UWOL 13 - "An Orderly Place"

Bob Thieda · May 26th, 2009, 09:29 AM

I have mixed feelings about this video...
It came out better than it should have, but not near as good as I planned.

I came up with an idea relatively quickly and spent one morning out in the back yard testing settings on my new camera.
The plan was to go to a local arboretum and a forest preserve, not far from the house, on one of the upcoming weekends.
We had so much time on this challenge, surely there would be plenty of opportunities.

Unfortunately, between family, work and rain, and rain, and rain, time ran out. :(
So this past Saturday, I took my test clips and did what I could.
The theme is a stretch, but I think it works OK.

I also had to fight with VegasPro 9.0 and AVCHD...

On the other hand, I'm very happy with the HMC-150...

Enjoy...All critiques and smart a** comments welcome. ;)

"An Orderly Place" in HD on Vimeo

Bob T.

Sam Mendolia · May 26th, 2009, 01:00 PM

Very nice video Bob.

I just finished taping but not yet edited, something similar last week.

I hope it turns out as well as yours did.
I was playing with the manual features of my camera, so hopefully my DOF, will look as great as your does.

Per Johan Naesje · May 26th, 2009, 01:36 PM

Bob, very good work. A big ++++ for nice colors! I think your editing had a very good phase, the music fit the cuts nicely.
A couple of overexposed areas in the closeup of the red flower at 0:24 and 1:23.

Justin Thieda · May 27th, 2009, 02:40 AM

Thought the video was excellent. It seemed to flow very nicely to me. Definitely understood what your were going for with all those patterns within the flowers and the chaos of nature. As you said, "it's just often hard to see, unless we look very close." I thought your point was substantiated with your footage, so I hardly think it's a stretch to place your work within the boundries of the assignment. Nice work. Now I only hope camera work is genetic in a similar fashion to the flowers patterns! lol.

Good Luck, Justin.

Bob Thieda · May 28th, 2009, 12:04 PM

Thanks Sam...glad you liked it.

Per Johan, I appreciate the nice comments.
And you're correct about the exposure issues...still learning this camera.
Trying to stay all manual all the time.

And Justin...Now that you found this party, can we be expecting you to sign up for the next UWOL Challenge?
Since you now have that nice HV30, tripod and stuff. ;)

Mike Sims · May 28th, 2009, 12:18 PM

Bob,
This piece went really well with the Order side of the theme, but really, you could have saved it until the theme is “eye candy”. What a string of gorgeous shots. I really liked the one with the red flower (poppy, single tulip? Hmmm) contrasted against the white wall with peeling paint. The music was well chosen and gave a very peaceful feel. One thing. If my voice sounded as good as yours I might have thought about expanding the voice-over a bit. Nice work.

Justin Thieda · May 28th, 2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Sims

What a string of gorgeous shots. I really liked the one with the red flower (poppy, single tulip? Hmmm) contrasted against the white wall with peeling paint.

Mike,
Agree completely!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Sims

If my voice sounded as good as yours...

To anyone listening,
Thank god for genetics! lol (yes, another "genetics" joke. I am pretty much a one trick pony at this time.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Thieda

And Justin...Now that you found this party, can we be expecting you to sign up for the next UWOL Challenge?
Since you now have that nice HV30, tripod and stuff. ;)

Dad,
It's amazing. By joining this party, I am kind of feeling like the kid at the middle school dance that walks in and then stands in the corner the whole night because he is positive his dancing skills don't merit an exhibition! In other words, I feel like me. lol. I will definitely consider it, as I am sure the feedback from such an undertaking would be worth any potential failure. lol. Won't promise anything at this time though.

Again, good luck!
Justin

P.S. - Not sure how to use the multi-quote button, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be solved with a little "copy" and "paste" with an extra tab open on the browser. I am quite happy with myself.

Mike Beckett · May 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM

Bob,

That was lovely. Some great colours there, and I liked the way the cuts synched with the piano chords at the, getting closer and closer to the plant. There's some great depth in the close-up shots, and some buttery smooth, beautifully slow pans as well.

The voiceover was a nice touch in a film that didn't really need to say much, and gee, you've got a good voice for that sort of work!

Very nice.

I really am going to have to work on my colours for the next UWOL, you guys are putting me to shame...

Bob Thieda · May 31st, 2009, 06:42 AM

Mike and Mike,

Thanks for your kind words. Glad you liked it.

The really slow, smooth pans were done with still shots and the pan/crop option in Vegas.
The couple of manual pans I did shoot, I cut way down and stretched them out to slow them down.
I also did that with a couple of the close ups as the wind was moving the flowers around rather quickly.

As for my voice...ha! Of course I don't like it. But who does like their own anyway?
Hmmmmm....how much does voice over work pay these days...??

Now I need to render a HD version for the big TV and let the wife watch it. She is the flower nut in the family.

Bob

Annie Haycock · May 31st, 2009, 10:49 AM

There I was, thinking how nice to be able to do slow smooth pans like that, and now you say they were stills! But you've done them so well they don't look obviously like stills. I only learned the technique myself for a previous UWOL - one that I didn't finish in time to enter.

Excellent result, all things (raindrops!!) considered.

Kevin Railsback · May 31st, 2009, 12:10 PM

Bob,

I'm a sucker for flowers and saturated colors. You delivered both! :)

I loved the close-up shot of the bleeding hearts. That was probably my favorite of the whole piece.

A little vignetting on one shot that took my focus away for a moment.

I loved seeing the details and the patterns in the close-ups of the flowers.

Nice to have you back! Great job!

Bob Thieda · May 31st, 2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annie Haycock

There I was, thinking how nice to be able to do slow smooth pans like that, and now you say they were stills! But you've done them so well they don't look obviously like stills.

Sorry Annie if I mislead you. Not stills as in photography, but stills as in no camera movement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

Bob,

I'm a sucker for flowers and saturated colors. You delivered both! :)

I loved the close-up shot of the bleeding hearts. That was probably my favorite of the whole piece.

I little vignetting on one shot that took my focus away for a moment.

I loved seeing the details and the patterns in the close-ups of the flowers.

Nice to have you back! Great job!

Thanks Kevin. It's good to be back.

I'll have to go back and look for vignetting....I really missed it. :)

EDIT: Found it at 0:40...that was that cheap, eBay macro lens I used for one lousy shot. Thanks for the tip...something to watch.

May 26th, 2009, 09:29 AM	#1
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	UWOL 13 - "An Orderly Place" - Bob Thieda I have mixed feelings about this video... It came out better than it should have, but not near as good as I planned. I came up with an idea relatively quickly and spent one morning out in the back yard testing settings on my new camera. The plan was to go to a local arboretum and a forest preserve, not far from the house, on one of the upcoming weekends. We had so much time on this challenge, surely there would be plenty of opportunities. Unfortunately, between family, work and rain, and rain, and rain, time ran out. :( So this past Saturday, I took my test clips and did what I could. The theme is a stretch, but I think it works OK. I also had to fight with VegasPro 9.0 and AVCHD... On the other hand, I'm very happy with the HMC-150... Enjoy...All critiques and smart a** comments welcome. ;) "An Orderly Place" in HD on Vimeo Bob T. __________________ Bob T.

May 26th, 2009, 01:00 PM	#2
Sam Mendolia Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 217	Very nice video Bob. I just finished taping but not yet edited, something similar last week. I hope it turns out as well as yours did. I was playing with the manual features of my camera, so hopefully my DOF, will look as great as your does. __________________ I was told I have no vision, but boy do I see great!

May 26th, 2009, 01:36 PM	#3
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	Bob, very good work. A big ++++ for nice colors! I think your editing had a very good phase, the music fit the cuts nicely. A couple of overexposed areas in the closeup of the red flower at 0:24 and 1:23. __________________ - Per Johan

May 27th, 2009, 02:40 AM	#4
Justin Thieda New Boot Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hendersonville, NC Posts: 15	Favorite video... who accused me of favoritism? Thought the video was excellent. It seemed to flow very nicely to me. Definitely understood what your were going for with all those patterns within the flowers and the chaos of nature. As you said, "it's just often hard to see, unless we look very close." I thought your point was substantiated with your footage, so I hardly think it's a stretch to place your work within the boundries of the assignment. Nice work. Now I only hope camera work is genetic in a similar fashion to the flowers patterns! lol. Good Luck, Justin.

May 28th, 2009, 12:04 PM	#5
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Thanks Sam...glad you liked it. Per Johan, I appreciate the nice comments. And you're correct about the exposure issues...still learning this camera. Trying to stay all manual all the time. And Justin...Now that you found this party, can we be expecting you to sign up for the next UWOL Challenge? Since you now have that nice HV30, tripod and stuff. ;) __________________ Bob T.

May 28th, 2009, 12:18 PM	#6
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Bob, This piece went really well with the Order side of the theme, but really, you could have saved it until the theme is “eye candy”. What a string of gorgeous shots. I really liked the one with the red flower (poppy, single tulip? Hmmm) contrasted against the white wall with peeling paint. The music was well chosen and gave a very peaceful feel. One thing. If my voice sounded as good as yours I might have thought about expanding the voice-over a bit. Nice work.

May 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM	#8
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Bob, That was lovely. Some great colours there, and I liked the way the cuts synched with the piano chords at the, getting closer and closer to the plant. There's some great depth in the close-up shots, and some buttery smooth, beautifully slow pans as well. The voiceover was a nice touch in a film that didn't really need to say much, and gee, you've got a good voice for that sort of work! Very nice. I really am going to have to work on my colours for the next UWOL, you guys are putting me to shame... __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

May 31st, 2009, 06:42 AM	#9
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Mike and Mike, Thanks for your kind words. Glad you liked it. The really slow, smooth pans were done with still shots and the pan/crop option in Vegas. The couple of manual pans I did shoot, I cut way down and stretched them out to slow them down. I also did that with a couple of the close ups as the wind was moving the flowers around rather quickly. As for my voice...ha! Of course I don't like it. But who does like their own anyway? Hmmmmm....how much does voice over work pay these days...?? Now I need to render a HD version for the big TV and let the wife watch it. She is the flower nut in the family. Bob __________________ Bob T.

May 31st, 2009, 10:49 AM	#10
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	There I was, thinking how nice to be able to do slow smooth pans like that, and now you say they were stills! But you've done them so well they don't look obviously like stills. I only learned the technique myself for a previous UWOL - one that I didn't finish in time to enter. Excellent result, all things (raindrops!!) considered. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

May 31st, 2009, 12:10 PM	#11
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	Bob, I'm a sucker for flowers and saturated colors. You delivered both! :) I loved the close-up shot of the bleeding hearts. That was probably my favorite of the whole piece. A little vignetting on one shot that took my focus away for a moment. I loved seeing the details and the patterns in the close-ups of the flowers. Nice to have you back! Great job! __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com