UWOL#15- Ryan Farnes at DVinfo.net

Mike Sims · November 1st, 2009, 05:31 PM

I need to leave in the morning to finish shooting for my Long Form and I’d like to comment on everyone’s video before I leave. I’m starting feedback threads for those that haven’t. I hope no one objects.

Ryan- I enjoyed your video. Lots of good shots. I thought a couple could benefit from a little gamma correction. The credits could stand to be a little larger. I like the dramatic reading you gave your voice over. I wish I could do that. Every time I try it just sounds silly! Good work.

Trond Saetre · November 1st, 2009, 05:52 PM

Hi Ryan,
A nice video you produced here. Well done with the VO, and the closing sequence of the birds coming in for landing on the mirror flat water was amazing.
Really crisp colors in most of the shots, but I agree with Mike about the gamma for a few of the shots.

Ryan Farnes · November 1st, 2009, 06:10 PM

Haha! You guys beat me to posting my own thread.

Yeah. I definitely still have a lot to learn. For some reason, I just love going out and filming stuff, but don't put nearly as much energy into story and finessing the images and sound. I haven't filmed much wildlife before. Its always been inanimate landscapes and water features and stuff. Definitely was an interesting realization how hard it is to film animals.

Glad that you liked my voice over. I had originally planned to get someone else with an older voice. Well, the deadline drew near and it was obvious I would be doing it. When I try to write, I think about stuff like Planet Earth and try to write like that. When I perform the narration though, I cannot believe how pretentious it sounds to me. I need David Attenborough! He could say nonsense and it would still sound amazing. :-P

Rich Ryan · November 1st, 2009, 06:43 PM

Ryan,

Nice imagery and a good voice over. I always like to learn something from these challenge videos and yours did not disappoint.

I agree with the comments above. Nice voice over, good music selection. Some of the video could have used a "tweak". I also noted a couple of shots that would have been benefited by the use of a tripod.

Kevin Railsback · November 1st, 2009, 09:25 PM

Ooooo, I love that shot of the geese and the mist on the water at 00:04! That's my favorite time of year when you get the awesome mist rising off the water!
Beautiful shot of the geese taking off at 00:18 in slow motion too! :) That's nice that you got them coming into the camera. Usually around here I get them going away from the camera.

Who knew what ants had to go through just to get around?

Another beautiful shot at 02:44. The Fall color and the reflection are just stunning!

I licensed that music track several months ago. I just love it. It fits so well with your cinematography.

Keep on doing what you're doing cause it's working!!!

Chris Barcellos · November 1st, 2009, 10:14 PM

Ryan:

I liked your film a lot. Music and narration was great too. I am thinking comment about loss of steadiness was in the ant shots, seemed like you had the camera on a jip or something and it was settling ?

I like that closing shot too !

Chris Swanberg · November 1st, 2009, 11:57 PM

Ryan...

Yours was an excellent film. The use of music, imagery and the VO all worked very well. I heard a few hiccups in the audio but it may have been compression artifacts or something.

As others have noted you had some stunning images in here. By far my favorite was at the end with the mirrored surface and fall colors and birds coming in.

You can be proud of this one. It's very very nice.

Chris S.

ps. I am curious how one goes about licensing music through that company, their website is not at all helpful. At first the soundtrack seemed a little out of place, but by the end it worked very nicely, so it was just me needing to adjust I tihnk.

Ryan Farnes · November 2nd, 2009, 03:22 AM

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions everyone. I'm so used to using h.264, I'm not familiar with how to optimize for mp4. And going up against the deadline...my bad that it is nasty at times with the compression. Let me try to get an HD vimeo up pretty soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Ryan:

I liked your film a lot. Music and narration was great too. I am thinking comment about loss of steadiness was in the ant shots, seemed like you had the camera on a jip or something and it was settling ?

I like that closing shot too !

Yeah, I actually shot the ant at 60 frames per second to try and smooth out the wobbliness of the camera as I got really close hand held. I did shoot a couple of things with the harvestmen with the tripod and I can see how with patience, the tripod is better if you can get it set up and the little critters don't go the opposite direction.

Quote:

Ryan...

Yours was an excellent film. The use of music, imagery and the VO all worked very well. I heard a few hiccups in the audio but it may have been compression artifacts or something.

As others have noted you had some stunning images in here. By far my favorite was at the end with the mirrored surface and fall colors and birds coming in.

You can be proud of this one. It's very very nice.

Chris S.

ps. I am curious how one goes about licensing music through that company, their website is not at all helpful. At first the soundtrack seemed a little out of place, but by the end it worked very nicely, so it was just me needing to adjust I tihnk.

Yeah, the audio hiccups...I sometimes get those in Final Cut (its supposed to be awesome I thought!) when I've got several tracks of audio and I'm adjusting the levels. The levels pop up and down, instead of following the gradual adjustments I've made with the pen tool right on the timeline. I simply cannot explain it. I've tried deleting the audio render files, re-rendering the audio, swapping out stuff...to no avail. Ghetto software glitches. :|

I contacted Dynamedion when I heard some of their music on soundsnap.com and got in touch with Pierre Langer by just emailing info@dynamedion.com. He directed me to their FTP site and explained the licensing stuff. This is only the 2nd thing I've gotten from them. Just did a PayPal transfer...nothing fancy.

Bob Thieda · November 2nd, 2009, 10:34 AM

Ryan,

Without a doubt one of my favorites this round....beautiful stuff...

The geese taking off and landing, the macro shots, the sunset...all nicely done...

Like Kevin, I need to know where you find those "comin' at ya" geese...all mine are "see ya later" geese....

I also noticed the sound blips about :30 in...the technical stuff always dings us...

Nice VO too!! Keep doing that, your voice is perfect for it...

Oliver Pahlow · November 2nd, 2009, 02:50 PM

Ryan,

Great shots of the geese in the mist. I also thought the slow motion take-off of the geese was well captured and very beautiful. I will admit I was hoping to see the geese flip as they came in for a landing. You also have a great VO and wonderful macro shots.
I thought it was a very lovely looking entry.

Dale Guthormsen · November 2nd, 2009, 03:09 PM

Ryan,

first, what an amazing 3 minute video. It had my total attention every second. The script for the voice over had perfect pace and a great feel about it. without doubt, my favorite shot is the geese coming in to land!!! what a great piece!!!!

the composition of the buck with the v shaped branches up close and its head in focus inthe background was priceless!!!

Keep up t5he great work!!! One of my favorites to be certain!!!

Ryan Farnes · November 2nd, 2009, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Thieda

Like Kevin, I need to know where you find those "comin' at ya" geese...all mine are "see ya later" geese....

I have to admit that I've got a lot of free time. Graduated from college this summer, and am not working yet, so I'm enjoying the free time I have right now. I also live about a 1/2 mile from a state park with a lake. So, I have had a lot of opportunities to film stuff outside of weekends.

So, basically, I just setup at dawn at the lake for about 60, maybe 90 minutes, until most of the geese had taken off and fortunately some of them came towards my direction. Other shots had dozens going away from me, so I guess it was just getting lucky and having time to sit and wait in the morning.

Chris Swanberg · November 2nd, 2009, 11:31 PM

Wildlife photography is all about patience and "getting lucky and having time to sit and wait." Ask Per Johan about that!

Ryan Farnes · November 3rd, 2009, 04:36 AM

Here is a 720p vimeo version:

Finn-Erik Faale · November 3rd, 2009, 02:56 PM

Ryan,
Your video is beautiful. The macro scenes are sharp and clear and the flying gees in slow motion are awesome. Maybe your VO should be a bit louder.
I am impressed.

November 1st, 2009, 09:25 PM	#5
Kevin Railsback Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 1,544	Ooooo, I love that shot of the geese and the mist on the water at 00:04! That's my favorite time of year when you get the awesome mist rising off the water! Beautiful shot of the geese taking off at 00:18 in slow motion too! :) That's nice that you got them coming into the camera. Usually around here I get them going away from the camera. Who knew what ants had to go through just to get around? Another beautiful shot at 02:44. The Fall color and the reflection are just stunning! I licensed that music track several months ago. I just love it. It fits so well with your cinematography. Keep on doing what you're doing cause it's working!!! __________________ --==Kevin==-- http:naturephotostudios.com.com

November 1st, 2009, 10:14 PM	#6
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Ryan: I liked your film a lot. Music and narration was great too. I am thinking comment about loss of steadiness was in the ant shots, seemed like you had the camera on a jip or something and it was settling ? I like that closing shot too ! __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

November 2nd, 2009, 10:34 AM	#9
Bob Thieda Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 541	Ryan, Without a doubt one of my favorites this round....beautiful stuff... The geese taking off and landing, the macro shots, the sunset...all nicely done... Like Kevin, I need to know where you find those "comin' at ya" geese...all mine are "see ya later" geese.... I also noticed the sound blips about :30 in...the technical stuff always dings us... Nice VO too!! Keep doing that, your voice is perfect for it... __________________ Bob T.

November 2nd, 2009, 03:09 PM	#11
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Ryan, first, what an amazing 3 minute video. It had my total attention every second. The script for the voice over had perfect pace and a great feel about it. without doubt, my favorite shot is the geese coming in to land!!! what a great piece!!!! the composition of the buck with the v shaped branches up close and its head in focus inthe background was priceless!!! Keep up t5he great work!!! One of my favorites to be certain!!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

November 3rd, 2009, 04:36 AM	#14
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Here is a 720p vimeo version: UWOL #15 on Vimeo

November 1st, 2009, 05:31 PM	#1
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	UWOL#15- Ryan Farnes I need to leave in the morning to finish shooting for my Long Form and I’d like to comment on everyone’s video before I leave. I’m starting feedback threads for those that haven’t. I hope no one objects. Ryan- I enjoyed your video. Lots of good shots. I thought a couple could benefit from a little gamma correction. The credits could stand to be a little larger. I like the dramatic reading you gave your voice over. I wish I could do that. Every time I try it just sounds silly! Good work.

November 1st, 2009, 05:52 PM	#2
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Hi Ryan, A nice video you produced here. Well done with the VO, and the closing sequence of the birds coming in for landing on the mirror flat water was amazing. Really crisp colors in most of the shots, but I agree with Mike about the gamma for a few of the shots.

November 1st, 2009, 06:10 PM	#3
Ryan Farnes Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 220	Haha! You guys beat me to posting my own thread. Yeah. I definitely still have a lot to learn. For some reason, I just love going out and filming stuff, but don't put nearly as much energy into story and finessing the images and sound. I haven't filmed much wildlife before. Its always been inanimate landscapes and water features and stuff. Definitely was an interesting realization how hard it is to film animals. Glad that you liked my voice over. I had originally planned to get someone else with an older voice. Well, the deadline drew near and it was obvious I would be doing it. When I try to write, I think about stuff like Planet Earth and try to write like that. When I perform the narration though, I cannot believe how pretentious it sounds to me. I need David Attenborough! He could say nonsense and it would still sound amazing. :-P

November 1st, 2009, 06:43 PM	#4
Rich Ryan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Pleasanton, CA Posts: 127	Ryan, Nice imagery and a good voice over. I always like to learn something from these challenge videos and yours did not disappoint. I agree with the comments above. Nice voice over, good music selection. Some of the video could have used a "tweak". I also noted a couple of shots that would have been benefited by the use of a tripod.

November 1st, 2009, 11:57 PM	#7
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Ryan... Yours was an excellent film. The use of music, imagery and the VO all worked very well. I heard a few hiccups in the audio but it may have been compression artifacts or something. As others have noted you had some stunning images in here. By far my favorite was at the end with the mirrored surface and fall colors and birds coming in. You can be proud of this one. It's very very nice. Chris S. ps. I am curious how one goes about licensing music through that company, their website is not at all helpful. At first the soundtrack seemed a little out of place, but by the end it worked very nicely, so it was just me needing to adjust I tihnk.

November 2nd, 2009, 02:50 PM	#10
Oliver Pahlow Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Woodridge Illinois Posts: 237	Ryan, Great shots of the geese in the mist. I also thought the slow motion take-off of the geese was well captured and very beautiful. I will admit I was hoping to see the geese flip as they came in for a landing. You also have a great VO and wonderful macro shots. I thought it was a very lovely looking entry.

November 2nd, 2009, 11:31 PM	#13
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Wildlife photography is all about patience and "getting lucky and having time to sit and wait." Ask Per Johan about that!

November 3rd, 2009, 02:56 PM	#15
Finn-Erik Faale Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Porsgrunn Norway Posts: 280	Ryan, Your video is beautiful. The macro scenes are sharp and clear and the flying gees in slow motion are awesome. Maybe your VO should be a bit louder. I am impressed.