Mini doc about filming a film festival - Please give me feedback!

[Nick Haman]

Hey guys,

So 2 years ago I filmed a documentary about myself filming at a film festival in France, using my trusty Canon XF100. I then quickly forgot about the footage because I bought a new camera and wanted to edit with that footage instead of going back to the XF. - Bad planning on my part, but better late than never I guess.

Recently I found I had some spare time on my hands so decided to actually do something with this film, and here is the result. I'd love some feedback! Is it too long? Does it give enough info? What's missing? Is it even interesting?

Disclaimer: I've never spent anytime in front of a camera, so that was a novel experience for me. enjoy!

I planned, wrote, presented, filmed, audio-ed, edited and voiceover-ed the whole piece. In fact the only thing that not me is the music... but I did chose it.

The watermarked clips, while shot by me, were for another company. Thankfully, they've kindly let me use that footage with the watermark.

Please, don't hold anything back.

Filming the Film Festival - YouTube

[Nick Haman]

Hey guys,

So 2 years ago I filmed a documentary about myself filming at a film festival in France, using my trusty Canon XF100. I then quickly forgot about the footage because I bought a new camera and wanted to edit with that footage instead of going back to the XF. - Bad planning on my part, but better late than never I guess.

Recently I found I had some spare time on my hands so decided to actually do something with this film, and here is the result. I'd love some feedback! Is it too long? Does it give enough info? What's missing? Is it even interesting?

Disclaimer: I've never spent anytime in front of a camera, so that was a novel experience for me. enjoy!

I planned, wrote, presented, filmed, audio-ed, edited and voiceover-ed the whole piece. In fact the only thing that not me is the music... but I did chose it.

The watermarked clips, while shot by me, were for another company. Thankfully, they've kindly let me use that footage with the watermark.

Please, don't hold anything back.

Filming the Film Festival - YouTube

[Gary Huff]

You nailed the style for sure, I'd say your on-camera presence doesn't match the VO. You tend to ramble and are a little flat on camera, but the VO is very peppy, so you have it, you just have to pull it out when you're being filmed.

I'm not sure who your intended audience is. It's both a too much "how the sausage is made" for the casual viewer, but not technical enough for someone who has any experience. I think the rendering segment is a good example. I don't think the casual viewer would get anything about that, so it's not compelling, but for someone, like me, who understands that process, then I have questions that are unanswered in the piece. Why do you have to render into XDCAM MOV? How do you actually get those renders to the editor? Uploading? Is the upload bandwidth there fast? Those kinds of questions.

[Rainer Listing]

Excellent clear vo. Please share with us how you got such a clear vocals w/o wind noise while your hair was being blown around. I'd also like some forum member's opinion on the relationship between a vlog and a doco, probably suitable topic a new thread but relevant in the current context - seems to me there's been an emerging distinction and if so, this is a mostly a vlog, but like Gary says above, not sure about the intended audience -- you've got vlog, doco, event and "how to" - would it be better to focus more on any one or produce more than one video? There's always room for a few cuts "if in doubt...". Composition, maybe there's something in the "rule of thirds" for interviews?

[Nick Haman]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I was afraid of falling into that middle ground. Perhaps I can cut the more 'technical' stuff, like the encoding and shooting into the sun etc. Maybe trim it to 5 minutes to ensure it's only the more interesting sections. But just for you...

Why do you have to render into XDCAM MOV?
XDCAM is good enough for broadcast, while small enough for transfer over bad internet. transfering those files mean the editors can send it out to clients asap. Then when I get back, we can relink to the original files for any shows that don't need to be pushed out while the festival is still ongoing. I guess look at it like they're proxies that can be broadcast in the short term.

How do you actually get those renders to the editor?
We use Aspera Connect, very reliable upload speeds and organising.

Uploading? Is the upload bandwidth there fast?
Nope, maxed at around 15mbps, definitely an over night job.

--

The clear vocals in the windy scene is just a lav with a windjammer over it. I then tried to hide it between my T-shirt and long sleeve. It worked quite well haha!

Yeah, I guess this is kind of a Vlog, but as you say, where's the distinction? If for example, I didn't include those shots of me walking with the camera, would you still say it's a Vlog? What I had someone else filming those bits for me? Is a Vlog the content or the way it's filmed? If it''s that latter, how could an SPC get around that?

I personally hate Vlogs, and really hoped this wouldn't come across as one haha... Like I said though, I'll go back to it and trim, so now I know where to start haha! Aim for that "how to" doco even more.

Rule of Thirds, I totally agree, watching the footage back 2 years later I kept asking myself 'Why did I do that?' - but in the end decided it wasn't ugly enough or 'wrong' enough to worry too much about haha.

Thanks again for the feedback! This is a fun little hobby project and a great way to learn from bad habbits. I'll definitely keep going with it, to see what it ends up looking like.

[Andrew Smith]

That was great, and I reckon you could do narration / VO if you ever got tired of the camera work. Great style to it.

Andrew

[Paul R Johnson]

I quite liked it - great voice and you look solid, bar the hair in the wind!!

Enjoyed watching it.

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Nick Haman

I personally hate Vlogs, and really hoped this wouldn't come across as one haha.

It doesn't. Definitely feels more like a Travel Channel or Food Network kind of show.

[Doug Jensen]

Hey Nick, I think it was really, really, well done. Excellent job. I think the shooting, the information you provided, and your performance were right on the money. If there was an award for little documentaries like this I think you'd deserve a nomination and probably the grand prize. I think the idea to mount the GoPro on an arm connected to your main camera was genius. You might have done more of that.

My only minor criticisms are that you should have hid the mic (or at least the cable) while you were driving. And the white balance fluctuated a lot during the early b-roll. But neither really detracts from the overall piece.
I'd hire you.

[Nick Haman]

Wow thanks Doug!

Yeah, I was really hapy how that GoPro shot came out, getting some footage on the front lines as it where. I didn't want to turn it into a gimmick and overuse it though, but I guess I can slip a few more shots in there to spice it up a little.

I've been busy since posting this, but I'm actually going to go back to the edit with it next week anyway, trim some of the fat and the more rambling parts, as well as tackle some of those colour issues. I'll be sure to post the updated version when it's ready.

As for the award thing - I was thinking of seeking out some online festivals / shorts competitions to see if I can find anything... who knows. I made this for a fun project, but maybe there's something I can get out of it.

Thanks again for the kind words.

[Chris Hurd]

Very well done, Nick. Many thanks for sharing it with us here.

[Bryce Comer]

I agree with everything that's been said. A great little doco. Thanks for sharing.

[Nick Haman]

I know it's been a while, but that just seems to be the nature of this project as a whole haha!

Here's an amended version, with some of the more boring parts cut out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPbv...ature=youtu.be

[Nick Haman]

I made this post in 2 separate, but still relevant sub-forums, but I guess one of them didn't like it and now its merged two discussions into one haha. Sorry for the confusion, and all the double info in here now.. Enjoy!