The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

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milmoejoe
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The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by milmoejoe »

Hi All,

Checking in from a long hiatus here in the DC area. I've been in the field for the past several months, working on the development of a short documentary on Appalachian salamanders, called "The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia". This was an outreach initiative for an IUCN working group on Appalachian salamander conservation that formed at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in 2008. Filming took place from July 2010-April 2011, ranging from NY down to northern GA. Footage was captured exclusively with Canon HDdSLR equipment and video editing took place in Final Cut Pro 7. This was my first time shooting and editing video, so this short film simply represents a seed to a larger campaign on Appalachian salamander conservation. Huge thanks to everyone here who've helped out in the field, over the phone, facilitating connections and just helping to make it happen. Stay tuned for more information about on the filming process, video/photo/audio equipment, settings and editing!


[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/26202702[/vimeo]
J-Miz
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by J-Miz »

Off to work soon so I couldn't watch all of the video...I'd say about half. But amazing work, Joe...quality like what I'd expect from a show on the Discovery Channel. Having Canon DSLR equipment but having not played with the video features yet I'd be interested in hearing what you used and how you created this great video :)
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Peter84Jenkins
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Peter84Jenkins »

Amazing! Very nice work.
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justinm
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by justinm »

I'm stamping this with Epic, I loved it and I'm craving more!
Biolog_Guy TN
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Biolog_Guy TN »

I'll have to agree with Justin in saying that this was Epic!!!! Great work and an incredible video.

Thanks for sharing this.

John Maxwell
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Martti Niskanen
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Martti Niskanen »

Very nice work.
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DCooper
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by DCooper »

Absolutely fantastic! Thanks for sharing, I greatly enjoyed every second. Your passion shows in your work. Great job!
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geckoguy747
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by geckoguy747 »

outstanding!
Paul White
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Paul White »

Amazing work! I've posted it up on my FB :) That's a wonderful video.
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Steve Atkins
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Steve Atkins »

If you could re-edit it so it showed how dangerous and scary salamanders can be, they might play it on Animal Planet

Seriously, great job. :thumb:
Paul White
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Paul White »

hey if you're an earthworm, salamanders ARE scary evil monsters :lol:
If you're me they cute slimy interesting pretty different fascinating, etc.
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ALT
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by ALT »

Great stuff Joe! :thumb:
OntarioHerper
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by OntarioHerper »

wheres the like button
mikemike
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by mikemike »

Awesome video, Joe
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Jason B
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Jason B »

I really like all the close up shots of the salamander - especially the one swallowing the grub. If you took out the inaccurate comments regarding surface mining you'd have a real nice video.
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pete
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by pete »

Very cool video :thumb:

keep any inaccurate material, mountaintop removal is a crime
milmoejoe
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by milmoejoe »

Thanks everyone for the comments! Jason B, Pete- I really appreciate the specific comments, re: "MTR is a crime". As a video editing newb, I was challenged with going from about 80 hours of original footage down to a little over ten minutes. Granted, much of that was camera rolling for hours on end, waiting for various sally behaviors/light/etc, but after two months of editing, my head was spinning, and I easily missed important details like that that end up making a huge difference.

In terms of the footage, I filmed exclusively with the Canon 1d Mark IV (16-35, 50/1.2, 100L IS macro and 70-200IS lenses). Audio was done with both in-camera and external sound with shotgun mic and Zoom H4n. I am working on a more technical writeup, getting into the weeds with process, settings, audio, transcoding, post, and so forth.

Again, it is my hope that this project is just a seed for a larger documentary and conservation photography project. One small grant already secured, which will cover some travel expenses and an underwater housing for footage of hellbenders in habitat. Look forward to linking up with more folks who are interested in the field.

Thanks again!

Joe

Image
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Dan Krull
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Dan Krull »

VERY NICELY DONE. Love the combination of video and stills in the "native drummer scene"

Wonderful work.


DAN
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Crazins
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Crazins »

Fantastic video! I just wish the people who could stop MTR would stop viewing the protestors as liberal, birkenstock wearing, hippie dippie, treehugging a$$holes, so they would take them seriously. (Sorry for the ambiguous pronouns, but you get it)

-Marisa
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BDSkinner
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by BDSkinner »

80 hours of video, I could watch salamanders all day! If you ever come by Watauga Co. let me know.

Thank you for your work on that.
dthor68
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by dthor68 »

Very nice. I have always been more interested in snakes, never paid much attention to the salamanders. A couple years ago I found a "Red Ear" Jordons and have been in love ever since. Cant wait to see more. If the goal is to stop MTR, I really hope it works. Personally, I had no idea such a thing occured.

JasonB, can you tell us what information is innacurate about MTR(surface mining)?
milmoejoe
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by milmoejoe »

My primary goal here was simply to connect people to this little-known and precious resource that lies right here in our own backyards. I'll admit, I was quick to jump on a plane and head to the tropics for herp photography, so I was happy to get engaged with something close to home. This was all new to me- salamanders, cinematography, documentary filmmaking, video editing, etc.

MTR was just one in a suite of threats affecting salamander survival. My original title for the film was "Islands in the Sky" - really focusing in on the unique mountaintop habitat and their vulnerability to threats affecting those islands. Unfortunately, I soon found that population scenarios were isolated throughout Appalachia, there was some uncertainty in regards to implications of climate change, and even some researchers who were beginning to study the effects of MTR on herps were partially funded by energy companies, so they couldn't get into great detail without jeopardizing relationships.

The MTR interviewee was the only one that really crossed the advocacy line, pushing for the halt of mountaintop removal mining practices. I believe he was being called on an inaccuracy that MTR is not in fact a breach of the law, rather an improperly stated opinion of ethical conduct. In a perfect world, I would have been able to provide a counter argument *for* MTR on behalf of the energy companies, but I wasn't able to make that happen. It's an interesting environmental justice scenario that's really just starting to gain momentum. If you're interested in more on MTR, here's a great film on MTR in Appalachia: http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2198

So, long story short, I really just wanted to showcase these cool critters and their habitat, generate awareness and get folks thinking about population declines and conservation.
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chrish
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by chrish »

Very nicely done.

I hope you can find a way to have more people see this, it's an important documentary.
Crotalus
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Crotalus »

Nicely done!
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Norman M. Schlincter
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Norman M. Schlincter »

Such a wonderful short film. My daughter's husband works in the mining industry in North Carolina and this is very disturbing indeed.
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Cole Grover
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Re: The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia (new short documentary)

Post by Cole Grover »

Bad. Ass. Very nicely done. I've always been a fan of your photography, so this was like icing on the cake. Keep it up - we want more!

-Cole
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