Tales of Wonder and Woe - Charity Film Challenge 2012

[Trond Saetre]

That's some spectacular colors, Kevin!
Hope you get your laptop up and running again.

[Kevin Railsback]

I hear crickets

[Mike Sims]

Arrrgh! Got back after two days in field and found the hot water heater failed and my editing suite awash. So far, other than the carpet, nothing seems ruined except my schedule… Don’t know yet what this will do to me. Fingers crossed!

[Ruth Happel]

Kevin, that looks like a beautiful spot. Amazing as you say more people don't go there.

I am not going in on this round because I have continuing vertigo/dizziness issues. No longer sure if it actually did have to do with the film I made, or just coincidence this all started at that time. Seems to be something seriously wrong with my inner ear, but so far no one has figured out what or why. I think with time I will compensate, but in the meantime watching videos, let alone editing them, makes me off balance. I hope to be back to normal enough by next round to join in again. Just checked in today to see where everyone is, for a vicarious sense of filming.

[Kevin Railsback]

Hope you're feeling better soon Ruth!
I had vertigo once. Gut up feeling find and promptly crashed into the wall. Couldn't walk a straight line to save my life.
Had to go to a therapist who flung me down from a sitting position to a dead stop and then tapped on my skull next to my ear to dislodge the stuck crystal in my inner ear. Had to sleep sitting up for two days to make sure it didn't get stuck again.

Keep us posted!

It is sad that more people don;t get out in nature. On one hand, I love the fact that I have the prairie and the woods all to myself. On the other hand, it's sad that no one visits because if people don't love the prairie and the woods, they tend not to be willing to save it.

Finally got my new laptop and will have most of things set to go Tuesday so headed back out in the morning to start shooting the bulk of the film. Hope it turns out!!

[Ruth Happel]

Kevin,

What you had is part of what happened to me, though in my case I think the crystal that appears totally stuck is because of a complete wipeout of one of my inner ear systems. Still, I am hoping this goes away on its own one of these days, so I can get back to filming.

I definitely know what you mean about people not being willing to save the wilds if they don't see it or care about it. So although i too enjoy having woods to myself, I am happy to share if it means it will be protected and there for everyone to enjoy.

Glad you got your laptop, and good luck with the shoot. I always enjoy the lyrical beauty of your films.

[Kevin Railsback]

I feel for ya Ruth! It's certainly no fun trying to walk and crashing into everything.
I know some cases are so bad they make you nauseous. Hope you find some normalcy soon!

Big storm moving into Iowa tomorrow and into Thursday. Up to a foot of snow.
Will have to revamp my idea since I have footage shot in sunny 50 degree weather and now will have a foot of snow and single digit temps. Kind of hard to match shots there so I'll have to come up with an excuse why we have snow now. :-)

[Ruth Happel]

Thanks Kevin. I only briefly had the total vertigo, so am thankful for that. Just annoying it has gone on for months. But the good part is that I have rediscovered photography, which doesn't bother me. And I am really enjoying the slow pace of still images again. I guess making lemonade from lemons is important.

Sounds like you are getting the full spectrum of weather. Iowa seems to be leaning toward extremes right now. Going from 50s to single digits with snow is quite a change. But at least you will have a diversity of footage to work with :)

[Kevin Railsback]

Yeah, but now I have a continuity issue because I shot out of order. So I need to come up with a reason why we have snow. :)

[Ruth Happel]

At least the world didn't end.... it is officially winter, so that is a good reason for snow. Good luck with your film, I hope to be able to see the fruits of your creativity.

[Trond Saetre]

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Hope everyone do well :)

[Kevin Railsback]

Merry Christmas Trond and all my UWOL and DVC friends!
Hope yo are all getting some great footage!!

[Toni Dolce]

Hello my fellow filmmakers! I have to sincerely thank Lorinda and Dylan for the extension! This month has been so incredibly hectic that there was no way I would have been able to film without the extra time!

For the past year I have been working on my debut album and less than a week ago I sent it out to be printed! This opened up a small window of time to shoot the tree-themed video, O Tannenbaum.

Andy and I are primarily musicians (he plays Tuba, Cimbasso, and Euphonium and I sing) in NYC and this is the busiest time of year as we are performing or rehearsing nearly everyday. For us, the biggest challenge was finding a moment to storyboard and then film. We managed to find some time at around 1am over the course of 2 late nights and shot, edited, and made the soundtrack.

Am really looking forward to seeing the submissions! Blessings to all of you this holiday season!

[Marj Atkins]

A heavy downpour and thunderstorm took down our internet for Christmas so apologies for the belated Christmas greetings. Hope you all had a wonderful day.

It has been around a long time, but you may find this just as amazing as I did: how not to take down a palm tree SA style!

How not to cut a tree down South African style using a pickup truck - YouTube

Hope everyone is nearly finished . . . no time to work on New Year ’s Eve! :)

[Trond Saetre]

I've shot a few sequences, but two snow storms the last weeks have messed with my plans.
Still plenty time to get the shots I am missing (I hope).