UWOL 54 - "Out and About in Nature: Exploring Peru" by Phil Murray

[Phil Murray]

As I say to others and myself many times every day, I am very fortunate to live in a place where there is so much to see and explore within a very short distance from my home. This little film was an attempt to show a tiny part of what is in my "neighborhood." I hope you can quickly get an idea of why I love it here so much.

I don't know how good it turned out, but I know I had a LOT of fun filming it! The best part is how much I learned while doing it (and how much I have already learned watching everyone else's films).

I am open to any and all comments, criticism, suggestions. Please!

UWOL54 - "Out and About in Nature: Exploring Peru" by Phil Murray on Vimeo

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Phil,

I like the intro, showing that big, crowded city, and then transiting to the peaceful nature.
Some dramatic landscape you have there, with the deep, narrow valleys.
Was that Macchu Pichu at 0:25? Even that looked crowded with tourists.

Nice to see the remains of the old farms, and the stone house at 1:05, and those massive stone walls must have taken ages of hard labor to build.

Good choice of music too.

Thanks for sharing your "back yard!"
Well done!

[Mick Jenner]

Hi Phil,

Enjoyed your entry very much, brought back many happy memories of our time there. I believe your views of the street looking down hill at all the traffic was filmed at the top of the the Avinida De Sol, if so it was the the same street we stayed in at the the hotel Don Carlos almost next door to the cultural centre where shows are put on of local customs and dances. We also visited the site at Sexy Woman, well, that's how the guide names it so we would be able to easily recall that locations name.

You did very well learning a new camera and editing program and then producing a a nicely flowing entry that hit the brief. Overall you did well with the colour grading and I liked the widescreen effect VO was clear. My only observation is that the slighly wobbly clips at Machu Picchu do stand out as the majority of the footage is rock solid without any other POV footage, I am nitpicking though! Not sure the farmer would be to happy you walking through his broad beans though lol.

Well done

[Bob Safay]

Phil, great video. I remember how crowed Cusco was. Great into. Looks like you, Irmalinn, and I had the same idea about putting ourselves in the video. Like Trond said, its good to see what we all look like, except in mine it looks like my age is showing ha. Really enjoyed looking at the old ruins and of course the cameo of your four legged partner. The VO was spot on. DaVinci is a heck of a powerful editing tool. I am still learning it. I read that the "official" manual is something like 2,600 pages! What a fun place to live. Great entry. Bob

[Phil Murray]

Thank you, guys for your comments.

Trond -- it's really a spectacular place here. I tell my friends that anyone can take great photos here because it's so incredibly every where you look. Yes, that was Machu Picchu. I wanted a shot of crowds and went up that day just for that, but tripods are not allowed so it came out looking really bad. I probably should have left it out but didn't have another crowd shot.

Mick -- you're right. The first street shots were from Av. El Sol. I probably should have spent more time there and gotten some better shots, but I was too impatient! The Machu Picchu shot really was poor. I thought I could use stabilization in DaVinci just as I've done in Premiere Pro, but I couldn't find anything! Something is probably there, but I didn't find it.

And don't worry. I was very careful to walk between the plants in the field so as not to hurt anything. I had hiked up into the mountains a couple of times with the intention of getting some shots of farmers working in the fields, but there's really not as much activity going on right now. Most everything is planted and growing and harvest time is still a few weeks away for a lot of the crops. Seems like I see farmers every time I go up, but, of course, when i'm looking for them there are none to be found!

Bob -- Like you, I also also noticed that we were all prominent in our work. (In Gordon's video, his commentary and camera movement made me feel as though I was with him even if he didn't actually appear.)

The place where the dog appears is a very special place hidden in the jungle near Machu Picchu that almost no ones knows about despite being incredibly significant. I have to hike 10km there and back each time I go there and always there is a dog or two who tags along. I encourage it because there are some really aggressive, poisonous snakes (bushmasters) there which a dog will alert to before I know about them.


I'm ready to start on the next UWOL, but it's nice to not worry about carrying gear around for a few days. I'm off to do a few days of photography in the rainforest this morning.

[Gordon Hoffman]

Phil it is an interesting country. A lot of people to. I can see where you would like to get away from the crowds. It's amazing the amount of work that they did with rocks. I think you did a good job with your colours. What do you use to monitor your video on when adjusting colours?
Thanks for sharing I enjoyed watching this.

Gordon

[Trond Saetre]

Originally Posted by Phil Murray

Yes, that was Machu Picchu. I wanted a shot of crowds and went up that day just for that, but tripods are not allowed so it came out looking really bad. I probably should have left it out but didn't have another crowd shot.

Maybe a little stabilizing would have improved the shot. But I actually liked it. It gave the impression of being there, trying to avoid bumping into the crowd while walking. Same effect I got from Gordon's handheld shots too.

[Cary Knoop]

Originally Posted by Phil Murray

I am open to any and all comments, criticism, suggestions. Please!

The video lacks contrast, black levels are too high while white levels are too low.

[Phil Murray]

Thanks, Cary. I will definitely look to improve in that as I continue to learn DaVinci.

[Geir Inge]

Great job Phil.
This film was riveting and I really like the way you narrate the film.
It gives an extra dimension that allows the viewer to join in your experience and walk through the landscape. I felt like I was right there with you in Peru.
As a suggestion for what I mean can lift the movie even more, is in the editing process.
Some more work with color grading can give a better result and a bit more crisp look.
You have some background music on top of your VO.
Perhaps some use of natural sounds (foleys) will give the film more depth and touch of reality?
Just as a suggestion.
As I said, you've done a great job and it was a lot of fun to watch your film.
Thank you for sharing it with us!