Winter on the Tellico River at DVinfo.net

Mark Williams · January 8th, 2012, 05:16 PM

The Tellico River is located in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains, Tennessee. This was my first trip to the river and was mainly a scouting expedition to its headwaters in preparation for filming kayaking this spring. I had carefully planned and picked a sunny day when the temperature would be in the 50’s in order to avoid ice and snow while traveling through the mountains. When got there I was amazed to find the river access road iced over. Not wanting to waste the trip I parked and began my hike up river and discovered some inspiring winter scenes. If you play full screen you can see how the Panasonic HPX170 holds up in HD. I realize this camera is "old tech" but its not too bad.

John Abbey · January 9th, 2012, 08:49 PM

excellent work..I have been a professional still photographer for almost 40yrs, and I like to see strong compositions in video, which I don't see as much as I would like too...you have it.

Mark Williams · January 9th, 2012, 09:47 PM

Thanks John, I appreciate the comment. I came from an extensive landscape photography background and its nice to know some of those composition skills have carried over into my video work.

Bob Safay · January 10th, 2012, 08:32 AM

Another winner. What a treat it was to watch it this morning. Question, how much footage do you shot per minute of final product? Bob

Mark Williams · January 10th, 2012, 11:10 AM

Bob, glad you enjoyed it. I shot about 30 minutes for this 1.5 minute short. That was during 4 hours of hiking up river.

Simon Wood · January 10th, 2012, 01:55 PM

Nicely done; great compositions.

Nice music choice too; it sounds a bit similar to 'Brooks was here' from the Shawshank Redemption.

Mark Williams · January 10th, 2012, 01:58 PM

Thanks Simon, much appreciated.

Bob Safay · January 11th, 2012, 05:48 AM

Mark, thanks for the information. 30 minutes seems like a very good ratio. I really think you shoot, edit and compose some of the most soothing videos I have seem. Please keep posting videos. Be safe. Bob

Tony Sellars · January 11th, 2012, 06:45 AM

Excellent video. I live in E. TN. Thank You for showing our mountain and river beauty !!! Very nicely done. You need to head on up to The Smoky Mtns. next time.

Mark Williams · January 11th, 2012, 08:53 AM

Thanks Bob and Tony. I have about exhausted filming/photographing opportunities in North Ga over 35 years so I am beginning to expand into other states. From what I have seen so far TN is a beautiful state and one I plan to visit again.

Bob Safay · January 13th, 2012, 05:00 PM

Be sure to visit Falls Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee, and get a cabin on the lake. You will love it. Bob

Mark Williams · January 13th, 2012, 06:07 PM

Thanks Bob, doing the research now.

Doug Bailey · January 17th, 2012, 04:57 PM

Hi Mark,
Kudos on beautiful relaxing footage. I was admiring your work on Vimeo a few days ago and thinking that one day I may get to the same standard. As said above excellent compositions, I'm also from a photog background & recognize the skills. Also love the quality of the upload, I've struggled with that one. What bitrate settings are you using to upload to Vimeo Mark?
With kind regards,
Doug.
BaileyNatureGallery

Mark Williams · January 17th, 2012, 05:57 PM

Thanks Doug. I have struggled for a long time to get what I consider optimum video on Vimeo. Some may say this is overkill but after hundreds of encodes for the web this is what works best for me considering the short videos I do.

Export from Edius 5.5 as a lossless file and import intoTMPGE 4 Xpress. Encode in TMPGE with Windows Media 9 and these settings:
2 pass CBR video at 16000 kbs: picture quality 100: picture quality/performance bar on "other" tab all the way to the right.
2 pass CBR audio at 320 kbps 44khz stereo

Doug Bailey · February 5th, 2012, 04:25 PM

Hi Mark,
Sincere thanks for the info. I'm using PP5.5 so the settings are bit different. But the 16,000kbs was noted, so I'm using that now & think it's making a difference.

We did a trip to the Smokies near the end of last year. Our goals was to shoot waterfalls & I contacted a photog who lives in TN who had a great article on the Smokies in Outdoor Photographer. He recommended Transylvania County, NC. Halfway between Franklin & Hendersonville if I recall. I'll be able to find his email if this is of interest, please pm me.

He says there are more waterfalls to shoot than we would be able to handle, so that could be a place for you to look at. We visited Cades Code in TN (way too many people) & made it to Franklin NC. Then had a Tropical Storm moving in so chickened out & went home.

Kind regards,
Doug.
BaileyNatureGallery

January 8th, 2012, 05:16 PM	#1
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Winter on the Tellico River The Tellico River is located in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains, Tennessee. This was my first trip to the river and was mainly a scouting expedition to its headwaters in preparation for filming kayaking this spring. I had carefully planned and picked a sunny day when the temperature would be in the 50’s in order to avoid ice and snow while traveling through the mountains. When got there I was amazed to find the river access road iced over. Not wanting to waste the trip I parked and began my hike up river and discovered some inspiring winter scenes. If you play full screen you can see how the Panasonic HPX170 holds up in HD. I realize this camera is "old tech" but its not too bad. Winter on the Tellico River on Vimeo __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 9th, 2012, 08:49 PM	#2
John Abbey Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Great Northwest Posts: 133	Re: Winter on the Tellico River excellent work..I have been a professional still photographer for almost 40yrs, and I like to see strong compositions in video, which I don't see as much as I would like too...you have it.

January 9th, 2012, 09:47 PM	#3
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Thanks John, I appreciate the comment. I came from an extensive landscape photography background and its nice to know some of those composition skills have carried over into my video work. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 10th, 2012, 08:32 AM	#4
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,558	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Another winner. What a treat it was to watch it this morning. Question, how much footage do you shot per minute of final product? Bob

January 10th, 2012, 11:10 AM	#5
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Bob, glad you enjoyed it. I shot about 30 minutes for this 1.5 minute short. That was during 4 hours of hiking up river. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 10th, 2012, 01:55 PM	#6
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Nicely done; great compositions. Nice music choice too; it sounds a bit similar to 'Brooks was here' from the Shawshank Redemption. __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

January 10th, 2012, 01:58 PM	#7
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Thanks Simon, much appreciated. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 11th, 2012, 05:48 AM	#8
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,558	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Mark, thanks for the information. 30 minutes seems like a very good ratio. I really think you shoot, edit and compose some of the most soothing videos I have seem. Please keep posting videos. Be safe. Bob

January 11th, 2012, 06:45 AM	#9
Tony Sellars Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Morristown, TN Posts: 46	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Excellent video. I live in E. TN. Thank You for showing our mountain and river beauty !!! Very nicely done. You need to head on up to The Smoky Mtns. next time.

January 11th, 2012, 08:53 AM	#10
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Thanks Bob and Tony. I have about exhausted filming/photographing opportunities in North Ga over 35 years so I am beginning to expand into other states. From what I have seen so far TN is a beautiful state and one I plan to visit again. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29 Last edited by Mark Williams; January 11th, 2012 at 02:44 PM.

January 13th, 2012, 05:00 PM	#11
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,558	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Be sure to visit Falls Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee, and get a cabin on the lake. You will love it. Bob

January 13th, 2012, 06:07 PM	#12
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Thanks Bob, doing the research now. __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29

January 17th, 2012, 04:57 PM	#13
Doug Bailey Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Jupiter, FL Posts: 164	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Hi Mark, Kudos on beautiful relaxing footage. I was admiring your work on Vimeo a few days ago and thinking that one day I may get to the same standard. As said above excellent compositions, I'm also from a photog background & recognize the skills. Also love the quality of the upload, I've struggled with that one. What bitrate settings are you using to upload to Vimeo Mark? With kind regards, Doug. BaileyNatureGallery

January 17th, 2012, 05:57 PM	#14
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Thanks Doug. I have struggled for a long time to get what I consider optimum video on Vimeo. Some may say this is overkill but after hundreds of encodes for the web this is what works best for me considering the short videos I do. Export from Edius 5.5 as a lossless file and import intoTMPGE 4 Xpress. Encode in TMPGE with Windows Media 9 and these settings: 2 pass CBR video at 16000 kbs: picture quality 100: picture quality/performance bar on "other" tab all the way to the right. 2 pass CBR audio at 320 kbps 44khz stereo __________________ Mark videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/3523 Stock: http://www.pond5.com/artist/mark29 Last edited by Mark Williams; January 17th, 2012 at 06:46 PM.

February 5th, 2012, 04:25 PM	#15
Doug Bailey Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Jupiter, FL Posts: 164	Re: Winter on the Tellico River Hi Mark, Sincere thanks for the info. I'm using PP5.5 so the settings are bit different. But the 16,000kbs was noted, so I'm using that now & think it's making a difference. We did a trip to the Smokies near the end of last year. Our goals was to shoot waterfalls & I contacted a photog who lives in TN who had a great article on the Smokies in Outdoor Photographer. He recommended Transylvania County, NC. Halfway between Franklin & Hendersonville if I recall. I'll be able to find his email if this is of interest, please pm me. He says there are more waterfalls to shoot than we would be able to handle, so that could be a place for you to look at. We visited Cades Code in TN (way too many people) & made it to Franklin NC. Then had a Tropical Storm moving in so chickened out & went home. Kind regards, Doug. BaileyNatureGallery