Joshua Tree National Park Wildflowers
 

A new wildflower film has been added to http://www.parkfilms.com/sandblossoms08.html. This one uses footage I shot last week in Joshua Tree National Park, California. The park straddles two deserts - the Colorado and the Mojave - which means that the flower cycles in various areas of the park are on different time schedules. Plus some plants (like the Joshua Tree) live in one desert but not the other. Because of its wide range of plants, animals and striking scenery it's one of my favorite locations for filming; hope you enjoy the result.

Best,
Peter Rhalter
www.parkfilms.com

Beautiful images, Pete! Also I thought the sound track in this worked far better than the last one.

Just a thought, and this purely subjctive, I would like to hear another mix with the "natural sounds" and the flute where the flute isn't overpowering the nature sounds so much, but are blended so as to compliment each other.

Jay,

Thanks very much for looking and for the suggestion, too. It's a real good thought. You've also sparked another idea, as well. What a great forum this is!

Best always,
Peter

Peter,

Very nice visuals but IMHO, the audio does not work for me. The flute is a little flat and I can hear footsteps in the background. The visuals are great-looking but the audio track brings it down.

Cheers

WeeHan

Hi Wee Han,

If the flute sounds flat, it probably is. It is a Native California flute hollowed out from a raw stick (Elderberry Bush if I remember right) while I watched. The holes burned into it and then – amazingly - Ben made music using this very simple instrument. No mouthpiece or any other aid. It may not produce perfect tones, but Ben's music is evocative of the land and animals and trees which are his inspiration — for me, at least. I think this tonality fits the subject matter, is native to it and enhances the images, although that may not be the case for some viewers — for this I apologize. If lots of people complain about it I may have to rethink my strategy, but I am pretty attached to the score.

By the way, the extraneous noises came from the musician himself - it was part of the music-making.

Thanks for watching and I appreciate your perspective on the film; this is a great place to learn and exchange ideas. I also enjoyed looking at your website; beautiful images.

Best always,
Peter
www.parkfilms.com

Thanks to Steve and Jay and Wee Han and for their feedback. Their comments prompted me to revisit the April wildflowers in Joshua Tree National Park piece. The result is a somewhat differently edited film with different sound levels than the initial posting. A further change is that a bit of echo, or reverb, has been added to the flute solo.

The new version has replaced the older one at http://www.parkfilms.com/sandblossoms08.html for anyone who is interested; thanks again.

Best wishes,
Peter
www.parkfilms.com