UWOL #2: "Challenging Recreation" by Trond Saetre
 

The title says it all.
During the weekend I shot the video, the weather changed a lot, so it was a real challenge getting the footage I wanted.

The idea was to show different types of recreation, both for winter and other seasons.
Still not sure if I should only used the winter/skiing part, or if I did the right thing including the last part.


http://www.uwolchallenge.com/challen...recreation.mov

Wow....Norway looks like a great place, I must visit soon :) Some really nice vistas and some nice informative shots, amazing to see how quickly the weather can change!

Some of your VO wasn't necessary. Why not show someone tucking into breakfast instead of voicing it over....a less is more situation! also there was no reason to kill the soundtrack completly when the VO comes in. Some shots could have really done with a tripod and a bit more.

Nice piece.

I really liked the footage of the skiing. Maybe it's just me, but I would have preferred less other material at the end, I didn't think it added much to the rest. But the first part of the video was excellent, very well shot.

Ruth

Hi Trond.
Nice to see the Norwegian winter through your eyes.
Also the change of windy weather, just as I know it.
I felt like I was one of you, on tour.

Thank you for the comments.

Mat, all the skiing footage was shot using a tripod. The wind made some parts of it look like handheld.

The last "urban" part was all handheld. And I agree that I should have used a tripod here as well.
Yes, I have to improve my voice over skills (regarding when to use it or not).

Ruth, yes I was very unsure if I should use the last part or not. Actually I made 2 versions, one with only skiing, and the one I uploaded.
At the time I finished it I thought it was nice to show a little of both skiing/winter and urban.
I think I agree with you now that it didn't really fit, and I believe I will hear that from others too.

Geir, yes the winter on the Hardangervidden can be rough.
Earlier I have experienced these changes in weather conditions in about 10 minutes!

Trond,

Beautiful footage. I think we need to do a UWOL field trip to Norway!

Myself, I think you could have done away with all the VO and made it a film about skiing in the beautiful country of yours!

It seemed a little out of place to have beautiful scenery then the breakfast table.

The other thing was you should duck your music track next time around.
That is, keep your music playing through the VO, just lower the level. When you're done talking, raise it back up. I think it helps the piece flow together more than stopping the music every time you spoke.

Fine film, it showed how even though things can be harsh at a moments notice, there's still beauty in it all.
Congrats!

Yeah, I understand what you mean about the music and voice over.
I will remember that! Thank you.
To me, all the feedback, and watching the other uwol entries, is a great way to learn, and improve my skills.

Trond,

Another skier! I think your conditions are a little more hostile than mine. I applaud you for taking the risks with your camera like that.

The video really changed gears after the ski section. I don't see the fit but as much has be said already. More of the skiing and the sites of the mountains would have filled out 3 minutes easily!

The VO worked for me. The only comment would be that I'm guessing you down sampled your audio to be able to keep your video as good as possible. It really created a sort of thin, brittle quality that is quite noticable both in the second piece of music and the VO. What did you use as a VO mic out of curiousity?

Good work. It's hard to going skiing and carry your video gear as I found out with my video.

This was the first time I used Quicktime/Sorenson, so I left the audio at the default settings.

The music was all made with SonicFire Pro 4, but I think one or two pieces of the music was of lower quality than the rest. Can't remember right now which pieces it was.

The VO mic was the Rode Videomic. That's the only mic I have in addition to the built in mic of the Canon XM2. It sounds thin because I used the noise reduction in Adobe Audition a little too much. When doing the VO, the microphone picked up the noise of the tape transport in the camera and also the noise from the cooling fans in the computer. So I was trying to remove this.
Audio is something I need to practice more.

Everything else than the VO was done with the built in mic only.

Trond,
first of all sorry that we couldn't meet this weekend, but I have been out of town - doing some nice footage in the fine weather here recently!

Your first entrance to uwol was impressing. You managed to show the weather how it can be in the winter at the mountain - rapidly changing.
Most is mention about the sound and VO and I also don't like the second part. You should have extended the first part in stead.
I really liked your clip when the man was sitting out reading a book and drinking beer, a real Viking (Norseman) I must say :-)

Per,
your comments are always more than welcome and I appreciate every critic I can get, both positive and negative. This is of great value to me and I think I learn a lot from all the comments I get.
(The man reading the book is me.)

And the last part, after watching it several times myself, yes I agree. I should have removed that part. It was fun shooting it, but I admit it does not fit with the rest of the movie.

It looks fun up there! Wow, I really want to visit Norway. Its such a beautiful place....

I would comment, but it sounds as if you have been told everything (plus) that could think of.

Nice job, keep up the good work!
~Gabriel

Liked the film, and even post ski activities gave me an insight into that lifestyle. The last minute of the film seemed like you were tacking something on to reach a specific, length. Just because it says no longer than three minutes, doesn't mean you have to use it.

Thanks for inviting us into your world. This is one great benefit to this challenge !!

Thank you for the comments, Chris.
Yeah, initially I felt that just more than 2 minutes was so short, then I added the urban stuff, and at that time I thought it was a good idea to include it.... Then I spent a day battling with myself if I should use only skiing or all of it...
Ended up using it, and well, you know the rest...

Hi Trond:

Nice footage and a piece well done. I thought the change up and variety of music added to it as well. As for the switch to other activities after the skiing section, I didn't mind this either. I just enjoyed shots of Norway: mountains, slopes, towns and water. Thank you for the tour!

I enjoyed this!

Cat Russell
Spike Productions