Engagement Music Video/Short Film at DVinfo.net

Engagement Music Video/Short Film · September 15th, 2011, 02:01 PM

We only had one day to film everything with multiple locations...ended up filmed for 21 hours straight! And only a couple days to plan everything, so not everything is perfect...the cadence might be off, missed a few shots we needed...but for such a tight deadline, we're pretty proud of this one:

Let us know what you think!
Dan and Rachel Engagement Music Video.mp4 - YouTube

Lindsey Daugherty · September 16th, 2011, 11:10 PM

I thought the overall concept was super cute. I found it a bit long, though. I think some of the scenes were so similar that it would have benefitted from a bit more editing. Also, I loved the second song you used but the first one I didn't think added too much and the transition between songs was a little jarring - maybe you could have used instrumental music for the first part.

As far as the story- since I know absolutely nothing about the couple (I'm sure that everyone who knows them won't have this problem) I was a bit confused how it kept oscillating between their time together and apart. I'm guessing they were in a long distance relationship for a period of time, since in the beginning he drops her off at the airport. When he picks her up a bit later, though, it feels like they should be together from that point on since I didn't see her leave again.

The scenes I really liked were her in the grocery store, most of the scenes where they talk to each other on the phone, and where he sees the flowers in the store and then is standing at the airport holding them for her. I think if you just refined the video a bit and took out some of the extraneous scenes to make the story flow better (from my perspective, anyway) it will end up really cute!

Zhong Cheung · September 16th, 2011, 11:18 PM

Thanks Lindsey, yeah, some of the cadence wasn't perfect, but we were operating under many restrictions:

We were requested to use the first song (Hey There Delilah), the second song came as an add on only after we told them there's no way to tell the whole story in just the first song alone. I was also more of a fan of the second song, but they really wanted the first song. We also only had 1 day to shoot and 2-3 days to edit, so we really just ran out of time to plan/edit things super smoothly.

You're right though about her never leaving the airport again...oops, mistakes happen when you only have a day to plan lol.

The concept was they wanted not only to show that they were in a long distance relationship, they also tasked us with the requirement of incorporating that Bible verse about the three cords somehow. Then they also wanted some touchy feely scenes of them being together. All in one day...lol.

Curious which scenes you felt were too drawn out or extraneous?

Lindsey Daugherty · September 17th, 2011, 12:14 AM

I'm really impressed that you managed to put it all together in that short time!

I hate being tied down to a song; that's too bad that you had to use it since the clients requested it. I do wonder if maybe what you could have done is loop the first chords of the song, show her leaving at the airport while that's playing and then switch to the vocals for about a minute or two while you showed some of your flashback scenes and the two of them moping around.

The only scene that feels too long is the one where they are going through pictures in the ipad. I think a few swipes and the shot you had of them looking at it (great angle!) would have been fine. It also seemed like there were a lot of shots of him just walking. Otherwise, watching it a second time, I think it's just a few seconds here and there on most clips that could be cut down. I mean, as a whole it felt long to watch but it wasn't that I lost interest in watching it!

And I mentioned the airport scene because oops - I hadn't realized that one was a flashback, too. The grading was more subtle for that shot and I totally missed it. I noticed it the second time around =P.

Anyway, they definitely are a cute couple and I'm sure they're thrilled (or will be soon!) with their video!

September 16th, 2011, 11:10 PM	#2
Lindsey Daugherty New Boot Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Redlands, CA Posts: 8	Re: Engagement Music Video/Short Film I thought the overall concept was super cute. I found it a bit long, though. I think some of the scenes were so similar that it would have benefitted from a bit more editing. Also, I loved the second song you used but the first one I didn't think added too much and the transition between songs was a little jarring - maybe you could have used instrumental music for the first part. As far as the story- since I know absolutely nothing about the couple (I'm sure that everyone who knows them won't have this problem) I was a bit confused how it kept oscillating between their time together and apart. I'm guessing they were in a long distance relationship for a period of time, since in the beginning he drops her off at the airport. When he picks her up a bit later, though, it feels like they should be together from that point on since I didn't see her leave again. The scenes I really liked were her in the grocery store, most of the scenes where they talk to each other on the phone, and where he sees the flowers in the store and then is standing at the airport holding them for her. I think if you just refined the video a bit and took out some of the extraneous scenes to make the story flow better (from my perspective, anyway) it will end up really cute! __________________ :: www.tiltedsky.com ::

September 16th, 2011, 11:18 PM	#3
Zhong Cheung Major Player Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 202	Re: Engagement Music Video/Short Film Thanks Lindsey, yeah, some of the cadence wasn't perfect, but we were operating under many restrictions: We were requested to use the first song (Hey There Delilah), the second song came as an add on only after we told them there's no way to tell the whole story in just the first song alone. I was also more of a fan of the second song, but they really wanted the first song. We also only had 1 day to shoot and 2-3 days to edit, so we really just ran out of time to plan/edit things super smoothly. You're right though about her never leaving the airport again...oops, mistakes happen when you only have a day to plan lol. The concept was they wanted not only to show that they were in a long distance relationship, they also tasked us with the requirement of incorporating that Bible verse about the three cords somehow. Then they also wanted some touchy feely scenes of them being together. All in one day...lol. Curious which scenes you felt were too drawn out or extraneous?

September 17th, 2011, 12:14 AM	#4
Lindsey Daugherty New Boot Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Redlands, CA Posts: 8	Re: Engagement Music Video/Short Film I'm really impressed that you managed to put it all together in that short time! I hate being tied down to a song; that's too bad that you had to use it since the clients requested it. I do wonder if maybe what you could have done is loop the first chords of the song, show her leaving at the airport while that's playing and then switch to the vocals for about a minute or two while you showed some of your flashback scenes and the two of them moping around. The only scene that feels too long is the one where they are going through pictures in the ipad. I think a few swipes and the shot you had of them looking at it (great angle!) would have been fine. It also seemed like there were a lot of shots of him just walking. Otherwise, watching it a second time, I think it's just a few seconds here and there on most clips that could be cut down. I mean, as a whole it felt long to watch but it wasn't that I lost interest in watching it! And I mentioned the airport scene because oops - I hadn't realized that one was a flashback, too. The grading was more subtle for that shot and I totally missed it. I noticed it the second time around =P. Anyway, they definitely are a cute couple and I'm sure they're thrilled (or will be soon!) with their video! __________________ :: www.tiltedsky.com ::