Tales of wonders and woes - UWOL 30

[Trond Saetre]

Interesting project you have, Vegard. I look forward to your underwater film. Haven't been much of that lately.

A side note:
In Drøbak right outside a small beach downtown, there is a wreck which is popular to dive to.
My brother dived there some years ago.

[Mike Sims]

It certainly is encouraging to hear that some of us are making progress (although there are a number that we haven’t heard from yet!). I’m really struggling this round. I have run into problems before but never like this. I’m not giving up yet, but it doesn’t look good for me. I wish you all well.

[Trond Saetre]

Still plenty time until deadline, Mike. You can do it!
(Says the one who hasn't even had time to think more than a rough idea myself.)

[Ralph Gereg]

Originally Posted by Marj Atkins

Welcome to the joys of the UWOL Challenge Ralph - that’s the challenge of the UWOL challenge – having to work within a short space of time!

I have been preparing my story and music during the evenings because I will have exactly one day in which to put my final video together after I have filmed – just the way things have worked out.

During this past week I have spent hours listening to music trying to get the right feel for this. While it is not exactly what I was looking for I have settled on a piece that works okay. Today I finished my draft script so I finally have a shot list.

All I can hope for now is that our wildlife friends appear on stage when and where they are needed!

Hope things are going well with all of you.

Yes, thanks Marj! I'm under no delusion about being the only one with time constraints :) I'm working on plans to get out and get my shots this Sunday... fingers crossed that the weather will co-operate.

[Vegard Paulsen]

Got the interview done today, so i am a bit more calm now. Currently editing it.
Does the vimeo account support 4K video?

Trond, yes the wrecks you are mentioning must be the truck wrecks down at skiphelle.

Attached a framegrab from the interview.

[Mike Sims]

Sorry, no 4K. You can, however, host a 4K version yourself and provide a link to it in your feedback thread. Here are the Vimeo requirements:

Compression Guidelines on Vimeo

[Vegard Paulsen]

Guess i will stick to the HD proxyfiles for the competition then, and do a roundtrip to Davinci Resolve with the 4K raw after competition ends and publish it somewhere later.

[Vegard Paulsen]

Damn, i wish this was a 20 minute challenge and not a 3.5min.. So much cool stuff edited away allready :(

[Finn Yarbrough]

Oh, no! I went away for too long and missed the signup deadline.
Can I try to meet the challenge anyway and make an unofficial submission?

I am looking forward to seeing the results again.

[Vegard Paulsen]

If it was up to me, signup would never close until deadline. All participants should be accepted. I really wish for an email service that reminds all users of upcoming signups so we dont have to miss the way to small signup time! That would allow alot more participants and raise entusiasm even more!

I would say, make a movie anyway and publish it and you would definitely get a vote from me:)

[Trond Saetre]

Originally Posted by Finn Yarbrough

Oh, no! I went away for too long and missed the signup deadline.
Can I try to meet the challenge anyway and make an unofficial submission?

Finn, go ahead and make your film.
It will be unofficial and not part of judging since you are late, but the more films the better.

Vegard,
I have been thinking about your suggestions already, and with effect from the next challenge we might drop the deadline for sign up.
I am willing to try any suggestions that makes it more attractive to participate. The more players the more fun it is.

[Paul Wood]

I'm with Mike on this round - a host of small domestic issues to deal with, and a distinct lack of do able ideas so far! But there is still time.....

[Mike Sims]

Anyone interested should definitely make an “unofficial” entry. We will all benefit from the feedback. We have had unofficial entries a number of times in the past and there is even precedent for one being upgraded when the number of finished films is quite small.

I think an e-mail notification system is a good idea. We just need to set it up so that it is minimal additional work for Trond. Before we have agreed to only discuss rules changes in between Challenges and not while one is ongoing. The problem with that is that many don’t check in here regularly in the interims (hence the need for a notification system) and those discussions usually don’t have many participants, so…

We have had one round with open sign-up and I don’t recall there having been any problems, but before we consider doing away with the sign-up period entirely I think it might be useful to reflect on where we have come from and why we have a sign-up period to begin with. When Meryem started this thing 48 hour film contests were still all the rage. I believe she based our original rules largely on them. It was rightly felt that if there were open sign-up that we might be exposing ourselves to “ringers”. Some might see the theme and think “I made a film about that a while back and all I need to do is re-title and slightly re-edit it” or “The spectacular footage I took on that vacation to XXX will be great for this theme”. Things like this put people using footage shot only in the contest period and only relatively in their own backyards at a distinct disadvantage. Closing the sign-up before the theme is announced is largely a filter for this. To be fair, even with this filter the rule requiring all footage be shot only within the contest period has turned out to be the rule most often cheated upon. We can all probably recall seeing films (and some very very good ones too) showing vegetation out of season, vegetation spanning several seasons, infant animals many months out of breeding season, footage first seen on someone’s website a year earlier etc. As a result this rule has been relaxed a good deal. We can now use up to 10% older footage if it was previously shot for UWOL. If we do away with closed sign-up we may need to once again modify this rule and possibly others. I’m not suggesting that this a bad thing- only that we may need to move a little slowly and think about all consequences of any changes first. [We also have the problem that the timing of our Challenges can sometimes put players in the southern hemisphere at disadvantage. All of our wranglers have put much thought into choosing themes to minimize this- but this is another discussion.]

I personally would like to see something like a closed sign-up that includes the entire period between Challenges with an e-mail heads-up to everyone signed up about 48 hours before we close sign-up, announce the theme and get started. We would be allowed to use any footage we shot in the past 12 months for any reason, but only up to 50% of the final film and no use of previously edited sequences. I also would like to see an occasional longer round- something like six months to do up to ten minutes. I am not proposing any of this for anything other than discussion. Discussion is our strong point as a community. I know you all have good ideas and we need to hear and talk about them and, in the end, trust that we are fortunate to have a level-headed and fair final arbiter in Trond.

One thing that I have been concerned about is that while we have become a close-knit group we have also decreased in size. I have begun inviting people to play. When I find someone on the internet that is doing good work and seems to have similar interest and focus I will send them an e-mail telling them about the Challenge and suggesting they might like to participate. I have even invited a couple of film-makers working in Antarctica! So far, I don’t think anyone has taken up the challenge but I am still hopeful. Several have expressed interest. I hope you will all consider inviting others as well.

[Mike Sims]

Paul- My latest problem is that the central air conditioning system has failed. (I don’t know why- it was only thirty years old!) Right now it is 110° F and 96% relative humidity in my editing suite. I’m not turning on any electronics for fear of localized hot spots (pun not intended- my website is called Hotspot! ) will exceed operating maximums. The new unit will be installed on Wednesday at the same cost as a C100. Ouch…

[Trond Saetre]

Discussion of the rules and how to attract more players, is always welcome.
I am always open for suggestions of improvement, so don't be afraid to speak your minds.