Music Video - Black and White Version - Need Comments

[Paul Sedillo]

Current Client Project

I am deep in the throws of working on a DVD for a Houston based singer/songwriter. Today I decided to try something I had not thought of. Instead of the music video being in color, I converted it to black and white. This is only one of three cameras that were used for the shoot. I did not feel like working with the main project and having something go terribly wrong. Listed below are the details and the link:

- Singer/Songwriter: Lise Liddell
- Quicktime Movie - 16.2MB
- Audio recorded direct to outboard gear from sound board
- Camera Man: Josh Bass
- Recording and post audio work done by - Tinturn Abbey Studios
- Link: http://www.image-studio.com/movies/liddell01.htm

Let me know what you think of the black and white version. Yes, I hate the long fade in also (you'll see what I mean). The fade out is what I am looking for.

[Greg Vaughn]

I'm a huge fan of black & white and think it looks great. My personal preference would be to add a little more film grain look to it. You might also try and edit it together with the other camera angles left in color and see what you get.


Greg

[Henrik Bengtsson]

Please.. do not add filmgrain. The notion that adding grain to mess up the picture to make it look like film is a big mistake imho. Yes. you will make it look like badly shot film. But how much filmgrain do you see in a 35 mm production thats well shot? I think it looks fine just as it is now, picturewise.

It would have been great with a few more angles and some shots of the crowd (Especially since you can hear them in the background).

But picture wise i have nothing to complain at that i can see in that resolution.

/Henrik

[Jeff Donald]

I like the idea of mixing it with the color shots. The one angle is a little too static for my taste. I imagine the color shots are a little grainer than the B & W, so I would try to match the two. I think it might look odd going from pristine B & W to noisy color. I'm also not a big fan of grain just for the sake of it. But I think it's easier to cut if the images are similar.

Jeff

[John Locke]

Hi Paul,

I like the B&W look...lends a "classy" air.

As for the other comments...some I agree with, and some not.

IMHO, I don't think grain is really appropriate for this particular shot. Grain goes will with music like NIN, or Ry Cooder...songs with more of a "raw" sound. But for someone with a sweet, delicate voice...well, it just doesn't seem to match.

As for the static placement...I know what you were going through when filming a "one-camera" live performance shoot. You've only got three choices...static placement, MTV wandering jittery cam, or the dreaded "make the audience sit through the song four or five times while you get different angles" approach. With this particular song...slow and tranquil...I just can't picture the MTV jittery cam approach. And what's so bad with static shots anyway? They have their place, too.

Also, going from B&W to color is okay sometimes. One thing I really like is going from B&W segment to a duotone tinted segment.

The only thing I would have done is at the end...when the audience applauds, it sounds like a couple of half-asleep people clapping. Made me feel a bit sorry for her...since it sounds like no one is really paying attention. I'd either add in some applause at the end, or would have had a second mic on the audience during the performance.

Anyway...bottom line is I sat through all of it and enjoyed it. That's all that matters to me.

[Paul Sedillo]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to view this "directors cut". As I mentioned before, this is just one of three camera angles. Wanted to test the waters with the B&W version prior to going all out. The other angles are 1) on a tripod center shot and 2) on her left side shooting up. The current angle being shown was shot by our resident mad man, Mr. Josh Bass. I must commend him on the wonderful job he did. All of his stuff from that night looks great.

John,

I am with you regarding the "classy" look that it offers. It was your short movie that gave me the idea! So thank you. The sound that you are hearing sounds a bit flat due to compression. I'll be adding a bit more crowd noise at the end (per your suggestion), as I agree.

Jeff,

You are correct regarding the grain. For this piece it really does not work. I do like using it when it calls for it.

DocuWild,

We did not capture much of the crowd. The artist only wanted us to focus on her. As I mentioned above, there are 2 additional angles that are being rendered as I type this. They will add quite a bit to the over all video.

Greg,

Thank you for checking out the video. Grain is a great effect, but this piece would not work well with it. Now if I was doing a punk video, it would be great! :)

[John Locke]

DOH! I must've zoned out on the " This is only one of three cameras that were used for the shoot" part of your first post.

I'm jealous of you multi-camera guys! ;)

So Josh was a fellow conspirator on this, eh? I hope you'll post a link for the final product. I'd really like to see it.

[Paul Sedillo]

Next version for your viewing pleasure. Comments welcome and wanted:

http://www.image-studio.com/movies/liddell02.htm

<should have posted this before>

Gear Used:

- (2) Canon XL1s (used for right and left shots)
...Left camera (right side of performer's face) - Josh Bass using a 16x lens (best light of the 3 cameras on the shoot) and was moble
...Right camera (left side of performer's face) - My rig with a 3x wide angle lens (worst light out of the three due to location) and was moble
- 1 Canon GL2 (used for center shot - wide angle)
...Center shot on a tripod (also had tough light due to location)

[John Locke]

Paul,

Can't view this one for some reason. Says "Unable to load."

[Paul Sedillo]

<<<-- Originally posted by John Locke : Paul,

Can't view this one for some reason. Says "Unable to load." -->>>

Hmmm...just tried it on my other machine (cleaned cache first) and it loaded fine. I wonder if I exceeded my daily MB transfer limit with my server.

Let me know if you are still having problems.

[Jeff Donald]

No, I cleared my cache and only part of the page downloads (displays). I can see only the left half of the page.

Jeff

[Paul Sedillo]

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : No, I cleared my cache and only part of the page downloads (displays). I can see only the left half of the page.

Jeff -->>>

I just cleared my cache again to check and it downloaded just fine. Hmmm...not sure what is causing this. This file is also 16MB, but that should not matter. I checked the code and all appears ok. Another forum that I frequent had no problems with viewing the second version. This is very strange. Here is the link again (not sure if it will make a difference):

http://www.image-studio.com/movies/liddell02.htm

[Jeff Donald]

Good Morning,

Or is it still evening ? It won't load. But if I remove the last part of the address (liddell02.htm) I can go to your index and download the file. It looks very nice. I like the new angles and the B & W very much. Very classy look.

Jeff

[Paul Sedillo]

Jeff,

Well it feels like evening! I wonder if it is the Active X control that is acting up. Not really sure what else could be causing the problem. What type of system are you using? When I use my Mac, the format (layout of page) does not work properly. Have not bothered to fix it.

Thanks for taking the time to download it. Yes the additional angles really add to the overall production. The sound sync part was an interesting experience. Took me a bit of time to get the hang of locking the video with the audio.

How did the edits/transitions look??

[Jeff Donald]

I use a Mac of course, OS X 10.2.1 and used Internet Explorer and Navigator (Chimera). IE returns the can not load url message. Navigator displays the page but the movie just has the static QuickTime logo, no downloading taking place.

Jeff