New Samples Page -- All XF300

I'm so thankful for the all the great advice I've received from the dvinfo forum. In the case of my samples page, I've now finally mustered up -- for the first time -- an entirely HD samples page with a new layout using vimeo. I'd love any comments, from the actual video content (thoughts on getting more from my camera) to the use of music (all royalty free music recommended by this forum: premiumbeat, withettiquette, triplescoop), to the layout/interface of the way the sample page works.

Always a work in progress and I appreciate any comments!

TBV | Samples

Thanks,
Tim

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Tim Bakland

I'm so thankful for the all the great advice I've received from the dvinfo forum. In the case of my samples page, I've now finally mustered up -- for the first time -- an entirely HD samples page with a new layout using vimeo. I'd love any comments, from the actual video content (thoughts on getting more from my camera) to the use of music (all royalty free music recommended by this forum: premiumbeat, withettiquette, triplescoop), to the layout/interface of the way the sample page works.

Always a work in progress and I appreciate any comments!

TBV | Samples

Thanks,
Tim

Or, to ask a more direct question: do you feel like this portfolio holds up in today's DSLR world (this is all shot with Canon XF cams), or does my work beg for DSLR? (I kind of thought that suggestion might come from this crowd!)

TBV | Samples

[Ken Diewert]

Hey Tim,

It looks good. Adding DSLR might add a little something, but if you shoot solo, it's not always easy to incorporate them as they are much more demanding. You might want to think about a slider. I think that with a slider, manual focus, and using foreground elements, you can achieve a psuedo DSLR look.

One thing a DSLR tends to do is keep you from executing on camera zooms (which I noticed a couple of, in your HD sample). With DSLR it's either crash zoom for effect, or if using a prime lens you might creep zoom in post. I'm not a big fan of most on-cam zooming. As someone once said ' the human eye doesn't zoom'

[Tim Bakland]

Very helpful - thanks, Ken!

[Matthew Craggs]

Tim,

Good stuff. I liked the energy, and it certainly holds up to a lot of DSLR stuff.

What I would change is the color. I would back away from the Magic Bullet presets, or at least tone them down so that they're not so heavy. There are a lot of really good shots, but I look at them and I can't help but think "BLOCKBUSTER!"

[Tim Bakland]

Thanks so much, Matthew - good advice.

By the way, I love the media player interface on your Studio67 site (and the content of course! -- which helps underscore your point about easing up on the Looks effects).

[Robert Turchick]

Originally Posted by Matthew Craggs

Tim,

Good stuff. I liked the energy, and it certainly holds up to a lot of DSLR stuff.

What I would change is the color. I would back away from the Magic Bullet presets, or at least tone them down so that they're not so heavy. There are a lot of really good shots, but I look at them and I can't help but think "BLOCKBUSTER!"

Second this. But I'm not a fan of the MB looks anyway. One thing I have started doing is tweaking the presets on the 300. Makes a big difference in the look with minimal work in post. Though I'm still tweaking, my 7D and 300 are getting closer to matching color-wise. The 300 is just so awesome in the resolution dept, that I really use the 7D sparingly, mostly for low light and of course the super shallow DOF.
The dslrs are nice to have for certain shots but in your demo, I don't miss it since the 300 looks so good. If you desire the blurry background, simply move the camera further away from the subject, subject further from the BG and zoom in. Did this on an interview recently with fantastic results.
Also added the Canon WA adapter to my bag o tricks and while subtle, does give a different feel especially when the camera is moving like on a slider, dolly or crane.

All in all, very nice stuff! Keep up the good work!