UWOL #23 "Natural Elements" by Per Johan Naesje

[Per Johan Naesje]

This is my first Challenge for some time and I made it a Slow Start Film!

When the topic was announced, I decided to make a film about rivers and waterfall, which we have lots of here in Norway.
Luckily waterfalls are on its most extreme this part of year due to snow melting in the mountains. Also some of the waterfalls which are used for hydroelectrical use, flows over the falls in the tourist season.

The audio is ambient, recorded on the different locations with external mics and a Zoom H4N recorder, but mixed in post of course.

I decided to let the nature speak with no narrating, and I am quite satisfied with the result. Listen to the film with earphones is recommended!

Places shown in the film are:
- The Mardal Waterfall, one of Europes ten highest waterfalls, total fall is more than 700 meters (2.300 ft) + and highest vertical drop 358 meters (1.175 ft)
- The Trollstigen (Troll´s footpath) a serpentine mountain road in Rauma County. Very narrow road with many sharp bends, and crossing the Stigfossen Waterfall on a old stone bridge as one of the highlight for tourists traveling up the steep hill
- The Geiranger Fjord, with beautiful scenery and amazing waterfalls, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- The Atlantic Ocean Road, with nicely built bridges formed into the coastal scenery
to mention some of the sites.

Technically the film is shot with Canon 7D + different lenses and a few scenes with GoPro Hero HD 2. I also used a special rail system the Stage Zero, which is basically built for time lapse footage, but I also used it in real speed recording to get some interesting and stable pan movement into the film.

The film is mixed with real speed, slow speed and time lapse sequences. I would like to know your impression about the mix? Comments about the ambient audio is also very appreciated!

Ok, here is my contribution for round 23 of the uwolchallenge - Natural Elements:
UWOL 23

Enjoy!

[Ruth Happel]

Per,

Great to see you back on UWOL!

I really like the flow of your film- pun intended. The footage moved along at a great pace, and I enjoyed the contrasting styles- with slow motion, subtle and not so subtle pans, and time lapse. This created a dynamism to the film, by such widely varying pace.

You made great use of the Stage Zero, I enjoyed the great variety of pans. One thing I noticed, on playback there were some that were a bit jittery, but I saw this in my own film for this round too, though I know it was shot smoothly, so I am sure this is just a playback issue. I think this rail system is very useful for getting smooth footage with a wide range of options. It makes me want one now.

As for the audio, you are right that no narration is needed. You did a great job capturing a mix of location audio, and the way you put it together in post makes you feel as if you are right there. I like how it isn't just the water sounds but also birds and other subtle sounds to recreate the atmosphere. Very effective.

This was a very fun film to watch, and there were so many details enhanced by the way you shot it. Great job.

Ruth

[Mark Williams]

Very beautiful scenery. I really liked the scene framing-composition. Nice camera movements.

[Chris Barcellos]

Nice film, and great sound depicting the force of water....

[Steve Siegel]

Great to have you back, Per. A beautiful movie of a beautiful country. I especially enjoyed your dolly effects, and the audio, which, as you said, is like being there using headphones.
I noticed in a couple of places, some jerkiness in the movement of waterfalls (at 1:46-1:49, the waterfall in the distance; and at 2:39). Is that one of the often talked about motion artifacts that come with shooting video in a DSLR?
The scene of the bridge over the chasm reminded me of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarity at Reichenbach Falls...until the tour bus popped up.

[Trond Saetre]

Welcome back, Per Johan!

We had more or less the same idea this round. I filmed parts of Bjoreio river and Vøringsfossen on Hardangervidden. (I didn't submit...)

As already mentioned, your rail system works great for the smooth panning, and the scenery is fantastic!
Would be good to include a bit more from Trollstigen (a minor detail), but as always, your productions are top notch!

Well done, and have a great summer!

[Per Johan Naesje]

Thanks a lot to you all for nice comments to my film!

Steve: the film is playing without any jerkiness at my place. But I think you will find some artifacts and yellow effects in some of the shot due to the weak technology built into DSLR camcorders of today.

I enjoyed very much to start up filming again with some great new tools to try out. The Stage Zero system will be used very much in future projects.

[Bill Thesken]

Per Johan, I really like this film and watched again this morning.
The mix of fast and slow motion works well, and what stood out was the
beginning with the framing of the waterfall in the distance, and then getting
closer and closer until we were right there. A lot of great shots in this one.
So I'm thinking about buying a t4i and wondering if you think it would get comparable
shots as you are getting?

[Simon Wood]

So when I was reading the "Wonders and woes" thread a couple of weeks back I followed the link you posted about the Stage Zero Rail you said you had been using, and I have to say I was a little surprised when I saw how much it cost back then.

But now I can see its worth every penny. Those shots are EPIC. You have really captured the grandeur of the locations. Its amazing how even a little amount of tracking motion can change the dynamism of an otherwise locked shot. Very interesting, to have both depth of movement while still retaining the overall composition. Mixing that technique with the time lapse shots brings it to a whole new level.

Some of those shots belong in an Attenborough documentary; its BBC good. I cant think of a better compliment; so I'll leave it at that!

[Gordon Hoffman]

Hi Per Johan. Yes it's good to see you back in UWOL. As has been mentioned you have an eye for setting up your shots and the moves are really well done. The one thing I keep wanting is to know a bit more about some off the places you have shown so I feel some narration would help. As it is it does work well with the theme. Well done.

Gordon

[Mike Sims]

Hi Per Johan. This is an excellent subject for the theme and quite well done. I am impressed by how well you are already doing with the Stage One. Good job including close foreground elements in the slider compositions. Are you shooting continuous motion or shoot-move-shoot? I hope we will get to see more soon.

[Owen Dawe]

Hello Johan,

Old Chinese proverb. One picture speaks a thousand words. This picture of yours spoke a million words. I was absolutely enchanted by the entire production. Picture perfect and I dare not fault it in any way.

[Per Johan Naesje]

Thanks very much for your comments!

Bill: the t4i seem to be a quite interesting model, it should give you at least the same quality of footage, albeit I have not seen it nor read much about it.
What´s interesting is it´s fully articulated touch screen and the silent autofocus using stm-lenses. But it will be interesting to see how it will perform in wet and cold environments. I´m a bit afraid it will not perform well in this conditions!

Simon: Yes, I think the Stage Zero is well worth its price. I have so many ideas already for how to use it in different projects!

Gordon: I admit that some narrating should have been made

Mike: I was shooting in continuous and shoot-move-shot mode for the different kind of shots. As mention I have discovered so many new ways of using with this rail.
There was some issues in the beginning. I had to expand the exposure time for the 7D to 200ms as 100ms was to short. Had some shot where the trigger did not fire in 100ms mode
But I think I have found the correct settings now and I am very happy with this :)

Owen: Wow, thanks a lot

[Vegard Paulsen]

A beautiful movie! Specially liked the timelapse shots. Nice smooth slider motion there as well.
Congratulations from Norway ;)

[Dale Guthormsen]

per Johan,

I have been out of the loop most of this last year (have been rebuilding our home of 32 years). Today I was refurbishing my presets in the canon, put in the preset you gave me a few years back, finished, came to uwol for first time in months and here was your july entry!!! What a pleassnt surprise for me. I have missed your entres and inspiration!!!

As always I love your video, you have such beautiful country to work in!!!

I look forward to more!!!

Dale Guthormsen