UWOL Announcements and Discussion - Talk Amongst Yourselves!

[Per Johan Naesje]

Meryem, excellent that you will draw the rules so fast! I think many here will do some planning during december before signing up for the competition. Knowing the rules at a early stage is important.

One other note. Chris (Hurd) annonced some time ago that it will be possible soon to host video at the DvInfo-site. I'm not sure but I think he was mention a kind of vimeo/youtube style (streaming). Could be nice if next year uwol-challenge could be viewed this way, without "the time consuming downloading before viewing method".

[Gordon Hoffman]

Meryem what happens if one doing the long form does not have time to post anything for one of the four times a year that you set? Will this disqualify your video? It's hard to know what ones schedule is going to be for a whole year.
Thanks.

Gordon

[Mat Thompson]

As far as I understand it.

The four smaller challenges are not mandatory by taking the long format. What will be, are regular posting at stages throughout the production. SO, you will have to post something at A.Scripting stage B.Pre-prod C.Shooting etc etc...It has to be this way otherwise it just means we all go off for a year, have iregular contact and with no consistancy to the production schedule.

Or have I completely mis-understood.....:-/

[Gordon Hoffman]

Hi Mat
The way I understand it when doing the long form was you would post the same time as the players with the shorts where posting.
Consistancy is something I don't have in my life. As some could do this in less than the year set for it what would be called regular posting?
Thanks.

Gordon

[Meryem Ersoz]

Hi Gordon - glad to hear from you, it is a good question....

This is actually the central question that I'm struggling with, on a couple of fronts, including the one that you mention, and it comes down to this:

To what degree is the long-form Challenge a contest, and to what degree is it a participatory community experience?

To me, the contest is always the carrot on the stick to get out there and do something, but since it is a contest, there are people who actually sign up to win the thing. It is both, there is no getting around that, and people are motivated by both elements, in equal parts.

The big strength of UWOL is the community and that, to me, means participation in that community. Otherwise, you could all just go out there and shoot your own stuff. The rules are our way of holding you accountable and keeping you consistent. So, to answer your question, I would say that you would need to meet the (soon-to-be) written deadlines in order to participate in the contest.

If this works out this year and we decide to do it again, I would consider opening next year up to non-competitive long-form entries, but only from long-time supporters of the contest, like you. Every time that I make a big change to UWOL, I have to keep a fairly tight lid on the rules at first, otherwise people get confused and then disgruntled. So I want to try this for a year before I tweak it anymore. One big tweak at a time is about all that I can handle and still keep the contest feel clear and fair to all the participants.

When I post the written rules, they will include the deadlines...and then you can decide for yourself whether you can meet them or not. I get it, that this is a large commitment, a year ahead of time -- but I'm making it, too...sometimes you guys forget that you can choose to show up for these things or not, but when I set them, I also lock myself into them. So you need to choose to do it...or not.

[Eric Gulbransen]

Man did I take a walk on the wild side. Which led nowhere. Sorry to have been gone.

Yes Meryem, I like your idea of change. More pushing. More challenge.

Not sure about the rules yet but who cares. Can you imagine the challenge to create something entertaining enough to keep browsers from so easily clicking you off - FOR TWENTY MINUTES!!!???

My goal in this will be simple. At 0:18:35 in the video I plan to have an 86 year old man run across a field of Buffalo dressed like a chicken. If anyone mentions him in their comments, I'll know I succeeded.

[Marj Atkins]

Despite the big adjustments that will be required to make this a success, especially managing time, I can see huge benefits for all who tackle this more serious long film format.

For those of us who do not have experience in film festivals, I do have a number of questions:

1. What is the significance of sending your work to a film festival? What is the purpose/aim of film festivals? How will one benefit from submitting a film?

2. How does one find a suitable festival to enter if this is the main aim of the long film? Will help in this regard be forthcoming and will participants share this sort of info as well, so we all perhaps end up competing in the same film festival/s?

3. What is the process that one goes through when submitting to a film festival?

[Meryem Ersoz]

Originally Posted by Marj Atkins

For those of us who do not have experience in film festivals, I do have a number of questions:

1. What is the significance of sending your work to a film festival? What is the purpose/aim of film festivals? How will one benefit from submitting a film?

2. How does one find a suitable festival to enter if this is the main aim of the long film? Will help in this regard be forthcoming and will participants share this sort of info as well, so we all perhaps end up competing in the same film festival/s?

3. What is the process that one goes through when submitting to a film festival?

1. Glory, prestige, and ego, of course! Just kidding. It's not something that you have to aim for, to me it is a logical step past making web videos. Seeing your work screened on the big screen shows all its flaws in giant relief, in front of live humans, and will therefore motivate you to become even more skilled at video production, to avoid future embarrassments. Plus, it's just fun, you get to meet other people, talk about filmmaking, maybe a little Q & A, depending on the festival format. You can make a lot of good connections.

2. I believe that a big part of the long-form group's conversation will center on discussing venues and sharing ideas. I'll be supplying some guidance on this as well. But your best bet is to just start looking:
www.withoutabox.com
Wildlife-film.com - Wildlife Film Makers News and Information

No one has to do this, it is just a suggestion for stretching people who want the challenge in new directions. The film festival idea is just a logical venue for placing your projects in the public eye, once it is completed. It is not the only option, nor is it a requirement for participating. You can just do this for the challenge and leave it on the UWOL website, when all is said and done.

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks Meryem.

[Kevin Railsback]

Marj,

Its kind of like watching our UWOL films but in person and on a much bigger screen. :)

You make a lot of contacts and you get to hang out with like minded people who not only love making films but loves watching them too.

I attend my local film festival every year if I can even if I don't have anything in it.

Trying to figure out what UWOL film to submit for next year.

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks Kevin. Sounds intriguing and is obviously something worth investigating and working towards.

I am not even thinking about film festivals at this stage - although I will now keep my eyes open for a suitable local one and try to attend - just to see what is involved. Like many around here I am still trying to get to know my camera and still trying to get things like lighting and exposure and white balance right never mind anything else!!

Unfortunately my work always puts a lot of pressure on my time so I am definitely restricted to the short films for 2009. I really look forward to making them and doing only four per year with a slightly longer time frame will certainly make things easier for me.

[Per Johan Naesje]

The main reason I taking part into this challenge are to develop as a wildlifephotographer and to improve my way of telling a story. In fact even if I have been away for some time the last months, I have been reading this forum.

Lauri Kettunen last replay was interesting reading (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/958038-post15.html) and I've ordered the book "The art of photographing nature" by Martha Hill and Art Wolfe. I've also in the middle of reading som books on documentary making.
Not that I believe that just reading a couple of books will do all the tricks, but for me to have som basic understanding before going out in the wild is essential I think!

It's also good to be part of a community toghether with fellows with the same interests and goals. This way we can learn a lot of each other, viewing how others solve the different challenges in their own ways.

I will definitive try to accomplish a long form entry - "not because it's easy, but because it's hard" to quote a famous adage.
Hopefully others will too...? Even if I don't planning heading for any film festivals, my great interests for making wildlifefilms and my ardency of improving my own skills force me to try out this new long form challenge consept!

[Bob Thieda]

Originally Posted by Per Johan Naesje

I've also in the middle of reading som books on documentary making.

Per Johan, which books are you reading?

I'm currently reading Barry Hampe's book, "Making Documentary Films and Reality Videos", but I would love some more recommendations.

Bob T.

[Kevin Railsback]

I think Barry's book is one of the best.
Two others I have are "Writing, Directing and Producing Documentary Films and Videos" by Alan Rosenthal.
Another is "Documentary Storytelling for Video and Filmmakers" by Sheila Curran Bernard.

I had Art Wolfe's book years ago when I was doing still photography. Very good book.

I find that still photography books help me so much more than any video or film books because there just aren't very many nature and wildlife video books out there.

I subscribe to all the nature and wildlife photography magazines out there but don't subscribe to any video magazines.

John Shaw and Moose Peterson all have great books dealing with nature and wildlife photography that I think transfer over to video.

[Per Johan Naesje]

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

...Two others I have are "Writing, Directing and Producing Documentary Films and Videos" by Alan Rosenthal...

Bingo! That's one of them, the other one is - Direcing the documentary by Michael Rabiger. I got them just a couple of days ago, so actually I have just turned over the pages by now. But I will study them during the next weeks or so...

The "The art of photographing nature" by Martha Hill and Art Wolfe is very much what I was hoping for when I ordered it. As Kevin also tells, studying books on wildlife still photo helps me much out in doing good composition.