UWOL #9 "Little Things" by Bob Thieda at DVinfo.net

Bob Thieda · June 23rd, 2008, 08:20 AM

Well....three for three this year!

Weather, work and having my camera in for repair limited me to just a couple of mornings to shoot.
Had to work with what I could find around the homestead again.

I have mixed feelings about this video...
I'm pleased how it came out considering what I had to work with, but I know it could have been better...
I was very pleased how my good friend Oliver's music worked with this piece...

Shot with my GL2 and a cheap, Ebay macro lens I bought last year.
Tried it once and hated it...had better luck this time, (still want a better one).

Windows Media Player version here: http://www.baatfam.com/LittleThingsRev5.wmv

And let me tell ya...those "little things" get into everything...

Little Things 1

Little Things 2

I had fun and I learned a lot!

Bob T.

Bruce Foreman · June 23rd, 2008, 11:22 AM

Dang, Bob.

You just got that cam back out of repair and you're letting them "little things" all over it?

Great macro work no matter how "cheap" the macro lens is. Excellent footage getting us closer to the "critters" than most folks thought to look.

Very well done and Oliver's music fit very well, especially with the balance you achieved, bringing the music level up when needed and down just enough to maintain presence without interfering with your commentary.

I liked this one.

Bob Thieda · June 24th, 2008, 08:08 PM

Thanks Bruce...

Those SOBs were all over me....
Three hours later I was still finding them on my camera, my arms, my head, my computer desk...
But the camera came out OK...I just gave them a few hours to vacate the machine...

Bob T.

Markus Nord · June 25th, 2008, 09:19 AM

Ants, ants, ants, ants… cool, I love them! Nice done with getting them in the frame.
Nice subject, I have always been fascinated of ants…
Nice job

Rob Evans · June 25th, 2008, 03:50 PM

Hi Bob,
I'm a big fan of the cheap macro lens too, it's just another one of those tools that opens up your options by mega factors. I thought it was a great portrayal of creatures that are never far away from us. Good well framed shots and a nice story. Nice one!

Catherine Russell · June 25th, 2008, 09:59 PM

Hey Bob:

I thought this was great. The music fit it well and it's neat that Oliver collaborated with you on that. I liked the seamless interplay between narration and music. I noticed your UWOL attire in the beginning... nice plug there! The information was extraordinary with facts like if you could take them all and weigh them they would outweigh the entire human population... wow, who thinks of that? I thought the filming was excellent. This was well done. I really enjoyed it.

Cat

Eric Gulbransen · June 26th, 2008, 12:12 AM

Hi Bob. I loved your movie. Amazing how well the music worked, and you manipulated the track volume very effectively. I can always tell when I really like a movie when I watch it more than once. I tried a macro piece on a caterpillar once. Helluva job keeping focus, but man is it cool getting so close! I'm jealous. You've got a composer down the street and all I have is a train station...

Bob Thieda · June 26th, 2008, 06:20 AM

Thanks everyone for the kind words about my video... :)

Several mentioned Oliver's music, so I thought I'd give him a plug...

All the music I used in the last three UWOL challenges came from his selection of FREE music he offers on his web page.
http://www.blindchildproductions.com/html/music.html

He's also done some custom work for me and I'm sure if you emailed him, he would consider the same for anyone in the DVI community....

OK...back to work. I still have many videos to watch and review.

Bob T.

David Gemmell · June 26th, 2008, 06:45 AM

Hi Bob,

Like Ruth's recent entries, it's great when someone brings us the things that are happening in front of us all each day - but we don't really see them. I just love watching and studying macro work (and slow mo - thanks Ruth).

You edited this piece together very nicely. Music was very appropriate and you used it nicely throughout. The shallow DOF you get in macro really gives the footage a lovely feel. Gee, you would want to hurt yourself in an ant colony - you'll be eaten very promptly by the looks of things!

That's a nice tee shirt you have there. I'll need to get one of those.

Considering your time limitations Bob, I thought you produced a very interesting and well filmed piece.

Peter Damerell · June 26th, 2008, 07:48 AM

Hi Bob.

Great choice of subject for a tight time frame. You got some really great macro shots in there! It’s always nice to have your perceptions shifted and to be forced to look at what’s right under you nose and you did that brilliantly

One thing I would say, and this is just my own personal opinion, is that I think you over commentated slightly. There are a million and one amazing facts about ants (did you know that if you lined up every member of the animal kingdom every 5th one would be an ant?) but to try to fit all of these facts into three minutes can feel like a bit of information overload. Maybe by cutting out the comments where you say things like your not sure which species they are (which can undermine the viewers’ confidence in the film) you let your brilliant pictures tell some more of the story to.

As I’ve said I think you got some great shots here and have made me think about looking a bit closer to home for inspiration so thanks for that. As you say I’ve just got to ‘take a look’.

I look forward to your next film

Pete

Bob Thieda · June 26th, 2008, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Damerell

One thing I would say, and this is just my own personal opinion, is that I think you over commentated slightly. There are a million and one amazing facts about ants (did you know that if you lined up every member of the animal kingdom every 5th one would be an ant?) but to try to fit all of these facts into three minutes can feel like a bit of information overload.

Pete...
Thanks for the positives and you are so correct about the comentary.
Every time I watch it, I cringe listening to myself blabber on...and on...and on.

I believe there is a saying, "less is more".

Catherine Russell · June 26th, 2008, 09:00 AM

Wow, I didn't know Oliver had a website that offers music. I'll have to check it out! That's really cool. Thanks for the link info.

Cat

Ron Chant · June 26th, 2008, 04:11 PM

Bob ants always look like they are hurrying around aimlessly, but you know they just want get into house and have a go on that sweet sweet Apple Mac.

The macro shots were very good, the chosen music I liked the music it gave it a cartoon feel, any way it made me rock back and forward in my office chair, good varied shots, from a pair of fighting ants with another lifting a twig four or five times it length,
Your voice over was just right with just the right amount of info.
getting down with them on the concrete was good move.

Chris Barcellos · June 26th, 2008, 04:24 PM

Neat little production Bob. I started working with ants in UWOL 6, but hadn't found my way back to them yet. I used the Cinevate achromat for the Brevis in that one.

Lorinda Norton · June 26th, 2008, 06:40 PM

Yea, Bob! That was as delightful as a bug video can get! Your narrating style is soooo easy—I love it, and it “made” the video for me. Did I hear you call them little buggers? Ha ha! Wonderful. Thanks so much for the up close and personal look.

P.S. I wrote the above before reading your posts. Don’t cringe—you get my vote for GREAT narration.

June 23rd, 2008, 08:20 AM	#1
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	UWOL #9 "Little Things" by Bob Thieda Well....three for three this year! Weather, work and having my camera in for repair limited me to just a couple of mornings to shoot. Had to work with what I could find around the homestead again. I have mixed feelings about this video... I'm pleased how it came out considering what I had to work with, but I know it could have been better... I was very pleased how my good friend Oliver's music worked with this piece... Shot with my GL2 and a cheap, Ebay macro lens I bought last year. Tried it once and hated it...had better luck this time, (still want a better one). Windows Media Player version here: http://www.baatfam.com/LittleThingsRev5.wmv And let me tell ya...those "little things" get into everything... Little Things 1 Little Things 2 I had fun and I learned a lot! Bob T. __________________ Bob T.

June 24th, 2008, 08:08 PM	#3
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Thanks Bruce... Those SOBs were all over me.... Three hours later I was still finding them on my camera, my arms, my head, my computer desk... But the camera came out OK...I just gave them a few hours to vacate the machine... Bob T. __________________ Bob T.

June 25th, 2008, 09:19 AM	#4
Markus Nord Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vastervik ,Sweden Posts: 639	Ants, ants, ants, ants… cool, I love them! Nice done with getting them in the frame. Nice subject, I have always been fascinated of ants… Nice job __________________ www.nordproduktion.se https://vimeo.com/nordproduktion

June 26th, 2008, 06:20 AM	#8
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Thanks everyone for the kind words about my video... :) Several mentioned Oliver's music, so I thought I'd give him a plug... All the music I used in the last three UWOL challenges came from his selection of *FREE* music he offers on his web page. http://www.blindchildproductions.com/html/music.html He's also done some custom work for me and I'm sure if you emailed him, he would consider the same for anyone in the DVI community.... OK...back to work. I still have many videos to watch and review. Bob T. __________________ Bob T.

June 26th, 2008, 04:11 PM	#13
Ron Chant Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: West-London - England Posts: 125	Bob ants always look like they are hurrying around aimlessly, but you know they just want get into house and have a go on that sweet sweet Apple Mac. The macro shots were very good, the chosen music I liked the music it gave it a cartoon feel, any way it made me rock back and forward in my office chair, good varied shots, from a pair of fighting ants with another lifting a twig four or five times it length, Your voice over was just right with just the right amount of info. getting down with them on the concrete was good move. __________________ <')))>{

June 23rd, 2008, 11:22 AM	#2
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Dang, Bob. You just got that cam back out of repair and you're letting them "little things" all over it? Great macro work no matter how "cheap" the macro lens is. Excellent footage getting us closer to the "critters" than most folks thought to look. Very well done and Oliver's music fit very well, especially with the balance you achieved, bringing the music level up when needed and down just enough to maintain presence without interfering with your commentary. I liked this one.

June 25th, 2008, 03:50 PM	#5
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	Hi Bob, I'm a big fan of the cheap macro lens too, it's just another one of those tools that opens up your options by mega factors. I thought it was a great portrayal of creatures that are never far away from us. Good well framed shots and a nice story. Nice one!

June 25th, 2008, 09:59 PM	#6
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Hey Bob: I thought this was great. The music fit it well and it's neat that Oliver collaborated with you on that. I liked the seamless interplay between narration and music. I noticed your UWOL attire in the beginning... nice plug there! The information was extraordinary with facts like if you could take them all and weigh them they would outweigh the entire human population... wow, who thinks of that? I thought the filming was excellent. This was well done. I really enjoyed it. Cat

June 26th, 2008, 12:12 AM	#7
Eric Gulbransen Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Palo Alto, California Posts: 520	Hi Bob. I loved your movie. Amazing how well the music worked, and you manipulated the track volume very effectively. I can always tell when I really like a movie when I watch it more than once. I tried a macro piece on a caterpillar once. Helluva job keeping focus, but man is it cool getting so close! I'm jealous. You've got a composer down the street and all I have is a train station...

June 26th, 2008, 06:45 AM	#9
David Gemmell Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bendigo, Australia Posts: 234	Hi Bob, Like Ruth's recent entries, it's great when someone brings us the things that are happening in front of us all each day - but we don't really see them. I just love watching and studying macro work (and slow mo - thanks Ruth). You edited this piece together very nicely. Music was very appropriate and you used it nicely throughout. The shallow DOF you get in macro really gives the footage a lovely feel. Gee, you would want to hurt yourself in an ant colony - you'll be eaten very promptly by the looks of things! That's a nice tee shirt you have there. I'll need to get one of those. Considering your time limitations Bob, I thought you produced a very interesting and well filmed piece.

June 26th, 2008, 07:48 AM	#10
Peter Damerell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Truro, Cornwall, UK Posts: 51	Hi Bob. Great choice of subject for a tight time frame. You got some really great macro shots in there! It’s always nice to have your perceptions shifted and to be forced to look at what’s right under you nose and you did that brilliantly One thing I would say, and this is just my own personal opinion, is that I think you over commentated slightly. There are a million and one amazing facts about ants (did you know that if you lined up every member of the animal kingdom every 5th one would be an ant?) but to try to fit all of these facts into three minutes can feel like a bit of information overload. Maybe by cutting out the comments where you say things like your not sure which species they are (which can undermine the viewers’ confidence in the film) you let your brilliant pictures tell some more of the story to. As I’ve said I think you got some great shots here and have made me think about looking a bit closer to home for inspiration so thanks for that. As you say I’ve just got to ‘take a look’. I look forward to your next film Pete

June 26th, 2008, 09:00 AM	#12
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Wow, I didn't know Oliver had a website that offers music. I'll have to check it out! That's really cool. Thanks for the link info. Cat

June 26th, 2008, 04:24 PM	#14
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Neat little production Bob. I started working with ants in UWOL 6, but hadn't found my way back to them yet. I used the Cinevate achromat for the Brevis in that one. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

June 26th, 2008, 06:40 PM	#15
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	Yea, Bob! That was as delightful as a bug video can get! Your narrating style is soooo easy—I love it, and it “made” the video for me. Did I hear you call them little buggers? Ha ha! Wonderful. Thanks so much for the up close and personal look. P.S. I wrote the above before reading your posts. Don’t cringe—you get my vote for GREAT narration. __________________ Lorinda