UWOL 42 -Tales of wonders and woes

[Trond Saetre]

The main goal of uwol is to push your own limits, so each and everyone of you improve your skills as film makers.

What goes right, what goes wrong and everything in between about the making of your uwol42 films.
Feel free to share.. or ask for tips and so on...

Whatever you do, remember to follow rule 11 (have fun!)
Hope the extra month and the intermediate option of feedback, turn into many submitted films :)

Good luck, everyone! Remember your imagination is the limit.

[Victor Wilcox]

I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I retired the end of February, so the only distraction will be my ranch duties. This will be my first project using my DJI Phantom 4 Pro to add a new perspective to go with my Sony FDR-AX100. As is my luck, the first week will be a washout due to the Houston Rodeo trail ride and RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. But we have lots of days and nights.

[Trond Saetre]

Victor, If you plan to fly your drone in a controlled airspace, give the local air traffic control tower a call. They may give you permission for a night flight if they don't have other aircrafts in the same area.

[Mark Hartopp]

OK I'm bashing my head over this one. Big ideas. Don't have the equipment or budget to pull them off. Would love to have a go at drone filming, but here in the UK I'm surrounded by restricted air space and drone regs.

Victor as Trond mentioned safety first.

[Victor Wilcox]

Thanks Trond and Mark.

I live out away from town in class G air space so the only restrictions that apply are the 400' altitude and night flight. I plan to spend most of my flight time down below tree top level on our 46 acre ranch so I might get away with few runs at night, but I will probably do most night shots with a camcorder as it doesn't crash into trees in the dark.

[Phil Murray]

Plantersville is out away from town?

Just kidding! I used to coach in Tomball about 20 years ago so I've been through there a few times.

I've been going back and forth between using my AX100 and my old Sony Ex1r. I've been experimenting with lots of different things using both cameras to see which best gives me the "look" I'm aiming for and every time the Ex1r just looks better. I love my AX100 for a LOT of things, but video from the Ex1r still seems to be better. (It's just so darn big and heavy and worthless in low-light settings.)

I'm looking forward to seeing how you use your Phantom and how well the shots integrate with shots from your AX100. (I'm thinking about getting a Mavic Pro to take it to South America because of its extreme portability.)

[Andrew Hood]

I'm still formulating ideas. The last couple of days I have been helping someone filming a documentary locally after finding out about it the night before. I was tagged in a video (an initial intro to the doco) on Facebook by a friend, only to find out there was footage of my Dad in it from 1991. I got in touch with the person who was actually making it, someone I knew of but had never met, who had known my Dad from working together for 10 years in the 80s/90s. So I'd asked about getting more footage and offered to help. It's been a couple of days running around the local briquette factory. It ceased operating in 2014, but they still have a small stockpile of briquettes, and are preparing to demolish the whole plant over the coming months, and perform remediation work over the next 2 years. So the rush was to get things filmed before this part of history is lost to us. Just today special forces paid a visit to practice putting holes in a few walls with explosives (not the asbestos lined ones), but they wouldn't allow filming, and we left before that anyway. It's been fascinating to see around the plant, how everything works. Ultimately it's considered progress, but it seems such a waste to just destroy the factory when it's been such an iconic landmark.

[Kevin Railsback]

Was trying some new gear and had some issues but thankfully with the help of people far more knowledgeable than me, I know what to do to avoid it in the future.

Ran my idea past a few of you and it sounds like it's a decent idea.

Only a few opportunities for me to get some shots but it wouldn't be a challenge otherwise.

Now to flesh out the story while I'm waiting for the 40mph winds to die down and the snow that's coming to be over.

[Mark Hartopp]

I'm still trying to find an idea that complies with the rules. Latest one is just graphics and drawing only. No filming involved.

[Mick Jenner]

You are obviously consumed with constant thoughts and worries over this challenge Mark as you posted at 3am this morning when the more sensible of us were fast asleep lol. Hopefully after your restless night you now have some positive ideas.

[Kevin Railsback]

Mark,

Plenty of time to come up with a game plan.

If you're stressing about it, let it go and come back to it in a few days.

You're can always give us an idea of what you have access to and we can brainstorm some suggestions that you can build off of.

It could be anything like a comedy about the night and day difference between nature filmmakers and "real" filmmakers.

Could be something like flowers that bloom during the day and flowers that bloom only at night.

The night and day difference in the subject matter you find when you slow down and actually "see".

The most important thing is to have fun challenging yourself.

Give it some time and if you're still stuck, we're here to help if we can

[Mark Hartopp]

Hi Kevin & Mick

Thank you for your concern, I've got a lot on my mind at the moment. Entering the UWOL is my way of venting stress and getting out filming. Non of it is a quick easy fix. I love filming and sometimes my brain gets fixated on trying to solve a technical problem in my sleep. But at the moment the other stuff in my life is giving me creative block.

I've set myself the challenge of using a Sony AX53, which is a challenge in it's self.

I would turn a simple shot or idea into a very complex camera move as I try and do something different. I also have to tell a story.

We'll see how I get on over the next few days with ideas.

[Dale Guthormsen]

Hello,

Well, its been all mukey and yukky weatherwise, not much inspiration yet.
got the bill on repairing my sony fx1000, a clear 2000 dollars. I told them to send it home, UGggg.

I have a couple ideas I but just been to nasty to shoot anything, and one I need nicer weather to do it. At least its above freezing in the afternoons.

Maybe I will get out the old, old, old canon zr 100 camcorder, thats from the dark ages!

[Paul Mailath]

it's been pissing down here and with work, I haven't done a thing - had the theme stuck on my wall to remind me but... nothing.

Then a couple of days ago I was out the front looking at a gum tree and came up with a pretty good idea - it will take a bit of fruit & maybe some honey & seeds to get the shots I want but it should turn out pretty well.

fingers crossed the weather will bless my endeavour.

[Mark Hartopp]

I have an idea, it's ambitious. I've got to get everything jotted down on paper. Not sure if I will have anything filmed ready for the halfway point, so I may do a kind of previz video to illustrate my idea.

Paul weather always seams to kill of a good project special when time is short. I'm intrigued my what you saw in a gum tree.

Dale, 2000 dollars is alot and I don't know what UGggg is. Doesn't sound good.

Going back to UWOL #41 wish I had found this page about fractal s.
Amazing Photographs of Fractals in Nature | artFido's Blog