Uwol # 8 Egoli at DVinfo.net

John Dennis Robertson · April 23rd, 2008, 11:20 PM

This is a look at the changes brought about by the discovery of gold in Johannesburg EGOLI place of gold....I have been out of town for some time...will only start downloading and viewing all the video's later today...cant wait

Trond Saetre · April 24th, 2008, 12:40 AM

Hi John,

A very nice video you produced. That is an interesting story.
I enjoyed watching it. I think you showed us very well how mankind change the nature.
Favorite shots was those of the lions. Those cats are huge!!

There was an audio "pop" or whatever we should call it at 1:26 when you said "we built great cities..." This can appear if the microphone is held too close or if at a bad/wrong angle from the mouth as we speak a few of the letters.

All in all, a great video! Well done!
Thank you for sharing.

Paul Mailath · April 24th, 2008, 06:07 AM

Nicely done, it's interesting that some of the cuts I noticed and some I didn't - some seemed to be invisible, it may have been a turn in the story or one scene that fitted after another, I don't know.

The music was fitting and your voiceover matched in well, the only point I would make is that it might have sounded different if instead of making a statement then stopping, you made it continuous with long breaths or spaces in between (to fit the music)- if that makes sense. if I said that another way - there were stops and starts, try to make it sound continuous, while you wait for the music.

the introduction of gold mining and the cities made the theme clear and then the 'discarding' signaled the return to nature - I would have like to see something (a piece of machinary or something man made) which was overgrown completely.

I loved the white lions (Simba?) at the end

John Dennis Robertson · April 24th, 2008, 06:40 AM

Thanks for the comments Trond and Paul.I know the VO in this baddd but I ran out of time...did the VO and had to upload because I knew I had work commitments for the next few days...I cringe when I listen to it again...

Rob Evans · April 24th, 2008, 07:45 AM

I actually though the VO had a "vinyl crackle" sound to it that sounded strangely appropriate.....

John, I had to watch this through a couple of times, and have to say I really enjoyed it - it's quite morose, but very poignant with it. As a fan of Wilbur Smith, this film for me ties in neatly with a lot of his novels, so I felt a personal association here. Good stuff!

Ruth Happel · April 24th, 2008, 10:47 AM

I really liked your message, though it was sad to watch, how the land has been destroyed. You have some extraordinary footage- especially the lions and the African wild dogs. Your music worked well with the theme- very poignant. I liked your VO- not obtrusive, but delivering the story. Great job, and thanks for sharing Africa.

Ruth

Mike Beckett · April 24th, 2008, 11:54 AM

John,

Very good. You certainly have some more impressive beasts to film than I do!

There's some great hyena action in there. How close were you to them? Some of the wild game shots are a bit wobbly, but I'm not sure I could keep too steady with this sort of action going on around me.

A great story, and the voiceover worked well, I quite liked the pace of it. Quite a moving tale - and what an interesting country!

Bob Thieda · April 24th, 2008, 12:52 PM

"I do prefer seeing Africa through my Great Grandfathers eyes."

Beautiful...that line was just perfect. The perfect ending.
Liked your work very much.

Thanks!

Bob T.

Bryce Comer · April 24th, 2008, 06:12 PM

Hi Dennis,
What a great story, & i thought you told it very well with your voice over, & the shots you had. I liked your use of straight cuts, most were seemless, & worked very well. For me there was only one small part that i would like to make comment on, & that was the shot of the lion @ 00:21, it was only 1 sec. long. Although it looked like a great shot, i just thought it was too short. The following shot for me was much nicer in its length. Overall a really nice film, well done.

Bryce

Meryem Ersoz · April 24th, 2008, 09:01 PM

I'd second what Bob said, I loved the closing line..

It's hard not to love a film about lions! Well, this wasn't exactly about lions, except insofar as they represent the loss of the wild in the face of modernization.

But my Western zodiac sign is Leo, haha can you tell? That's why they put me in charge! So I have always had an affinity with the beasts and hoped some of our S.A. players would show up with some images of the King (and Queen, of course)...very cool...

Catherine Russell · April 25th, 2008, 11:18 PM

John Dennis:

You just keep getting better and better. Your footage was awesome, and the theme well developed and moving. The narration was well done and as others have commented, you certainly peg the last line. I love what you do.

Cat

Adrinn Chellton · April 26th, 2008, 01:15 PM

This one had an interesting story. I thought some of your shots could have been held longer for more impact, but overall this was a good entry. The contrast was good from the pristine wilderness shots to the developments, rubble and junk.

Keep it up and more people will learn what is going on in your neck of the woods.

Mat Thompson · April 26th, 2008, 03:56 PM

Hey John

Some really stunning wides up front in this piece...very nice indeed! The lion and hunting dog footage was nice but really needed a tripod. I guessing you were shooting from the back of a vehicle so this was difficult but some better stabilisation would have helped loads especially with these shots following the impressive establishers. The story was solid, well told and heart felt, maybe a little monotone.....but hey join the club ;-) !!

Nice piece
Mat

Amelia Tanttila · April 28th, 2008, 02:10 PM

Hi John Dennis,
I really liked your piece. Your footage of such amazing wildlife makes me feel a bit ridiculous about feeling any sense of pride in my footage of squirrels and random birds!

It's amazing how much ground you covered in 3 minutes, and yet, the story remained true. Yep, you've got amazing footage, and I appreciated your dissolves between clips. It is definitely tough to keep a camera steady when you're zoomed in. I don't know if it'd be appropriate for your footage/piece, and maybe you do this or aware of it, but I've found that when you slow the footage down in editing, shakiness isn't as noticeable.

The music fit the tone perfectly; although it seemed to stop abruptly at the end of the video - perhaps fading the music out at the end would be nice?

I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of your work and more of Africa.

Amelia

Vidar Vedaa · April 29th, 2008, 06:21 AM

Hello John

You live in a wildlife-aeria how must be fantastic.And on this big lion
you make a grait entery.And a fasinating story about the place

Nice Work!!!

VJV.

________________

April 23rd, 2008, 11:20 PM	#1
John Dennis Robertson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johanesburg South Africa Posts: 217	Uwol # 8 Egoli This is a look at the changes brought about by the discovery of gold in Johannesburg EGOLI place of gold....I have been out of town for some time...will only start downloading and viewing all the video's later today...cant wait

April 24th, 2008, 06:07 AM	#3
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	Nicely done, it's interesting that some of the cuts I noticed and some I didn't - some seemed to be invisible, it may have been a turn in the story or one scene that fitted after another, I don't know. The music was fitting and your voiceover matched in well, the only point I would make is that it might have sounded different if instead of making a statement then stopping, you made it continuous with long breaths or spaces in between (to fit the music)- if that makes sense. if I said that another way - there were stops and starts, try to make it sound continuous, while you wait for the music. the introduction of gold mining and the cities made the theme clear and then the 'discarding' signaled the return to nature - I would have like to see something (a piece of machinary or something man made) which was overgrown completely. I loved the white lions (Simba?) at the end __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

April 24th, 2008, 10:47 AM	#6
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	I really liked your message, though it was sad to watch, how the land has been destroyed. You have some extraordinary footage- especially the lions and the African wild dogs. Your music worked well with the theme- very poignant. I liked your VO- not obtrusive, but delivering the story. Great job, and thanks for sharing Africa. Ruth __________________ http://rockfowl.com/

April 24th, 2008, 11:54 AM	#7
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	John, Very good. You certainly have some more impressive beasts to film than I do! There's some great hyena action in there. How close were you to them? Some of the wild game shots are a bit wobbly, but I'm not sure I could keep too steady with this sort of action going on around me. A great story, and the voiceover worked well, I quite liked the pace of it. Quite a moving tale - and what an interesting country! __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

April 24th, 2008, 12:52 PM	#8
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	"I do prefer seeing Africa through my Great Grandfathers eyes." Beautiful...that line was just perfect. The perfect ending. Liked your work very much. Thanks! Bob T. __________________ Bob T.

April 24th, 2008, 12:40 AM	#2
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Hi John, A very nice video you produced. That is an interesting story. I enjoyed watching it. I think you showed us very well how mankind change the nature. Favorite shots was those of the lions. Those cats are huge!! There was an audio "pop" or whatever we should call it at 1:26 when you said "we built great cities..." This can appear if the microphone is held too close or if at a bad/wrong angle from the mouth as we speak a few of the letters. All in all, a great video! Well done! Thank you for sharing.

April 24th, 2008, 06:40 AM	#4
John Dennis Robertson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johanesburg South Africa Posts: 217	Thanks for the comments Trond and Paul.I know the VO in this baddd but I ran out of time...did the VO and had to upload because I knew I had work commitments for the next few days...I cringe when I listen to it again...

April 24th, 2008, 07:45 AM	#5
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	I actually though the VO had a "vinyl crackle" sound to it that sounded strangely appropriate..... John, I had to watch this through a couple of times, and have to say I really enjoyed it - it's quite morose, but very poignant with it. As a fan of Wilbur Smith, this film for me ties in neatly with a lot of his novels, so I felt a personal association here. Good stuff!

April 24th, 2008, 06:12 PM	#9
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Hi Dennis, What a great story, & i thought you told it very well with your voice over, & the shots you had. I liked your use of straight cuts, most were seemless, & worked very well. For me there was only one small part that i would like to make comment on, & that was the shot of the lion @ 00:21, it was only 1 sec. long. Although it looked like a great shot, i just thought it was too short. The following shot for me was much nicer in its length. Overall a really nice film, well done. Bryce __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

April 24th, 2008, 09:01 PM	#10
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	I'd second what Bob said, I loved the closing line.. It's hard not to love a film about lions! Well, this wasn't exactly about lions, except insofar as they represent the loss of the wild in the face of modernization. But my Western zodiac sign is Leo, haha can you tell? That's why they put me in charge! So I have always had an affinity with the beasts and hoped some of our S.A. players would show up with some images of the King (and Queen, of course)...very cool...

April 25th, 2008, 11:18 PM	#11
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	John Dennis: You just keep getting better and better. Your footage was awesome, and the theme well developed and moving. The narration was well done and as others have commented, you certainly peg the last line. I love what you do. Cat

April 26th, 2008, 01:15 PM	#12
Adrinn Chellton Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 195	This one had an interesting story. I thought some of your shots could have been held longer for more impact, but overall this was a good entry. The contrast was good from the pristine wilderness shots to the developments, rubble and junk. Keep it up and more people will learn what is going on in your neck of the woods.

April 26th, 2008, 03:56 PM	#13
Mat Thompson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kent UK Posts: 1,397	Hey John Some really stunning wides up front in this piece...very nice indeed! The lion and hunting dog footage was nice but really needed a tripod. I guessing you were shooting from the back of a vehicle so this was difficult but some better stabilisation would have helped loads especially with these shots following the impressive establishers. The story was solid, well told and heart felt, maybe a little monotone.....but hey join the club ;-) !! Nice piece Mat

April 28th, 2008, 02:10 PM	#14
Amelia Tanttila Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 26	Uwol # 8 Egoli Hi John Dennis, I really liked your piece. Your footage of such amazing wildlife makes me feel a bit ridiculous about feeling any sense of pride in my footage of squirrels and random birds! It's amazing how much ground you covered in 3 minutes, and yet, the story remained true. Yep, you've got amazing footage, and I appreciated your dissolves between clips. It is definitely tough to keep a camera steady when you're zoomed in. I don't know if it'd be appropriate for your footage/piece, and maybe you do this or aware of it, but I've found that when you slow the footage down in editing, shakiness isn't as noticeable. The music fit the tone perfectly; although it seemed to stop abruptly at the end of the video - perhaps fading the music out at the end would be nice? I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of your work and more of Africa. Amelia

April 29th, 2008, 06:21 AM	#15
Vidar Vedaa Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: bergen norway Posts: 235	Hello John You live in a wildlife-aeria how must be fantastic.And on this big lion you make a grait entery.And a fasinating story about the place Nice Work!!! VJV. ________________