Mount Grace Priory

[fh1805]

I would welcome feedback on my latest sequence which can be found here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?bz2dlov1bid

The images were taken with a Nikon D70 and Nikkor-Zoom 18-200mm VR lens - all hand-held. The soundtrack comprises Faure's "Cantique de Jean Racine" mixed with birdsongs recorded using my Zoom H4 digital sound-recorder.

I have some doubts in my own mind about certain aspects of the sequence but, at this stage, I will keep these thoughts to myself and refrain from "leading my witnesses"!

Mount Grace Priory is located in North Yorkshire, England a few miles east of Northallerton. The site is owned by the National Trust and is under the management of English Heritage. The priory was an establishment of the Carthusian order. Each monk had his own cottage (or cell, as it is termed) which had its own garden where he would grow herbs and vegetables. The monks only ever came together for the services in the priory's church.

Although it lies just off the very busy A19 main road, it is an incredibly peaceful and spiritual place.

[dpeterso]

I would welcome feedback on my latest sequence which can be found here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?bz2dlov1bid

Very nice Peter! There is very little that I would change. I did hear an ambient hiss in the soundtrack, but I didn't notice it until the program ended. At first I thought it might be the wind or maybe some moving water. I just loved the birds. It created an impression of continuation while man-made structures slowly melt back into the earth. Very powerful images and sound.

Regards,

Dave

[fh1805]

Dave,

Thanks for your comments. I hadn't noticed the hiss you mention. However, one of the pieces I used to mix the ambient sound was recorded in woodland that had a stream flowing through it. Because I know there is running water in the sound mix I probably filter it out in my mind when playing the soundtrack and/or sequence. I guess it's the difference between "hearing" and "listening". We both "heard" the soundtrack but you were "listening" to it.

[Peter S]

Hi Peter,

I have some doubts in my own mind about certain aspects of the sequence but, at this stage, I will keep these thoughts to myself and refrain from "leading my witnesses"!

I think this is a nice concept but for me a few things need a bit more work. Several of the initial images seem to lack real sharpness and depth of field. I know it's a pain to carry a tripod but I find it helps me enormously in getting the combination of speed and aperture I want in landscape images. But I know I find it harder than some to hand hold and keep the camera steady.

Being picky the blur in the Mount Grace title in snowdrops has a sharp edge on the left hand side which jars a bit and image 8 has a rather unattractive flare.

I like the music which fits really well with the subject and I like the birdsong but I am not so sure that the two work together all through the show. It's probably just a matter of taste but I think snippets of bird song at carefully chosen points may have worked a little better.

I would be interested to know (eventually) what your own doubts are and I hope my comments help.

Kind regards

Peter

[fh1805]

Peter,

Thank you for your kind comments. Like you, I wasn't entirely sure about mixing the birdsong and music so equally all the way through. Having read your feedback and "listened" to the soundtrack I think I now know where I want to adjust the balance of the mix. Also, I, too, notice the sharper than desired edge to the blur on the title image and the flare on image 9 each time I play the sequence. But I ask myself, would an audience notice that when they have only the one chance to view the sequence. They're both items that I will work on but secondary to the soundtrack mix.

The other aspect that I didn't really like was the ending. I've put in an hour or two of work on it since I uploaded to MediaFire and it is now much improved I'll have a go at a re-mix of the sound-track and then upload another version to MediaFire.

Watch this space - as they say!

[fh1805]

I have reworked the soundtrack mix, attempted to remove the flare and attempted a better blur on the "title". This version (version 6) also includes a revised opening and ending and some removal of intrusive highlights on certain images.

I'm still not entirely sure about the mix on the soundtrack. I'm loth to reduce the birdsong totally but, by its very nature, the high-frequency notes do still tend to punch through the music track.

Latest version is on MediaFire here: http://www.mediafire.com/?2nrvxg9ddc9

Enjoy!

Further feedback always welcome.

[jfa]

I didn't see the original but enjoyed v6 of your AV very much. The effect on the cross with the zoom and the fads was very effective. Well done Peter.

A small, (very small), critique on the opening and closing soundtrack.

When we hear the birdsong at these points there is a noticeable background "rumble" in the recording. It may be possible to remove this in a sound editor or if not I would suggest bringing the bird song into the soundtrack after the music has started as the music tends to mask this noise, image 3, the white flowers would be an appropriate point to do this at the start. At the end just fade the music very slowly.

I'm still not entirely sure about the mix on the soundtrack. I'm loth to reduce the birdsong totally but, by its very nature, the high-frequency notes do still tend to punch through the music track.

The "high-frequency notes" didn't worry me but there was a little to much birdsong used throughout the show as commented on earlier. Perhaps remove it in the middle where the zoom on the cross is used and where the stone structure is the main subject. Bring it back in on the image of the cross on top of the roof with the lovely soft bare trees in the background.

Just a few small points on a very enjoyable show, thanks for it Peter.

[neil]

I have watched both of the versions and enjooyed them both very much.

I think the second(V6) is just slightly better.

I also found the "floating"cross very effective.

As far as the sound goes, it seems perfect on my machine and ears.

Thanks very much for sharing.

All the Best

Neil

[fh1805]

John/Neil,

Thanks for your comments. Since posting v6 I have made a further "tweak" to the "floating cross" so that it is still moving as the next image begins to fade up. I've also introduced some lateral motion into the second "floating cross" although it still ends up in the same place. It, too, is now programmed to keep moving even after the next image starts to fade up. The overall effect is that there is never a moment of visual stillness during that short seqence - but all the movement and change of opacity is done very slowly in order to match the mood of the music.

John,

Your reference to background "rumble" in the birdsong recording is explained, I think, by the fact that I was hand-holding the Zoom H4 digital recorder - and I think that what you hear is inadvertent handling noise that was picked up by the mics.

[jfa]

Your reference to background "rumble" in the birdsong recording is explained, I think, by the fact that I was hand-holding the Zoom H4 digital recorder - and I think that what you hear is inadvertent handling noise that was picked up by the mics.

I hope you don't mind me copying a few seconds of your shows audio to demonstrate what I mean by "rumble" Peter.

Enclosed on this post are two files, the first direct from the start of the AV and the second is the same file with the "rumble" removed. There is still slight handling noise and a few other very minor thing that could be removed but I think the difference between the two files demonstrates the point.

Best to listen with a little volume increase to hear clearly the difference.

[fh1805]

John,

Thanks for the two sample recordings in your post above. I have to agree that the second recording is much cleaner - but I would say it is too "clean". There is now no ambience at all, just the almost pure notes of the birdsong.

What you have achieved, and for this I thank you, is to point out to me that there is room for further "tweaking" of the soundtrack. I shall spend some time experimenting to try and find a level of cleanliness that retains some of the ambience.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to demonstrate to me exactly what you were hearing.