Tales of Wonders and woes - UWOL 31

[Trond Saetre]

What is UWOL without the stories about our film making process.
This is the place to tell the good, the bad, and everything in between. Don't be shy.

Good luck, everyone! Hope you all finish so we can watch 19 submitted films from the 11 countries.

[Kevin Railsback]

Went out this morning and filmed some nice stuff.

I have an idea, just an idea but no idea on how to make it into something. I like the idea of the idea but I don't know if I can take a thought and turn it into a film at all.

Need to see if I can find a way to weave a tale with this.

[Geir Inge]

After 5 years of prioritizing studies, I finally have time for other things in my spare time.
Filming is one of these things :)
I have also been troubled with my old camcorder, Canon XLH1 and the need for cleaning and adjustment. The company that took the task went bankrupt and there is now a new company. I thought, "Is it time for a new camera, or should I find myself a new hobby"? So NRK TV (national TV station) broadcast a program called "Hidden Kingdoms". Who but our dear friend Mat Thompson is one of the camera operators on many of the scenes in this series. I was overjoyed and sent him an e-mail. He is currently in Africa on film projects. The positive e-mail from our friend Mat, gave me the energy to continue with video filming and new camera has been ordered and so I hope to complete Uwol 31.
I wish you all a colorful, fun and educational game.

[Mick Jenner]

Great to hear hear your studies are now over, hopefully you were successful in your exams. So don't keep us in suspense Geir, what camera have you ordered? Could be a steep learning curve for you this challenge!

Mick

[Geir Inge]

Hi Mick.
My exams went all well and my new camera is a Canon 5D Mark3.
New camera is fun (rule 11) and I hope it will turn out fine.

[Mick Jenner]

A rather sad sad tale of wonders and woe yesterday. Came across this water vole (endangered here in the UK as a result of predation by escaped mink and water pollution, although now starting to make a good recovery) trying to feed on a plastic bag. As the caption on vimeo indicates we did stop it and remove the offending item. It did however bring home the dangers faced by our wildlife as the result of human carelessness.

Man made Dangers (WATER VOLE) on Vimeo

[Trond Saetre]

Geir Inge, that is a great camera.
Just a question: Why did you choose a dslr instead of a regular video camera? I see the good thing about having 2 cameras in 1, but if you do any handheld shooting, how is the form factor of the 5d working for you?

Mick, what a poor fellow trying to eat plastic. Your short video is a great example of how humans affect the wildlife. Hopefully many people see your video and realize what throwing garbage in the nature can cause.

[Kevin Railsback]

Mick, thanks for preventing this little one from eating the plastic bag.
Might make a good UWOL theme down the road "The Hand of Man in Nature".

Congrats Geir on the new camera!! I thought about getting one just to do star time-lapse stuff but I need to make more money before I can afford one! :)

[Geir Inge]

Hello Trond.
I have a friend who works at NRK TV and he uses 5D Mark 3, which has made ​​the award winning film "Lysleite" (Hunting the light). Here is a link to a short version of it:

Lysleite (hunting the light) on Vimeo

I asked him for advice and he said this camera is very good, both photo and video.
I wanted a camera with good video quality, which was easier to carry for hiking and that is affordable in price. In Norway the camera housing cost around 25 000 NOK ( about 4020 USD). AND - the XLH1 is a much heavier camera and my back just gets older and older (laughing out hysterically).
Furthermore, I have some Canon lenses that can be used on my new 5D which I get tomorrow :)).
So all in all it's cheaper for me, living at Sunnmore that is very important ;)
I rarely operates with hand-held camera, so I do not think it will be a big problem for me.

Kevin, I have saved money for a while and the time had come for me to make a choice. Continue or stop filming. After a nice email from Mat, in which he urged me to continue filming - I chose to listen to his advice. The camera has been on the market for a while, but I'm really excited to get it in my hands.

[Mick Jenner]

Hi Gier, Good choice of camera considering you already have good eos lenses. Enjoy your double challenge this round, looking forward to seeing your entry.

Hi Kevin, thanks for commenting. I'm very disillusioned at the way we/governments etc ignore the roll all fauna and flora plays in keeping nature (including us) in balance, as well as the way we continue to abuse it.

Right off my high horse and back to checking todays clips.

Mick

[Trond Saetre]

Can't wait to see what you can do with your new camera, Geir Inge!
I wonder if we would see differences in image quality between your 5D and my XF300.

We should have an uwol get-together sometime.

[Geir Inge]

Originally Posted by Trond Saetre

Can't wait to see what you can do with your new camera, Geir Inge!
I wonder if we would see differences in image quality between your 5D and my XF300.

We should have an uwol get-together sometime.

Just have to say that I got itchy fingers :)

[Simon Wood]

Geir - I also have a XLH1 and a 5dmk3.

The 5d is very soft (even with good quality L series lenses), you only notice it when you play the footage side by side with a regular camera like the XL.

However you are best to reduce sharpening in camera, as the footage sharpens well in post ( but in camera sharpening is not so good and irreversible ). You should experiment with the settings to find a look you like.

Best of luck with it !

[Geir Inge]

Originally Posted by Simon Wood

Geir - I also have a XLH1 and a 5dmk3.

The 5d is very soft (even with good quality L series lenses), you only notice it when you play the footage side by side with a regular camera like the XL.

However you are best to reduce sharpening in camera, as the footage sharpens well in post ( but in camera sharpening is not so good and irreversible ). You should experiment with the settings to find a look you like.

Best of luck with it !

Hi Simon and thank you for good advice.
Thought I'd get the camera today, but it will be tomorrow.
As I said to Trond, I'm dying to get the camera.
Have had XLH1 for several years and am very fond of the camera, but it will be exciting with the new camera as well.

[Geir Inge]

Got my new 5D Mark 3 and here's a little test on some small creatures.
After chatting with a guy in Japan, I have now ordred me some new lenses :)
A few clips of some tiny creatures:

Tre små kryp (Three little creatures) on Vimeo