Here's my film on underwater hockey...

[hirudin]

Storyboarded, shot and edited over the course of four months from April to July. Here are some details:

Camera: Bolex H8 RX4, lens: 5.5mm Switar
Film: R8 Tri-X and 100D.
Processing: Niagara Labs
Telecine: John Gledhill, Bitworks Inc.
NLE: Kdenlive (a bit buggy, but it handles sequential jpegs so much better than FCPX)

Enjoy and let me know if you have any comments, criticism or suggestions for the future... thanks!

http://vimeo.com/45976943

[Scotness]

I really enjoyed that - well done

I spent most of my time thinking about underwater hockey and not film making - which is a tribute to the film making. I liked the mix of black and white and colour for the underwater sequences. The sound synch was good on the bloke you interviewed - how did you do that?

The only bit of advice/criticism I would have is that you should probably crop in past the vinjetting on the frame edges. On a TV that might be lost in the overscan but for everyone looking at this on a computer screen it doesn't look right. You can accept graininess and colour gamut etc as a stylistic thing - but vinjetting looks like a technical error in my opinion. You might even be able to pull off a 16:9 crop if you wanted to - have you thought about that? Also what was your underwater housing?

Anyway well done again - it actually reminded me of one of those 16mm educational films I used to get at primary school in the 70's!

Scot

[Andersens Tears]

Oh pooh, the link doesnt work on my mobile device! I have been looking forward to seeing this! I will log in on a computer with a nice screen to watch, and then come back to you!
Thanks for sharing!

[Andersens Tears]

Enjoy and let me know if you have any comments, criticism or suggestions for the future... thanks!

http://vimeo.com/45976943

Great! I really enjoyed watching that, since you first mentioned it on the forum I was looking forward to the result. I liked the mix of Black & White and Colour photography, I liked the textures of the images and didn't really have a problem with the vingetting as it is just one of the imperfections of shooting the format that I like - the light leaks colour bleeds and rough synch - but these are not criticisms I think that by choosing to shoot your documentary this way your subject was visually elevated somewhat more. I can only imagine how it would have look if it had been shot digital - too clean perhaps? I liked the fact the most of the players did not have exceptionally toned physiques, suggesting that anyone can give it a go - yet they are still training their bodies in the way that they learn to hold their breath for extended times.

I liked all the shots and the way that they flowed together - you did a nice job of that. The only thing I did not like was the 'Alarm Clock' shot, it is most likely a personal thing but I don't know how many times I have seen that motif used, it is like a Hollywood cliche type of thing. Was there a tripod in shot? I used to have that problem a lot, shooting as a one man crew I'd somehow manage to get the tripod in shot! I reckon most likely in this case you couldn't see it in the viewfinder as it was to the extreme right and possibly wasn't covered by the viewfinder optics!

My verdict: - Nice one! You found a subject that not many people know much about and made a nice short and succinct film about the subject that is perfect for festivals or even as a nice little extra between programmes on TV.

I think you should continue you pick subjects that are interesting yet little known and continue giving the audience something new to think about, by making more short documentaries - a great medium!. Most improtantly it needs to be something that is of interest to you, which showed in this film!

What is your next film?

All the best!

Jamie

[BAC]

That was a great example of what can be done with Regular 8mm film. I love the shots where you go seamlessly from Black and white above the water to color underwater. Did you use the Bolex underwater housing? It would be interesting to hear how it was to work with. Was it cumbersome, did you have to refurbish it to make it water tight? Did you shoot it at 24 fps? It looks like it was shot at an indoor pool. Was the lighting sufficient to shoot the underwater scenes or did you use flood lights? Great job and thanks for sharing!

[hirudin]

Thanks for the feedback!

Scotness: Sound sync was done with an ESM motor with crystal sync. The recorder was a Canon 550D with mic, boom & clapper board. I would match the frame from the 550D digital with the frame from the telecine, then check the sync at the end of the shot. I actually like the vignetting...

Jamie: I'll make sure to not tell the folks at hockey about their untoned physiques!! ;) Yeah, there was a tripod, but as you postulate, it was a mistake... I was so concerned about making sure the mic was out of shot I overlooked the tripod. I have a new film in the works, another short form documentary, but it may be digital simply because it will suit the subject matter better than film... but I have four 100ft rolls of tri-X and some 100D waiting for the perfect project... I want to get my camera converted to UP8 and get some other goodies installed, so I'll do the next film in the downtime for that then go back to film for the project after.

BAC: Thanks! Yeah... roto & compositing. Yes, I used the Bolex underwater housing. I bought mine from a gentleman in Chile, and it came with an underwater light meter & macro port (which maybe handy at some point). It was heavy, cumbersome but very well balanced and easy to use; a real tank! No refurbishment necessary. A friend and I created a pan-tilt head & dolly for it for underwater use which worked out well. Yep, indoor pool. The lighting was sufficient to shoot 100D at f1.6, though the dof had to be carefully selected... I didn't always get it right. Actually, my metering for the black and white was much poorer... I ended up unwittingly exposing for the highlight and the shadows suffered. I need to take more care to expose for the shadows. The black and white where the diver is getting ready at the poolside used extra lighting, otherwise it was basically all existent lighting. Oh, and yes, all 24fps.

Thanks again!

-Jesse-

[grainy]

great film Jesse - I agree with everyone here about the "good things", love the color/bw mix.
Subject matter is inherently interesting, the addition of women to the mix keeps it lively as well.
The underwater photography is just excellent. I found myself holding my breath at points. Maybe because I'm not much of a swimmer!
I do have to agree with Andersons about the alarm clock - I would've just started right away. Also not sure 5 seconds is better title/subtitle than simply Underwater Hockey.
Very nice work, thanks for posting

[Andersens Tears]

Jamie: I'll make sure to not tell the folks at hockey about their untoned physiques!! ;)

Well, that's not exactly what I said - I said that they did not have 'exeptionaly well toned physiques' meaning that they are not completely out of shape but are not hardened gym enthusiasts either!

I have a new film in the works, another short form documentary, but it may be digital simply because it will suit the subject matter better than film...

Well that is fair enough, film doesn't suit every subject Good luck with the project!

but I have four 100ft rolls of tri-X and some 100D waiting for the perfect project... I want to get my camera converted to UP8 and get some other goodies installed, so I'll do the next film in the downtime for that then go back to film for the project after.
-Jesse-

That sounds lovely - look forward to it!

/Jamie

[JeremyC]

Great Film! Thankyou for the work and for allowing us all to have a look at it.

My techhy question is what sort of telecine/scanning system did the transfer people use?