And the Winner of UWOL #14 is...
 

Great job everyone! Hard to pick favorites, but here we go:

Geir Inge - Forgotten, Still Here - 2nd Runner Up!
Nice story; the first time i watched it, it took me some time to figure out who was talking, but that it made it fun. I think it showed a nice bit of originality on dealing with the "theme" - nice job! Though most every shot was nicely composed and adequately lit, I think you could have done a little bit better regarding the B-roll footage; seems like I wanted to "feel" the boathouse more - its textures, shapes, colors - really wanted to feel it's "character." Maybe go handheld, and do some camera movements. I also felt like i wanted to see more seasons, to get a better sense of the passage of time.

Kevin Railsback - The Prairie - 1st Runner Up!
The photography was impeccable - great "magic hour" light; the amazing color saturation reminded me of my days 20 years ago when I was working for renowned outdoor photographer Galen Rowell, when I'd shoot stills with Fuji Velvia slide film - gorgeous. However pretty it was to look at, I think the story lacked tension. I didn't feel drawn to it; I wasn't scared if something was going to die or not. I think the script could have been written to reflect a bit more personality - to get me to care more about the subjects. I think some time-lapse imagery, or more varied "season" footage might have helped convey the theme better.

Per Johan {WATER CYCLE) - 1st PLACE!
BEAUTIFUL imagery; especially loved the time-lapse that panned. The story was a little dry; there was no tension in the story that made me want to keep watching, other than the pretty pictures. One shot of the lake is duplicated, which kind of bothered me. The use of time-lapse imagery worked very well with the theme, and really added to my enjoyment of this piece; quite often time-lapse is added almost gratuitously - you used them here just right!

also:

Finn Erik - Rhythms at Vrangfoss:
Very nice - nice imagery, nice voiceover, but I wanted to see more! For example, you had the time-lapse of the boat rising in one of the locks, but it only lasted for a few seconds. I think it would be so much more effective to show the boat rising in time-lapse from the bottom all the way to the top. I also wanted to see more close-ups - TV is a close-up medium, and in my opinion, the tighter shots are generally almost always more effective.

Mihali Moore - Flying Kites:
I liked the tension that the narrator brought out; though it was still documentary-style, I moved a little closer to the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next! Photography was very good, though I found myself yearning for a few more close-ups/detail shots.

Mike Sims - Hunger:
Very nice; great footage of the salamander, but several of the shots seemed to go on a bit too long. I think i would have been more captivated had there been some tension invoked in the story between the salamander and the soon-to-be-eaten earthworm. Nice use of ambient sound.


Thanks for giving me the opportunity to see all this fine work,
Bruce Borowsky

Preseident and Co-founder, Boulder Digital Arts (www.boulderdigitalarts.com)
Producer/Director/Cameraman, People Productions (Boulder, Colorado web design, video production, multimedia development company - People Productions - Intelligently Integrated Media)

Congratulation to you PJ with yet another winning film.
Also to Kevin, Finn-Erik, Mihali, Mike and all the other competers.
You are all a bunch of fine wildlife video makers.
Thanks to you Bruce for great judging and feedback.

Geir Inge

Congrats to everyone!!!!

Bruce,

I totally agree that the story and narration was the weak link in my film. Always has been with the exception of working with Bob Safay on "The River."

It's certainly an honor to have my imagery compared to Galen Rowell especially since today is the anniversary of his death. I used to shoot stills long ago and Galen was always one of my inspirations. I was stunned when I heard about the plane crash. The photography world certainly lost one of the greats!

I certainly look forward to the next challenge!!!

Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone that completed a video. Also, thanks again for all the helpful comments!

Congrats everyone,

Particularly Per Johan and Geir Awesome pieces both of them.


I will look at the rest after I submit the long form stuff tomarrow.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

I was careful to follow rule #11 and had fun. I also learned a lot and look forward to the next challenge.

Rich

Ho hum.... this is getting a bit too predictable --- but deservedly so ! Nice job again guys !

Bruce, thanks so much for picking my entry for 1st place! I totally agree about your comments for the story building or lack of it. But it´s not easy making any thing good in only 3 minutes. But I work hard to improve to this!

Congrats to the other winners and all who participated in this round and also to all who tried but are swimming among the sharks!

Congratulations to the winning Entry’s Per, Kevin, and Geir,

I think it’s wonderful we have this great site, to show our various wildlife videos and the people that get the whole show on the road.

we should just give Per our "Lifetime Achievement Award" and be done with it!

no one works harder at this contest or brings more inspiration to it, that is for sure...

...except for maybe Kevin and Geir!

Thanks and congrats to all of the players for making some fine films.

Congratulations to Per Johan, Kevin, and Geir Inge.
Thanks a lot to Bruce for good and interesting feedback.

Congratulations to the winners!
Many good films this round.
Can't wait to next one :)

Congrats to Per, Kevin and Geir!
Also thanks to Bruce for all his valuable feedback and everyone else who took part.