Hi Marj! Thanks for the great comments. I’ll try to answer your questions.

In the desert whenever someone goes off-road the vehicle leaves tracks that can be seen for decades. If in that time someone else follows the same route, suddenly it becomes a “primitive road” and it may get intermittent travel. Most of my locations were within an easy walk of some such primitive road. The farthest I had to walk was only seven miles.

Finding hummingbird nests in the desert is embarrassingly easy- if you know the trick. Over ninety percent of nesting occurs in the first three weeks following the onset of the late summer monsoon rains. If during that time you stake-out a promising patch of food plants in flower, you will note that almost a third of the birds coming and going are making a bee-line to nests. Some nests will likely be within 150 feet. I found quite a number of nests you didn’t see because most were inconveniently placed for video.

The Solifuge was shot with my new camera and I think the image quality is much improved. I know a researcher at Texas A&M that has searched the same area for weeks for Solifuges, but without success. I found that one when it crawled into my sleeping bag with me!

When this challenge started I had never done any Foley. I have learned enough to have great respect for the folks that do it professionally. I was only able to do about a third of what I had intended. After my motherboard failure I had an audio driver problem that was only resolved after the final deadline. It created a small lag which made synchronizing audio and video a frustrating guessing game. I simply gave up adding more. Thanks for your encouraging words.

I don’t like that music either. It was just the closest that I had on hand to the feeling and pace I wanted.

Thanks for the ideas for adding some tension to the storyline. I’ve had a couple of ideas myself and I think I’ll revisit this and give it some more thought later. Turkey Vultures have few enemies. Many are shot and even more are struck by vehicles. Other than that, most die of old-age related starvation or, rarely, disease.

I’m beginning another project and, while it will be nice to take longer than a year and not worry about deadlines, I’m really going to miss the input from all the UWOLers. It’s in a very different habitat which is almost gone now. Originally it covered over eighteen million acres; the largest remaining piece is only 110 acres. I suspect you’ll get a chance to see and hear more about it in coming months. At some point I’ll probably revisit the desert in video because, as you’ve noticed, I do love it. I can’t wait to hear what your next project will be! Best wishes.

Hi Mike – thanks for your answers.

ONLY 7miles . . . . . with all your gear and provisions etc. I take it! Quite a hike!

I am interested to hear that vehicle tracks remain for decades there as well. In the Northern Namib near Swakopmund where lichens cover the desert surface, wagon tracks that were made over 100 years ago are still visible. Apparently it will take centuries for them to disappear. (In this case because Lichens grow less than 1mm per year.)

As regards the humming birds –it may be very easy to find them as you say, but there is a proviso – you still have to know when and where - which you obviously do!

Sounds like you have an interesting new project in mind. I still have to plenty to do to finish this film before moving on so it will be a long time before I consider another project like this. I’m trying to find my way round AE at the moment - quite amazing what one can do with it.

Better late than never - I hope.

Cat I am impressed. You have managed to pull everything together in this final version of your film and present us with a beautifully polished piece.

Your ‘book’ works really well - the animations for this are very natural in the way the pages turn and the way the different elements on the pages work. I like the neat look of the text (the small changes you made to the original text have made a big difference visually). It works well with your beautiful images to achieve your goal of creating a classy coffee-table ‘book’ on the park. You have included some stunning shots – your landscapes in particular are breathtaking! The quality of the light in some of the scenes is almost surreal and I love the saturated colours you have used. Your camera work is good - very nice framing and use of different angles and view points. You managed to find and film a wide variety of species to give us a pretty comprehensive overview of the denizens of the park which added to the overall enjoyment of the film. The concluding shot of chapter six is priceless in context! :)

The story and structure are simple and your narration is very clear and easy to listen to. I like the graphics and animations in chapter one - very well done. Your use of slow-mo is especially effective with the music in chapter 3.

One thing I would consider changing is the use of the fireworks at the beginning. No doubt their purpose is to liven up the intro and give a sense of celebration but because fireworks scare the living daylights out of all animals I feel they are out of place in a film of this nature. If you feel the titles need spicing up in this way it may be better to replace them with some equally fast-moving footage from the park (perhaps lots of flying birds or butterflies or even some fast moving water).

I would also consider dropping all references to ‘book reviews’ and Uwol ‘books’ etc. should you decide to take the next step and complete filming and then market this film. To me they detract from the professional feel of the film.

Cat this is a most enjoyable and uplifting film to watch and without doubt your best work to date. If I were a visitor to the park I would love to have this film as a keepsake - it’s a real treasure.

Another multi-talented person in our midst – videographer, musician and experienced falconer too.

You have chosen a very interesting topic Dale and obviously one close to your heart. I was riveted - I found the information and processes involved fascinating but I do admit that like others here I had quite a few questions at the end. Maybe I’m saying the obvious but it may be a good idea to review all the suggestions and questions that have been asked on the topic during this challenge and to weave your answers into your film (with footage to illustrate) so that you close the info gaps. (I did not find the information too advanced just incomplete - especially at the beginning.)

I think many people could be left with negative feelings about falconers taking young birds from the nest without an explanation in your film to justify it. There must be a valid reason for doing this as opposed to getting young birds from a breeding station as they do in the UK. Some information that would be worth including - for the uninitiated - is what the purpose of falconry is and its benefits. I also hope you will reconstruct the poignant story of the demise of your falcon halfway through the making of this film. It offers an excellent opportunity to involve your audience emotionally in this subject.

You have a very nice, relaxed way of getting your story across. I like the personal, on-camera style of narration and watching you interact with the falcons at each stage of the process. You have done a good job of filming the falcons stooping – I can well understand why that is the most difficult thing you do!

This film has a great deal of potential Dale and I am really looking forward to seeing the finished product. Like me – still lots of work to do. :}