adventures in cubing

I just got my fastest recorded (on video) 3×3 solve of 36 seconds. I’ll cut to the chase, and put the long-winded commentary below the media content for once. Here’s the video:

(music: “The War” from the Duplicity soundtrack; cube: properly Lubixed white 57mm Dayan Zhanchi with Cube Depot light matte sticker set)

At 36.10, this was not my fastest 3×3 solve; my fastest timed solve is 28.2 seconds. But this is my fastest recorded solve, edging out my last recorded best of 39.2 seconds. It’s been a couple months since I timed or recorded solves, and I was certain I’d record a sub-30. No dice. I suppose if I kept trying, I might have pulled one off. But with a 7-solve average of 41, sub-30 would have been a solid outlier and an unfair reference point. So, I stopped, happy enough with this progress marker. Averaging 41 was actually a big accomplishment for me. I was rather inconsistent even just a couple months ago, with a couple sub-40 solves here and there, but consistently averaging just over 50.

As for the solve itself, it’s not my cleanest. I botched the setup for the second F2L insert and wound up needing to set it up twice. My OLL was choppy, as I paused when I saw OLL 48 (L). I wound up two-looking it into an easy Sune case that I finished at 29 seconds. It took me a couple seconds to recognize the PLL as an Rb Perm, which I then executed at about half my normal speed. As per usual, my on-camera solves suffer from a strange nervousness I get once the camera is on.

As for the video production, I decided to put in more effort after watching the exceptionally well produced “Practice” video that Cyoubx recently posted to his channel. Inspired to do something a little more pretty, a little more artsy, and a lot less strictly linear, I separately filmed B-roll content for cutaways and side-by-sides. I had thought about trying multi-cams (given the overwhelming amount of equipment I have from my photography hobby: high quality SLR bodies, a Flip HD, a HD GoPro, a HD camcorder, etc.), but realized that iMovie can’t really handle multi-angle editing. So, unless someone wants to hook me up with FCPX, this is the best I can do.

I had previously experimented with a POV camera setup for my PLL attack video, but returned to an out-of-the-way setup for this one. To film POV, I had to hug the tripod and solve around it, the way Crazybadcuber shows in this video. I much prefer POV, but it’s just too awkward for me, especially if I use my oversized f/2.8 lens on my SLR. Clearly, I could have lit the scene better. Still, for my first time trying to produce anything more than a simple solve, I was happy with it.

I thought about saving this video for my first “cubiversary” over Thanksgiving weekend, and probably would have had it been sub-30. Oh well. Instead, I’m sure I’ll post a tomish year-end retrospective. Until then, back to the G Perms and OLLs….