UWOL#15-"1000 Feet" at DVinfo.net

Mike Sims · October 31st, 2009, 07:32 AM

Well, I shot this one in SD to save rendering time so I could get back to working on my Long Form entry as quickly as possible. With the new camera and new compression software I think I’m getting better image quality, though. Most of the shooting was done in conjunction with shooting for the Long Form. The last bit is a tip o’ the hat to Catherine Russell and her excellent UWOL Long Form entry. (Please be sure to see her feedback thread.) It is a much simplified version (with different content) of an animation that I did for my own Long Form that was inspired by Catherine’s work. Thanks Cat!

Contest size- 16 MB:
http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...Feet-small.mp4

Larger version- 34MB:
http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...Feet-large.mp4

Finn-Erik Faale · October 31st, 2009, 08:59 AM

Mike,

The macro shots are clear and the colors are great.
The sound and narrating are also fine and interesting.
The book sequence at the end is amazing.
I really like what you have done here.

Dale Guthormsen · October 31st, 2009, 10:01 AM

Mike,

this was awesome, discovery chanel material for certain. The naration is excellent and I learned some really cool stuff!!

What are you shooting the close ups with?

Chris Barcellos · October 31st, 2009, 04:11 PM

Beautiful macro photography and a nice educational story behind the film too. I learned a lot about a subject I really knew nothing about. Thanks Mike !

Mike Sims · October 31st, 2009, 04:48 PM

Thank-you Finn-Erik. I am pleased that you enjoyed it.

Mike Sims · October 31st, 2009, 04:50 PM

Thanks Dale. The macro was shot at various focal lengths on the XLH1a with EF100-400L and Canon 500D close up diopter attached.

Mike Sims · October 31st, 2009, 05:04 PM

Thank-you Chris. I hope everyone noticed that this is a different salamander this time. It is a Spotted Salamander, which is a cousin of the Tiger Salamander from my previous UWOL.

Catherine Russell · October 31st, 2009, 06:35 PM

O.K. Mike:

I'm speechless! This entry is stunning. The macro shooting is fabulous and it was so interesting. Not only that, but entertaining too! I laughed out loud at the "Do not disturb" sign.

But the ending... HOW did you do that book? It was awesome. A tip of the hat to me? If so, in inspiration only. I need a lesson on how you did the pages like that. The flowing movement and the details on each page. I'm thrilled you did so well with that! I know it was After Effects, and that is my playground too. Can you give me a few tips? At the end of my long form, I would like to close my book as well, and would love a few pointers.

Thanks Mike! Best of luck this round. What is the status of the motherboard and completing your long form. I hope you are up and running again!

Cat

Mike Sims · October 31st, 2009, 07:57 PM

Hi Catherine- I’m glad you liked the video. I was worried you might be offended. The animation is set up to open the book, so to close it I just played it backwards. The main animation is done in Lightwave9 with the cover and pages all separate objects. Then to animate them is just a matter of rotating and bending the appropriate objects for each frame. The content is jpegs prepared in Photoshop and mapped to the page surfaces. The things that sell it are the use of perspective, rotating and zooming the camera while the pages turn and the sound effects. The frame zooming into the page is done in AfterEffects. I did a frame grab of the last frame of the previous clip and used it to make the jpeg mapped to the page. I then put the Lightwave animation on an AE layer with the frame grab above and used the pin corner effect to animate it zooming in. In the Long Form I open then close a different book and do some other things in between. I’m close to back on track for the Long Form- see the Wonder and Woe thread. Feel free to contact me with questions:
Contact Hotspot!

Trond Saetre · November 1st, 2009, 05:56 AM

Mike, this was nice, real nice! Totally agree with what has been said already.
I love the macro shots. So nice to see the details, and hear the story you told.
And the artwork with the closing of the book in the end. Impressive! I see you and Catherine are the masters of After Effects. :)

Rich Ryan · November 1st, 2009, 10:12 AM

Mike,
Very nice! The macro footage is outstanding. A nice entertaining and educational video. I had no idea that millipedes lived that long.

Mike Sims · November 1st, 2009, 10:49 AM

Trond- Thanks for the nice comment! These programs have such a steep learning curve that I am no where near a master. I’m still an apprentice that’s learning something new every day. Most of what I learn comes from watching the rest of you!

Mike Sims · November 1st, 2009, 10:52 AM

Rich- Thank-you. There is much more I could have told you except for time limitations. For example, did you notice the small semicircular bumps at the base of the antennae? They’re called Tömösváry organs. They are a sense organ ,so far, not found in any other group. They allow millipedes to sense relative humidity.

Mike Beckett · November 1st, 2009, 11:11 AM

Mike,

Fascinating creatures, even if they do make me shiver with all those little legs for some reason.

That was beautifully shot, the colors were lovely and the macro shots (including a rack focus in macro mode to show off the legs) were perfectly executed. Excellent use of graphics, and the section on mating did raise a chuckle. A well-told story, well researched.

Nice one!

Chris Swanberg · November 1st, 2009, 01:51 PM

Mike.. I always enjoy your entries. You always have nice footage, often unique and breathtaking, and there is generally something to learn, if not in cinematograghy (which there often is something I take away from your films in that arena) but in learning about the subject matter.

If you are not somehow involved in education, or some offshoot thereof, you should be.

Thanks for a very interesting (if creepy) piece.

Chris

October 31st, 2009, 10:01 AM	#3
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Mike, this was awesome, discovery chanel material for certain. The naration is excellent and I learned some really cool stuff!! What are you shooting the close ups with? __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

October 31st, 2009, 04:11 PM	#4
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Beautiful macro photography and a nice educational story behind the film too. I learned a lot about a subject I really knew nothing about. Thanks Mike ! __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

November 1st, 2009, 11:11 AM	#14
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Mike, Fascinating creatures, even if they do make me shiver with all those little legs for some reason. That was beautifully shot, the colors were lovely and the macro shots (including a rack focus in macro mode to show off the legs) were perfectly executed. Excellent use of graphics, and the section on mating did raise a chuckle. A well-told story, well researched. Nice one! __________________ Irish Railway Videos on Youtube

October 31st, 2009, 07:32 AM	#1
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	UWOL#15-"1000 Feet" Well, I shot this one in SD to save rendering time so I could get back to working on my Long Form entry as quickly as possible. With the new camera and new compression software I think I’m getting better image quality, though. Most of the shooting was done in conjunction with shooting for the Long Form. The last bit is a tip o’ the hat to Catherine Russell and her excellent UWOL Long Form entry. (Please be sure to see her feedback thread.) It is a much simplified version (with different content) of an animation that I did for my own Long Form that was inspired by Catherine’s work. Thanks Cat! Contest size- 16 MB: http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...Feet-small.mp4 Larger version- 34MB: http://www.hotspot-online.net/Video/...Feet-large.mp4

October 31st, 2009, 08:59 AM	#2
Finn-Erik Faale Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Porsgrunn Norway Posts: 280	Mike, The macro shots are clear and the colors are great. The sound and narrating are also fine and interesting. The book sequence at the end is amazing. I really like what you have done here.

October 31st, 2009, 04:48 PM	#5
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Thank-you Finn-Erik. I am pleased that you enjoyed it.

October 31st, 2009, 04:50 PM	#6
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Thanks Dale. The macro was shot at various focal lengths on the XLH1a with EF100-400L and Canon 500D close up diopter attached.

October 31st, 2009, 05:04 PM	#7
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Thank-you Chris. I hope everyone noticed that this is a different salamander this time. It is a Spotted Salamander, which is a cousin of the Tiger Salamander from my previous UWOL.

October 31st, 2009, 06:35 PM	#8
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	O.K. Mike: I'm speechless! This entry is stunning. The macro shooting is fabulous and it was so interesting. Not only that, but entertaining too! I laughed out loud at the "Do not disturb" sign. But the ending... HOW did you do that book? It was awesome. A tip of the hat to me? If so, in inspiration only. I need a lesson on how you did the pages like that. The flowing movement and the details on each page. I'm thrilled you did so well with that! I know it was After Effects, and that is my playground too. Can you give me a few tips? At the end of my long form, I would like to close my book as well, and would love a few pointers. Thanks Mike! Best of luck this round. What is the status of the motherboard and completing your long form. I hope you are up and running again! Cat

October 31st, 2009, 07:57 PM	#9
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Hi Catherine- I’m glad you liked the video. I was worried you might be offended. The animation is set up to open the book, so to close it I just played it backwards. The main animation is done in Lightwave9 with the cover and pages all separate objects. Then to animate them is just a matter of rotating and bending the appropriate objects for each frame. The content is jpegs prepared in Photoshop and mapped to the page surfaces. The things that sell it are the use of perspective, rotating and zooming the camera while the pages turn and the sound effects. The frame zooming into the page is done in AfterEffects. I did a frame grab of the last frame of the previous clip and used it to make the jpeg mapped to the page. I then put the Lightwave animation on an AE layer with the frame grab above and used the pin corner effect to animate it zooming in. In the Long Form I open then close a different book and do some other things in between. I’m close to back on track for the Long Form- see the Wonder and Woe thread. Feel free to contact me with questions: Contact Hotspot!

November 1st, 2009, 05:56 AM	#10
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Mike, this was nice, real nice! Totally agree with what has been said already. I love the macro shots. So nice to see the details, and hear the story you told. And the artwork with the closing of the book in the end. Impressive! I see you and Catherine are the masters of After Effects. :)

November 1st, 2009, 10:12 AM	#11
Rich Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 127	Mike, Very nice! The macro footage is outstanding. A nice entertaining and educational video. I had no idea that millipedes lived that long.

November 1st, 2009, 10:49 AM	#12
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Trond- Thanks for the nice comment! These programs have such a steep learning curve that I am no where near a master. I’m still an apprentice that’s learning something new every day. Most of what I learn comes from watching the rest of you!

November 1st, 2009, 10:52 AM	#13
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	Rich- Thank-you. There is much more I could have told you except for time limitations. For example, did you notice the small semicircular bumps at the base of the antennae? They’re called Tömösváry organs. They are a sense organ ,so far, not found in any other group. They allow millipedes to sense relative humidity.

November 1st, 2009, 01:51 PM	#15
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Mike.. I always enjoy your entries. You always have nice footage, often unique and breathtaking, and there is generally something to learn, if not in cinematograghy (which there often is something I take away from your films in that arena) but in learning about the subject matter. If you are not somehow involved in education, or some offshoot thereof, you should be. Thanks for a very interesting (if creepy) piece. Chris