UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins at DVinfo.net

Marj Atkins · April 2nd, 2014, 02:37 AM

The nature and content of this story was basically determined by the weather. We had rain for almost two weeks solid so I was forced to do something that I could film indoors.

In order to achieve what I set out to do I used the time indoors to play around with different effects and do a few motion graphics. I gave myself the additional challenge of filming with a black background. Ninety percent of the filming was done at night basically because I was using two little LED UV torches to light some of the subjects.

Jelly fish and scorpions are probably the most famous animals with the ability to fluoresce so I felt it would be good to include both. The brief shot of the jellyfish came from my ‘By Design’ movie and used as permitted by the rules and the scorpion came from my box of dead insects and arachnids – despite much searching I could not find a single live scorpion in my garden because of the wet conditions!

As it turned out I did not have to throw out all of the shots that I took during our stay at a game lodge at the beginning of the month as I initially thought I would.

I learned a tremendous amount in the process as usual and was quite fascinated to discover all the things in my home that fluoresce.

Trond Saetre · April 2nd, 2014, 02:41 AM

Marj, I'm linking to your film here, so you have it in your own thread as well.

Marj Atkins · April 2nd, 2014, 02:43 AM

Hi Trond - Was already busy doing that! :)

Trond Saetre · April 2nd, 2014, 02:44 AM

A nice video can never be seen too often. :)
I'll comment more later about your film.

Bryce Comer · April 2nd, 2014, 07:06 PM

As usual Marj,
you have amazed me with the level of detail in your film. So much information, & really good information too. I was only talking the other day about how my camouflaged gear seemed to light up under the ultra violet light of the camera, & it looks like you have answered why that is in your video! Amazing stuff. I will definitely have to look further into this as just like flashing neon signs catch our attention, i'm sure with that gear on, i'm attracting a lot of attention too!
Thanks for another very informative film!
Regards,
Bryce

Gordon Hoffman · April 3rd, 2014, 06:20 AM

Well done Marj. I'll look at my bananas and peanut butter differently now!

Gordon

Marj Atkins · April 3rd, 2014, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryce Comer

... I was only talking the other day about how my camouflaged gear seemed to light up under the ultra violet light of the camera, & it looks like you have answered why that is in your video! Amazing stuff. I will definitely have to look further into this as just like flashing neon signs catch our attention, i'm sure with that gear on, i'm attracting a lot of attention too!

That is quite amazing Bryce - you won't believe this but when I was checking the camo fabric I use to cover my camera I was wondering if your camouflage outfit glowed or not. Apparently camo fabric made in China has brighteners in it while some other manufacturers leave them out. Fortunately there are products that eliminate this flourescence if you don't want to buy a new outfit - just google it.

I also found this whole business quite astounding when I first discovered it. Fortunately most of my outfits (summer/winter) don't glow. Just goes to show it is not what we see that counts but what animals see.

Marj Atkins · April 3rd, 2014, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Hoffman

Well done Marj. I'll look at my bananas and peanut butter differently now!

Gordon

Just don't mix them together - they may explode! :)

Marj Atkins · April 3rd, 2014, 10:51 AM

Oh yes - my apoogies Bryce and Gordon - I had a few distractions when I posted my replies to this and forgot to thank you for your comments.

Mike Sims · April 3rd, 2014, 02:11 PM

Well done, Marj. Very nice research and execution. I’m glad you were able to use the game ranch shots as they added a lot. I always admire your animations. What were you using for the black background and how was it lit? Or perhaps I’m asking how it was not lit. How did you avoid light spill onto the background? And how did that scorpion creep in there! :) The wipe-on with the UV is very effective. Wish I’d have thought of that!

Andrew Hood · April 3rd, 2014, 06:12 PM

Entertaining and informative - I totally need to get a UV torch now. A great concept and you made good use of the imposed limitations - raining so much.
Maybe that explains why I didn't see much wildlife on my journey, they saw another neon scarecrow.

Mick Jenner · April 4th, 2014, 02:43 AM

Your films Marg are always well researched, informative and that therefore makes them a pleasure to watch. You certainly understand your animation program and put a lot of work into producing this entry. I always find it hard to offer critique on others work in the UWOL challenges, especially as time restraints etc make it very difficult for all of us to gather all the elements we need to make a watchable film. My only comment is that I found the flow of the film at times is maybe a tad to pacey to fully take in all the facts as they were given. Or maybe its me just getting old!!!

Trond Saetre · April 4th, 2014, 06:03 AM

Hi Marj,

You have already got some good feedback, and I agree with what has been said.
So I'll just chime in and say I very much enjoyed watching your film.
You always have a strong story and a great VO, combined with the visuals and the effects.
This was a good one!

Well done.

Marj Atkins · April 4th, 2014, 12:15 PM

Thank you all for your encouraging comments.

Mick
A ‘tad pacey’. Not surprising - that’s my style – usually the direct result of squeezing a one hour movie into four minutes. . . and to think I was intending to do a music video this time round with NO talking at all for a change!

Andrew
Ha ha – I wonder if I should ask for commission on all the torches that everyone will be buying?! Mmm – maybe there is a business opportunity here. . . :)

Thanks Trond. Appreciate your kind comments.

Paul Wood · April 4th, 2014, 12:19 PM

Hi Marj,

i first echo what the other commenters have said - I thought the graphics were very well done, and informative - I especially liked the combination of image and graph, which along with your excellent (as always) commentary did a very good job of explaining the subject. I though the inclusion of the clothes gave an interesting twist to the story, and your ¨animal eye¨ views fascinating.

April 2nd, 2014, 02:37 AM	#1
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins The nature and content of this story was basically determined by the weather. We had rain for almost two weeks solid so I was forced to do something that I could film indoors. In order to achieve what I set out to do I used the time indoors to play around with different effects and do a few motion graphics. I gave myself the additional challenge of filming with a black background. Ninety percent of the filming was done at night basically because I was using two little LED UV torches to light some of the subjects. Jelly fish and scorpions are probably the most famous animals with the ability to fluoresce so I felt it would be good to include both. The brief shot of the jellyfish came from my ‘By Design’ movie and used as permitted by the rules and the scorpion came from my box of dead insects and arachnids – despite much searching I could not find a single live scorpion in my garden because of the wet conditions! As it turned out I did not have to throw out all of the shots that I took during our stay at a game lodge at the beginning of the month as I initially thought I would. I learned a tremendous amount in the process as usual and was quite fascinated to discover all the things in my home that fluoresce. [in]visible Light on Vimeo

April 2nd, 2014, 02:43 AM	#3
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Hi Trond - Was already busy doing that! :)

April 2nd, 2014, 02:44 AM	#4
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins A nice video can never be seen too often. :) I'll comment more later about your film.

April 2nd, 2014, 07:06 PM	#5
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins As usual Marj, you have amazed me with the level of detail in your film. So much information, & really good information too. I was only talking the other day about how my camouflaged gear seemed to light up under the ultra violet light of the camera, & it looks like you have answered why that is in your video! Amazing stuff. I will definitely have to look further into this as just like flashing neon signs catch our attention, i'm sure with that gear on, i'm attracting a lot of attention too! Thanks for another very informative film! Regards, Bryce __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

April 3rd, 2014, 06:20 AM	#6
Gordon Hoffman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pincher Creek, Alberta Canada Posts: 619	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Well done Marj. I'll look at my bananas and peanut butter differently now! Gordon

April 2nd, 2014, 02:41 AM	#2
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Marj, I'm linking to your film here, so you have it in your own thread as well. [in]visible Light on Vimeo

April 3rd, 2014, 10:51 AM	#9
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Oh yes - my apoogies Bryce and Gordon - I had a few distractions when I posted my replies to this and forgot to thank you for your comments.

April 3rd, 2014, 02:11 PM	#10
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Well done, Marj. Very nice research and execution. I’m glad you were able to use the game ranch shots as they added a lot. I always admire your animations. What were you using for the black background and how was it lit? Or perhaps I’m asking how it was not lit. How did you avoid light spill onto the background? And how did that scorpion creep in there! :) The wipe-on with the UV is very effective. Wish I’d have thought of that!

April 3rd, 2014, 06:12 PM	#11
Andrew Hood Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Latrobe Valley, Vic Posts: 320	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Entertaining and informative - I totally need to get a UV torch now. A great concept and you made good use of the imposed limitations - raining so much. Maybe that explains why I didn't see much wildlife on my journey, they saw another neon scarecrow.

April 4th, 2014, 02:43 AM	#12
Mick Jenner Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: West Sussex England Posts: 843	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Your films Marg are always well researched, informative and that therefore makes them a pleasure to watch. You certainly understand your animation program and put a lot of work into producing this entry. I always find it hard to offer critique on others work in the UWOL challenges, especially as time restraints etc make it very difficult for all of us to gather all the elements we need to make a watchable film. My only comment is that I found the flow of the film at times is maybe a tad to pacey to fully take in all the facts as they were given. Or maybe its me just getting old!!!

April 4th, 2014, 06:03 AM	#13
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Hi Marj, You have already got some good feedback, and I agree with what has been said. So I'll just chime in and say I very much enjoyed watching your film. You always have a strong story and a great VO, combined with the visuals and the effects. This was a good one! Well done.

April 4th, 2014, 12:15 PM	#14
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Thank you all for your encouraging comments. Mick A ‘tad pacey’. Not surprising - that’s my style – usually the direct result of squeezing a one hour movie into four minutes. . . and to think I was intending to do a music video this time round with NO talking at all for a change! Andrew Ha ha – I wonder if I should ask for commission on all the torches that everyone will be buying?! Mmm – maybe there is a business opportunity here. . . :) Thanks Trond. Appreciate your kind comments.

April 4th, 2014, 12:19 PM	#15
Paul Wood Major Player Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 485	Re: UWOL Challenge #29 "[in]visible light" by Marj Atkins Hi Marj, i first echo what the other commenters have said - I thought the graphics were very well done, and informative - I especially liked the combination of image and graph, which along with your excellent (as always) commentary did a very good job of explaining the subject. I though the inclusion of the clothes gave an interesting twist to the story, and your ¨animal eye¨ views fascinating.