"The River" by Kevin J Railsback

[n8ture]

Here's a short film I did for a wildlife/nature film challenge.
We had three weeks to shoot a film based on the theme "Habitat."

I chose the river as my habitat.

Shot with the HPX-170, stock lens.

You can view it HERE (http://exposureroom.com/theriver)

[Sneakle]

Nice work Kevin!

[Stevet]

Very nice Kevin.
You really caught the magic moment in this footage.

[Derrick_SA]

nice piece, enjoyed it,

the sunlight in the beginning is awesome!

- Derrick

[MisterCat]

Great shots. Were you using a slider on those opening shots?

[n8ture]

Yes, I used the indiSliderpro for those opening shots.

[dantewaters]

Well done... Quite compelling.

[PaPa]

wow, i thoroughly enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing!
the indieslider looks like it delivers a great bang for the buck.

I guess you had no issues with wobble? That is one thing i was always concerned with.

[Justyn]

Kevin, This is a really nicely crafted piece. Did you sell your HVX and move to the 170? How are you digging it? How do you like the indi-slider. Seems like a really quick and simple set-up so I'd be interested in hearing y our opinion...

cheers

[USLatin]

Spectacular opening shots!

My 0.02:
Fade your VO in and out, you are getting clips and even without those the floor noise is too noticeable.

[n8ture]

USLatin,

There's a new version up here (http://exposureroom.com/theriver) that Steven Dempsey helped with the audio mix.

Once I listened with headphones, I could hear all the audio issues but with my external speakers, everything sounded great.

I guess I'll have to make sure I listen with a set of cans to make sure the audio is ok.

Justyn,

I got rid of the HVX-200 and picked up the 170.
I love it SO much more than the original 200. Smaller, lighter, MUCH better image, lots of new features. Glad I made the change.

Love the indiSlider but it's pretty heavy to lug around. Twelve pounds I think for the 36: one. But it sure adds something to the image!
I want to get a bag for it so I can lug it over my shoulder to make longer hikes possible.

It is pretty easy to set up. You want to make sure you have a solid head because when the camera slides off center it puts some strain on the head.

Also a good deal to sandbag your tripod. You get that weight moving off center and it can make your tripod a little tippy.

But I think the indiSlider and the 170 did a great job on this film.

[Lez]

Excellent job.. the footage looks fantastic.. personally I would like to have heard a female voice-over... I think a softer motherly voice would have suited...

I've also been working on environmental river stories....

http://www.youtube.com/user/LesHerstik

Well done...

Cheers

[FREUDENBERG_FILMS]

Not just good footage excellet editing also Kevin.

I think a female voice over would be nice however the voice over thats on the clip creditied to Bob Safay suites it perfectly.
If you used a female voice I would think a mature voice would have suited to say represent mother earth. But like I said the male voice over suites perfectly.

[n8ture]

Thanks for the comments!

This film was done for a nature film challenge. We had three weeks to do a film based on the theme "Habitat."

I had heard Bob Safay's voice on a film he had done for one of these challenges last year. To me, it felt like his was a voice of wisdom that had existed through the ages.

I can understand how a female voice, ala Mother Nature, could certainly add a different tone.

I think it would be interesting to see if a females voice would create a different emotional response from viewers than a male voice. Anyone know any women with good voices?

I hope Bob and I can work on future projects together. I had a great time putting this one together.

[lipslide]

Some absolutely beautiful images Kevin. You should be very pleased with yourself.

I have one question though, in the opening shots, did you do anything to reduce the vertical smear the sun usually causes? It seemed there wasn't any at all. I have alot of trouble with the vertical smear in shots and would love to know how to make them look like yours!

Keep up the great work!

[n8ture]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

A lot of these shots were specifically planned to take advantage of the capabilities of the HPX-170.

That was the whole reason I traded up from the HVX-200. Better low light capability and less smear.

If I had shot those opening scenes with my 200, there would have been a giant spike in the shot from all the smear.

But, the 170 was fantastic. Handled those right into the sun shots as well as the low light stuff.

One shot that I was really interested to see how it turned out was the tree branch passing in front of the sun. Turned out just great I think. :)

[LuckyStudio 13]

I am glad to see someone else cares about our planet. Awesome piece of work you have there !