Hello,
I have learned that people are having trouble downloading my video... I'm in the process of doing some troubleshooting on it now. This is my first time submitting, so, I am working the bugs out! Thanks for being patient. I'll give some details about the video as soon as I've reposted (and tested!) the video.

It's been such fun watching everyone else's videos!

Amelia

Ha Ha!

worked it out - it's an mpeg file not Mov or whatever.

if you click on the clip you will get a not found message, simply change to suffix to mpeg and you're away

I get tired just watching that! - it's a great piece on the subject, I liked the intro and meeting Brian, although I expected the audio to match his talking until I realised it was just VO.

I liked the footage of him running while we listen to his reasons - particularly the shot where he almost runs out of frame then crosses over.

You're giving me triathlon flashbacks, looks like some of this was shot at the Rez?

Your shooting is quite good, nice composition and some interesting angles and perspectives. I agree with Paul, that when his mouth is moving and the VO are happening at the same time, it takes me out of the narrative when I am thinking about whether these should be synched or not...

Interesting story and use of the theme. I always enjoy listening to athletes.

The audio does sound a little bit canned, and your VO (at least, I think it is you, the female voice...), is a little bit poppy. What kind of mics are you using? Do you have a pop filter?

Oh, and by the way...welcome to UWOL, Amelia. The girls are growing in numbers, and the Colorado girls are well represented here! Hope you had fun playing.

Hi Amelia,

Welcome to the UWOL family!
I really enjoyed watching this one. And it was an interesting story.
Hope you can sort out the audio problems.

Well done! I'm looking forward to watch your future videos.

Hi - thanks for your responses! This is so fun! Thanks for the welcome, Trond, I'm looking forward to participating in the future and hopefully improving my videomaking abilities!

I definitely agree with you both, Paul and Meryem, that the weak link is the audio. I initially did the interview while Brian was getting ready for the run, but, the wind really picked up and pretty much destroyed the sound quality. So, I ended up doing an off-line interview (in my car, which didn't make for usable video) which I dubbed over the other footage. I guess, ideally, I should have reshot the interview in a setting in which I could have used the video, or, perhaps if I'd used a lav mic (rather than the on-board shotgun) in the intial interview, the wind may not have affected the sound quality as much.

Meryem, it was my voice I used for the female VO - I actually think it's distracting having two voices, and will recut to only use Brian's voice. I didn't take the time to do enough takes to get comfortable with speaking into the mic; and so I sound too too stiff.

You're right about the location -- we shot at the canal at the reservoir, but most of the shooting was at Boulder Valley Ranch (on Eagle and Sage trails).

Thanks for your time and thoughts. It really helps!

Amelia,

Interesting film - and I'm yet another person who gets tired just looking at this. I've got a lot fitter in recent years, but still can't run.

Some great scenery to run through there - maybe that would inspire me more than grey, soggy skies and busy roads.

I echo what others have said about the commentary sounding a bit off. Perhaps you should get a good closet (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=863565&postcount=101)!

Hi Amelia,
Welcome to the UWOL family. I really enjoyed your film, it was an interesting subject & very interesting to hear about the transformation that has happened with your friend through his running. I loved the different angles you had in a lot of your shots, & the little bits of timelapse, along with the cross fades showing the runner at different points along the road.
Since others have commented on the voice over issues, i won't add anything to that, but on another technical point, a few of your shots looked like they were overexposed, at least on my monitor. It looks like where you filmed this would be one of those places where it is almost always very bright, & correct exposure is something that you may find hard to control. You may need to look at a neutral density filter or 2 to sort out the exposure problems. I also see you had some difficulty in the wind with some of the shots being a bit shakey. I too had this problem with one of my tripods. I ended up going out & buying a new one, but before that i was experimenting with the use of a small sandbag hanging from under the fluid head. This worked reasonably well, maybe if it is windy again where you are shooting, you could give that a go to smooth out those shots.
Overall a nice piece, & hopefully the first of many more from you.

Bryce

In my personal opinion (and I am in no way a big shooter in here,so take this anyway you like.) I think you have got more than just the basics right here.A few minor technical issues to sort out and you will be a contender.Be that as it may I am sure that you will have so much fun here as all us other crazy people do.

Welcome to UWOL Amelia!

And an entry from Boulder, COLORADO.... well, we are in the same neighborhood! I'm glad I came to this one a bit later, cause I didn't have any problems downloading your film. Well done! Very interesting take on the theme. The composition of your clip was creatively articulated. Nice to have you on board.

Cat

Thanks Mike for your comment on getting a good closet! It actually hadn't occurred to me to actually get as sophisticated as setting up a sort of sound studio at home; and actually my closed may be a great place to start. At the very least, it'd sure be worth doing some research on it because maybe it wouldn't take much to make a difference.

Also, about the sound issue - Meryem had noticed some popping and had asked about the mic I was using - I used a Shure SM58, which is pretty high quality. So, I think the popping could have been due to the fact that I held the too close. Also, I recorded my VO directly only my computer through Premiere Pro. So, perhaps the popping could be a result of this feature of PP not being very well developed? (Actually, it's probably more likely user error)! However, recording my VO directly into PP most likely explains the difference in sound quality between my VO and Brian's VO (which was recorded onto take with the on-camear shotgun mic). So, lesson learned: consistency in VO recording tools w/in a video is key!

Bryce, I really appreciate your suggestion on the sandbag. I have a pretty meaty tripod, but even that can get somewhat top heavy as I shoot with a XL2. Also, it's pretty common to have high winds in this area; so, it would be good to have a plan of "defense" against the wind!

John Dennis, thanks for your comment! Coming from one who puts together such quality videos, I defintely value your opinion!

Cat, it's nice hearing from another living in this area and I appreciate your comments! It's also been fun watching your videos and seeing familiar territory.

Also, Bryce, I forgot to address your feedback on exposure... you're definitely right that parts were overexposed; and that was even after reducing some of the brightness and adding contrast in post.

I used an ND filter while shooting, but thought I'd be clever and use manual settings for the Iris and shutter speed. But, obviously, I didn't set these correctly. In the future, I should probably just use automatic settings, or be more attentive to the manual settings. I also haven't been shooting with the zebra stripes - and that may be something I should go back to.

So, thanks for your thoughts on this - hopefully they'll make me more conscientious!

Hi Amelia.

Great first entry.
I am not a runner myself, but I have been hiking the mountains for years. As a heavy smoker for over 30 years (started very young), I quit smoking 10 weeks ago and already feeling a lot better.
At the same time me and my wife started out on our 10 km walk every evening. I can already feel the change inside and I'm sure your running man do experience a transformation while running.
Nice editing and mix between shots.

I already longing for uwol9 to watch your next uwol film :)

All the best.
Geir Inge

Hi Geir - thanks for your post and congratulations on quitting smoking! I know that's not easy. You may be inspired to know that my running friend, Brian, was a smoker when he started running. I think the running made quitting smoking much easier. 10K per day is a very impressive workout regime. I can imagine that it would make you feel much better. Maybe the next time we have a transformation theme, I can interview you and your wife :)

I also really enjoyed your film but work has been hectic lately and I am behind on posting feedback - I hope to get caught up by the end of the week.

Take good care,

Amelia

Hi again Amelia,
I too had problems with exposure in my film. I was under exposed on a couple of shots, & that was in auto, so i would suggest you go for the zebra stripes option. I played around on the weekend with setting up manually for the type of shots i had under exposed in my film, & it turned out much better. At the time i just thought the auto option would be the best option.

Regards,

Bryce

Thanks Bryce! That's good to know that you're having better luck with using the zebra stripes and manual settings than using auto settings. I also have been using the zebra stripes (w/ manual settings, for the most part) ever since your posting about my video being overexposed. But, I really haven't "tested" the auto settings in challenging light situations.

Just out of curiosity (I'm not sure whether you'll revisit this thread), what camera do you shoot with?

Hi Amelia - my apologies, I’m having similar problems posting feedback at the moment.
Your video production, apart from the technical problems already mentioned, has a very professional feel to it. Your story is well constructed.
I like your idea of using Brian’s running feet at the beginning and end and you created a neat, effective ending with the freeze-frame and title. (I would never have thought of putting the second part of my title first - pretty neat idea that.) I can’t read your credits, unfortunately, due to the light font (weight) and the very small dimensions of your mpeg video output.
I enjoyed your VO - You were both relaxed and easy to listen to. Your choice of music is appropriate for the subject, although not my favourite. (No one has mentioned the problem/loud beep at the beginning of the movie - not sure what happened there that it’s still in the video.)
Your composition is excellent - especially appreciate the different angles of view and framing of your subject. I enjoyed looking at the changing scenery while Brian was running and the odd shots of the reservoir here and there that added interest - very good camera work and editing of the material in general.
I was just wondering if Brian always runs solo - if not, it might have been a nice idea to have given us a glimpse of some of his recruits running - although I guess this would have been quite difficult to organize.

Hi Marj,
Thanks for your feedback – I really appreciate it. You’re definitely right about the titles – I should have made them bigger or changed the font color. I didn't realize this when editing in full-size, and by the time I realized the problem, I was feeling pretty done with the project and ready to move on. I’ll need to listen again to the first part of the video for the sound… I’m thinking that it could be that when I was interviewing Brian he was playing with the lid on his water bottle and now and then it would make a loud click… again, if I’d had more tenacity, I may have been able to edit the click out; or at least made it less obvious.

I’m glad you enjoyed the composition and changing scenery. When I first looked at the footage I thought there was no way I could make anything interesting because all I had was Brian running… so, thank heavens for the changes in scenery!

Also, I agree with you… when I put together the story, it became clear that it would have been ideal to have some footage of Brian running with his “recruits”. At least a few times a week Brian runs with the Boulder Trail Runners… so, if I’d planned enough in advance, I could have pretty easily gotten footage w/ Brian running with others (although not his recruits). Unfortunately, I didn’t get “my story” locked down until a week before the deadline, so, I have hours of irrelevant footage, and barely enough for the story I decided on. Live and learn I suppose.

It’s funny – I believe you’re the only person who commented on the music. I actually was a bit hesitant about it – I felt it didn’t quite fit. But, I know the composer (my mom) so, the bottom line is that I had easy access to her music on my computer, have been having trouble with Sound Tracks (need to work out a bug), and haven’t yet invested more license free music.

Thanks again for so attentively watching the video and for your feedback. It definitely helps.

Amelia

Hi Amelia
The sound I was referring to at the start of your video was a very loud electronic beep, not something you could confuse with a click of a bottle top. I thought that you may have used it to sync something and had inadvertently left it in. Perhaps it is my download if no one else mentioned it and you can't place it.

Oh and don't go throwing the baby out with the bath water now! What a pleasure to have your own special composer on site, so to speak. Subjective opinion about genre (old time movies music) is not synonymous with intrinsic value! Far from it.

Marj