Michael Conti
May 29th, 2007, 12:24 PM
For the theme is "THE WILD" -- "....the entry which best explores this mysterious, ineffable thing which summons us into nature and the outdoors."
As a judge, I was looking for how well the entire video was put together, from the cinematography, editing, narration and music. I was also looking for the videos that had an emotional quality to them, specifically films that had story. I feel that it isn't enough to just have beautiful photography, especially if you want to keep your audience interested for more then a few minutes. I have watched alot of adventure films over the years, and this seems to be the one element which seperates the good from the best. So, if I can encourage you to tackle that additional task, it will serve you better as filmmakers.
So, the winner is Rob Evans “The Wild Within” who hails from a place in the U.K. where there are snails, and other creepy crawly things in his own backyard. Rob's clear narration at the start set the stage for the viewer to discover the tiny world that exists near all of us. His beautifully shot macro photography was breathtaking, especially the close-up on the snail "eye". The editing flowed nicely from shot to shot, and his clever hint of where this tiny world really was, the plank of a wooden bench, gave the audience the first clue which was nicely summarized by his closing statement. It was a good story with a beginning, middle and end, and was well told. Excellent work!
Awesome job, Rob, and you deserve the winning vote for the third DVINFO.NET UWOL Challenge!
First runner up: Jeff Hendricks "Passages" which was almost my favorite, showing with quotes, voice overs: the basic nature of the wilderness we can't afford to lose. I felt touched by it. A lot of effort clearly went into capturing the journey, and finding the right locations, unfortunately the audio mix wasn't right on with the final mix making it hard to hear the quotes. It might have been better to just use either quotes or voice over, and not both. Clever dissolves between the hiking scenes and good editing.
Second runner up: Dave Trainer's “My Call to the Wild” which does a nice job of contrasting the frantic pursuit of the city with the pull of nature as Dave takes us to the wild of the seas. I hope that Dave will take this simple but emotionally powerful concept further in his future films. However, I felt that the ending wasn't resolved with the same kind of impact that we got at the start of the piece. Nice steady underwater work with the strong current.
Third runner up: Mat Thompson's "The Wild Point" which is the most stunning with its photography and rugged location. The music and wild life recordings really put you in the spot. The editing nicely flowed together too. However there was no story presented, only the place, and the dissolve of the filmmaker walking down the beach never to reappear only added more of that need in future efforts. Keep up the good work.
Honorary Mention: Geir Inge's "Wild on the shore" which has some of the most beautiful photography like the rookeries on the cliff face, and opens with an exciting intro by Geir on the side of the cliff. However, there is no payoff to the story that is initially presented so it ends somewhat shorten. But the filmmaker clearly shows a professional ability, and should continue to include himself in his films. Thanks for sharing your island with us.
And again, thanks for letting me judge this competition. There were many other well presented submissions, but these few clearly delivered on the presented theme and told a story at the same time.
Big thanks to Meryem Ersoz for keeping this venture alive. She has found venue for all of you, and I hope that you will continue to make films and inspire others to do the same.
As firm supporter of short filmmaking, I am looking forward to seeing some good work for UWOL #4
If you have any questions on my judging, please let me know.
Michael Conti
__________________________
http://www.fastfilmtv.com
As a judge, I was looking for how well the entire video was put together, from the cinematography, editing, narration and music. I was also looking for the videos that had an emotional quality to them, specifically films that had story. I feel that it isn't enough to just have beautiful photography, especially if you want to keep your audience interested for more then a few minutes. I have watched alot of adventure films over the years, and this seems to be the one element which seperates the good from the best. So, if I can encourage you to tackle that additional task, it will serve you better as filmmakers.
So, the winner is Rob Evans “The Wild Within” who hails from a place in the U.K. where there are snails, and other creepy crawly things in his own backyard. Rob's clear narration at the start set the stage for the viewer to discover the tiny world that exists near all of us. His beautifully shot macro photography was breathtaking, especially the close-up on the snail "eye". The editing flowed nicely from shot to shot, and his clever hint of where this tiny world really was, the plank of a wooden bench, gave the audience the first clue which was nicely summarized by his closing statement. It was a good story with a beginning, middle and end, and was well told. Excellent work!
Awesome job, Rob, and you deserve the winning vote for the third DVINFO.NET UWOL Challenge!
First runner up: Jeff Hendricks "Passages" which was almost my favorite, showing with quotes, voice overs: the basic nature of the wilderness we can't afford to lose. I felt touched by it. A lot of effort clearly went into capturing the journey, and finding the right locations, unfortunately the audio mix wasn't right on with the final mix making it hard to hear the quotes. It might have been better to just use either quotes or voice over, and not both. Clever dissolves between the hiking scenes and good editing.
Second runner up: Dave Trainer's “My Call to the Wild” which does a nice job of contrasting the frantic pursuit of the city with the pull of nature as Dave takes us to the wild of the seas. I hope that Dave will take this simple but emotionally powerful concept further in his future films. However, I felt that the ending wasn't resolved with the same kind of impact that we got at the start of the piece. Nice steady underwater work with the strong current.
Third runner up: Mat Thompson's "The Wild Point" which is the most stunning with its photography and rugged location. The music and wild life recordings really put you in the spot. The editing nicely flowed together too. However there was no story presented, only the place, and the dissolve of the filmmaker walking down the beach never to reappear only added more of that need in future efforts. Keep up the good work.
Honorary Mention: Geir Inge's "Wild on the shore" which has some of the most beautiful photography like the rookeries on the cliff face, and opens with an exciting intro by Geir on the side of the cliff. However, there is no payoff to the story that is initially presented so it ends somewhat shorten. But the filmmaker clearly shows a professional ability, and should continue to include himself in his films. Thanks for sharing your island with us.
And again, thanks for letting me judge this competition. There were many other well presented submissions, but these few clearly delivered on the presented theme and told a story at the same time.
Big thanks to Meryem Ersoz for keeping this venture alive. She has found venue for all of you, and I hope that you will continue to make films and inspire others to do the same.
As firm supporter of short filmmaking, I am looking forward to seeing some good work for UWOL #4
If you have any questions on my judging, please let me know.
Michael Conti
__________________________
http://www.fastfilmtv.com