UWOL 54 - Nature Bits and Pieces by Gordon Hoffman

[Gordon Hoffman]

The title kind of tells the story. I was grabbing a shot here and a shot there with no real plan on what I was going to do with it. This was all shot handheld and with no post stabilization so the shots are not the most stable.
I used my Panasonic GH5 and a GoPro camera to shoot with.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.

UWOL54 - Nature Bits and Pieces by Gordon Hoffman on Vimeo

Gordon

[Trond Saetre]

Hi Gordon,

Rain in January isn't normal where you live, is it? Looks like spring has arrived already.

The small bird's nest surviving a year, is impressive. As you said, skilled craftmanship.

I actually like the "bumpy/ moving" handheld shots in this film. It let's the audience take part of the hiking in the uneven terrain.

Well done, and thanks for sharing!

[Mick Jenner]

Hi Gordon,

Love the way in which you read nature and let talk to you. Definitely hit the brief with this one. The handheld POV style of filming works well in this case and somehow seems to make it a personal journey and coupled with your VO the film comes across as you visualizing your days events as you are writing up your diary.

Well done

Mick

[Phil Murray]

Great job, Gordon! Even in the winter, it is so beautiful there. I'll admit, though, that I started to feel cold just watching. That's a world I know almost nothing about so you really captured my attention -- especially with the story in the first half about all the signs of life and activity that you see in the snow.

Like Trond and Mick, I didn't have any problem with handheld footage. I wouldn't have minded even more moving through the forest. I think it added to it and made me feel more like I was with you.

Your voiceover sounded fantastic. I'd love to hear how you get it to sound so wonderful -- as if you recorded in a studio. That's likely going to be a focus of mine in the next few months.

As we talked about a few days ago, color correction is a huge pain. I saw some stuff that I don't think I would have noticed if it hadn't been my personal focus for the past couple of months while learning DaVinci. But I also know that it it something that is not easy to do and takes a lot of time to get just right. I think all know the limitations when producing something in just a month (or less).

I think I've watched your film 3 times now and each time I see something new -- a good sign -- and learned some new ideas from you that I can use in my own work in the future. Thanks for sharing this!

[Gordon Hoffman]

Trond - When there's a strong chinook happening it's not uncommon to have rain or a rain snow mix. The one down side with a chinook that lasts this long is the trees will start to bud out only to have it turn cold again. The bird nest surviving as long as it has is surprising and the ability to construct and anchor it is impressive. The walking around with the camera you could expect some camera shake but the other shots would be better I think if the movement was a little smoother. Thanks for the nice comments.


Mick - Thanks very much I appreciate the comments. It came together easier than I thought it was going to. I just wish I had thought of using the GoPro earlier so I didn't have to pull everthing together on the last day. I would like to add some natural audio one of these times but I'd need to get my act together to allow enough time to do it.


Phil - It is a pretty piece of country and I don't have to worry about any poisonous snakes! I'd probrably have trouble with the heat where you are. I wished I had got more footage of me walking to. As for the narration I'm not in Bob's league, but I used a Sennhiesser ME66 shotgun mike into a Sound Devices Mixpre 3. I used it for the first time on the last challenge and I thought it made my narration sound much better than the Zoom H5 recorder, with the same mike, that I have been using before. I do the narration standing up which was something I learned from a comment by Marj Atkins back in UWOL 31. As for colour correction I shot the GH5 using vlog. This is the first time I've tried it and wished I hadn't with the little time I had to try to figure out how to colour correct it which I haven't got figured yet. Thanks for your comments and you are welcome.

Gordon

[Bob Safay]

Gordon, Your video bought back memories to me. I used to live in northern Idaho and remember so many days like that. As others have said. you took us on a short journey through your snowy world. Good shoots of animal sign as well as that old bird nest. I liked the handheld shots, how else would you show yourself pushing through the bush. Narration was easy to listen to and you told a great story. Like you I am learning DaVinci Resolve. I think it is one of the most powerful editing programs I have ever used. The shots of the mule deer on your way home was a treat. Thank you for the compliment about my VO's. Stay warm! Bob

[Gordon Hoffman]

Bob - I'm happy to bring back memories. Yes there is a pretty good learning curve but I like what DaVinci Resolve can do even with the free version. Thanks a lot for your comments and yes it's long underware for a few months yet.

Gordon