UWOL29 - The Frozen North by Finn Yarbrough

[Trond Saetre]

I am starting this thread for Finn, since he is away and I don't know when he will be back.
Watch his film, and in true UWOL spirit, give him your feedback.

Finn, when you see this, maybe you could describe your film.
Hope you don't mind me posting on your behalf.

The Frozen North on Vimeo

[Trond Saetre]

Finn,

First of all, welcome to the UWOL family!

The blowing snow, the wind noise, the blue'ish color cast... It all reminds me of some of the ski trips I have made in similar weather conditions.

First I thought you were far out in the wilderness, and then suddenly you revealed how close to the road you were. Really cool!

Thank you for sharing, and I hope to see more films from you in the future challenges.
Stay with us!

[Mike Sims]

Howdy, Finn. Welcome to UWOL! I watched this one first and I’m glad I did because it left me with a big smile. The composition of the snow drift “mountain” is excellent and the timing of the big reveal is perfect. Under tough conditions you really made lemons into lemonade. Gingelamigia nod8tlokad. Hope to see more soon.

[Finn Yarbrough]

Here is my synopsis:

"Trekking high in the frozen northern Kwajimiwi, I pit myself against the failing light and deadly cold.
A true testament to the terrible beauty that perches on the threshold between life and death.
An allegory for the journey that all must make, no matter how we rage against the dying of the light."

Thanks, Trond, for helping me post this submission!

[Paul Wood]

Hi Finn,

I add my welcome!
I enjoyed the story . the opening was epic! - I would have liked the VO to continue, instead of the titles, but it is a very well executed film!

[Gordon Hoffman]

Hi Finn my welcome also.
Well you had me until the end, well done!

Gordon

[Finn Yarbrough]

Originally Posted by Paul Wood

I would have liked the VO to continue, instead of the titles, but it is a very well executed film!

Paul, that is my biggest regret! After watching everyone else's fantastic self-VO pieces, I am especially contrite that I didn't put it all out there. To be honest, I tried VO at first, but given the tongue-in-cheek nature of the piece, I wasn't confident in my acting ability.

Next time I won't hold back, I promise.

[Mick Jenner]

Hi Finn,

Interesting journey, very concise. Epic shots, well done.

Mick

[Finn Yarbrough]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments and the welcome. If you're curious, the Abenaki Wisdom at the beginning translates roughly to: "Outside in Wintertime: It is important to remember to wear a coat, a hat, gloves, and of course, warm winter boots."

"The Kwajimiwi" means "the outdoors."

[Mike Sims]

Now he tells us- after I spent two hours with the Abenaki dictionary! My own Abenaki phrase was meant to be “I much enjoyed your work, storyteller.” (-but I probably got that wrong too!) ;)

[Marj Atkins]

Originally Posted by Finn Yarbrough

Thank you, everyone, for your comments and the welcome. If you're curious, the Abenaki Wisdom at the beginning translates roughly to: "Outside in Wintertime: It is important to remember to wear a coat, a hat, gloves, and of course, warm winter boots."

"The Kwajimiwi" means "the outdoors."

Wisdom oh so profound.

[Marj Atkins]

Your entry is very well executed Finn. The sound makes this film.

[Finn Yarbrough]

Originally Posted by Mike Sims

The composition of the snow drift “mountain” is excellent and the timing of the big reveal is perfect.

Thanks, Mike. Despite the close proximity to my home, I actually got quite wet and cold wading around on my knees to get those shots. The biggest challenge in post- was preserving the illusion of scale. A lot of the shots had little bits of dead leaves and grass blowing around, or some powder filtering rapidly down the slopes of the drift, both of which completely gave it away. Another challenge was the physics of movement, for lack of a better word. I shot it at 60p so that I could slow it way down to 24, since the snow that comes off of mountaintops appears to be moving very slowly. If I had a high-speed camera, I would have preferred to make it even slower. It could have looked like Everest! As it is, I think it is better sold as a large bluff than a glacial mountain.

And then, of course, there was the color grade, because I really shot it in the morning.

Thanks for the Sound compliment, Marj. I did spend a while timing it to go with the picture and layering it to seem more immersive.

[Geir Inge]

Hi Finn and welcome to Uwol.
Great approach to theme, and exciting too :)
Sound is often underestimated in movies.
Your film is a good example of how sound can play the lead role.
All the best and thanks for sharing.