UWOL 43 - Calls of the Wild - Andrew Hood

[Andrew Hood]

UWOL43 - Calls of the Wild - by Andrew Hood on Vimeo

A basic enough idea - although it probably made minimal use of the theme. Not my first plan (I may have to save that for another round) but I had to try for something simpler once time was running out. Would love to have gotten more variety of shots (angles, clearer head shot, roosting in tree etc...), but some attempts to get those scared off the other lyrebirds. Although some of these shots were 2-3m away from the main Lyrebird featured doing its performance.

I struggled with deciding how much to talk and provide a narrative, and how much to leave the lyrebirds 'do the talking' just with their vocals. Hence why I also omitted music as I thought it would detract from the natural sounds.

Feedback: I've forgotten the numbering system, just tell me what you really thought - what did you like, and what would you change.

[Bob Safay]

Andrew, what a very nice and informative video. That really is an interesting looking bird. It truly has an amazing range of vocal calls. I think you had just the right amount of VO, you let the bird "speak for himself". The audio was very well done. Crisp and clear. Did you use an external mic? I think you were right not to add music, it would have distracted from the natural sound of the Lyrebird. Very good interpretation of the theme. Bob

[LeRoy Gunderson]

Great informative video. The audio was extremely crisp and clear. Somehow I always manage to get some wierd ambient background sounds that won't filter out. Were you using and external mic?

What a cool bird. love the feathers and the range of calls which were very clear and easy to listen to.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Andrew,

What a cool bird! I agree with what has been said already. The mix of VO and natural sound, was great. No need for music at all.
As you comment yourself, more varied shots, close ups and so on, would be great. But that can be a real challenge. I think you did great!

Thanks for sharing and teaching me something new!

[Rob Cantwell]

thanks for this
very interesting, kept my attention as i think i may suffer from AD a bit at times

i could see where a few of those wildlife/trail cams would do great there

[Andrew Hood]

Thanks for the comments everyone. It certainly is a unique and interesting bird. I have seen them before, but only briefly, this was the first time I captured anything usable on camera (still or motion). You can certainly hear them often enough, but they do tend to dart into the bushes very quickly when startled. I should try to get some more variety of footage while they're still in mating season.

I used an 'onboard' mic, the Rode NTG-3, a recent acquisition. It's not even a proper shock mount either (too narrow for the kit sony one), I used a large foam covered twist tie thing to coil around it. But I learned from past mistakes and tried to avoid touching the camera or tripod (or moving my hands from place to place on it) while filming (even panning can cause problems). Some of the sound I blended was from leaving the camera record for a while, with no birds visible, but the calls were nice and clear. I also tried to keep some distance from the camera at that time also, as my boots creak if I move much in them, and the microphone picks up nearly everything, including a plane that was a couple of kms away, rustling leaves, etc...

[Bryce Comer]

What? You didn't have any music? I didn't even realize until you mentioned it in your post!!! Absolutely lovely to have just the natural sounds. Great decision to do without music. As always, it's lovely to listen to your narration, & you always seem to be able to find the right words!
I liked what you did with the opening title, how it moved with your pan. For whatever reason it was a little jerky but that may have the result of the compressed Vimeo file. I'm wondering if it could be improved further by making it a little smaller so it looks closer to the tree & creates a little more of a 3D effect. Even better, if you were able to reverse the clip, & have the title disappear behind the ferns!!! (If only i knew how to do that!!)
You certainly took me there to the forests of south eastern Australia, & made me a little homesick i must say!! Thank you!
Bryce

[Bryce Comer]

Ok, i've just read through the posts previous to mine & so will add something else.
If you are going to try to capture more of the Lyre birds during their mating season, (and you should!) it's best to go super early. Before it's light. Look up in the trees to find them. Actually, look up a lot higher than you might expect. You may find they are 60 feet up & higher even. I have filmed them quite a lot & have seen them late evening flying up into the trees to roost. Early morning just as it was getting light, they will still be up in the trees. Keep an eye out as you might see them roosting, but often they will catch your eye as they fly down to the ground. This will happen just as it's getting light, so being there early is the key.
I must admit i am a little jealous that i am not able to be there too filming them. They really are a wonderful bird. The road to Baw Baw used to be a very good place to find them, but Tarra Bulga Nat. Park was also a great place with lots of Lyre birds.
Good luck, & again, thank you!!

[Andrew Hood]

Thanks Bryce for the kind words, and suggestions.
The moving title was a little jerky because I only used 2 keyframes for the text, and the footage isn't perfectly smooth - so it makes the jitters in speed obvious, but looks like the text in bouncing around. If I did it properly I would motion track it in After Effects. Disappearing behind the ferns could work if you play with masks - I need to dedicate more time next round to play with the edit and making titles.

I think with Morwell National Park the hill tricks them a little because the Sun 'rises' later. Hoping to head up to Mt St Gwinear for a ski this week (near Baw Baw, but free entry to the national park). I see the odd one dart across the road travelling to/from. Mt Erica often has some around the lower sections (near the car park). I just need to get motivated to get up early... one day ;-) Tarra Bulga has quite a few, but longer transit time means getting up even earlier ;-). I did see one above head height, it hopped/jumped from branch to branch, but I couldn't get a shot with all the trees in the way. The trick will be to get a clear shot without startling them.

[Jeff Holmes]

Wonderful video! A lot of good information and great shots.