This is my first posting on Indietalk, and I thought I'd start by letting you see Oasis, which is my third wildlife documentary, and first attempt to produce a longer (27 minutes) documentary. Oasis takes the viewer on a journey up the Esk Valleys in Midlothian, Scotland, and looks at the less well known birdlife in the valley. Bird behaviour, songs and calls are all shown in this film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0neYAOa44
Over several years I have give talks to local societies, birding clubs and conservation groups about birds in my local area - the Esk Valleys in Midlothian, Scotland. The talks aim to give the public an appreciation of the wildlife that's on the doorstep, if we take the time to look. Oasis targets the same audience so I hope the film has appeal to the general public and to knowledgeable birders alike.
The project developed over two years as a series of planned and opportunistic shots, according to the ebb and flow of birds into the area through the seasons. I didn't know whether I would get the shots I wanted for some of the bird species - some planned shoots have worked out well and others haven't produced any useful material. Some species I never imagined capturing appeared at the most unexpected moments. I didn't log the number of days spent in the field on this project! Through my local film-making society (the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society) I made contact with a composer called Dmytro Morykit. He is very good to work with and has written a short piano score for Oasis. I was astonished at how he could adapt a melody and theme to the different sections of the film, creating different feels while maintaining a thread of continuity.
Oasis has now been shown at four birdwatchers' meetings including the annual Scottish Birdwatchers' Conference in March this year, and has been seen by more than 500 people. I'm very pleased that on the back of this I have invitations to show Oasis at another eight meetings over the next year.
Technical side - filmed with a Canon XL-H1A camera, mostly with its own 20x lens but also with EF adapter and Canon 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 lens. A couple of shots with Canon 7D and 100-400mm lens. Ambient sounds recorded with Zoom H4 digital recorder. Edited in Premiere Pro CS5.0.
Indietalk will, I'm sure, provide a more critical forum for the technical aspects of this film, hence me posting here. I know some of the warts in the film and would appreciate feedback, positive or negative, before I embark on my next project which I will detail later in a seperate post!
Neil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0neYAOa44
Over several years I have give talks to local societies, birding clubs and conservation groups about birds in my local area - the Esk Valleys in Midlothian, Scotland. The talks aim to give the public an appreciation of the wildlife that's on the doorstep, if we take the time to look. Oasis targets the same audience so I hope the film has appeal to the general public and to knowledgeable birders alike.
The project developed over two years as a series of planned and opportunistic shots, according to the ebb and flow of birds into the area through the seasons. I didn't know whether I would get the shots I wanted for some of the bird species - some planned shoots have worked out well and others haven't produced any useful material. Some species I never imagined capturing appeared at the most unexpected moments. I didn't log the number of days spent in the field on this project! Through my local film-making society (the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society) I made contact with a composer called Dmytro Morykit. He is very good to work with and has written a short piano score for Oasis. I was astonished at how he could adapt a melody and theme to the different sections of the film, creating different feels while maintaining a thread of continuity.
Oasis has now been shown at four birdwatchers' meetings including the annual Scottish Birdwatchers' Conference in March this year, and has been seen by more than 500 people. I'm very pleased that on the back of this I have invitations to show Oasis at another eight meetings over the next year.
Technical side - filmed with a Canon XL-H1A camera, mostly with its own 20x lens but also with EF adapter and Canon 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 lens. A couple of shots with Canon 7D and 100-400mm lens. Ambient sounds recorded with Zoom H4 digital recorder. Edited in Premiere Pro CS5.0.
Indietalk will, I'm sure, provide a more critical forum for the technical aspects of this film, hence me posting here. I know some of the warts in the film and would appreciate feedback, positive or negative, before I embark on my next project which I will detail later in a seperate post!
Neil