Completed Video and some thoughts
I finally completed the video I started to edit with Bob Krist two weeks ago. I have included it below. It is also on vimeo if the link below sends you astray. Here is what I have learned about video: It’s fun to shoot and even more fun to think about what to shoot and how to shoot it. This is especially true for all us old-timers who have photographed for years and are in such a rut we don’t recognized it anymore. Learning video (or anything new) gets you out of your photography rut. It took me about 5 hours to shoot the 64 clips of winter streams over three days of shooting. I missed one perfect day for shooting but otherwise I had pretty good luck. It took me about 5 hours of editing to assemble the video and another 5 hours to learn how to do it. Yu will see that the editing technique is very basic but it is good enough for a nice piece. I have the fundamentals down, now I can add the fancy stuff. I used Final Cut Pro X (ten) as my editing software and I found it to be very straight forward and intuitive to use. All the FCP X horror stories that I had heard had me pretty nervous to try to use it but it was a joy to use. I started with iMovie but found it to be frustrating to use. iMovie is like a entry level digital camera- it tells you what to do and then fights you if you try to do something differently. A more sophisticated camera or software works with you. I got frustrated with iMovie in 15 minutes- FCP X was great. Don’t listen to all the naysayers, try it, you’ll like it. To learn FCP X I searched for clear, easy to understand and follow tutorials on the web. There are a ton of choices. the one I used was www.izzyvideo.com. Izzy speaks clearly and slowly and shows you FCP X in an orderly and intuitive way. I went through the first 15 lessons (each lesson is 4-12 minutes long) twice, took notes and then dived right in. FCP X is much more like Lightroom then it is Photoshop as far as ease of using goes. I still have lots to learn with FCP X, don’t get me wrong, but at least now I have a start. I also ordered three books two of which were awful and the third just okay. Still looking for the definitive FCP X book. And the video isn’t finished yet. I need to refine the sound a bit and the video needs a title and closing credits (seems to be the convention). Every time I look at it I see another place that needs a bit more polishing but that’s okay. There’s always tomorrow. Hope you enjoy this little interlude!
Another Video? The Breakfast Thief
I can’t say that people are clamoring for more videos, in fact I can’t say that they have even been noticed by very many people but I can say that I’m going to give you more. Why, might you ask, am I venturing into video when I have finally gotten some mastery of photography? First I haven’t given up photography- and I never will. Second, video is just another way to tell a story and as all those poor suffering souls who have taken a workshops with me know, I am first and foremost a teller of stories. With still photography, video and writing I feel I am just now getting the skills needed to tell a rich, compelling story. With anything new though my learning curve is steep and my ability to not show you my incremental progress limited. I will say that the quality of my video equipment far exceeds the skill that I have with video. I am hoping that it doesn’t exceed my talent but that remains to be seen. I will keep sharing my steps along the video learning curve and include the lessons I have learned. The video I include here is a short silly piece that I did with my friend Brenda Berry in Bob Krist’s kitchen. We were trying to learn the conceptualization of shooting video- what shots we needed and how to shoot them. Brenda did most of the photography, I played the breakfast chump. Bob’s refrigerator played Bob’s refrigerator (there’s very little range to a refrigerator). I will announce the opening date this will play at Sundance next year in a later post. Enjoy!
Another Video for your Digestion
I’ve been down at Bob Krist’s doing a short workshop on video. this is my unfinished work on a stream near my house. Enjoy! Okay, here is the full story: I did a four day private workshop with Bob Krist last week. He is a great friend and is equally curmudgeonly as I am (hard to believe!). The clips for this video I had shot a couple of weeks ago and I brought them down to Bob to have some material to work on. this is what I learned- I didn’t shoot nearly enough clips! This is why the music doesn’t finish and some of the shots don’t quite work (I know, I am hyper critical of my own work). I need more detail images and a few more overall shots. Also I will now add some clips with some camera movement making the photography less tedious. But given what I had this brief video is a nice start. I plan to go out and shoot some more of Big Branch and then add the new to the old and rework the piece. I might even go out today if the weather cooperates.
A Great Opportunity!
Join Jeff Wendorff in California for an incredible 3 day wildlife photography workshop. Photographing wolves, cougars, grizzly bear and even a tiger cub in the glorious foothills outside the Yosemite Valley in Mariposa California. April 19, 2013 For those that are new to the party, every now and then The Triple D Ranch moves their wildlife photography models to the central California foothills of the Eastern Sierra Mountains. You might know it better as the gateway to the fantastic Yosemite Valley. The scenic locale is just perfect for us to photograph several species of animals in their natural environments. Some of the animals that we will photograph like the wolves no longer exist in the wild in California and others like the Mountain Lion and Grizzly Bear are very elusive and nearly impossible to photograph. On this workshop you’ll be able to photograph them as well as several other species. I also have it on good authority that the stork is expected to make a very special delivery this year, a tiger cub! If all goes according to the plan they should have an 8 week old tiger for us to photograph. While the California foothills are not known for tigers, I think that you will agree a baby tiger in the grass is pretty special! In case you need an idea of just what that may look like. Just so you know the baby at the workshop will be half that size or even smaller…CUTE!!!! Tiger Cub – California Workshop You can read all of the workshop details on Wildlife Workshops…HERE. Share this: Pinterest Facebook4 Reddit Twitter Email Digg Tumblr StumbleUpon Google +1 Related posts: Announcing Alaska Photography Workshop 2013 I am very happy to announce that I am offering a workshop in Alaska next spring and I am even more enthused that the trip is in partnership with Lindblad’s Expeditions and National Geographic! … Winter Wildlife Photography Workshop 2 Spaces Left I am about to fill the second wildlife photography workshop January 13-18, 2013…only 2 spaces left! It is a glorious time of the year to photograph at the ranch and if all goes as predicted this will be another spectacular workshop. Why you ask? The amazing group of animals that…