UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hi all,
So my little film is about a recent trip i made to Australia to visit family & friends. I was actually shocked out how much i felt out of place back in Australia. It seems so incredibly busy now. Driving was actually quite scary as everyone seemed like they were on a mission to get to their destinations in half the time it would normally take!! Trying to catch up with so many people was exhausting, & while it was fantastic to catch up with those people, i really felt i needed to get away & spend some time by myself in nature.
So technically i was a little challenged, taking just my Panasonic GH4 & two native lenses. The problem i faced was that i find the native lenses very difficult to focus manually. This is where i miss my manual glass! Another thing i found difficult was the elcheapo photo tripod i was using. Wow will it ever be nice to be using a proper tripod again when i shoot next!! Lastly, the audio, i tried cleaning it up in post, but at the end of the day, not much can be done for audio recorded to the internal mics!
As i was putting things together in my edit, i ended up loosing my voice. I tried a few of the automated text to voice programs, & online services, but really didn't like what i was hearing. In the end, i found a website called Fiverr (note it is spelled with 2 r's) This site is great for getting a VO done. It was very cheap, (although i didn't have a lot in my script) the quality was (i thought) great, and the turn around time incredible! There are many other services provided on this website & I will definitely be checking it out for more projects in the future. https://www.fiverr.com/
I hope you enjoy the film as much as i enjoyed making it.
Bryce

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

A very nice piece to watch Bryce
In the beginning I was wondering where you was heading, but I felt very relaxed and pleased later on... :)
You showed me a bit of paradise. Never been to Australia but after watching this I definitive want to go there one day!
You did great with the variation both close up views and distant view of the scenery out there. Ambient sound was nice listen to
Looks like you was pretty close to some of the species, how difficult was it to approach them?
The edit was good and pleasant to watch
I have to look into fiverr for VO. Looks like the way to go if I don't do the VO myself

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hi Bryce.
I wonder do you have a problem remembering which side of the road to drive on? Traffic reminds me of Calgary which is one reason I try to stay away from there.
I've been there with a cheap tripod. Does make it a challenge. Some of your shots look like they were handheld. Which lenses did you use? Overall I think you did a good job considering you where there to visit. Always nice to see different parts of the world. Thanks for sharing.

Gordon

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Thanks Per & Gordon,
Per, the kangaroos & emus can be a little hard to get too close to, but i was able to get quite close to some of the birds. Definitely look into the fiverr.com thing. i will surely look more into it for other things aside from VO stuff.
Gordon, Yes the traffic in Calgary is pretty crazy. I've only driven there once, that was enough! :) Interestingly, the only time i have driven on the wrong side of the road was when i was back in Australia visiting. (ok, i'll admit, it's been more than once!) The lenses were the Panasonic 14-140 & the 100-300. A lot of the shots were handheld unfortunately. The lenses have stabilization, but at the longer focal lengths, they aren't good enough to keep up with my very un-surgeon like hands! :)

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

That's what I was wondering when you went back after getting use to driving on the right here. I can't do very good hand held either.

Gordon

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Bryce, great video!. I think your opening shots of the traffic was very well done and it gives one the sense of urgency and need to get out of there and into the wild. Also, I liked the way you started the video with VO, but then stopped the VO once we got into the country and away from the noise and traffic. Great video. Sorry about your voice, but thanks for the link to fiverr, Bob

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hi Bryce,
Great that you managed an entry this round (that's more than can be said for me) after all your trials and tribulations re the the VO.

Enjoyed watching, especially as we have also visited AUS but, unlike yourselves did not have to learn to drive on the correct side of the road lol. Thought the change of tempo from the bustling metropolis to the tranquility of the countryside came across well as did the pace of the film making the the film a fascinating watch. Would have liked either captions or a species list at the end to identify some of the birds etc.

Thanks for the heads on the VO's

Mick

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hi Bryce,
I'm glad you overcome the missing voice and managed to submit a film. The VO quality sounds good to my ears. (Thanks for the heads up about that service)

First I was wondering what kind of "vacation in a hurry" you were having, but then off into the deep unknown we went. Nice beginning!

The light conditions at 1:05: Amazing!
Cool to see all the different animals and birds we don't have back home.

Thank you for sharing! Well done!

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hello Bryce,

The way you chose to start the film is nice traffic and then to the calmness of the nature the transition makes message perfect.
The variety you have captured is amazing .Option of going the external site VO worked well too.
Overall a nice entry

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Yes it seems most places are getting busier - and lots of roadworks on the M1 freeway also makes getting places take longer. Was painfully slow returning from St Kilda after getting my camera dolly.

I quite liked the misty mountainous shots, and the window into the landscape and scenery. The kangaroo / wallaby shots came out quite well, as did the bird shots. Yes the limited equipment would make that challenging, even with equipment stability can still be an issue at times. There was still a lot of nice natural soundscape, despite being the inbuilt mic. Thanks for sharing - reminiscent of places of been, yet different. VO worked pretty well - only thing I would say is it sounds a little radio announcer at times, which is probably because they're delivering someone else's script without direct feedback or detailed explanation behind it. But something good to keep in mind for people who need a VO done for projects.

You said 4hrs driving (from Sunbury?), which direction? I wondered if maybe near the Grampians, certainly some steep hills in the shots.

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Hi Andrew,
Much closer to home for you. It was the prom!! Would have been less driving time, but i needed to go via my parents in Neerim South.
Looking at how this all turned out, certainly has me thinking of a GH5 with its IBIS. One of those would have certainly helped a lot i think for this type of shooting. I normally have my camera in a cage & have my XLR shotgun mic mounted on that. I'm now thinking maybe i need to invest in a smaller camera mounted mic for just this type of thing. When there's no wind, the sound is pretty decent, but the smallest gust of wind & it's toast.
As for the VO, i had hoped to do it myself & waited until the last minute before going the route i did. There is the opportunity to have adjustments made (for a fee of course) & had i had time, i would have done this. You are right, without a description of what is happening, it must be hard to get the inflection right, & that was evident in this VO.
Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.
Regards,
BRyce

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

I had thought the Prom initially, then second guessed it, and then I was trying to remember if there were emus there. Although now I'm wondering why I thought they would be at the Grampians. I thought some shots looked like they're along Darby River. Certain bits of the terrain and flora are quite distinctive. Damn, need to go again at some stage - it's been ages.

It's also been a while since heading up as far as Neerim, and Noojee way. I did get as far as Buln Buln the other week, grabbing a 44gal drum for a play we're rehearsing. Nice rolling hills up that way. And the Baw Baw Plateau (usually go to Mt St Gwinear) is another place I've not been in a while.

Re: UWOL 45 Escape
 

Ah yes, it's all beautiful country up there!