UWOL 51 - "Inca Civilization and Nature" by Phil Murray

[Phil Murray]

I'm really lucky to be able to be able to film where my "backyard" in one of the most beautiful and diverse places on the planet with the largest mountain range and the largest rainforest in the world basically just outside my door.

Please be as brutally honest with your critiques as possible. Besides being able to get and film, the best part about this is learning while I'm developing the project then learning from everyone else who will see things I don't see.

I wasn't satisfied with the sound effect at the start, but never could find something that fit what I envisioned. I was also not happy with the shakiness of the handheld shots taken at Machu Picchu, but tripods are not allowed there. I should have tried a little post stabilization.

Now for confession time. I was going to wait and say this until after voting finished, but I'll share it now. ;)

While filming couldn't have been more fun and I had a general idea where I was going, all the editing and writing was done in about 4 hours on Friday morning -- the last day of submission. All I did in the last few days was go through all my clips and make a list of those that might be useful. I know -- not very professional.

Needless to say, when I had a major crash of Premiere Pro near the end on Friday morning and it looked like everything was lost, I was pretty disappointed. Fortunately, after a couple of restarts, everything suddenly appeared again with only a few minutes' work to be redone.

I'm not as creative when it comes to editing as everyone else so I tend to put this part off. I'm not sure if the final product expresses what I originally intended, but I'm trusting that you folks will let me know if it doesn't make sense. Thank you in advance for all your comments, criticisms, and suggestions.

Needless to say, I can't wait for UWOL 52 to begin!

Thanks so much to Trond for organizing all of this and being so positive and encouraging for everyone.

UWOL51 Inca Civilization and Nature by Phil Murray on Vimeo

[Catherine Russell]

Hi Phil:

This is a stunning and beautiful entry! I thought your beginning couldn't have had more impact and it completely draws you in. Way cool! Your choice of music, for both segments were very well selected and you have a way with a sense of continuous motion throughout that is very effective. I could almost feel myself as if on a canoe in lazy water passing through your video footage. Your pan back at around 2 minutes is awesome.

I thought that a voice over would have worked well with this piece and would have freed up the viewer to just sit back and take in the sights. But this being said, your text was't overbearing or taxing to read, I just wanted more time with looking at the scenery.

One thing that caught my eye, is when you are fading a scene at around 40 s before it fully fades, the camera sweeps to the left? A slightly faster fade to have it completely out before the view shift, or making the clip slightly slower so that the fade out doesn't still reveal the shift would have taken care of this.

Bravo! This is wonderfully done and I enjoyed it immensely. Putting this together in 4 hours perhaps shows off your professional skill and not the unprofessionalism as you mentioned in your thread. I think we have the winner here!

Cat

[Bob Safay]

Phil, that was great. Good use of coloring to give those ancient stones an antique look. Music was mournful and fit the mood. Having been to Machu Picchu I know what it is like to carry equipment in those conditions. When I was there they tried to hit me up for a $400.00 fee to video there. Is that still the case? How did you manage to get so many great shots without any people in them? I think you did a great job editing yourself into the story. My only comment is that you could have left the subtitles up just a little longer. Again, fantastic job.

[Mick Jenner]

Hi Phil,

Its great when an entry gets submitted and its location is somewhere you can relate to. Like Bob I too have visited all that area and like Bob at Machu Picchu they tried the filming scam fee. Luckily the guide was well switch on.

I really like the story line of how various civilizations impact on the plant is often short lived (in relative terms to the known existence of man on this planet) and the Inca civilization is one of the shorter ones who's achievements were very quickly lost lost and hidden to man by the natural regeneration of flora.

Like Cat I too would have loved a narration but as you said the edit was very quick and you did extremely well to tell the story with subtitles alone,which is an art in its self.

Some of the clips are a little unsteady which probably lead to have to use a few more transitions than I would have like to have seen, but considering all your issues re editing a great effort, well done.

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Phil,

What a spectacular and historical important backyard you have!

You have a good story! As already commented, narrating instead of just texting, would lift your film another step on the quality ladder.
I see you also use Premiere. Are you aware of the "warp stabilizer" effect? It can help a lot when doing handheld filming.

Well done! You just proved that quality work sometimes can be done in very little time.
I really enjoyed watching, and looking forward to see what you come up with next time.

[Phil Murray]

Thank you so much everyone for the kind comments and the necessary suggestions and critiques.

I decided against a narration simply because I am not happy with my voice and I am more comfortable with the written word. (I have many years of experience as a non-fiction writer.) I'll practice before UWOL 52 and will give it a try, if appropriate.

Yes, Trond, I do use Warp Stabilizer sometimes and even did so on one of the early clips, but I was really afraid that it would be you much for my laptop after it had already crashed once. Had I started editing a few days earlier I'm sure I would have done a better job.

Bob, I'm not sure what the fee for "professional" shooting is now. I, too, remember when it was $400 about ten years ago. At that time, you also were escorted by one of the park workers to keep an eye on you. That's too expensive for me, so I never bothered to check. At that time tripods were still okay and I even did some filming with a wireless lav in my first attempt at a NatGeo-type video!

The place is so packed with people now that I am only going back on the summer solstice to do some filming for a MP expert who wants me to get some shots of the sunrise in a particular spot. Once everyone clears out in November, I'll start going back up more often as it's so cheap for me. ($30 for a day trip from home to MP and back home again.)

Again, thank you all very much for your very useful and much appreciated comments.

[Catherine Russell]

Hi Phil:

I understand what you mean about having a gem in your backyard, but seasonal crowds can tend to make locals stay away until it eases up a bit. I have Rocky Mountain National Park in my backyard in Colorado, and summertime brings 4 million + people in a span of about 3 - 4 months.

I'm so thankful we have our gems, and preserved so the world can enjoy them. And it's a marvel how employees of these places can manage such an impact and keep the impact as low as possible.

Your video takes us back to when the Incas were alive. You revealed your treasure to the rest of us as if no human contact currently exists. That's a feat! Thanks again for your work and congratulations on winning this round. Be really proud of what you accomplished.

Until next time!

Cat

[Dale Guthormsen]

Phil,

You have a knack for nice compositions! It was well done and very much enjoyed. I did find the light text hard to read and believe it would have been fantastic with a low slow narration. I look forward to seeing your next entry!