500 hours of footage. The final piece was 90 minutes in length and premiered on YouTube during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and will be released in select theatres this summer.
RACE DAY is produced by Iron Horse Photo Inc., which is owned and operated by Kelly Spencer, an award-winning harness racing publicist and photographer.
Iron Horse Photo Inc. specializes in equine photography and video production and has, for the past decade, served as the track photographer at five tracks throughout
Ontario.
Spencer is also the Director Of Marketing & Communications at Grand River Raceway in Elora, ON Canada.
For complete details about the RACE DAY project, visit the Race Day project website.
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Great job Anthony! Fair to
Great job Anthony! Fair to say I know we all have our own raceday stories to tell and I challenge each and everyone of you to help make this project the incredible vehicle it can be to promote our great sport. I look forward to seeing all of your submissions for the project. Remember August 6th 2011 is the day for you to share your Harness racing day!