UWOL#8 When the Land Was New-Brian McKay

[Brian McKay]

Hello All:

Without question this was the toughest theme so far. As you will see I've stretched it as far as one should dare. To those that hate snow and cold I'm sorry....once the weather transformes I promise to bring you some rocks and mud.

As much of a stretch as it is I still look forward to your comments.

Brian

[Dale Guthormsen]

Brian,

What a great story/legend. I thought it was odd him chopping trees but then the story finishes concluding how tiaga transitioned to Tundra did the job just fine!!!

some very nice scenery you filmed there!!!

I particularly liked the Sled dogs shot!!

Not a reach Brian!!!!


thanks for sharing the story!!

[Bob Thieda]

Brian...it worked quite nicely for me. The shots were well done and the story keep me interested....
As soon as I heard the words, "...there were no more trees", I got the theme connection...

That is an authentic fable I assume?

Good work!!

Bob T.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Brian

That was very nice and interesting to watch!
You delivered a great story, with stunning footage of the nature you have there.
Well done!

[Bryce Comer]

Hey Brian,
What a great story. I loved the images you had with the story, i guess Kivoik was chopping down all those trees a little later in spring than what it was when you filmed this one! :) Your VO as usual was brilliant, but for some reason this time, seemed to sound a bit tinny. That may have been the compression. It was not really that bad, & i soon forgot about it & was drawn in totally to the story.

Bryce

[Meryem Ersoz]

I very much enjoy listening to the Inuit legends and imagine that you are documenting some stories that are not often told to people outside the region.

And I liked the opening shot of the dogsled and the footprints in the snow. But you lost me a little with the slow pans that seemed uncorrelated to the story. Other than making me reach for the heating pad and the warmth of the cat.

I think you needed to spend more time out there freezing your extremities, to bring us a wider variety of shots. If you haven't lost a digit, it isn't a proper UWOL in the Arctic...bring on the rocks and mud, I can hardly wait 'til June...

[Ruth Happel]

Brian,

I always enjoy learning about legends, and this was a great one. It fit the transformation theme well- not a stretch at all. The footage of the dogsled at the opening was really dramatic. Your voiceover and music nicely complemented the scenes of the treeless landscape. Great job!


Ruth

[Mike Beckett]

Brian,

Yet another entry with a great story. I find this sort of thing fascinating, to hear the legends of other cultures.

I feel for you in those conditions. I complained bitterly enough about the cold when I was filming, and that was probably 6 degrees Celcius with a wind chill taking it down to 2 degrees. That's probably a hot summer's day to you! I don't know how you manage to control a camera in those conditions.

Maybe a little bit less panning, I'm not sure - maybe slowing it down a bit would've added a little something extra.

The slow-mo dog sled at the start was a simply lovely shot.

I hope you had a really good hat for that!

[Markus Nord]

Hi Brian… I love the story! You choose a really hard story to illustrate, but I think you pulled it of. Filming in snow is really hard, I have screwed up a lot of snow shots, booth with over exposure and under. But you got a lot of snow to practise on :)
Nicely done…

[Adrinn Chellton]

Brian, great story, I now know why there aren't any trees and plenty of fish in the arctic. The shots were for the most part complimentary to the subject. The VO was well done.


Overall great entry here.

[John Dennis Robertson]

Crazy place you live in Brian.I love stories and legends.you captured this so well.This was entertaining to watch.

[Catherine Russell]

Brian:

Yea Haw! From snow and cold to rocks and mud.... I can't wait until uwol 9 ;-)

I LOVE your story telling. It is mesmerizing and captivating and so insightful as a window into your people and your land. Well done, friend. What an insightful take on transformation, I don't think you could have done it better under the circumstances that WAY up north transformation has come yet!

The opening shot for your title is stunning.

Here's to uwol 9.

Sincerely.

Cat

[Brian McKay]

Thanks Everyone:

I always have fun doing these films but can't wait until I can go out in a light jacket and runners rather than a heavy down filled parka and snow boots.

There are many legends involving Kiviok...as in this one he goes on many adventures in his time. Some of the legends are just too complex to fit in a three minute story so I have plans to film one of the more complex ones this summer...if all goes well I'll post a link.

Bring on number 9.

The level of competition has grown so much in such a short time it's amazing.

Later Brian

[Geir Inge]

Hi Brian.

Hope your doing fine and that Spring is on it's way.

What a great storyteller you are. This was truly amazing.
I love ancient history and first strated, I couldn't stop the film.
Just had to listen to get the whole story.
Nice scenery. Your homeplace looks like a fantastic place.
I tried dog sledge for the first time this winter and I loved it.

Wish you all the best Brian.
Geir Inge