UWOL #8 "JiuFen" by Benjamin Durin at DVinfo.net

Benjamin Durin · April 24th, 2008, 09:15 AM

This is my first real attempt for a documentary and I am aware there are many flaws.
First I am sorry for the strong accent, sometimes I myself even can't understand what I am saying!
Everything was shot in one morning because, well, I didn't have much time.
I also learned (afterwards) that it is better to write the narration before doing the shooting.

Well, I hope you will enjoy the landscapes.

Trond Saetre · April 24th, 2008, 11:12 AM

Hi Benjamin,

Now I learned something new about your part of the world too.
Very nice scenery there.

I look forward to see your next videos in the future challenges.
Thank you for sharing.

Ruth Happel · April 24th, 2008, 12:05 PM

This is an impressive amount of footage for one morning! I liked the way you wove in some historical documents to illustrate the development. The music fit your piece really well. It was fascinating to see your corner of the planet, thanks for sharing.

Ruth

Paul Mailath · April 24th, 2008, 06:34 PM

terrific,

I really liked the sepia (I think that's the term) look for the early historical section and then the transition to colour. At first I thought they were pictures but they are miniature models in a museum right?

I thought the music and narration fitted will, although the music volume was a little strong in a couple of places.

Your accent is fine - we all have them, we just don't notice. There are really only a couple of words which you have to listen to. If you write your narration down and then get someone else to pick those words you need to be particularly clear on (I think tourist was one) and underline those you should be fine. Some VO guys make lots of lines and squiggles on their text to help with pronunciation and emphasis.

there was a sense of peace & solitude through the whole footage - quite calming

Meryem Ersoz · April 24th, 2008, 08:54 PM

Very pretty shooting, nice colors. And an interesting topic -- this is the kind of setting that you only get to see in UWOL films.

I like the historical backstory approach.

I only wanted to see and know more! Feels like the trailer for a larger documentary...

Benjamin Durin · April 25th, 2008, 06:44 AM

Paul, you are absolutely right.

Meryem, you are welcome to come here to make a complete documentary. I will show you around ;)

Rob Evans · April 25th, 2008, 10:54 AM

Benjamin, great images - i think you could have quite easily expanded to 3 minutes and gained the space to tell a bit more of the story. It was well captured and edited with good use of stills and effective music. As the others have said, it's great to see more of the world too!!!

Looking forward to your next film!!!

Meryem Ersoz · April 25th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin Durin

Paul, you are absolutely right.

Meryem, you are welcome to come here to make a complete documentary. I will show you around ;)

ooo, tempting! i love the concealed corners...

(sorry i ended up tagging you post with the "edited by" - i hit the secret editing button by mistake, when i meant to hit the "quote" button - hamhanded bit of wrangling there...)

Mike Beckett · April 26th, 2008, 01:49 PM

Benjamin,

A film from somewhere different! I think I'm the first Irish entrant to UWOL, and I think you're the first from Taiwan. And your English is probably better than mine!

There's some lovely shots in your films - I can't get enough of the architecture, such as at 0:30 showing those lovely houses on the hill side.

The landscape is incredible, and you've got a great eye for video - your framing is excellent.

My only complaint (as with a lot of these films!) is that it was a little short. More please!

Well done!

Bryce Comer · April 26th, 2008, 06:35 PM

Hi Benjamin,
What a nice surprise to see this film from you this round. I was in Taiwan for work for a couple of days at the end of last month, & thought the scenery was stunning. You have captured exactly that with the scenery in your film. I loved the use of the stills in your film, i thought they helped to tell the story very well. I'm very impressed that you have put this all together with only one mornings filming. I will be very keen to see just what you can put together with a couple of days or more. I found your voice over very good. You spoke with a very natural & relaxed voice, & that somehow told the story without drawing attention to the voice over itself. (If that makes sense)
Well done, i can't wait to see more from you.

Bryce

Bruce Foreman · April 28th, 2008, 12:28 AM

Benjamin,

I enjoyed your entry for more reasons than the videomaker's aspect. While in the air force I was stationed on Taiwan twice, 1967 and 1968, and again in mid 1974 thru mid 1976. I lived a few months in Pei Tou and the rest of the time in Tian Mu, worked at Shu Lin Kou air station.

I enjoyed my time there very much and made some very good friends, including a Buddhist priest called Sing Hai (the temple above the police circle in Tian Mu) and a photographer named Xie Qeng Da who used to have a small photo store/studio (LeeDa Studio) in Tian Mu.

Your film brought a lot of that back to me. Just where is Jiu Fen in relation to Tai Pei?

Catherine Russell · April 28th, 2008, 11:07 AM

Benjamin:

Thank you for giving us your part of the world on a silver platter! You have beautiful scenery and awesome history to inundate us with! Like it's been touched on before.... we only wanted more! Next time, give us the full 3 minutes!

Sincerely,

Cat

Marj Atkins · April 28th, 2008, 12:59 PM

You have created a beautiful documentary here Benjamin, albeit short and sweet. Your story about the transformation of a quaint mining village in north west Taiwan is both interesting to listen to and a delight to watch - set in such a scenic location. It is just so fantastic to get an opportunity to see all these wonderful places around the world on this forum. I just love it.

You have a good eye for both composition and colour. I like the way your colours indicate the progression of the transformation: introducing your story using sepia tones to set the historical scene, then moving into near-muted colour tones for the village scenes in the recent past and finally moving into a heightened colour saturation to reflect the vibrant nature of the little village as it is today - a humming tourist destination by the looks of it. Not sure if that was deliberate or not but that’s how I saw it. Your story certainly demonstrates a good degree of transformation has taken place.

Your choice of music is obviously well suited and complements your images. Your sound quality is good - I really admire all you people who attempt VO in a language foreign to your own.

I am so glad all those time restrictions you mentioned did not stop you making this video!! Tres bien Benjamin! (couldn’t resist : ) Hmm - seems odd to have a French man in Taiwan creating an English documentary.)

John Dennis Robertson · April 29th, 2008, 08:16 AM

Great to get some video from Taiwan.Well told story and nice use of the stills...I might steal that idea in future.

Benjamin Durin · April 30th, 2008, 09:56 PM

Thank you everybody for your comments.
I am a little late replying because I was in Indonesia with my family for a few days.
I even didn't have time to watch all the entries yet. I will post my comments when I finish viewing them.

April 24th, 2008, 09:15 AM	#1
Benjamin Durin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 212	UWOL #8 "JiuFen" by Benjamin Durin This is my first real attempt for a documentary and I am aware there are many flaws. First I am sorry for the strong accent, sometimes I myself even can't understand what I am saying! Everything was shot in one morning because, well, I didn't have much time. I also learned (afterwards) that it is better to write the narration before doing the shooting. Well, I hope you will enjoy the landscapes.

April 24th, 2008, 12:05 PM	#3
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	This is an impressive amount of footage for one morning! I liked the way you wove in some historical documents to illustrate the development. The music fit your piece really well. It was fascinating to see your corner of the planet, thanks for sharing. Ruth __________________ http://rockfowl.com/

April 24th, 2008, 06:34 PM	#4
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	terrific, I really liked the sepia (I think that's the term) look for the early historical section and then the transition to colour. At first I thought they were pictures but they are miniature models in a museum right? I thought the music and narration fitted will, although the music volume was a little strong in a couple of places. Your accent is fine - we all have them, we just don't notice. There are really only a couple of words which you have to listen to. If you write your narration down and then get someone else to pick those words you need to be particularly clear on (I think tourist was one) and underline those you should be fine. Some VO guys make lots of lines and squiggles on their text to help with pronunciation and emphasis. there was a sense of peace & solitude through the whole footage - quite calming __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

April 25th, 2008, 06:44 AM	#6
Benjamin Durin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 212	Paul, you are absolutely right. Meryem, you are welcome to come here to make a complete documentary. I will show you around ;) Last edited by Meryem Ersoz; April 25th, 2008 at 11:21 AM.

April 26th, 2008, 01:49 PM	#9
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Benjamin, A film from somewhere different! I think I'm the first Irish entrant to UWOL, and I think you're the first from Taiwan. And your English is probably better than mine! There's some lovely shots in your films - I can't get enough of the architecture, such as at 0:30 showing those lovely houses on the hill side. The landscape is incredible, and you've got a great eye for video - your framing is excellent. My only complaint (as with a lot of these films!) is that it was a little short. More please! Well done! __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

April 24th, 2008, 11:12 AM	#2
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Hi Benjamin, Now I learned something new about your part of the world too. Very nice scenery there. I look forward to see your next videos in the future challenges. Thank you for sharing.

April 24th, 2008, 08:54 PM	#5
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	Very pretty shooting, nice colors. And an interesting topic -- this is the kind of setting that you only get to see in UWOL films. I like the historical backstory approach. I only wanted to see and know more! Feels like the trailer for a larger documentary...

April 25th, 2008, 10:54 AM	#7
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	Benjamin, great images - i think you could have quite easily expanded to 3 minutes and gained the space to tell a bit more of the story. It was well captured and edited with good use of stills and effective music. As the others have said, it's great to see more of the world too!!! Looking forward to your next film!!!

April 26th, 2008, 06:35 PM	#10
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Hi Benjamin, What a nice surprise to see this film from you this round. I was in Taiwan for work for a couple of days at the end of last month, & thought the scenery was stunning. You have captured exactly that with the scenery in your film. I loved the use of the stills in your film, i thought they helped to tell the story very well. I'm very impressed that you have put this all together with only one mornings filming. I will be very keen to see just what you can put together with a couple of days or more. I found your voice over very good. You spoke with a very natural & relaxed voice, & that somehow told the story without drawing attention to the voice over itself. (If that makes sense) Well done, i can't wait to see more from you. Bryce __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

April 28th, 2008, 12:28 AM	#11
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Benjamin, I enjoyed your entry for more reasons than the videomaker's aspect. While in the air force I was stationed on Taiwan twice, 1967 and 1968, and again in mid 1974 thru mid 1976. I lived a few months in Pei Tou and the rest of the time in Tian Mu, worked at Shu Lin Kou air station. I enjoyed my time there very much and made some very good friends, including a Buddhist priest called Sing Hai (the temple above the police circle in Tian Mu) and a photographer named Xie Qeng Da who used to have a small photo store/studio (LeeDa Studio) in Tian Mu. Your film brought a lot of that back to me. Just where is Jiu Fen in relation to Tai Pei?

April 28th, 2008, 11:07 AM	#12
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Benjamin: Thank you for giving us your part of the world on a silver platter! You have beautiful scenery and awesome history to inundate us with! Like it's been touched on before.... we only wanted more! Next time, give us the full 3 minutes! Sincerely, Cat

April 28th, 2008, 12:59 PM	#13
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	You have created a beautiful documentary here Benjamin, albeit short and sweet. Your story about the transformation of a quaint mining village in north west Taiwan is both interesting to listen to and a delight to watch - set in such a scenic location. It is just so fantastic to get an opportunity to see all these wonderful places around the world on this forum. I just love it. You have a good eye for both composition and colour. I like the way your colours indicate the progression of the transformation: introducing your story using sepia tones to set the historical scene, then moving into near-muted colour tones for the village scenes in the recent past and finally moving into a heightened colour saturation to reflect the vibrant nature of the little village as it is today - a humming tourist destination by the looks of it. Not sure if that was deliberate or not but that’s how I saw it. Your story certainly demonstrates a good degree of transformation has taken place. Your choice of music is obviously well suited and complements your images. Your sound quality is good - I really admire all you people who attempt VO in a language foreign to your own. I am so glad all those time restrictions you mentioned did not stop you making this video!! Tres bien Benjamin! (couldn’t resist : ) Hmm - seems odd to have a French man in Taiwan creating an English documentary.) Last edited by Marj Atkins; April 28th, 2008 at 01:45 PM.

April 29th, 2008, 08:16 AM	#14
John Dennis Robertson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johanesburg South Africa Posts: 217	Great to get some video from Taiwan.Well told story and nice use of the stills...I might steal that idea in future.

April 30th, 2008, 09:56 PM	#15
Benjamin Durin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 212	Thank you everybody for your comments. I am a little late replying because I was in Indonesia with my family for a few days. I even didn't have time to watch all the entries yet. I will post my comments when I finish viewing them.