Show Your Work 2008

Justin Tomchuk · April 14th, 2008, 02:38 PM

Hey Matthew,

It's a strange demo reel. I found some of the shots were not that great. As a demo reel, the behind the scenes shots felt out of place, but I can see how there may be artistic reasons for it. The camera was shaky at times, and not good shaky. Some of the shots looked like old army royalty free footage, I wouldn't use those if you're making a reel showcasing your or your teams filmmaking skills.

The colour correction was bland, everything was flat looking. I'm not sure if that was on purpose, but it doesn't look good aesthetically. For example, the contrast ratio for the black and white scenes was way too low.

Some of the colour scenes were not that bad. Some of the scenes look like they don't need colour correction. But a lot of them do, for example...
http://tomchukfilms.com/blaps/preview.jpg

I wrote a short article on colour correction using curves if your interested. It will make the shots a lot more attractive.
http://tomchukfilms.com/articles/art_ccwc.html

Justin

John C. Plunkett · April 14th, 2008, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the replies. I guess I didn't mention before that I didn't write these commercials, I did however make a revision to the Sundown One commercial to add the little cowboy. The original script contained the same dialog word for word (except for the little segment about the Sarsaparilla) only it was about two people driving to the store and the video was to be from their perspective inside the car looking out. The client wanted to show other businesses and actually wrote into notes that they wanted a full shot of the car driving in front of Circuit City.

Television advertising isn't too popular here in Springfield, IL an most of the ads you see are more or less radio ads with moving pictures. Had I been given the opportunity to meet with the client, I would have steered them in a different direction altogether. It's a simple scenario of a client who doesn't know what to say, a salesman who doesn't know how to sell concepts and an advertising director who doesn't want to risk losing an account. I don't know if that makes any sense to any of you, but that's how it is for me.

As an update to this story, the client has decided to run the commercial, but they want me to reduce the pitch of the cowboy's voice and change the music to make it seem more old western than upbeat country. I think these changes could help, but the issue I have with the commercial still remains and according to those of you who have posted your opinions it's not just me who feels this way. While I was able to do some creative post work with this spot, the viewer doesn't know what the commercial is about and once they figure out that it's for a high end audio/video store they're even more confused.

Matthew Pugerude · April 14th, 2008, 03:15 PM

So, I guess I will cut it to a soundtrack.

Oliver Darden · April 14th, 2008, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Tomchuk

Some of the colour scenes were not that bad. Some of the scenes look like they don't need colour correction. But a lot of them do, for example...http://tomchukfilms.com/blaps/preview.jpg

Whoa...nice job Justin you really made that pop. Does your article apply to any editing software? I use Sony Vegas.

Dennis Murphy · April 14th, 2008, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver Darden

nice cars!!!

Nice bikini!!!

Justin Tomchuk · April 14th, 2008, 06:17 PM

Thanks Oliver. For the article I used Premier Pro. I don't have experience using Vegas, but it should work assuming it has colour curves options.

I looked it up, and it does. Just looks a bit different but it's essentially the same.
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/557...317x432io1.jpg

Oliver Darden · April 14th, 2008, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Tomchuk

I looked it up, and it does. Just looks a bit different but it's essentially the same.http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/557...317x432io1.jpg

Awesome, I'm going to read it and mess with it tonight. Thanks for the info!

Herminio Cordido · April 15th, 2008, 02:32 PM

Hi,
I just finished a web site my production company, we operate in Vancouver.

www.thebestproductions.ca

Please take a look and tell me what do you think.
Through feedback is the only way to improve it...

Thanks for your time.

Herminio Cordido

Rikki Bruce · April 15th, 2008, 05:13 PM

Personally its not to my style, I dont like flash splash screens and the inner parts of the site have odd looking text and mouse overs. I tend to see that a lot with video related companies which is very very odd as its a very visual thing they work with day in day out. For instance Weta have a very bland looking site : http://www.wetadigital.com/digital/

If you have the budget I'd recommend speaking to a few web designers and see if they can build something that compliments your video work and shows it off to its fullest.

Daniel Broadway · April 16th, 2008, 05:20 AM

So, I just got my Canon HV20 about 3 weeks ago. I wanted to try it out, so I shot a short BMW commercial with it. Nothing major, just a little fun. Comments and Critiques welcome.

Here it is at YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7m7oC2KXQU&fmt=18

And in HD at Vimeo...

http://vimeo.com/904845

And if you care about details, a short write up about it on my blog...

http://danielbroadway.blogspot.com/2...cted-by-me.htm

Sergiu Pavel · April 16th, 2008, 09:43 AM

Good work. I like the post work!

Roshdi Alkadri · April 17th, 2008, 07:28 PM

this was for practice and fun. Shot on the HVX at 24p/480i, i chose this res since we knew that it'll end up on you tube. We used the senn 416 on a boom, recording at 24bit to the 702T. Sound was a little overkill, but was awesome practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELXA53nj6LM

Oleg Kalyan · April 17th, 2008, 11:45 PM

A low budget commercial, I directed,
http://olegkalyan.ru/_Quicktime/komilfo_web.mov
Please share the comments.
CHeers!

Chris Harris · April 18th, 2008, 01:54 AM

That looks fantastic! Good looking people, good music, excellent editing and camera work... What more could anyone ask for? Great job!

Jay Gladwell · April 18th, 2008, 07:01 AM

First of all, you had some serious audio problems. The voiceover was really distorted. It was so bad I couldn't understand a single word he said.

Just kidding...!

You did a very nice on that. Very professional looking.

April 14th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#438
Matthew Pugerude Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Redmond, Oregon Posts: 173	Thanks So, I guess I will cut it to a soundtrack.

April 15th, 2008, 02:32 PM	#443
Herminio Cordido Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 57	New website with samples, behind the scenes etc Hi, I just finished a web site my production company, we operate in Vancouver. www.thebestproductions.ca Please take a look and tell me what do you think. Through feedback is the only way to improve it... Thanks for your time. Herminio Cordido

April 16th, 2008, 05:20 AM	#445
Daniel Broadway Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alabama Posts: 165	BMW Spec Commercial, directed by me. So, I just got my Canon HV20 about 3 weeks ago. I wanted to try it out, so I shot a short BMW commercial with it. Nothing major, just a little fun. Comments and Critiques welcome. Here it is at YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7m7oC2KXQU&fmt=18 And in HD at Vimeo... http://vimeo.com/904845 And if you care about details, a short write up about it on my blog... http://danielbroadway.blogspot.com/2...cted-by-me.htm

April 17th, 2008, 07:28 PM	#447
Roshdi Alkadri Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 265	Body Care Commercial this was for practice and fun. Shot on the HVX at 24p/480i, i chose this res since we knew that it'll end up on you tube. We used the senn 416 on a boom, recording at 24bit to the 702T. Sound was a little overkill, but was awesome practice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELXA53nj6LM

April 17th, 2008, 11:45 PM	#448
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	A Beauty Salon 30 sec spot in Russia A low budget commercial, I directed, http://olegkalyan.ru/_Quicktime/komilfo_web.mov Please share the comments. CHeers!

April 14th, 2008, 02:38 PM	#436
Justin Tomchuk Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Montreal Posts: 164	Hey Matthew, It's a strange demo reel. I found some of the shots were not that great. As a demo reel, the behind the scenes shots felt out of place, but I can see how there may be artistic reasons for it. The camera was shaky at times, and not good shaky. Some of the shots looked like old army royalty free footage, I wouldn't use those if you're making a reel showcasing your or your teams filmmaking skills. The colour correction was bland, everything was flat looking. I'm not sure if that was on purpose, but it doesn't look good aesthetically. For example, the contrast ratio for the black and white scenes was way too low. Some of the colour scenes were not that bad. Some of the scenes look like they don't need colour correction. But a lot of them do, for example... http://tomchukfilms.com/blaps/preview.jpg I wrote a short article on colour correction using curves if your interested. It will make the shots a lot more attractive. http://tomchukfilms.com/articles/art_ccwc.html Justin

April 14th, 2008, 02:53 PM	#437
John C. Plunkett Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Jacksonville, Illinois Posts: 130	Thanks for the replies. I guess I didn't mention before that I didn't write these commercials, I did however make a revision to the Sundown One commercial to add the little cowboy. The original script contained the same dialog word for word (except for the little segment about the Sarsaparilla) only it was about two people driving to the store and the video was to be from their perspective inside the car looking out. The client wanted to show other businesses and actually wrote into notes that they wanted a full shot of the car driving in front of Circuit City. Television advertising isn't too popular here in Springfield, IL an most of the ads you see are more or less radio ads with moving pictures. Had I been given the opportunity to meet with the client, I would have steered them in a different direction altogether. It's a simple scenario of a client who doesn't know what to say, a salesman who doesn't know how to sell concepts and an advertising director who doesn't want to risk losing an account. I don't know if that makes any sense to any of you, but that's how it is for me. As an update to this story, the client has decided to run the commercial, but they want me to reduce the pitch of the cowboy's voice and change the music to make it seem more old western than upbeat country. I think these changes could help, but the issue I have with the commercial still remains and according to those of you who have posted your opinions it's not just me who feels this way. While I was able to do some creative post work with this spot, the viewer doesn't know what the commercial is about and once they figure out that it's for a high end audio/video store they're even more confused.

April 14th, 2008, 06:17 PM	#441
Justin Tomchuk Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Montreal Posts: 164	Thanks Oliver. For the article I used Premier Pro. I don't have experience using Vegas, but it should work assuming it has colour curves options. I looked it up, and it does. Just looks a bit different but it's essentially the same. http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/557...317x432io1.jpg

April 15th, 2008, 05:13 PM	#444
Rikki Bruce Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Glasgow. Scotland Posts: 79	Personally its not to my style, I dont like flash splash screens and the inner parts of the site have odd looking text and mouse overs. I tend to see that a lot with video related companies which is very very odd as its a very visual thing they work with day in day out. For instance Weta have a very bland looking site : http://www.wetadigital.com/digital/ If you have the budget I'd recommend speaking to a few web designers and see if they can build something that compliments your video work and shows it off to its fullest.

April 16th, 2008, 09:43 AM	#446
Sergiu Pavel Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Romania Posts: 119	Good work. I like the post work!

April 18th, 2008, 01:54 AM	#449
Chris Harris Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 487	That looks fantastic! Good looking people, good music, excellent editing and camera work... What more could anyone ask for? Great job!

April 18th, 2008, 07:01 AM	#450
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	First of all, you had some serious audio problems. The voiceover was really distorted. It was so bad I couldn't understand a single word he said. Just kidding...! You did a very nice on that. Very professional looking.