Judging Review Thread

Bryce Comer · February 7th, 2018, 08:26 PM

Such a fantastic review of all the films submitted Cat. Thank you so much for all the time & effort you have put into judging our films. I can't remember any judge ever giving such detailed feedback on all the films like you have done. Well done, & thank you!!

Trond Saetre · February 7th, 2018, 11:56 PM

Thank you for the detailed reviews!

Players, (and anyone else too of course), feel free to comment, ask, discuss both your own and any entry here in this thread.

Per Johan Naesje · February 8th, 2018, 04:49 AM

Cat, I would like to thank you so much for your detailed comment of my entry! Awesome to read you opinion!
You must have used hours of watching and commenting all the entries for this round
Appreciate this very much
It is of great help for me to improve my skills getting such a review back from you

Thanks so much!

Vishal Jadhav · February 9th, 2018, 01:21 AM

Thanks Catherine for the detailed review.

At second 1 its only a revel effect from black.
Agree about music , i have used 1 track full video and over layed it with pieces of others at certain locations, the mix didnt work that well but was a new attempt so will get better later i guess.

Catherine Russell · February 9th, 2018, 06:34 AM

Hi Vishal:

I would love to see your second version if you have a link to it and give you feedback on that as well. I appreciate the effort you have put into this, to immediately go through and rework after comments have been made. Kudos! Bob is going to do likewise.

Bryce Comer · February 9th, 2018, 09:00 AM

Cat thank you again for the feedback on my film.
I agree with your observations about the audio glitches in this piece. Most of them, are actually wind noise. It was quite bad & i had used some noise reduction to reduce it, but of course, there's just some things you can't fix in post!! :)
The shimmer in the shot you referred to at 2:35 was actually foliage in the foreground. There were however, lots of other shots that i didn't nail focus on. The one at 3:10 i even tried applying sharpening to, but again, there's no substitute for getting things right in the field!!
As for the music, please don't give me too much credit, i was using a program to put together music loops. Not sure i have any music talent at all really. :)
I love your idea of referring back to the escape to bring the film full circle. That would definitely wrap it up nicely.
Thank you so much Cat.

Catherine Russell · February 9th, 2018, 09:44 AM

My pleasure Bryce:

I still stand firm on your music talent. However you are doing it, instrument or algorithm, it is your creation and you apply it with perfection.

All the other audio/focus points save one, your adeptness at filmmaking requires me to nail minor distractions.

Now your point about the shimmer being because of the foliage in the foreground. Teach me! Explain this so I understand it when I see it again. I'm here to learn too. Gordon had some shimmer in his film, not due to the same thing because his environment is cold, your environment was not. Is there such a thing as shimmer that is a distraction and shimmer that is a good thing? I know optical distortion in waves come from heat waves. But also, I have filmed setting super moons that there is a point of no return with enough optical zoom, the shimmer distortion is horrible, that footage will never see the "light of day". :) Let's discuss, I value your thoughts.

Cat

Trond Saetre · February 9th, 2018, 09:55 AM

Good to see you all are keeping the discussion and feedback thread(s) active.
Feedback is an important part of the UWOL, and a good way to learn more.

Bryce Comer · February 9th, 2018, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catherine Russell

Now your point about the shimmer being because of the foliage in the foreground. Teach me! Explain this so I understand it when I see it again. I'm here to learn too. Gordon had some shimmer in his film, not due to the same thing because his environment is cold, your environment was not. Is there such a thing as shimmer that is a distraction and shimmer that is a good thing? I know optical distortion in waves come from heat waves. But also, I have filmed setting super moons that there is a point of no return with enough optical zoom, the shimmer distortion is horrible, that footage will never see the "light of day". :) Let's discuss, I value your thoughts.

Cat

Hi Cat,
I just looked again at the shot you are referring to with the shimmer, & yes, there is definitely shimmer there. I think the problem is, along with the foliage in the foreground, the shimmer makes the shot look a little weird. I liked it because of the out of focus foliage in the foreground, i thought it introduced the emus in a mysterious way. At the end of the day, regardless of the temperature, the shimmer is caused by the same thing. The movement of warm air, so Gordon's issue with shimmer, is the same issue i was having, just at different temperatures. As for filming super moons setting, well, you couldn't get a more tricky shot to do without the effects the atmosphere has on it.

Catherine Russell · February 9th, 2018, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the feedback. So to take it one step further, I agree that the Emus shot at 2:30 looks magical. So is there an argument to be had that shimmer in some cases can add to and not detract from a shot? Thanks for engaging Bryce :).

Bryce Comer · February 9th, 2018, 11:44 AM

Hmm, good question Cat, I think that shimmer can be used to add to a shot. An example could be to show just how hot a place is. Unfortunately though, i think most times it only detracts from the shot.

Catherine Russell · February 9th, 2018, 09:38 PM

Hi Bryce!

I think you came up with the best conclusion. So optical distortion can add to and detract from a shot. It can add to showing how hot it really is, or relatively hot. It can also give mystique to an Emu walking, with soft focus foliage in the foreground and mist all around. I'll think I'll leave the atmospheric distortion of extreme optical zoom of setting super moons in the detract category. But I'll stand corrected on your Emu shot. And revisiting Gordon's video, I might stand corrected on that too. That's the thing about artistic expression, it's what you make of it that counts. Next time I'll refrain from thinking something isn't technically correct so quickly. It's food for thought. :)

Thanks for the banter! Enjoyed it.

Cat

Gordon Hoffman · February 10th, 2018, 08:50 AM

Cat shimmering is the curse of a long telephoto lens and the distance to your subject. The farther away it is the worst it gets. Time of day can make a difference but with wildlife sometimes you have to take it when it's there. As Bryce mentioned if you want to show off how hot it is it works well but other wise it can be distracting.

Gordon

Andrew Hood · February 12th, 2018, 05:54 AM

Wow - you've done a great job providing detailed and thoughtful feedback Cat - for all the films. Yeah definitely some tweaks with the shots to match the narrative would work well. My main excuse was being out of time to really edit it properly, but the film submitted is what it is, so it's fair to judge it on those merits. My lack of organisation is just something I need to work on - I put the pro in procrastination ;-)
The scientific parts... haha, yes it's the Bach Sci (Hons) / Bach Comp that I can write after my name that kicks in, in contrast to the more arty side. Not quite split personality, but two very different ways of seeing things, can't help myself sometimes.

February 7th, 2018, 08:26 PM	#16
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Re: Judging Review Thread Such a fantastic review of all the films submitted Cat. Thank you so much for all the time & effort you have put into judging our films. I can't remember any judge ever giving such detailed feedback on all the films like you have done. Well done, & thank you!! __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

February 7th, 2018, 11:56 PM	#17
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: Judging Review Thread Thank you for the detailed reviews! Players, (and anyone else too of course), feel free to comment, ask, discuss both your own and any entry here in this thread.

February 8th, 2018, 04:49 AM	#18
Per Johan Naesje Trustee Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Akershus, Norway Posts: 1,413	Re: Judging Review Thread Cat, I would like to thank you so much for your detailed comment of my entry! Awesome to read you opinion! You must have used hours of watching and commenting all the entries for this round Appreciate this very much It is of great help for me to improve my skills getting such a review back from you Thanks so much! __________________ - Per Johan

February 9th, 2018, 01:21 AM	#19
Vishal Jadhav Major Player Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pune, Mah , India Posts: 445	Re: Judging Review Thread Thanks Catherine for the detailed review. At second 1 its only a revel effect from black. Agree about music , i have used 1 track full video and over layed it with pieces of others at certain locations, the mix didnt work that well but was a new attempt so will get better later i guess. __________________ vishal jadhav www.indianwilderness.com

February 9th, 2018, 06:34 AM	#20
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Re: Judging Review Thread Hi Vishal: I would love to see your second version if you have a link to it and give you feedback on that as well. I appreciate the effort you have put into this, to immediately go through and rework after comments have been made. Kudos! Bob is going to do likewise.

February 9th, 2018, 09:00 AM	#21
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Re: Judging Review Thread Cat thank you again for the feedback on my film. I agree with your observations about the audio glitches in this piece. Most of them, are actually wind noise. It was quite bad & i had used some noise reduction to reduce it, but of course, there's just some things you can't fix in post!! :) The shimmer in the shot you referred to at 2:35 was actually foliage in the foreground. There were however, lots of other shots that i didn't nail focus on. The one at 3:10 i even tried applying sharpening to, but again, there's no substitute for getting things right in the field!! As for the music, please don't give me too much credit, i was using a program to put together music loops. Not sure i have any music talent at all really. :) I love your idea of referring back to the escape to bring the film full circle. That would definitely wrap it up nicely. Thank you so much Cat. __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

February 9th, 2018, 09:44 AM	#22
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Re: Judging Review Thread My pleasure Bryce: I still stand firm on your music talent. However you are doing it, instrument or algorithm, it is your creation and you apply it with perfection. All the other audio/focus points save one, your adeptness at filmmaking requires me to nail minor distractions. Now your point about the shimmer being because of the foliage in the foreground. Teach me! Explain this so I understand it when I see it again. I'm here to learn too. Gordon had some shimmer in his film, not due to the same thing because his environment is cold, your environment was not. Is there such a thing as shimmer that is a distraction and shimmer that is a good thing? I know optical distortion in waves come from heat waves. But also, I have filmed setting super moons that there is a point of no return with enough optical zoom, the shimmer distortion is horrible, that footage will never see the "light of day". :) Let's discuss, I value your thoughts. Cat Last edited by Catherine Russell; February 9th, 2018 at 09:52 AM. Reason: After thought

February 9th, 2018, 09:55 AM	#23
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: Judging Review Thread Good to see you all are keeping the discussion and feedback thread(s) active. Feedback is an important part of the UWOL, and a good way to learn more.

February 9th, 2018, 11:02 AM	#25
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Re: Judging Review Thread Thanks for the feedback. So to take it one step further, I agree that the Emus shot at 2:30 looks magical. So is there an argument to be had that shimmer in some cases can add to and not detract from a shot? Thanks for engaging Bryce :).

February 9th, 2018, 11:44 AM	#26
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Re: Judging Review Thread Hmm, good question Cat, I think that shimmer can be used to add to a shot. An example could be to show just how hot a place is. Unfortunately though, i think most times it only detracts from the shot. __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

February 9th, 2018, 09:38 PM	#27
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Re: Judging Review Thread Hi Bryce! I think you came up with the best conclusion. So optical distortion can add to and detract from a shot. It can add to showing how hot it really is, or relatively hot. It can also give mystique to an Emu walking, with soft focus foliage in the foreground and mist all around. I'll think I'll leave the atmospheric distortion of extreme optical zoom of setting super moons in the detract category. But I'll stand corrected on your Emu shot. And revisiting Gordon's video, I might stand corrected on that too. That's the thing about artistic expression, it's what you make of it that counts. Next time I'll refrain from thinking something isn't technically correct so quickly. It's food for thought. :) Thanks for the banter! Enjoyed it. Cat

February 10th, 2018, 08:50 AM	#28
Gordon Hoffman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pincher Creek, Alberta Canada Posts: 619	Re: Judging Review Thread Cat shimmering is the curse of a long telephoto lens and the distance to your subject. The farther away it is the worst it gets. Time of day can make a difference but with wildlife sometimes you have to take it when it's there. As Bryce mentioned if you want to show off how hot it is it works well but other wise it can be distracting. Gordon

February 12th, 2018, 05:54 AM	#29
Andrew Hood Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Latrobe Valley, Vic Posts: 320	Re: Judging Review Thread Wow - you've done a great job providing detailed and thoughtful feedback Cat - for all the films. Yeah definitely some tweaks with the shots to match the narrative would work well. My main excuse was being out of time to really edit it properly, but the film submitted is what it is, so it's fair to judge it on those merits. My lack of organisation is just something I need to work on - I put the pro in procrastination ;-) The scientific parts... haha, yes it's the Bach Sci (Hons) / Bach Comp that I can write after my name that kicks in, in contrast to the more arty side. Not quite split personality, but two very different ways of seeing things, can't help myself sometimes.