Ah, sorry. I just realized I already posted this here. Oops. Don't mean to flood the boards. Sorry guys.

Well, it's been a while since I had an opportunity to post anything. Two weeks ago, I shot a live performance of Eric Stevens. The band needed a two minute teaser of their newest song so if you watch this, this is why the video seems to end before the song is finished. Shot with one XL1s.
http://www.sevillemedia.com/ericstevens/ericstevens.wmv

Thanks! I found a few local races.

I just got off the phone with the owner of the Morristown TN track and it looks like we may be shooting some footage during the Pro-Am Challenge on July 23rd.

I requested a media pass for 1-3 camera operators inside the tracks fenced area and it's a go.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll try and edit down something and post it here later.

After two months of summer vacation, with the mastering of the chicken quesadilla being my most productive accomplishment, I decided to tackle something a little bigger. I started writing my first completely independent screenplay, a mockumentary on competitive eaters. 3 days in, I’ve written 15 pages. But that isn’t really what this thread is about. I had this urge to film/tape something, so in the process, I wrote a 6 page horror movie short. In a span of 2 hours of filming, and 3 hours worth of editing (over two days) I completed my horror short, Blood Thirsty. The idea for the short came from a recurring nightmare, I’ve had since I was a little kid.

So I now present to you, Blood Thirsty…Download Here (www.questnetworktv.com/video/Blood Thirsty.mov)
(It is 29mb, 6:23 min so you are better off downloading, then streaming)
I’d like to thank everyone in advance who took the time to watch, I really appreciate it.

I hope you guys can give me some constructive criticism.

For those wondering about the equipment, I shot it in Frame Movie Mode on a Canon GL2, with a Audio-Technica AT-897. For some shots I used a homemade stedicam stick (made out of metal piping, with a weight at the bottom). It was all edited with Final Cut Pro HD, with some soundwork done in Soundtrack.

The one aspect I struggled with was the picture quality (pretty grainy), because I didn’t have any real lighting (I used a white poster board as a reflector with a cheap flashlight). Most scenes were shot in dark rooms, as it was supposed to take place at night.

P.S. I’m not a jerk who doesn’t include cast credits, they just asked to have their names not released (out of embarrassment of their acting :))

*WARNING - This post contains a spoiler

Pretty good work. Is that all real news footage, because if it isn't that is very impressive work. Good sound work, and excellent lighting. Maybe the dad should have been reading or something when the mom got in bed (not super important...it just seemed weird that the man was lying in bed trying to sleep with ALL the lights on, as opposed to just that desklamp so his wife could find the bed)

Only two complaints. If what the girl was saying on the internet was important, on the web the rez is so low I couldn't hardly read it at all. If it isn't imporant (which unless there is a huge twist I missed - It isn't)....then maybe that scene needs to be cut shorter.

Second...and by far the most difficult to reconcile is that the girl runs up to her bedroom after seeing the bloody man...when in reality there is no way any teenage girl would do that. Hell....I'm 22 years old, male, and mildly menacing looking (*cough*)..and the first thing I'd do is run straight for my parents room and wake up my dad (which is a good place to answer the question "why is the man all bloody?")

Nice move with the exorcist DVD as well.

I agree about the news footage, if you did that, great job... not to discourage your competetive eating piece but I know of at least 2 films in some stage of production covering that topic. There was also a so-so real doc on the subject as well.....


ash =o)

The news footage is a couple of real news stories edited together, to work with the story off the film.

Playing with some H.264 settings. This footage is from a recent trip to Colorado.

Shot with FX1.

Please download, don't stream.

http://617pg.com/tivo/h264.mov

My QuickTime player can't play it. Says "the required compressor couldn't be found."

Jay

H.264 requires Quicktime 7.

Beautiful. Thanks for posting that.

I really love the shot of the bees in the flowers.

h.264 rocks... How long did it take to encode the final 42 meg file? And on what kind of machine?

Also--what settings did you use please.

Thanks!

On a Dual 2.0 with 1.5GB RAM it took about 30 minutes to encode from the timeline in FCP5.

The data rate is about 3200 kbits/sec.

Hey guys...

My comedy partner and I make a five minute episodic TV show every month called, "Gemberling"

It's about a computer programmer who gets sucked into the internet and is trying to find his way home.

We're featured in a show called Channel 102, and we've been running there for 6 months.

I'd love for you all to check out our newest episode, (and the older ones) at www.cowboyandjohn.com in the media section.

Hope you enjoy!

-Curtis

(here's a direct link to episode 6) http://www.channel102.net/view.php?epid=57

hi
im alex and i just graduated from interactive design but all a really want to do is make videos
heres my showreel if anyone is interested: www.alknowshow.com/reel
going for a running job at an editing facility in london, but also got some freelance stuff coming up (fingers crossed)
all i need is 2k (£) for a dvx100a and my life is complete!
all the best
alex

There is definately a few impressive things in that real...quite a few I'm not entirely sure how you did since its hard to tell if its was maybe 3d animation, or animation & video composite. I especially liked the red blood-like swirls, and the thing with the doll/childs face. Some of the stuff (animation of the map...the letters of your name)...were a bit on the simple side...or maybe not simple...just nothing that really jumps out at you.

all i need is 2k (£) for a dvx100a and my life is complete!

haha...keep telling yourself that...but once you have your hands on that beautiful dvx...your suddenly going to realize you need a crane....then a followfocus...then a mini35....then your going to realize you need a new garage lol

edit: I'm kind of interested in how you do the over exposed look such as the two fighters...or the burning coal. Its not something you can do with DV too easily. I'm sort of interested in filming something with that look (inspired by the anime "Serial Experiments: Lane" --which to the anime fans on this board who haven't seen it GO OUT AND WATCH IT).

Curtis,

First, I'd like to say I love Gemberling and I think it's hilarious. I have been following it scince the first episodes. I work with a lot of greenscreening myself and I was interested in seeing some pictures of your greenscreen shots before you composite images on them.

Do you have any tips on setting up a greenscreen shot with the XL2? Or was it pretty much, just the normal methods and hit the record button?

They better not cancel Gemberling... It should have been rated much higher then it was this month.

Thanks and Good luck with the show!

That was laugh out loud funny, thanks!

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Travis...

I don't have any screenshots of our pre-composited shots at the moment, but I'll try and upload some ot our website over the weekend...

We're learning how to work on greenscreen via trial by error. Neither me or John had any filmmaking experience before, let alone greenscreening, so we've relied heavily upon the tutulage of a director friend of ours.

The main thing we've learned is to try and get as even a light as possible when you're doign low budget greenscreening. The next thing we want to teach ourselves is how to creatively light scenes for ambient effect.

Luckily, my partner John's taken to editing and basic Maya animation really well, so we're able to do ridiculous things like that Falkor character, and those pac-men.

I hope Gemberling doesn;t get cancelled either! WE're only planning on two more, before we wrap it up ourselves, but we'd like them to be screened at 102.

-cg

Hi gang,

We are in the process of doing a new presentation reel and I'd like some feedback on our existing one. It can be found by clicking on the lady's face to the right of the paragraph heading at www.cartermedia.tv (http://www.cartermedia.tv).

Thanks.

Your link dosn't seem to be working.....

Some ways of looking at things:

A- Consider your audience.
How will they be getting to your website? Are you trying to land clients who stumble upon your website? (In this case, you might want to put the best stuff in the first 15-30 seconds because these people may be looking at multiple sites and have limited time.)
Or is the website for clients who you've already spoken with?

B- Demonstrate something that shows you can solve your client's needs. What they really want to know is that you can help solve on of their problems. They may not necessarily care that you've been in business for 20 years.

The nice thing about a website is that the client can pick whatever it is they're interested in. You can divvy up footage based on type, i.e. commercials, corporate (training, presentations, etc.)


2- In the presentation page, I would add some height to the embed tag so people can see the Quicktime controls. It's not clear when the video ends.
As well, people may want to skip over sections they don't care about (which is better, because they'll hopefully land on something they do care about). With the QT controls, people can scrub through the reel.

3- What's a presentation reel? (I honestly don't know. It sounds like it's a demo reel?)
More importantly, will your clients know what a presentation reel is? Do you think they'll clink on that link? (which is a little hard to read)

What's the purpose of a presentation reel? If you could spell that out, it'll give some focus to criticism.
For example, a commercial might have really good storytelling (and people here may give you lots of positive feedback for it) but if it doesn't help sell the product then it may not be that good.

Thanks.

I changed it a long time ago.

Here's the new link:

www.pixel-mesh.com/media/video/133.mov

Thanks for the reply Glen.

I chose controller="false" in my QT embed tag since the movie is skinned with its own controls. I will agree, however, that I should redesign the controls.

Hi Dave,

My thoughts:

The video's message is too unfocused and too busy.

Unfortunately, it just comes across like "we do all this stuff in the media world". It didn't tell me anything more than the name "Carter Media". Even after a 2nd viewing, I don't know what Carter Media does.

In additon, the different parts of the video are all clamoring for my attention at the same time - in one big jumbled mess. I wasn't sure if I should focus on the images, the spinning graphics, or the voice over. The final result? They cancel each other out.

If you picked 2 or 3 important things to focus on and let the video breathe once in awhile, I think it would be more effective. And If it's supposed to be a brand creation advertisment, I think a simpler approach would work better.

You probably already know this since you're working on a new video. Good luck.



And of course my big question is, are you using the Optura Xi anywhere in the current or new video?

Next time you are in the sun filming the water hose, try some high shutter.... very cool effect...



ash =o)

Great job... there are some beautiful shots in there...

Alex: I've moved your thread to our showcase forum.

Before I had the dvx100a, I had a Sony dcr-tv70, I saw it at best buy and I instantly fell love with it. The progressive mode caught my attention. It looks so much like the stuff you see on tv! Little did I know..... I wanted to post some of my one-chip works when I first started out & maybe some of you guys would like to share some of yours. anyway here goes!

these were all done in spring '04 to september'04 when i got my dvx100a

http://www.studiorb.com/musicvids/musicvid2.wmv
http://www.studiorb.com/musicvids/adas.wmv wait 30 seconds!
http://www.studiorb.com/musicvids/forgotten.wmv
http://www.studiorb.com/musicvids/kittensong2.wmv

I was updating my site today and I forgot about these videos. I'm pretty happy with these. well i can safely say that I have progressed alot since my one chip days.

peace!

...moved here from DVX section...

Let me know what you think! This cut is for a contest and before I get to work on the extended version (where I can add back in all the scenes I had to axe to make the contest's time limit) I wanted to get some of your feedback...

A bit of background: it was an odd and challenging 7 page script that everyone had to use and the time limit was 6 minutes. We had a month to cast, re-write, shoot, edit, and upload. The objects and locations were all left open which gave us a lot of creative room to do our own spin on the story (and we tried to come up with the least obvious and most bizarre story possible).



www.the-lyons-den.com/bogo
go here for the QT version as well as some stills and pics!

Thanks for checking it out!



If you're curious, The Rules:

All participants will make their short films using this script. The script is general enough that you can still turn this into any kind of film you want with a little creativity. The dialogue is scripted, but you can use any actor-young/old/male/female to play any character and you're free to interpret the context and location of each scene.

Use a DVX100 in order to be eligible for a prize. There will be a special exhibition category for non-DVX100 entries.
Films must be six (6) minutes or less
All entries need to include all of the dialogue in the script. It doesn't need to be precisely word for word--but it should be close. The script may be translated into other languages, as long as you include English subtitles. Also, you're free to add scenes or rearrange the scenes in the script. A lot of the meaning, plot, and context will come from how you construct the film, interpret the action, and select the props. You'll also get bonus points (worth 5 extra votes) if you film the dream sequence. Your film can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.

No copyright violations, you *must* use licensed or royalty-free music
Try to keep film under 30MB
Host your own film if possible
All entries are due by midnight on June 30th, 2005

Anyone????

Hi

Started editing last week after buying my first camera on Thursday. Been a fun experience so far. Went out to a car show on sunday and took some footage.

Here's my result...

Motor Ex 2005 (http://streetrats.net/e107_files/downloads/motor-ex-2005.wmv)

http://dl3.rapidshare.de/files/2912660/36470323/vsevenwmv.wmv



Right there. I shot it on a consumer camcorder from Canon and cut it on Sony Vegas 5.0

I get a 6KB file... it doesn't work.

http://www.undergroundfilm.org/films/detail.tcl?wid=1017544

Try here ^

Thanks.

Hello DV Shooters-
Here's my latest video for Coral, a super talented Argentian singer now residing in NYC. I shot the video on a DVX-100 on location in Buenos Aires, her Dad had a street legal dune buggy- We popped the top off, and drove around downtown B.A. for about an hour- I had a radio hanging off my neck supplying play back, while I did the shooting. We shot about 11 takes in total- A couple w/ guitar, and a few w/o. I edited the video in about 1 week on my FCP set-up. I hope yall enjoy it- Feedback is warmly welcomed...

Thanks-
Mike Vargas
Nuyorktricity Films
nytc@mac.com

www.streamload.com/nytc

Hey Michael,
It did not show. One time it was singing with no pictures.
Can you please double check

Good production value. I liked the editing style and the consistent use of effects; you did not go overboard. I would have prefered a tad more light on her, at least an occasional burst, but I'm being nitpicky. Good work.

I can't get it to play--have tried several times throughout the day.

Jay

Looked very nice! Colors were rich and exposure appeared to be right on the nose. In the opening, you mentioned "cars" and "girls." Saw the cars, but didn't see much of anything relating to "girls."

Jay

Looks good, but I do agree that more light on her would have been good.

I can't get it to play--have tried several times throughout the day.

Jay

Same here, I couldn't get it to play streaming or by downloading. Heard the music, couldn't see the video. I got an error that some Quicktime elements were missing and not available on the server.

Same here, I couldn't get it to play streaming or by downloading. Heard the music, couldn't see the video. I got an error that some Quicktime elements were missing and not available on the server.

So, Mike, what's the story here?

Jay

Looks like it was encoded with H.264

So you'll need QT 7 to view it and for Windows users that's a beta version.

I honestly...have no idea what I just watched. Good effort though. Try and put an outline around your subtitles so they show up better over white. You had quite a bit of over exposure too. Also, try and find a better web compression method, use the Vegas 5 wmv 256kbps template, or an equivolent quicktime template.

Thanks. Actually, I don't have DVD Architect or other software, but yeah I guess a border will do the subs more justice.

I just used the SAMPLE TEXT in the Vegas media generators. I could always up it even to 3MB but I'm NOT on DSL so that'll take a year to upload. LOL.
But thanks for bothering.

And as for the over exposure, it was the bright color curves. I contaminated the brightness on one end of the video event... probably too lazy to render that "over exposed" part separately.

Thanks.

A lot of people comment on that. I see a lot of car videos made by people that feel they must include girls to be a complete package. I teased and went against that rule. Sorry to dissapoint :)

Ok, it's fine if you don't want girls in your video but don't get peoples hopes up by saying "cars & girls," people will get let down...

oooh, you seem genuinely upset about that. Next time I'll make sure to fit some girls in. :)

Can I ask, what parts of the video did you guys hate and would like to see improved? And don't say the lack of girls please. :)

Can I ask, what parts of the video did you guys hate and would like to see improved? And don't say the lack of girls please. :)

Well, of course the lack of GIRLS! Sorry, had to say it.

If I could change one thing it would be the camera motion, way too much. Work on trying to steady the shots a bit more, it's a little more work with a hand-held camera, but it can be done.

It was the one thing that made it hard to watch, well... that... and the lack of GIRLS! ;)

My documentary "American Jouster" was just selected to screen at the Breckenridge Festival of Film, in Colorado - Sept 8-11. I'm pleased as its a good sized fest thats been around for twenty five years. I might be in attendance, depending on my schedule.

Also, a tiny excerpt of the feature doc, entitled "First Fall" has been selected to screen this weekend (July 16,17) at the AURORA PICTURE SHOW in Houston, as part of the Extreme Shorts Film Festival, now in its seventh year. It's a three minute mini-doc, so if you're in Houston, drop by the Aurora Picture Show in the NE Heights, and see a cool selection of shorts screening in a neat micro-cinema. Good people there, deserving of local support.