WILDLIFE FILMMAKING 101 - Shooting for the EDIT | How to film a basic sequence for the edit

[@jeremyedwards8320]

Fantastic! Lovely environment to explain this.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much Jeremy.! Really appreciate you taking the time to comment and glad you enjoyed the vid .! Best wishes to you..g

[@albe2002]

Finally I've found my real coach for my own growth in wild environment video footage! Thanks a lot!!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Grazie mille Alberto..! I'm happy you enjoy my videos..!

[@petersterling5334]

Very nice Video! I've been a Pro Extreme Sports Photographer and Filmmaker for 35 Years and I'm Really enjoying your Videos! There is always something to learn and I appreciate your Clear concise easy to Understand Delivery!!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much Peter for saying so..! I’m sure there is a ton I could learn from you with your background..!! Cheers my friend, g

[@kasturiranganp]

These are very useful views and thoughts. I like your candid way of speaking.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much.. so glad you found it interesting.

[@ivanhendricks1412]

That sequence was awesome. Thank you for your tips and advice. I’m trying to transition from photography only to now also incorporating video. So glad that I came across your channel.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much Ivan.. I'm happy you are finding my videos of use. Cheers g

[@davidscebat8914]

The kind of humbleness you can reach only when you're at the top of the foodchain 👌

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much David for your very kind comment..! If only it were true.!! 😊.. all the best to you.. g

[@MrIanWebb]

That's an amazing mic, I can't hear that traffic sound at all! Thanks for the great tips.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

👍 thx again Ian..!

[@andrewmccullough1936]

Interesting and entertaining!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you Andrew.!

[@andrewnoden9117]

Thank you George, really helpful Andrew in Ottawa Canada

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

You are very welcome Andrew.!

[@splacenature]

Such useful videos, thanks for this insight. At the moment, I only do a bit of wildlife photography, but I eventually want to expand into video and wildlife filmmaking, so I'm finding your content very helpful as a starting point for making sense of where to start. One question that I have, if you possibly mind answering- Do you always get the composition right in the field, or do you ever have to slighly recompose the shot in the edit? Obviously, this is commonly done in photography but was unsure about video and wildlife filmmaking Cheers!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hi Scott and thank you for your comment. 99% of the time I will try to get it right in camera/in the field.. I may occasionally have to correct a pan where the animal got away from me a bit. I may also use a dynamic zoom in edit to push in or out of a subject for effect. But I will never shoot a scene with the thought that I will crop into it later as you might do in photography. Hope that helps..? All the best.. g

[@splacenature]

@GeorgeSBlonsky Thanks, George! That thoroughly answers my question exactly how I intended it 🙂 I really appreciate that you've taken the time to answer. Look forward to more videos! Scott

[@xbergerin]

That is very insightful and inspiring - thank you very much! I am looking forward to more of those 101-Videos.. you really get a feeling how much time and effort especially wildlife documentaries require. As for the reframing part - do you mostly just keep recording when you change for wide, midway or close shots? Or do you do separate clips? And as you asked: the first sequence was for me the more interesting one - naturally, I think, as it included different settings and camera movements. Very nice to watch.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much for your comment and I am glad you liked it. Regarding reframing.. I mostly stop/start so as to have separate shots. It is easier for the editors to look at many short clips rather than having to scrub through really long shots to find what they are looking for.

[@xbergerin]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky thank you for your answer! 😊

[@dougsphoto]

Hi again G, I've been watching videos on your channel this morning and are really enjoying but I was wondering if you ever record the sounds of the environment and if so where's your mic as I haven't seen a video with it on yet and as sound are so important would your advice be stock libraries if say the lake is in town and my mic pickup people talking cars and off course plains or just the right relaxing kind of music. Also what percentage would you say you pan with action or do mostly film a static frame letting the birds enter and exit from the frame and as the final film is often filmed over several days is it a problem if its sunny in some and overrated in others, what advice can you give on that. thx a mil Doug

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

No worries Doug... taking your questions one by one: Sound - unfortunately there is a lot of unwanted ambient noise these days because even though we are filming & photographing wildlife in "wilderness" areas some man made sounds still do occur, be it cars, trains, tractors, boats etc... so I do use a lot of soundscape from stock libraries. If filming for myself I do also record on and off camera sound if I will need to use very specific sounds to the scene but I also use a lot of music overlayed. When filming for a production I normally shoot "silent" and the production team's sound team takes care of the sound from library. Panning vs Static Shots - to be honest I couldn't guess a percentage but I shoot a lot of both depending on the story I'm telling and how the action/behaviour unfolds... for some stories (especially small birds.!) panning is almost impossible because of the speed of the subject. Matching shots - it is quite important when showing a particular instance/event ie.. editing a single sequence in part of a story. In this case for example, a sequence showing the storks hunting in the rain but then feeding their chicks in the sunshine could be problematic but you could work around it by cutting in some B-roll between the shots showing weather moving in or something else tying them together. If it's a different chapter of the story then it doesn't really matter if the weather/light is different between the two shots... so a shot of the pair mating can have different light/weather conditions to a shot later in the story of them feeding the chicks. Hope that makes some sense.? all the best, g

[@dougsphoto]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky awesome and thx for in-depth reply much appreciated

[@Koensol]

Hey George, a question that I've been wondering about lately has to do with the 180 degree shutter rule for the smooth motion blur. Do you use nd filters when out in the field, or do you close down your aperture to reduce the exposure? Or do you mainly use slowmotion so you can go for a higher shutter speed? I'm asking because using nd filters sounds cumbersome and impractical when out in the field. Thanks in advance for any input!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hey Koen, it’s actually a combination of all those.. at the mo in the midst of a very hot summer here in Greece I tend to only shoot in the early mornings when the light is at it’s least harsh and the temps a bit cooler so I don’t get heat distortion so I can usually shoot without an ND and just take advantage of aperture. I use a variable ND when I have no other choice and shoot a lot of footage at 50 and 100 fps. I also use a polariser especially when shooting around the lake which helps cut down some light too. Hope of some help.? Cheers g

[@Koensol]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky Yes thanks. I'm not sure if I want to get into ND filters for now as apart from photo/videography I am also an avid hiker. So I like to pack light and prefer not having to mess with too many lenses/filters. Its why I chose to go for a Sony RX10 IV, to have decent all round capabilities. And I have a dji action 3 on the side for quick shooting while moving and under water stuff. I think the way you do it is sensible. Stopping down aperture works for me so far, but it limits your creative choices. Its a matter of trade offs...

[@MrExel47]

How did you get rid for the noise from the car that passed behind you while you are talking?

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hi again Axel.. I use the DJI Mic which is in itself very effective at excluding background noise but I also used voice isolation in DaVinci Resolve which is a fantastic tool.. hope that helps.. g

[@MrExel47]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky thanks for the explanation. I use first generation of the Rode wireless go and edit in Premiere Pro. I was thinking about switching to DaVinci as well.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

I moved across from Final Cut and I would never go back now.. the colour grading in DaVinci is awesome..!

[@matthewoakesphotography]

I love love love your videos, but one note I would like to say is that when you talk I bring the volume up (a lot) and when adds come up my room sounds like fireworks are going off and same as when you put music. just something that I wanted to mention, thanks for the tips!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you Matthew and your point is noted.. the sound levels are somewhat of a learning curve for me.. I will do better..! Thx for letting me know..g

[@matthewoakesphotography]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky totally understand, I just got a few sound scares when the adds suddenly popped up out of nowhere 😅 Amazing videos and I just started following you on IG as I love your photography just as much as your videos!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you so much Matthew.. very kind of you to say so and it is very much appreciated.! I watched a few tutorials on sound balancing so hopefully my audio will be getting a bit better from now on.! Do let me know if otherwise as it’s rare to get honest feedback and it is very much needed.! All the best to you.. g

[@peterguardiolaph]

Thank you very much for your tips and amazing content, regards

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank youPeter..! I’m happy you found it useful. All the best to you.. g

[@marieta.s]

Hi George, the video was very much appreciated as always. Personally I liked the first sequence and the closing shot of the second sequence. Also I just wanted to pass some new information to you in case you are interested. Sandisk has come up with a new system for saving footage into nvme hard drives that can be transferred to what seems like a NAS system for editing and storage. Here is the link from the B&H presentation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnaTfZxqhMl1Y80

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hi Marieta, many thanks for your comment and the link..! Hope you are well.. best wishes to you.. g

[@wlacalle]

Wonderful information! Thanks 🙏

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hey.. thanks so much and glad you found it useful.. all the best.. g

[@philipblair7307]

Very useful George, thank you very much

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thank you for taking the time to comment Philip..! Much appreciated.

[@petersundkvist5374]

Both sequences were great. Sequence 2 missing the great shoot of the bird in the field gathering twigs and flying home and sequence 1 missing the sunset ending. If I have to select I choose sequence 1 because of that shoot.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Thanks again Peter.. much appreciate your feedback.

[@petersundkvist5374]

@@GeorgeSBlonsky You are welcome 🙂 I just discovered your channel 🙂