UWOL #10 - Wilderness Utah by Ryan Farnes
 

Wilderness Utah encourages and tries to inspire people to get out there and explore on their own. The goal being to instill a love and appreciation of the wilderness here in the state of Utah that is amazingly diverse.

Scheduling got tight at the end but I was able to shoot most of this on Saturday the 30th and edit into the night. I wish I'd had more time since my edit isn't quite where I would want it to be but I think I'm glad I simply finished something to submit.

Hope you enjoy.

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

Very good entry...Im pretty sure this is a top 3 entry,thanks for sharing with us

Wow Ryan I can see now why everyone raves about Utah - beautiful footage of a beautiful place.

The simple concept of your PSA - people talking with images to back them up - works well here. The spoken message comes across clearly - both editors are relaxed and easy to listen to. The quiet passion for what they do comes through clearly.

I like your use of natural sound with very soft underscore - supports the images well. Your framing is good - particularly like the framing of the two editors. You positioned them in an attractive setting with clear lighting, albeit a touch flat (little shadow). (Just something small to watch out for in the future - Mark looked to me like he was bothered by that spot of light near his left eye - I feel he should have been moved slightly.)

Your camera work is good - nice vertical pans and good clear images. The introductory scene is the only one I would change - it’s too wobbly, especially for a first scene - inevitable result of handholding the camera, which I guess was unavoidable for this particular scenario.

A good effort, especially considering the short time available to you and the difficult theme.

Nice to have you on board and really look forward to seeing more of your work from Utah in future rounds Ryan.

What a great opening shot! Over land and under water -- we don't get many of those. Very nice. Works well with the voice, too. You do a very nice job of integrating what the speakers are saying with the images. Voice and sound work together very well here. You did a nice job of framing your interviewees, with the two of them facing opposite screen directions. Nice natural lighting, too.

The soundtrack at the very end fades in a slightly awkward place, that's my only criticism.

You did a great job with a tough Challenge, I can hardly wait to see what you can pull together on an easy one!

I love the opening shot… really nice! Good entry one of the top for me.

Top shelf brother. Far more than simply something to submit. My favorite, for what that's worth. Real polished, professional look, great audio, beautiful images. Enough smoke up your skirt for now?

What camera did you use? Thing sees deep into the shadows and has a real good look.

Congrats. Things don't work out here I'm moving to Utah, apparently..

Thanks for the comments and criticism everyone.

The lighting for the interviews was definitely something I wasn't satisfied with at all...too flat. But I was in a tough spot and didn't think to get the other guy standing there to point a reflector to get some contrast.

I used the HVX200 for everything. Really a nice camera. I simply love the way it makes things look and feel more cinematic. I work for my university's library and we're able to borrow it sometimes. We have access to V1Us and own an EX-1 so the HVX has become somewhat of a "trainer" camera if you can believe that. I think I can attribute much of what I've learned about filming to the generosity of this arrangement.

I do have to confess that the water and wind audio at the beginning is fudged. I simply can't aquire that kind of audio so I used some soundtrack pro sounds instead. Pure? No. Nice? Yes. :-) I would sincerely be curious to know how IMAX films and Planet Earth style series do their audio. I imagine there is 1 or more people that do nothing but audio. I am more of a cinematographer but need to get better at sound acquisition.

I forgot to credit the music in my piece. Its simply a music bed from the soundtrack pro library.

Glad you enjoyed and I look forward to the next challenge. Something where I can schedule everything myself. :-)

Hey Ryan,

That was awesome! It had beautiful, rich color, great sound and a clear message…good job. Showed my wife and she liked it too...very impressive.

I guess I would have like to have seen some people frolicking in the wilderness but I understand you were under time constraints. That is my only criticism.

Nice piece.

Very nice Intro to the organization. Peaked my interest in what the organization does, and that is the reason for piece in the first place. Nice job !

Ryan, that was a top 3!
Very well done!

You have great footage, rich colors, a really good message...

Hi Ryan and well done on delivering video for uwolx.

Like this piece a lot, informative and well put together.
"There is no state that..." etc.
I like that opening together with going from dry land to underwater.
Very cool beginning of an informative and well put together video.
The different scenery/pics are great, also the ending music fits.

Good luck and all the best.
Geir Inge

Well what a pro piece of output !!! Really nicely shot, edited, paced, scored and scripted. Even the interview audio sounded spot-on. Your sand shots, particularly the birdseye shot were lovely indeed. If I was to grumble about anything it would be the lack of a couple of animal shots in there but this would have simply made a great peice even better in my eyes. This really does what you've set out to do and while it isn't wildly (excuse the pun) creative it is relaxing yet powerful, interesting and beautiful.

Top notch !

Gosh Ryan,
I really don't think I can add anything that hasn't already been said. Love your piece, especially opening shot and the shots of the desert. Understated music seemed to fit perfectly. Was overall a treat to watch - so thanks for that! Looking forward to seeing more of Utah and more from you!

Best,

Amelia

Thanks for the comments everyone. Its encouraging to get positive feedback and helpful for the criticism as well.

I need to work on some wildlife filming and not just landscapes though. :-)