I have been filming, but not a singel second for UWOL film... We have discoverd a lot of new cave, so I have no time for personal project. Se if I can make a plan B when I get home. Today's assignment is to document the new cave parts with photo and video.

I'm hoping everything runs well at the job today so I can focus on the story of my film and set a gameplan for this weekend.
40% chance of rain Saturday but I can probably film regardless of the weather since the film is all about the story and there really isn't much for visuals in Iowa this time of year.

Wow - there seems to be one tale of woe after another here!!

I have just arrived back having enjoyed four beautiful days in Cape Town - only had one miserable morning of mist and rain. I am firmly on track for plan A so I can jetison the B footage I took the first two weekends now, although one or two shots there may come in useful.

I certainly extended my horizons - from 39,000 ft up in the air you get a wonderful view of the world!

Well, its time to inject a bit of wonder here as well!
The rain has stopped for a few days, sun is shining, so off to work on the project today!
Still plenty of challenges ahead, but there is fun to be had!

Here too, Paul...going to be sunny and close to 40º F today!

My assistant, (lovely wife), will be heading out in a couple hours.

Well, I’m dragging my tail but I’m making some progress. I got in late last night after a fourteen hour drive. I managed to spend five days in the field (including the 28 hours driving- yes, all in Texas). I’m still not well but am managing. I didn’t get all the shots I wanted but I think I got enough to tell the story. Now if I just have enough stamina left to get finished editing in time.

I didn’t get any of the night time-lapses that I wanted. I was overcast and fogged in every night. Here is a night shot I grabbed before I left.

Well, well....working with a GH2 is much, much different than the HMC-150 I had....
Ended up with a lot of out of focus and shaky video... :)

But, it looks like I ended up with enough good clips to put something together....

A comet?!?! Wow, Mike, that is just about as cool as it gets. More info, please!

Had an absolutely perfect day for filming yesterday!
Unfortunately a friend of mine lost her three dogs in a wooded area the night before so I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon looking for them.
They were found safe and sound but I just couldn't shake the stress of thinking about a mamma dog and her two four month old puppies out in the dark and the cold. So even though I headed out to film afterwards, I just couldn't get in the right frame of mind to even pull out the camera.

Still have plenty of time to get my entry in though!

Cut, cut, cut!

Seems like all I am doing is cutting the guts out of my story!! Not sure if I am going to be left with much of it at all. Time limits are really tough!

Nothing like test shooting of a new camera to wreck your shooting and editing plans I started this out shooting with my old HV30, capturing to my Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2. I figured that given horizons was the subject, I could probably get better resolution through that combination, though my Sony VG20 would also work quite well. In the middle of the shooting, I get word from Allan Barnwell at Omega Broadcast that my preordered Black Magic Cinema Camera was going to ship. It arrived here on Thursday, and I decided I need to shoot some footage for this project with it, so I have been learning the ropes. Well at least I will be able to give the UWOLer's an idea about whether the camera is going to work in nature documentary projects.

Ugh.

I have managed to film everything, but I shot way too much footage (most of it is of no use, but a few good nuggets here and there). However I cant find enough time to go through it all to sort the wheat from the chaff, and to synch all the audio, as I have a million other things competing for my time.

I doubt I'll have an edit ready in time for the deadline, but might try to post a non-competitive entry later on.

Well, here things are looking tight too - in cricketing terms ´rain stopped play´

I'm having to rethink my story as i'm still missing some key footage, but with luck I can manage to pull something out of the hat, and submit something on time.

good luck for the run to the post, folks!

I´m afraid that I will not be able to get any this round, as I have been to bed with a flu the last days. Tomorrow I have to go back to work, so there is no time for a plan B!

Well, they say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. For me UC25 started with a definite lack of Rule 11 and is ending with an abundance. I have had a lot of fun putting this one together. I’m close enough to finished now that I am sure I will finish. I wasn’t at all sure just as late as yesterday.

Per Johan- I’m sorry to hear you are ill. I guess I was lucky I got sick early in the month and had time to recover from it. I hope you are well soon and we see you here next time. Take care.

Trond- How is your back? Are you able to proceed with your video? I hope you are well.

Simon- I’m looking forward to seeing your video whenever it is finished. I’m still hoping you get in before the deadline.

Chris- Great news! You’ve been waiting for the new camera for a long time- congratulations that it has arrived. I think we’re all waiting to see the footage.

Marj- I have also had to cut a great deal from my story and really simplify much of what remains. Maybe we should think about a future contest that say runs for three months and has a ten minute or so limit. A longer time frame might also make up for the seasonal differences like now when I’m in Spring, you’re in Autumn and almost everyone else is in Winter.

Lorinda- The comet shot was taken with a Canon T2i with 28mm f/1.8 lens. It was four seconds at f/8 and ISO 800. The shot is looking into the sunset through the smog and light pollution of the big city. This comet proved to be a little bit of a disappointment but one is coming this Fall that might be exciting. It is expected to be the brightest comet anyone now alive will have ever seen and at it’s brightest may even be visible in daylight. Search for Comet ISON for details.

I hope everyone we haven’t heard from lately is doing well. One more weekend left. Time for the big push so we can get as many finished videos for UC25 as possible. Best wishes and good-luck to all!

Lorinda, I sent you a PM. I don't have direct upload instructions. I did send a link to an upload on my own Vimeo account, but I am finding that the color correction was a bit off, and I wanted to upload a better version to the UWOL account. Can you send me link and upload information, please.

Mike, thanks. My back is behaving well again. :)

Filmed a little of my plan A. Still need a lot to make it worth watching, so hopefully I can get what I need today or tomorrow. (Last chance for me to get footage).

I have also invested in a DJI Phantom quadcopter and a GoPro hero 3 camera, just like Geir Inge has.
What a great platform for aerial filming. (entry / intermediate level).
Been playing around with it the last couple days. But I am not sure if any of this will be included in my film this time.

Ok. I decided to get this done and pulled an all-nighter. Trying to pace the edit to any music in my library was an issue, so I learned how to use Garage Band really quickly and made a quick tune to match the edit (a simple tune that only uses percussion and bass - but I think it worked out ok for a first attempt).

Its not the greatest edit I have ever done, and perhaps I will correct some issues later on, but it should suffice given that I have run out of time.

So long as my internet cooperates I'll have it uploaded today.

Did anyone get emailed the upload information ? I did not, and I haven't heard from Lorinda in response to posts, private email, or PM's. Can someone send me a PM with instructions and password so I can upload to DVinfor vimeo.

Way to grit your teeth and get these finished, guys! I'm sure they will be great.

Got a reply sent to Chris. When you are ready to upload send me a message and I'll give you the secret codes. :)

Got mine uploaded, thanks Lorinda.

When you are ready to upload send me a message and I'll give you the secret codes. :)
How about (for future challenges) the challenge organizer send a mail with the codes, say a week or a couple days before the deadline, to all the players? Wouldn't that be easier for the challenge organizer? This is how it was done earlier.

My film is ready for uploading. The SEACOM cable along the African coast was broken by a ship dragging its anchor across it (and other cables) in the Mediterranean. Internet is slooow so need to upload sooner rather than later.


Marj- I have also had to cut a great deal from my story and really simplify much of what remains. Maybe we should think about a future contest that say runs for three months and has a ten minute or so limit. A longer time frame might also make up for the seasonal differences like now when I’m in Spring, you’re in Autumn and almost everyone else is in Winter.

Ha ha Mike give us a ten-minute film to do and I will have exactly the same problem!! Not sure I would like to do a ten minute film though – sounds too much like hard work to me. I think three minutes is perfect, especially for the working folk, even though I did go over three minutes with this film. Anyway it is something to consider for the future.

Glad you managed to get your film done after all Simon. Hope there will be lots of films up this time round!

My apologies for making many of you wait for replies! When my son comes home nothing else in the world exists. Hoping everyone who has needed Vimeo access thus far has received it, and tomorrow I'll do a better job of checking ALL email accounts.

Remember, you have until 11:59 p.m. your time, April 2!

Well if anyone had asked me last night, I'd have said I was in the shark tank....nothing but bad footage, no time and no idea what to do....
But I had to come home early today from work and I eventually got a little time to spend with the challenge and bingo....
I am rendering....

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8239/8611777152_3078fed421_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/baatfam/8611777152/)
Rendering Video (http://www.flickr.com/photos/baatfam/8611777152/) by baatfam (http://www.flickr.com/people/baatfam/), on Flickr

You and me both, Bob.
I'm doing some final edits of what has become a "submit something to stay in the game" entry.
No time for VO, as I'm editing when I have lunch break at work.
Thinking about cutting it really short and make some kind of "visuals to music" type of film.
Oh well, still 12,5 hours until deadline for me. No worries yet. (I think)

EDIT:
Uploading to Vimeo now :) yay

Uploading with a little over an hour to spare...
I didn't have a clue what to film until about a day ago,
however I think it came out pretty good.