My short film "Montipora"

[Tremont]

The first two minutes of my (9 minute long) short film about Montipora.

Shot entirely in time-lapse, mostly with a Canon 5D Mark ii + MP-E 65 mm (and the 100 mm for a few shots that are later in the film).

I wouldn't call it a documentary...

http://www.vimeo.com/4858287

-Tre

 

[SeanT]

Simply beautiful photography.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[swjim]

That is VERY cool! Great job! What did you use to edit it? How many total frames were used?

 

[Tremont]

It's edited with Vegas/virtualdub and a little bit of after effects. After finishing the film, my directory has 82,000 frames total taken, but only ~16,000 of those made it it into the film.

-Tre

 

[Recty]

Very very very nice.

I cant believe the dedication to the project you must have Much more than I do towards photography and aquariums for sure.

 

[maroun.c]

Excellent work

 

[jmadison]

NEAT! Great cam work, great corals!

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Oh My God. I didn't want it to stop. This project has been on my mind for a long time and you lived up to the hype. The choreography was excellent and I feel safe saying that this is the greatest photography I have ever seen on reef central. Simply Amazing. Inspiring. Sensational.

 

[IPT]

That is amazing. Great job with the editing and choreographing with the music. Really impressive my friend, really impressive.

 

[Reef Bass]

Yes, very well done! Great photography. You make me want to pick up the MPE65 lens even though I have other needs and priorities at the moment.

I like the time lapse aspect and how the polyps change / move. Makes it more interesting than simply a "fly by" of good looking though static polyps. And much more interesting than a slide show of static shots.

I see you worked out your LED sun issues.

I enjoyed the last 30 seconds with lots of bright colorful polyp shots more than the beginning. While the silhouetted polyps with arching illumination was very pretty, it went on a bit long, imho.

What a TREmendous number of frames. TREmendously well done. TREmendously beautiful.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[kb27973]

I agree with Reef Bass about the beginning being just a tad to long, but fantastic none the less. That Superman is amazing.

Ken

 

[Tremont]

Thanks everyone!

Regarding the length at the beginning, I kinda just went along with the song. It has a lull at the beginning that leads up to a big build up and it didn't feel right to start showing the corals prior to that big build up...

I'm not posting the rest of the film online while I shop it around (trying to get it shown at some short film festivals etc..).

This film has been the most fun I've ever had working on a project. It may seem like it was hard or a lot of work but the moment I saw how cool this stuff looks in time lapse, it became *easy*.

I also have a demo reel that I made like 4 months ago I want to post online...it was all done with my xsi and the canon 100 mm. People may find it more interesting because it shows off pretty much all the major varieties of coral, some of which have much more interesting behavior than Montipora polyps that just tend to sit there and wiggle (for example, I have an awesome shot of a Baby's breath favia warfing down some mysid). The only problem is, it uses the close encounters of the third kind soundtrack for which I don't have the rights to use. A friend of mine is trying his hand at scoring it himself, I'll post it up when he's done.

-Tre

 

[kb27973]

Hey - I've got a question on lens if you don't mind. A couple of weeks ago I got a little carried away with my top down box and Canon 100mm Macro. Before I was aware of it half the top down box was full of water. Needless to say 100mm Macro no worky anymore. Since you have both, if you had to choose either the MP-E 65 mm OR the 100mm Macro which would you choose? I'm going to get one or the other but not both. I like taking close up shots.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Superstretch18]

Amazing...

 

[Tremont]

If you are happy with the magnification provided by the 100 mm, it's a fine lens to use. The only reason to get the MP-E is if you want to go higher magnification and have control over the framing at any magnification 1-5x. You lose working distance though. You pretty much must be able to put corals right up against the glass (and you really should have a focus rail) to shoot them with the MP-E. Anything over 3 inches and you won't be able to get it in focus. I really like the MP-E because it allows me to go so small that I see stuff that I couldn't see with my own eyes and have full control over the framing/composition, but it is someone of a niche lens as opposed to the highly versatile 100 mm which can be used at any working distance.

-Tre

 

[kb27973]

Thanks for the info Tre. Most of my coral is not movable so I guess that means I will need to buy another 100mm Macro. Still can't believe I did that with my old lens.

Ken

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Let that be a lesson to anyone building an acrylic box. Measure 3 times, cut as many times as you need, and test it!

I am assuming it leaked...if you pressed the box down so far that it spilled over the edge then I just don't know what to say!

 

[kb27973]

No it didn't leak. That leaves option 2. :mixed: I was trying to get a good shot of my Microcladus and shoved it just a little to far. Sucks seeing water on the inside of the lens!

Ken

 

[Reef Bass]

:eek1:

 

[melev]

You could build one of these instead. You'd have to submerge the entire camera to get it wet. :lol:

Yes, it's big. Yes, it's bulky. Yes, it's ugly. But I can get some pretty nice shots with it. Link

Tremont, that video is incredible!