Well, that's that one finished. I didn't manage to get all the shots that I wanted but it'll do.

The lens should be on its way back to Canon for repair. I dropped the camera as I was crossing a stile. It fell 6ft on to grass where the lens parted company with the camera. (Still having nightmares!) Thanks for the comments.

Brendan: the 501HDV head is doing well. I only got to use it for two days but all the shots for the challenge were taken with it. I need to get the 501plong plate to go with it. It doesn't quite achieve balance with the supplied plate.

Well, I've been out since around sunrise and just got back in about 11 hours later.

Hopefully I've shot enough to be able to put something together.

Well I got the video shot, edited, added music and background sound, rendered it to 39 mb in Quicktime, and now....I can't figure out how to post it.

Well guys/gals, sounds like I will be staying dry (sorry sharks, no food this time from me). I got everything shot today but one scene. I went out to film that scene and found out that it will not work the way I wanted it to. So now I have to do a little rewriting and find new locations'.

I just downloaded Avid Free DV so tomorrow I can start editing. Can't wait...
~Gabriel

way to go, dude. i mean, duuuuuuude! the day is already enhanced since young gabriel is headed toward the finish line.

very nice!

Well guys/gals, sounds like I will be staying dry (sorry sharks, no food this time from me). I got everything shot today but one scene. I went out to film that scene and found out that it will not work the way I wanted it to. So now I have to do a little rewriting and find new locations'.

I just downloaded Avid Free DV so tomorrow I can start editing. Can't wait...
~Gabriel

Bravo Gabriel!

When you're done you can have your lightsaber back.

Thanks Meryem. :D

Bravo Gabriel!

When you're done you can have your lightsaber back.

Haha, thanks Ken. Next I would expect to see a Japanese katana, now we're talkin'!

Almost done! Just got to get the las scene in (go away you dumb clouds!)...
~Gabriel

Everyone keeps complaining about clouds and cold. I'm WISHING there were some clouds as I battle 96F out here - forget about shade, palm trees are no help.

Entry is almost done though, but still trying to compress it for upload. Should be fine, as soon as I get some more time - glad I have the little time extension to work with at least.

Some day I'll remember that if i'm out from 1-5pm, bring sunscreen no matter what the weather guys say.

Everyone keeps complaining about clouds and cold. I'm WISHING there were some clouds as I battle 96F out here - forget about shade, palm trees are no help.

Some day I'll remember that if i'm out from 1-5pm, bring sunscreen no matter what the weather guys say.

I hear you! I shot all day yesterday at the lake on the Waverunner - temp 90+, sunny, I'm red hot like a friggin' lobster!!!! The water temp was 52, so not super fun either, lol...

Good evening,

Meryem emailed to tell me I got mine downloaded, that was a relief. I spent several evenings and most of the two times. I did not get all the shots I had hoped. We fought heavy winds each day. I went back to a site to get my final shot and in the two weeks time from first shot to last shot the view had deteriorated, or my mind built it up better than it actually was!!! So off hunting we went for something similar.
Weather has been exceptionally variable.

Wow, that is some high heat! Where I live it only gets 90 in the really hot days of the summer. Never this early....

So I was just working on editing my video when out of nowhere, Imovie quit! OMG! There just went an hour of precision work. I am glad I did not match the song to it yet though! That would have really made me mad..
So now I am taking a break and will go back to editing later. I still have one or two scenes to shoot. But I am thinking of staging those since the rain and cool weather is back, lol.

But it sounds like I am not the only one with weather issues.
~Gabriel

The best day around here in a long time was the day I shot my footage. You will see a clear blue sky behind the Tennis Pro giving the lesson. He even mentions the sunshine. Sometimes luck is just on your side.

Wow, that is some high heat! Where I live it only gets 90 in the really hot days of the summer. Never this early....
~Gabriel

The fun of living in a desert, especially Phoenix, 50 degrees one week, 90 the next, and that's just Winter! I've seen summers where it is above 100 degrees 24 hours a day for weeks!

Wow, thats alot of heat...

Ok, so here is where I am. I captured all my video monday, then Imovie broke on me. That made me mad..
Yesterday I got back at it and spent my entire evening working on editing (Saving after every click! lol). Then at around 11 pm (still editing) my brother tells me that my mom does not want the name of the park shown (Its in three clips), so here I am, thinking that all that work was wasted. Then, this morning, I was trying to expert thinking, maybe my mom will let me leave them in. After many attempts at getting the video to the right sizes', I decided to go ahead and ask what she meant about it. Then she tells me the same thing. So I leave it for a while and get working on school stuff. Then I thought I came up with an idea, so I headed out to try it. That idea was to export EVERY FRAME of the clips that had it on it and just blur it out in the gimp, since Imovie does not have a tool like that. Then my brother tells me that it would take way to long (and yes, I was prepared to not get any sleep until midnight tomorrow), and so he came up with a way to do it in Avid Free DV, so now we are trying to import it and export it. But all the exports look like something from a horror flick off of youtube! So now I am having a hole lot of troubles with that....

But I did not give up! I made it this far, I am not going to quit now!
So, time for some caffeine and a hole lot of patients.

Wish me luck!
~Gabriel

Wow, thats alot of heat...

But I did not give up! I made it this far, I am not going to quit now!
So, time for some caffeine and a hole lot of patients.

Wish me luck!
~Gabriel


The force is strong in this one...

Well, mine's finished and I'm uploading it now.
Even though I was pretty much limited to one day of filming, I had allot of fun doing this one.
Hopefully, you guys will like it. :)

Hi Meryem!

My tale of wonder... I just had the most splendid time filming and producing the UWOL 2 challenge video. Thanks for getting me out there, and throwing out the challenge. Unexpectedly it fell together without a hitch and I had so much fun.

My tale of woe... This video developed a story line and it pushed the maximum length it could be. Thus, getting the video down to just under 50 mb for the challenge (I read your hints on this, Thank you!), it lost a bit of resolution. Oh well! It's the name of the game! Great challenge. Thanks for everything!

Cat

Good news, I will be uploading my film before the days end tomorrow! Yay for me!

I just have to get the file size down small enough. And I think I am almost there. Unfortunately, odds are that you wont be able to read the text. :(
And that was one of the key parts. I will do my best to make it look good with it...

Great job Kevin and Cat! I can not wait to see the films!

The force is strong in this one...

Haha, thank you again Ken for the fun words of encouragement.

I am already planing my next Starwars fanfilm. Getting everything for it from goodwell and walmart. :) I hope it turns out!

So excited, I can not wait!
~Gabriel

young gabriel stays in the running for the free t-shirt offer. excellent! 2 down, 4 to go!

and, as i said in another thread, congrats to cat. hearing that folks are out there having fun and shooting stuff makes my day! colorado is well-represented this round! phew, let's here it for the home state.

young gabriel stays in the running for the free t-shirt offer. excellent! 2 down, 4 to go!


That I am!

As posted in another thread, I tried uploading but no luck...

~Gabriel

Gabriel:

I just learned this myself, so I will pass it on.

Open Microsoft Internet Explorer. (I am using the latest version, so others may vary, a bit.)

type in ftp://uwolchallenge.com, and go to the ftp page.

you should be asked to enter the user id and password Meryem sent you for FTP. I am not sure if she sent each of us different ones, so use one she sent you.

Next, in the tool bar above, select page and in the drop down menu select Open FTP page in Windows Explorer. A new IE window should open. You may have reenter your User ID and password. Once accepted, you can drag and drop your file in the window, wait for it to transfer, then close window. You you should then see your file up in the original window.

Good luck

Thanks Chris, but I use a mac. I do have a PC, but I am not sure if it even has it! haha.

Thanks for the help, I'll try and get something to work.
~Gabriel

Thanks Gabriel and Meryem:

Your combined enthusiasm is catching! I think I might be coming down with something... Perhaps UWOL 3 fever? I think this challenge is what it is because of the community spirit, the encouragement and hard work from all of you who make it possible, the shared secrets and techniques to get these films to size spec, allowing all of us to play on an equal playing field when we may not be as experienced as others.... and the genuine excitement of all participants to see what everyone else has come up with. Why aren't all contests like this? It will make film-makers of us all!

Cat

Cat,
I think the genuine excitement you see here is because any(?) of us are in the business, working as full time professionals, but are genuine interested in the beautiful nature that surrounds us.
What I found in this community is your passion and care for each other, as I show you in my uwol2-film, hint, hint ;-)

thanks for the kind words, cat. if we put up a user testimonial section on our website, i'd love to include yours, with your permission.

...but the very best part is still yet to come, when you put up your feedback thread. then you'll find a lot of support and encouragement and the kind of constructive feedback that will really make you a better video producer. and you'll get lots of new ideas from watching how the other players approached it....you get to see all these different parts of the world and you have the opportunity to make new friends. now i have new friends in norway, the UK, the arctic regions...it's great!

Meryem:

Permission granted, friend! And I will get to that testimonial on BDA that I said I would do.

Per Johan:

Of community spirit, encouragement and love of nature... you are at the top! I'm looking forward to reviewing your UWOL2 challenge movie... I'll have a look at everyone's tonight!

All the best,

Cat