UWOL #7 "Impact" - Marj Atkins

[Geir Inge]

Hi Marj.
What a great first entry to uwol.
I also want to say that I'm glad to have more of you female moviemakers onboard.

I have only one minor comment and that is I think the music on some parts over run your VO.
The rest? It's perfect :)
First you give us the information about the creater/lake and at the same time you show us an overlook of the area from ground level. It's very professional done and then you take us to the sky. What a view and steady images you give us. A real adventure I will say. The transition where you turn from the woods to the gate was very clever, I liked that a lot. But maybe my favorite clip is of the baloons.

Ok, just one thing I want to say. I'm glad I'm not a judge.
This round will be difficult to pick a winner.

Wish you all the best and hope to see more of your films.
Geir Inge

[Marj Atkins]

Well I finally got to starting my feedback comments today.

Thank you all for your encouraging words - certainly makes the effort worthwhile.

Originally Posted by Mat Thompson

I really liked the use of the second camera to give give the ground perspective making things nicely multi-dimensional.

Not that its an issue but - one camera and two passengers. Got Tom to help me out when donning my ever-so-chic, one-size-fits-all flying gear though.

[Eric Gulbransen]

Marj, you've got guts. I'd hesitate to wield a camera from the basket seat of one of those - and I race motorcycles that spit you off at 175mph! Beautiful job, and what's with the horrible VO. Not so horrible, especially if you ever get to hear me on a VO. NOT gonna happen!

Keep it up

[Bruce Foreman]

What an experience. You set the stage well, then took us to the air with you. As I mentioned in commenting on Meryem's work there is a special feel to flight and the ultralite has you dealing with flight at a very elemental level.

We tend to be our own worst critics and often are too close to what we've done. Any problems you had seem to have been dealt with in the editing. As a still photographer for several decades I practiced the "don't show my turkeys" concept and the world never sees them.

Your VO worked fine, your voice has a nice quality to it. As several have mentioned you might need to pull the music down a tad (not much, tho). Don't let the music compete with any other audio and it does it's mood setting job. Bring it back up some when nothing else is happening audio wise.

You did an EXCELLENT job on this one, Marj.

[Marj Atkins]

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

We tend to be our own worst critics and often are too close to what we've done. Any problems you had seem to have been dealt with in the editing. As a still photographer for several decades I practiced the "don't show my turkeys" concept and the world never sees them.

You have hit the nail on the head Bruce. We often see our mistakes bigger than they actually are. I will definitely be hiding all my turkeys in future because it just sounds like I’m trotting out a string of excuses which I genuinely had no intention of doing. I am just intimidated by this whole new thing here.

Originally Posted by Bruce Foreman

Your VO worked fine, your voice has a nice quality to it. As several have mentioned you might need to pull the music down a tad (not much, tho). Don't let the music compete with any other audio and it does it's mood setting job. Bring it back up some when nothing else is happening audio wise.

Had down-loaded an auto-ducking plug-in for the audio but it needed Direct X to run and that didn’t work with Adobe Audition so had to remove it. Unfortunately did not have time to find another more suitable one so opted to do it manually in PPro. I wasn’t aggressive enough when pulling the music audio down though, as the music volume still seems to be the main problem. I did feel the music was important as I used it to set the pace. I guess I was just holding onto the music too tightly - reluctant to let it go.

[Marj Atkins]

Originally Posted by Eric Gulbransen

Marj, you've got guts. I'd hesitate to wield a camera from the basket seat of one of those - and I race motorcycles that spit you off at 175mph!

It was just like being on the back of a motorcycle.

I understand it is very difficult to fall out of a micro light even with the seatbelt unfastened. The pilot suggested that I could lean all the way out to get my images if I wanted to. My camera was very firmly strapped to me so it wouldn’t get away if I dropped it.

Having said that, however, I guess this would likely spit me out faster than 175kph if something went wrong. Fortunately, there have been relatively few microlight accidents. (first thing Tom checked out!!)

[Marj Atkins]

Originally Posted by John Dennis Robertson

Howzit Marj
Howzit Marj.
Did you have the camera mounted in some way on the flight,or was it all hand held? The images were very steady on the flight.Loved the one size fits all flight gear

Howzit John (only another Saffy could say that! Makes me feel at home :)

It was all handheld - did ruthless cutting on the wobblies!

Really chic gear hey!

[Ruth Happel]

Marj,

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said. When I read your disclaimers before watching, I thought (being prone to video motion sickness), I had better take a dramamine. But it was amazingly steady- knowing it was handheld I have a lot of respect for your technique.

As others have said, the music at times did overpower your voice, but I could hear everything you said, so it wasn't too bad. And I thought it matched the edits you did very effectively, helping the piece to flow smoothly. And as for the VO, as others have said, you did a great job. I found your description of the voice tent collapsing on you somewhat humorous (as things like that can be looking back on them), and could imagine the choice phrases you may have edited out when that happened :)

Your on the ground shots really added to the video, setting the scene. As you took us up with you, I was looking forward to it, as if seeing through your eyes and excitement. You visually showed us the transition from a fairly ordinary scene on the ground to its magic from the air. The perspective was perfect to show the impact, and made the point very effectively sometimes we need to change our point of view to see more clearly, whether that is literally as in your film, or metaphorically. A wonderful message.

Great job- welcome to UWOL. You have put together a powerful film, and I look forward to more!



Ruth

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks for your comments Ruth. Especially appreciate your encouragement on the sound - coming from a pro sound lady like yourself.
This is what I so appreciate about this site - input and a perspective from different points of view.

Kevin I learned a tremendous amount from all of you just lurking for a year. It has been an inspiration to watch and the comments you all made on each others entries were really helpful. Now I am receiving direct benefit by being personally involved. Thanks to you all.

I feel very encouraged by second place but am fully aware it could have gone to a dozen others just as easily. Many thanks to you wonderful people who make all this happen.

Marj

[Warren Cook]

Sorry I took so long to write. I really enjoyed your movie. Your subject was an excellent choice, and your voice over was great. Excellent aerial views.

I’m sure you had a great time in the ultra light.

Again Congratulations for a great movie.

[Bryce Comer]

Wow Marj,
What an adventure! I guess you're not particularly afraid of heights then? That must have been amazing not only to go up in the ultra light, but to get back & see the shots you got while you were up there. Your VO was spot on. Clear consice & very informative descriptions of your subject. I loved the way you had a mix of shots starting from the ground then taking me on your adventure in the skies.

Bryce