Sims_OverTheMountain_UWOLLongForm Feedback Thread

[Marj Atkins]

Sounds like you have an interesting movie in the making here Mike.

I have absolutely no idea what is causing the problem, but no matter what I try I cannot get your movie to download. It chews up bandwidth, so it appears to be going through the process of downloading, but absolutely nothing materializes - no site, no movie. I am sure I could get it downloaded from the Uwol site but you haven’t uploaded it there for some reason.

[Mike Sims]

Marj,
I’m sorry you were unable to download from my server. I didn’t get any other reports of problems, but no doubt others probably also had difficulties. With the help of Kevin Railsback, I have now uploaded my round one video to the UWOL server. Thanks for pointing out the problem.

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks Mike - will download it and post my comments.
Marj

[Mike Sims]

I've uploaded second round videos:

UWOL server- 56MB


Larger Version- 160MB
http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...ain_Round2.mp4


I'm not ready to start putting together final sequences yet. Here are some clips to show what I've been up to. Sound has location, ambient, Foley, voiceover, and music. How is the mix? Can you hear the hummingbird at your normal listening level? Thanks.

[Marj Atkins]

Originally Posted by Mike Sims

I welcome any and all feedback. I would especially like to know:
1) Does the sequence work? Would it interest you to see more?
2) The sound is only ambient sound and Foley. You may need to turn up the volume to hear all the Foley tracks. A finished sequence would have more layers of Foley like feather scratching and feet on branch etc. Since the Foley work is new to me I’d like some input on what I‘ve done so far.
3) I used color replace on the Cottonwood leaves so I can cross edit with green leaves later in the year- could you tell?
4) Encoding for the web is not my strength. Did these files work for you? What should I do different next time?

Hi Mike

I will slip this in now before others comment on your new submission.

I would go along with much of what has been commented on already. I think your story has potential and I like the approach you have adopted in this particular submission - splitting each of your scenes and spreading them across the sequence. This gives the impression that there are a number of birds and animals continually present in the scenario all witnessing the goings on, even though you don’t see all of them at the same time. Splitting scenes does make things busier so be careful how much you use it.

I do find the bird call repeated so often a bit of a problem however - probably because it is constantly calling and yet one never gets to see the bird that is making the call. It may be better to repeat it less or perhaps you could use three or more calls in the background to create your ambience. A lot of time has gone into creating the sound for this sequence which certainly adds depth to the scene. I have to admit this is first time I’ve heard of a Foley box. (I’m learning.) The sound of the bird whacking the lizard could perhaps change in volume as you point your camera away from it to make it a bit more realistic.

Your owl looks quite a bit like our little African Scops-Owl.

[Mike Sims]

Second round videos:

UWOL server- 56MB
http://www.uwolchallenge.com/longfor...ongForm1-2.mp4

Larger Version- 160MB
http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...ain_Round2.mp4


I'm not ready to start putting together final sequences yet. Here are some clips to show what I've been up to. Sound has location, ambient, Foley, voiceover, and music. How is the mix? Can you hear the hummingbird at your normal listening level? Thanks.

[Catherine Russell]

Mike:

Well, well, well. You are putting together the pieces for a spectacular documentary. This was captivating and very enjoyable to watch. Beautiful footage, interesting commentary and species diversity. The richness of the desert colors and birds are almost to the point of saturation! I have no idea how you are going to follow a turkey vulture bird's eye view to move through your documentary, but I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts.

I know this is a show of cobbling footage for now, but there was a cut away to a scenic shot just after you introduced the rattlesnake that seemed a bit distracting. It's interesting, but here in Colorado, our broad-tailed hummingbirds look very different from yours. I'll have to go back and listen for its sound. I was expecting the beating of its wings so I may have missed it.

Fine filming throughout. The opening pan of the rock cliffs aglow was spectacular, and the time-lapse was also very well done. Following the white-tailed deer on the run was masterful.

Looking forward to our next works in progress.

Cat

[Mat Thompson]

Hi Mike

Well, what a display of species, I'm super jealous. How I'd love a few days out shooting here !!! I've just been reading about the Pronghorns actually, amazing animal, and the fastest on the planet over a sustained distance. What is even more interesting about that is WHY ! This evolution of speed must have been for a reason, can you imagine the cat that must have chased them....some sort of super cheetah maybe! Maybe this is something of a back story to follow.

What I didn't get was anything about your story from this. I understand these will be items that are covered on the way, but they should still relate back to the main story in some way. Think of them as sub-plots within your main premise.

The photography is nice but some more use of 'levels of detail'/alternate angles/reveals would be nice to turn some of these into even tastier sequences.

You seem to have a bird call audio that repeats throughout a lot of the differing shots.


Really nice stuff, looking forward to seeing your film take some shape in round 3.

Mat

[Per Johan Naesje]

Mike, very nice looking footage/sequences and so many species you got there! Cat and Mat already commented about the details in your entry. But I think you will work out a fine piece from this one Mike. Looking forward to your film in the next round.

[Bryce Comer]

Wow Mike,
what an opening shot. Those mountains were truly beautiful in that light. I loved to see all the different animals, & am really interested in seeing how you put all these clips together. The footage of the white tail deer was awesome, & to have those pronghorn antelope come right up to you must have been a fantastic surprise! You certainly seem to know a lot of the animals in your area, i hope you will be filling us all in with some more info on each of them in your final piece. I can't wait to see your future submissions.
Regards,
Bryce

[Jeff Hendricks]

Mike, I was captivated by your footage and impressed that you were able to capture a typically nocturnal animal in the day time. You must have a lot of patience.

Even though this is not a final product it still kept my interest with the pacing and the large variety of wildlife shots. Really quite interesting especially with your commentary which I laughed out loud at when you said "The obligatory rattle snake shot" and how the disposable camera tourist stepped in front of your shot during the deer scene.

Nice job looking forward to seeing more!

[Steve Siegel]

Absolutely wonderful footage especially your scenery and the birds. How many hours have I spent unsuccessfully looking for that owl? And as I was wondering "Is he going to show a Montezuma Quail" There it was! I'll have to call you next trip. By the way, do you know Carolyn Ohl?
You might want to cut back on the red in the Vermilion Flycatcher, it bleeds.
Also there is visible interlace artifact on the ears of your deer. Can you deinterlace it? I like the continuity of the voice of the (Cassin's?) Kingbird. You might want to show the bird at some point to establish it as a player. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

[Mike Sims]

Marj- Thanks for your good advice. My storey calls for quite a bit of that and it leaves me vulnerable to continuity problems or just plain confusing the audience. I’ll discuss the bird call in a later post so please keep reading. As I understand it, Foley was the name of the sound man on an early live radio show. He invented lots of the sound effects techniques. When Hollywood began making sound pictures they copied his methods and named the entire process after him. I’ve been experimenting some more and found that panning the effect in stereo space adds a lot. Stay tuned!

[Mike Sims]

Cat- Thank-you for your nice comments. You’ll get a better idea how the vulture’s eye view hopefully works in the next round.
The best guide to identifying our hummers is Peregrine Video’s DVD- Hummingbirds of North America. I have a lot of footage in it as does Don Desjardin who’s a regular around here. It was produced just down the road from you in Niwot. If you don’t know PV’s John Vanderpoel, look him up. He’s a great guy. The sound I was referring to is the Foley I added of the bird scratching it’s chin.

Mat- Come on over! I’ll not only guide I’ll carry your tripod. Have a look at the fossil genus Miracinonyx. They’re often called the “American Cheetahs”. Although they diverged from cougar stock after true cheetahs diverged from the cougar-jaguarundi line, they have many of the same specializations. Very probably they ran at least as fast. Another good question to ponder- Why did the pronghorn survive when the rest of the antilocaprid fauna (which was just as species rich as the African true antelope fauna) didn’t? Also, why didn’t they radiate from North America when horses and camelids did?
In the next round my plan is to show an almost finished sequence. Hopefully it will have the levels of detail you (and I) seek. I’m beginning to despair that I won’t have the time to get as many sequences like that as I’d hoped.
I’ve been finding your comments very helpful. Please keep them coming. Thanks.

[Mike Sims]

Per Johan- Thank-you for your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot to me.

Bryce- Thanks. I’m pleased you liked the opening pan. It was inspired by the pans you and Chris used in your first round submissions. It’s a series of still shots stitched together into a panorama in Photoshop and animated in AE. It was fun to do but I’m not sure there’s a place for it in the final video.
The pronghorn encounter was almost a much bigger surprise. As I said, the blind was atop my little Metro. When I heard them approaching I leaned forward to look out and see what it was, lost my balance, and myself the camera and blind almost came ass-over-teakettle off the car! Even though they look kind of scruffy because they are losing that winter coat, I like the higher than usual camera angle. I think it might turn out useful to the storey.