Tales of Wonder and Woe: UWOL X

Meryem Ersoz · August 8th, 2008, 10:37 AM

The successes will be hard in this one. That's a given. But the rewards will be huge for those who can see it through, I guarantee it. And for the rest of us, who get to see what the finishers have contributed to making their little corner of the planet a better place.

Good luck!

Peter Damerell · August 8th, 2008, 04:51 PM

Might have pushed things a bit far this time....

A word of warning to all fellow UWOLers. If you take to many liberties with gravity, it will turn around and bite you in the ass.

Still gonna try to get an entry in but have to wait for the cast to come of Mr Joslins hand before we can film anything. Bring on the last minute mad dash!

Markus Nord · August 11th, 2008, 09:17 AM

Hello Friends…

I got in touch with WWF local office here in Sweden today and it looks like they are interested in a PSA. I basically got free hands in producing what I want (I kind of know what they want, I’ll been working in the same direction myself the last 4 years).

Our arrangement is something like this… If I produce something good, they broadcast it, if I do something “crappie” they don’t. So it’s up to me if I can finish this round or not… I got one idea, hope that they like it.

Cheers for now
Markus

Trond Saetre · August 13th, 2008, 01:01 AM

Good to hear at least some of you do well with this challenge of challenges.
I am struggling! Still no response from the organizations I emailed.
Twisting my brain trying to figure out how to make a commercial too.
Still many days to go, but dark clouds are hanging over me at the moment.

Good luck to all of you!

John Dennis Robertson · August 14th, 2008, 05:31 AM

Who would have thought that offering your services for free would be met with such ..um suspicion....This is becomming more difficult as the days go by..Have not even started filming yet. Im sure everyone else is having the same problem,cause not much been happening here

Geir Inge · August 14th, 2008, 09:18 AM

Then I'm back from my holiday, way up North in Lofoten.
Before I went up North I sent an email to one organisastion.
In advance I made a list of some org I knew of, but desided to send only to one at the time.
Last week I got a call on my cell phone and it was from my number one choice :)
AND it was from the General Secretary (head boss) of the org.
A little bit curious and he couldn't believe that someone would make a PSA for free :)
To make a long story short, we now have a deal and I'm gonna meet'em tomorrow at Runde island. I did some shooting in Lofoten, but have to do some more shooting this weekend and next week. Then it's the editing part. Just hope I'll manage to finish within the limit/deadline.
I will make two films for them, one 30 sek for television and the other 60 sek for their web page and for use at conferences. I'm not sure wich one to put into the challenge though?

To those of you who think this is a too big task.... Forget it!
You can do whatever you decide to do. To little time I can understand, but if you tell me it's because of your skills? I don't believe it. I've seen your films and they are pretty good :)

Remember it's not the "size" of the organisation, but rather the quality of your PSA that counts.

Wish all of you best of luck.
Geir Inge

Meryem Ersoz · August 14th, 2008, 12:32 PM

It wouldn't be UWOL X if it wasn't hard, keep at it, my friends! You can all hate me now, if you need to, but whoever finishes this is going to score huge karma points. When we are all together watching whatever few entries get completed, it will be a wondrous thing, to see what UWOLers are giving back to our beautiful planet.

If you save just one raptor or just one tree with your video camera, you'll be my hero for life!

You have to admit, the ones that make it are going to be cool to watch!

Markus Nord · August 15th, 2008, 02:09 PM

Hello friends…

I hade a busy day today... first I hade to sort out some indoor desk business (Book keeping, not the most fun thing in life) But I decided to give myself a treat if I got everything ready till lunch, I did finish to lunch so I packed my camera and took of to pick up my dive gear… after some modification (tried out my new tripod to my UW housing) of the camera housing I packed the car and drove a few minutes to my boat and loaded it up. My town is located at the seaside so it’s not that far before you are out in the archipelago. Five minutes by boat and I arrived at my first dive location. I put my gear on and to of, at this time its 17 degrees in the water so you don’t need any groves or hood on… nearly like tropical diving.
This was a treat! Oh my… A lovely dive with some really lovely views.
I Think I did get the shots that I needed… especially after my second dive. On Monday I meet up with a friend that produce music for me during my “big” productions and he will help me fix some nice sounds to this production.
Tomorrow I head of to meet my old class in media production for a reunion party… se if I got my head together on Monday :)

Cheers from Sweden

Markus

Kevin Railsback · August 16th, 2008, 05:22 AM

It's 6:15 AM here in good old Iowa. Meeting with Emy from Prairiewoods this morning to talk about their PSA.
Hadn't hear back from them for a while so after their initial "YES" I figured they might not be interested any longer.

But, an email from Emy explained that their email had been out for a week and that they were very excited to work with me.

I had pitched a couple ideas. One, very simple, three shot PSA. The other pretty complex for anything I've ever done before. I also sent them two other ideas and explained we could do any of those or something totally different depending on their needs.

They've liked all the concepts so far and I can already tell they will be a group I will work with long after UWOL X is over.

Hopefully I can get one PSA done by the deadline. If not, it won;t be the end of the world. Just means that I'm to busy trying to save it with Prairiewoods and want to make sure the message is as good as it can be.

Kevin Railsback · August 16th, 2008, 11:10 AM

The meeting went well. They are very excited to work with me. I dropped off a couple DVD's with my past UWOL films as well as some other projects I've done.

The nice thing about networking is that there was a guy who runs a PR firm that was also at the meeting. He's also a writer. So, we had an opportunity to talk and it looks like we may be working on some projects together in the future.

These are a great bunch of people and they are so happy to have any kind of help to get their message out. I see myself working with them far into the future.

I'm normally not a people person. Heck, I won't even go back to the drive thru if they screw up my order. But when you offer help to people they are so happy to have any kind of help, you walk away feeling so glad that you took the chance and the time to talk with them.

The folks at Prairiewoods keep asking me, what can they do, how can they help. Let us know what you need.
Great people. Glad I met them.

Geir Inge · August 17th, 2008, 02:29 PM

I've been at Runde today and shot some scenes.
Beautiful weather, but not so many birds left on the island.
Many Northern Gannets (with chicks) they don't leave until sept/oct, some Great Skua (ready for "take off") and even I did manage to capture 3 Puffins. The last one I think was pure luck as the Puffins "left the building" almost one month ago.

I'm not sure how to use these clips though.
It's not so easy to make a PSA as I thought :/
You have to make a message and then think of how the receiver will respond to it, or how you want the message to affect the receiver. Then you have your customer you're making the PSA for. It's not always they know what they want. Sometimes they want to put "everything" in a 30 sek or 1 min film :/ So then it's on to explain how things works in this media called film/video. Well, it's a little bit different then making a 3 min film out of your own heart, so to speak.
You can see some white spots on one of the Gannets photo, it's pollen (I'm not sure if thats the right english word though?) It was quite a lot of it and did disturb my filming from time to time. Also at the place I filmed the Skua, there where a lot of insects. Well, thats nature folks :) Hope you're all doing well making your PSA.

I have made some snapshots from my shooting today.
2 of the Great Skua and 2 of the Gannets.
The Great Skua almost look like a bird of pray, don't you think?

Ryan Farnes · August 17th, 2008, 03:17 PM

Geir, looks like some good stuff.

Reminds me of some of the scenes in "Winged Migration." You've seen it I'm guessing.

My group postponed a trip so another person from their group could attend, so I went and did some shooting yesterday at a place called "Little Sahara." Sand dunes in the central part of Utah, a rather diverse state over here in the USA.

I'd love to post some stills but I have to admit I don't know how to. :-| (A little help..?)

Ryan Farnes · August 18th, 2008, 12:37 AM

Hmm...can't figure out how to attach images for the life of me.

Marj Atkins · August 18th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Hi Ryan
Open "Post reply"
Scroll down to "Additional Options" and click on "Manage Attachments" button then insert the file/s you want.
Make sure its a .jpg or the thumbnail wont appear in the thread - it will have to be opened by the viewer.

Oh my word - All I can say Meryem is:

This is no curved ball - it is a downright yorker!

Trying to get all my ducks (and geese and other things) in a row is probably better than going out for a duck but oi - a learning curve round every corner!!!

John Dennis Robertson · August 18th, 2008, 02:30 AM

Just got to work this fine monday morning...and lo and behold I have recieved permission from my chosen organisation.Now that the hard part is over...I am ready to dive in and do what I enjoy (the filming,editing part) Having an 8 till 6 day job means having a long time to wait before I can get out and film,still pretty confident that Im not shark bait yet.

August 8th, 2008, 04:51 PM	#17
Peter Damerell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Truro, Cornwall, UK Posts: 51	Uh oh! Might have pushed things a bit far this time.... A word of warning to all fellow UWOLers. If you take to many liberties with gravity, it will turn around and bite you in the ass. Still gonna try to get an entry in but have to wait for the cast to come of Mr Joslins hand before we can film anything. Bring on the last minute mad dash! Attached Thumbnails

August 11th, 2008, 09:17 AM	#18
Markus Nord Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vastervik ,Sweden Posts: 639	Hello Friends… I got in touch with WWF local office here in Sweden today and it looks like they are interested in a PSA. I basically got free hands in producing what I want (I kind of know what they want, I’ll been working in the same direction myself the last 4 years). Our arrangement is something like this… If I produce something good, they broadcast it, if I do something “crappie” they don’t. So it’s up to me if I can finish this round or not… I got one idea, hope that they like it. Cheers for now Markus __________________ www.nordproduktion.se https://vimeo.com/nordproduktion

August 14th, 2008, 09:18 AM	#21
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,343	Then I'm back from my holiday, way up North in Lofoten. Before I went up North I sent an email to one organisastion. In advance I made a list of some org I knew of, but desided to send only to one at the time. Last week I got a call on my cell phone and it was from my number one choice :) AND it was from the General Secretary (head boss) of the org. A little bit curious and he couldn't believe that someone would make a PSA for free :) To make a long story short, we now have a deal and I'm gonna meet'em tomorrow at Runde island. I did some shooting in Lofoten, but have to do some more shooting this weekend and next week. Then it's the editing part. Just hope I'll manage to finish within the limit/deadline. I will make two films for them, one 30 sek for television and the other 60 sek for their web page and for use at conferences. I'm not sure wich one to put into the challenge though? To those of you who think this is a too big task.... Forget it! You can do whatever you decide to do. To little time I can understand, but if you tell me it's because of your skills? I don't believe it. I've seen your films and they are pretty good :) Remember it's not the "size" of the organisation, but rather the quality of your PSA that counts. Wish all of you best of luck. Geir Inge __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

August 15th, 2008, 02:09 PM	#23
Markus Nord Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vastervik ,Sweden Posts: 639	Hello friends… I hade a busy day today... first I hade to sort out some indoor desk business (Book keeping, not the most fun thing in life) But I decided to give myself a treat if I got everything ready till lunch, I did finish to lunch so I packed my camera and took of to pick up my dive gear… after some modification (tried out my new tripod to my UW housing) of the camera housing I packed the car and drove a few minutes to my boat and loaded it up. My town is located at the seaside so it’s not that far before you are out in the archipelago. Five minutes by boat and I arrived at my first dive location. I put my gear on and to of, at this time its 17 degrees in the water so you don’t need any groves or hood on… nearly like tropical diving. This was a treat! Oh my… A lovely dive with some really lovely views. I Think I did get the shots that I needed… especially after my second dive. On Monday I meet up with a friend that produce music for me during my “big” productions and he will help me fix some nice sounds to this production. Tomorrow I head of to meet my old class in media production for a reunion party… se if I got my head together on Monday :) Cheers from Sweden Markus __________________ www.nordproduktion.se https://vimeo.com/nordproduktion

August 16th, 2008, 05:22 AM	#24
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	It's 6:15 AM here in good old Iowa. Meeting with Emy from Prairiewoods this morning to talk about their PSA. Hadn't hear back from them for a while so after their initial "YES" I figured they might not be interested any longer. But, an email from Emy explained that their email had been out for a week and that they were very excited to work with me. I had pitched a couple ideas. One, very simple, three shot PSA. The other pretty complex for anything I've ever done before. I also sent them two other ideas and explained we could do any of those or something totally different depending on their needs. They've liked all the concepts so far and I can already tell they will be a group I will work with long after UWOL X is over. Hopefully I can get one PSA done by the deadline. If not, it won;t be the end of the world. Just means that I'm to busy trying to save it with Prairiewoods and want to make sure the message is as good as it can be. __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com

August 8th, 2008, 10:37 AM	#16
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	The successes will be hard in this one. That's a given. But the rewards will be huge for those who can see it through, I guarantee it. And for the rest of us, who get to see what the finishers have contributed to making their little corner of the planet a better place. Good luck!

August 13th, 2008, 01:01 AM	#19
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Good to hear at least some of you do well with this challenge of challenges. I am struggling! Still no response from the organizations I emailed. Twisting my brain trying to figure out how to make a commercial too. Still many days to go, but dark clouds are hanging over me at the moment. Good luck to all of you!

August 14th, 2008, 05:31 AM	#20
John Dennis Robertson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johanesburg South Africa Posts: 217	Who would have thought that offering your services for free would be met with such ..um suspicion....This is becomming more difficult as the days go by..Have not even started filming yet. Im sure everyone else is having the same problem,cause not much been happening here

August 14th, 2008, 12:32 PM	#22
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	It wouldn't be UWOL X if it wasn't hard, keep at it, my friends! You can all hate me now, if you need to, but whoever finishes this is going to score huge karma points. When we are all together watching whatever few entries get completed, it will be a wondrous thing, to see what UWOLers are giving back to our beautiful planet. If you save just one raptor or just one tree with your video camera, you'll be my hero for life! You have to admit, the ones that make it are going to be cool to watch!

August 16th, 2008, 11:10 AM	#25
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	The meeting went well. They are very excited to work with me. I dropped off a couple DVD's with my past UWOL films as well as some other projects I've done. The nice thing about networking is that there was a guy who runs a PR firm that was also at the meeting. He's also a writer. So, we had an opportunity to talk and it looks like we may be working on some projects together in the future. These are a great bunch of people and they are so happy to have any kind of help to get their message out. I see myself working with them far into the future. I'm normally not a people person. Heck, I won't even go back to the drive thru if they screw up my order. But when you offer help to people they are so happy to have any kind of help, you walk away feeling so glad that you took the chance and the time to talk with them. The folks at Prairiewoods keep asking me, what can they do, how can they help. Let us know what you need. Great people. Glad I met them. __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com

August 17th, 2008, 02:29 PM	#26
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,343	I've been at Runde today and shot some scenes. Beautiful weather, but not so many birds left on the island. Many Northern Gannets (with chicks) they don't leave until sept/oct, some Great Skua (ready for "take off") and even I did manage to capture 3 Puffins. The last one I think was pure luck as the Puffins "left the building" almost one month ago. I'm not sure how to use these clips though. It's not so easy to make a PSA as I thought :/ You have to make a message and then think of how the receiver will respond to it, or how you want the message to affect the receiver. Then you have your customer you're making the PSA for. It's not always they know what they want. Sometimes they want to put "everything" in a 30 sek or 1 min film :/ So then it's on to explain how things works in this media called film/video. Well, it's a little bit different then making a 3 min film out of your own heart, so to speak. You can see some white spots on one of the Gannets photo, it's pollen (I'm not sure if thats the right english word though?) It was quite a lot of it and did disturb my filming from time to time. Also at the place I filmed the Skua, there where a lot of insects. Well, thats nature folks :) Hope you're all doing well making your PSA. I have made some snapshots from my shooting today. 2 of the Great Skua and 2 of the Gannets. The Great Skua almost look like a bird of pray, don't you think? Attached Thumbnails __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

August 17th, 2008, 03:17 PM	#27
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Geir, looks like some good stuff. Reminds me of some of the scenes in "Winged Migration." You've seen it I'm guessing. My group postponed a trip so another person from their group could attend, so I went and did some shooting yesterday at a place called "Little Sahara." Sand dunes in the central part of Utah, a rather diverse state over here in the USA. I'd love to post some stills but I have to admit I don't know how to. :-\| (A little help..?)

August 18th, 2008, 12:37 AM	#28
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Hmm...can't figure out how to attach images for the life of me.

August 18th, 2008, 02:08 AM	#29
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Hi Ryan Open "Post reply" Scroll down to "Additional Options" and click on "Manage Attachments" button then insert the file/s you want. Make sure its a .jpg or the thumbnail wont appear in the thread - it will have to be opened by the viewer. Oh my word - All I can say Meryem is: This is no curved ball - it is a downright yorker! Trying to get all my ducks (and geese and other things) in a row is probably better than going out for a duck but oi - a learning curve round every corner!!!

August 18th, 2008, 02:30 AM	#30
John Dennis Robertson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johanesburg South Africa Posts: 217	Just got to work this fine monday morning...and lo and behold I have recieved permission from my chosen organisation.Now that the hard part is over...I am ready to dive in and do what I enjoy (the filming,editing part) Having an 8 till 6 day job means having a long time to wait before I can get out and film,still pretty confident that Im not shark bait yet.