AMAZING GRACE: THE LITTLE OLYMPIANS

2020 MOFF Official Selection

About This Project

Special Note:

World Premiere

Filmmaker:

Roger McCord

Total Running Time:

0:03:45

Filming Location:

Cumberland, Maine

Filmmaker Origin:

USA

Synopsis:

A 4-minute, slow motion film that explains, and celebrates, the grace and behavior of hummingbirds … while also urging environmental awareness in your own backyard.

Thoughts from the filmmaker:

It took at least 30 shooting sessions and several hundred clips to gather enough striking footage to make a 4-minute film of these tiny hummingbirds. It was a technically difficult task, working with a super-shallow depth of field in a field of view smaller than a postcard. Often the camera lens was inches away from the birds, pre-focused on an area I hoped they would fly in to. I used very fast shutter speeds (at least 1,000th second) and small aperture with two cameras: Sony700 and Sony a7 III. Most important was use of extension rings to maximize the minimum focus on the lenses: a Nikon 180, Zeiss 24-70 and Nikon 55mm. As for the birds? They were fearless and undaunted by the camera’s presence!

This film to be screened at:

8/07/20 – Eastern Promenade – Portland

Category
10/16 Freeport, 8/29 Schoodic, 8/7 Eastern Promenade, MOFF 2020