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NacMacFeegle
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NacMacFeegle
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PostTue Feb 13, 2018 11:30 am 
I created this video over the course of the weekend - most of it was filmed within an area of just about a dozen square yards. I wanted to capture not only the landscape under the canopy of this mossy alder forest near Mt. St. Helens, but also the tiny microscopic world that you can just barely see with the naked eye. I used my canon 80D with a super macro lens mounted on a slider for half of the footage, and flew my DJI Spark drone to capture the rest. I've posted a gallery of the best still images I captured on my blog: https://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/2018/02/secrets-of-woodland-realm.html

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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williswall
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PostThu Feb 15, 2018 8:48 pm 
Since you posted this here I have a few comments......if you care; make sure you read the last paragraph. • your macro fixed focus makes about 90 percent of your footage out of focus because.... • you are moving the camera too fast and too far, • not allowing the viewer to really fix on anything in particular, or if something interesting does come in view, it is soon gone either via movement or focus issues IME a macro lens like this is best used for still photography on a particular subject, like an insect, and if with video, the camera is best fixed, allowing the subtle movements of the tiny subject to be highlighted. • just because you have the footage, doesn't mean you have to use it all • the "secrets" could be much shorter, after a minute the first time I turned it off • Blues doesn't really go with whatever you are trying to show, which leads to • What are the secrets? Don't get it. • lastly, you say you are using a slider but there is obviously hand movement in almost every shot. What are you trying to convey? Who is the audience? Do you solicit critique of your work, or have you ever been to a workshop? What is the story line? As much as I love the woods, finding interesting footage in the winter can be hard enough, what with muted tones of brown and green. This would have had much more impact for me personally if you had concentrated on a small patch of gently swaying moss on a branch, for instance. I'd say consider that the vast majority of budding videographers shoot stuff and then put it to music. This can be great and I certainly enjoy watching good outdoors scenes, like Blue Planet or Over Washington. Hard for us poor people do to such a production. Lastly, I hesitated to respond to your post because someone will surely excoriate me for my "crappy videos." But the vast majority of my postings are for documentation, education etc. On the few short films I got into Banff or Kendal I always had trusted friends and/or pros help in the editing process. It's hard to be critiqued, but absolutely necessary if you want to improve your craft, and it's in this light that I'm posting my suggestions for you. Good luck and I look forward to viewing your next project.

I desire medium danger williswall.com
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NacMacFeegle
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NacMacFeegle
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PostFri Feb 16, 2018 7:55 pm 
williswall wrote:
Since you posted this here I have a few comments......if you care; make sure you read the last paragraph.
I always welcome feedback! up.gif
williswall wrote:
• your macro fixed focus makes about 90 percent of your footage out of focus because.... • you are moving the camera too fast and too far,
Good point, this video might have been better if I had moved the camera more slowly.
williswall wrote:
• not allowing the viewer to really fix on anything in particular, or if something interesting does come in view, it is soon gone either via movement or focus issues IME a macro lens like this is best used for still photography on a particular subject, like an insect, and if with video, the camera is best fixed, allowing the subtle movements of the tiny subject to be highlighted.
This is good advice, though I will say that there wasn't any movement to be had in these scenes, and that's partly why I felt the need to introduce movement into the video. Otherwise I might as well have created a slideshow of still images. I actually really love the end result of the macro lens with its very shallow depth of field moving like it does. I like the isolation of subjects that results, and I like how the movement constantly brings new things into focus.
williswall wrote:
• just because you have the footage, doesn't mean you have to use it all
I actually only used about half the footage I had........
williswall wrote:
• the "secrets" could be much shorter, after a minute the first time I turned it off
I have heard from several people that they would have liked that segment to be shorter. It's a fair point - I might actually have shortened this portion of the video, but I was trying to match the video with the music.
williswall wrote:
• Blues doesn't really go with whatever you are trying to show, which leads to
On this I really have to disagree - I think it's a perfect match for the mood I was going for. Also, I know the musician who composed and performed the piece, and he approved of my use of it in this video. We actually discussed the concept of using this music in such a video some time prior to filming. However, I can see why you might think that blues and the subject matter of the video clash.
williswall wrote:
• What are the secrets? Don't get it.
The video is all about how the macro world of the forest is very much a secret to the casual viewer. This is explained by the text included with the gallery I posted on my blog: "Look more closely at that favorite forest trail you like to walk. Passing by, you will see very little - just a lot of green that seemingly lacks variety. A sea of moss with some bushes and trees poking out of it. Kneel down, let the mud stain your jeans and your hair fill with flecks of bark. Put your eye right up close to that sea of moss that seemed so much a monoculture of lichenous growth. You will find another forest hidden in plain sight; a secret woodland realm just as, if not more complex that the one we walk ourselves." It is not that there are actual secrets in the video, but rather secrets refers to a general theme of hidden worlds.
williswall wrote:
• lastly, you say you are using a slider but there is obviously hand movement in almost every shot.
It is a (cheap) manual slider that I operate by hand. In this case it was mounted on top of a tripod, so there was some shake introduced by its movement. If I have the slider on the ground it produces a much steadier video, but in this situation I couldn't get the angles and elevation I needed without the tripod. However, I think the shake in the video is acceptable, and not too distracting. The slider is a recent acquisition, and I'm still learning how to use it effectively.
williswall wrote:
What are you trying to convey?
The beauty and wonder of nature and the more intimate environments that often go unnoticed.
williswall wrote:
Who is the audience?
This is a good question that I haven't really asked myself. With this sort of video I really just want to create something beautiful. Which audience will be interested in it is something of a secondary consideration.
williswall wrote:
Do you solicit critique of your work
Yes! As I explain in my last paragraph in this post.
williswall wrote:
have you ever been to a workshop?
No, I have never been to a workshop. I have taken a class in photography at the local community college, but I've learned video entirely on my own, with help from the internet of course.
williswall wrote:
What is the story line?
Do you mean the story line I'm trying to convey in the video? If so, my goal was to show a progression from the nearly microscopic to a wider environment. There's really not meant to be much of story beyond that.
williswall wrote:
As much as I love the woods, finding interesting footage in the winter can be hard enough, what with muted tones of brown and green. This would have had much more impact for me personally if you had concentrated on a small patch of gently swaying moss on a branch, for instance.
It is difficult to find interesting footage in the winter, particularly in the lowlands! What I like to do is work with the muted browns and greens for a more subdued, wintry feel. I am curious, how would concentrating on a small patch of swaying moss have provided more impact? I guess I'm just having trouble envisioning how this would be that different from the content of this video.
williswall wrote:
Lastly, I hesitated to respond to your post because someone will surely excoriate me for my "crappy videos." But the vast majority of my postings are for documentation, education etc. On the few short films I got into Banff or Kendal I always had trusted friends and/or pros help in the editing process. It's hard to be critiqued, but absolutely necessary if you want to improve your craft, and it's in this light that I'm posting my suggestions for you. Good luck and I look forward to viewing your next project.
Critique is truly vital to the learning process. If all I get is praise, how will I ever improve and endeavor to learn new things? It can be really tough to have something I've poured many hours into criticized, but every time my work noticeably improves and I learn new skills and techniques. Learning like this is brutal, but effective. I try my best with every subsequent project to keep prior criticism in mind, and so I slowly but surely improve. One thing I think is important is to respond to criticism by countering it with arguments in defense of my choices such as I have done here. This way I really have to think about what you're saying, and why I made the choices I did. Thank you for taking the time to watch and critique my video. I really do appreciate it.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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Waterman
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PostSat Feb 17, 2018 9:35 pm 
Nice video. I appreciate great photo's and video's. Its a talent I admire although one I haven't cultivated. Your subject matter is what i find interesting. Once you get past the basics of identifying trees and flowers and get down to mushrooms, mosses and lichens, your pace slows and a whole different world is exposed. I look forward to more of your submissions.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
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NacMacFeegle
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NacMacFeegle
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PostSat Feb 17, 2018 11:14 pm 
Waterman wrote:
Nice video. I appreciate great photo's and video's. Its a talent I admire although one I haven't cultivated. Your subject matter is what i find interesting. Once you get past the basics of identifying trees and flowers and get down to mushrooms, mosses and lichens, your pace slows and a whole different world is exposed. I look forward to more of your submissions.
Thank you! You might like this similar video that I made last spring:

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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gb
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gb
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PostThu Feb 22, 2018 7:48 am 
NacMacFeegle wrote:
I created this video over the course of the weekend - most of it was filmed within an area of just about a dozen square yards. I wanted to capture not only the landscape under the canopy of this mossy alder forest near Mt. St. Helens, but also the tiny microscopic world that you can just barely see with the naked eye. I used my canon 80D with a super macro lens mounted on a slider for half of the footage, and flew my DJI Spark drone to capture the rest. I've posted a gallery of the best still images I captured on my blog: https://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/2018/02/secrets-of-woodland-realm.html
Frankly, I found your video focusing mostly on mosses to be very enjoyable and the music wasn't a bad choice. I do think that too much of the video was out of focus, which detracted. I could see going in and out of focus or focusing at different depths. But regardless, good on you for being able to appreciate the beauty of nature. Mosses in particular are fascinatingly beautiful and complex in the smaller details. I've gotten into mosses and liverworts (both Bryophytes) quite a bit in the last couple of years and have done focus stacked images of something like 200 different mosses and perhaps a dozen liverworts. On the larger scale Bryophytes and Lichens are about the most interesting and beautiful part of winter forest and river rock scenery. Identifying members of both is a huge challenge.

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