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Guest Contributor: Patrick McGrady Read Time: 3 mins It’s 5pm on the West Coast and my phone starts buzzing. It’s Adam Bratton … again. “McNasty! Hear me out on this one …” This is often where the idea for another HPM video idea begins. It's not every day I get a call that fires me up for new video projects, but talking to the Head Enabler of Human Powered Movement is always a great start. After probably 30 minutes of talking through the half-baked idea and off-topic jokes we hang up and let all that marinate for 24 hours. I love this time, because it's the start of a process, an adventure, a story that will inevitably inspire many. There are still many “what ifs” and questions that don’t have answers, but more importantly and most exciting … the ball is rolling.  Hi there, my name is Patrick McGrady and I’m the owner of Pat McGrady Visuals, a freelancing content creation outfit with an ever-roaming HQ of San Francisco, North Carolina or my homeland of Austria. I seek out, desire for, and thrive on telling stories related to athletes, adventures, and the outdoors. To be honest, it’s too cool to be true!  Always looking for the angle (Antelope Canyon, UT) Over the past 3 years I’ve been working with Human Powered Movement on a slew of projects behind the scenes. Many of you have seen me romping around HPM’s Signature Events, or know that I’m the one that customizes your Gear Graphics. Others might recognize me from the “HPM at Lookout Wild Film Festival - 2024” recap video or recent HPM Short Film called “Biking The California Coast: San Diego to San Francisco” that dropped in Feb about my solo and self-supported ride from San Diego to San Francisco (read the Journal HERE as well). Nevertheless, I’ve been there, lurking in the background with camera in tow. Working with HPM is a no brainer for me. We share similar values, love and respect for the outdoors and adventures, and a relatively comfortable couch to crash on while in NC. My goal is to share a glimpse behind the scenes of what goes into capturing HPM in action.  Prepping for the South Fork Sampler Adventure Race Awards Ceremony Inspiration comes from many places but in true HPM fashion, it often comes from physical activity or after a run, ride, hike or climb. Other times, as mentioned before, it sometimes starts out with a relatively ridiculous idea or random call from Adam, HPM’s Head Enabler. Once the 24-hour marinate session is over, we start to dial in the concept and analyze the viability of these random and left field ideas … concept, story arch, scheduling, budget, distribution strategy and more … all need to be considered before giving it the green light. This also includes outlining the actual goal which is typically unknown until we get into the thick of things. It’s definitely a run and gun approach … Be ready for anything as that is often where the best action presents itself.  Not all shots are one and done Our award-winning film “Lunch Break: Leave Your Screen Behind” is the perfect example. We had the concept but needed to find a date, capable bad asses that could handle the run/bike/paddle effort, gamble on the weather, hammer out the logistics and gather the necessary gear before we even considered spending a day filming and adventuring. Efficiency is key on shoots like this. The term “Jangle” definitely comes to my mind a lot. Jangling, a term from the kayaking community, which means to be wild, loose, and freely flowing in the wind. In order to be efficient and precise with the shots there is absolutely no jangle time on shoot days like these.  Keeping up with Runners at HPM's Psychoactive Last Runner Standing Event In my line of work, shoots can regularly last all day for a a quick few minute video (IE: Psychoactive Recap Video HERE). It's hard work, but the reward of being able to create and share a story with the world is something special to me. “Are you just interested or are you committed?” is something Adam talks about often and shooting these badass stories is no different. It's the people around me and communities like HPM that have made me even more committed to the craft.  Interviewing Chev Dixon during the Hudson Valley Challenge A huge thing I have learned from HPM is to push the pace. As soon as the event is over, I try to dump all the footage on my computer, ride the wave of stoke and start to formulate the storyline in post-production. We try to be quick with the content and share our excitement of what we just went through with everyone as fast as possible. In these days of immediacy, I’ve learned that people love to see results and highlights right after the event. Often the most banger shots are pulled to share on socials the same day.  Cleaning up HPM's Adopted Highway Over the years I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to create stories that involve the outdoors and adventure. Creating stories that HPM is able to share with a feverish community is a special experience. It has fired me up in so many ways and given me new energy to tell stories that matter to people on a deeper level. Just within the past year I had 3 of my own videos come out that pushed me further into my filmmaking career. My Pat McGrady Visuals Highlight Reel HERE is creeping more and more into the world I want to be, and my videos have inspired more people to get out and explore! And earlier this year, we made it into our first Film Festival. I am so grateful to think about the past and even more excited about the future. The “content” space is not an easy one, but if you like what you are creating and your visual experience gets others stoked, there is something extremely fulfilling about that.  Touring "The World's Most Famous Arena" in NYC I think the biggest takeaway is that the content and videos that we have created started small but have continued to build over and over. Collectively this makes a difference in HPM, Pat McGrady Visuals, and hopefully made a difference to you. And if you’ve read this far, you are a part of this movement of why we keep seeking, finding, and telling these amazing stories.  Chasing "The Shot" in the Marin Headlands north of San Francisco I hope you find some level of insight in this journal and know that great stories never come from comfort zones. I’m not sure how Jimmy Chin filmed Free Solo, but he sure didn’t get up one day and film it all the next. I’m still in the beginning phases of this adventure and will continue to create stories that are worth telling. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.  Framing for An Interview Session Editor's Note: Please join us in congratulating Patrick on his recent acceptance of a full time videographer position with world renowned outdoor gear company Hyperlite Mountain Gear in Maine. We're bummed that he won't be able to join us as regularly for HPM action, but know that random calls for new HPM stoke are still happening on the regular and you can definitely expect to see more content coming your way soon!  Journal - The Man Behind The HPM LensComments are closed.
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