I see improvements since your last work.

I think the XL2 helped me alot with its much easier to use manual controls. Bad news though, I think that the Optura Xi is messud up. Maybee I'll buy a GL2 as a second camera once I get some more money from my projects.

It's been at least two years since I've been here. I went through some financial problems a while back and had to give up DV for a while and sold all of my equipment to pay off some debts. Just this past January I started college and started riding BMX again. I got back in touch with a buddy of mine who also rides BMX (Chris Lukasz) and he has been working on a new video for the past couple of years. Problem is, he's a cop and works alot of hours so there isn't much spare time for him to edit. He asked me if I can help him out so that we could meet our deadline. Production is all finished so we are working in post right now. I'm doing the compositing and DVD authoring for him and I just made this trailer last night. The footage was shot on many cameras since this is his first video (started out like all of us on a cheap consumer camcorder). And, since alot of the older stuff from his first camcorder couldn't be reshot, it's being used in the video. Anyway, It's a quicktime file in Mpeg4. Tell me what you think about my first step back into DV.

http://www.street-1.com/images/Finallyteaser.mov


Now all I need is a new camcorder for my own productions.

Very nice! At first I was going to ask if any of these guys can stay on their bikes, but then you showed both sides.

Some very nice angles and shots. Very nice editing too!

Liked the music as well.

Mike

Very nice! At first I was going to ask if any of these guys can stay on their bikes, but then you showed both sides.

Some very nice angles and shots. Very nice editing too!

Liked the music as well.

Mike


Thanks for the compliments. It's just my friends and I who are riding in it. We did land most of that stuff that we crashed on, but not all. There were a couple things in there that just hurt too bad to try again. Needless to say, we're going to have a mean out takes section on the DVD! (those are sometimes the best part)

Not to say that you didn't do a good job in the technical aspect of the teaser, but the style of the teaser didn't make me want to watch the video. I think to have an effective teaser you need to have some of the best shots that you got, without revealing to much of the final product. Also to try to implement the videos "theme" into the teaser, even though most of action sport films are montages, themes still play a crucial role in making a video more effective.

For your teaser (note: these are my opinions) I would get rid of the second title and make a better titles for the "street meats" (create an actual logo) and the last title "finally". The second shot of the video, the back flip, I would take that out and cut in shots of bike tires riding by or something that is a little less revealing right off the bat; because the back flip shot is a nice shot, it would be more effect near the end of the teaser. Also cut out all of the crashes, maybe leave one or two, but all of them do not make for a good teaser. Then just cut it down to like a minute or so. Music was good and the riding after the crashes.

Not to say that you didn't do a good job in the technical aspect of the teaser, but the style of the teaser didn't make me want to watch the video. I think to have an effective teaser you need to have some of the best shots that you got, without revealing to much of the final product. Also to try to implement the videos "theme" into the teaser, even though most of action sport films are montages, themes still play a crucial role in making a video more effective.

For your teaser (note: these are my opinions) I would get rid of the second title and make a better titles for the "street meats" (create an actual logo) and the last title "finally". The second shot of the video, the back flip, I would take that out and cut in shots of bike tires riding by or something that is a little less revealing right off the bat; because the back flip shot is a nice shot, it would be more effect near the end of the teaser. Also cut out all of the crashes, maybe leave one or two, but all of them do not make for a good teaser. Then just cut it down to like a minute or so. Music was good and the riding after the crashes.


Thanks for the input. They are good pointers but the thing is, it's hard to sell independent BMX videos these days. You MUST have a promo that has some major impact. Not that we're trying to sell a million copies or anything, but it would be nice to get our names out there in the BMX scene. The tricks used in the trailer were some of the better ones, but not the best, so there is still much more to be revealed in the final DVD. The "feel" in the trailer is on que to what the final movie will be like.

Our short zombie film Red Meat Directed by Aram Bauman and Stephanie Armstrong will be airing on the IFC Channel in May. Hope you get a chance to watch!

Monday, May 7th @ 8:30 pm
Tuesday, May 8th @ 8:15 am
Friday, May 11th @ 7:20 am
Tuesday, May 15th @ 3:20 pm
Wednesday, May 23 @ 9:55 am
(all times eastern)

My dad was in France when I made this and he watched it on Google. Sometimes we forget to remember how far technology has come in the last decade.

I have a HVX200 and was realy wanting a backup HDV cam so i bought the XH-A1 and im over the moon with it, good thing too my firestore died this week!!

some still from testing this week>

Chris,

Welcome to the forum /

Nice ! Nice ! Nice ! / Keep contributing your Canon exploration process.

Always good to see new pics and comment.


Herman.

Wow, beautiful stills from the A1! Good work.

Now, I'd love to see something in motion from the cam. :)

uploaded some stills earlier, as requested here is a quicktime of some of the shots

480x270 8.5 meg

http://dodownload.filefront.com/7371980//a4da6d72621d42831b7be5194f351d89754dea6d99a28c723b4f114c4162a2b1513736d54932b800

However im not credited - as i was 17 at the time - it was for/with a couple of uni friends of mine and I just thought you guys like would like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWlY2l4Mk0w

I know just how he feels...

Good stuff.

Liam.

Yes - exactly thats why i thought id post it. Especially like around NAB time and all - with so much to do and see - the film is quite relevant lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hOgm11vrq0

Let me know what you think - first thing I really completed on the new A1 - it's a YouTube PSA Contest for SmartPower.org.

Hey guys,

I thought I would post this trailer for a short film I wrote and directed using the XL2 / SGPro r2 combo. It is a student film, so please keep that in mind ;)

It's a dark comedy about a motley group of part-time professional funeral mourners who are paid to attend funerals and cry for complete strangers. However, when a familiar face is suffering, they fail miserably at what they should do best.

Please let me know what you think!

http://stage6.divx.com/user/negativezerofilms/video/1208179/Grief-Assurance-Unofficial-Trailer

We used three lenses :

Pentax SMC 85mm f/1.8 M
Pentax SMC 50mm f/1.4 AF
Sigma 28mm f/1.8 AF

I think we'll have the full version of the film up later if anyone is interested. We're currently having it scored and color corrected.

- Zack

hey everyone, just started using my M2 redrock adapter and i made a "car meet" video for my friend. Longer version to come, need more footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnFgpVLxkHY

Hi all,

This is a kind of mini documentary I put together for a family that is trying to raise funds so they can take their autistic son to a cutting-edge center to get him help overcoming his disabilities.

I showed it over the weekend at a small town fundraiser -- in a town with population of 840 -- and we raised $14,000 in a day.

This is my first time with this kind of project, so I'm eager for constructive criticism. Fair warning: It's 23 minutes-long and I'm hosting on Google Video, which is not bad considering it's free, but the resolution is obviously much better in the original.

Help-Levi-Learn.org

Click on "Levi's Story."

Of course, if anyone feels inspired to help this family out, that would be cool, too.

God bless,

Jon

Nice one! :-D

In which way did you modify the colors and the contrast to get this look?

Regards,

Oliver

Nice one! :-D

In which way did you modify the colors and the contrast to get this look?

Regards,

Oliver

Thanks for watching, Oliver! (Sometimes responses are scarce in the world of dvinfo.) I've finally aquired my own Magic Bullet Editors software for Final cut Pro. It does wonders and it is totally worth the cash! You can customize their looks or even make your own. I used slight vignette in each shot and I combined a sepia filter (in FCP effects) with a 3-way-color corrector. (I turned up my whites..) If you want anymore detailed info or have any questions, just let me know! Thanks again! Do you have any projects or demos up online? perhaps a portfolio that I can check out?

Mikee

Hey Jon,

First, congrats for doing this. That's a neat little kid you're helping out.

The first lady (family friend) was really good. Articulate and comfortable in front of cam. Nice lighting and mostly good audio (thought I heard a thump).

A few critiques (since you asked). I would have liked to have seen more of Levi and less of the parents (the mom was a little too far off-screen - shots didn't quite match). I think it would be neat to do the start of the talking headshot, then voiceover shot of Levi playing. The bearded volunteer was pretty photogenic.

I just wondered if you could have told the story in less time, or bring in more visuals to keep the audience eye busy.

All in all, congrats a great little show for a great cause!

Very professional. A simple message and a few nice clips to back it up. I like the way it looks, but he dialog distracted me when she said, "are you calling me fat?" I started to think the message was about spousal abuse or divorce or something like that instead of clean energy. I understand the point of the conversation now that I went through it twice, but the loud "fat?" from the woman's voice was alarming. Perhaps a more casual conversation about how people are forgetful about the environment in their daily choices would be more effective.

I like the "we'll just drive separately" message, but the particulars of the dialog were a bit confusing at first.

I noticed a lot of white specks in a few of the clips. Were those on the adapter or is that just some compression artifact?

Ken,

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and provide some feedback.

I think all of your comments are right on the money. Filming was done in my garage and the thump you hear is one of my cats coming in through the cat door to oversee production. Obvious lesson learned there.

I really wrestled with cutting it down. My initial edit left it at 40 minutes. Got that whittled down to 20 or so, but then decided -- as you say -- it desperately needed images of Levi so I weaved in those splashes in between each segment, which brought it back up to 25 minutes.

My background is in print journalism and have always appreciated a good editor helping me cut long form peices down to size. I've been finding the same is true now that I'm working in video. I wanted it to be 15 minutes, 20 at the absolute most. To get there, though, it seemed like I would have had to cut one of the segments out in toto. Or do you thing I could have just kept trimming around the edges? (It was starting to worry that it was becoming too patchwork already).

I didn't do any make-up. Probably hard to tell in the internet version, but do you think anyone, particulary either of the two men, needed any?

Again, thanks so much for taking the time. The feedback really is appreciated.

Nice footage,looks very professional

Ken,

I really wrestled with cutting it down. My initial edit left it at 40 minutes. Got that whittled down to 20 or so, but then decided -- as you say -- it desperately needed images of Levi so I weaved in those splashes in between each segment, which brought it back up to 25 minutes.

My background is in print journalism and have always appreciated a good editor helping me cut long form peices down to size. I've been finding the same is true now that I'm working in video. I wanted it to be 15 minutes, 20 at the absolute most. To get there, though, it seemed like I would have had to cut one of the segments out in toto. Or do you thing I could have just kept trimming around the edges? (It was starting to worry that it was becoming too patchwork already).

I didn't do any make-up. Probably hard to tell in the internet version, but do you think anyone, particulary either of the two men, needed any?


Jon,

IMHO, for good or bad, the reality is, we live in the Youtube generation. People need their information in either short bursts, or it must be very captivating. I would only suggest; voiceover of Levi playing/interacting - more than looking at the talking head. If a picture is worth a thousand words - what does 30 pictures-a-second tell you.

I'm guilty of the opposite, I produced a 9-minute enviro doc with no narration - only pictures and music and a few text frames to explain the background. Obviously your story needs narration, but sometimes the ambient sounds of a child playing and a caregiver interacting are very powerful when combined with the images.

As far as make-up goes, I didn't miss it (maybe on the bearded guy) but you kind of got caught in between. Had this been filmed in their house with a natural backdrop, I wouldn't expect make-up. But because your dark grey backdrop gave it a studio/set look; one might expect 'made up' speakers.

For me, we are all story-tellers, and we can tell them our way. For that, it's a beautiful media. Just think, how you were able to tell Levi's story in a way that far more people can hear it than through written word.

Keep shooting.

I noticed a lot of white specks in a few of the clips. Were those on the adapter or is that just some compression artifact?

yeah, I wanted an original/film-look. The specs were generated though FCP. I really wanted a true...urban look. At least I know people notice it! Hopefully it doesn't just look trashy with the "dust simulation". Thanks for watching + commenting!

I get, "click here to download plugin". Of course, that never seems to work and I already have lots of codecs installed. Perhaps others are having this same issue?

Great locations and sets. How did you create the ambulance/medical equipment set?

Life is a bit like a cartoon sometimes. This movie reminded me of a time when I was a kid and had to get up early and get ready to go to school on a cold morning. I hated that school and dreaded getting up and going there. Suddenly, I woke up and had to go through the whole process a second time.

Looks really good man! Love the lighting and of course your DOF. SGPro eh? I'm having problems with my m2 and getting really good depth in a wide and medium shots. (Maybe it's my lens...) Any suggestions? Great work!

That was an important film. I was on call IT 24/7 for the last 15 years...it will drive you insane. At one point, I could even tell the speed and point in the conversation of a fax machine/modem by the screech! I still feel uncomfortable if I leave my cell phone at home ever.

Thanks for the replies!

Michael -
These are the lenses that I'm using for the medium / wide shots :
Sigma 28mm f/1.8 http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=SG28AFP
and
Pentax SMC 50mm AF f/1.4 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=40755&is=USA&addedTroughType=search

The Sigma leaves a little to be desired, I've gotten a bit of CA and distortion at the edges.

I've gotten that short DOF because I've had to keep my lens so wide open (usually between 1.4-2) due to lighting restrictions, which helps with the shallow DOF but sometimes hurts the sharpness of the images (which I've tried to tweak in post).

In terms of the DOF (the fact that it is a 35mm DOF, not in the quality of the blur), there shouldn't be a difference between the SGPro and the M2, so it could possibly be in the lens, or how close your positioning your subjects to the background.

What lenses are you using?


Marcus - The playback requires the DIVX Web Player, which is a nice free download from the site (no spyware/adware or anything). It allows for DVD-like playback of videos that can stream and go fullscreen, so that's why I posted it there. I also have the trailer here http://www.negativezerofilms.com/ga/ in Flash video if you prefer, but the quality is not as high.

Really nice work! Loved the shots and the lighting... very well done!
The music was a tad loud, other than that... great trailer!

Loved the DOF!

Mike

Hmmm, maybe switch the color of the specks to black? I don't know much about FCP, but I'm sure that filter has some sort of adjustments. I think on film small specks are usually dark and bright spots are probably longer scratches. I know that getting realistic old film aging can be tricky but I'm sure there's a way.

Your vignette that you added in post totally fooled me. I thought it and the flicker was done by the adapter.

Hey guys, thought I'd post this up. I'm recording all of my track days (on and off bike) for a documentary I'm creating. I thought this would be an interesting subject to post here being that 99.9% of you have had zero exposure to this culture/world.
Here is the first test vid of this season. This first episode is all 'on-board' shooting so I'm limited to a Sony EX View single CCD bullet cam (feeding into a Canon ZR700 for recording). This is really just a test vid as I'm working out the bugs in my new on-bike setup (these were the first shots) and I'm still practicing my editing skills. (don't let that stop you from watching it tho!!! :] )
In the future I will be mixing shots like these with the 'off-bike' shots from my A1U + dialogue etc.

thnx and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV28HRtbkIA

.

Have a look and let me know where I can make some improvements.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=esrgwEQFdd0
I know the compression is not good on Utube but you get the idea.
thanks

I thought it looked pretty darn good. The only thing that jumps out at me as something that could be improved is the audio quality from inside the boats. The engines and wind are overwhelming the mics. I know that the camera considerations on these craft must be difficult as size is probably limited. You are probably using the on-camera mic for simplicity and your cameras may even be so small that they don't have external mic jacks. The only thing I could think you could do is to put the cameras in a housing that will dampen the noise and protect the cameras from water spray. Maybe a window tilted forward would keep the water flowing away from the lens.

No, these don't seem like perfect solutions, but the engine/wind noise is your only problem with the video.

These events look hard to shoot. The area covered is immense and access to the waterline looks difficult. It does make for some nice scenery since it's not all developed.

This is a Super-8 project that I recently DP'd.

The Producers have posted very short excerpts online at www.DaliDaliDali.com.

You kind of have to fish around to find all the short excerpts and the website isn't completely done yet. What is shown is just a small fraction of what was actually shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMBNpzW2qvs


Please take the time to rate it if you can. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for watching!

Greetings everyone,

I’m proud to present three new videos. The first is a lovely music video. The story was written by the artist, which turned out pretty good to be his first time really writing. After the fact, I wished we could have done just a few things different with the storyline (the stuff with the cops came out beautiful), but overall, I have no complaints about this video.

http://www.greenbench.tv/videos/Zee.wmv

DVX100B
Glidecam 2000 (few shots)
CC with Adobe Premiere
Oktava Mic

Interesting story, this video was actually shot before my last one (Down South Leanin’), but I had to borrow a few concepts from this video for the other one, so if they look somewhat similar, now you know!

Also, we just did a funny little introduction for my university’s talent show. It encompasses our musical talent.

http://www.greenbench.tv/videos/TalentShow.wmv

Last, but not least, a short skit we did last weekend called, “The Friend Zone”.

http://www.greenbench.tv/videos/Zone.wmv

Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated!

very nice looking footage there Steve. What lens did you use? sdi? to tape?

You know what? That was pretty damn funny. I got a kick out of it anyway... the doctor was pretty good as well.

Good stuff!


Mike

Inspiring footage / Well executed dissolves in short demo.

Herman.

Just got home from the UNLV film festival Spring Flicks, and Pete won the best actor award!

Awesome! He was pretty funny....

Cheers,

Mike

this is a short motocross movie i made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iVnE6kXLEc
it was shot with my old sony pc100 and no tripod, so some shot are shakey.

Hope you like these, shot on above camera and cut on FCP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOR2_XP0vjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csTx9kBtCzE

Hey all I just thought I'd share a little video I made a couple years ago. This won't impress you at all but it will make you laugh. FOR COMIC RELIEF PURPOSES ONLY! It will be good for you after much forum jumping.

This was shot on a one chip panny and edited with a less than stellar program. The timing of the music and some of the shots cold have been better but the program I was editing with (I won't name names), was...well, painful to use.

I was home for the weekend and this helped subdue the boredom for a couple hours. This is in no way indicative of my work, just screwing around. WATCH IT though, it is funny as hell. Oh and by the way, the dog is female- you'll see why I point that out! Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oATNgVpVoRM

Great use of light, particularly in "Janine". Everything looked a bit magical but didn't feel fake. Did you use any other software to do effects and/or color correction?