When I've tried shooting stars (mind the pun) in the past it's never worked properly. Where as generating a star field using something like 3dS max is soooo much easier. Very simple to do, and also if you know a bit about particle generation you can do what I did for my college course work which was to show a huge star field and then zoom in on one star so you could see the reaction occuring on it's surface.

Massive render time but definitely worth it. I'll try and dig out the final clip.

I'd be very interested in that and anything to help shoot in the dark.

I think creating it in max is missing the point a bit Dave. But I'd be interested in having a look at the work!

For those that have never seen the Northern Lights. The pic was taken right after the sun had set you can still see some of the orange glow on the horizon. If you look at the stars in the background you can see that the shutter had to be open for a number of seconds to capture the image.....I only wish it was video.

Brian

mmmm.....nice image!

This is a shot of the Northern Lights off my deck in Iowa.
They were bright enough to be seen by the naked eye but this exposure was like 20 seconds at a high ISO to capture them on my Nikon D70.

To actually see them in person though is truly a spiritual experience!

Hi Brian & Kevin,

These are beautiful images!

Yes Brian, it would be absolutely wonderful to watch such a sight on video - if someone knew how to do it?

I still have no idea what to film. Hope things are going better for you both.

Hey Kevin....waaay cool. I'm very jealous and I'm going to look at a map as to where Iowa is....! Wasn't aware you'd be far enough north for that funny business.

I think Meryem only got it half right when she said we would need to push our gear to the limit for this one. I've been wondering around the Aussie bush these last 2 nights in the dark, & my ears are getting tired! They must be compensating for what i can't see!! :)

Bryce

I realized that fireworks would probably be too common. How would you like to see dancing Christmas Lights instead?

There are about 10 million lights at Disney MGM Studios starting on the 12th. Yes, I think you might like seeing that instead of fireworks.

What do you think?

In the meantime I am going to see Chubby Checker tonight, so I will try to get some interesting night time shots. There is a spot at Epcot where there are lights in the cement pathway from fiber optic cable. The kids love it, as do many adults. If I can capture someone having fun with the lights, that could end up being my clip for this one.

Yes, night time is easy in my neighborhood. Disney lights up the buildings, the sky, and everything around.

I have been casually surfing for general information on the contest and I just can't find any. I've viewed a number of old entries, though, so I have some idea.

But what are the rules, really?

People talk of "stories", but is that required? Is that the focus?

It's clearly, basically, wannabe-discovery-channel with a focus on animal planet (to toss out a few trademarks), but I'm thinking a bit outside the box on this.

Must there be animals? Can it be people instead?

I assume, obviously, narrative filmmaking and traditional character driven documentaries are out, but would the "view" of civilization work? Should it just be natural things? From the above post this sounds ok.

Etc.

I also have a tendency to get into some complex editing/FX, but I'll try to stay away from that here. If it simply enhances a shot, would that be ok? Or is this all in camera?
I also have a few post-FX in mind to pick up footage at night, so I'll assume that's allowed as long as it's in the spirit of capturing reality.

Seems like a fun challenge and I'm interested in getting involved.

Thanks.

If there's a link you can point me to, that's just fine, but I have yet to find any general explanation in a link.

Here are the rules:
http://www.uwolchallenge.com/contestrules.htm

Thanks for the link, Trond.

Any more specific info on the "story", required focus, etc.? Or is this just something that has developed as a result of patterns in the entires?

Hey Daniel,

There need not be a story if you choose not to have one. Heck, look at most of my stuff. :)

In the last challenge, I remember one shot in particular. A red deer breathing in the early morning light with his breath coming out in clouds of steam.

The rest of the film could have been about pickles after that. :)

You're free to make whatever you feel like making for your interpretation of the theme.

Take Ruth H. for example. For the theme "Recreation" She interpreted it as " Wreak Creation" and her film was about destroying the environment.

I think the most important thing most people will tell you is to get out there and film something. Your feedback thread will give you an idea if you're on the mark or not.

Daniel, firstly this is the challenge definition.

"The "Under Water, Over Land" (UWOL) Challenge provides a unique opportunity for documentarians, planet Earth-lovers, tree-huggers,extreme sports enthusiasts, bird-watchers, sea-dwellers, and all aspiring outdoor film makers to join a community of like minded people, swap stories, learn skills, win prizes and maybe get an exclusive place in the winners circle. "

You talk of story. Any film worth its viewing time will carry you on a journey, whether its an animal planet documentary or films like Microcosmos which although they don't have a narrative take you on a visual journey. This interpretation is entirely up to you. Take a look at the difference in the range of entries in previous challenges and you will see just this.

That said this isn't DVC and we are not about to start making pure narrative stories with actors and sets and such but it is open to quite a wide interpretation and although for me its about shooting wildlife and the beauty of the natural world one of nice things with uwol is peoples varying interpretations.


*Edit......Damn you Kevin....you did it again ;-) ! *Goes off to improve his typing speed!