UWOL 58 - Tales of wonders and woes

[Trond Saetre]

As always, interaction between the players is encouraged.
The good, the bad, the ugly... What goes great, what did not go as planned, and everything in between, about the making of your UWOL58 films.

Remember the ultimate goal and purpose of UWOL, is to push your own limits, to improve your own skills as film makers. And of course to have fun at the same time.

Don't be afraid to ask if you have any questions.

Pay special attention to rule 11: Have fun!

[Phil Murray]

Hope everyone's doing well and making progress on their films. I'll be honest, I've been thinking it was through the end of this month. Fortunately, I've got more than enough footage to fit and I've written a draft of the narration. Now it's time to start putting it all together.

Everything I do is with large screen TV viewing in mind, but I know most people who watch my stuff see it on their phones!

What do all of you watch videos on? It won't affect my work, but I'm still curious as there's such a huge difference between a phone and a big TV. (Of course, it's hard to hide problems with a big TV -- something I'm reminded of every time I make a new film and watch it on a bigger screen!)

One more question: what do all of you edit with? I've been using a pretty powerful Dell PC laptop that I brought to Peru three years ago, but I think I'm going to move to the Mac Mini M1 for video editing. I've heard so much good stuff about it that it might be time for a dedicated video machine. I'm pretty sure there's not enough time to edit this film with it, but you never know...

[Phil Murray]

I'm also curious what kind of gear you use to shoot your films. If you saw my rig, you'd probably laugh, but where I've been going it's been the best fit. It saved me on Friday when I had to make a run for an abandoned shelter when a light mist turned into a heavy rain shower. If I were carrying much, I'd not have made it.

I'm using an old Sony FDR-AX100 on top of a superlight Manfrotto Elements sticks with a lightweight head. Thank goodness wind is rarely a problem or it would be far too light! I still see tiny shakes frequently when i get home and view the footage, but I've been going too far to carry heavy gear.

[Trond Saetre]

Good to hear from you, Phil.
To answer your questions:
I use both my phone, laptop and tv to watch anything from UWOL videos to youtube and anything else, depending of what I have access to at the moment.

For editing I use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 (last version possible to buy before Adobe changed to subscription), on a Sager laptop. If you choose to remain in the windows world, or change over to Apple, is all about personal preferences. All editing suites can get the job done.

Filming is done with my good old Canon XF300, gopro, a DJI Mavic 2 drone, and even my phone has been used for some shots once in a while in my previous UWOL entries.

[Bob Safay]

Phil, I shoot with a Canon XF705 on a Sachtler flowtech 75 with an ACE XL head. I grade my clips with DaVinci Resolve 15 then edit and render with Vegas Pro 16. I do all my work on a Dell XPS 8900. I usually watch videos on either my Samsung 22" or 36" HD screen. Bob

[Geir Inge]

Hi there!
In the editing I use Vegas pro 18. For music I use Acid Pro10 or Smartsound.
With all the equipment in the bag, it weighs around 25 kg (including the photo bag), but I rarely have all the equipment with me. In addition, I have a hide, microphones and cables as well.
And of course, some other substance such as food and drink, there are often long hours out in the wilderness. I watch the videos on the TV, a Samsung 46 ", or my 20" Acer PC monitor.
I'm almost done recording my video, mostly have the editing left.
Hope everyone is well, stay healthy.

Attached is a picture of my photo equipment:
1) Sony PXW-FS5
2) Libec T72 tripod
3) DJI Air 2S
4) Canon EOS 5D MarkIII (with macrolense)
5) GoPro 8
6) GoPro 3+
7) GoPro 3
8) 24-105 mm
9) 17-40 mm, wide angle
10) 70-200 mm zoom
11) 100-400 mm with 2x extender

[Trond Saetre]

Last few days of UWOL58. Remember the deadline is at midnight, Sunday June 20.

Also remember to send an email to uwol@dvinfo.net to request the upload details. Sooner is better than later.

Have fun :)

[Phil Murray]

Originally Posted by Bob Safay

Phil, I shoot with a Canon XF705 on a Sachtler flowtech 75 with an ACE XL head. I grade my clips with DaVinci Resolve 15 then edit and render with Vegas Pro 16. I do all my work on a Dell XPS 8900. I usually watch videos on either my Samsung 22" or 36" HD screen. Bob

How do you like the XF705, Bob? I used a Canon XHA1 a long time that produced some beautiful images. I the moved to a Sony EX1r which I also loved. Both are back in storage in the US. I thought about bringing the Sony down here, but I´m pretty well hooked on 4K now. Maybe one day I'll splurge and get a newer Sony like the Z280. I really like the form factor.

I hope this is my last project on my 3+-year old Dell laptop. I bought a Mac mini with the new M1 chip and it looks like it will handle everything I can throw at it for awhile. The old Dell struggles with what I´m doing now.

I tried Vegas many years ago and couldn't get the hang of it. I then went to Premiere Pro and stayed with it through all the bugs until I started shooting on a Blackmagic BMPCC 4K and tried DaVince Resolve. Resolve seems to much easier, faster, and less buggy especially with their BRAW codec. (I didn't use it for this project as it is a little too much for where I filmed. Instead I used a very old consumer AX100 that still produces some incredible stuff.

Hope everything's going well there and you're staying safe and well. Sounds like the southeast is going through another rough time right now.

[Phil Murray]

Fantastic kit, Geir! I miss shooting on my old Sony EX1r. It was complex, but easily learned and it could do so much as well as provide fantastic images.

I´m trying to figure out how the best way to get really long telephoto shots. I may have to go with the Canon 100-400 and possibly the extender to use with my Blackmagic BMPCC 4k, but weight is a big problem as I usually have to hike a long way and sometimes travel on small river boats (and even canoes) to reach interesting locations. I have Sigma´s older version of the 70-200 which I love, but it's very heavy and doesn't have any stabilization so a tripod is always required.

I also use SmartSound a lot, but this time I´m using something from Audiio.com. I purchased a lifetime membership with them a year ago and they have quite a bit of music that fits my style. I do miss the ability to make so many adjustments as with SmartSound.

I have the DJI Mavic Air and love it, but couldn't use it for this project because of location restrictions.

I have that tripod and head, too, but it's stored in the US right now. I may bring it back with me on my next trip around October, but likely the space it requires to bring may mean the tripod itself stays or gets sold. It's the best tripod head I ever used.

I´m really looking forward to seeing your film. Hope you and your family are all doing well.

[Bob Safay]

Phil, I really do love the XF705. In the past I've had the XL-1, XL-1s, XL-2 and the XF300. I just love the canon look. Next week I am taking it to Iceland. My only complaint is that it does not have time lapse. The slow motion and color is beautiful. Check this out.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/445726246