Russell_RMNP_LongForm

[Lorinda Norton]

Hi Cat,

This is the first I've seen of your film and I have to comment on the stunning images! Gorgeous work getting the bighorns, elk and other wildlife, but I also loved the wildflowers. Watching this was good for my soul so I just wanted to express appreciation to you.

I hope it will be possible for you to invest in a really good tripod for pans. You are an accomplished shooter who needs tools that complement your talent. :)

[Marj Atkins]

Hi Cat - I am fascinated by your concept so I simply couldn't wait to see your movie. All I can say is 'Wow!' Stunning footage, beautifully composed! You have done so much work on this and seem to be well on target time-wise.

I have to agree - your book is greatly improved! Really coming together nicely.

Two nit-picky suggestions: I feel that the fireworks that you have introduced this round go on too long. (You have lots of other interesting things going on at the same time so it is visually very busy.) (Really well done though.)

The zooming in and out and turning of the open book (at the contents pages if I remember correctly) is also visually confusing. I can't figure out the reason for doing that. However, these are really minor tidy-up issues in what is otherwise a beautiful piece!

Well done - Looking forward in anticipation to the penultimate episode! (Penultimate!? Oh boy! do I still have a lot of work ahead of me!)

Marj

[Finn-Erik Faale]

Hi Catherine,

Congratulations. You have almost a long form film already.
I am fascinated by all the spectacular animations. Your voice is clear and the music choice is excellent. You also have some fine wildlife shots. The frozen flight (09:15) is great, but I am not so fascinated in the animated snow. The swimming fish (13:10) is very tasty. The goats (10:34) are great. If the shot before (10:30) has the same coloring, they will fit better together. I hope to see more wildlife scenes in the next round.
I am so impressed by your work. You must have spent much time on editing.

Finn-Erik

[Catherine Russell]

Hi you guys:

Thank you so very much for the watch and comments. I can't wait to get to your films! It might have to wait a bit before I get to them, But I'll get there soon!

Lorinda, thank you! You and I are on the same wavelength in that the filming on this project has been a life-saver for me in uplifting the spirits and getting food for the soul. If that came across to you as well, then I am getting the message across! Now the tripod! After the horrors of my last submission that tripod ended in the trash and I now have a new one. I now only hope that this is apparent as the film progresses, like the pan in Staple of the pond lilies.... better I hope?

Thanks Lorinda, comments from you are a real treat!

Marj: Hi friend, you are my sincere supporter this round! Thank you! Now, as for the comment about the moving of the book in the introduction that seemed confusing.... I can't wait to hear from Mat about this! He thought my intro was way too static and suggested the book movement. What you saw is what I thought he meant as a suggestion but I may be totally off key on that! What do you say, Mat? I'm so pleased you think the book is improved. You are right, I think it is soooo much better. Thanks for getting after me on this! It makes all the difference.

Finn-Erik: You are very kind to me. The comment about the color difference between the two frames is very interesting and I will certainly have a look at that! You are right, lots of editing... but what is much worse for me is the lengthy processing to prep the film so that I can use it in my editing software!

Thanks again you guys,

Cat

[Vidar Vedaa]

Great!! Cat.

You must be nearly finish yes, in the front heat I think. And adder is far behind
and dont really now what they wont. You really impress her.



All best
VJV.

[Mike Sims]

Catherine, I’m liking this project more each time I see it. You’ve done a lot of hard work since last time. The 3D animation is much improved. I like the push in to the Table of Contents, but maybe don’t Pull Out until the page turn is already underway. At 7:20 the voice over level drops abruptly. Try using a high pass filter to cut some of the wind rumble while keeping the good location sound in that scene. I like the digital snow. How about restarting the effect each time you cut so the falling particles don’t carry across the cuts and give away the effect. I think the bits at 10:55 and 15:55 are the parts you mentioned that you’ve already fixed. For me, the music starting around 10:40, 11:50, and 16:17 was too loud compared to the overall level of the rest. I still love the Press Release animation and tongue-in-cheek reviews. I think the fireworks added a lot to the opening sequence but maybe start a slow fade on them a bit earlier. Looks good, only a few more chapters to go…

[Catherine Russell]

Thanks for the watch Vidar!

Mike! You touch on an important issue! The audio drops out on purpose to simulate the effect of the reader digging into the chapter and is taken over by the film (the book). If this isn't working and it seems like it's bad audio... then that's very important! At the start of each chapter the vo fades out and at the end of each chapter the vo fades in. If lots of people think there is a problem with the audio, then I've got to go back to the drawing board on that. Also, I DID do a 400 mhz high pass to cut on wind noise from your suggestion last time.... and it worked wonders! I'm glad to know about this.

I catch your "drift" with the snow effect... good insight!

Ah! You are the first to comment on the tongue-in-cheek reviews! Splendid! I was beginning to think that we were just a little bit too international in this forum for people to catch that!

Thanks all for the comments and energy! I will see your films soon. I can't stand not being able to share just yet!!

Cat

[Steve Siegel]

Cat,

I can't find your video. Can you tell me how to get to it?

[Mike Sims]

Oh! I get how the VO works now. Very good. Just make sure to cross fade slowly and don’t let the VO start or end in the middle of a phrase and I think it will work fine. I went back and listened to the original file again and I agree- the wind is much better now. Try a couple of more things. Drop the level a little for that first rumble of the wind. If you hit the audience with it abruptly they’ll think it a mistake, but if you ease into it they’ll have time to think “Hey, it’s windy out there” (and it is). Also set up a multichannel graphic equalizer and try selectively boosting some of the higher frequencies. The idea is to try for a more advantageous signal (the elk sounds) to noise (the wind) ratio. Good luck!

[Catherine Russell]

Originally Posted by Steve Siegel

Cat,

I can't find your video. Can you tell me how to get to it?

Here ya go Steve!

UWOL Longform Challenge works in progress #3 on Vimeo

Cat

Hey Mike, thanks for the audio coaching... it's not my strong point and I appreciate the help!

[Bob Safay]

Cat, BRAVO. Beautifully done. Music and videos messed perfectly. One small comment. There was a scene with the sheep and elk with the map of the park as an overlay. I thing you could fade out to the wildlife without loosing the tone of the scene. The last time I was in RMNP, I bought a DVD called "Spirit of the Mountains" at the gift shop. Trust me, yours is much better. A great entry. Bob

[Geir Inge]

Hi Catherine.
Love every minute of it, you precious :)
What a great videomaker you are.
I'm sure, undoubtedly behind it all, lies hours and hours of hard work.
Sorry if this feedback isn't what you're after, but I can not find a thing to put my finger on.
Every minute of your video is so well produced, I'm just speechless and that's new to me. I used to be a politician and you know, those kind of people never stops talking :)
I think your video is brilliant!

All the best.
Geir Inge

[Catherine Russell]

Hey Bob and Geir:

Thanks so very much for the watch.

Bob: I will consider you comment, friend. I value your opinions! There is a lot going on at that time with the range map as important at the wildlife film, but we shall see!

Geir: What do you mean "this may not be the comment you are looking for" ??? It is the comment us film makers shudder to think is possible. Comments that, regardless of imperfections in the film, relay joy and elation of what was just seen! Thank you! Critique is essential and has made this film what it is. But oh, that moment where the film maker connects with the viewer! It may not happen ever again for me with anyone else, so thanks for this one time at least!

You a politician? My goodness! If the world was made up of politicians with a heart like yours, the world would be heaven, I think! ;-).

Thanks to all who have taken the time to view this round of my film. I can't wait to start in on all of yours tomorrow first thing! This weekend it was not possible for me to dive in, and I have missed out immensely!

Cat

[Catherine Russell]

Hi you guys:

Since the encouraging feedback when I was considering not continuing in the challenge after spraining my ankle, I haven't rolled over yet. Here is the Vimeo link to the last round of works-in-progress submissions:

(I've removed the link because the video embeds here instead of just providing the link)

The video number on the Vimeo website is 7026522.

It is 11 minutes of material. It starts with "chapter 4 Splendid Spring" which has already been submitted but I have cleaned it up since then so I figured I'd include it here. It goes on to chapters 5-7 (Sanctuary, Supplication and Benediction) which finishes the book except for the last credits chapter.

None of the book page-turn transitions between the chapters are done... these take a lot of work to do and I haven't focused on these. So in the clip, I have simply included temporary spacers between the chapters so you know what chapter is coming up.

Thanks for your comments. I have come to respect them and rely on them to improve this! I will be vigilant also and get to each one of your films and comment. This is the last time we can support each other to produce the best works we can possibly manage. Thank you!

Cat

[Catherine Russell]

O.K. I'm confused!

I was intending to supply the Vimeo link to my video, and it automatically embeds the video here! Is this something new and wonderful with DVINFO? Or am I doing something wrong?

Full apologies if this isn't how it's to be done. I've removed the link just in case. The video number on the Vimeo website is 7026522.

Cat