UWOL 15 - Montana in Fall

Mike Beckett · November 1st, 2009, 02:05 PM

So it's not even a robin! :)

Ah, the thrush family... turdus merula was the blackbird, if I recall. I always wondered where those latin names came from, and could never remember them. I quickly checked Wikipedia and there are 65 species of the thrush family. Eeek!

The only other one I can remember is the common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, which I always thought was totally appropriate for those noisy, vulgar birds.

Kevin Railsback · November 1st, 2009, 08:13 PM

Chris,

Ahhhh, Montana! I never get tired of watching films made in Montana!

I like how you broke down the state into regions. It's such a big state it certainly does have a lot of diversity.
Nice job taking advantage of the aerial opportunity.

Course, the pronghorn was my favorite sequence. I've seen them go under fences before and was amazed because from my vantage point, it appeared like they dissolved through the fence. :)

Hey, it's a robin to me! :)

I think you went above and beyond by presenting several "kingdoms" while you could have easily just settled for one.

Nice music and VO. You sounded very at ease with your narration.

Would have loved to seen snockered waxwings! :)

Chris Swanberg · November 2nd, 2009, 01:01 AM

Kevin... Thanks for your observations and kind comments. Also I am gratified by your appreciation of my working the theme - I did pay attention to that and I'm glad to know that fact was noticeable!

Always nice to hear praise from someone as accomplished as yourself. Thanks again.

Bob Thieda · November 2nd, 2009, 09:38 AM

Chris...

Habituated?
Never heard that before, thank you...the learning continues...

As others have said the opening was stellar...worked well and I only wish I had the talent to do something like that.

Nice close shots of many of your animals...did you just get close or do you have a very long lens?

And nice VO...but of course, you're practically a pro at this point... ;)

Chris Swanberg · November 2nd, 2009, 01:35 PM

Bob: You are too kind. Actually the intro was pretty easy. Check out DigitalJuice.com and look at their Themekits. It's not as difficult as it might appear.

I have a Sony Z-1 and one of the things I like least about the camera is the non-interchangeable lens. I have a Sony Wide Angle adapter I like, but my teleconvertor has a fair amount of CA and pretty much gathers dust. So, no, I was just fortunate to get close to those antelope by virtue of the fencing. My close presence did, and you could tell, unnerve them a bit. I was maybe 50-75 yards away at the closest. I was so afraid I'd miss the moment, that I grabbed the camera, jumped out of the car and I had the camera sitting on the hood of the car for stability. No time for a tripod. A fair amount of the footage was rather shaky but I eventually managed to hold it still - though my heart was racing.

I'm glad others are not as bothered by the sound of my voice as I am. I have a good ways to go yet, but at least have some ideas how to improve the quality of my VO's. I pretty much liked every one elses better than my own.

And, finally, sorry if "habituated" seemed a bit stuffy. I have spent a lot of time in Glacier and around the Grizzly bears there and also spent some time with Bear Management folks, and that's one of the big hot button terms they throw around - "Habituated Bears". I guess I just kind of backed in to the word. Doesn't get much use at cocktail parties though.

Chris

Mike Sims · November 5th, 2009, 02:27 PM

Hi Chris. I was only joking about the opening being too long. Sorry that wasn’t obvious in my post.

Robins- English speakers had a habit of, where ever they ended up, giving the local birds names they were familiar with back in the mother country. North and South America have several species of thrushes called Robins. Australia has a family with over 40 species that are called Robins. China and Japan have a genus that have been called Robins. None of them are closely related to Robin Red-breast, although at least some members of each group have a reddish breast.

Bison and Buffaloes- The cattle subfamily contains ten genera. Genus Bos contains cattle (including Yaks). Genus Bison contains two living species, each with two remaining subspecies. There are two genera of “spiral-horned antelopes”. The rest of the genera tend to be collectively called “buffalo”. Members of all of these groups are somewhat able to interbreed.

Habituated is animal behaviour jargon. It just means the animals are comfortable letting you get close enough to work.

Meryem Ersoz · November 6th, 2009, 08:45 AM

watching antelopes stuffing themselves under the fence -- well worth the price of admission...

Chris Swanberg · November 6th, 2009, 09:10 PM

Mike... to me habituated in the case of bears meant they had lost their fear and allowed man to get stupidly close - more or less. I used it to mean any animal behavior that overcomes the natural fear of man and allowed a close living in the presence and shadow of man.

Meryem.. glad you got a kick out of that. If I haven't said so, thanks for the "living film school" that is UWOL.

Chris

Geir Inge · November 8th, 2009, 12:36 PM

Hi Chris S.

I’ll start with the VO and the music; it’s great and suits your video very well.
I’m not a big fan of using all kinds of layout when it comes to text in wildlife videos, but used as a theme the way you do it here can work. Still I think your opening is a little bit too long for a 3 min short. You take us along on a trip through Montana and what a tour it is :)
Several species and I love especially the one at 1.58, but actually it’s your way of giving us a laugh, the way you bring it to us in your story. Jumping "under" the fence :) Clever done!
All in all a fine video I liked very much, so thank you for bringing it to Uwol.

Wish you all the best and good luck.
Geir Inge

November 1st, 2009, 02:05 PM	#16
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	So it's not even a robin! :) Ah, the thrush family... turdus merula was the blackbird, if I recall. I always wondered where those latin names came from, and could never remember them. I quickly checked Wikipedia and there are 65 species of the thrush family. Eeek! The only other one I can remember is the common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, which I always thought was totally appropriate for those noisy, vulgar birds. __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

November 1st, 2009, 08:13 PM	#17
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	Chris, Ahhhh, Montana! I never get tired of watching films made in Montana! I like how you broke down the state into regions. It's such a big state it certainly does have a lot of diversity. Nice job taking advantage of the aerial opportunity. Course, the pronghorn was my favorite sequence. I've seen them go under fences before and was amazed because from my vantage point, it appeared like they dissolved through the fence. :) Hey, it's a robin to me! :) I think you went above and beyond by presenting several "kingdoms" while you could have easily just settled for one. Nice music and VO. You sounded very at ease with your narration. Would have loved to seen snockered waxwings! :) __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com

November 2nd, 2009, 01:01 AM	#18
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Kevin... Thanks for your observations and kind comments. Also I am gratified by your appreciation of my working the theme - I did pay attention to that and I'm glad to know that fact was noticeable! Always nice to hear praise from someone as accomplished as yourself. Thanks again. Last edited by Chris Swanberg; November 2nd, 2009 at 01:52 AM.

November 2nd, 2009, 09:38 AM	#19
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Chris... Habituated? Never heard that before, thank you...the learning continues... As others have said the opening was stellar...worked well and I only wish I had the talent to do something like that. Nice close shots of many of your animals...did you just get close or do you have a very long lens? And nice VO...but of course, you're practically a pro at this point... ;) __________________ Bob T.

November 8th, 2009, 12:36 PM	#24
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,342	Hi Chris S. I’ll start with the VO and the music; it’s great and suits your video very well. I’m not a big fan of using all kinds of layout when it comes to text in wildlife videos, but used as a theme the way you do it here can work. Still I think your opening is a little bit too long for a 3 min short. You take us along on a trip through Montana and what a tour it is :) Several species and I love especially the one at 1.58, but actually it’s your way of giving us a laugh, the way you bring it to us in your story. Jumping "under" the fence :) Clever done! All in all a fine video I liked very much, so thank you for bringing it to Uwol. Wish you all the best and good luck. Geir Inge __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

November 2nd, 2009, 01:35 PM	#20
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Bob: You are too kind. Actually the intro was pretty easy. Check out DigitalJuice.com and look at their Themekits. It's not as difficult as it might appear. I have a Sony Z-1 and one of the things I like least about the camera is the non-interchangeable lens. I have a Sony Wide Angle adapter I like, but my teleconvertor has a fair amount of CA and pretty much gathers dust. So, no, I was just fortunate to get close to those antelope by virtue of the fencing. My close presence did, and you could tell, unnerve them a bit. I was maybe 50-75 yards away at the closest. I was so afraid I'd miss the moment, that I grabbed the camera, jumped out of the car and I had the camera sitting on the hood of the car for stability. No time for a tripod. A fair amount of the footage was rather shaky but I eventually managed to hold it still - though my heart was racing. I'm glad others are not as bothered by the sound of my voice as I am. I have a good ways to go yet, but at least have some ideas how to improve the quality of my VO's. I pretty much liked every one elses better than my own. And, finally, sorry if "habituated" seemed a bit stuffy. I have spent a lot of time in Glacier and around the Grizzly bears there and also spent some time with Bear Management folks, and that's one of the big hot button terms they throw around - "Habituated Bears". I guess I just kind of backed in to the word. Doesn't get much use at cocktail parties though. Chris

November 5th, 2009, 02:27 PM	#21
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Hi Chris. I was only joking about the opening being too long. Sorry that wasn’t obvious in my post. Robins- English speakers had a habit of, where ever they ended up, giving the local birds names they were familiar with back in the mother country. North and South America have several species of thrushes called Robins. Australia has a family with over 40 species that are called Robins. China and Japan have a genus that have been called Robins. None of them are closely related to Robin Red-breast, although at least some members of each group have a reddish breast. Bison and Buffaloes- The cattle subfamily contains ten genera. Genus Bos contains cattle (including Yaks). Genus Bison contains two living species, each with two remaining subspecies. There are two genera of “spiral-horned antelopes”. The rest of the genera tend to be collectively called “buffalo”. Members of all of these groups are somewhat able to interbreed. Habituated is animal behaviour jargon. It just means the animals are comfortable letting you get close enough to work.

November 6th, 2009, 08:45 AM	#22
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	watching antelopes stuffing themselves under the fence -- well worth the price of admission...

November 6th, 2009, 09:10 PM	#23
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Mike... to me habituated in the case of bears meant they had lost their fear and allowed man to get stupidly close - more or less. I used it to mean any animal behavior that overcomes the natural fear of man and allowed a close living in the presence and shadow of man. Meryem.. glad you got a kick out of that. If I haven't said so, thanks for the "living film school" that is UWOL. Chris