Latest HDV projects (part 1) - looking for feedback.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Hello friends!

I have a 2 gig limit per month, so please only download the video if you plan to give feedback! PLEASE leave feedback!

This first project is a rough cut, but I wanted to post some HDV footage that has fast action. It's from the New England Dragway in New Hampshire. We're a big racing state, so I had access to a Saturday practice session with a bunch of racers.

Project specs:

Camera: JVC HD10U

Settings: 1/60 shutter speed

Filters: Tiffen Polarizer

Tripod: Miller DS5

Computer: G5 dual 2ghz, 1 gig RAM, external firewire 400

Monitor: 23" Apple Cinema (no external NTSC monitor for now)

Software: Final Cut Pro HD, LiveType, LumiereHD 1.1.1 and freeware FCP plugins

Codec used to edit: DVCPRO HD (1280x720 - actually 960x720 for editing purposes and then resized)

Footage: 45-50 minutes worth of footage on one Sony Excellence tape

Exported file: MPEG 4 - 142 meg file (so, you need the latest Quicktime)


http://www.willowstudios.com/video/NE_Dragway_HD.mp4

I've got another HDV project titled "The Beauty of New Hampshire" which I will post after getting feedback on this one.

Thanks!

Murph

[Christopher C. Murphy]

67 people have downloaded my video and only one person posted feedback. (On another thread no less)

How come no feedback?

[Scott Anderson]

I downloaded your video yesterday, but had to convert it to a smaller mpeg-4 so my lowly PIII would play it properly. Anyways...

I thought the image quality out of the camera was outstanding. You could really pick out sharp details, and whatever mpeg compression happened along the way seems minimal. It's hard to tell with the added mpeg-4 compression, but I would have no problem with this footage being aired for NTSC, and the original footage probably holds up great on an HD monitor, as well. The only funky shots were when the auto iris or exposure took over, but it's not uncommon to see that in reality-based television. I'm really starting to believe that HDV is going to be a viable pro format. A lot of people are serious naysayers about HDV, but it reminds me of similar discussions about DV from a few years back.

The editing, on the other hand needs some work. The shot of the pickup with the logo on it was up for too long, then inexplicably fades to black, then to a PIP wipe for no reason. This kind of throws the pacing off. I would either stick to cuts and dissolves, or use more fancy transitions, multi PIP, etc. Both fades to black were distracting for me. The ending seemed a bit repetitive, so I would suggest that the last 7 shots should be integrated into a tighter cut, then fade to black on "I can't drive 55". Then bring up your end titles during the instrumental that follows. You said this is a rough cut, so ignore my editing advice if it is unwanted.

The titles, frankly, were pretty weak. With your killer setup, you should be able to pull out much better titles than you used. At least comp out a multi-layer Photoshop and do some basic animation to jazz up the titles. Just throwing in a LiveType flame transition or bubble effect on the website is not enough. I would want multi-layered motion graphics, but that's just me. At least have the titles come in and out in an interesting way - fly in from the side, or blur in and out. I might also use the raceway's logo as a graphic, if you can get it.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's really close to being a slick little commercial, promo video, demo piece, whatever. It just needs to be refined and jazzed up a bit. I hope that's the kind of feedback you're looking for.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Scott,

That's exactly what I was looking for...totally. I'm going to re-cut it and use your suggestions. I do have access to a scanable logo and I'll tighten it up too. The graphics thing is something I need to work on for sure - it's my weakest thing. I've been a shooter mostly who did a lot of rough edits, so I'm moving into a whole different level now.

I really appreciate the feedback - like I said it's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!! I'll re-post a shorter edited version soon...

Murph

[Yi Fong Yu]

hi Chris,

i couldn't d/l it, i think you hit your bandwidth mark. didya shoot this @f1 racing? cause if you did you should hook up with Fred Neergaard. he's interested in producing movies. i think he's in the marketing dept. tell him YiFeng said hello.

[Alain Aguilar]

Chris,

Thank you for providing access to your link. I could lsee how bandwidth could be used with only a few downloads. I know how this is because my site allows me something like a few gigs a month.

I think a good way to define your work is by looking at both videos, this allowed me to see the different approaches you took and your skill level to interpret those two themes. The racing clip was very high on image quality. I liked the fast paced cutting and the camera movement. It went very well with the subject matter. An intro title sequence for it would be nice. A better crafted, fast-paced end title would top it off.

The landscape video was nice as well, again very high image quality here. I think the overall feel of the clip is what it's supposed to do, give a sentimental value to the landscapes, executed through good composition and editing. By the way I liked how you used the natural cloud shadow to pace some of your cuts. Here, my only suggestion would better titles "again".

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Alain,

I really appreciate your review of my clips. I'm going to take your suggestions and run with them...you're right. My titles do need work - it's one of the things I need to work on most.

The racing video was shot on a Saturday when the guys were practicing, so I didn't have any crowd reaction shots - my only regret. I've got to see if I can get some more shots later.

The New Hampshire landscape video was paced that way on purpose. I'm glad you caught that in a positive way. Today, we're slammed with so many fast cuts and can't always breathe. I was going for a slow and artsy look...al most like you were watching a moving painting.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply with feedback!!

Murph

[Dylan Couper]

Is this clip still up?
It wouldn't let me download it.

[Rob Lohman]

Seems to be down indeed Dylan.

[Yi Fong Yu]

Hi Chris,

you only have 2GB bandwidth? man you are getting ripped off by your webhost, here:
http://hytekhosting.com

20GB bandwidth for $5/month, if you pay yearly it's even cheaper. you can negotiate a good price if you email the guy.

if you guys switch to it please mention "JediFonger" from [M] is the person that recommended you.

regarding both of your HDVs, i think they are really nice. i'm no "professional" as i don't have equipment anywhere near as good as what you have nor have i shot anything yet so i wouldn't be a real good job of what it what. Scott Anderson seems to know so i suppose i could echo what he says.

but i know you want feedback. so here's my feedback from the point of view as merely an enthusiast. i'm no pro... in fact i would call myself a "confessional". what does that mean? well,

you have:
professional
prosumer
consumer

i now add to that:
professional
prosumer
confessional
consumer

i'm one leve up from consumer but one level down from prosumers like you guys. confessional is just someone who doesn't have lots of equipment nor experience and just likes to 'talk' hence confessional.

now, i'm an honest guy, don't wanna hurt your feelings, but i want to be as honest as possible regarding your work from my point of view. first i dunno what you are intending with both clips. is this an ad for the raceway? is the beauty of NH an ad for state of NH (tourism)? etc? since you have not stated your purpose then i must assume that you are merely testing out your cam technology with footage and i will simply skip over the aesthetics of the content. the technical aspects were quite good but a bit blurry in some spots. is this the nature of HDV? i thought the motion itself was supposed to be smoother in some spots like seagul coming down to the beach at the end or the boy diving into the pool. in the raceway it was pretty good footage. the details were very clear and you can even see the license plate (if you didn't get permission perhaps you should blur it out or replace it). that's pretty much it. it looks nice for a tech demo. i would like to see more footage from a summit of a mountain (to see how far it can see) or when on the beach how much clarity could be captured at the furthest zenith. can this cam do some deep-focus a la citizen kane, or is that a lens thing?