UWOL #34 - "Antics" by Marj Atkins

[Marj Atkins]

Due to time limitations, I decided to focus on things going on in my garden and initially decided do a film about soil biology. I had no idea what I would find so I had to go on a rough idea rather than on a shot list. Eventually I gathered so much material that I had to narrow it down to a story on these ants only.

This film is simply documenting nature at work. All it takes is a macro lens to see it. I was intrigued to find out what actually goes on at ground level in my back yard - I would never have suspected it.

Don’t watch this just before dinner. :]

Uwol #34 Antics by Marj Atkins on Vimeo

[Vishal Jadhav]

Marj,

You always tend to bring the theme to us in your own unique way, i like the choice of subject, even though simple to get its one where we have some control over the timings which enable to get the required footage.

The narration is nice and so is the music.

Interesting choice for the title, very creative indeed.

I guess the only thing which was the feeding of ants on the eggs from 2.17 to nearly 3.57 is may be a bit too long in proportion to the over all film size, i can be completely wrong on this. However if it was shortened to 50% may have made a similar impact, this is a personal view.

Overall a fantastic film.

cheers

[Marj Atkins]

Thank you Vishal - appreciate your time and input.

You make a valid point about the last scene being relatively long. My intention in giving it more time was to emphasize the fact that it took a huge amount of effort and a very long time for these tiny creatures to complete the task.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Marj,

This is yet another great "Marj- production"! Amazing what that macro lense is capable of.
You told an interesting story and the visual details were outstanding.

I have to agree with Vishal about the long sequence about the ants feeding from the bird egg.
It felt a little bit too long, but at the same time I very much like the detailed shots of how the ants cut pieces and transported it away.
Using the time stamps made it very clear how long time this took. (No one can say the ants doesn't complete their tasks)

Well done!

[LeRoy Gunderson]

Marj:

I really enjoyed your film. For an instant I thought I was watching a National Geographic Special. I also liked the macro shots and found them very interesting to watch. Very catchy title! :-)
Can't wait to see your next one.

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks for your feedback Leroy and Trond.

Ha-ha Trond –this is the first time my footage is considered too long!! Usually it is the opposite!

Have to agree - the macro lens opens up another world. I must add that I was totally amazed to see the bubble of honeydew popping out of the soft scale insect and the ants having a drink together. It is impossible to see this with the naked eye. All you can see normally is a tiny 2mm ant moving about on a tiny 3mm scale insect but you can't see what is actually happening it's so small.

[Geir Inge]

Hi Marj.

Hope you excuse me for telling a little story before I give feedback.
As I say in my own feedback thread. I had two plans when I started this round of uwol. Puffins or toads as a main object. In my weeklong stay in Crete I got a third object, namely ants. On my morning walks I suddenly came across some ants marching in line, as it was a highway.
Back and forth from the nest, which was under the ground.
I got done some recording, but not enough material to make a whole uwol film.
It was too monotonous and too similar clips / scenes.
Therefore I am very happy when you deliver a video about ants. Is it telepathy?
I can post some scenes of the ant in Crete, after voting is completed.

Your movie is informative and entertaining at the same time.
Slightly monotonous background scenery, but this is no biggie - you're a good storyteller, so the video never gets boring.
Ants are some fascinating creatures and I am often envious of their eagerness to work.
Something my wife says I should learn from.
Great that you show countdown through both text / number and the VO.
Maybe you can turn up the tempo a notch in the sequence where the ants cleans the eggs?
It is a bit long compared to the rest of the video, but it's a minor issue.

I like your video and thanks for sharing.

PS
I just forgot to mention the sudden lack of sound at 2:08 to 2:15.
Not a big issue, but just in case it was not intended from your side :)

[Paul Wood]

Hi Marj,

Not much I can add to the above comments, except to say that I was also fascinated by the film.

Another excellent effort on your part, and it encourages me to go out and get my macro lens and see what I can find! As no one else has mentioned it, the graphic fitted very well with the footage - AE work?

Thanks!

[Marj Atkins]

Thanks for your input Geir – Telepathy? Mmm yes, maybe but then again maybe it is simply because they are found in abundance absolutely everywhere? :)

I look forward to seeing your video footage – I know you would have looked at these little critters with a different eye.

Thanks for your encouraging comments Paul - so glad to hear that you are going to dust off the macro lens – I am sure you will come up with some interesting stuff.

Re the graphic – it was done in Photoshop. I intended it to go to AE for the addition of ants animating along the paths but I did not get that far – in fact I had not finished working on the graphic either but never mind it served its purpose as it is.