UWOL #3 The Green Tara by Meryem Ersoz

[Meryem Ersoz]

i'm thrilled that the UWOL Challenge is now sufficiently organized so that i was able to put up a (non-judgeable!) entry of my own.

as some of you know, i was in bhutan throughout the sign-up period shooting a commercial and a documentary. this footage is from that trip--i bent my own rules slightly by using this footage, since it was shot during the sign-up phase, rather than the playing phase, but since i'm not eligible for judging and i wanted to share my bhutan experience with my fellow nature and outdoors shooting friends, i'm posting it anyway. for fun and for love, of you guys and of my experience in bhutan, which was very magical and beautiful.

i'm obliged to save my best footage for my clients, so this is not actually my best stuff, but i think it gives off some of the vibe of my experience.

for the theme, "the wild", this is my feminista interpretation. probably because i'm from the US, i have a very masculine interpretation of what "the wild" means--rugged cowboy dude riding off into the sunset for his next adventure, frontier wilderness, etc....and what i was trying to show--perhaps unsuccessfully, but hey!--was how "the wild" on a more global/spiritual scale was really rooted in the feminine. hence the monkey mom, the road crew moms, the yak moms and babies, the takin mom, the nuns of bhutan (who provided music and inspiration). i don't know that the message comes off in the video--that's why i have to explain myself here! but the footage is unique and interesting.

i'm hoping to make a longer film festival-y version of this with leftover footage once my clients are satisfied, so having this shorter, failed version (and some UWOL feedback) will help me figure out how to communicate my concept.

thanks for watching. your feedback is most appreciated.

[Geir Inge]

Great film Meryem.
And I reckon one of those birds was a Hoopoe sitting in a tree?
We dont see those in Norway, just occasionally.
Now I have to see through the other films and give my comments.
Nice piece of work, congatulation.

[Chris Barcellos]

Meryem:

Thanks for a very wonderful film.. Great insight into that country, its people and the wild life, in such a short film !!

That pot of whatever looked good, but I am afraid to ask what was in it--- especially with the reports of you illness while in country.... :)

[Mat Thompson]

Hey Meryem
Bit more relaxed this time round huh ;) !

This looks like some place for a culture shock by the looks of it! Loved the opener and the soundtrack was great especially cutting back into them saying it in front of camera. Oh I loved it when the old women looks into the shot with the enquiring look on her face:) I'm jealous of that Hoopoe too, always wanted to see that bird in the flesh! Some of your shots were shouting for the tripod a little but apart from that great stuff, some fab colours and really nice exposure.

It looks like a magical place for sure :)

[Meryem Ersoz]

thanks, guys...

oh, for the beautiful luxury of tripod set-ups. what i wouldn't have given for actual time to set up shots. unfortunately, i was on someone else's schedule. many of my shots, just as i was getting the set-up, the van would be pulling away, and you can hear me in the audio, screaming in anguish, "Nooooooo.....!!!" or me hanging onto a shot for dear life, while the guide is calling out, "Get back in the van, Meryem!"

so it was strictly monopod, sadly. but the client was a travel agency who swapped me for the price of the trip, so i was on a tourist group's schedule, not a shooter's schedule, most of the time. i already have a plan to go back, in my own way, in a few years....

can i even begin to gripe about having tourists' still cam point n shoot flashbulbs popping off in my footage?? or trying to capture footage while being required to do full-on prostrations??

it took a lot of patience and buddhistic being with the moment to work under those conditions. worth it, though.

[Bruce Foreman]

Having spent half of my 20 year air force career in the Far East, yours was the first entry I had to view.

WOW!

I found everything in this short absolutely fascinating and enthralling. I saw no problem with no tripod, the content overruled that. The nuns' chanting added much "audio color" and set much of the mood. I hope we'll get to see more of this.

If this is out of your "leftovers", your client is getting some very enchanting and colorful footage. I enjoyed every second of it and would like your permission to show this film to the photography club I am the program chair for.

While most of the places I was stationed in the Orient were located close to or in urban areas with most of the "amenities" we are used to, the look and feel of what you shared with us brought back some neat memories.

One of the friends I made near Taipei was a Bhuddist priest. I was given free reign to photograph anything I wanted in his temple and most of the time found a place at the lunch table set for me. So knowing what the Bhuddists can do without meat (having enjoyed many a tasty meal in Bhuddist temples!), that pot you showed them being served from looked great.

Thanks for sharing this with us, I had hoped we would be seeing something from your trip!

[Catherine Russell]

Hi Meryem:

Wonderful film! Enchanting. The way I interpret "the wild" in this footage is that the wild is "not home by the hearth" and the familiar but all that is "out there", unfamiliar and foreign. If you look at the wild in this way, your piece is a bull's eye!

Captivating and amazing. Our world is a beautiful and wild place. Thanks for bringing it home to us!

Cat

[Per Johan Naesje]

Regarding what you said about the shooting conditions - Hey, hurry up gonna leave NOW! I'm impressed what you managed to do, Meryem.
Was this taken with the Canon HV10? Nice and very clear footage.

[Meryem Ersoz]

footage taken with the canon A1, digitized by the HV10, however! shot in 30F mode, because it will be ultimately delivered to DVD and a highlights reel for the web, and i didn't have time to worry about slow 24F set-ups or 24F motion issues.

this was my first chance to spend some real quality time with that camera since i purchased it, and i must say, for the money, there is nothing like it.

thanks for your kind words, bruce, of course you are welcome to screen it, let me know if you need a larger file or dvd....

[Trond Saetre]

Meryem, that was a very nice video! I am impressed.
Thank you for sharing your experience from the trip.

[Bruce Ellingwood]

Watching this was an neat experience. Great job at taking us on location and catching some of the culture.

Once you get used to the A1 and a monopod, you can really grab some great shots on the fly. I figure I'm shooting outdoors and it's not a feature film so a little camera movement during the shot is very organic and ads to, rather than takes away.
I take my tripod with me on every shoot but since buying a Bogen 561b monopod I rarely use it. I added a bebob zoom rocker to the handle and I love the whole monopod package.

Bruce

[Steven Gotz]

It has ocurred to me that the whole "baby animal" thing is probably just due to it being spring in the Northern Hemisphere. There are quite a few shots of young animals in this challenge.

Very interesting video. It certainly kept my eyes glued to the monitor.

[Tom Schumann]

hi meryem,

really like the atmosphere of your film. great soundtrack that beautifully connects with the pictures. i purchased this camcorder myself a few weeks ago, and i can only agree with you. it's fantastic to work with. great film, enjoyed it very much.

[Brian McKay]

Meryem wonderful footage, you brought back a ton of flashbacks from my own experiences traviling to remote corners of the globe. I only hope you took some time away from the viewfinder and looked around you. I have some memories that show like a movie rather than a human eye view.

You brought the message home...excellent.

Brian

[Dale Guthormsen]

Meryem,

first thanks for sharing!!! I was aiting for the theme to hit. You must have had a great time!! some pretty cool shots !!!!! I enjoyed it very much.