ok, it's the 18th, not quite midnight, and I haven't a hope of getting anything uploaded. We've just moved back into our renovated and extended house, have no indoor plumbing except to the toilet, and my computer keeps crashing.

But I seem to remember the rules said you didn't actually have to post any video for the first deadline (an error message flashed up while was writing that sentence) but at least put the ideas forward. So here is what I am doing.

I want to follow a year of wildlife at Bosherston Lily Ponds, about 15 miles from where I live. The aim is to produce a 4-5 minute cameo for each month of the year. At the moment I haven't got a story-line going, it really depends on what I'm able to film. I'd like to say I'm following the swans as they are there year round, but I didn't manage to get anything of the swans with either ice or snow in Janaury or February. So it might have to be the robins, which aren't actually water birds.

I did manage to get some filming done at the end of December, so I have an "ending" of birds (jackdaws - not water birds) going to roost in the trees by lakes. (error report cropping up again, so I'm going to post this and then edit it rather than risk losing it all). I also have a potential opening sequence of mist over the lakes at dawn. I have some clips of various ducks, coots, herons, and a grey squirrel. Some species will be there year round, so I'll try to get them into every month, (error report again - doesn't help the concentration at all) while others occur more seasonally. There may also be the opportunity for otters, foxes, badgers and other mammals, as well as dragonflies etc in the summer.

This doesn't sound nearly as ambitious as the other entries, but a challenge should be to do something new, not necessarily to stretch totally beyond reach. This is something I have had hopes of doing through still photography over the years, but have never found enough time for more than the odd day shooting now and again. So far the days for shooting this year have not been as forthcoming as I would have liked, but I have made a start.

I will endeavour to get something up on Vimeo next week - but time and computers (not to forget the plumber who has been holding up work on the house) have been conspiring against me getting the first clips together. However, now that I have the Sony HVR MRC1K attached to my Canon A1, things should get easier at least for downloading clips into the computer!

Hi Annie: You'll want to have another look at Rule #7

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/uwol-challenge-our-newest-contest/139689-uwol-long-form-contest-rules.html

Apologies for not remembering correctly - just too much stress and not enough time at the moment. Have read the rules again, and expect to be able to submit in a few days - before the new deadline.

Thanks

Hi Annie: I hope that I didn't give the perception that I was picking on you. I read your thread first, responded, and then realized that there were several others who needed to hear the same thing, which resulted in the separate thread posting. Just to clarify what happened, since I only mentioned it here, but it's what sparked me to address the group.

Looking forward to seeing some shots.

Meryem - I wasn't feeling picked-on. I had obviously misread/misinterpreted something which needed to be corrected, and if that was of benefit to others too, then so much the better. The new deadline is much appreciated. Hopefully by then my husband will be back at work and out from under my feet (I just had to clean the vaccuum cleaner because he said it was useless when actually it was just full of dust), we will have running water inside the house, some proper heating and cooking facilities, and what's left of my brain will have come out of hiding!

Annie, how are you? I keep waiting for your upload, hope you'll manage to get it online?

I think your idea is interesting and would like to see how you develop to this one.

Annie,

sounds like you will get to show us a lot of diverse wildlife, just my style!! Try to get a few minutes up!! I too was one that failed to go back and read the rules.

and meryem will tell you, I seem to have a thing about rules!!! Amazing I am still in uwol and not in jail.

Hi Annie.
Exiting to read about your plan for uwol long form.
If I'm not wrong, I remember some years ago watching a film on Animal Planet about some otters, and this was from Bosherston Lily Ponds, (South Wales?).
Is your plan to describe a year in this habitat?
I like your idea very much, and looking forward to watch some of your footage :)
Regards
Geir Inge

ok, I've managed to get a version up on vimeo - Bosherston Lily Ponds - January 2009 on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/3348408)

But I can't yet get it past the UWOL uploader. Apparently that won't accept .mpg but I can't work out how to get .mpeg or the other extensions out of Premiere elements 4. I have a suspicion that the version on my desktop has corrupted somehow as it doesn't seem to be giving me the options it used to. I'll try again later, or tomorrow, and any suggestions - simple ones please - will be most welcome.

Hi Annie,
Loved the shots you had, there were some with really beautiful colours. I especially like the one of the duck trying to gain some grip on the ice! Can't wait to see more from this place, it really looks nice.
As far as the uploading of the file goes, maybe you could try mpegstreamclip to change the file to what you want. It is a free program & should do the job without any loss of quality, & in only minutes. Google it, i'm sure you will find it a very handy little program.
Let us know how you get on, as time is slipping away with the deadline, & you don't want to still be mucking around with trying to get a file right to upload at the 11th hour.
Regards,
Bryce

Bryce - You're right that there is never enough hours in the day - I was trying to get this up before midnight GMT, but didn't quite make it. I managed to find the copy of mpegstreamclip that I downloaded months ago, and was relieved to find it easy to use. My first attempt gave me a file of 80MB+, then I went out for the evening. Came back an hour ago and after another two attempts, got it down below 60MB and have now uploaded it.

So at last I officially have an entry in UWOL!!

Geir There have been several films shot at Bosherston, especially with the otters. I don't know what was shown on animal planet, but there was one I saw where the underwater shots had a gravel bed - definitely not shot at Bosherston where the lake beds are silt! Of course, most people wouldn't have known that. There was another film where I was talking about the otters. Whether or not any will cooperate for my film, I don't know - but the footage will be strictly above the surface.

Dale & Per There is certainly a lot of wildlife at this place, and I want to show a lot of it, but hopefully to not overdo it and put too much in. I want to try to get a segment up on Vimeo each month to keep me up-to-date.

I like the idea of covering a single place over the year. It's something I have been toying with for my project. I look forward to seeing all manner of flora and fauna.

You have made many fine shots for the UWOL long form.
I was inspired and yesterday I went out to the ice edge to get some footage for my own long form film.
Thanks!

Finn-Erik

Hi Finn-Erik
I'm glad you liked the shots. We don't have ice here very often - our winters tend to be relatively mild but damp. This was the first time in at least twelve years that the lake surface has frozen. Fortunately I was staying in a cottage near the lake while our house was being renovated, and I was able to get out with the camera on two mornings when there was ice, and on another morning in early February when there was snow. The snow lasted only a few hours, and was only on the fields around the lake.

Annie,
I really like your shots of the birds on the pond my favorite being the mallard sitting there with the leaves of that tree dipping in the water. Regarding your story line, I think that if you go with something simple much like the simple story in the movie “Winged Migration” where it starts and ends with a child by the pond you will have a full circle to go with. I am looking forward to seeing your final project …

Annie,
I’m glad you’ve chosen Bosherton Lily Ponds. I have friends who’ve birded there and have seen lots of photos. What a great place. They told me that before the valley was flooded with fresh water that part of it used to be an inlet from the sea and one of Arthur’s knights is supposed to have hidden treasure there. Birders arriving before daylight are supposed to see a ghost in medieval armor. I don’t guess you could get an interview? Your shots are lovely and I can’t wait to see some from this spring. Are the lilies native? Was that the Robin feeding from the hand? I hope y’all are settled in home again. I’ve just decided that I probably shan’t live long enough to be fully unpacked…

Hi Mike

Glad to hear the fame of Bosherston has spread so far around the world! Bosherston comprises three valleys (Arms) that were tidal until about 200 years ago. One by one they were dammed and became freshwater lakes. Most of the video was shot on the Eastern Arm, which is fed by streams. After heavy rain it turns red with silt off the farmland, and is also nutrient enriched because of farm fertilisers etc. The other arms are spring-fed, have clear calcified water (this is a limestone area) and have developed a flora community that is considered special. Those other arms are also where the lilies grow. The lilies were thought to have been introduced about a hundred years ago via a pond in the vicar's garden - Bosherston Church is at the top end of the Western Arm.

There are many legends based around the lakes - it being the site of King Arthur's sword being one of them. I hadn't heard about the ghost - perhaps because I've only been there before dawn looking for otters rather than birds.

Yes, the robin was feeding from the hand. He was one of four at that point, and they were too busy trying to be territorial and claim the hand for themselves when I wanted just one of them to land on the hand.

We've been in this house 14 years, and were never fully unpacked - hopefully when the floor tiles go down next week and the kitchen is fitted the week after, we'll have space to finish unpacking!

Hi Jeff
Thanks for your comments. At the moment I'm not trying to be too ambitious with the storyline. If I can complete the cycle of filming something there each month, that will be an achievement. If I can work in a complementary storyline, that will be a bonus. Time is the main limiting factor.

So maybe there is some basis for the tale? When told to me I thought it was just a local wag having the cowboys on.

Your friends were probably talking to "Aunty Vi" who owns the Olde Worlde Cafe in Bosherston Village. She is full of tales, some true, some mostly true, and some whose truth has been lost in the mists of time. She is a legend in her own lifetime, and it's been a pretty long and interesting life so far.

Annie...

What a beautiful and natural place you have to film there. Your images are gorgeous. I am anxious to se what you weave out of so much natural beauty into your final piece.

The small birds are precious... but a little quick... have you tried slowing them down in post so old eyes like mine can better appreciate them?

You have inspired me, along with Dale, Steve, Mike, and a few others to try and get more birds into my piece about Glacier. You set the bar high !

Chris

ps.We have merganzers in Montana on Flathead Lake.... and I laughed out loud seeing yours on the ice. HOW funny !

Chris
Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you liked it.

I hadn't thought about the small birds being too quick. I try to get clips of several seconds at least of a bird perched, and I thinks those ones are probably ok. It's the robin taking food from the hand that is the problem. I guess most UK and probably northern European people would recognise it easily. So I'm changing that bit of the sequence so there is the robin on the ground first, then the one flying to the hand, followed by a portion of that one again but at half speed. I have a few other changes I want to make, including correcting the titles (I've corrected them in the version uploaded to UWOL) and improving the soundtrack.

Strangely, I hadn't realised that I'd labelled the merganser as such. Here is Britain it's actually called a goosander, and it's close relative is the red-breasted merganser. I'll have to amend that when I eventually upload the new version.

Thanks for you suggestion

Hi Annie

You have some nice shots in your 1st stage pass. Much of it does feel very static though. Think about pans, reveals and levels of detail. This will add a lot more dynamic to your work.

You say "At the moment I haven't got a story-line going, it really depends on what I'm able to film."

I really think this is the wrong way round. Story first...subject second! Try and formulate a story, find a unique angle to your year long study of the area, which in itself is always a nice thing to view. However without some more meat to it or another angle. A search for a rare or rarely seen species maybe, or how winter/summer species that use the area differ in behaviour. Basically a second layer to your overall premise and something that you hold back to keep people watching!

Ah Matt - you sound like someone who has time to go for the ideal!

At the moment, it's a struggle finding time to get the camera out, never mind actually going somewhere to use it. I've made an effort to try out the Sony HVR MRC1 recorder by taking extended coffee breaks and filming birds in the garden - through the open kitchen window. Last night I edited it roughly (actually spend most of the time waiting for the computer to do automatic saves), and left it uploading to vimeo. This morning the process had ground to a halt with the upload not completed. Goodness knows when I'll get around to trying it again - my computer just doesn't seem up to the job of video-editing.

Yes, I agree that pans, reveals, etc are needed. I did do some pans in the initial shooting, but wasn't satisfied with the results so didn't include any in the video. Same with some attempts at push-pull focussing. Close-ups will be included - I now have some close-ups of a heron's head and some fungi on fallen trees around the edge of the lake.

I'm giving some thought to an additional angle, but haven't found anything yet.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

Hi Annie. It’s nice that you have finally managed to get an opportunity to participate here. Lovely footage so far - especially liked the scenes with reflections. I really felt for that poor goosander with his uncooperative feet!
When I read through this post I thought you had some really interesting info on the Bosherton pond area - Why not start your story there?