UWOL #1: "The Living Skies - In Memoriam" by J. Cody Lucido
 

I want to thank Meryem and all the others who put this on. I can't wait for the next one!

I really enjoyed the challenge - even with some of the worse weather, EVER! ;)

For an old tree hugger like me, this entry was kind of a gut wrencher. Making this little tribute helped with the healing. Life goes on...

Shot with my Canon XH A1 - in what few sunlit moments there were in the otherwise overcast, rainy Seattle season. I look forward to your comments.

http://www.uwolchallenge.com/challen...InMemoriam.mov


Gear:
Canon XH A1 - Shot in HDV
Cartoni Focus 101
Edited on Intel iMac with FCP 5.1.2

Like you, I just experienced the wind storm last month. In the middle of it, a tree in the park just behind my house went down- scary and sad. We lost a lot of trees, though none right in our yard. I can empathize with how you feel, and the video expressed it very well. They did get their revenge, though- we lost power for 5 days! I found the video really interesting in how it moved over the trees- very effective.

Ruth

Cody, a strong and moving film showing the power of mother earth. You also succeed to show the beauty in all the pain.
You are in my top 5 list!

Very nice video Cody! I could see what you were getting at! Nice job. You did a good job at delivering your message. nice, smooth editing. Good atmosphere.

The last year and the begging of this year have had the worst weather I have ever seen in washington! It was incredible!

Kudos!
~Gabriel

Awesome job Cody! Your compression was great! :)
Nice light, nice color, nice composition.
Man those were some massive trees!

A great tribute to them!

Cody:

Excellent, very well told story. When you live in the land of zero trees as I do you can truly appriciate the awesome beauty they offer.

One of my favorites.

Brian

A rivetting portrayal of a crime scene. Your sound track in the first part was jarring and scary...perfect. I enjoyed your use of side lighting to add drama, but would have prefered that you didn't fade to black between each shot. The only thing missing is the scene where you hang those contractors from the highest limb standing on one of your trees. Good show.

Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate it.

This was an odd creation for me. The subject and event paired themselves and I just went along. I did use some unorthodox editing to varying degrees of success.

One thing I find missing in the compressed version is the deep rich colors and the rumbling crash of audio in the beginning. I think I might link to a QT h.264 and post the link.

Thanks for watching.

Very well done, Cody. The visuals were powerful enough but the music really helped me to feel it.

Are the contractors going to be held responsible for repairs? I imagine your insurance company would "go after" them.

Bruce Foreman

Cody:

I hope no one was hurt in the carnage. I loved the film, you really put it together well. Nothing I can really say that has not already been said.

Thanks

Randy

Nobody was physically hurt besides the trees.

We were lucky considering four 80 foot trees crashed down in our small backyard. The first one fell accross the yard and stopped the other two from crushing us in our sleep. Literally. :(

Actions are being taken.

Our yard finally had all the trees cut last week so now it is naked, exposed.

But... Life goes on.

Cheers!

Lots of innovation through your images Cody. It's so long since I've seen a domestic hen or duck you struck my nostalgic chord and they looked so cool and different to the wild fowl the rest of us try to track. Your shot of a fallen branch that looked like a giant caterpillar on the prowl was delightful and showed a keen eye and imagination in happy combo.

Thanks for your kind words.

The hen is 'Alice Faye' our Buff Orpington. 'Stanley' the Runner Duck is our other girl. It was nice to see them come out into the yard and have a look. They had the run of the yard since they were hatched and had been kept our for a whole week. I had the camera with me when the sun broke and we all investigated it together.

Poor Stanley's pond is no more, so she made do with the rain barrell. We now give her a weekly swim in the tub to keep in proper order.

Hi Cody!
 

You had some very nice footage in your film. Especially enjoyed the DOF choices on a few after the "life goes on" part. Your sound design was excellent.

Like the rest, was sorry to learn of the wreckage.

While we know the result of the contractors cutting the roots of the trees, I am curious to know why they did it in the first place?

Best wishes~
Bradley

Thanks Bradley!

To answer your question, here is the math: inept contractor + back hoe + new driveway = let's cut all along the fence even if there are trees. ;)