Well I guess I should start a proper thread now that I have my ducks in order (so to speak). I'm very greatful that I got my entry in. I chose an odd subject but it felt right to me being in the fall season and Halloween. An animal cemetery. But after spending some time there and looking around, the place had a warm and caring feel to it.

So here it is.

YouTube - Kingdom Of Our Dearly Departed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg2PFwn8VvE)

I absolutely loved the ingenuity and execution of this challenge film. The storyline was interesting and at the same time caused me to laugh out loud on several occasions.... delightful narration script.

The rack focus was nicely executed and an enjoyable addition.

I can only imagine the environment you were recording the VO in, and wondered to myself how you were capturing the narration on location.... lav? The background noise was a bit of a distraction, but I also know it might have been unavoidable.

Thanks for staying with it... another enjoyable film.

Chris S.

Thank you Chris. For the on location sound I used a Rode directional video condenser microphone and wind shield with my Sony VX2100 (I purchased the mic from my good friend Bob Thieda). For the voice over I used my camera as a pre-amp with a Sony directional condenser microphone. It has less gain than the Rode which worked out better for voice overs and recorded directly to Sony Vegas 8.0 pro. I also had to drape a heavy blanket over myself while recording the VO to deaden unwanted wall reverbs.

Hi Oliver,
Very nice you got the encoding issues solved and your video uploaded in time.
Really nice to watch.
Interesting location and story.
And the rack focus, I loved it!

Oliver,
I am glad you managed to compress and upload the video.
You have an original and interesting solution of the theme.
I like your way of filming this, and the way you are talking to the camera.

Thanks Trond and Finn-Erik for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Oliver- What an unique take on the theme. Your warm and caring feeling carried over well to the video. Lots of nice shots. I especially liked the dedication.

Oliver,

I loved the execution and unique perspective. Using yourself as on screen talent really adds to your film and add a really nice touch of personalization that really fit the theme of your video.

The segment with the horse was really nicely done. I have never been very good at injecting a bit of humor into what is sobering topic you have done a masterful job.

Oliver,

In-vision presenting - now that's a new level for UWOL. I don't consider myself anywhere near presentable or literate enough to step in front of the camera and speak! You did that very well.

Lovely shots and shallow depth of field in the opening sequences, and an interesting look around the cemetry.

I'll admit that I did laugh out loud at "and a racoon named Renee". Shame on me.

The final sequence with your own dog over the credits took me to the other end of the emotional scale.

Glad you made it past the compression woes!

Thank you Mike Sims, Rich, and Mike Beckett. This was my first stepping in front of the camera. It was a good exercise for me and I plan on doing more. I'm glad I could touch some emotions both humor and thoughtfulness. My dog passed away when I was 18, I'm 50 now so doing that brought back some emotion of my own.

Oliver.. I am suspecting your location sound might benefit from a better shotgun mic... I think your "directional mic" may not peform as well as could be the case on location with noise. If you would like to borrow one from me to start looking at microphones and get some ideas I'd be happy to loan you one of my AT815's. By today's standards not the "best " of mics, but very directional and good side rejection...I have a couple and would be happy to let you play with one to get some ideas.

Please don't take my offer as an insult to your sound, it was actaully quite good. Just one film-makler here trying to help another, and make the learning curve a little less steep than it may have been for me. (I am at the 3rd step in what feels like a Tibetan monk's journey to nirvana, at somewhere like a step level of what..1000.?) These little contests are better than film school in so many ways, I am sure (a bold statement from someone who quite obviosuly has never been to film school). All that said, you cannot teach creativity ( I don't think you can anyway - if you can sign me up for a course) but I think and yours was by far the most creative film this round in my eyes.

Chris

ps. If you havent used a lav let me know and I can loan you an old film school standard, the SONY ECM-44b, as well.

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the offer and no I do not take it as an insult. You are right, I had my Rode mic mounted on the camera which is not the best way to take narative footage in noisy environments. I googled the SONY ECM-44b and that would have been ideal. I don't know if you can get that as a remote mic although one could run the mic cable down through the pant leg to hide it. I also looked at the polar pattern of the AT815. It looks like a fantastic mic but then I'm still a little new to were I am trying to take my filming. I have also concidered a boom mic, but that is a little hard when you are doing it alone LOL. I would love to borrow one to see what the difference is.

Oliver... PM me with an address and I'll send you the mics and an XLR cable to play with. As for a boom... a fishing pole holder on a stand can serve an an "dead" holder for a boom... and once set up for dialogue it serves the purpose just fine.

Oliver,

Probably the most creative take on the theme. I would love to know the story behind some of these animals. Like the story of the dog at 00:34 I wonder what happened?

I think you did a great job showing how emotionally attached we are to our pets. They are truly members of the family.

Recording narration outdoors is always a challenge. But I didn't mind. I was engrossed in the story.

You seem quite at ease in front of the camera. I've tried it before and it's not as easy as it looks.

Nice dedication at the end. Made me think of the dogs I've lost over the years. You never have enough time with them!

Kevin,

Thank you. Much appreciated. That was my first time infront of the camera :). I plan to do more in the future.

My good friend Oliver....you surprised me...

Even after we talked about our video plans, even shared early cuts....I was completely surprised by your finished product...

Sensitive and funny...that friend, is hard to do...nice work!!

And next time....you can borrow my wireless and lav mic....

Oliver,

That video brought back a lot of emotions.

In all three places I have lived, there are pets buried in the back garden.

Some pets where mine, when I was a kid, and the others where family pets, that my wife and kids have brought in our life.

I look back now, at all to joy, each one had brought into our lifes.

I know where each one is buried, as I had the task of being grave digger.

A friend just had his German Sheperd female pass away, and it is buried in the front yard, of his home, next to it's mother. I know he misses her.

Thanks for a great film, and putting some humour into a difficult subject.

Thanks Sam,

Our dog Niko is buried at my parents house along with around 10 cats. My parents literally have their own pet cemetery.

I hear you.

Our present backyard has a number of pets in it as well, and I have to remind my wife of where they are all buried, so she does not disturb them, when she is digging deep, during gardening.

No grave stones, just markers.

my Best Dog's ashes are scattered at one of our favorite places in the mountains, where you can sit quietly on a bench built of rocks, after a quick vertical mile, and look out over the city, a favored activity for the two of us...

glad you got this posted, Oliver, it's definitely a unique ANIMAL KINGDOM...

a horse? really?

Thanks Meryem. Why yes, it's a horse of course.

An interesting take on the theme, and well executed. I've come across small private pet cemetaries with maybe half a dozen headstones, but the scale of that is amazing.