Little Things Count

[Dale Guthormsen]

Good afternoon,

Ultimately I was not going to put one up this time, but then I figured it is important to participate if nothing else.
Sheila and I stumbled into this vixen and even had the camera along so we got some footage.

It was a bit of a stretch for the theme to be sure.

Hope you had a chuckle or two watching it if nothing else

[Gordon Hoffman]

Hi Dale
For not wanting to put one up I think you did pretty good and I don't think it was that much of a stretch. I felt you held the black a little to long on the front but the narration was well done. I enjoyed watching it.
Was it all shot out the window of a vehicle?

Gordon

[Ruth Happel]

I really enjoyed your video. It was fun to watch from the point of view of the fox. You showed patience in getting the footage in the same way the fox was patient in getting a meal. So there was a real sense of how it takes time to enjoy the little things.

Ruth

[Mike Sims]

Hey Dale! I’m glad you got in by the skin of your teeth. I think you did some very clever editing to turn your chance encounter with the fox into a compelling story. Nice job! I like the way the fox just got on with its business and you gave us the feeling of looking over it’s shoulder. I have to tell you- I think the guitar this time is the best you have played for us.

[Lorinda Norton]

First person fox! Loved it! Your anthropomorphism (that's a big word for me) was delightful. I think children would be enthralled with this piece. Very nice guitar work, by the way, that adds a great deal to the overall feel.

As Mike noted, you did a great job of taking some cute footage and making a film that, though you don't think so, fit the theme very well. As I said at the beginning of the challenge, "little things" has several meanings, and you captured one of them. Well done, Dale, and thank you for sticking with it.

Need to know--how did you follow the fox in the last scene? That's mighty smooth for shooting out of a car!

[Geir Inge]

Hello Dale.

What a great story you have made ​​about a fox looking for food.
Food is also one of my little pleasures in life.
Funny that we are several who have lent our voices to the animals, this round.
Hope you do not mind if I suggest something?
Maybe you could have brought the camera along the ground, as if it was the fox?
The impression would be from the fox's point of view.
Otherwise I think you made a good movie, this round - as always.
To spin a story about the fox was a clever idea.
Editing is good and the sound is great - the guitar too :)
And it is so true so true - the little things count.

All the best and thank you for sharing.

Geir Inge

[Owen Dawe]

All through this series I've been able to observe animals I knew existed but can only be seen in zoos here as we don't have any native animals. There are a few Australian animals but they have become a pest. Our only native animal is a bat. So now I've seen a gopher and a fox going about it's daily business.

Yes perhaps the black at the top of the clip was a bit long. Quite often these things just happen without us planning them.

An enjoyable clip. Thank you for making it.

[Dale Guthormsen]

Thanky you all for you comments.

Geir, that is a clever idea i should have thought of!!! I should go back and remake a bit of it and make it a little better!!

I forgot who asked, but yes we discovered this fox was hanging about an area and we went back another day and I shot the entire thing out of the truck window. I put a hot seat under it (a foam filled pillow hunters put under their rear when hunting in cold weather available at wall mart for 10 bucks) which really helped keep it about as steady as i can get without a tripod!!

I really like it when people portray things i have never seen before!!!!!! what an amazing world, some would say better than my last one, eh? LOL

[Bill Thesken]

Dale, I had to scroll through some of the comments to find out it was a fox, it looked like a cool dog till I saw the tail. I also was thinking as I watching that it was first person, in this case fox, narrative. What a tail! I like the color, it looks like 4:3 aspect which is fine. Another nice guitar piece. I couldn't believe it took a couple of bites of the mouse or whatever and swallowed it whole like a snack. Life in the prairie.

[Markus Nord]

Hi Dale, you got some nice looking shot of the fox there. It's a beautiful animal, and fun to study.
You got the exposure good and the lighting as just right.
If I can give you any suggestions that would be not to zoom so much. Decide of you going wide or tight and shoot for 10-20 sec, than change frameing and shoot.

Cheers
Markus

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Dale,

I'm glad you submitted your entry, as I enjoyed it very much. You told an interesting story.
Geir's advice about camera angle is a good one. Often this can improve the visuals.