Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens at DVinfo.net

Bob Safay · August 1st, 2022, 01:19 PM

This was a fun video for me. It is the result of several trips to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I am fortunate that they are only five minutes from my house, so I go there several times a month. However, these last two months seems like all it did was rain. That combined with high temperatures made it tough to get out. Enjoy the video.

Andrew Smith · August 1st, 2022, 03:57 PM

That's really neat. The only thing I was yearning for was a close-up of the glass sculpture at 0:48.

Andrew

Allan Black · August 1st, 2022, 04:46 PM

Great tour of the gardens Bob, your atmospheric sound effects fading in and out tie it all together nicely.

Cheers.

Phil Murray · August 2nd, 2022, 04:43 AM

That was beautiful, Bob. of course, I would have liked to see more of the conservatory and the rainforest stuff because it reminded me of here!

I was surprised at how seemingly there were so few people there -- especially walking on the paths. Did you deliberately try to avoid people in many of your shots? (I do that all the time depending on the subject.)

Trond Saetre · August 2nd, 2022, 05:03 AM

Hi Bob,
This was a really nice film! You managed to show us the garden in a way that made me want to visit.

In the first part of the film, I wish you had used a few more close up shots of the various flowers and plants, like you did in the last part about the rainforest.
As an example, you filmed a statue, saying it had thousands of flowers. Here I wish you would have zoomed in to show a few of them in more details.

Maybe the Botanical garden would be interested in licensing your film as a commercial?
Well done!

Doug Jensen · August 2nd, 2022, 07:20 AM

Bob, I now feel like I have visited the gardens myself. It is nice to have some narration and nat sound to tell the story ather than just music and a video montage.

Roger Van Duyn · August 2nd, 2022, 09:13 AM

Well done Bob!

I like the way you varied perspective by varying the height of the camera lens on the canopy walk, starting at eye level then waist high during the walk. Plus, the smoothness of the slight bounce while you were walking with the camera instead of "shaky cam" like most people walking with a camera preserved the sensation of walking, taking individual steps instead of a "floating" camera sensation. Was it intentional, or do you just have a very steady hand when working hand held? Was it the "steady cam walk with a monopod heavier than the camera" technique some old school videographers used to employ? At any rate, talking about walking while taking the steps works.

Like others mentioned, I'd like to see more. Close up of the flowers of the statue would be nice, but, I realize you were getting close to the 4 minute limit and had to be selective about what to include and what to leave out.

Again, the whole thing is very well done and would make a good promotional video for the gardens.

Geir Inge · August 2nd, 2022, 10:47 AM

Hi Bob.
What a wonderful insight into the park you give us.
Your VO is, as usual, calm and pleasant to listen to, which makes the whole film more watchable.
It could help with some close-ups, but then again what is not shown piques our curiosity,
and makes us want to travel there to see for ourselves.
The harmony between soundtrack and VO is quite good and the editing is also nice.
There is a limit to what you can put into a 4-minute video,
but you have included most of it (I think, I haven't been there).
Thank you for sharing your video and story with us.

Bob Safay · August 3rd, 2022, 05:05 AM

Thank you all for the comments. The Gardens is one of my favorite places to go, and fortunately it is within walking distance from my house. Allan, the close up of the glass sculpture was one of the scenes I had to cut, sometimes it hurts to cut shots in order to stay under 4 minutes. Phil, same as the tropical conservatory, I had to cut a lot. I could do an hour long video just on the beautiful plants and flowers that are there year-round. The reason there were so few people there was because I was there when they opened at 9:00 in the morning, I wanted to beat the crowds and the heat. Rodger, when walking I held the Camcorder by its handle and then used the stabilizer settings in DaVinci to smooth it out. Doug, if your ever up this way let me know and I'll take you and you wife to the Gardens. I loved working on this one. Again, thank you all for your comments. Bob

August 1st, 2022, 01:19 PM	#1
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,557	Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens This was a fun video for me. It is the result of several trips to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I am fortunate that they are only five minutes from my house, so I go there several times a month. However, these last two months seems like all it did was rain. That combined with high temperatures made it tough to get out. Enjoy the video. UWOL#63 "Atlanta Botanical Gardens" by Bob Safay on Vimeo

August 1st, 2022, 03:57 PM	#2
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,034	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens That's really neat. The only thing I was yearning for was a close-up of the glass sculpture at 0:48. Andrew

August 1st, 2022, 04:46 PM	#3
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,892	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Great tour of the gardens Bob, your atmospheric sound effects fading in and out tie it all together nicely. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

August 2nd, 2022, 04:43 AM	#4
Phil Murray Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Cusco, Peru Posts: 375	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens That was beautiful, Bob. of course, I would have liked to see more of the conservatory and the rainforest stuff because it reminded me of here! I was surprised at how seemingly there were so few people there -- especially walking on the paths. Did you deliberately try to avoid people in many of your shots? (I do that all the time depending on the subject.) __________________ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX5...DcscUFrhcXgBRA

August 2nd, 2022, 05:03 AM	#5
Trond Saetre Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 3,375	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Hi Bob, This was a really nice film! You managed to show us the garden in a way that made me want to visit. In the first part of the film, I wish you had used a few more close up shots of the various flowers and plants, like you did in the last part about the rainforest. As an example, you filmed a statue, saying it had thousands of flowers. Here I wish you would have zoomed in to show a few of them in more details. Maybe the Botanical garden would be interested in licensing your film as a commercial? Well done!

August 2nd, 2022, 07:20 AM	#6
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,430	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Bob, I now feel like I have visited the gardens myself. It is nice to have some narration and nat sound to tell the story ather than just music and a video montage. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

August 2nd, 2022, 09:13 AM	#7
Roger Van Duyn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Lakeland Florida Posts: 692	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Well done Bob! I like the way you varied perspective by varying the height of the camera lens on the canopy walk, starting at eye level then waist high during the walk. Plus, the smoothness of the slight bounce while you were walking with the camera instead of "shaky cam" like most people walking with a camera preserved the sensation of walking, taking individual steps instead of a "floating" camera sensation. Was it intentional, or do you just have a very steady hand when working hand held? Was it the "steady cam walk with a monopod heavier than the camera" technique some old school videographers used to employ? At any rate, talking about walking while taking the steps works. Like others mentioned, I'd like to see more. Close up of the flowers of the statue would be nice, but, I realize you were getting close to the 4 minute limit and had to be selective about what to include and what to leave out. Again, the whole thing is very well done and would make a good promotional video for the gardens. __________________ Roger My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAp...2AHr_pHFID5LDA

August 2nd, 2022, 10:47 AM	#8
Geir Inge Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Larsnes, Norway Posts: 1,342	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Hi Bob. What a wonderful insight into the park you give us. Your VO is, as usual, calm and pleasant to listen to, which makes the whole film more watchable. It could help with some close-ups, but then again what is not shown piques our curiosity, and makes us want to travel there to see for ourselves. The harmony between soundtrack and VO is quite good and the editing is also nice. There is a limit to what you can put into a 4-minute video, but you have included most of it (I think, I haven't been there). Thank you for sharing your video and story with us. __________________ Geir Inge B. Brekke Visit me at: https://vimeo.com/gibbfilm

August 3rd, 2022, 05:05 AM	#9
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,557	Re: Greetings from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Thank you all for the comments. The Gardens is one of my favorite places to go, and fortunately it is within walking distance from my house. Allan, the close up of the glass sculpture was one of the scenes I had to cut, sometimes it hurts to cut shots in order to stay under 4 minutes. Phil, same as the tropical conservatory, I had to cut a lot. I could do an hour long video just on the beautiful plants and flowers that are there year-round. The reason there were so few people there was because I was there when they opened at 9:00 in the morning, I wanted to beat the crowds and the heat. Rodger, when walking I held the Camcorder by its handle and then used the stabilizer settings in DaVinci to smooth it out. Doug, if your ever up this way let me know and I'll take you and you wife to the Gardens. I loved working on this one. Again, thank you all for your comments. Bob