UWOL # 7 "Path to the Past" by Bob Thieda
 

I struggled with the topic for the first week or so and then one day I spotted the sign for the Winfield Mounds forest preserve, just a few miles from my house.

They are the only Prehistoric Native American Burial Mounds in DuPage County, IL....
I've wanted to visit the site for 30 years, since I first read about it.
But the site has never been publicized, nor clearly marked.
Forest preserve maps didn't show the location and the Winfield historical society doesn't open until April.
I did find a paper, on-line, from 1999 stating plans to clear a path to the site and put up signs, but nothing to indicate if it was done.
So here then, was my adventure....

Working from one vague discription in the '99 paper, "The mounds and accompanying village site are located about 1/3 of a mile south of the Geneva Spur and 1/16 of a mile west of the West Branch of the DuPage River in a large oak and hickory forest.", and some aerial photos, I set out to find it.

Went alone and it turned out, they did complete the project, so it was fairly easy to find.
I had one day with sunshine and decent weather....
My footage was far from perfect, but I used what I had and so be it.
Although I did think I might see one animal...but nothing.

I had fun and completed a UWOL Challenge! For that, I'm happy.

Better quality copy here:
http://www.baatfam.com/Path_To_The_Past_Rev3.wmv

My first submittal, so be gentle :) LOL - Just kidding, I'm here to learn, so be honest.

Bob

Hey Bob, good strong entry here, I sure learned something new and thats what an adventure is all about. It's interesting how they would have a sign there but no directions to visit the area. I guess they want to leave it "remembered yet undisturbed" so to speak. Good job.

A nice film… I love the adventure in picking up an old story and head out in the woods to try to find it. To bad you hade snow, it’s hard to se any remains when they are covered. Maybe you could have got a photo of the sign? The noise on the sound was a bit distracting, especially when it “jumped” up and down from shots to shots. Over all a nice film, good job.

Markus

Markus, you are correct on both counts....
I should have included a close up of the sign, (attached below) and the sound gave me fits....

But, thanks for the kind words, both of you...
Looking at the other videos, I can see I have a long way to go....

i like the concept. you do a lot of cool things here--going after something, learning something new, checking out a corner of your world that you've never seen before, using a DVinfo-ers original music. and i always love a history lesson baked into the mix.

some suggestions: vary your shots more--mix in a few close-ups, there is life all around you in that barren landscape, that's one of the things you'll learn by doing this consistently. show us! even more variations of the shots of the narrator...

also, let your breathing cool down a bit before you shoot yourself. it's almost slightly comical to listen to a heaving, panting narrator. what else should i expect from an adventurer, eh? that would have probably lengthened your time out considerably, but i wouldn't be kinda giggling at inappropriate times! you really have the potential to be a good narrator, sounds like you had some audio issues or compression issues, but you have a nice voice and could develop your presence, with practice.

hope you stick with it, there's a very good beginning here, you have the spirit of the thing down, now on to developing more refined techniques.

Bob,

That was a really good film, don't know what you were worried about.

In fact, it inspired me to look around here for more interesting things to film.

Loved the way you interspersed the cutaways with your on camera narration. It worked perfectly.

The music was perfect for the piece. It was subtle and didn't over power the visuals.

It was entertaining and at the same time educational.

Searching for something you've never found before certainly added to the mystery factor of the adventure.

Not knowing where you are going or what you will find, certainly does add to the adventure!

Oh my....I laughed myself when I watched it the first time....

From where I had parked, I thought I spotted a short cut on the aerial picture I had....
Well a mile or two up hill, down hill, over trees, under branches, through deep snow....Geezz...by the time I got to the bridge I almost called it quits....

If nothing else, I learned I need to get out more often. ;)

Thanks for the kind words and sound advice....can't wait for #8

Bob

That DVinfo-er is not only very talented, he is a very good friend of mine and someone I've worked with for over 20 years.....
He will appreciate the compliment....

yah, those short cuts can kill ya!

all part of the fun n games of knocking around the great outdoors!

Like you I have Hi octane race fuel running in my veins,All of my friends are connected to motor racing in some way,none of them believe that I spend my weekends away from racing shooting wild life or nature....I think your video was a great idea.sometimes we let history pass us by.A few comments from someone that is by no means a pro..Too much head room in most shots,but I suppose going out on your own it would be difficult to pick that up untill you download your video.As Meryem noted the breathing.I have done that a couple of times too...I enjoyed this...very watchable.

A valide comment and the fact I worked alone is not a good enought reason to let that happen.
I could have...

A. Found a stick/branch as long as I am tall and jammed it into the snow and used that to set up the camera.

Or...

B. Cropped the video when I edited it...resolution would have been fine for web delivery.

Thanks for comments John!

Bob T.

Bob,


I think you need to do some more research and make a full length documentary on this!!!

I enjoyed it and learned a bit of history at the same time!!!

Markus is right about the sign, I wondered about that too!!

good Job, I enjoyed it emmensely.

Hi Bob,

I really liked your film. Great, interesting story you are telling.
Too bad you only had 3 minutes, you could easily have made a longer film as Dale suggests.

Some has mentioned hearing your breath as you speak. But I don't find any negative about that. To me it just shows that walking in the nature isn't always the easiest, especially in deep snow as you mentioned.
Been there, done that myself.

Thank you for sharing.

Hi Bob:

Nice piece and very interesting. Nothing like the adventure of heading out with the eyes of the UWOL community watching and not knowing what you will find! Meryem's comment about the panting narrator made me laugh but she did have a point. Your response about your "shortcut" was also a bit amusing... aren't shortcuts ALWAYS that way?

I wonder if there would have been the possibility to use with permission picture depictions of what these Native Americans might have been like in their day? Sometimes you can get lucky with on-line library archives that allow that sort of thing. You really wet our appetites for wanting to know more about these ancient people and what the artifacts were that were dug up and taken away.

Thanks Bob!

Cat

Hmmmm...sounds like another video...
The Winfield Historical Museum opens in April, I believe....

Thanks for the kind words,
Bob

I enjoyed the film, and it made me want to know more about the subject. As Cat suggests, maybe you could find some materials online to bring the site to life more for us. Hidden under snow, it seems the ideal opportunity to either use the visual onsite, which wasn't very visible in the film, or find some on the internet, so we know more about what we are seeing.

I had no problem with the huffing narration- gave it a sort of David Attenborough feel. In three minutes, though, I would have preferred more of the site and less of the journey/hike getting to and from the spot. Though as you note, it was quite an adventure in and of itself!

The music was great, and really enhanced the tone of your video.

Ruth

Bob, congrats with your first entry! I think you did well on this. As a foreigner I had to play it a couple of times to get all the story you was telling!!
Second what have been said by the others. Some of the clips could have been better framed, but it's not easy to record yourself.

Good work, keep it up Bob!

Its a tough game, shooting your own camera deliveries and too time consuming. I think you did a great job with that and your deliveries were really nice. Maybe it would be worth catching your breath a little longer before you give them though. I thought your story was nicely paced and moved along well. I think you could have done with looking at more detail around you as it got a bit one dimensional in places. It would have also been nice to have a bit more visual meat on the story but you can't really do much more about that although maybe even a pencil sketch and a map view would have added more visual information and built on your story.

Nice first entry fella.....more to come I hope!

Bob, very well done. From the beginning you told me where I was and what I was looking for. You told a story about an adventure. Your narration followed the story line. A great job, welcome to UWOL. Awaiting more of your work. Bob

Hi Bob T.
Ancient history comes alive through your camera.
I think you've made a great entry with this one.
Great narrations and suitable piano music in the background.
Well, we can't do much about the snow covering tracks. Still I think you made a great story and I had no problems following you through this adventure of yours.

Wish you good luck and hope to see more of your films here at uwol.
Geir Inge

Bob, nice adventure for you. Amazing what you can find when you take the time to look. Thanks for sharing the journey

I must say you are a natural in front of the camera Bob. I enjoyed your narration very much. You kept me interested all the way although the end was a bit of an anti-climax due to the snow covering the area.

I think that it would have been more informative if you could have allowed us to see the info provided at the site, or at least explained a bit more about the mounds. A good, solid video.

A few years ago the National Geographic had an extensive article on the mounds and the mound builders culture artifacts imply.

Evidence points to a thriving enterprising trade culture covering much of the eastern and central US a few hundred years before Europeans "discovered" this continent.

The burial mounds you found are some of the last evidence of that left by those cultures.

You had a good documentary approach, and hiking that shortcut had to be somewhat of an adventure. I've seen other documentaries in the past where the narrator was a bit out of breath after a climb up a rise or hill, so that did not seem unnatural to me. It may have even added something more than just standing and narrating.

I like it, and find this sort of thing interesting and fascinating.

Nice one Bob!
Really informative too. I liked the way you went out without really knowing where you were going, or what to expect when you got there. Well done with setting the camera up & doing the stand up work. Something i find very difficult. Your recovery in the beginning where you forgot what you were going to say was good too. Looks like a really beautiful place.

Bryce