I am about to go on holidays, so I have posted my feedback thread a bit early.

Australian Spirit

I filmed these kangaroos at a disused picnic area deep within a National Park. These kangaroos were very shy when first approached however, over a period of three days, they started to accept my presence. I could have filmed Kangaroos at the local golf course or wildlife park however, I wanted to capture the natural behaviour of wild kangaroos.

After watching their behaviour, ie bucks fighting, joey’s playing, mother’s care of the joey, etc, I started thinking of how the kangaroo relates to Australia & started thinking of the Australians fighting spirit – particularly in sport, but also in war, where Australians have always supported their allies. I also thought about Australian’s passion for recreation and the great outdoors, ie Australian’s play time. These thoughts, combined with the almost spiritual icon of the kangaroo (only found in Australia) led to the naming of the film.

I am generally pleased with the outcome – with the exception of sound. I did want to capture the energy that goes into the bucks fighting (their roars at each other, etc) however, the wind on the morning that I managed to find some fighting bucks was too strong for the new shotgun mic. Maybe next time.

I hope you enjoy it.

David....I feel like a kid waiting for xmas!! I'm stoked someone has brought a film on Roo's to the challenge........and If the shooting is the standard of your last piece we should be in for a real treat!

Well David you haven’t disappointed at all.

In my eyes this is a winning level entry by previous standards (I've only watched 2 in this round so far). You have subtlety, style, great subject matter, interesting scenes and editing and a fitting music track. Basically you seem to have taken the best of your last entry and brought the entire level up considerably....including dropping the nasty titles ;-)

The fight sequence you got was splendid as were the Joeys trying to learn to tame that big set of springs. A couple of your shots seemed to have odd contrast, colouring (High in Magenta 1.25-1.50ish), maybe down to compression or the light in that situation. I loved the fence shot, great light and tone!

I'd like to see a higher resolution version of this piece, so I hope you post one! I think this will be a tough entry to top...very well done.

David, wow - what can I say. This is one of the finest wildlifefilms I've seen in a long time, top notch!
For me this is an exotic mammal I've never seen in real life. You presented it in a very nice way David. The fighting scene was stunning, fun to view how they used the tail to balance. And the baby-kangaroos (joey's) was very cute.
Perhaps you should consider some narrating to explain some of the behaviour?

Thanks very much for showing this, excellent!

David, this was awesome. You did very well!
The intro was the best I have seen so far.
The fight scene made me feel like I was there watching with my own eyes.

Thank you for sharing.

Mat, Per & Trond,

Thanks for the wonderful feedback.

Mat, I believe the magenta look you refer to was the natural colour at that time, on that particular day. It was a beautiful dusk and there was a real golden glow cast by the clouds. In fact, this footage was really the only footage I actually liked.

Off to download some more entries.

Thanks once again - you guys have really made my day!

Wow David this is good stuff man.Fitting title to your movie with Roo's and haunting digerdoo sounds.I was blown away with your entry in the last challenge,and this has lived up to the same if not better quality,You keep turning out great quality like this and I will keep being a fan and watching.well done.

Hi David:

After reading everyone's comments I know I am really missing out! I don't have the means to play MP4... I will try and work on this and get back to you. In the mean time, do you have it in QT?

Sorry I'm missing out.

Cat

Hi Cat,
I only use Quicktime to check my mpeg4 files - so it should open in QT with no problems. Please let me know if you are having any difficulty.

I've got to see this film...

I'm trying another system and will be in touch!

Cat

David:

Very nice !!!!!! And very informative. I am amazed by these animals, not having had that much exposure to them prior to seeing your film, the film provides some real educational benefit as well as beautifully shot footage. Thanks !

Okay David!

Got it, and have reviewed your film. Stunning footage, and great choice of Aussi music with the digerydoo (spelling?).

We at uwol are blessed to be able to experience this footage, roos in the wild. The lighting in the end was cool and I can see why Mat thought something was going on that wasn't natural. Knowing that it is makes it all that more intriguing.

This was a thrill to watch. Excellent job.

Cat

You showed us all outside of Australia something both entertaining, and educational about kangaroos. Cinematography was well done, music went super well with your visuals and the whole was very enchanting.

But most of all you captured a side of these animals I had never seen in any documentaries on them. The one leaning way over as it scratched was hilarious, but really fascinating was the two with their joeys climbing in and out of the pouch. (they look to being close to having outgrown those accommodations)

You showed a very endearing side of these fascinating creatures.

I enjoyed it very much and will be watching it again.

Hi David, had a little trouble on the upload, but its here on the Mac now, where to start, the editing layers first class,
each scene from the strong sunlit rusty fence through to the end, Brilliant.

Very much liked the shot of the two roos fighting, using their tails to keep them up right and stand their ground,
when they finished their bout they adopted the posture of Sumo wrestlers.

Intro Aboriginal sound I thought was V good.

Thank you all for your very positive feedback.

It's school holiday time here in Australia - so I'm off again for another week.

I think I have managed to give feedback on all entries however, if I have forgotten anyone, please accept my apologies and I will certainly get onto this when I get back. I believe Dale's is yet to be uploaded however, this is one I will certainly look out for on my return.

Really enjoyed looking at all the entries. Great variations on the theme - which my family and I have thoroughly enjoyed.

We are all off water skiing for the week, where I can capture my true love with the camera - filming the family.

All the very best...

I really liked the flow of your piece, with the layered visual introduction woven with the Australian music setting the tone. The various shots of the kangaroos were outstanding, and the fighting sequences were amazing. The cinematography was excellent, and the editing enhanced your footage. It was fun to see the true behavior, and I appreciate the effort you took in getting that on film- I enjoyed this one a lot!

Ruth

David… that is cool. I visited Melbourne and Bendigo in Mars till April this year and I love it. Your film really made me wanna go back (and I will). I love the shot at 00.18-00.24, the one with the fog on the creek. You did a superb job and this is one of the best. I miss a VO, I thing that with a VO this would be a seller… good job.
I like the way you edited with opacity, really nice. In some of the shot it looks like you got the camera on a tripod but you still move the camera around (fight scene). The shot on the Roo who feed and scratch himself on the belly is so cool… love it. The do a lot of “human behaviors”.


Markus Nord

I had to watch this 4 or 5 times. I kept getting caught up in the beauty of it all, and forgetting to look at critically. (I always have that problem when I try to study well done material.)

Everything had a natural flow. The layered intro, the music, the slo-mo scenes... it was all great.

Although I've learned something from everyone's work in this contest, this is an example of the quality I hope to achieve someday.

David excellent footage. Since I don’t know a lot about kangaroos that’s where a little narration would have been nice. Still enjoyable to watch.

"Skippy, Skippy - Skippy the bush kangaroo"
Excuce me no offend David, but you braught me back to the 60's and my childhood favorite TV series, of caurse back in those days it all went in black and white. Instantly I start humming on that old tune :)

Great film and editing and the didjeridoos made it some how complete.
If I may be so free, maybe some narrations on some places would have fit to this short, fighting scene and the babyroos? Though the title tell us a lot, I think the Australian spirit is more than just kangaroos. But this is just a personal feeling I have and I know you can't fill 3 min with all wishes.
My favorite is the opening sequence wich gave me a touch of The Australian spirit right away.

Again it's a great film and I wish you all the best.
Geir Inge

Thanks Geir Inge & Gordon,
I didn't want to include narration in this film as I didn't want to turn it into a documentary style of film.
I simply wanted to capture something that came with the fighting scenes and the play scenes. These scenes, combined with the fact the kangaroo is such an Australian icon, led to the music selection and the attempt at bringing in a spiritual feel throughout the film.
I feel narration would have taken something away from what I was trying to achieve.
I did have excellent quality narration (thanks to Sue, my wife) however, we both agreed the film achieved the better outcome without it.
It really is a personal thing I guess.
Thanks so much for your feedback and all the very best to you both.
David

David,

for me here in canada, what a joy seeing the kangaroos and wallybes?

Getting audio in the wind is almost impossible with out expensive equipment! Look forward to some clips with audio in the future!!

thank you so much for sharing!!!

The title was suiting in my book

David,

I know I commented on this one already but I had to go back and watch it again without being under time pressure to watch and comment on all the others.

I find it even more entertaining, the editing and pacing really add to the unique views you captured.

I hope you're having a bit of fun in your home environs calling yourself "an award winning video producer". You earned it.

Bruce Foreman

Hi Bruce,
Great to hear from you - and particularly nice to read your comments.
Yes, it is a joy to share my entry with my family and friends and also talk about being the co winner with another fantastic entry (which I always encourage them to download). You would be very excited to hear how others have commented on Cinco!
It is such a positive experience to be part of the UWOL Community and I am really looking forward to UWOL #6 - as I am sure you are (I can hear Meryem cackling in the background with some mischievous theme).
All the very best.
David