UWOL #5 "Eye of the Beast" by Steve Siegel
 

Mammals, you've got to be kidding. This is Florida. We have alligators. It's the shark tank for sure this time. Where am I going to find mammals? Why the zoo, of course. We have a good zoo. The trouble with zoo animals, especially in the 90 degree heat, is that they don't do very much. So I just went for their most expressive features, their eyes. Putting it together was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it.
I know somebody is going to want to know what these species are, so here is a list, in order of appearance.
Greater Kudu
Red Kangaroo
Muntjac
Goitered Gazelle
Banteng
Bactrian Camel
Indian Gaur
Red River Hog
Sable Antelope
Lowland Gorilla
Muntjac
Reticulated Giraffe
Grevy Zebra
Grant's Zebra
Asian Elephant
African Elephant
African Lion
Bengal Tiger
Clouded Leopard
Ring-tailed Lemur
Chimpanzee
Lowland Gorilla

Show off.

I'd hoped to shoot the Houston zoo, but I havn't got my camcorder back from Sony. Can't wait to see all the entries.

Steve, a very original viewpoint to the mammals! I think you should have reduced the amount of species and concentrated on a just a few and showed them in more detail.

Steve:

That really was a clever and interesting way to "see" mammals. I find that a highly creative take on the topic. I was frustrated in some parts because I wanted to know and identify what the eye belonged to! I think it would have been meaningful to somehow work from the eye to the face to the body, or something of that sort. It would give us more to take in.

But again, a very creative take on the topic.

Cat

Maybe it wasn't possible, but I too would have like to see more of the animal to understand associate where the eye came from.... but that's just me.

Hi Steve,
I too would have liked to see more of each animal however, I understand this would would have moved away from the overall approach I think you wanted to capture.
A very different approach taken to the theme - which you filmed very well.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I alluded to the reason I didn't do what you suggest (ie. show more of the animal) at the top of this thread when I said that zoo animals don't do very much. Showing the eye, than panning more of the mammal over a few species would have been supremely boring. It would have looked like an attempt to create a two-minute field guide. My goal was to simply create a short entertainment set to music, in the mode of the master work in that style, "Anima Mundi".

this is freaky--i was going to do this exact concept, animal eyes, because i figured the zoo was a place that i could get my shooting done with child in tow. but then, i told myself--that i lived in colorado, fer cryin out loud and needed to be shooting the wild...

fun and interesting to see how you did it, steve!

i think i would have gone the opposite direction of what other people recommended that you do-- i would have got get even closer to the eye so that you *couldn't* see whose eye it was....

Well I suppose this is one way of looking at this challenge ( no pun intended)
The different ideas and ways that everyone has come up with to display or show off the interpretation of mammals is quite amazing.This must rate as one of the most original eye dears i mean ideas.

Hi Steve,

This was an interesting approach to the theme. I like what you did.
Great close ups of all those eyes. You got a bunch of excotic animals on your list.

I'm looking forward to see your future films too.
Keep up the good work.

Hi Steve,

Well, since some comments so far range from seeing more of the animal, to seeing only the eye, you probably found a good balance. I thought it worked effectively, especially with the quote at the start. It made me look very closely to see what they eyes were saying. And I enjoyed the challenge of guessing the animal from what you showed. The music really enhanced the piece for me, an element of the exotic. Nice video.


Ruth

Hi Steve.
I have to see each uwol film a couple of times before I give my feedback and now it's your turn. And I write all my comments in microsofts "Words" befor I copy them into the treads, then I wont be influenced by the other comments.

Nice piece you've put together, this one.
Fast and with suitable music. I alway say that the soul of an animal is in their eyes and you show it well in this short.
My favorite is at 00.43, very clear and in focus. Some of the clips are a bit out of focus and maybe would have worked better not so quick over to the next clip. Also the one of the elephant in and out of picture was neat.
I dont think this one needs a VO or likewise because your title say it all.
Some of the clip are not stedy enough, but I gues you know :)
It's not easy to capture just the eyes of an animal, also having so many species, maybe fewer animals and a bit longer clips of each?

Wish you all the best in uwol#5.
Geir Inge