Uwol 41 - Fractal Chaos

[Mark Hartopp]

UWOL41 - Fractal Chaos by Mark Hartopp on Vimeo

Judging Guide: 1 - Flame & Burn.

This project has been tuff, both technicaly and filming with bad weather. Its been along time since I made something for a comp (About 4 Years) and I'm a bit rusty. I have a Sony AX53 for filming the family.

I didn't realise how hard it is to edit the XAVC-S format when you don't have the right software. I'm a Avid Edit, but Avid still don't have the abillity to understand the sony format. I really wanted to edit for in 4K so I could pan and zoom in post. I had to down load a demo version of Avid V8, as my version is 5. Then transcode the footage with 3rd party software

But I didn't solve the format issue untill 1 week ago after filming. So, most of the shots are static.

I tried Blackmagic's Resolve, but that had playback issues on my PC. I still have to resolve the auto expose for the camera and get a varible HD filter for the next comp.

Had also suddenly found I had a big problem with producing animated graphics. I don't use Adobe Products anymore. So, no more AfterEffects,Didn't realize untill now I couldn't do 2D graphics untill a day before the deadline, so I used the very basic built in Avid titler.

In short. I made mistakes, learnt Loads, spent loads of time solving problems and discovered weak points.

And done something I have never done before in a video.....

If its of interest this is how I spent my time:

1.5 Days Filming
1 Day Stitching the Eath Map togeather
3 Days CGI Workand Shaders
2 Days Rendering (Between Other Projects)
0.5 Days Transcoding
3 Days Editing.

[Mark Williams]

Nice video and narration. Very educational.

[Mark Hartopp]

Thanks Mark.

Did anyone spot anything different or odd about my film? Something I've not done before for.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Mark,

Nice and interesting film. Always great when the visuals are backed up by a strong and interesting story.
The ultimate answer to life is obviously 1,6180! :)

Didn't spot any "odd" things about your film. But I really like what you made.
Well done!

[Mark Hartopp]

Keep watching. Can't give too many clues. Answer tomorrow.

[Trond Saetre]

Have to watch it again and again now :)

[Gordon Hoffman]

Hi Mark. Interesting. Can't really say much other than well done. Thanks for sharing.
Is the frame dimensions what you are referring to as different. Maybe something to do with 1.6180.

Gordon

[Mick Jenner]

Well done, lot of work and efforts gone into complete this polished entry.

My only observation is that maybe you have crammed a little to much information into it. The VO moves along at quite a pace (even and consistent but quick) that when a fact is mentioned the film moves on very quickly to the next point instead of having a slight pause to allow the viewer to absorb what he has just watched and heard. Pedantic I know, as you have probably done this to get under 4mins but sometimes less is more!

Again well done, great to again have someone else based in the UK submitting an entry, hope to see more from you

Mick

[Mark Hartopp]

I had to leave a lot out. It got very stressfull try to cram it all in. The idea was beyond the scope of the completion. By the end I realised it should have been a 60min doc on the Discovery channel. :)

About 5 more hours and I'll let you all know what's different about my film. No one is correct yet. ( Off to see relatives now)

[Mick Jenner]

Letter boxed, if that is the correct term

[Mark Hartopp]

Good guessing from everyone. Sorry, it was the voice over. For the first time I used a computer generated voice. I can't stand hearing my own voice. So I went looking for an artist and found Brian.

There is a trail of 14 days, so don't create an account until the next comp. This maybe of interest to those like me struggle to do VOs.

Here's the website
https://pollyvoices.com

[Andrew Hood]

Hi Mark, thoroughly enjoyed this entry. The CGI was superb, and with music had an epic feel to it. You featured the theme very strongly in the film. The narrative really drove the story. It wasn't until half way through I realised it was synthesized, and then it was more obvious with the inflections and repeated modality. But it's a much more convincing text to speech than I've heard elsewhere, so definitely a viable option. There may be ways to add pauses in also if you want to emphasize particular points. A human voice can convey more subtleties and meaning, but if you're not comfortable, or it takes too many recordings to get what you need, then this is a good alternative.

I did think a couple of shots were a bit overexposed, but just the sky, not the main focus of the image. All the elements came together nicely. Hopefully you get a chance to make more entries in the near future.

[Mark Hartopp]

There are ways to improve the voice over. It took along time playing around with it, to get right. It also improved the way I write. A short sentence sounds great. A long sentence sounds like a real person running out of breath because there is no punctuation for a breath. I used the music as a distraction from the voices imperfections.

Some words I could not figure how to make them sound correct. So I changed the whole sentence or paragraph. It was a work in progress during the editing process.

I nick named that edit Armageddon after the Bruce Willis film.

[Paul Wood]

Hi Mark,
My normal method of commenting (learned from Mick) is not to read all the comments until I have made my own, which in cases like this round, where I comment late, means pretty much all I have noted has been said!
I noticed the VO straight after the intro - its very good, but quickly noticeable to a native english speaker.

I though the film was excellent, and gave a clear strong message throughout - well done!

[Dale Guthormsen]

Mark,

I am very late on this. I love the whole chaos theory approach almost as much as the mathimatical. together its wonderful.

thank you for taking the time. I sent a link to my good friend with which we are always discussing this stuff. he loved it.

great job.