Hi all,

The short of it is I still am not sure what my film is going to be about.

I originally wanted to do a piece about the wildlife found at Pegwell Bay over the year, an important costal area in Kent that attracts many birds - both migrants and residents. However as I was procrastinating round Christmas time my car blew up; which meant I couldn’t access the site. (Still haven’t got round to getting a new one) I then thought maybe I could do a similar thing with the Wetlands Centre in London which I can get to with public transport, but I am not convinced that the idea and locations carry a particularly good story.

I also haven’t had a camera for the last month, so have not been able to film any new footage.

So….what I have done is cobbled some unused rushes from my last UWOL film, as well as some footage I took last year at the Wetlands centre (none of it particularly great and unlikely to be used) and am suggesting I make a film about good places to see wildlife in London. Not only does this mean I can access various locations easily, but I can plan shoot days around my work schedule. This is a last minute idea and I am not even sure if I will go ahead with it.

"Wild London will show that despite being a big nasty city, there are plenty of places to enjoy a variety of urban wildlife with hopefully some surprising characters."

Any thoughts most welcome….

....I’m off to buy a car.

Michael,
I think filming the "wild" of London is a very good plan. In fact I was thinking the same in my initial thoughts about my entry, to film the diverse wildlife of Oslo, the capital of Norway.
I found there is so much unknown (wildlife) taking place in the streets and parks of a big city.

Mihali
London Wildlife Trust has 57 nature reserves across Greater London. For a list of nature reserves you could visit click
Our nature reserves (http://www.wildlondon.org.uk/Naturereserves/tabid/91/Default.aspx)

I film in many of the west London nature reserves.
I am in the wrapping up stage of a short film I started last year for my local natural history society, One of the filming problems has been the rain, large parts of the reserve have been under water on and off through the year
The short is shot around their small 80 acre nature reserve, this connects to another reserve run by London Wildlife Trust and connects to Denham Country Park so you have around 500+ acres to explore there is another site close by, that has Badger sets and there are three ancient oak woodlands so on this side of London you are spoilt for choice.
Just to add,
at the moment the Heron’s are fighting for prim positions in a big oak tree on the wildfowl lake, I counted ten Herons yesterday.

Hi Mihali:

I like our idea! Wild London is an interesting take and worth exploring. By watching your film footage, you are most certainly keeping your options open, my what a diversity! What were the birds near the end flying unto the holes in the rock? Purple Martins? Swifts or Swallows? That was cool.

All the best on your film!

Cat

Hi Mihali.
Filming the wildlife in London must be great and a bit of a task.
I have seen some TV programs on Animal Planet, about the wildlife in London (and other city's). Owls in towers, foxes in the backyard, deer in the park, etc. I think it's called "Wildlife Aid", or something similar.
An exiting plan you have and I'm looking forward to see your film.

Geir Inge

HI Mihali,
What a great idea! It's amazing how wildlife seems to be able to live in our man made urban jungles. Ok, maybe not the diversity of places outside of the big cities, but still, some species seem to thrive! Great idea to bring this to everyones attention, i think it will have many shaking their heads in amazement at what is actually out there. I recently watched a program showing the large numbers of coyotes in an around Vancouver, & was amazed to see how these animals not only survive but seem to have adapted to their new environment.
Good luck with your project, i can't wait to see it.
Regards,
Bryce

Good Morning!!

I think this would be an awesome idea!! All of the large cosmopolitan centers have huge quanities of wildlife, many of which the normal person never even sees!!! NO that doesn't mean we arre all Abby Normals, just most people just do not look!! Certainly broken down into season you could have Residents and visitors, etc.

I encourage you to get out and get at it!!! Having a car would be an asset too!!!

Thanks for all your comments. I was a little worried that my idea was not exotic or adventurous enough, but your feedback has given me more impetus to get out there and follow it up.

Ron - out of interest which nature reserve has that badger sett? I'd love to feature some of those critters

Cat - They were sand martins featured at the end of my footage.

Mihali,
Under trying conditions I think you’ve got an idea that may just have a life well beyond the UWOL Challenge! Two years ago I finished a project called “Birding San Antonio” that featured cameos of most of our local birding hotspots. After it came out on DVD I assigned copyrights to my local Audubon Society. They were able to sell the discs for income and give them away as premiums for new members. I was surprised by how much interest it generated in our (relatively) small and small-minded town. I can’t help but believe that a programe about all wildlife in such a populous and interesting city as London will be very well received. Your footage is very appealing. I can’t wait to see what you come up with through the year. Best of luck. (Sorry about your car.)

Hi Mihali, as somone who commutes in from berkshire most days to the city, I can really see the appeal of what you're planning. Even in the city I'm often amazed, I saw a red kite cirlcling high over moorgate a month ago, and last year I checked out the pergrines breeding at the tate modern - that was a shock! Sooo much there to discover, really looking forwards to seeing what you have in store!!

Cheers,

Rob

After your winning "A Walk in the Park" the expectation for your long form film is high.
I am looking forward to see more of the rich wildlife in London.

Finn-Erik

You seem to have the perfect opportunity for showing that outdoors doesn't have to mean out-of-town. Good luck

Hi Mihali

I think this is a very strong concept with lots of potential. I think its perfect for this challenge and will create a very interesting overview for anyone thinking about going out to see wildlife in greater London.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you produce when you start shooting.

Mat

Hi Mihali
Some very nice footage - you have a talent for capturing light beautifully.

Your concept certainly has potential and is definitely worthwhile pursuing. I must say I would enjoy doing this topic as I enjoy exploring subjects where the regular straight lines and geometric shapes of man-made objects are juxtaposed with the natural shapes of the creatures that use them - just another view of the world of wildlife.

Will be interested to see what you manage to find in and around London.

Hello all,

I have unfortunately not done nearly as much filming as I would have liked to, but have managed to put a couple of rough sequences together to give you an idea of what I am trying to achieve. I haven't narrated it or put down any music, it's more of an idea of the shots I've got thus far.

The first is of a family of Tawny Owls found in a large park in the middle of London. The breeding adults have been there for years and they are becoming a bit of a celebrity. The second sequence is of some Grey Wagtails living by a river at the edge of a Nature reserve in west London. They are usually only found near fast flowing streams, but seem to have adapted to this urban stretch.

After researching various locations, I'm aiming to show many different species including: Kestrels, Pelicans, Kingfishers, Herons, Deer, Bats, Foxes, Water Voles & Stag Beetles. But, I am still not sure how to stitch it all together. I think the majority of the locations are going to be the big parks and nature reserves and I will have to have some sort of narration. I think I also need to feature more of the urban environment, ideally as a backdrop to the action. (Traffic, people, timelapses etc) Any thoughts most welcome.

Cheers.

Link to HD version on VIMEO: UWOL Long Form (Deadline 2) - Wild London on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/4632302)

I like your shots. It is fascinating to watch the rich wildlife in the urban environment.
The sound mix of traffic, people talking and bird singing is great.
The Owl picking leaf is stunning.

Finn-Erik

Stunning bird footage, Mihali, and I like your use of pans and tilts to establish the scenes, especially those diagonal ones. I always enjoy seeing scenes of London, having never been there. Do you know what the bell-like bird call near the beginning of the piece is? How about the song at 4:47?

Good evening,

some fabulous footage. I would like some narrative. Is that some form of fly catcher that is bopping around so much? Great identifying the places, but for us that do not know your wildlife it would be good to label them too!!

some great bird song and background audio. I became more and more cognizant of the background wind noise as the video progressed. Would be great if the hissing could be cut down a little bit!

keep up the great work.

I echo Dale's comments. At this point,all you offered was footage and I for one was loving it and was sorry when it ran out. Some incredible stuff... I will be interested in how you use it.

The Owl piece was pretty remarkable.

The wind noise... well... All I can say is that when you are capturing ambient sounds and no ADR is possible (birds do not chirp on que), you need to be especially careful. You might slip in some other sound track, but the wind did become an issue for me about 2/3's of the way through.

This looked like 24P throughout. I won't go on a rant about 24 FPS....except to say that in nature stuff where pans are common, it drives me crazy. Tell me I am wrong.... but if you are shooting at or rendering to 24P, please rethink it. I am sure this may draw some criticism, but I prefer nature stuff without the blurry pans of 24 fps. 30 is fine for me.

You folks that have the patience to capture the bird shots i am seeing are my heroes.

Great stuff... looking forard to the next post, and the story coming together.

Chris Swanberg

Hi Mihali
Wow, I wasn't aware of the these Tawny's, that's some very unusual views of them. The chicks are adorable. What I would say is if your are building a sequence about them, try getting some shots in twilight (the birds will be more active then) or even night time if you can set something up. If not at least place them in there true nocturnal setting and feature calling and some establishing footage. Also by shooting when the light is lower you will be fighting the blown out sky less in your shots. There was also some stabilisation issues.

The Grey wagtail footage is very nice and there is a start of a lovely sequence here. They are a bird that's full of character and nice to look at.

I'd like to know more about these sequences and how you plan to use them with in your overall premise. Some narration or written planning would have helped us understand more about this. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing some more of your planned species, you have some very tricky stuff planned in that list. I'm intrigued as to why the Pelican is in it !?

Good stuff. Looking forward to hearing more about your film.
Mat

Thank you all for your comments.

Finn: Glad you liked the traffic noises. Hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it adds to the urban feel. Will take it into more consideration for the final film.

Steven: Not very good with bird calls unfortunately. The one at the beginning may be a chiff-chaff, but don't quote me on that. Any one else?

Chris: Yeah, the wind was annoying. Must get a decent windsheild. I think I will have to use some other ambient sound and perhaps try and get some Tawny noises from somewhere too. All my footage is shot in 50i and I de-interlaced it before uploading to vimeo. I agree about 24P and never shoot it. Will check my settings again though.

Mat:
"Wow, I wasn't aware of the these Tawny's"
That's good news (for me) as it means I'm onto something! If i can show the audience that there are some surprising inhabitants in London, then i will be pleased.

I agree the lighting conditions were pants. Unfortunately the young have now fledged and the trees are pretty leafy, but perhaps I can get some footage of the adults at night.

"There was also some stabilisation issues."
On the close ups of the owls I occasionally had my digital extender on. I have never used it before, but it seems it doesn't respond well to any movement. I think it softens the shot a little too. Will definitely bear this in mind.

"I'd like to know more about these sequences and how you plan to use them with in your overall premise."
That makes two of us!!!! Still not sure how I am going to gel this together. Need to really work on a script and storyboard. Will aim to have more for the next round....including Pelicans........

Mihali, very pleasant footage of the diverse wildlife in a big city. The owl-footage was just amazing. Seems that you can go pretty near them too!
Second what the other already told you. I would much like som narrating, or subtext with the name of species shown.
Overall I think you have something real nice here for the final film. I'm looking very much forward to your next round.

Hey Mihali:

Excellent filming. You have a talent for making your footage captivating and interesting to watch. The cuts to close ups and new scenes, changes in focus from near to far, slow pans that land on your subject matter. Nicely done! The owls were spectacular and you are creative in how you show them. Looking forward to how this all develops. You have a great start in showing wildlife existing in parks within a major city. I liked this Mihali! Start developing your theme and it will be very interesting.

Cat

Hi Mihali,
Wow you have some really fantastic footage there. I really loved the urban sounds mixed in with the sounds of the wildlife too. It's amazing in a big city like London just how much wildlife is about. I guess with all the beautiful parks you have there, there has to be a lot of wildlife, & fortunately for you, it should be fairly easy to get reasonably close to it as it would be well habituated to human presence.
You say that you still have work to do on your story & script. Maybe you could look at the fact that London is such a big city, with everyone moving along very fast in their day to day lives, they don't even realise there is so much wildlife around them. Perhaps you could take some highly stressed 9-5ers & show them what is actually right there where they live & work, & how taking a few moments out of their busy lives to just sit back & enjoy what nature has to offer can relieve them of some of their day to day stress, if only for a moment. I will be interested how you put this all together, i think there are lots of options, & with the footage you have, i'm sure you will put something together that is really top notch.
Regards,
Bryce

Really beautifully filmed and I admire your ability to capture really deep and rich colors in your film. I liked the opening establishing shot because it created a setting for us. We knew that we would be inside a city and then you panned over to show us wildlife in the city, nice touch. I liked the sound of people in the park while watching the owls (which were very entertaining by the way) and the rack focus shots were nice too. I wonder if you ever considered shooting a scene that looks to be in the middle of some exotic wilderness only to pan and reveal that what we are looking at is in the middle of a sprawling city?...Might be a cool idea...

Nice job!

Hi Mihali.
I think your final film will be great, after looking at your ULF2.
Love your big city wildlife.
The owl shot at 1:25 is lovely (and cute).
If you can get some night shots as well, It'll be great :)

All the best.
Geir Inge

Hi All,

I am away next week so wanted to get something up today for the long form.

This round is more of the same really. A couple of different locations, but this time I've added some narration as well as a music sample that I think I will use in the final film.

Still not completely sure how the whole thing will gel together. I know that I need to get a lot more GV's of London and then work out a narrative.

Look forward to your comments as per usual.

Cheers,

Mihali

Link to film:
Wild London (UWOL Long Form) - Deadline 3 on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/6017355)

Well shot film, Mihali. I especially like the close-up head shots with smooth out of focus backgrounds. Your sound track and narrative are flawless. I was surprised that our beloved Red-eared Turtle has become such a problem over there (sort of like Starlings here). Do you have a native turtle that is being replaced by this one, or is this an unknown, new sort of predator to the duckling population? Our local troublesome exotic is the Burmese Python.
It's population in the Everglades has increased exponentially over ten years, and people seem to be capturing 17 foot specimens daily. Their food includes alligators. Even conservationists are supporting the shoe and handbag industry over this one.

Mihali- Your Round Three has some really nice shots. The story definitely still keeps my interest. At some point I’d like to see a map showing the locations you’ve been showing us. If you are going to offer this on DVD maybe put a printable map in the data section for tourists with directions to each site. The red-eared slider is disappearing from parts of Texas due to over collecting. Each year hundreds of thousands are legally exported for food to the far east. No telling how many slip under the radar. Sorry to hear they’ve become a pest over there.

Mihali,

Nice to see some of the cool things one would never expect to see in London. I really liked the close ups.

thanks for sharing.

Oh yea, what kind of fish were those??

I am surprised to se exotic animals in London. Your video is so well made - colours, cuts, sound and narrating. It is a pleasure to look at your short video.

Hi Mihali.
Can't say other than I'm looking more and more forward to see your final product :)
I can not find much to complain about in your video, but just one question though.
Would it be an idea to slow down, just a little bit of your narration speed?
It's not a big issue, but I have tried to look at other wildlife videos/films/programs an it seems like the speed of your narration is a bit too fast? The reason I'm telling this is as follow;
Some mounths ago I got a mail from a famous norwegian wildlife videomaker Arne Nevra (http://www.naturbilder.no)
giving me comments/advice to one of my videos, it goes like this;
When it comes to narration, try to speak not too fast, but rather slow down a bit.
often; less is more. Hear me right, he said, there's nothing wrong with your voice or nothing like that at all, but this way the viewer will get a more harmonic feeling about the whole video.
So now I'm giving his advice, not only to you Mihali, but to all of the readers of Uwol :)

All the best.
Geir Inge

Hi Mihali:

This is really an intriguing film, and your superior filming skills contrast the wild and the city exceptionally well.

You mentioned you still weren't sure how to tie everything together, and Mike's comment about wanting to see a map of these places gave me an idea. One way to tie everything together is to show progress along a road map to the various places you film to show all that is surprisingly wild in the urban settings.

Just a thought,

Cat

Words escape me. Gorgeous photography, interesting pacing and subject matter- well edited! The shots of the populated areas properly set a tone of a frenetic pace and lots of people, an interesting contrast to the nature shots.

I hadn't been put off by the narration pace, but on a second look, think it might be a little slower to your benefit, as suggested.

"Comments": The rack focus on the pelican shot was a little delayed, I'd have preferred it to happen a little sooner. The zoom on the turtle was a little overly long without a clear subject. Those are my only "critical comments".

Overall I have to say it was a very professional piece. I will be anxious to see more. Thank you!

Chris Swanberg

Mihali,
your entry are more and more pleasant to watch! Truly unbelievable that London has so diverse wildlife!
Narrating is very nice to listen to.

I have a comment to your footage: Some seem a bit bleach, like the macro shots around 1:00.
I´m not sure which editing suite you working in, but adjusting levels - black and whites, would definitive enhanced the quality of your sequence alot!

I´m looking very well forward to your finished piece, Mihali!

Hi Mihali - Apologies for not getting to your film last round.
You have a concept here with a lot of potential and you are laying down a good foundation for the final story. I was fascinated to see the different species you have managed to collect so far. Like everyone else I am intrigued by the behaviour of the owlet - irresistibly cute.
You have managed to show some of the contrast that exists between the busy city and the tranquility found in the green spaces, even though you can still hear people and traffic there. I know you want to give an overview of the places where wildlife can be found in London but am thinking you could strengthen your story more by using that contrast - perhaps even adding a bit of conflict by looking to see how the city impacts the lives of these species - something along the lines of Rob’s Badger story. Will you be visiting private gardens as well - or just the main city parks? Will you be tackling the city at night? Hope so.
Your narration was very nice. Not sure if you are intending to change things here but it would be better if you showed a shot of one of the Pelicans (not the Heron) when describing the tricks that some can get up to.
Looking forward to your next round.