Tales of Wonder and Woe: UWOL X

Trond Saetre · August 18th, 2008, 04:46 AM

Good to see at least some of you are making progress this round.
I'm trying to come up with other organizations I could contact, since my original and backup didn't work out.

Getting closer to the shark tank every minute, and right now it looks like that's where I'm ending up. Not anything to look forward to, since I couldn't make anything last round either.

Ryan Farnes · August 18th, 2008, 10:01 PM

Ah, I see. I'm not allowed to post attachments. Perhaps due to my low post number.

I'll contact the dvinfo guys to see if that is the case.

Thanks.

Marj Atkins · August 19th, 2008, 12:49 PM

Yesterday the shark tank was beginning to look decidedly like the lesser of two evils but today’s events were fairly encouraging and put things back on track once again.

I must say that finding an organization with which to work turned out to be the least of my problems. Both organizations I approached (a daunting experience to say the least) were keen to be involved and they thought Meryem’s idea was wonderful.
The one with which I decided to run for the Challenge is located a reasonable distance from my home.
They would like a commercial for both their web-site and TV! I couldn’t believe my ears. Talk about pressure! Apparently they get the opportunity to place a commercial from time to time in a charity slot.

The genre itself has been the biggest problem for me - trying to understand it and then deciding how to convey a message about something that is quite serious without being too serious - or too frivolous for that matter.

They basically gave me carte blanche and I have spent the best part of a week wrapping my grey matter around three basic ideas, trying to decide for myself if they are feasible and if so, which one would be best before pitching my ideas.

Today I presented two of my ideas, having decided that the third one would really tax me too much - both technically and logistically. To cut a long story short they were well received so tomorrow I shoot it in all earnestness with their active participation!
I’m really not sure I can make one that will meet TV standards however. Going to need some help to sort that out once the challenge is over for sure.

Meryem Ersoz · August 19th, 2008, 10:09 PM

Glad to see that some of you are having a few moments of wonder amid the woe.

My tale of wonder is that we finally finished this project, several months in the making...the real wonder is that you US folks can watch it on its national telecast:

http://www.versus.com/nw/article/vie...=true&catID=76

It was an 8-camera, 45 minute edit that needed closed captioned and mastered to three different formats - and the entire post-race edit and mastering had to be done in three weeks. I mailed it out Friday. I also produced the whole shoot, including hiring the shooters and assistant, shot all of the finish line footage, some of the run footage, and all of the commentary, as well as shooting 3 out of the 4 internal stories. I edited the story and did the sound design. I didn't do the color correction or the graphics, I had some help there, but that's about all that I didn't do.

So I think you guys can do this!

Now I can finally focus on UWOL again. And I better hurry, if I don't want to spend this round swimming...

my tale of woe is that my "sure thing" that I was counting on to use in this challenge is on vacation this week! aaaaahhhhh....didn't see that one coming!

Ryan Farnes · August 19th, 2008, 11:12 PM

Versus? Nice.

I know it because the university I attend, BYU, has had a couple of football games on it. :-)

Rob Evans · August 20th, 2008, 02:38 AM

Had a really amazing shooting sesh again last night, and am almost in a position to start editing.

The problem? Well, the subject and people are so interesting I could quite easily form a 10 minute doco from the stuff i have ;-)

Mat Thompson · August 20th, 2008, 05:22 AM

Hey Rob
Sounds like youre steaming along fella! Great stuff, looking forward to it!

Well I'm finally done with holidays and now have some time to put into this thing. Whether I can string something together in 10 days is another matter. I have one potential lifeline I'm checking out today.....stay tuned!

Russ Holland · August 20th, 2008, 10:10 AM

I've already posted in the shark tank because my sponsors all said No but I did get an email last night from the first one, who didn't contact me at all - this said "contact us again in mid-september"

So, my shark tank entry is valid.

I've still offered to do them a video if they still want it, just to give me the excuse to do something, but I've left it too late to enter now, won't have time to do a non-judging entry, so sorry but I'm in the Tank.

Meryem Ersoz · August 20th, 2008, 02:08 PM

me so happy -- i heard back from one of my ideas, and they're psyched! green light. woo hoo, sharks are gonna hafta nibble on some other toes, of course i have to actually shoot the darn thing, when will i be able to squeeze that in???

this UWOL thingie is quite a rollercoaster, is it not?

Rob Evans · August 21st, 2008, 02:27 AM

You can say that again Meryem!!

Did my first edit of the interview which is the bedrock of my piece. It's scary how suddenly that 60 seconds ( yes i'm going for the full whammy! ) can feel such an incredibly small space of time to work in to do justice to the plan. Really having to apply brain power on this one!!

Marj Atkins · August 24th, 2008, 04:39 AM

This place is rather quiet! Been away for a couple of days and nothing's been happening here in the meantime -everyone editing like crazy I guess.

Hope you guys in the shark tank are working on some easy themes for Meryem - looks like she really could do with some help in that department - her brain is far too tortuous for us! :)

(I'm wondering why Grant Sherman is so quiet. Hope for his sake he's going to submit an entry - I have a feeling there's a lynch party waiting for him in the shark tank! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Evans

. . . Really having to apply brain power on this one!!

You can say that again Rob - we reallly have to do some mind-bending on this theme to get the final product to work. Guess I was right when I said "X" marks the spot - little did I know it was going to be a TV spot!!! There is so much to get right here - the concept, the message, the wording, the images, the sound, the quality and last but not least liasing with the organization. This week we all have to face the music - will they like what we've done or send us back to the drawing board. Oh boy! Xtraordinary Xperience this is!

Kevin Railsback · August 24th, 2008, 08:10 AM

I have another meeting with Prairiewoods this coming week.
We're not even planning on shooting the PSA until the day it's due.

So, hopefully there won't be any glitches.

Rob Evans · August 25th, 2008, 05:08 AM

;-)

Presented a draft cut to the charity yesterday and they were really happy with it - just one minor tweak and we're good to go!!!

Meryem, file size wise my minute fits into 60mb at 1280 x 720 H.264 (and looks great) - i know there was some talk about different formats on this round, would mine be ok?

Meryem Ersoz · August 25th, 2008, 11:16 AM

good question -- i think we can afford larger file dimensions (size will still be capped at 60mb still). let me double-check on this before i commit to it, i don't want to create any problems, and i'll send round an e-mail on it.

though, rob, i'm thinking more like 720 x 480 or 640 x 480 -- so that people don't have to re-size to fit their computer screens, it will make it easier to view....

Rob Evans · August 25th, 2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

though, rob, i'm thinking more like 720 x 480 or 640 x 480 ..

no worries there - thanks!!

August 20th, 2008, 10:10 AM	#38
Russ Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burton on Trent, UK Posts: 193	Woe, finally. I've already posted in the shark tank because my sponsors all said No but I did get an email last night from the first one, who didn't contact me at all - this said "contact us again in mid-september" So, my shark tank entry is valid. I've still offered to do them a video if they still want it, just to give me the excuse to do something, but I've left it too late to enter now, won't have time to do a non-judging entry, so sorry but I'm in the Tank. __________________ Sony Alpha a57 \| RODE VideoMic \| Adobe Premiere CS5 Manfrotto 785b \| Manfrotto 718b

August 24th, 2008, 08:10 AM	#42
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	I have another meeting with Prairiewoods this coming week. We're not even planning on shooting the PSA until the day it's due. So, hopefully there won't be any glitches. __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com

August 18th, 2008, 04:46 AM	#31
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Good to see at least some of you are making progress this round. I'm trying to come up with other organizations I could contact, since my original and backup didn't work out. Getting closer to the shark tank every minute, and right now it looks like that's where I'm ending up. Not anything to look forward to, since I couldn't make anything last round either.

August 18th, 2008, 10:01 PM	#32
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Ah, I see. I'm not allowed to post attachments. Perhaps due to my low post number. I'll contact the dvinfo guys to see if that is the case. Thanks.

August 19th, 2008, 12:49 PM	#33
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Yesterday the shark tank was beginning to look decidedly like the lesser of two evils but today’s events were fairly encouraging and put things back on track once again. I must say that finding an organization with which to work turned out to be the least of my problems. Both organizations I approached (a daunting experience to say the least) were keen to be involved and they thought Meryem’s idea was wonderful. The one with which I decided to run for the Challenge is located a reasonable distance from my home. They would like a commercial for both their web-site and TV! I couldn’t believe my ears. Talk about pressure! Apparently they get the opportunity to place a commercial from time to time in a charity slot. The genre itself has been the biggest problem for me - trying to understand it and then deciding how to convey a message about something that is quite serious without being too serious - or too frivolous for that matter. They basically gave me carte blanche and I have spent the best part of a week wrapping my grey matter around three basic ideas, trying to decide for myself if they are feasible and if so, which one would be best before pitching my ideas. Today I presented two of my ideas, having decided that the third one would really tax me too much - both technically and logistically. To cut a long story short they were well received so tomorrow I shoot it in all earnestness with their active participation! I’m really not sure I can make one that will meet TV standards however. Going to need some help to sort that out once the challenge is over for sure.

August 19th, 2008, 10:09 PM	#34
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	Glad to see that some of you are having a few moments of wonder amid the woe. My tale of wonder is that we finally finished this project, several months in the making...the real wonder is that you US folks can watch it on its national telecast: http://www.versus.com/nw/article/vie...=true&catID=76 It was an 8-camera, 45 minute edit that needed closed captioned and mastered to three different formats - and the entire post-race edit and mastering had to be done in three weeks. I mailed it out Friday. I also produced the whole shoot, including hiring the shooters and assistant, shot all of the finish line footage, some of the run footage, and all of the commentary, as well as shooting 3 out of the 4 internal stories. I edited the story and did the sound design. I didn't do the color correction or the graphics, I had some help there, but that's about all that I didn't do. So I think you guys can do this! Now I can finally focus on UWOL again. And I better hurry, if I don't want to spend this round swimming... my tale of woe is that my "sure thing" that I was counting on to use in this challenge is on vacation this week! aaaaahhhhh....didn't see that one coming!

August 19th, 2008, 11:12 PM	#35
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Versus? Nice. I know it because the university I attend, BYU, has had a couple of football games on it. :-)

August 20th, 2008, 02:38 AM	#36
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	Had a really amazing shooting sesh again last night, and am almost in a position to start editing. The problem? Well, the subject and people are so interesting I could quite easily form a 10 minute doco from the stuff i have ;-)

August 20th, 2008, 05:22 AM	#37
Mat Thompson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kent UK Posts: 1,397	Hey Rob Sounds like youre steaming along fella! Great stuff, looking forward to it! Well I'm finally done with holidays and now have some time to put into this thing. Whether I can string something together in 10 days is another matter. I have one potential lifeline I'm checking out today.....stay tuned!

August 20th, 2008, 02:08 PM	#39
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	me so happy -- i heard back from one of my ideas, and they're psyched! green light. woo hoo, sharks are gonna hafta nibble on some other toes, of course i have to actually shoot the darn thing, when will i be able to squeeze that in??? this UWOL thingie is quite a rollercoaster, is it not?

August 21st, 2008, 02:27 AM	#40
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	You can say that again Meryem!! Did my first edit of the interview which is the bedrock of my piece. It's scary how suddenly that 60 seconds ( yes i'm going for the full whammy! ) can feel such an incredibly small space of time to work in to do justice to the plan. Really having to apply brain power on this one!!

August 25th, 2008, 05:08 AM	#43
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	;-) Presented a draft cut to the charity yesterday and they were really happy with it - just one minor tweak and we're good to go!!! Meryem, file size wise my minute fits into 60mb at 1280 x 720 H.264 (and looks great) - i know there was some talk about different formats on this round, would mine be ok?

August 25th, 2008, 11:16 AM	#44
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	good question -- i think we can afford larger file dimensions (size will still be capped at 60mb still). let me double-check on this before i commit to it, i don't want to create any problems, and i'll send round an e-mail on it. though, rob, i'm thinking more like 720 x 480 or 640 x 480 -- so that people don't have to re-size to fit their computer screens, it will make it easier to view....