Really fantastic. Can't believe this was shot on a 5D.

Amazing. Great shots.

Discovery Channel Worthy, Thank you for sharing this, I want more! USA USA USA!

Canon 5D Mark II... as in.. the same 5D that's meant to take stills?? Seriously?

Really astonishing!
I grew up near the Afghanistan boarder in Pakistan. I feel really sorry for the villagers. Somehow the Americans dont really seem like professionals :x

How did you do your sound for the video?

wow.

Great work! Excellent edit.

Real.

Unfortunately civilian casualties are always going to happen. It's simply an unavoidable part of war. It happened in the Civil War it happened in World War II and its going to happen now. Especially in that part of the world when the enemy look and dress just like the civilians. "It's just war"

that was amazing

will there be any shots of actual fighting?

Amazing, This left me wanting to see more. This is the first 5dmkII video that I've seen that truly demonstrates the DSLR potential for hard news coverage.

Do you have longer edits? is this part of a bigger project? If anyone still believes that this style of shooting with DSLR's is just a passing fad then think again.

good filming, great project, end the war

Mission failed, game over.

did you use any type of should mount when shooting? what kind? did you use anything to protect your camera "camera armor" etc... also what kind of pc or mac are you using to edit. I have a 5d and will be heading to Afghanistan soon. So sorry for all the questions. Great shots thanks...

I am excited to see the finished project. As a 5Dm2 owner I am astonished. I would like you to let us know about your sound capture. Keep up the great work.

Very nicely done indeed. A difficult subject, tough environment, but at the end of it something that really conveys the message and I would love to see more. Thanks

It's great that you got this footage out and put here for a perspective that is not usually heard or seen. Great footage.

"Even philosophers will praise war as ennobling mankind, forgetting the Greek who said: War is bad in that it begets more evil than it kills." (Immanuel Kant, unsourced)

refreshing to see another photog who knows how to use a new tool to it's strengths. great command of light with the AE lock. all around great storytelling. looking forward to the finished product.

Keep up the amazing work! This is truly exciting times :)

Fantastic work on a complex subject. I hope to see more soon.

+1 @Fergus

Dang, the quality from your camera is stunning. Convergence is here!

so was sound done with a field recorder or in cam?
Some of the audio was rock sold other parts iffy. Great piece overall.

Thanks for the comments. This is a preview of a longer project I am working on in Afghanistan. I used a sennheiser me 66 and sennheiser g2 wireless system with a custom made spliced xlr to mini jack cable. This failed after the second day in the field so i had to use my backup sennheiser mke400. The windshield blew off in a helicopter right after, so had to cut and duct tape the windshield from the me 66 on to the mke400. so, getting good sound was a challenge. I used a glidcam 2000 with body pod for stabilization. I have built custom 'wings' to attach a beachtek 2xa-2s and me-66 for my next trip.

i know this is a pro-ish video sharing website, and that the community here is about video editing and film production. yet... there's something wrong here, i can't put my finger on it.

Wallace Shawn reads Howard Zinn, "The Problem Is Civil Obedience" (November 1970)

vimeo.com/1365509

The title of the video might be an historical reference to the conter-insurgency campaign conducted in Malaysia in the 1950s - though the words of the Afghans in the video would seem to give the title an ironic twist in this case.

It is not clear to me (and there's no reason why it should be of course) what America's strategic goals in Afghanistan are, nor whether the American government has given its military commanders in Afghanistan a clear mandate regarding goals to be achieved there, nor whether those commanders dispose of sufficient resources for achieving any such goals within some reasonable time-frame.

Anyone here know if there is any material available on the web on these subjects ?

I just saw this:
crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6007&l=1
on what they might be.

Perhaps in the White House vimeo Channel ? If not then perhaps a special request to the POTUS ? ;-)

If America should not have a clear policy regarding Afghanistan, or if the military should not have a clear mandate or not have sufficient resources to achieve that mandate, then that would seem a doubly tragic state of affairs for all the people involved in the conflict.

Good video.

seeing it for the third time... And it's amazing what you've done

wtf.. i read a few people here which are really impressed by the intense shots and atmosphere created. personally id love to do the same (go there and make a movie to show people what its like to live under these "conditions").

on the other side, some comments make me vomit on my keyboard..........

ANYWAY!
fantastic work you've done there.

just for conversation:
what would it be like to stop documenting the day of a marine and start documentating a day of a afgahn family.
i think "the giant buddhas" was the only movie which tried that..

(sorry 4 bad english ;)

Wow....great video. What lens did you use?

really enjoyed the composition and editing. excellent story telling.

I'd like to know how using the 5D would compare to using something like an HPX-170, or HVX-200?

Great work BTW- War is very hard to look at, I can't imagine being in your shoes. This project on such a controversial war must be very difficult for you as a film maker to tell the truth, and not sway in one political direction or another.

I saw a very good war documentary a few years ago that really was well balanced, it made me realize that there are two sides to every story.... and also the truth ;) (which we may never know)

Wow this is tremendous! Its pushing me to pick up a 5D now!

don't get killed by an americain !!

Beautifully shot. Brilliant to see both sides of the story being represented. Really good to hear the voices of the afghans, thank you for not dubbing them.

Some of the low light stuff the codec looks like it's struggling. Is that the camera?

I am fallen in love with 5D M2 after this shot! I am from AFG, but don't wanna comment the content!

There is something disturbing about reading comments focused on video technique, editing and storytelling, when the subject is so grave.
I understand the interest for how it was done, but feel uncomfortable. In the face of such a difficult situation, shouldn't we have the decency to leave less important concerns aside?

Great work Danfung, this is a very powerful story and I am glad you are bringing forward images from the middle of it all. I recently finished an internship with WpN and I really admired your work while I was there. take care and good luck with the shooting

This is an amazing piece of documentary work, on a subject that "has been done". So harrowing, it's hard to look away for even a second. What a wonderful, heart-wrenching, ambiguous ending to the trailer, the man in the truck, hands covering his face in grief. Leaves so many questions...

The camera shines in proper lighting (i.e., outdoor light); seems to break up/pixelate in low light (or is that just the Vimeo Flash encoding?). Did you have night vision lenses for the Canon (inside the helicopter at night)?

Your movement with the camera is quite stellar for having such a tiny little camera. The extremely loud bullet shots in darkness was jarring, scared the hell out of me. I could only imagine how horrific in real life...

In response to 'neigdir''s comments, I respectfully think this is the Perfect venue to ask technical questions. At some point you have to look at all film and documentary with some semblance of objectivity (i.e., your sound quality was...I didn't like how you composed...). I believe that you'll never develop your craft if you simply become overwhelmed by emotion and don't ask why.

Apologies if it sounds crass, but I was always taught that great documentarian work comes from stepping back from the situation and observing with as little emotion as possible.

Danfung for a still photographer you are an excellent filmmaker.

May the new administration try to find the quickest and best road to peace, what an intimidating job it must be after years of mucking about...

to the guys making bad comments about USA. Dont worry our country is heading to your level real fast. Maybe we can be buddies when our government has obsolute total control of us.

wow, amazing!
some shots looked like they were straight from "Black Hawk Down"

Awesome video! Can't wait to see the whole project. Stay safe out there.

Looks good.

And yeah, you can think about the content what you want. This should be a technical discussion without the "USA Sucks" and "USA, USA!" Shouts here. For politics there are other forums to discuss stuff like that. Go there and post this Video, send a Link and some here might join the discussion..

And fuck does that look intense...

Great story. I've filmed with ISAF in Afghanistan for Combat Films and Research and it is a fascinating land and a wonderful people.

Great work. Thnks for sharing

Beautiful! And thanks for showing both sides of the conflict.

Amazing Work Dennis...Good Luck;)

this is a good video, I am a Iraqi veteran Combat medic of a infantry recon Unit and durring my time in the palm groves and small villages south of bagdad and time in south Sauder city durring the surge all I can say is there is no way to fully describe how complexe the situation is it can be all too confusing when the enemy hides behind the civilian especially Al Queda this is good work at showing just a glimse at the complexity of the situation godd job.

please realize that many of the soldiers do not have a choice as to whether they participate in a mission or not. many of the soldiers over seas would rather not be. this is a documentary. it isn't meant to take one side, rather show both sides to better help understand what exactly is going on.

I think if you can shoot vidz like this and spark up comments, it shows that the cameraman has done his job... !!!

Viva Pussy!

You USA potbangers are a primitive bunch of navel gazers.

Fortunately Dan's video actually damns you by showing the results of your good intentions. People's brothers die pointlessly in a country in which you have no legitimate interests.

No wonder you are the most hated nation on earth.

stay a live to finish the work.
good work!!!

yes stay alive,
ciao,
K,

Good luck body, Show us the rest...

Thanks for posting. I wish humans were peaceful!

Superb film making. I really like the intimacy of the camera work, whilst still giving the subjects space. Danfung, do you remember which lenses did you use for this shoot?

great job...

Keep the work!

Danfung your documentary was first-class. As someone that was once in the US Army I echo the comment stating that many of us do not want to be there. Many of us do not believe in this war or that we should be there.

I wish peace to us all, even here in the Vimeo community.

Happy filmmaking.

please make this video downloadable!! :(
pretty please with sugar on top! it is of highest educational value!!