ok, just to update you guys...our contest was migrated to a different DVinfo server several weeks ago, and Mat is furiously emailing the DVinfo web czar, Jeff, to get the issues sorted out. so the team is at work. I'm sure that we'll hear from Mat the minute that he gets it resolved.

couldn't be easy, could it??

Just to let all you folks know the uploader seems to be functional again! Sorry for the down time.....pesky server demons!

When is the deadline? Sunday this week?
The rules say the week of feb 16-18, so if the deadline is today, then I'm out of the long form challenge.

I've moved all the files uploaded for the long form challenge into a longform directory.

So you can link directly to your files but going to http://www.uwolchallenge.com/longform/xxxx Where xxxx is the name of your file

Wow,
I haven't even finished looking at all the entries so far, but thought i had to leave a message here.
From what i have seen of the entries thus far, i am gobsmacked at the quality of footage, & the level of professionalism in everyones projects. I am looking forward so much to seeing the finished films, i think it will be like looking at National Geographic channel.
Good luck to everyone with their films, i really hope you can all put together the film that you have in mind.
Regards,
Bryce

I have been trying to down load off two different computers for two days!! I can not get it done the normal fashion. It always stops just before finishing!!

I knocked it down to 50 megabytes.


??????

Ok,

Yes i got it uploaded. All is well in the universe.


Thanks for all the work you gentlemen do to keep this up and running.

Hey I hope it is okay i have put my footage up here.


braiiins.com/UWOL


I am still struggling with the uploader and thought it best to have a back up already somewhere so i don't miss the deadline!

cheers

Jennie

O.K. I'm getting a little bit pissed off!

I have my long form storyboard completely worked out and know just what I need to do (lots!). But this is the kind of entry that you go for everything right? So I have exactly the music scores I want to use. I've got them stuck in my head and I don't even want to think about using something else. These pieces are classical pieces for heavens sake, where the composers haven't been around for a century!

So I am attempting to get permission to use these scores and I keep falling into a black hole! What a run around! No one responds. I'm caught up in an e-mail/phone message nightmare.

This is a not for profit entry... why is it this hard? Is anyone else having this problem? Does anyone know what I can do about this? I'd like to use selections from Handel, Tchaikousky and Copland...

Meryem, do you know how to deal with this?

Comments welcome!

Cat

try this guy's site...

Royalty Free Classical Music. Probably the largest collection of Classical Music Downloads online. (http://www.royalty-free-classical-music.org/tac.php)

the issue with classical is that the copyright for a specific performance is still held by the performing artist(s), so you need to find recording artists that are willing to pre-license the performance itself.

this site has a pretty good selection. i am sure that there are others....

Thank you Meryem, this is a great resource. I've been hovering around the 'everything audio' portion of dvinfo.net this morning and found some good hints. The site you recommend is full orchestra. The CD's look like a great deal.

PS - got any leads on Rock Music?

OK Cat,
You started this, and since it is one of my pet peeves, I'm going to go out on a limb and take it one more step. (Please don't think I actually do this.)

Tchaikovsky, et al have been dead along time. No problem with rights. Unless you can find a performance from the 1930s, the performance is copyright. However there are hundreds of recorded performances of any popular classical piece. Some are from obscure orchestras in Eastern Europe, some are Chinese. In order for anyone to take you to task for using their performance, they would have to be able to recognise it as their own first.
this is hugely unlikely for several reasons. 1. Not many folks follow this venue. 2. If you only use a short portion of the performance, recognisably unique passages may not even be included. 3. The older the performance, the less likely that any subliminal identification material has been added. 4. If you alter the tempo or pitch, it is even less likely to be recognised.
I tend to use purchased material from Music Bakery, or Kevin McLeod or the Royalty free Classics, but boy, I sure think a lot about just going to my old record collection, especially for productions that are not going to be for sale. Who would say no?

it's not a question of whether you can get away with copyright violations, of course it is likely that you can. there are several ways in which you can cheat this contest and get away with it...but what is the fun in that? as i say tirelessly, you can always make your own movies according to your own rules, and then no one can tell you how to do it. UWOL exists to help you learn best practices, make friends, make pretty movies, and have fun.

but let's be clear that copyright violations are legal violations, and the integrity and legality of the contest (and DVinfo) are what is jeopardized when you break the rules, not just the integrity of your individual piece.

we don't want to spoil the fun for each other, folks, the rules are what they are for good reasons.

there's good music out there that is not that expensive...try sounddogs.com, q-music.co.uk, smartsound -- there's tons out there...

make your own loops, that's loads of fun, though it takes time. or ask local bands for written permission to use their music - many of them will love the exposure...

Imovie has a stack of free tracks included in it.

archive.org has a lot of music posted under the very liberal (free with credits) creative commons license.

as for rock music -- that covers such a wide range, I would not know where to start. I can usually find something to fit the mood in my q-music library -- it cost me something like $350 for hundreds of tracks -- unless i am looking for something very specific.

and i just used something generously donated by DVinfo's own Peter John Ross (Sonnyboo.com, loves America and wants to have a Zima with George Bush (http://www.sonnyboo.com)) - he has posted 20 free free free tracks for filmmakers...all he asks for is a mention in the credits.

doesn't UWOL player Oliver Pahlow also have donated piano tracks on his site?

lots of resources, lots of freebies. use 'em....

Well, how's it going folks?
Ready for round 2 I guess?
I had plans to film the Grey Heron as it breed in a little forrest near by.
They always make a hell of a noice each springtime when they mate.
I have tried to capture their flight, as they all in one row take off from the treetops and fly down to the sea. It's a wonderful sight with a snow covered mountain in the background.
This "flight movement" is going on for just one day, maybe two days, each spring and #%#"§&%¤#" (a norwegian word I wont say in English) if I can get it on tape.
Well, today was their day-of-flight-in-flock-down-to-the-sea, and of course I failed again, hehe. Maybe I get a second chance tomorrow, or I'll have to wait until next year.
This is what I like and dislike about wildlife film making. You never can tell what happens :) Both exiting and frustrating at the same time, eh?
Anyone else having kind of trouble with their plans?

Geir Inge

Thanks Meryem for the tips. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

And thanks Steve for the insights... but after Meryem's whoopin, I'll stick to the tried and true first ;).

Cat

Cat,
Do you mean whoopin' or whoppin'. I haven't been able to sit down for hours.
(Those were some mightly fine suggestions, however, Meryem).

Steve

I just got back from two shooting trips. First to East Texas for an unrelated project (I’ll show some footage later). Then home for less than a day before off to West Texas to shoot for the long form. I did pretty well, several interesting things including Spotted Owls. There was one exciting bit. Several years ago I was shooting Lucifer’s Hummingbirds feeding at a century plant flower spike for John Vanderpoel’s (Peregrine Productions) Hummingbirds of North America DVD. The birds were coming in every 10-15 minutes for only a few seconds. I had been standing in a rocky draw for several hours mostly just waiting. I had been there with my eye to the viewfinder for several minutes anticipating another visit when I heard a terrific clatter. I looked up in time to see a Jackrabbit go tearing up the draw. It ran between the legs of my tripod and continued up canyon to my right. I started to turn to follow it when I caught a movement in my left eye and turned to see a mountain lion standing less than ten feet away. The wind was blowing toward me and until I moved my head she didn’t know I was there. She just looked at me for a moment and then slowly turned and walked back down canyon. I had a 500mm lens on and didn’t have even a chance at a shot. Since that time I’ve made it a point to revisit that canyon every time I’m near. I’ve seen signs- spoor and tracks- but no cat. On this trip I saw a spring running that I had never seen with water so I set the blind to see what might be coming in. After only about two hours I managed to get a few seconds of a cat approaching. The wind wasn’t with me this time and it quickly detected me. I foolishly hadn’t brought any cover scent (that might be a good subject for a UWOL thread). I’m hoping to get back in about a week and try to do it right. Anyway, 10 seconds is way better than naught! I hope everyone is having great good-luck, and that I haven’t now used all mine up!

Mike,

Getting any big cat footage in North america is fantastic!!!! I hope you get some more, I love seeing big cats!!

Nice when effort actually pays off!!!

Wow Mike,
That must have been fantastic! Great that you got some footage of the cat. I'd love to see it. Good luck on your return trip there, i hope you get some more footage. I am curious about the cover scent you talked about, & would love to hear more about it. Might have to google it to find out what it is & how it works! I too am hoping to get some cougar footage for my film, but to be honest, i think that will be even harder than getting footage of the mountain caribou.
Bryce

Well, rumour says that the puffin has landed at Runde island.
I'm on my way with charged batteries, enough tapes, my brand new outdoor jacket and in my heart I'm carrying rule nr 11 :)
If I find the puffins this evening, I'll post a picture of it in my feedback tread later on.

CU
Geir Inge

good evening,

first, I do not consider this round 2, but rather Update 2.

The crocus' have broken through the native prairie grasslands, gives a couple weeks of bloom each spring. Went out to film yesterday, it started to get windy and rained!! Today we woke up with snow on the ground and it snowed all day!! If it kills the flowers that is it for the year, UGGggg. Not essential for what i am doing but it would be nice.

Next week, weather permitting we are heading a few hours SW to shoot.


Hope all is going well for everyone!!!

I think geir is right, this is kind of videography is a "Love Hate" relationship!

Hi folks!
Well, long time since I've been writing something here!
Deadline for second round of footage for the long-form is approaching and I got nothing!

Last week I spent 5 days and nights out for the capercaillie and black grouse mating game, an empty moore was the only thing I was able to record during these days! So I'm in a real bad mood right now!!!

But I've been into this game for too long, so I know that sh** happens from time to time and I will definitive make up an entry showing Ole-Arne and me strive in the moore during these days and nights. But please don't expect any masterpiece... ...think I have to rewrite my script a bit... ...hmmm... ...but there is a late spring, summer and fall coming... ...have to make up a plan D, or was it plan E...

Hi to all of you Long Formers :)

Sad to hear about you not finding the capercaillie and black grouse, PJ.
It's such an exciting game to watch.
Way up here on the north west coast, we have "the springtime og our life".
Well, maybe I'm overdoing by telling you so, but the leaves are at least green and in the gardens the flower is blooming, so just come on over Mat and do some gardening :)
The weather has been great for many days now, but on Saturday it started windy and today it also started raining.
Last week I took a trip to Runde and the Puffins was there allright :)
Thousands of them and I did see the Great Skua, too (my favorite).
On Saturday me and my youngest daughter (Elisabeth) made another trip to Runde, but this time the wind was to rough for any filming. Very sad, as the Puffins was struggling to make a landing :) It was quite amusing to watch, as they came in for landing like some torpedo missiles and then again, at the last seccond made a loop not to hit the ground.
I wish I could have capture it on tape, but sorry, the wind was too tough for my camera.
As my schedule is almost over booked because of my studies and work, I have to make a change in my plans for this Long Form contest. This change will be in how I "sew" together the whole story. Maybe the main story not will be about the seabirds or the puffins, but a travel through this part of Norway, showing the rich nature where the puffins and other seabirds will be a part of it all? Also I wish I was 2 person sometimes :) It's very hard to make certain takes and moves if you're filming yourself walking/talking etc.
Okidoki, I'll post a picture of a puffin at my feedback tread.

CU
Geir Inge

Per,


I thought I might share something that perhaps you know, perhaps not.

Various Grouse species that use a Lek to Drum up their mates do so at two different times of the year. In the Fall when the photo period is similar to that of spring you can often find them at their lek putting on a bit of a display.

so, if you can find the birds Lek you can get another chance at some footage.


Just a thought.


I know what its like to be out and get nothing, frustrating to say the least. After the snow on the blooming chorcus, I was pleased to see some survivors (perhaps late bloomers) yesterday. Now I am fighting gales. Kind of hard to fim macro when the plant is bashing around!!!

Considering building a wind barrier today!!!

Oh yea, last trek out in the blind the wind broke the inner graphite spars of my blind!!! Man, this year has been bad for wind!!!!!!!!!!

the Fun???!! Never Ends

Hi all:

Have a question for all of you experts out there. But first, sorry to hear about you not finding what you were after Per! You have the experience so you know this happens. I'm new at wildlife filming and I am starting to find out how Much this happens! For me, spying the Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep is my ultimate inspiration, and I spent 4 months in the park before I finally had good fortune to see them and catch them on film. I actually feel very fortunate that it only took 4 months. Talking with some rangers of the park, one said that it took them 6 years before seeing them! (As elusive as they are, still I don't think they must have been looking very hard ;-)).

Question for all of you. I have an MP3 music file for part of my entry. If you play it, it is a flawless recording but when it is processed with my movie, it isn't completely clean and has a slight skip here and there. It is the same using the MP3 or using it as a WAV file. These hiccups (there are only a few) are not random but occur in the same place every time. It's processed at the highest rates for audio recording.

Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone! Looking forward to seeing everyone's progress in a week!

Cat

Cat,

If you have a lot of video streams with a high data rate WAV file, sometimes your NLE can't keep up and it skips frames.

Have you tried exporting the video and see if it plays fine?

My last computer would do that since it only had a single 1.67GHz chip. In order to get smooth playback I would have it skip frames. But once I exported the movie, it played fine with no problem.

If you're still having problems try reducing the data rate.

Good luck on your project. I haven't shot a thing for phase two yet!

Hi Kevin:

Thanks much for the advice. I'm still having the same problem, which is a bit baffling. I thought you had solved the problem by suggesting to Down-sample instead of keeping the data rate really high because I noticed that the data rate for the audio I was using was at 44.100 KHz and I was processing it higher. But no matter how low I go, it still hiccups in the same places in the exported movie file. If I play the mp3 file through itunes on my Mac, it plays fine. An interesting note. The hiccups occur in two places, and both times the music is playing the same notes for it repeats at the end.

I'll keep experimenting and let you know if I stumble across anything.

Thanks much!

Cat

You're doing this on a Mac? Convert it to AIFF instead of WAV and see how it does.

Ahh, now that's smart! I'll remember that! I'll convert to an aiff for the Mac. Thanks, Kevin. That's why they pay you the big bucks. I didn't think of it because I haven't run across the problem before with wav files, but mp3's seem to be a different story.

For some reason, I re-exported the mp3 as a wav and tried it again, and it seemed to like this. So for now, I'm re-processing with the wav instead of the mp3. But what you say makes sense, and I'll stick with the aiff files on the Mac from now on.

Now what's this? You have all of that amazing footage from Africa and haven't started yet for the long form submissions starting tomorrow? And you're in the short form round as well? For shame, Kevin! You act like you actually have a real job with film or something ;-).

Don't think for a minute I heave a sigh of relief hearing you admit this. You tend to blow things out of the park once you turn your mind to it! Looking forward to seeing what you "throw" together.

Cat

Yes Cat I agree.... Kevin's work inspires me. I too have "nothing" new for this round, but have ideas how to cobble something together by the deadline..I am excited because end of this month I get to go "home" to Glacier Park and spend a few days with the archivist.

Chris

Cat, just confirming what Kevin says. I had to convert a MP3 to AIFF before it was useable on my FCP-timeline. Think I did the conversion in QuickTime Player (Pro-version), File, Export..., then choose Sound to AIFF in the Export to-field!
In fact this was the Wilhelm Tell soundtrack, which I used in my Norwegian Wood entry (DVC/UWOL Charity Challenge).

Cat,

Yeah, I'm in the short form too. Going to try and get out today and try to get some filming for that.

Not looking too promising on the long form. :)

Hi All,

With the increase in projects over the last few weeks coupled with everything else we have in production, it is not a reality to keep my long form project alive at present.

I wish you all the best of luck.

If any of you need something feel free to contact.

And remember HAVE FUN.

It seems like nothing in the last six months has gone to plan, and UWOL long form is no exception.

Plan A - to film five-minute segments each month for a "year-in-the-life-of" type video seemed achievable at the time, but fell victim to lack of time (especially during the short daylight hours of winter and early spring)

Plan B - modify plan A to do ten-minute segments each season - but even that has failed due to lack of time.

Plan C - came to me yesterday when I took the camera to work with me in hope of producing something for the UWOL 13. The conditions weren't right for what I had in mind, but I thought I could start another project for the long-form. So I took some 20 minutes-worth of clips.

Today I went through the clips with MPEGstreamclip (back to the old computer for this as it doesn't seem to want to run on the new one - something to do with Vista 64?), discarded the obvious failures and wobbly bits - the strong winds yesterday weren't helping with keeping the equipment steady. That left me with some 10 minutes to clean-up and trim down in Premiere elements - on the laptop as I was fed up of the old desk-top crashing. Except that PE4 stopped working - it has apparently imported the clips, but won't let me do anything else. I will get version 7 for the new desktop - but I don't have time to organise it right now, as I have to go back to work in half an hour.

So, sad to say, I'm now out of the running on this.

Next video objective - to keep out of the shark tank for UWOL 13!!

The rest of you - remember rule #11

Good Morning,


Just rendering a few minutes of footage for part three of my long form.

Im in the short form and was thinking about shooting some today, well its blowing and snowing out there!! Ugggg!

Well, I still haven't shot anything for my long form. BUT, something fell into my lap that is PERFECT for me.
So, I begged Meryem for a bit of an extension so I could get this one in the can.

I can incorporate some of the footage from the first round of my original idea into this one.

So, if I can get this interview in the next couple days I think I'll have a project that I can really get into.

Waiting to hear back to see if we're a go or not.

I just got back from my latest trip to the desert. It’s hot. The highest official high temperature while I was out there was 113ºF (45ºC) although I informally measured over that each day. The coolest it got was 84ºF (28.9ºC). Re-radiation from the rocks was intense. There’s nothing moving except at night. By 7:30 AM the heat shimmer is noticeable. I don’t think any of the footage I shot will be useable. If this heat wave doesn’t break soon I may have to rethink my project. I guess this may be my comeuppance for getting so much work done early this year while many of us were waiting for snow to melt! Think of Per Johan’s round two difficulties with the Capercaillie, only instead of sitting in the blind think of sitting in the oven…

Back home it’s a relatively cool 102º.

Mike,
Talk about extremes. I just got back from shooting in Alaska, where the winds were steady, the rain was constant, and I had to wear thermal underwear. Better than the heat, though.

Good morning,

Well, every place, season and situation offers challenges to be sure.

We have had cool temperatures wind as usual but actually some semi still days!!!

I have been getting some footage for part one of my long form, everything is about two to three weeks behind time frame wise.

I wil be asssembling footage the next two weeks, also have also have initial stages shooting in the next few weeks.

Here is a couple snap shots of our subject, code named "Chip"


Dale

I was wondering how you all are coming along with your features!! The end is not that far off!!!

Was previewing footage, important stuff, only to find a bug landed on my lens and I never noticed it concentrating on my subject!!! It stands out now!!! mzy hzve to use a bit of it anyway>

Know a way to take the bug out???

Ouch Dale! I did a video about a birding contest that had interviews in a salt marsh and I had the same problem. Mosquitoes landed on the lens during the interviews and I didn’t detect it until I got home. In one case the background was static so I was able to deinterlace and export the clip as stills. In Photoshop I replaced the bug on each frame with background from the last clean frame and then re-imported as video. It worked pretty well. In another instance the background was a crowd of moving people. I found a shirt that was very similar to the one that the talent was wearing and shot a close-up of my own arm in that shirt and pretending to swat a mosquito. Once the bug landed on the lens I cut away to that shot and when I cut back it was gone. Ugly but it “worked”.

As I recall, UWOL entries can be posted to sites that accept big files, for viewing, but the judging has always been done with the actual UWOL upload. Will that be the case with the Long Form? I can't imaging squeezing a 30-60 minute entry into 180 MB. The rules are a little unclear on this point.

We have not instituted a file size limit on the finished long-form pieces yet - at the time the rules were instituted, we had no idea how many players (and therefore how much bandwidth...) would be required, so it has been a little tough to anticipate. We probably won't make a final determination on this until we approach the final shake-out after the October round and have a few model compressions upon which to base the decision.

Hope this helps...

Here is a new one for me!!!


all my footage, irreplacable of course, from my spring shoot the audio and video are out of sinc!!!!!!

what would cause that??


always something!!!!!

Who's still playing? Can't wait to see how the long form marathon is taking shape...

Reminder that your deadline for round 3 footage is next week!

I may be the only stupid one out there, it's taken me three years to figure this out. In case anyone else has problems squeezing their movies into the UWOL file size, using a one-pass export instead of two-pass makes all the difference. It cuts the file size in half...duhhh.

Who's still playing?
Well, I´m still in. I´m finishing the entry today. But this round is just to "stay alive" for me!
I´ve been doing mostly a talking head piece, with some footage from earlier uwol, just to keep interest for what I´m talking about!

This summer has been too hectic both for me and Ole Arne. He has been traveling much in his day time work, so we actually haven´t meet for a couple of months now!

So I believe that it´s going to be much hard work during this fall, to get a piece finished in the end. But as we all say, when it´s getting hot - first of all have fun (Rule #11) :-)

Well, i will certainly try to get something put together for this round, however, like Per Johan, it will be a "stay alive" submission. I have been really busy with my day job lately, & have been living away for work. That has meant i haven't been out filming at all in the last couple of months & haven't had a chance to edit anything, so i am running a bit behind where i would have liked to have been at this point in time. I still need some particular footage to make my end film work the way i would like, so hopefully i can get that footage, if not, i'm not sure how it will all work out. I do have an interview set up with a government biologist, so hopefully i will nail that, & that will add a lot to my story.
Good luck to everyone still in the game.
Bryce

Hi Meryem.
I am still in the LF.
Like the others I'm struggling a bit to get something finished for this 3rd round.
Also my exams keep me busy :(
Still, I will try to mix something together, just so I can keep my head over water :)
I have seen your ULF 3 video Steve at EXroom and it was great. I think our films a very much alike, so I have to try to make mine a bit different :)
I am also planning an interview with the leader (prrsident) of Birdlife Norway (The Norwegian Ornithological Society).

Geir Inge

Meryem- To keep with the new “theme”, I’m still in but I’m also having more troubles with this round. It’s mostly because I left the editing so late. I was under the weather a few days and I find that when I’m ill I make very poor editing choices. I’ll have something done but it won’t be as polished as I had hoped. The desert has been very hot but they’re not experiencing the drought we are here at home, so- I’m scheduled to be off for the field again next week with a very long shot list. Fingers crossed.