Collaborative UWOL Project?

[Simon Wood]

Sounds good to me; the more projects the merrier!

I would certainly like to be involved with the UWOL Around the World project in some back-seat capacity; so if something is required from me I would be happy to provide it (such as the source footage from previous entries or new footage - whatever is needed). Editing all that will be a big task; so I hope some stalwart editor is up to the job! It should be an exciting project, and I look forward to seeing how it develops.

With Lorinda's blessing I will start a thread on the UWOL Great-Cattle-Drive (name still to be decided!) later this week; I just want to get my thoughts in order first.

Mike - I think this will be a long-haul project; and I reckon it would do best with some footage from Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, so I think we can definitely wait until February and March of next year (considering how great those events must be). Canada and Scandinavia might be most interesting in Winter, contrasting with Equatorial Africa & Brazil the most. But I reckon a Texas rodeo will be about the coolest thing we could imagine having for this theme! Also, I cant believe we might get our Longhorn / Ankole showdown after all...I'm very excited about all the possibilities!

A timeframe of 1 year to film will allow us to coordinate the Cattle Drive as well as can be done, and also allow us to get all the various seasons filmed where needed. I am also thinking this might give me time to travel over to Tanzania at some point to try and get some film of the Maasai. Lots of factors to think about!

[Paul Wood]

I would also be please to help with the UWOL Around the World project in any way.

Reading Mike's post, I reckon there would be an interesting contrast between Brazil and Texas - I have close by small farmers, but could also visit some of the very large ones - we also have rodeos, although I'm not sure of the scale of them - the local ones are pretty small scale.
I like Simon's idea of visiting the Masai - that would be excellent!

I will try and fit in with whatever timing we agree on, and I agree it should take some time to get the best footage.

[Markus Nord]

If it would be of interest for the farming film, I got a local organic farmer close by. He is in this film and he is working a lot with making his farm more environmental friendly.

Phosphorus Wetland – How, Where, Why on Vimeo

[Simon Wood]

Looks good! Perhaps I'll just start the Cattle Drive thread today so that we can keep all the posts tidier.

[Trond Saetre]

I have now sent a message to Meryem, with link to this thread.

Seeing that it has now developed into two separate projects, I'd say that I'd follow Geir Inge's idea about the "UWOL Around the World" theme. I feel I can do a lot more in that project, than a "farm theme" which I know very little about. But having said that, if needed or wanted, I will of course help as much as I can for both projects.

I'll start a new thread for the "UWOL Around the World" project, so spesific posts for that project don't get lost.

Still, posts/ideas/thoughts and everything else valid for both projects should be posted in this thread.

[Meryem Ersoz]

Wow, it's great to see the UWOL energy still going strong and pioneering into new realms of ambition! and insanity!

also glad to hear that Chris still has the archives and can make them available...some remarkable, inspirational, unforgettable, and touching moments are in those archives....

I think that making collaborative projects is a logical and intelligent step towards developing yourself as a filmmaker. it's always great to be able to run around by yourself with your camera. collaboration, however, is a great teacher and will, by its very nature, take you all (UWOL) to new arenas of development in the craft.

Trond asked me to supply a few notes - words of advice - whatever. The more I know, the less I know but here goes:

Keep your core concepts simple. Let complexity arise from the simplicity. I cannot stress this enough. The more people you involve, the more that complexity will arise naturally - you don't need to create it.

Have core concepts which you stress often and refer back to often. Express those core commitments periodically so that you can re-commit to them. Otherwise the proliferation of opinions and ideas, which are great in the beginning when the energy is high, will create a "dispersal effect" where lots of great ideas and opinions get bandied about but nothing gets done.

A director is a good idea. Someone who holds the vision and the core concept for everyone with unflagging energy and enthusiasm. As a corollary to that - it's much harder than it sounds. What looks easy from the outside, is a lot of work, on the inside.

UWOL is lucky to have a guiding hand like Lorinda, in that regard, who keeps it light and makes it look easy - when it is not! Which she may only admit over beers (or some other weird adult beverage, in the wee hours of the night). Keeping the juice flowing and the energy directed is almost a fulltime job itself. It is a tried and true, efficient way to get things done.

That director will need core support - I was lucky, very lucky, to have Railsback and Thompson drop into my lap. I could not have asked for better teammates. We disagreed frequently and sometimes vehemently but respected each other, always, and remain bonded for life to this day, from our UWOL experiences.

So having a committee is a good idea, it keeps things collaborative but also keeps the energy centralized - at the same time.

Let your leaders and your players make mistakes. It will happen. Be forgiving. Be loving. Release judgment.

those are a few ruminations, for what they are worth. But I think, as in all things UWOL, the infamous rule #11 is always the key.

Have fun!

[Trond Saetre]

Thank you Meryem!
I / We really appreciate your words of wisdom.

[Kevin Railsback]

I wish I didn't have so much on my plate as far as personal issues go.
Can't tell you when the last time I picked up a camera to shoot any nature and wildlife.

I've learned so much from UWOL, Meryem, Mat and all the Filmmakers around the world thatI have met here.

Hopefully I can get back into the groove of things.

Meryem once again speaks words of wisdom.
UWOL was very lucky to have her at the helm to get this off the ground.

[Trond Saetre]

I have now started the process of notifying previous uwol participants.
Hopefully I have completed this task in the beginning of next week.
The emails I send out, includes link to all 3 threads about the collaborate projects.


Edit:
So far I've sent around 20 messages. Hopefully I can do the rest within the weekend.
Already gotten a few answers. Looking good :)

[Trond Saetre]

Everyone who has completed one or more uwol challenges (except for those of you who already knew for sure about these projects) should now have received a mail from me about these two projects.
Hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone.

Unfortunately a few more people had to be added to the "unable to send email" list.

I'm unable to send emails through dvinfo to the following participants:
Amelia Tanttila
Bill Thesken
Bradley Marlow
Bradley Loren
Chris Eugster
Keith Heyward
Mihali Moore
Ryan Farnes
Sam Mendolia

If anyone has their email address/contact info, please notify them.

[Trond Saetre]

I received this email from one of our uwol friends, David Rice.
Unfortunately he is no longer able to participate himself, but offers to share footage.

If anyone wants to use his footage, for these collaborate projects or others, I would appreciate if you send a mail (can be done through dvinfo) to David.

"Trond,

I have set up a Free Video Clip site on Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/channels/freestockvideoclips I'm offering my wildlife/nature 1080p video clips totally FREE to anyone, for any purpose. No strings attached. The site is self explanatory.

Let the people at UWOL know, and share with anyone else, who may be in need of some 1080p stock video for business or personal use.

The clips are FREE, and giving credit in a production is totally optional. However, If a person is so led, donations will be accepted.

I will try to add new and varied material weekly.

Dave Rice
Sitka Alaska"

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Trond Saetre

I'm unable to send emails through dvinfo to the following participants...

That's one of the biggest headaches I have, outdated / invalid email addresses for members. We don't do private messaging on this site, so the ability to contact via email is essential here.

[Bill Thesken]

I checked my e-mail address in the 'Controls' for DVinfo.net and it is the correct e-mail, so I don't know why it would bounce back, oh well I sent you an e-mail Trond. Great idea for the project, count me in.

[Trond Saetre]

Bill, I'm glad you can join us. :)
(Got your email, thank you)

[Paul Wood]

Hi All,

Just a quick suggestion which made me remember my previous corporate life -

Working on international projects can be great fun - working with people from different cultures, and for whom English is not their first language can be very eye opening, and in my experience, very worthwhile.

I have often been on the other end of the stick, where I am the one operating in a different language, and I know this can lead to frustration in the pain and pleasures of the small misunderstandings that occur.

The other thing to bear in mind is the different time zones which we operate in, which, combined with a home life, can lead to perceived long delays before forum posts are read and responded to!

I believe we are on the verge of some great interaction across the globe, where we can be part of a group of international filmmakers with some great future projects!

Lets have some fun, learn as we go, and make great films!