”Elisabeth and friends” is the story about 3 good friends and how they explore winter activities in the mountains of Bjorli. Far away from the coast where they live.
Also it shows 3 healthy teenagers and the joy of making winter sports, a nice way to get in touch with nature and start loving it.
The stars of the show is Elisabeth (13), Iselin (13) and Stian (14).
For 3 days I’ve been following them as they have been trying out different activeties and YES, I’m excausted and I suddenly felt very old together with these lovely kids :)
They didn’t know then, but I gave them a surprise at the end of our winter holidays and they loved it. I made this the ending of my film.
Conditions:
We had different weather and lightning conditions.
Temp from -16C to +5C, snowy, rainy, sunny and a shaky camera (man).
That’s all I want to tell you about the film, except that we had a lot of fun making it and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

The film in QT: Elisabeth and friends (http://home.tussa.com/gibb/uwol/adventure7.mov)

Geir Inge

Wonderful piece Geir Inge!
The establisihing shots at Bjorli mountains was stunning and a nice pan too!
The sequence from the skilift was good althoug you could see the change in light at the end!
The low angle view from the snowboard running was stunning and very well done. I'm so astonished that it's possible to come down that hill on those snowboards, without breaking every bone in the body!
The last sequence with the dogs was also nice. But I would have liked more shots outside of the sledge as they was a bit shaky!
A very good piece Geir Inge. Hopefully you also got some rest too on your vacation to Bjorli?

You captured a really fun adventure feel in this one Gier. Opening shots were beautiful and I really liked the way you introduced the kids.

The lift and snowboarding sequence was fun to watch but the real treat for me was what you did with the dogsled shots. You got some great moving shots that took me right along on the ride.

I especially liked the low angle moving shot from alongside the sled.

Geir,

That was a lot of fun!!

First of all, you have an awesome speaking voice. It is very soothing and calming. You voice fit very well with the opening of the film.

I thought the transitional music when we first met the kids was perfect. It changed the pace for what were to see just right. From the serenity of the beautiful countryside to flying down a mountain on a snowboard.

My favorite shot of the snowboarding sequence was looking down at the kids with the valley below and you could see the buildings in the distance. Very cool shot!

I like how their heads turned at the close of the sequence with the beat of the music. :)

I thought while the music for the snowboarding was perfect, I thought the music for the dog sledding was too "country". It was more of a Yee Haw knee slappin music instead of something that really fits the beauty of your country and the dog sledding. Something a little more grand maybe?

The only other thing was some of the natural audio from the dog sledding was up there a bit and then the next shot was a distant shot and the audio just fell off abruptly. A little more of a cross fade or something would have made it a little less abrupt.

Another solid film for your portfolio!

It was a lot of fun watching but I'm sure not as much fun as the kids had! :)

Good job my friend!!!

the kids must have liked this...."dad needs a film, so we get to go 'boarding, dog-sledding, and tubing..."

loved the dogsledding sequence most of all, nice angles and photogenic...i don't mind shaky footage when it is a P-O-V shot, i think it adds to the effect of what is being experienced. of course i say that because mine is all shaky as well, as you will see...

very cute and enjoyable film...i always love Narration by Geir!

Geir, that was an interesting piece, I liked the footage you used and I thought the snowmobile towing the inflatable dinghy looked fun. I bet being pulled by dogs is an experience. I have never done that before, but would like to go for a ride someday!

Good work.

Hi Geir!

Your voice! It is a perfect voice for VO in film. It just sets the mood and makes you want to settle in for a great documentary. This was fun and very professionally put together. I can feel the wind in my face on that dog sled! That, was really cool!

Cat

I'm just in for a brief respond to your comments.

First:
It so happens that for the last month I've been in negotiation with a local TV station. They offered me full time job as a video journalist. For this I have to say thank you to you wonderful people and friends of uwol, Meryem and company :) It all was because of my uwol films. TVSunnmore want to show my wildlife shorts and use me as a videojournalist for local news. I said no to full time job and asked to be a freelancer, and they said YES. So now I'm working one week for my "little" brother in his bowling hall and have one week off to work for TVS. TVS phoned me when I was on winter holidays and sent me right away on my first mission. The opening of the worlds deepest undersea road tunnel, not far from where I live. I didn't have much time for editing my uwol7 film then, as you all hopefully understand.

Per Johan:
Thank you for comments.
The problem with filming dog sledge is that they need some space to turn around and go back again. It is all filmed with one camera and then you have to move to get new angels. Our problem was that on that icy snow the dogs get their feet cut to bleed. For me and the kids this was not easy task to handle. The girls even cried because of it. Kurt (the owner of the dogs) said this is normal and nothing to fear. Even better then using dog shoes as they would do more harm to the dogs hips.

Bruce:
Thank you for comments.
I'm glad you liked our little mountain adventure.
The dog sledge was really fantastic, we had never tried this before.
I was a little bit afraid of holding the camera alongside the sledge, at times it went really fast.

Kevin:
Thank you for comments.
The real challenge in this one was to film the snowboard scenes, the hill is very steep and I had to follow up the ski lift and walk down the hill to film some of the scenes, and yes I was afraid of falling and to damage/bust my camera:) I notice that one of the dog clips had a little bit to loud soundtrack, but sorry I didn't have time to fix it.

Meryem:
Thank you for comments. I'm blushing :)
I wonder is it only me that can't bear the sound of it's own voice, or...?
I always think that my voice seems rare when I listen to it.

Adrinn:
Thank you for comments.
The snowmobile (we call it snowrafting or tubing) was very fun. I'm just sorry I didn't catch the howling laughter from the kids though. Too long distance to the camera mic and too loud sound from the scooter.

Catherine:
Thank you for comments.
Once again I'm blushing and yes the dog sledge tour was great.
I have 8 different locations in this short. The dog sledge tour is in fact taken place in a mountain valley called (in english) Chest Valley or Breast Valley. It is the port to one of Norways most famous hiking area, Tafjordfjella. A wonderful place where you can hike for many days, and sleep in cabins (even got food supply) open for public.

I will start downloading your films tonight, now I have to go to TVS and finish my last shot for the news.

Geir Inge

As many above me have mention, the dog sledding was my favourite too.
Nice job, not as strong as you other films… I would have liked to se more about the dog sledding.

Markus

Hi Geir Inga
So glad you got that job with the local TV company.without a doubt you are the right person for video journalism.The dog sled bit amazes me.Obviously we dont have anything like that here in this climate.I cant add too much more to what everyone else has said.Although I will mention the slow pan in the beginning of the vide....I need to practice to get that done as well as you do...
Very enjoyable video from you as we have all come to expect

Hei Geir Inge,

This was fun to watch!!
Well done!

Most has been said by others already.
It is easy to get the snow over exposed when filming people wearing dark clothes, but I think you managed this very well.

The shaky filming on the dog sledge did not bother me at all. To me that gave the feeling of being on the sledge myself. A few shots of the sledge with the kids passing by would have been great, I missed that. But I understand the limitations you had.
I agree with Kevin about the music for the dog sledge part.

And last, but not least...
Congratulations with the freelance tv job!!

Hi Geir Inge


You make good progres,I will say this is one the best film
you have made.Allower a realy good film.The mucik may bee
a litle high.But a realy nice woise-ower

Great-jobb!!


VJV.

_______________

Geir,

Congratulations on the free lance job first,

Not much to say that hasn't been said, other than I really enjoyed your short.

Hi Geir Inge,

Congrats on the new TV position - that is fantastic news, you must be so happy!

As always, your entries are always of such a high standard and as others have said, your mastery of the camera really shows in this piece. I also agree with your wonderful soothing voice.

It really was quite an adventure you captured with the kids and a joy to watch.

Good luck in the new role.

Thanks to you all for wishing me good luck in my freelance job. Yesterday I was out day-cruising with the police. On Friday I will be out to get some more action shots, following them at night. That's an adventure too I guess.

I have to comment myself first, as I wrote to Meryem that my voice sound "rare", hehe. In Norwegian this do have a little bit different meaning than in English. In Norwegian we write "rar" and it means "odd" and that's what I ment :) In Norwegian "rare" means something uniqe or valuable, and I do not consider my voice to be exactly valuable or uniqe, just odd when I listen to myself :)

Ok, thank you all for feedback.
About the shaking in the sledge clips, I did plan to put on a stabilizator in the editing prosess, but finaly chose not to. I do understand that some can find it disturbing to watch, but I wanted it be as close to real as possible.
I have no other explenation or excuse in this matter :)

Geir Inge

Geir,

Congratulations on your job. It sounds exciting and fun, and you deserve it. With the popularity of your voice- will you be asked to do narration for your videos?!

I really liked this piece. It was fun to see your girl, and her friends, having such a great time. They probably wonder when you will make your next UWOL video, so they can have more fun :)

The dog sled ride was amazing to me- and my husband, who has ridden them many times having lived in Alaska, said it was the best footage he ever saw of them. It gave me a vicarious thrill, having never had the opportunity myself. The other adventures were also really fun to watch, and in your video you captured the essence of each, which wasn't easy.

I liked the music, and thought it was well selected. And of course your narration. I felt as if, through your film, I was able to join in part of the fun of your vacation- great job!


Ruth

Hey Geir, as an avid snowboarder/kiter I loved this, again it makes me want to get to norway sooner and stay there longer!!!! Technically, I thought some of the handheld pans could have been a little smoother - but the handling of areas of stark contrasts were done well, and the editing and variety of shots must have been spot on, because I did'nt notice it ;-) A great story and a nice three stage adventure, has convinced my wife, who will also be coming to Norway that she wants a husky ride!! Cheers!

And congrats on you job - it sounds like a great thing :-)

Geir, what fun. Enjoyed it very much. Ya'll must love winter up there. I really enjoyed the dog sled shots. Now that would be fun. And, as with the others, congradulations on the job, I think your voice is perfect for VO work. Is your Bowling hall like our Bowling alley? Bob

I think this was the second video I watched from this contest and I have to say, I liked it very, very much.

I very much enjoyed your introduction voice over with the wide shots...
In fact, all your wide shots of the countryside were very impressive. Makes me want to come visit some day.

Bob T.

Hi Ruth and thank you for kind words and give my thanks to your husband as well. Yes, I will do my own VO on my TV reports :)

Thank you Rob for comments and I hope you and your wife will get a pleasant stay in Norway.

Hi Bob S and thank you for comments on my film. Yes I like the winter but sincerely I'm more a Spring, Summer and Autumn guy. Bowling hall is like yours bowling alley :)

Hi Bob T and thank you for nice comments. If you come to Norway give us a call. maybe some of us Vikings can meet you and show you around :)

Geir Inge

HEY....snowboarding comes to uwol !!! :-) and about time too! Nice little film Geir and an interesting day with the kids. If I'm honest I didn't feel the footage was up to your usual standard and felt a bit 'run and gun' but that said there was some nice shots in there. The inflatable dinghy looked a riot...have you tried it yourself !?

Nice piece and many congrats on your job. You'll certainly be learning fast now fella !

Geir your film reminds me of my family, and skiing together back in the day. What wonderful times. Thanks for the enjoyment. Love the sleigh ride!

I enjoyed it! I think towards the end it kind of tapered off from the adventurousness of the beginning, but that's from someone who's never been dogsledding. :)

I loved the introductions and the timing of the heads turning as Matt mentioned! Really great stuff, especially on limited time. :)

Look forward to watching more of yours in the future! Congrats on the freelance gig!

C

Geir

A most enjoyable movie Geir. With each new challenge I get just that little bit closer to booking our tickets to Norway!

Here you have created something quite different (haven’t we all) - winter holiday activities in Bjo.

I am not surprised that you felt exhausted at the end of your filming. It makes me realize all the more that even when filming family activities it takes time and effort to make a really good, enjoyable and easy to follow movie. I like the fact that you used your daughter Elizabeth and her two good buddies as your ‘actors’ - it added a personal touch and brought your adventures closer to home. Certainly a lovely surprise you gave the kids - those huskies are beautiful.

I love the scenery here too - with its stark contrasts - must have been difficult to film though with the obviously difficult lighting conditions. You have an excellent sense of composition Geir. I particularly liked your framing at the end. Also liked the way you framed the kids when they introduced themselves.

I enjoyed the music but I don’t know enough about your part of the world to comment on the appropriateness.

Hi Mat I always appreciate your comments, and thank you for being honest:)
Yes I have tried the "dinghy" and it's awesome. They also have an alternative trip, downhill and without the snow scooter, but at the time we spent our days at Bjorli they didn't offer this.

Hi Eric and thank you for comments. Family tours on ski is great and a tradition in Norway :)

Hi Carl and thank you for comments. Well, we get to spend 3 hours together with Kurt and his ten dogs (huskeys). It was quite an adventure, especially for the children. Two of the female dogs where fertile, so the two leader dogs had some problems to consentrate on the mission :) If you ask me, I will highly recommend a dog sledge ride if you get a chance.

Hi Marj and thank you for nice comments.
I think we share the same feeling or dream, to go to other countries :) I want to go to Australia, to USA, Canada, England, South Africa... all because of your films. Another thing I've discovered since I took part of this challenge, is how much there is to find/discover just right outside our own front door, eh? Things we don't see in our everyday lives. When it comes to our mountain tour at Bjorli, yes I was a bit exhausted, but in a good way. I had to follow the ski lift up to the top and walk downhill (without ski on) to get some of the scateboard scenes. I was afraid of falling and lose my camera as it was very slippery, but it all went well. I am no good with white balance or lightning conditions and had a struggle with it. You can see in some of the scenes the difference in light. Sun shining on the mountain top, but shadows down in the valley. It also changed rapidly if I turned around, even standing on the same spot. I had also some condence on the lense when I was filming the sledge tour as it was -16C. When it comes to music, I think hiphop is the most common when you look at snowboarding films. I wanted to use a different kind of music and remembered an old film called "Convoy" with some fast moving country music. I tried to make the action in the beginning and somehow slow down at the end as they dissapear, in the sledge, further up the icy river to new adventures :)
If you come to Norway give us a call and we'll try to meet up.

Geir Inge

Geir Inge
This looks like it was fun to put together. I think you did a really good job on this one. Well done.

Gordon

Nice film Geir. The girls looked like they had a great time. That was an adventure alright.
Although you had some bad weather you shot a great story. I had fun watching it. Thanks

Hi Geir,
Sorry it's taken me so long to leave feeback to your film, i'm trying to get through everyones films tonight. That said, i loved this one. I had a similar adventure in the mountains in Canada but unfortunately i didn't get to go dog sledding. That must have been a real highlight! I really liked the footage of the dog sledding, & would have loved to have seen more of the kids from the front to see the enjoyment on their faces as they wizzed by.
The shot you had from on the snow with the kids snowboarding by was great. Maybe you could have added some slo-mo footage of them as well. I have had a bit of a play with slo-mo with my footage from Canada & thought it came out pretty well.
Great to watch!

Bryce