Show Your Work 2008

[Michael Pulcinella]

This is a first draft of my latest project. It's about a 5 mile charity run held on Thanksgiving Day.

The challenge with this video is that it is intended for TWO outlets. I am making it for a fitness website and also for the sponsoring organization, an insurance company. I attempted to give equal time to both the fitness aspect and the charity aspect of the run. How well did I do? Your opinions and suggestions are always greatly appreciated.

Turkey Trot - 2008 on Vimeo

[Ivo van Aart]

Pure genius! And I'm serious.

The camera, editing and sound (although the sound wasn't that bad) could have been much better. (But hey, it's a first time). There were some technical glitches which were distracting.
But all that was overshadowed by great storytelling. I liked the bunny's acting and how the scene at the table was lit. the flashback of the kidnapping was not nescecary. The shots in the field were good, I liked the shot of the running man.

Overall a film I will remember!

[Kevin Sawicki]

Thanks!

Care to go into detail about my editing, camera, and sound?
I'd like to learn as much as possible.
Maybe point out specific flaws?

[Ali Jafri]

Great videos! Both of them. I was thoroughly digging the vibe ;) And I'm not even into rap music!! You got some real nice footage to work with, and the edits are great too!

[Ivo van Aart]

Hm, ok. Some tips:

-I had the feeling you sometimes use autofocus? Try to manually focus everything you shoot.
-The tilt from the ashtray was not that fluid. Make sure to use a good tripod, if you haven't got one, try the tilt handheld.
-The scene where the hunter gets knocked down by the bunny (the flashback) the sound of his 'hello' sounds bad.
-You could have made the music louder when the hunting-scene begins. For the dramatic effect. But that's taste.
-While the man is running through the forrest the camera zooms and focusses. It breaks with the simple, elegant way of filming throughout the movie. It doesn't really make it more exciting.
-A little detail: when the rabbit screams: I can see you! The audio begins exactly on the videocut. Try starting the audio or video earlier. You'll see that it's more pleasant to watch.
-When the man is shot, he falls down but we don't hear a scream, thud, anything.

All of the above are just details. The fact is: I liked the film because of the good acting and storytelling.

[Rick Schultz]

Your reel looked really good. What did you shoot with?

[Lori Starfelt]

There is not enough for the substance of directing to get a sense of what your abilities and talents as a director are. I think we need to see something in a demo reel that demonstrates either your work with the character arc or story arc. And not the full scene - unless it''s a short one, but something that collapses your directorial efforts down to a few minutes.

If I didn't know you were a director, I wouldn't be able to tell from that reel. Now as a prelude to a reel or something like that, I think it's fine. Snazzy images - I like the two people facing each other on the cliffs and the woman in the high heels walking away from the bed.

I read your update page - congratulations on your successes. Very nice.

[Dennis Murphy]

Nice work.
I'd be interested to know what camera gear you used.

[Ian Stark]

Really enjoyed the reel. Some lovely moments (the people on the cliff tops, the lighting on one of the drummers, the kid rolling in the grass, the TV in the shopping cart - although that was a little close to Come To Daddy by The Aphex Twin!).

If I had one constructive criticism to make it would be that the soundtrack coupled with the regular clips from music videos kinda made the reel look like a single (but disjointed) music video. That's it - nothing else to complain about - I thought it looked great.

I echo the enquiry about the gear and edit software you used.

[Ian Stark]

Just a single editing observation (in addition to things already mentioned):

When the guy starts his run, he runs into a wooded area with autumn leaves on the ground, then you cut back to a quick clip of him running over open ground before we see him in the woods again. Just a bit disorienting.

I thought at first that the moving/defocusing camera was deliberate (a la Battlestar Galactica, NYPD Blue, etc) but a little understated, giving the unintended impression that it was accidental. If it was deliberate, there need to be faster zooms and more obvious focus slips. If it was NOT deliberate then you need to focus more carefully and use a tripod, as per Ivo's suggestions! :-)

Enjoyed the story nonetheless. Well acted (with the possible exception of when the guy gets hit on the head and falls - ever so gently - to the floor!), appropriate music, good length. And fun.

EDIT - just realised I went further than a single observation. Sorry . . .

[Cole McDonald]

YouTube - Kraft Cooking Entry - Molten Cakes

Got a call on friday to shoot this on sunday! For such a short prep, I think it came together pretty well. First shoot using my new lighting kit (basic Smith and Victor 3 piece open face photofloods) - what a treat compared to my clamp lights and worklights.

Critique away, beat it up if you like... I have an unnaturally thick skin.

Talent had never been in front of a camera, she did pretty well overall... I tried to make the set relaxing for her :)

Sound was Audio/Technica wireless lav, camera was my trusty XL1s. Twice through the recipe once for the master shots (and to see what I'd be shooting over all) and second time through to get cutaways and closeups. 3 night edit, a little work in Shake for title compositing. and away we are with the competition.

[Daniel Vanniekerk]

Next time you think golf is a difficult game, or if your game drives you crazy, watch If Everyone Cared... on Vimeo

[Bob Safay]

Wow, I am humbled. Never again will I play golf without thinking about this video. Thank you for showing human spirit at its bests. Bob Safay

[Kevin Sawicki]

Thanks
Few clearups-

"I had the feeling you sometimes use autofocus? Try to manually focus everything you shoot."
Everything was manual, but a few times i just spun the focus ring that wrong way, or just wanted it to be out of focus for a bit of the shot. I thought it gave a "someone is watching you" feel


"The tilt from the ashtray was not that fluid. Make sure to use a good tripod, if you haven't got one, try the tilt handheld."
90% of the movie was filmed by hand with a CB-105 shoulder mount.


"When the guy starts his run, he runs into a wooded area with autumn leaves on the ground, then you cut back to a quick clip of him running over open ground..."
I thought this displayed a run that "lasted a long time"...



"I thought at first that the moving/defocusing camera was deliberate..."
Deliberate. Wanted an action-y feel.


Thanks for all your help guy!
I'll try to fix those issues before I submit it to my local film fest.

Thanks again,
Kevin

[Ian Stark]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sawicki

Thanks
"When the guy starts his run, he runs into a wooded area with autumn leaves on the ground, then you cut back to a quick clip of him running over open ground..."
I thought this displayed a run that "lasted a long time"...

I see your point - but having looked at it again I still get the feeling that the cut back to the open ground shot is out of place, sorry :-)

Still like the film, though!