Collaborative #2: UWOL Around the World

[Trond Saetre]

This thread will be for specific posts for the "UWOL Around the World" project.

Posts valid for both this and the "UWOL Cattle Drive"-Collaborate #1 project, should still be posted in the original Collaborate-thread.

Geir Inge's post in the original thread, should be a good starting point for this project:

Originally Posted by Geir Inge

Uwol was conceived in 2006 by Chris Hurd and the first competition (Uwol # 1) in January 2007 with Meryem Ersoz as our guiding star and leader.
What if we made ​​a film about us participants, being a part of Uwol and what we do?
After so many years we have accumulated a lot of material, from all continents.
Uwol is best known among us who participate, not that known for the rest of the world.
What if we made ​​a nature video with Uwol as theme and starting point?
A film that deals with how we work together across continents and countries, with the Internet as a venue? And we are celebrating the 25th round?
I think it will be of great interest for many TV stations around the world.
Few of us have met, still we talk to eachother as good old friends.
I think it will be a scoop; "world cooperation of nature videographers".

This is only a thought, but why shoot new footage when we have so much unused and ready to be broadcast? It does not matter whether we use what we have presented in Uwol.
In Norwegian we call it recycled, which is good for the environment ;o)
This will be a feature film that shows "Best of Uwol". The job is to edit the monster :/
AND pick the right tracks.
AND ask Chris if we can use this forum.

Imagine, 5 minutes on each will be a feature length nature films from around the world.

Let the ideas and thoughts fly.

[Simon Wood]

Well, I will be willing to help provide footage for the project. Will this be based on old projects, or new footage? I have 3 UWOL projects and 1 DVC/UWOL Christmas Challenge project available.

Will you be editing the footage Trond?

[Trond Saetre]

Here is a post Meryem made in the common collaborative thread.
Words of wisdom!

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

Wow, it's great to see the UWOL energy still going strong and pioneering into new realms of ambition! and insanity!

also glad to hear that Chris still has the archives and can make them available...some remarkable, inspirational, unforgettable, and touching moments are in those archives....

I think that making collaborative projects is a logical and intelligent step towards developing yourself as a filmmaker. it's always great to be able to run around by yourself with your camera. collaboration, however, is a great teacher and will, by its very nature, take you all (UWOL) to new arenas of development in the craft.

Trond asked me to supply a few notes - words of advice - whatever. The more I know, the less I know but here goes:

Keep your core concepts simple. Let complexity arise from the simplicity. I cannot stress this enough. The more people you involve, the more that complexity will arise naturally - you don't need to create it.

Have core concepts which you stress often and refer back to often. Express those core commitments periodically so that you can re-commit to them. Otherwise the proliferation of opinions and ideas, which are great in the beginning when the energy is high, will create a "dispersal effect" where lots of great ideas and opinions get bandied about but nothing gets done.

A director is a good idea. Someone who holds the vision and the core concept for everyone with unflagging energy and enthusiasm. As a corollary to that - it's much harder than it sounds. What looks easy from the outside, is a lot of work, on the inside.

UWOL is lucky to have a guiding hand like Lorinda, in that regard, who keeps it light and makes it look easy - when it is not! Which she may only admit over beers (or some other weird adult beverage, in the wee hours of the night). Keeping the juice flowing and the energy directed is almost a fulltime job itself. It is a tried and true, efficient way to get things done.

That director will need core support - I was lucky, very lucky, to have Railsback and Thompson drop into my lap. I could not have asked for better teammates. We disagreed frequently and sometimes vehemently but respected each other, always, and remain bonded for life to this day, from our UWOL experiences.

So having a committee is a good idea, it keeps things collaborative but also keeps the energy centralized - at the same time.

Let your leaders and your players make mistakes. It will happen. Be forgiving. Be loving. Release judgment.

those are a few ruminations, for what they are worth. But I think, as in all things UWOL, the infamous rule #11 is always the key.

Have fun!

Simon,
I can volunteer to do the editing of this world project.

It is my understanding that we should use a mix of both old uwol films and also new footage filmed for this project.

As Meryem mentions, I totally agree that some kind of committee (say 3 people?) should keep the project on it's track.
First task should be to develop the core idea/theme/content, and also find out who of the participants would like to join the "director committee", editing... and so on.
I can be part of that committee, if wanted.

Probably vise to set a basic timeframe as well, so we have some guidelines to work with as the project develops.

[Simon Wood]

Sounds good Trond!

So just to clarify; I would be available to submit my old work, and I would be able to film new footage as required if you need extra stuff from Uganda. I would prefer not to be on the 'committee', so I would just take instructions based on what is needed from those that take charge of the project.

One thing to bear in mind with the edit; I guess there will be a lot of conforming required given that some of the older entries might be SD 4:3, SD 16:9 and HD 720 and 1080, and also that the frame-rates might vary from 23.976p, 24p, 25p, 30p, all the way up to 60p, and dare I say it (*gasp!)...."the frame-rate that shall not be mentioned"...ye-olde-interlaced format!

[Trond Saetre]

Haha, yes you are right about the various frame rates and sizes.
My first thought about this, is that the finished film should be in HD.
So the old SD films we all used in the beginning of UWOL, has to be more or less upscaled.

[Mike Sims]

Or a lot of it could be used "as is" with several clips playing simultaneously in smaller windows on the HD frame. If we upscale I think that as much as possible we should try to get the film owners to do that for us.

[Trond Saetre]

Good point, Mike. If needed, whoever submitted the shot could be required to resize it as needed. It's a good thing to spread the workload a little if we can.

[Paul Wood]

Trond,

I volunteer for any role I can help with.

[Trond Saetre]

Very well, Paul. :)

[Geir Inge]

I do not know if I can take on any task in relation to the project.
This is because I do not know how it will go with the disease I've got the legs.
Although I am an optimist.

I can help with film clips of puffins and other seabirds, otters and martens.

At the same time I throw out a little desire, or thought about prosjketet.
Only intended as suggestions.

What if we got Meryem, Catherin, Lorinda, or anyone else to tell the story of Uwol.
In this story we merge the contributions of the various participants?
1) The intro is how the idea came about, what happened and by whom, and what is Uwol?
2) The main story, the various topics, the Uliki contributions, feedback, learning potential for all, but most of all, cooperation across the globe - without meet, only through the internet.

Here is the same comment I added to the Cattle Uwol project:
Every second year, the Wildlife Vaasa International Film Festival continues in Finland.
I think next will be in November 2014, with the filing deadline in August.
If the time frame for the project is for one year, maybe it might be a secondary goal that we try two include both Uwol projects of this festival?
Just a suggestion,: o)

[Trond Saetre]

Originally Posted by Geir Inge

Here is the same comment I added to the Cattle Uwol project:
Every second year, the Wildlife Vaasa International Film Festival continues in Finland.
I think next will be in November 2014, with the filing deadline in August.
If the time frame for the project is for one year, maybe it might be a secondary goal that we try two include both Uwol projects of this festival?

This would be great! Let's have this as a goal for the films. So how about we let our deadline for completion of the film be June / July 2014?

[Trond Saetre]

Do we have any volunteers to help with the organizing of the world project?
I think we should be 3 people for this task. (based on Meryem's advice).

[Dale Guthormsen]

Tronde,

I will help or volunteer for whatever needs to be done. My time is actually now becoming my own again, I am stepping down as president of a provincial organization at the same time; bottom line is I will make the time. Being retired is supposed to give one more time they say!!

As far as camera work, just need to know what to actually go for. I have a prairie fauna project I have been working on for 4 years.. And, of course, we have huge quanities of water fowl available between now and November, and I love shooting native grouse on the leks of which I already have some decent footage.

As far as technical skills one area |I am farely practiced in is color grading. all the other stuff there are many others better than I for the jobs.


Dale

[Trond Saetre]

That's great, Dale! :)
I was hoping you would be a part of this.

I guess the first thing to be done, is figure out exactly what we want the film to be, and divide the tasks between whoever will participate.


To everyone who wants to join this "world project":
No matter what you think you can do, or what you can share/help...
Even if it is only to submit footage from previous challenges, or take a bigger role...:
Please post here in this thread, so we get an idea of how many can participate.

Tasks:
Organize/ Coordinate: (My suggestion so far: Trond Saetre, Dale Guthormsen and Paul Wood or Mike Sims - based on volunteering so far) - Any thoughts or ideas?
Directing
Script writing
Filming: I believe everyone should be part of this. In addition, Meryem, Lorinda and Chris Hurd could/should be interviewed about their part of creating uwol and keep it alive all these years.
Editing
Narrating /VO
Music: I believe this must be royaltyfree, same rules as the regular uwol challenges?
Promoting? I'm thinking about the film festival Geir Inge mentioned... (or maybe also publish other ways?) (Not sure if we need this one)

I have probably forgotten some, so feel free to add to the list, and suggest people for the different tasks.

[Steve Siegel]

I would love to be part of this project (the second one, I don't have anything to contribute about cattle! ). Not just filming but the other stuff, too. This is a great opportunity to work in collaboration with other people on a film, something that doesn't present itself very often. My very favorite UWOL was the Long Form, and this looks like another one on those lines. Do we have a theme yet?