UWOL #5 "Exploring moments" by Trond Saetre
 

This video was the most challenging video I have ever made.
To be there at the right time and right place to capture the shots of the puppy was both hard and fun.

The first part of the video is when the puppy was 6 weeks old, and my sister was picking the dog she wanted. Not an easy task to pick one out of 11 puppies. But it became a relative easy task. One of the puppies came over to my sister several times and obviously wanted contact with her. Fun to see, hard to get on tape.

My sister got the puppy Thursday last week (it was 8 weeks old the day before), and we went to our cabin this weekend.
The dog experienced everything from rain to snow to sun, and even a big german sheppard.
One thing is for sure, the dog did not like to get her feet wet in the snow. But when it finally stopped raining Sunday morning, she loved being outdoors too. Sadly I did not get a chance to film her while she was attacking the grass and a couple of insects around the cabin.


I'm looking forward to every comment and feedback.

http://www.uwolchallenge.com/challen...ingmoments.mov

Trond, a very cute puppy and sister you got there :-)

To shoot footage of dogs and especially puppys isn't easy, I know because I have tried!
You did very well to shoot at the puppys level or viewpoint, but will mention some minor flaws which I think is important to avoid.
In the first section you got your own shadow in the footage. At 02:00 a person comes into the scene and we can only view her feet.

My overall impression is good and the puppy got a good and safe place to live!

Must be so difficult to film these guys.You never know what direction they going to head in at any time.Watching puppies playing is good for the soul,so calming ,relaxing and damn funny all at the same time.Loved the puppy falling off the step.had fun watching this.

This is very true. I think I filmed more than 45 minutes to get the final video of less than 2,5 minutes.


Per Johan:
Thank you for the comment. Your critics always mean a lot.
I agree with everything you said about improvements.

Trond:

Three cheers for Vera! She is wonderful! Our baby goat is named the same :o). Great minds think alike, no?

I think your sister is beautiful... and I noticed she caught Per's attention too, (wink, wink).

I had a smile on my face throughout the entire clip, puppies are just adorable. It never occurred to me how difficult they must be to film, but after your comments I can understand why. They are simply bundles of energy in every direction at every moment. You must have been relieved to finally get a sleeping shot!

Per's comments are always well taken and detailed so go with those. I on the other hand, just had a lot of fun watching a happy new life in a loving new home.

Thanks, Trond!

Trond,

This was really excellent and captured the essence of puppy exuberance. It certainly isn't easy to capture on film because they are so unpredictable. But you brought back happy memories for me of puppies in my past. The ending with puppy dreams was also very sweet and a nice way to tie it up. Thanks for sharing this fun and happy experience.


Ruth

Hi Trond,

You certainly did a great job capturing this type of footage - quiet a big day for the little pup!

Your narration was excellent and the broad range of events in this puppy's day made the whole film very enjoyable to watch. I liked the array of shots from different angles - particularly the low shots.

Your film is the sharpest footage I have seen so far in this round!

Well done Trond.

Catherine,
Thank you for the kind words. Means a lot, both to me and my sister.
She is so proud of Vera.
Yes great minds think alike. So I guess that means you and Trude must have great minds. ;-)

Ruth,
Thanks for the comment. I'm glad I could bring some happiness to you.

David,
Yes, I really wanted to get down to the puppy's level. Trying to see the world from a low angle. A few times I had to go handheld to get low enough.
I'm glad you like the film.

This was really cute. I especially like the series of shots where the puppy is slipping on the hardwood floors.

I noticed some flashing during the scene where Vera was playing with the pink toy, then I realized it was the from the TV above.

Nicely done. It really delivers a warm nostalgic feeling of family, and the joy of welcoming new member to the home.

Trond Puppies can be hard to work with, they just want to have a good time, but I think you did a good job. Other than a few shots that have been mentioned I think you have put together a nice piece.

Jason and Gordon, thanks for the comments.
I'm glad you like it.
And yes, I'm aware of the flaws in those clips. Shouldn't have been there.

Hi Trond.
I've just watch your film again (I always watch each film twice or more) and this time together with my two daughters. We have a cat, "Tassen", and now they want a dog :)

First of all I think your choice of mammal is great and the story too.
Everyone I guess want to film a wild mammal, but that's not the issue here.
It's how we make the film, editing skills, storyline and so forth.

You have a good mix of narration, people talking in the background and suitable music, though your VO is hard to hear at some places. Your filesize is around 44mb, too much compression on audio maybe?

I know it must be hard to film a babydog running around, but in some of your shots the tripod would have been fine, like in some of your outdoor scenes for instance. Maybe instead of following the dog with your camera, let it walk out of the scene and in to the scene. I myself forget it all the time because I'm so desperate to follow the action.

Over all a good storyline, nice editing and the humans together with the dog bring life to your film.

You have my best wishes and good luck in uwol#5.
Geir Inge

I'll check into the audio compression. Thanks for the comment, Geir Inge. I always appreciate feedback about how to improve my videos.
Learning a lot from this.
Good luck with the uwol5 you too.

What a lovely little dog..............ahhhhhhh! I love where he's introduced to the snow and you have him run in doors, nice cut! Overall the standard of your footage is good both inside and out....in fact your inside stuff looks great, I guess its all that light wood bouncing the light around....any some good camera skills as well of course :) Your last shots had a good example of cutting to a close up which I keep banging on about to everyone...good stuff!

Nice film fella......beautiful dog !

I fully agree with all of the positive things folks have said about your film. I also enjoyed it very much, being one who appreciates and respects dogs and what they can do for us.

I liked your entry very much and feel you did the "puppy" subject justice. Makes me want one, now.