Hi,

I have learnt so much from this forum and recently signed up to become a member. I have the XH A1 and the people here helped me decide to buy this camera. I have saved a tremendous amount to time by reading the forum and learning from everyone. Thanks so much for your time and input. I came from a DSLR camera background so I am new to the video medium. I would appreciate any comments or critiques. This is the first video I took using the XH A1. Mostly local birds and scenery. There is an osprey, blue heron, black headed grosbeak and more.
http://www.vimeo.com/1216266

Thanks,

Jim Cameron

Three things I would mention....

Exposure is a little all over the place but trending towards slightly underexposed for most of the shots. Zebras and calibration of the LCD/viewfinder will get you more consisitent results.

White balance is a little erratic too with some shots being much cooler than others. Being an overcast day I would expect a slightly cooler look but there are some shots that need to be matched better in terms of white balance to add consistency.

Editing - pretty all over the place. It's really a montage of various shots without much reference to a greater whole. I won't go into depth but the art of editing is as much work and thought as the shooting. A few key things....the audio cuts at each cut in the short....so why not crossfade some of the audio for the individual clips to have a smoother transition. Background music....a big consideration there too as a low volume music bed with the wild audio on top would add character and suggest edit points.

Video is a wonderful learning experience and I hope you enjoy every second of it and shoot...shoot....shoot.

James,

Thanks for the feedback, very constructive and I appreciate you taking the time to post. I agree with all your comments. I am looking to improve and there is so much to learn on both video and editing. I didn't even know you could cross fade audio so I am heading to FCP to check that out. The good news are those are things I can learn and enhance, the XHA1 camera gives me the image quality that is so important and a great starting point. Even since this first video I have been out shooting and have learnt so much more. The editing is an art in itself and I sometimes get wrapped up in the technical side that I forget about the creative side. Thanks again, much appreciated.

Jim

Nice footage.

I love filming filming Birds myself. Can't wait to get some close ups of a Blue Heron myself!

Ahhh, one of 'those' bird sanctuaries... bummer.

Thanks Brad, Good luck with your quest on the Blue Heron. I am going out every day for a couple of hours and filming the mating Osprey. I hope to have enough good footage to create a short documentary. I have come to realize that you need lots of patience to film wildlife. It's like fishing, some days you come home with your limit and other days you get skunked, but it's the nibbles that keep you coming back.