Russell_RMNP_LongForm

[Catherine Russell]

O.K. never mind,

If Dale can post his Vimeo video by embedding it and not think there is a problem with that, then I will too.

Thanks for any feedback.

Cat

[Chris Swanberg]

Cat the first 1:12 was mesmerizing... perfectly timed edits... lots of work I'm sure. I was blown away... then came the Elk sequence... and I got tingles... and it just kept going. The effects, the wonderful wildlife footage, the music...awesome, simply awesome.

You have a lot of effort invested in this and the more I see the better it just keeps getting.

I am quite sure that your intended finish may yet be a ways off, but let me tell you when you get this all put together it ought to do well at festivals if you chose to submit it! Simply put - WOW.

Chris

ps. Sorry I didn't get a chance to reply to your query about embedding, but honestly did not know an answer, am I to gather that they are now automatically embedded?

pps. Just returned this PM from the National Bison Range... thought of you while I was there.

[Steve Siegel]

Cat,
You seem to have a knack of being in just the right spot at just the right time. Rocky Mountain National Park is a very, very special place, and your love of it shows in every frame. Your editing fits well with the music, and the section with "Fanfare for the Common Man" was mesmerizing. One comment. The distance to the mountains reduces contrast naturally. How would it look if you increased your blacks just a bit to add more depth to far away peaks?

[Catherine Russell]

Hi Steve:

Can you tell me how to do that (add blacks to accentuate far away peaks) and I will give it a go! Were there any visuals in particular that made you think of this? Thanks for the feedback!

Hey Chris:

You have been on the road, friend! How are the bison? Large, healthy herds roaming free? Nice to hear from you and thanks for the kind words.

Cat

[Finn-Erik Faale]

Hi Catherine,
Thanks for continuing your long form film.
I know you have spent much time on this project.
It is always interesting to see Catherine´s new and originally ideas.

You have many valuable shots of animals and nature in this round.
The ending shots and crossovers are great.
Steve has a point about the mountains contrast or dynamic range.
The forest 04:35 differs from the neighboring scenes. Maybe the same medicine will help.
Lowering black and mid level. The same in 07:34.
This is of course my subjective opinion, and I think this will make a well done film even better.

I am looking forward to see your complete film in November.

[Catherine Russell]

Hello Finn Erik:

Nice to hear from you and thank you for watching this footage. The scenes you point out were scenes taken in very early morning conditions compared to the other scenes. You are certainly right that they don't blend in with the surrounding scenes which were taken near sunset. I'll consider your input because I very much value your skill as a film maker, but for me these early morning shots were magical with this kind of lighting and the fact that they don't blend nicely with surrounding visuals is not that distracting for me. But I won't underestimate your film makers eye and revisit these sections again with a critical view.

Sincerely,

Cat

[Mike Sims]

Catherine- You’ve put in a lot of hard work and as a result I had to work hard to find anything to suggest! It’s really looking good. The audio is much improved and I love your editing to the music. The elk shot at 4:36 has a blue color cast and is noticeable because the shots on either side are much warmer. You might use your color corrector to shift it slightly away from blue and see if it makes for a smoother transition.
9:12- Hear! Hear!
One way to increase the black in a clip is to get into your editor’s color corrector and look for a slider or knob marked something like Input Black Level. Increase it slightly. You are telling it at what point in the shot to make everything darker than it become pure black. Try to only effect areas where you have already lost detail in the shadows and not lose any more (a balancing act). Adjusting this will also effect the brightness of your colors and you may need to re-adjust your saturation. One shot I think might benefit from more black is the overlay of the Colorado State Quarter. I think it will give you more relief and bring out some detail.

I can’t wait to see what you have for us next time!

[Finn-Erik Faale]

[QUOTE=Catherine Russell;1434244]Hello Finn Erik:

The scenes you point out were scenes taken in very early morning conditions compared to the other scenes.....



Cat,
I understand what you mean. My comment is just a subjective comment after watching your video. I have discovered that some professionals have different opinions on color correcting than me. Please don´t rely too much on my views.

[Catherine Russell]

O.K. you guys:

When most of you are commenting on the color balance on some of these shots, it's time to take everyone's advice and attempt to correct this. Steve, I have tweaked contrasts in some of the panoramic shots and you are right, the contrasts are improved with less washing out. Thanks.

Finn-Erik and Mike, you both comment on the cold colors of the dawn shot of the elk walking through the woods. I'm including a before and after image of my attempts at color correcting this. What do you guys think? Does the "after" color correction look natural enough?

Thanks for your help on this, and your expertise.

Cat

[Dale Guthormsen]

Cat,


Sfter watching this I think I may retire the camera and leave it all to othres like yourself.

It is coming along fantasticly and I am sure the finished version will be to die for.

I loved the music, the base theme too!

all is well in my soul, well, I will have to learn that one on the old box!!! what is the actual name of the song?

so far it all sets well with my soul!!! it is spiritually inspirational!!



I had the thought at the end if you could crop and then adjust to aspect ratio of the moon shot so it comes in almost right behind the fading sun. I thought that would be cool.

it is awesome as it is.

[Bob Safay]

Cat. Stunning, simply stunning. I spent 10 weeks in that park and never saw half the beauty you have shown me in these few minutes of video. Nothing more can be said. Bob

[Chris Swanberg]

Cat... the color change shown is natural looking and more pleasing to the eye. I'll be curious to see how it matches the shots on either side.

Chris

ps. (Bowing out eh? NOT if WE can help it!)

[Mike Sims]

Catherine- I think it is an improvement for this situation. The main thing is whether or not you think the shots cut together better now. I also like the “feel” of the original. Other approaches might be to cool (blue shift) the clips on either side to match it, or replace it with a more similar clip to them and then use this original clip in a situation where the clips it cut against were more similar in lighting. There are many ways to go. As far as your color “correction”, I think you’ve got it. On a professional production one of the finishing steps is to go through clip by clip and adjust the colors in each scene to match. It’s called color grading.

Please be sure to have a look at my upcoming short form entry for UWOL 15. I’ve included something that I hope you’ll enjoy!

[Marj Atkins]

Hi Cat - this is coming along in leaps and bounds.

You have yet more stunning shots of the scenery and lovely details of wild flowers and animal species.

I like the way you have used calm pictures in the supplication section as opposed to the dramatic scenes that complement the almost warlike music of the sanctuary section. I almost expected to see a head-on clash between those two mooses (meeses? mi?) :)

The only minor criticism I have is the repetition of shots which, as a general rule, tend to tire easily. I would imagine that is due to your fall and inability to get those essential missing shots.

I am so glad that you have not pulled out of this challenge. I really look forward to the final piece!

Marj

[Catherine Russell]

Hi All:

Thanks for the feedback and the input on the color correcting. I'm not certain what I am going to do but I need to revisit this some more.

Mike, you have my curiosity up and I look forward to having a look at your uwol 15 entry!

Bob, Dale and Chris I appreciate the kind words and the watch.

Marj: Ouch, that stung a bit but you are right. The Supplication chapter is intended to incorporate our own spiritual journey in life juxtaposed with wildlife. I had intended this to be portrayed by shots of someone making their journey up Longs Peak to the highest point in the Park intermixed with the wildlife. It was to end with 360 degree views of the Park seen from its highest point. And yes, the sprained ankle kept this from happening and what you see in this chapter is only a small portion of what is supposed to be, and I want to go cry in my soup submitting my grand finale in this way. I'll go back through and see if I can swap shots. I have lots of material to work from.

Cat