UWOL#3 "Wild on the shore" by Geir Inge B. Brekke at DVinfo.net

Geir Inge · May 22nd, 2007, 06:35 AM

Wild on the shore 77 MB mediaplayer
Wild on the shore 83 MB quicktime

The coastline of Norway concedes of thousands of islands, fjords and high mountains which rice from the shore. I think it’s a beautiful and wild landscape and in my uwol#3 film, I hope I’ve managed to capture some of it. Many a ship and many a sailor have found their grave, over the years on these shores, so it can be quite a challenge at times, especially in the winter.

“Wild on the shore”, is mostly filmed on location at the little island, “Runde”.
Runde has 150 people (resident) who lives on one side of the island, but each year at springtime, nearly one million sea birds invade this little island, just to mate. The birds lives on the other side of the island, where the cliffs goes straight down to the sea. Most of the island is preserved by the government because of the birds.

I’ve been climbing mountains to get the intro clips, and it took me one day to get 7 min on tape. I’ve been 3 days on Runde, crawling the cliffs, getting some bird poop in my hair (well, what’s left of it), trying to get some birds on tape. I instantly fell in love with the puffins. That’s where I got the idea of composing my own music, “The Puffin Dance”, I think it fits the movement of the puffin when it walks on the cliff and when the gulls circles around over the sea. I tried to capture the white tale eagle when she was hunting kittiwakes, but didn’t succeed, but in distance you can see her at the end of the film and all the gulls are “taking off” the cliffs. I’ve been one day on board “Aquila”, a little boat, but 2 hours on tape almost gave me nothing to use. It was all too shaky, because of the waves and the engine shaking the boat. But I’ve used some of it. Tripod was useless on board Aquila.

Narrations in the beginning, is done at home, but the one in the field I had to do 17 times before I was satisfied. It was fun though, because some tourist walking by above stopped and wonders what crazy guy crawling down there, talking to himself, in plain English. So they all thought I was a foreigner :)
All sounds from the birds, it’s original, this include the razorbill, puffin (when they hide in their caves when the eagle comes), the skua and the gulls and gannets.
The skua is incubating, not on the cliffs, but on the moor. Tourists from different countries are visiting Runde each year, many of them from Germany, just to photograph the birds. The cave where you see the kayaks goes 120 m into the cliff.

Close ups of these birds: Puffins, Razorbill, Brown skua
In distance these birds: Kittiwakes, White tale eagle, Gannet, Common shag and different gulls.
I thought of putting in text, the name of the species, but I found it disturbingly. So there it is my story for uwol #3. Now it’s for you to rip it off, be gentle.

Equipment:
Camera: Canon XLH1
Lenses: Canon HD 20 and Sigma 17 - 200mm
Editing: Avid Liquid 7.2 pro
Music: Acid 6 pro
Tripod: Libec H55

Vidar Vedaa · May 22nd, 2007, 06:47 AM

Fantastic Geir Inge
Du så vel ikke gullfuglen i klippene også.Inponert!!!
Good luck.

Best Regards
vidar vedaa

Trond Saetre · May 22nd, 2007, 07:05 AM

You got some very nice scenery there, Geir Inge!
Watching your film made me feel like I was right there myself.

Well done!

Per Johan Naesje · May 22nd, 2007, 07:21 AM

I really liked your entry Geir Inge. This show the wild island and birdlife in a very nice and impressive way. Your self componed music substantiated the footage very well. And the way you commented this in a real "David Attenborough" way, nice!

Well done, this is one of my favorites in this round.

Jeff Swick · May 22nd, 2007, 08:19 AM

Greetings Geir!
Very impressive entry! Beautiful scenery. I especially loved the closeups of the puffin faces. I agree with Per, the narrator reminded me of the David Attenborough approach. Sadly (for me), I cannot enjoy the sound on any of the entries as I watch from work and have no speakers! So all my comments apply to your visuals only! Geir, keep up the hard work...we enjoy the fruits of your efforts!

j.

Rick A. Phillips · May 22nd, 2007, 08:48 AM

All I can say is ... I love this kind of stuff! The puffin footage is awesome. I love those colors on the bill and if you read about these small birds they have a very interesting biology as well. I can imagine great effort went into capturing and putting together this piece. Congratulations on your efforts, Geir. Thanks so much for letting us see this marvelous view of your land.

Rick

Mat Thompson · May 22nd, 2007, 09:14 AM

Hey Geir.

I really like your piece. It has a kind of 'shooting' off the hip style but at the same time some really nice angles and mix of quality shots. At first I was unsure about the 'to camera' narration but in the context of the film I think it fits and adds a nice personal touch. I do think you should have drawn a conclusion 'to camera' as well though and it would have balenced things out better. I would have also liked to have found something out about your subjects...if your narrating then why not educate a little too!

wow, wow, wow great puffin shots...I love these birds and they are just so photogenic, really nice shots there.

Great piece Geir...really nice. I've only watched 3 films so far but the standard is high this time !

Grant Sherman · May 22nd, 2007, 10:11 AM

Great film Geir,

I'm very jealous. You were 3 days on Runde and got this amazing film! I'm going to analyse your shots and see if I can steal your ideas for my next film.

Geir Inge · May 22nd, 2007, 11:53 AM

Thanks for all your feedback.

Rick: It was great filming these scenes and you can get really close to the puffins. When I film animals or birds, I always get some information about them, gathering information about the species in a folder/cover.

Mat: I see what you mean, and agreed. I had plans you see. Close ups of the puffins while I was talking about the birds. I've got some of it on tape, too :) but I was constantly interrupted by some schoolchildren. You see the rumours went on the island: "An english film maker has arrived" - and it was me. So most of my narration on location was spoiled. I did think of doing it at home in peace, but there was no time. All the scenes taken on land I use tripod, except the one of the skua.

Catherine Russell · May 22nd, 2007, 12:13 PM

Geir:

This film blew me away. Stunning filming and photography. Wonderful narration. Fabulous Geir, it was exciting to watch. Wow, thank you for this contribution. There was nothing I didn't like. How you put youself into the film and some behind the scenes shots showing us what it takes to get the filming you did. I also noted the thanks in the end, not only to the boaters but the birds. Awesome. I never once remembered to think about the bird shit on your head watching this film! Beautiful work.

Cat

Mark Williams · May 22nd, 2007, 12:18 PM

A very nice piece of work. Those puffins were amazing.

Bruce Ellingwood · May 22nd, 2007, 05:31 PM

I knew yours would be one of my favorites as soon as I started watching it. Great work.

Bruce

Ruth Happel · May 22nd, 2007, 08:37 PM

Great job. This film was riveting. I loved the way you combined so many different shots and camera angles- above, below, close, to get a total sense of immersion in the habitat. It was the closest I could imagine to really being there. And your score, combined with the recordings of the birds, fit so well, and made it come alive. Some of your footage is stunning- and the puffins are spectacular.

I like the way you narrate the film, an extra dimension that allows the viewer to join in your experience. As you sat on the precipice, I was glad it was you and not me :)

Excellent job all around, in the field and in the studio with the edit. You integrated both phases really well.

Ruth

Chris Barcellos · May 22nd, 2007, 09:24 PM

Geir:

Thanks for inviting us into your back yard. Your appearance in the film certainly personalized it for us, gave us some scale, gave us a general point of reference. Very "Nova" like.... Super job...

Bruce Foreman · May 23rd, 2007, 12:19 AM

As always your film was a special treat. The views from the cliff were absolutely breathtaking and your images of the puffins enchanting.

One of our photography club members was stationed on Iceland and managed to get to where he could get still photos of puffins, that was my first look at them.

I really enjoyed the way you narrated to the camera some, gave me a chance to feel like I got to know you a little better, and I think that worked well for your film too. Your music "Puffin Dance" seemed to fit the moving video perfectly and I feel if you got enough raw video to expand this it would stand an excellent chance of being "picked up" by some venue such as the IFC.

I really wanted this one to go on longer.

And once again, with your permission, I would like for our local photography club to see this.

May 22nd, 2007, 06:35 AM	#1
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,342	UWOL#3 "Wild on the shore" by Geir Inge B. Brekke Wild on the shore 77 MB mediaplayer Wild on the shore 83 MB quicktime The coastline of Norway concedes of thousands of islands, fjords and high mountains which rice from the shore. I think it’s a beautiful and wild landscape and in my uwol#3 film, I hope I’ve managed to capture some of it. Many a ship and many a sailor have found their grave, over the years on these shores, so it can be quite a challenge at times, especially in the winter. “Wild on the shore”, is mostly filmed on location at the little island, “Runde”. Runde has 150 people (resident) who lives on one side of the island, but each year at springtime, nearly one million sea birds invade this little island, just to mate. The birds lives on the other side of the island, where the cliffs goes straight down to the sea. Most of the island is preserved by the government because of the birds. I’ve been climbing mountains to get the intro clips, and it took me one day to get 7 min on tape. I’ve been 3 days on Runde, crawling the cliffs, getting some bird poop in my hair (well, what’s left of it), trying to get some birds on tape. I instantly fell in love with the puffins. That’s where I got the idea of composing my own music, “The Puffin Dance”, I think it fits the movement of the puffin when it walks on the cliff and when the gulls circles around over the sea. I tried to capture the white tale eagle when she was hunting kittiwakes, but didn’t succeed, but in distance you can see her at the end of the film and all the gulls are “taking off” the cliffs. I’ve been one day on board “Aquila”, a little boat, but 2 hours on tape almost gave me nothing to use. It was all too shaky, because of the waves and the engine shaking the boat. But I’ve used some of it. Tripod was useless on board Aquila. Narrations in the beginning, is done at home, but the one in the field I had to do 17 times before I was satisfied. It was fun though, because some tourist walking by above stopped and wonders what crazy guy crawling down there, talking to himself, in plain English. So they all thought I was a foreigner :) All sounds from the birds, it’s original, this include the razorbill, puffin (when they hide in their caves when the eagle comes), the skua and the gulls and gannets. The skua is incubating, not on the cliffs, but on the moor. Tourists from different countries are visiting Runde each year, many of them from Germany, just to photograph the birds. The cave where you see the kayaks goes 120 m into the cliff. Close ups of these birds: Puffins, Razorbill, Brown skua In distance these birds: Kittiwakes, White tale eagle, Gannet, Common shag and different gulls. I thought of putting in text, the name of the species, but I found it disturbingly. So there it is my story for uwol #3. Now it’s for you to rip it off, be gentle. Equipment: Camera: Canon XLH1 Lenses: Canon HD 20 and Sigma 17 - 200mm Editing: Avid Liquid 7.2 pro Music: Acid 6 pro Tripod: Libec H55 __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

May 22nd, 2007, 06:47 AM	#2
Vidar Vedaa Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: bergen norway Posts: 235	Butiful. Fantastic Geir Inge Du så vel ikke gullfuglen i klippene også.Inponert!!! Good luck. Best Regards vidar vedaa

May 22nd, 2007, 07:21 AM	#4
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	I really liked your entry Geir Inge. This show the wild island and birdlife in a very nice and impressive way. Your self componed music substantiated the footage very well. And the way you commented this in a real "David Attenborough" way, nice! Well done, this is one of my favorites in this round. __________________ - Per Johan

May 22nd, 2007, 10:11 AM	#8
Grant Sherman Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Lundy Island, UK Posts: 175	Great film Geir, I'm very jealous. You were 3 days on Runde and got this amazing film! I'm going to analyse your shots and see if I can steal your ideas for my next film. __________________ www.returntickettonature.co.uk

May 22nd, 2007, 11:53 AM	#9
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,342	Thanks for all your feedback. Rick: It was great filming these scenes and you can get really close to the puffins. When I film animals or birds, I always get some information about them, gathering information about the species in a folder/cover. Mat: I see what you mean, and agreed. I had plans you see. Close ups of the puffins while I was talking about the birds. I've got some of it on tape, too :) but I was constantly interrupted by some schoolchildren. You see the rumours went on the island: "An english film maker has arrived" - and it was me. So most of my narration on location was spoiled. I did think of doing it at home in peace, but there was no time. All the scenes taken on land I use tripod, except the one of the skua. __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

May 22nd, 2007, 07:05 AM	#3
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	You got some very nice scenery there, Geir Inge! Watching your film made me feel like I was right there myself. Well done!

May 22nd, 2007, 08:19 AM	#5
Jeff Swick New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Midland Park, New Jersey Posts: 10	Greetings Geir! Very impressive entry! Beautiful scenery. I especially loved the closeups of the puffin faces. I agree with Per, the narrator reminded me of the David Attenborough approach. Sadly (for me), I cannot enjoy the sound on any of the entries as I watch from work and have no speakers! So all my comments apply to your visuals only! Geir, keep up the hard work...we enjoy the fruits of your efforts! j.

May 22nd, 2007, 08:48 AM	#6
Rick A. Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: kingsport, tennessee Posts: 123	All I can say is ... I love this kind of stuff! The puffin footage is awesome. I love those colors on the bill and if you read about these small birds they have a very interesting biology as well. I can imagine great effort went into capturing and putting together this piece. Congratulations on your efforts, Geir. Thanks so much for letting us see this marvelous view of your land. Rick

May 22nd, 2007, 09:14 AM	#7
Mat Thompson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kent UK Posts: 1,397	Hey Geir. I really like your piece. It has a kind of 'shooting' off the hip style but at the same time some really nice angles and mix of quality shots. At first I was unsure about the 'to camera' narration but in the context of the film I think it fits and adds a nice personal touch. I do think you should have drawn a conclusion 'to camera' as well though and it would have balenced things out better. I would have also liked to have found something out about your subjects...if your narrating then why not educate a little too! wow, wow, wow great puffin shots...I love these birds and they are just so photogenic, really nice shots there. Great piece Geir...really nice. I've only watched 3 films so far but the standard is high this time !

May 22nd, 2007, 12:13 PM	#10
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Geir: This film blew me away. Stunning filming and photography. Wonderful narration. Fabulous Geir, it was exciting to watch. Wow, thank you for this contribution. There was nothing I didn't like. How you put youself into the film and some behind the scenes shots showing us what it takes to get the filming you did. I also noted the thanks in the end, not only to the boaters but the birds. Awesome. I never once remembered to think about the bird shit on your head watching this film! Beautiful work. Cat

May 22nd, 2007, 12:18 PM	#11
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	A very nice piece of work. Those puffins were amazing. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

May 22nd, 2007, 05:31 PM	#12
Bruce Ellingwood Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Corona, Calif. Posts: 47	I knew yours would be one of my favorites as soon as I started watching it. Great work. Bruce

May 22nd, 2007, 08:37 PM	#13
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	Great job. This film was riveting. I loved the way you combined so many different shots and camera angles- above, below, close, to get a total sense of immersion in the habitat. It was the closest I could imagine to really being there. And your score, combined with the recordings of the birds, fit so well, and made it come alive. Some of your footage is stunning- and the puffins are spectacular. I like the way you narrate the film, an extra dimension that allows the viewer to join in your experience. As you sat on the precipice, I was glad it was you and not me :) Excellent job all around, in the field and in the studio with the edit. You integrated both phases really well. Ruth

May 22nd, 2007, 09:24 PM	#14
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Geir: Thanks for inviting us into your back yard. Your appearance in the film certainly personalized it for us, gave us some scale, gave us a general point of reference. Very "Nova" like.... Super job... __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

May 23rd, 2007, 12:19 AM	#15
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	As always your film was a special treat. The views from the cliff were absolutely breathtaking and your images of the puffins enchanting. One of our photography club members was stationed on Iceland and managed to get to where he could get still photos of puffins, that was my first look at them. I really enjoyed the way you narrated to the camera some, gave me a chance to feel like I got to know you a little better, and I think that worked well for your film too. Your music "Puffin Dance" seemed to fit the moving video perfectly and I feel if you got enough raw video to expand this it would stand an excellent chance of being "picked up" by some venue such as the IFC. I really wanted this one to go on longer. And once again, with your permission, I would like for our local photography club to see this.