UWOL36 - Playful weather by Trond Saetre

[Trond Saetre]

Who would think weather could cause so much trouble filming... weather!
This month provided so much weather perfect for filming, when I was at work. So my playful weather ended up being a "stay out of the shark tank" type of film. I plan to improve this film later.

Feedback level 1.

Playful weather by Trond Saetre - UWOL36 on Vimeo

Also on youtube:

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[Catherine Russell]

Hello Friend!

I'm starting with you, and it feels great being a part of this forum! :)

There is no shame in this film Trond, it was lovely! The music and shots certainly fit the title and the theme. I love the use of the time laps which made it continually flow, lolling clouds fitting to the pace of the music. It all fits together nicely. I use time laps in mine too, but my clip is more "intense" and the lapses are faster. It's interesting how time laps can really set a mood and you use it well here.

You Norwegians live in a very beautiful place and I enjoyed your subject matter, water fowl (and of course, sky!). The lighting you captured in many of your scenes added to the emotional feel of weather that makes us feel full and content, like a perfectly wonderful day ebbing into the late afternoon and wrapping up for a cozy evening.

Finally, you have a really cool way of keeping the natural sounds out of it until it pops in as a surprise and it adds a whole new dimension to the scene. I'll have to remember that!

I'm glad you are considering developing this more when you have the time. But this is far from a video "just to keep you out of the shark tank".

Cheers! :)

[Dale Guthormsen]

Tronde,

The footage you shot was quite beautiful. The music immersably Delightful for it.

What camera are you shpotting with these days?

mallards that swim toward you, what a gift. what kind of swans are they?

Very pleasurable to watch. make it 30 minutes with the nice music and I could set down with a glass of wine and enjoy a fine break!

[Trond Saetre]

Catherine,
Thank you for the kind words, my friend. I'm glad you like it.
My initial plan was to show and explain all the different weather we got. We had all seasons in less than a week.

Dale,
Thank you very much. Not sure what type of swans they are. Maybe someone else in the uwol gang knows?
I will improve and extend this film. Maybe you get your glass of wine.

I'm using a Canon XF300 (since 2011). I am very happy with that one.

[Kevin Railsback]

Trond,

How can you go wrong with mallards? I love seeing the iridescent green on the makes when the light is just right. If you don't catch it, they look pretty drab.

Is that a bubbler in the water at :29? Is it just seasonal to keep some open water and to oxygenate the water?
The first second or two I was waiting for something too surface. :)

Hmmm feedback level 1. Let's see.... :)

The sunset shot at 1:25: If it were possible I think I would have tried to get close and just have the bush and lanterns silhouetted in the shot. The bridge structure or whatever it is on the right makes the shot less strong than if you were able to get in tighter. I'll attach a frame grab from your film to show you what I mean. To me I think it looks stronger and if you had the fire in the clouds behind it, it would be winner winner, chicken dinner! :)

Some of the birds were a little hot but you have to make a choice between picking up details in the shadows or losing them. I usually tend to lose them and you'll notice a lot of my stuff, I crush the black and am more concerned about not blowing out highlights as I am in preserving details in the shadows.

I really liked the late afternoon light of the ducks. You can't beat magic hour light!

You bulls-eyed the ducks in a few of the shots. I still find myself doing it from time to time too. When I'm trying to focus on too many things my subjects kind of drive into the center of the frame. :) The mallard at :38 is a good example. Would it be stronger on a power point?

The issue then is when he makes the turn, then you're not giving him breathing room after he makes the turn so you'd have to pan as he turned and get a new composition. Or, cut when he's dead on and leave the turn out.

As always, just my opinions for my tastes and everyone's is different.

Glad you stayed out of the tank and you're really making me hope that after the UK in 2016, Norway is our UWOL destination for our next UWOL meet up!!

[Bryce Comer]

Hey Tond,
Great submission. Nice to see lots of time lapse shots, they're always interesting i think to see time go by so fast! Lovely close up shots of the ducks, they must be quite tame, or you are the duck whisperer!!
For the first shot I think you could have composed the shot with nothing but sky. The treeline way down the bottom just didn't do anything for the shot in my opinion. The following shot was a little bit the same, but with the added distraction of the cars racing by & trees being blown around in the wind. Time lapses are great, but remember to try to compose your shot as if you were taking a single photo. Think about what interesting things you can put in the foreground & try to highlight them, giving depth to the shot & more interest. If you can't find anything interesting, maybe its better to simply leave it out, & focus on what is really nice in the shot??
For me though, the biggest thing missing in this piece is a lack of a story. Something perhaps to tell us about how the ducks are all happily playing in the unseasonally mild weather for example would have made it more interesting. Don't get me wrong, i love watching any animals, but add a bit of a story, & it all becomes that much more interesting to watch.
Regards,
Bryce

[Vishal Jadhav]

Trond,

I love this for the timelapses very nicely weaved in to the film.
Bunch of ducks makes it lovely too, i see that they are pretty friendly too , as a improvement over this i may suggest to get a few shots of the waterfowl at eye level enhancing the viewing value a great deal if you find it to your taste.
Its nice short and sweet film

[Trond Saetre]

Kevin, Bryce and Vishal,
Thanks for the detailed feedback, guys!
I appreciate every comment you gave. Much appreciated! I'll remember every detail when I improve my film later.
Bryce, you are absolutely right about the missing story.
Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Kevin Railsback

Is that a bubbler in the water at :29? Is it just seasonal to keep some open water and to oxygenate the water?
The first second or two I was waiting for something too surface. :)

It is like that all year, but I don't know if it is for oxygen or any other purpose.

[Tim Lewis]

Trond, I liked the calm and peaceful mood of your piece. Ducks are a bit like a wood fire, you can watch them for ages and it never gets tiring. You obviously had some nice weather and coming from just watching other extremes it was a welcome relief. A very enjoyable view of the duck pond.

[Trond Saetre]

Thank you, Tim. I'm glad you enjoyed watching.

[Gordon Hoffman]

Trond "Crazy" Saetre I think the others have pretty much covered it. Now that we know your middle name you will to up the ante some. Still a nice easy going piece.
Thanks for sharing.

Gordon

[Paul Wood]

Trond, how can I follow all the other comments, when they said exactly what I had written yesterday?
I must get round to posting comments earlier! - I really enjoyed the film too, especially the timelapses - makes me think I should get down to my local lake and spend some more time!

Thanks, and thanks for the hard work in organising everything!

[Trond Saetre]

Gordon and Paul,
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate.

I'll comment the films I still haven't given feedback this weekend.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi everyone, thanks again for the feedback.
I have now made a different version of my film based on the suggestions you gave me.
It worked well and was an improvement.

[Bryce Comer]

That's great Trond,
I too have made some adjustments to my film, just hoping to get some more feedback & maybe i can refine it further.
This place is awesome!