Rob Evans - Cliveden - Longform
 

Well, I kinda feel like i'm making this up as I go along.
There's an amazing country estate not far from where I live called Cliveden. It consists of an amazing mid 19thC mansion ( now a hotel ) set in grounds which contain a wide range of habitat - riverside, woodland, ornamental and planned gardens to mention a few. My plan is to give a walkthrough of the estate through the seasons, watching the changes in flora and fauna whilst providing closeups on some more unusual species which I know can be found there. For example, a piece of marble used for a ballustrade was recently found to contain a colony of minute snails that are native to the region where the marble was mined - in Italy - over a hundred years ago. The little fellas are still there!
I've also got plans to focus on the human angle - hopefully getting some reflections on what the park means to people for recreation, environment and health. I'm also getting in touch with the estate management - it would be really interesting to get a feel for how forestry and ecology is planned and controlled. There's lots of history which will alos be interesting to get a feel for.
Wiki entry for it has some great photots to give you an idea!!
Cliveden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's the link to my first installment - pretty much just me talking over some footage ( almost a bit of a "move along - not much to see here!" feeling) Expect a bit more structure on the next lot!!!!!
YouTube - Cliveden - UWOL Challenge 2009 part1

Hi Rob,
Wow it certainly looks like you have a pretty solid plan for your long form project. I loved the shots you have already & can see that with the time that is available on this one, you should have plenty to choose from for the finished article. You sound very relaxed in your comments about what you will do & i have no doubt you will pull off a great end product based on what i have seen so far.
Good luck,
Bryce

There's some nice footage there so far Rob. The 35mm helps with setting the viewer's focus. I'm sure you'll put it to good use. It will be interesting to see the changes from one season to the next, and whatever develops out of it. I'm not sure of the emphasis I want on my topic yet.

Rob, very interesting subject. The scenery is stunning, I like the english countryside very much!
The use of 35mm adapter is very good, gives you a tremendous nice view, especially in close-ups.
Would like more footage of the red kite too!

OK, I think you got something very interesting there to show us, Rob.

You have some really fine shots. I like the alternate focusing on distant and close objects.
You make me feel attraction for Cliveden. I will be happy to see more of it in may.

Finn-Erik

Hi Rob.
This sounds like a great plan.
Loved your footage as I love the English countryside.
Hopefully we can see some of those "little fellas" from Italy.
All the best Rob.
Geir Inge

Hi Rob,

Haven't had time to watch your footage yet, but you have an interesting plan.
I am looking forward to learn more about your project and to see more of the English countryside.
Good luck!

Rob,

Wow, you even have trees there!!! and lots of them!!

sounds like a great project.

Perhaps you could get some historical foundation money for doing it, eh? Just a thought.

I really liked the awesome use of depth of field in a lot of your shots!! nicely done!!

Rob,
I think we’re all kind kinda making this up as we go along! Cliveden seems a wonderful place to shoot. How lucky you are to live close by. It seems a good setting for a through the seasons story. The problem for me with these seasonal stories is in which season do you start (and end) telling the story? Seems like it can make a big difference. Definitely show the “Cliveden Snail” - it was the first thing I thought of when I read the word Cliveden- and more Red Kite if possible. The human history adds a whole other dimension. I’m glad you’re including ecology and management. Was that an old coppice wood I saw in the video?

You seemed to have found a great location for your film. I love the shots with the 35mm adapter. The Cliveden snail is a great little feature too. Did you manage to get any snow shots there?

Good idea Rob, to use a special place like Cliveden as a vehicle to show off the beautiful English countryside and the species of animals and plants found there.

Stunning scenery and details already. I am sure, knowing your talent, that this is going to be a very beautiful and entertaining film.

Hi!

Firstly, I really feel I must apologise to you all - amongst a lot of other things I have been a very busy chap over the last few months - and my level of "community participation" has been pretty close to nil. Hopefully i'll do better in the next few weeks! Well, at least I managed to get a few trips up to Cliveden in some stunning weather, with some new toys to play with ;-) It's still mainly confined to wandering around with 30kg of equipment getting bemused looks from ramblers - but I'm getting some great footage. I have a couple of focus stories lined up, but nothing on paper just yet.
Some of the transition shots have worked very well, i'm really happy with these and really look forward to see how the rest of the year goes.
Spring is without doubt the favourite time of year for me, as a kid we always used to go on holiday to the med for 2-3weeks in april, and when we came back home, it was like entering a different world, the smells, sounds, sunshine and bright, bold colours. I hope that I've captured some of that here........

YouTube - Cliveden - UWOL Long Form 2009 - May update (push the HD button)

Loosely edited to "Spring" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" - quite appropriate!

Hey Rob:

How's life as a new dad treating you? Ah, your footage is awesome and it reminds me of my own back yard ;-). Seriously though, you have a real mastery of the camera. You have flawless slow-moving pans and interesting angles. Do you have any tips? I am finding that panning for me on a tripod is more difficult to do than I ever expected. It seems to always catch and stick so I end up doing more locked in straight on shots than I would like. I'd so appreciate your wisdom on this.

Another thing that caught my eye was the amazing "time-lapse" of trees and landscape leafing out. Now how did you so that to make it so smooth? That was masterful.

Nice start to what's shaping up to be an interesting and beautiful documentary.

Best!

Cat

Hi Cat!
Fatherhood is coming on very well ;-) he'll be 6 months next week, and just starting on real food. I got home from work today and Louise had made a video of him crashing away on the upright piano, and really enjoying it - not quite a mozart, but we can live in hope ;-)
Right, on to the subject of pans. Well, there's quite a few moves that aren't quite pans in the update, some where i have used a slider for a dolly effect (the early shots before the bluebells have come out) - check out www.glidetrack.com for details, it's smart and quick to use. Some of the other pans are by using a jib arm close to the ground ( my other new toy a K6 boom from B Hague in the uk) - there's quite a lot of inertia in the system so it is relativley easy to get a small movement quite smooth. But for tripod shots:

a) get a decent, fluid head and some well matched sturdy legs. they needn't be massive or expensive, the most of the time with the FX1 I'll use a manfrotto 755/501 head combo, or an even lighter weight 190xb/700rc2 which at about 3-4lbs is great for trekking about. Panning your head should feel like stroking velvet, if it doesn't then you'll have serious problems!!

b) practice. practice.practice!

c) Rubber bands. by tightening some rubber bands around the head and experimenting a bit, you can use the end of the stretch to provide a nice stop to your pan, so as you turn, the band gets longer and longer and progressively halts your pan.

d) Breathe deep before panning. This helps you to maintain consistent pressure throughout the pan.

e) Wide angle will show any imperfections in a pan of the same speed less than a zoomed shot. Try it and see!

f) Did i mention practice ? :-)

Good luck!

The "timelapse" shots were "almost" simple.... I took stills from the first bunch of shoots earlier in ther year, then printed them out onto a couple of sheets of paper ( also made a pretty good mental note of position when filming) - when I went back I used the images to match up the frame and reshoot. Then in the edit, I did a simple cross dissolve, then using the point where the shots are both overlayed zoomed and panned each shot until they matched perfectly! It takes a bit of planning, but these are some of the shots that should hopefully look stunning by the end!
If i was going to do it better, I'd probably take an accurate GPS unit and plot exact co-ords and bearings....

Thanks Rob!

You're a great teacher. I never considered the rubber band technique on the tripod pan, but if it's there to do, you will have done it! The boom technique gives a really cool effect, I have seen it in Per's work as well.

The time-lapse stuff is really creative and you explain it well. I'll give it a try sometime. It didn't look like a GPS would have bought you much more accuracy, it look perfect!

Post us UWOLers a picture of that little tyke of yours sometime!

Cat

Hey Rob

Solid video work fella. Very nicely controlled and lots of variation in the delivery. I like seasonal change stills look great and the use of the 'dolly rail thingy be bob' provides a lovely feel. (is this one motorised)?

I really missed some form of either verbal or written narration with this one. I thought this video diary feel was great in your first instalment. Because of this, I have the feeling your premise and planning has still not developed from the first round !!? I guess I'm struggling to see how even great video like this is going to hold a viewer for 20mins+ without some more meat to chew on. I know your a good film maker and story teller so I also know you've probably got more ideas to develop or something in your back pocket you're not telling us about. So I guess I'd just like to know more about your plans for the piece overall ?.......come on ;-) !!?

Rob,


All really solid beautiful imagery some great compositions. I liked the variety of presentations and also including the people in the shots, gives it more character.

I can appreciate you are not ready to put the audio in it, but some audio would make it fuller for us t view even if you alter it later.

Great job,


Oh yea, the rubber band One of the great all time inventions!!

Cat, give the timelapse thing a try, using landmarks like tree's / fenceposts or similar. Next time round i will download the vid onto a ipod so I can view onsite ;-) And a little photo attached - taken a few weeks ago!!

Mat, yes there is definatley more behind the scenes here, a lot of it depends on how helpful the NT will be - I've asked if I can film and interview some the people involved in conservation, forestry and ecology onsite. I have been doing a lot of research online into the history of the estate, and it's really interesting to see what the NT are doing to restore some of the original vistas and landscapes (mostly eradicating the dreaded rhododendrons it would seem )
Quite a lot of the problem just fitting it in around the day job really! But rest assured, there's more meat waiting to go into the oven... The glidetrack is actually just manual, so a little bit of practice is required, but it does work really well!

Dale, it's interesting you mention sound - it's proving to be one of the big challenges! You see, Cliveden lies directly under the westerly flightpath of Heathrow airport, which happens to be pretty darn busy and noisy, specially with them great big Airbuses now. In a way, I still kinda miss the roar of Concorde at 11am each day.... So for 90% of the time i'm getting unusable sound. I think I may have to find a nice quiet wood somewhere else for the sound. Is that cheating? ;-)

Loved it Rob!
You have some really stunning shots with beautiful movement. Can't wait to "hear" more in your film, but understand, as i am in the same position myself with some, but not all the material i need. Funny that you have done the "time lapse" kind of shot between the seasons. I too am doing the same in my film, only i'm still waiting for some of the snow to melt before i can do another pan. I will then go back & do it again when all the snow has gone, & am hoping to do it yet again in the Autumn, & hopefully get a full year round timelapse sort of affect.
Maybe by next round you will have more to share with us on the story. Looking forward to that!
Regards,
Bryce.
P.S. Great shot of the family!!!

Rob - beautiful shots. You have a good sense of shot timing too. I am a huge fan of the moving camera and you used it judiciously. I spotted it right away, and liked it.

Your images have been very nice and I liked the time lapse, be curious to see how you weave that in. You seem to be at an opposite spot than me...able to get images, but working on story. I have story, but no images <g> I'm interested in how you will tell your story and will look forward to that. Nice job!

Chris Swanberg

ps. Great family pic. Made me laugh and smile. Thanks for the post.

Rob, amazing shoots you got there! And what a beautiful place Cliveden is!

Second what have been said about your piece. Dolly and jib shoots was very well done! I also liked the footage with small DOF beginning at 0:27 more of that please. Was it 35mm adapter?

I'm looking forward to more in next round!

Well I have a bit more structure now. I went and met with the heads of property and forestry up at cliveden yesterday, and they're really up for supporting the film - talking to them I've also finalised a lot of the subjects I'm going to cover, such as conservation, species and habitat management -there's such a lot to cover!!! Now the hard work really starts ;-)

Hi Rob.
Sorry I'm late to respond to your feedback tread.
You paint a beautiful scenary/landscape at your Cliveden.
Can't wait to see the final version, maybe with narrations?

All the best
Geir Inge

Hi All!
Firstly, apologies for getting this up a day late. I ran into a few difficulties
exporting properly last night and decided to sleep instead :-)

Here's the latest update http://www.vimeo.com/6099809

Well, I really feel things have moved on in leaps and bounds since june. I had a meeting with the National Trust, and they were very interested to see what I had been doing. It turns out that one of the guys in the meeting, John, had seen the videos of spring @ Cliveden that I have been making over the last few years, so i had a good backdrop to start on.
The outcome of the meeting was that they were happy to give me all the support and access that i need to get the film made. They are actually looking to place more focus on the woodland areas of cliveden, and the themes of the film will go well with inspiring more people to spend more time not just around the house and formal gardens, but getting out and exploring the"wilder" side that Cliveden has to offer. To this end they actually want to show the finished piece alongside a documentary about the history of cliveden in a A/V suite onsite :-) the pressure really is on now !!! I'm actually thrilled about this prospect as it opens it up to being seen by tens of thousands of people pretty much all year round.

So the theme has moved away from the seasonal thing (although that is still a part) and more to focusing on issues and ventures, highlighted by stories. Still got a lot more work and ideas to build up here, but it is coming together slowly.

Anyway, I've managed to trim the film down to 10 minutes or so to do the recent work justice. I recently acquired a xlh1, and have been getting some great macro results, particularly using the EF adapter with a sigma F4 100-300mm zoom - great piece of kit.

What I feel is that I'm learning so much, not just by talking to people and getting involved, but by just sitting back and watching.

Cheers,

Rob

Hi Rob!

I haven't gotten to any films yet, but I'll get back here soon! I just wanted to say that your baby is ADORABLE!

How awesome is that!

Cato

Leaps and bounds indeed fella, leaps and bounds indeed! Your new found friends and story direction and new willdife spins offs looks like it will form a solid piece! - Loved the blue sequence, I've seen a few this year but as yet no footage and to see what you saw....well jealousy is upon me! Orchard story seems fun and has some meat to chew on and I like the plan to bring some 3d to the party.

I found some of the macro stuff a bit soft. Couldnt really make out whether this was focussing/compression or lens issue. That said nothing that would really cause any viewing issues in your piece.

I think you'll turn this into something very special.

Great stuff.
Mat

Hi Rob
Looks like your story is beginning to take shape really nicely and congratulations - you must really be spurred on knowing that your final film will be put to very good use!!

What fantastic shots once again. Love your macro work this round - beautiful. I am amazed at the variety and number of moths you were able to attract. Really special footage of the Blues mating too. Well done Rob - look forward to the final outcome of this one.

Hi Rob,
Exciting news that the video will be shown on site! Looks like you’ve been using the new camera to very good effect. Were the moth shots lit only by the trap or are you using a video light as well? I liked all of the close up and macro work- especially the berry shot (blackberry?). Don’t forget a CU of the snail! I think the new focus will make the story even more interesting. Good-luck with the next round of shooting!

Rob,

the film and project are very interesting. You have many good shots and fine editing.
I will not be surprised if you end up with one of the best long form videos.

Hi Rob:

Great stuff. I'll hold off with the comments until the next round when your project will be more coherent and closer to a final piece. In the meantime, masterful filming as always!

Cat

Phew, feels like a long time since I've posted here!!

October's entry has now been uploaded, heres the youtube linky!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuNojI491RQ

Time has been really tight recently, so i've maximised the time in filming and arranging filming sessions, getting a few more bits and pieces done.

I now have a clear structure to the whole film, which basically is comprised of breaking it down into 5 or 6 chunks - I'll then be presenting the links to camera.

Sections:

Intro to cliveden - around the estate, different habitats , access paths etc

Seasonal change - looking primarily at flora, changing species and states from winter thru to autumn,

Alien species - looking at invaders from the "cliveden snail" to more intrusive species such as muntjac deer, grey squirels etc. Investigation to see if NA signal crayfish is present in Thames.

Inverts - day and night - featurette on maypole hill inesct species - leading into moth trapping session.

leading into -
Mammals - bat survey session - badger footage from UWOL X ;-)

Possible inclusions (dependant on filming in the next two weeks!)

Featurette on Red Kite, it's reintroduction to the chilterns and subsequent great success!

Fungi - looking at the variety of fungi species found in the woodland

Rounded off by a sum up and a call to action , encouraging people to get out into nature, explore, watch and listen.

Final stretch now!!

Cheers,

Rob

Hi Rob:

How are you, stranger? Glad your work is pulling together! You and Mat are so similar in the work updates in that you provide lots of eye candy, but give us little concrete output for us to chew on and discuss comment over. Your footage is masterful, but alas I can give very little input on how all of it is coming together. Like Mat, you are set to surprise us all in the end ;-). All the best friend. I thought the ending shot of you or someone holding the bat in infrared was awesome and very intriguing.

I know that your narration was certainly not a final script so it is hardly worth mentioning that your soft-spoken nature was hard to follow!

Cheers for the final entry!

Cat

HI Cat, yes all will be revealed ;-)

Sorry for the low audio levels - trying to keep sleeping baby asleep!!!

Rob- I’m enjoying your project more each time I see it. I’m pleased to see the snails this time, but I’m not sure why they were monochrome. I’m sure that, as you say, all will be revealed next time! Best wishes.

Hi all,
Here's the vimeo upload.
I have struggled a lot in the last month to get this done in time - a persistent chest infection ( now fixed ) made the v/o's difficult, but I am pretty happy with the result. The National Trust who run cliveden are very positive about the film also, so there is a strong chance it will be played on loop in their visitor centre, giving a potential audience of tens of thousands in a year.
I must add that a lot of my inspiration for wildlife comes from the amazing upbringing that my parents gave me. Sadly, 3 weeks ago my father was diagnosed with an agressive brain tumour which we have this week found out is manageable, but chances of recovery slim.
I sat with him the other night and showed him the film. He liked it a lot.
:-)

Hey Rob I'm really sorry to hear about your Dad. I trust he will get stronger with time and be able to manage this tumour with minimal impact.

I will only get to view all the videos next week. Look forward very much to viewing yours. You always give us a treat of some kind and I'm sure this is will be no different.

Marj

That would be amazing. And well-deserved.

Sorry to hear about your father...send him our best.

I love the bats...

Rob,

This is a brillant piece of work. the narrative is so informative in a gentle but powerful manner. I learned some new and awesome stuff watching it!!!

Three times I had to reach for the volume control due to different levels from your naration to actual footage. No doubt you are probably already aware of that.

Once you finish it out it is definitely as good as most broadcasts I have ever watched.


Great Job

I loved the red kite footage too.

A small note about red kites. in the 1700's the rd kite was considered as the finest quarry at which to fly trained gyrfalons at, many of them were in fact released after capture. I doubt enough were actually caught to damage the population but it is an interesting bit of british Kite history. If I recall correctly this was recorded by malcom fleming in "A sporting tour". I could look it up if you wanted.

I loved the Mushroom portion!!! Great advice too!!!