UWOL #9 "Little Things" by Bob Thieda
 

Well....three for three this year!

Weather, work and having my camera in for repair limited me to just a couple of mornings to shoot.
Had to work with what I could find around the homestead again.

I have mixed feelings about this video...
I'm pleased how it came out considering what I had to work with, but I know it could have been better...
I was very pleased how my good friend Oliver's music worked with this piece...

Shot with my GL2 and a cheap, Ebay macro lens I bought last year.
Tried it once and hated it...had better luck this time, (still want a better one).

Windows Media Player version here: http://www.baatfam.com/LittleThingsRev5.wmv

And let me tell ya...those "little things" get into everything...

Little Things 1

Little Things 2

I had fun and I learned a lot!

Bob T.

Dang, Bob.

You just got that cam back out of repair and you're letting them "little things" all over it?

Great macro work no matter how "cheap" the macro lens is. Excellent footage getting us closer to the "critters" than most folks thought to look.

Very well done and Oliver's music fit very well, especially with the balance you achieved, bringing the music level up when needed and down just enough to maintain presence without interfering with your commentary.

I liked this one.

Thanks Bruce...

Those SOBs were all over me....
Three hours later I was still finding them on my camera, my arms, my head, my computer desk...
But the camera came out OK...I just gave them a few hours to vacate the machine...

Bob T.

Ants, ants, ants, ants… cool, I love them! Nice done with getting them in the frame.
Nice subject, I have always been fascinated of ants…
Nice job

Hi Bob,
I'm a big fan of the cheap macro lens too, it's just another one of those tools that opens up your options by mega factors. I thought it was a great portrayal of creatures that are never far away from us. Good well framed shots and a nice story. Nice one!

Hey Bob:

I thought this was great. The music fit it well and it's neat that Oliver collaborated with you on that. I liked the seamless interplay between narration and music. I noticed your UWOL attire in the beginning... nice plug there! The information was extraordinary with facts like if you could take them all and weigh them they would outweigh the entire human population... wow, who thinks of that? I thought the filming was excellent. This was well done. I really enjoyed it.

Cat

Hi Bob. I loved your movie. Amazing how well the music worked, and you manipulated the track volume very effectively. I can always tell when I really like a movie when I watch it more than once. I tried a macro piece on a caterpillar once. Helluva job keeping focus, but man is it cool getting so close! I'm jealous. You've got a composer down the street and all I have is a train station...

Thanks everyone for the kind words about my video... :)

Several mentioned Oliver's music, so I thought I'd give him a plug...

All the music I used in the last three UWOL challenges came from his selection of FREE music he offers on his web page.
http://www.blindchildproductions.com/html/music.html

He's also done some custom work for me and I'm sure if you emailed him, he would consider the same for anyone in the DVI community....

OK...back to work. I still have many videos to watch and review.

Bob T.

Hi Bob,

Like Ruth's recent entries, it's great when someone brings us the things that are happening in front of us all each day - but we don't really see them. I just love watching and studying macro work (and slow mo - thanks Ruth).

You edited this piece together very nicely. Music was very appropriate and you used it nicely throughout. The shallow DOF you get in macro really gives the footage a lovely feel. Gee, you would want to hurt yourself in an ant colony - you'll be eaten very promptly by the looks of things!

That's a nice tee shirt you have there. I'll need to get one of those.

Considering your time limitations Bob, I thought you produced a very interesting and well filmed piece.

Hi Bob.

Great choice of subject for a tight time frame. You got some really great macro shots in there! It’s always nice to have your perceptions shifted and to be forced to look at what’s right under you nose and you did that brilliantly

One thing I would say, and this is just my own personal opinion, is that I think you over commentated slightly. There are a million and one amazing facts about ants (did you know that if you lined up every member of the animal kingdom every 5th one would be an ant?) but to try to fit all of these facts into three minutes can feel like a bit of information overload. Maybe by cutting out the comments where you say things like your not sure which species they are (which can undermine the viewers’ confidence in the film) you let your brilliant pictures tell some more of the story to.

As I’ve said I think you got some great shots here and have made me think about looking a bit closer to home for inspiration so thanks for that. As you say I’ve just got to ‘take a look’.

I look forward to your next film

Pete

Pete...
Thanks for the positives and you are so correct about the comentary.
Every time I watch it, I cringe listening to myself blabber on...and on...and on.

I believe there is a saying, "less is more".

Wow, I didn't know Oliver had a website that offers music. I'll have to check it out! That's really cool. Thanks for the link info.

Cat

Bob ants always look like they are hurrying around aimlessly, but you know they just want get into house and have a go on that sweet sweet Apple Mac.

The macro shots were very good, the chosen music I liked the music it gave it a cartoon feel, any way it made me rock back and forward in my office chair, good varied shots, from a pair of fighting ants with another lifting a twig four or five times it length,
Your voice over was just right with just the right amount of info.
getting down with them on the concrete was good move.

Neat little production Bob. I started working with ants in UWOL 6, but hadn't found my way back to them yet. I used the Cinevate achromat for the Brevis in that one.

Yea, Bob! That was as delightful as a bug video can get! Your narrating style is soooo easy—I love it, and it “made” the video for me. Did I hear you call them little buggers? Ha ha! Wonderful. Thanks so much for the up close and personal look.

P.S. I wrote the above before reading your posts. Don’t cringe—you get my vote for GREAT narration.

Bob, a very nice film about the ants, I liked it alot! Very informative, I didn't know that there was so many different kinds of them and the weight of them....!
The macros work was nice and editing too.

Hey Bob
I can very often tell who produced what video by the style or feel of it in the first few seconds...Ok so I saw your face in the first few seconds,but I would have known it was yours anyway...I like the way you get the message across,and I do enjoy watching your video's.Informative,entertaining and on the money

Thanks to everyone who's commented. I really appreciate the feedback, good and bad.
And yes Lorinda, I did call them "little buggers".

I felt this was a weak effort on my part, mostly because I shot the majority of it on the last day and I felt like I rushed the editing.

But we are our own wost critics, are we not?

I believe I've watched and commented on everyone else's video.
What a great round this was...outstanding work by everyone.

I for one, cannot wait for the next one...

Bob T.

Bob,

Those little things are making me itch!

I like the intro, and the way it and the camerawork gradually leads us into the world of the small and scratchy beasties. great macro shots of the ants in action.

You're a brave man lying down on the ground there at 1:35!

"It's hard to tell what they're doing... but they're doing something." I love that remark - in fact, I love the whole commentary, and your screen presence is very natural and not as scared-looking as anything I've tried!

There's a bit of hiss on the voiceover in places that is noticable, but that's just a minor nit-pick. Oliver's music works well for the ants, seeing as they make no sound themselves, you have to make up for it!

Excellent. And you didn't even have to get in your car for that one!

To my good friend Bob,

They maybe little things, but you made them look big. For someone who is not afraid to take chances here's to you pal.

Oliver

Bob,

Nicely done!! good macro shots, they are never easy, Such short depth of field!!!

I loved youor naration and the music I felt fit the subject.

Nice Job!!

did you use a diopter or a macro lens on an xl series ??

It was a cheap, ($20 or $30), 10X macro off ebay...Used it on my GL2.
Worked I lot better than I had any right to expect.

Bob, I almost did my film on ants. They have always fascinated me, how much they could get done while being one of the tiny forms of life. I like the way you make us guess in the beginning as well.

Nice entry keep em coming!

As you can guess from my film, I am a big fan of macro. Hmmm. Is that a slight contradiction- big, small- well, I like to see the little details of wildlife, and your film did that to perfection. I learned a lot, and was amazed at the cinematography. Wonderful!!!

Ruth

Hi Bob,

You made a really good video! Very interesting story you tell. Including yourself in the video just made it even better. Loved the macro shots!

Maybe you could have waited a second or so more before you began talking in the beginning. I felt as if the VO began a little too quick, and before the video itself was running, if you understand what I mean. But it's just a minor detail.

Keep up your great work!
Thank you for sharing.