Hi everyone,
would anyone be kind enough to offer any critique on my clip? Be brutal, I know it will need all the help you guys can offer :-)
http://s54.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=31IKVRJL8GDDC0IG5567Q1XV6V
It's Quicktime H.264 so you'll need Quicktime 7

Here's an mpeg4 just in case
http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=158JX22FQTC690NYOA5I4ZKRWP
Nate

anyone...?

Hey Nate,

Nice job.

The encoding was nice. The audio could have been AAC'd. You notice the AM radio quality right away with the codec you used.

You had a nice variety of shots and locations.

Some quick things I might recommend:
-Watch those mirrors. I saw you. :)
-Lose the audio on clips with music if you're overdubbing music. The mixed tempos really catch your ear.
-You might want to look into getting a Glidecam since you are shooting all handheld. It would have definitely smoothed out those walking church isle shots you did.
-Don't be shy. I noticed a definite lack of interaction with the groom and others.
-Slow motion would have smoothed out those shakey shots a bit. I noticed you only used it occasionally.
-Don't let Jenn M see that you were shooting up on the alter.

Hope this helps at least a little bit,
Walter

Hey Nate,

Enjoyed your clip.

Here are my suggestions which are as critical as I can be, which isn't much.

You have a black frame at 5:13 in.

I would loose the Summit Video bug. I would begin with a title page describing who's getting married, the date and the location. You can end with a credit page with your company name. The bug throughout seems alittle self-serving and inappropriate.

Some nat sound pops of the bride and groom interacting with others would add dimension and variety.

The groom interview had tree leaf shadows. Try to find solid shade next time. I know this can be tough...

Dutch angles, (as you used with the one shot of the little ladies) are fine if used consistently. They are a little distracting as a once only technique. I know you probably used it more often and those shots ended up on the cutting room floor........ but think about shooting for a "look" that you can actually achieve in post.

Love the song you chose but it seemed alittle over the top for use over the guys walking through the church parking lot, for example. I would suggest something more upbeat and fun. Use your original song during the ceremony where it would be just beautiful.

Good luck Nate. You are definitely on your way.

Stephanie

Walter and Stephanie, thanks for the reply's, I have a lot to learn, good eye catching the guy in the mirror (who was actually not me btw :-) I didn't shoot any of this particular wedding but I do shoot some so thanks for that advice.
Nate

Hi everyone,
would anyone be kind enough to offer any critique on my clip? Be brutal, I know it will need all the help you guys can offer :-)

Nate,

You said "be brutal"!!! This is about as brutal as I get...

Good content - horrible camera work. Overall, because of the camera work I didn't like it. Zooms were too quick and it's obvious the entire day was shot with ...camera on shoulder, then camera on shoulder, then more camera on shoulder, then more camera on shoulder. When the camera is at one shoulder-level horizontal position for the entire day it's the type of videography I refer to as the obigatory "shaky shoulder-mount coverage." ...it's lazy and unimaginative IMHO.

Tripods were invented a long time ago and are easy to use. They elimate shake when used poperly. Unless the camera operator has some sort of alergic reaction to tripods, why not use one at least during the ceremony? I've heard all the excusses "it was only one camera coverage and I need to be mobile." News flash, you can still be moble with a tripod. You can even hold a shot with the camera on a tripod while moving. Takes practive but it can definately be done.

Of course I would never suggest shooting an entire day from a tripod. I use several positions thought the day and yes I'm human, my camera work is not all perfectly steady but when I go hand-held, I do try hard no matter what the position of the camera is, to steady the shot. Since I'm not god's gift to videography - it's the least I can do.

You did say be brutal... please forgive me!

Walter and Stephanie, thanks for the reply's, I have a lot to learn, good eye catching the guy in the mirror (who was actually not me btw :-) I didn't shoot any of this particular wedding but I do shoot some so thanks for that advice.
Nate

Nate,

1st of all let me say don't be SHY your a professional.
The main problem aside from the shakes is the entire
editing process wasn't smooth, it didn't flow.

Remember natural transitions look a whole lot better than
fades and wipes. For example if your panning to the right
and you cut tape continue panning to the right when the tape starts
rolling again it's almost as if you never stopped things will look a lot more natural that way.

Also the choice of music wasn't the best. More than likely it can be used at the end if you have a shot of the bride and groom walking away or walking together you can do slow motion at that point it will make you focus more on their movements. Experiment move things around...

Capture as much as you can so that things can be used later.
but remember garbage in garbage out...

Only editing can bring life to a motion picture. The various shots are just so many odd pieces of film until they are skillfully asssembled to tell a coherent story. Cutting takes up the slack of the film, by removing what's not needed.

So there is room for improvement, Nate your doing well just keep at it
and things will develop, for now until you get the tripod TURN OFF ZOOM
and move closer things will be way less shakey that way.

For futher help get this book:

The 5 c's of Cinematotraphy by Joseph V. Mascelli

Thanks for the criticism, I really appreciate it. I've learned a lot from reading these boards and now that you guys are talking to me it helps even more. Just wait untill you see my next clip! :-)