UWOL #9 – Southwest Idaho Neighbors

Steve Siegel · June 28th, 2008, 06:38 AM

I really enjoyed watching your entry, Lorinda. It was like going birding on a cool spring morning. You have following moving birds down pat. I see that your killdeers are like our killdeers. They give you just the beginning of the broken wing display, then stop before you can film it. They probably know that we aren't really dangerous. I look forward to your next entry. One thing you might want to do is to fade right into the next scene instead of to black first.

Mike Beckett · June 28th, 2008, 02:28 PM

Lorinda,

What a lovely film! I didn't mind the hand held footage at all, I found it added energy to the piece. I found it gave me the impression of you, as a human, watching the critters - rather than perfectly smooth, machine-type movements making the viewer forget there is a human behind the lens.

I wish we had rock chucks round here. I'd swap them for brown rats any day!

I like your comment about killdeers. They remind me very much of plovers that I have witnessed in Australia - and they scare me! Nesting in public parks and near paths, and chasing anyone who has the misfortune to come by. I remember sitting on the balcony in a hotel in Cairns watching a particularly angry pair chasing an unsuspecting jogger. You never have a camera at times like that. Anyway, I digress (again).

Pretty cool shot of the hawk being harassed by the smaller bird. All it would take would be one swipe and he would get peace and quiet, but no! And mallard may be common, but I do love them, and the baby mallards are just too cute. That sequence of the little duckling left behind was so sweet!

I agree with what you say about the unpredictability of wildlife. They won't follow the script, they won't stand where they're supposed to, and they won't take any direction. Isn't it just great? I love it.

Oh.... and I love your accent! Great voiceover, nicely scripted.

Great first entry, very enjoyable.

Lorinda Norton · June 28th, 2008, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Beckett

...I love your accent!

What accent? ;)

Thank you, Mike and Steve. Mike, I know a farmer or two who would love to ship all the rock chucks to Ireland. Oh, but you said swap...never mind...

Mat Thompson · June 30th, 2008, 06:39 AM

Hi Lorinda

A nice selection of sequences you have here and done in a more video diary style which is nice. I particularly liked the hawk shot and the 'plover-like' bird, the earthy colours in the background were lovely. A quick not on the sequence though, the cut to the agitated bird had a completely different lighting and location, or certainly looked that way so was abrupt when cut. Some colour/contrast correction would have helped here! While I agree with Mike on the handheld stuff I do think some of it would have benefitted from tripod mounting, particularly stuff like the opening landscape.

Overall I felt the film needed more of a round up or premise, this may have been as simple one-liner at the end to bind the sequences together.

Nice entry, more on those Marmot's please! :-)

Mat

Meryem Ersoz · June 30th, 2008, 07:48 AM

So you found UWOL at last! Or, I suppose, it hunted you down...

You really went after this...this is no one-day wonder, it takes a lot of effort to get diverse shots of interesting wildlife. And all those magic hour shots, someone had to get out of their warm, toasty bed for those! You have very nice lighting throughout....

Why do hawks get harrassed by smaller birds? I see that all the time in these parts but never when I have a camera in my hand...

Anyway, welcome to our Challenge, extra props for getting both Challenges done at the same time.

Bruce Foreman · July 2nd, 2008, 01:32 PM

Lorinda:

I really enjoyed meeting your neighbors. You got some neat stuff on those critters, and like others have said, your VO narration and the warm friendly sound of it added a lot.

Each of these challenge venues has it's own appeal. I love the DVC and it's storytelling...When I can get a crew to work with me.

And the UWOL challenge is just another way to experience the wonder of this world.

But it sure is a 3 ring circus to participate in both when the challenges overlap like they did this time.

Sheesh!

Ruth Happel · July 7th, 2008, 10:00 PM

This was a great film. Please become a UWOL regular :)

Your commentary was great and added so much to the footage. I laughed at the comments on the killdeer- very true.

Very nice variety of footage, thanks for sharing your state.

Ruth

Lorinda Norton · July 7th, 2008, 10:30 PM

Now that DVC 13 is through I can come back to this nice place and sit a spell...

Thanks for the comments, Mat. As for marmots, or rock chucks, filming nothing but them would be a piece of cake since they're all over the place.

Dang it, Meryem, you dared me to join this on purpose didn’t you—knowing that it’s addictive. Pusher! ;) Oh, and I think you know me too well to believe this old girl would get out of bed to shoot, but thanks for the laugh anyway.

To answer your question (or was it rhetorical?) as near as I could find out the smaller birds (oftentimes blackbirds) attack hawks simply because they’re too close to the nests. Makes sense, I suppose. I read that hawks will eat the eggs and baby birds—I don’t know much about birds of prey but have never heard of them eating eggs...

Bruce, I won’t promise that the DVC won’t collide with UWOL ever again, but Dylan and I do keep an eye on such things. :)

Ruth, you’re racing through these entries like wildfire! Don’t know how you’re doing it, but I appreciate your nice comments...very much.

Meryem Ersoz · July 8th, 2008, 02:12 AM

Aha, she's hooked! Now reel her in!

Those smooth-talking UWOL lads and lassies are hard to resist, aren't they?

Glad you had fun joining our international love-fest.

And I will get a DVC entry done this year -- if you put on that creepshow again at Halloween, I would like another crack at that. I'm sure that Marco is already sharpening his knives...

Trond Saetre · July 9th, 2008, 10:18 AM

Hi Lorinda, and welcome to the uwol family!

Thank you for teaching me something new about your part of the world.
You have an interesting story and awesome footage.
I like how you mix the natural sound with your narration and the music in the background.
Very well done!

Please stay with us for the future challenges.

Dale Guthormsen · July 10th, 2008, 09:21 AM

Lorinda,

What a pleasurable video!!! Your naration just makes me want to hunker down and enjoy!! It all seems so gentle and nice!! Great job. Hope to see more from you in the next go around!!!

thanks for sharing !!!!!!

June 28th, 2008, 02:28 PM	#17
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Lorinda, What a lovely film! I didn't mind the hand held footage at all, I found it added energy to the piece. I found it gave me the impression of you, as a human, watching the critters - rather than perfectly smooth, machine-type movements making the viewer forget there is a human behind the lens. I wish we had rock chucks round here. I'd swap them for brown rats any day! I like your comment about killdeers. They remind me very much of plovers that I have witnessed in Australia - and they scare me! Nesting in public parks and near paths, and chasing anyone who has the misfortune to come by. I remember sitting on the balcony in a hotel in Cairns watching a particularly angry pair chasing an unsuspecting jogger. You never have a camera at times like that. Anyway, I digress (again). Pretty cool shot of the hawk being harassed by the smaller bird. All it would take would be one swipe and he would get peace and quiet, but no! And mallard may be common, but I do love them, and the baby mallards are just too cute. That sequence of the little duckling left behind was so sweet! I agree with what you say about the unpredictability of wildlife. They won't follow the script, they won't stand where they're supposed to, and they won't take any direction. Isn't it just great? I love it. Oh.... and I love your accent! Great voiceover, nicely scripted. Great first entry, very enjoyable. __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

July 7th, 2008, 10:00 PM	#22
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	This was a great film. Please become a UWOL regular :) Your commentary was great and added so much to the footage. I laughed at the comments on the killdeer- very true. Very nice variety of footage, thanks for sharing your state. Ruth __________________ http://rockfowl.com/

July 7th, 2008, 10:30 PM	#23
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	Now that DVC 13 is through I can come back to this nice place and sit a spell... Thanks for the comments, Mat. As for marmots, or rock chucks, filming nothing but them would be a piece of cake since they're all over the place. Dang it, Meryem, you dared me to join this on purpose didn’t you—knowing that it’s addictive. Pusher! ;) Oh, and I think you know me too well to believe this old girl would get out of bed to shoot, but thanks for the laugh anyway. To answer your question (or was it rhetorical?) as near as I could find out the smaller birds (oftentimes blackbirds) attack hawks simply because they’re too close to the nests. Makes sense, I suppose. I read that hawks will eat the eggs and baby birds—I don’t know much about birds of prey but have never heard of them eating eggs... Bruce, I won’t promise that the DVC won’t collide with UWOL ever again, but Dylan and I do keep an eye on such things. :) Ruth, you’re racing through these entries like wildfire! Don’t know how you’re doing it, but I appreciate your nice comments...very much. __________________ Lorinda

July 10th, 2008, 09:21 AM	#26
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Lorinda, What a pleasurable video!!! Your naration just makes me want to hunker down and enjoy!! It all seems so gentle and nice!! Great job. Hope to see more from you in the next go around!!! thanks for sharing !!!!!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen Last edited by Meryem Ersoz; July 10th, 2008 at 10:02 AM.

June 28th, 2008, 06:38 AM	#16
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	I really enjoyed watching your entry, Lorinda. It was like going birding on a cool spring morning. You have following moving birds down pat. I see that your killdeers are like our killdeers. They give you just the beginning of the broken wing display, then stop before you can film it. They probably know that we aren't really dangerous. I look forward to your next entry. One thing you might want to do is to fade right into the next scene instead of to black first.

June 30th, 2008, 06:39 AM	#19
Mat Thompson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kent UK Posts: 1,397	Hi Lorinda A nice selection of sequences you have here and done in a more video diary style which is nice. I particularly liked the hawk shot and the 'plover-like' bird, the earthy colours in the background were lovely. A quick not on the sequence though, the cut to the agitated bird had a completely different lighting and location, or certainly looked that way so was abrupt when cut. Some colour/contrast correction would have helped here! While I agree with Mike on the handheld stuff I do think some of it would have benefitted from tripod mounting, particularly stuff like the opening landscape. Overall I felt the film needed more of a round up or premise, this may have been as simple one-liner at the end to bind the sequences together. Nice entry, more on those Marmot's please! :-) Mat

June 30th, 2008, 07:48 AM	#20
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	So you found UWOL at last! Or, I suppose, it hunted you down... You really went after this...this is no one-day wonder, it takes a lot of effort to get diverse shots of interesting wildlife. And all those magic hour shots, someone had to get out of their warm, toasty bed for those! You have very nice lighting throughout.... Why do hawks get harrassed by smaller birds? I see that all the time in these parts but never when I have a camera in my hand... Anyway, welcome to our Challenge, extra props for getting both Challenges done at the same time.

July 2nd, 2008, 01:32 PM	#21
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Lorinda: I really enjoyed meeting your neighbors. You got some neat stuff on those critters, and like others have said, your VO narration and the warm friendly sound of it added a lot. Each of these challenge venues has it's own appeal. I love the DVC and it's storytelling...When I can get a crew to work with me. And the UWOL challenge is just another way to experience the wonder of this world. But it sure is a 3 ring circus to participate in both when the challenges overlap like they did this time. Sheesh!

July 8th, 2008, 02:12 AM	#24
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	Aha, she's hooked! Now reel her in! Those smooth-talking UWOL lads and lassies are hard to resist, aren't they? Glad you had fun joining our international love-fest. And I will get a DVC entry done this year -- if you put on that creepshow again at Halloween, I would like another crack at that. I'm sure that Marco is already sharpening his knives...

July 9th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#25
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Hi Lorinda, and welcome to the uwol family! Thank you for teaching me something new about your part of the world. You have an interesting story and awesome footage. I like how you mix the natural sound with your narration and the music in the background. Very well done! Please stay with us for the future challenges.