At least I completed one this time - it was very much a last minute thing and the only thing I'm happy about was that it's here. The footage was mostly from Mt Penang Gardens about 40 minutes away with some b-roll from the bush up the road. My fascination for shallow DOF is a tad excessive in this piece. let rip, level 1 - I can only improve


UWOL50 Nature speaks in colours by Paul Mailath on Vimeo

Paul, congratulations in submitting and entry. Overall it was a very nice video. Like you I had to go to a public gardens. I agree with your own assessment, way too many shots showing shallow DOF. I used to do the same thing, always going for the closeup and neglecting the overall beauty of the environment that the subject was in. The music was really good and the camera movements were smooth and steady. Your color was pleasing and not oversaturated. Again, my only criticism was that you used to many closeups and way to much DOF. Bob

A look at Australian flora from a macro point of view -- something I had not seen before. Many thanks, Paul!

Paul I didn't really have a problem with the shallow DOF on a short piece like this but I guess a variety of shots are always better. One thing is I felt the music was a little loud compared to the narration but maybe that's just me.

Gordon

Hi Paul,

Glad you were able to submit your film. It's a nice one.

I am also a fan of the shallow depth of field. The texture at 0:41, is really cool, and same can be said about the following shot. Loved that one!

As you and others have mentioned already, I am missing some wide shots. A wide shot intro, to let us see "where you are," would improve your film.

The soundtrack is too loud. Especially from around 1:10 you can hear some noise. Possible cause is due to the sound level maxing out. You could try to reduce the sound by around 3 to 6dB and see if it improves.

Some shots are a little over exposed. (I see several others, including myself, have this "issue")
It can be tricky to get it "perfect." I prefer to "error" by under exposing if I can't get it right while filming, as this is easier to correct in post.

Thanks for sharing! Well done!

Hi Paul,

Lovely entry Paul, enjoyed very much.

There is not a lot more I can add to the previous comments.

As a point of interest the clip a 0.42 shows a branch with black thread like fungus running through it, When (if) felled this log would be much treasured by wood turners for its black patterns when turned.

Mick

Hi Paul.
Nice entry.
You have nice flow on the editing rhythm, the same goes for VO and music.
I don't have much to complain about. Maybe something more variety in long and medium shots?
I especially like the effect of the close ups with pan.
It gives a special effect of being in the movie.
Well, at least that's my opinion.
Thank you for sharing.

Like the others, I really like shallow DOF to focus in the subject. I thought that the constant changing of focus in shots might have been a little too much, but I tend to prefer static shots. Still, I thought it worked great on many of the shots and was not just appropriate, but it enhanced the shots greatly.

I'll be honest, I started watching after reading all the comments and though it was going to be a little boring because I really don't care much for flowers or other flora, but I was wrong! I was totally enthralled with how you captured stuff that I normally wouldn't care about. For example, the shot of the flower at 2:03 was so beautiful that I actually hit pause so I could look at it longer!