Duncan Atwood
Pocket Videos started in 2000, first with flipbooks and then dvds. Founder Duncan Atwood had seen sequence photos of javelin throwing in High School, and it helped to inspire and instruct him to a successful throwing career. At the time, still pictures and Super-8 films were all that was available, so there was limited access to the images and no instant feedback. Sometimes it took weeks to see the film!
But there have been track flipbooks in the U.S. since the 1930’s. These could be taken to the field and used as the questions about technique arose, instead of trying to remember what was shown by the images seen elsewhere. The 4-time Olympic Discus Champion Al Oerter used flipbooks in his training.
There have been a few attempts over the years to revive this convenient format – in the 1970’s, Duncan Atwood was even featured in one, something he didn’t discover until 2003. During Duncan’s javelin career, the use of video allowed comparisons with the well-watched Super-8 examples, and he had a major breakthrough in his understanding of the event. This was a convincing episode in the efforts to use images. With modern video technology, an athlete can now get virtually instant comparison feedback by combining a flipbook with a video clip on the field – quite a long way from waiting weeks to see films of a performance.
Our goal is to produce affordable, easy-to-use products that show how it’s done. The flip action provides a novelty effect for capturing interest, and the literally hands-on nature of the books add to the learning experience by including a kinesthetic element. We’ve seen young athletes flip these book repeatedly for up to half an hour, soaking up the details. Big improvements in digital video and image management have allowed the idea to combine high and low technologies into the line of products we now offer.
