Any thoughts? at DVinfo.net

Mike Williams · June 27th, 2008, 09:58 PM

http://www.vimeo.com/1227654

I posted on the show your work section but I think I'm really outclassed there :) The talent is scary :) I hope to reach the hights of some of those guys n girls there. This was an early experience with my EX but I kind of took a departure from the usual deal. I went for more of a fifty foot films feel.

I shot HQ mode but 60i . I think I'm going to go with 720 30P because it seems to look so much better on SD DVD which is my delivery format until apple provides support for HD delivery. I'm sort of broke after moving to EX. Months later I'm still not in love with the work flow but thats another story. This isn't what the couple got and there are some rough cuts that were fixed but I think you will get the idea. Looking for any and all critisms.

Thanks

Mike

Oren Arieli · June 27th, 2008, 11:41 PM

Some great shots in there, along with some smooth camera movement, but there were inconsistencies with the exposure (especially in the first 2 minutes) and some 'sunburned' skin tones. For me, the music wasn't working with the way it was edited. You could have gotten a bit edgier with that song (especially at the end) or taken a different tack with something a bit more romantic. I love the long tracking shot at 3:54, but the change in white balance and exposure could be smoothed out with color grading.

Mike Williams · June 28th, 2008, 12:09 AM

This was an early experience with the EX. On the long tracking shot I actually took my hand off the glidecam and hit the full auto botton in order to have the cam clamp down and expose the groom below. I have since disabled the AWB :) It does some really wierd stuff! The sunburn is the natress film effects. I kind of like it :) I hope they do too:)

My wife doesn't like the sunburn look though so there ya go! I appreciate your viewing it took me some deep breaths to put this up. This group is really good!

Thanks for such a great Forum!!!!

Mark Ganglfinger · June 28th, 2008, 06:24 AM

Well, I was going to post something today, but my stuff now seems quite boring compared to that.
I'm just going to wait until someone posts something really bad, then I'll post!

Anyway, looked good to me.

Travis Cossel · June 28th, 2008, 11:49 AM

Pretty good work. Nothing to be ashamed of, that's for sure. My initial suggestions would be:

On the static handheld shots at the beginning, don't go handheld. Use a tripod. It's one thing to have some shakiness in handheld shots that are meant to look handheld, but a static shot of a building is meant to look stable, so shoot it on a tripod and it will work out much better.

I also think you could have made the editing work more with the song. Try editing more to the beat of the song. It takes more work but it will feel more connected that way. The song has some great double beat moments where you could do quick cuts between 2 clips and really give the edit some character. Like someone else mentioned, the ending of the song really begged for a more dramatic edit.

I would also try to watch out for using too many clips where people are talking. You can't hear what they are saying and after several of these clips it just became very noticeable to me and my mind was instinctively wanting to hear what they were saying. It didn't help that you had some shots where people were being somewhat dramatic while talking (like the groom posing by the sign, etc.). That just makes the mind want to hear them even more. You end up feeling like you're missing part of the story, and you don't want your shots doing that.

Near the beginning I felt a little bit like the shots of the location were dragging just a bit long. Minor stuff, though.

Last thing. I think the last shot was held for too long. There were some moments of magic between them, but the right near the end of the shot the magic kind of leaves as he starts talking to her. I also would have used the music and made cuts between the wide shot and the closeup, and thus eliminated the shaking section between the two. And then just cut the shot sooner so you preserve the magic between them.

I know that's a lot of suggestions, but it's not as bad as it sounds. The video was good, and these are just my suggestions to make it better. Whatever you do, don't be afraid to post on here because everyone generally has your best interests in mind and it will only help you improve your work. Thanks for sharing.

Mike Williams · June 28th, 2008, 11:35 PM

Mark I know what how you feel, it took me many months of watching the best of the best and trying to emulate them to get the nerve to post here :) Just go for it.

Travis, WOW great suggestions! I agree on the tripod shots! I HATE to carry more crap around with me but I have just added a monopod to the multi hour shoots.

My business model here has me shooting 98% of my wedding lasting ONE hour. The ceremony is about 11-15 min and the rest is a mad rush of group shots and or beauty shots! The is great practice for all day jobs.

The final edit was shorter on the ending as well as a few more cuts. I shot a little heavy on the establishing shots cuz' I wanted to impress the venue owner :)

I really like the input on the speaking aspect! Good info, I will take that to the bank :)

All the best to all!

Travis Cossel · June 29th, 2008, 03:40 AM

No problem. I hate dragging a tripod around too. I actually just started doing that this year for pre-ceremony preps. It has allowed me to get much better location shots and shots of the rings, etc. Still a pain, though.

ONE hour for the typical wedding?!?! Wow. That's good and bad. I generally shoot for 10-12 hours (sometimes even more) on a wedding day, and while it's completely exhausting I also have a lot of different types of footage to work with later. One hour makes that a lot more difficult.

Jason Robinson · June 29th, 2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

No problem. I hate dragging a tripod around too. I actually just started doing that this year for pre-ceremony preps. It has allowed me to get much better location shots and shots of the rings, etc. Still a pain, though.

ONE hour for the typical wedding?!?! Wow. That's good and bad. I generally shoot for 10-12 hours (sometimes even more) on a wedding day, and while it's completely exhausting I also have a lot of different types of footage to work with later. One hour makes that a lot more difficult.

I completely agree. I hate feeling rushed. I showed up for Friday's wedding client about 1/2 before anyone else and took the time to wander around the location and look for shots. It turns out the bride was significantly behind, so I very little to shoot video of.... but it was still a welcome change from some of my other frantic pre-ceremony shoots.

Mike Williams · June 29th, 2008, 05:39 PM

I always enjoy having the time to "recalibrate" my senses at a location and just try to tap into the creative groove. I usually put on my cans and plug in my ipod to visualize my shots as I work to "see" them set to music. Of course this is only when applicable, not during critical monitoring :)

But it is a major rush most of the time! This wedding I was on location for two hours with another hour at a different venue later in the day. The more I think of it the more banans it sounds. Dip and ship and they would say in the scuba business.

I still try hard to creat something really cool and apply what I learn watching guys like Jason Mag and Dave Williams etc.

June 27th, 2008, 09:58 PM	#1
Mike Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USVI Posts: 232	Any thoughts? http://www.vimeo.com/1227654 I posted on the show your work section but I think I'm really outclassed there :) The talent is scary :) I hope to reach the hights of some of those guys n girls there. This was an early experience with my EX but I kind of took a departure from the usual deal. I went for more of a fifty foot films feel. I shot HQ mode but 60i . I think I'm going to go with 720 30P because it seems to look so much better on SD DVD which is my delivery format until apple provides support for HD delivery. I'm sort of broke after moving to EX. Months later I'm still not in love with the work flow but thats another story. This isn't what the couple got and there are some rough cuts that were fixed but I think you will get the idea. Looking for any and all critisms. Thanks Mike

June 28th, 2008, 12:09 AM	#3
Mike Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USVI Posts: 232	Thanks Oren This was an early experience with the EX. On the long tracking shot I actually took my hand off the glidecam and hit the full auto botton in order to have the cam clamp down and expose the groom below. I have since disabled the AWB :) It does some really wierd stuff! The sunburn is the natress film effects. I kind of like it :) I hope they do too:) My wife doesn't like the sunburn look though so there ya go! I appreciate your viewing it took me some deep breaths to put this up. This group is really good! Thanks for such a great Forum!!!!

June 28th, 2008, 11:49 AM	#5
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	Pretty good work. Nothing to be ashamed of, that's for sure. My initial suggestions would be: On the static handheld shots at the beginning, don't go handheld. Use a tripod. It's one thing to have some shakiness in handheld shots that are meant to look handheld, but a static shot of a building is meant to look stable, so shoot it on a tripod and it will work out much better. I also think you could have made the editing work more with the song. Try editing more to the beat of the song. It takes more work but it will feel more connected that way. The song has some great double beat moments where you could do quick cuts between 2 clips and really give the edit some character. Like someone else mentioned, the ending of the song really begged for a more dramatic edit. I would also try to watch out for using too many clips where people are talking. You can't hear what they are saying and after several of these clips it just became very noticeable to me and my mind was instinctively wanting to hear what they were saying. It didn't help that you had some shots where people were being somewhat dramatic while talking (like the groom posing by the sign, etc.). That just makes the mind want to hear them even more. You end up feeling like you're missing part of the story, and you don't want your shots doing that. Near the beginning I felt a little bit like the shots of the location were dragging just a bit long. Minor stuff, though. Last thing. I think the last shot was held for too long. There were some moments of magic between them, but the right near the end of the shot the magic kind of leaves as he starts talking to her. I also would have used the music and made cuts between the wide shot and the closeup, and thus eliminated the shaking section between the two. And then just cut the shot sooner so you preserve the magic between them. I know that's a lot of suggestions, but it's not as bad as it sounds. The video was good, and these are just my suggestions to make it better. Whatever you do, don't be afraid to post on here because everyone generally has your best interests in mind and it will only help you improve your work. Thanks for sharing. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

June 28th, 2008, 11:35 PM	#6
Mike Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USVI Posts: 232	Thanks Guys! Mark I know what how you feel, it took me many months of watching the best of the best and trying to emulate them to get the nerve to post here :) Just go for it. Travis, WOW great suggestions! I agree on the tripod shots! I HATE to carry more crap around with me but I have just added a monopod to the multi hour shoots. My business model here has me shooting 98% of my wedding lasting ONE hour. The ceremony is about 11-15 min and the rest is a mad rush of group shots and or beauty shots! The is great practice for all day jobs. The final edit was shorter on the ending as well as a few more cuts. I shot a little heavy on the establishing shots cuz' I wanted to impress the venue owner :) I really like the input on the speaking aspect! Good info, I will take that to the bank :) All the best to all!

June 29th, 2008, 03:40 AM	#7
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	No problem. I hate dragging a tripod around too. I actually just started doing that this year for pre-ceremony preps. It has allowed me to get much better location shots and shots of the rings, etc. Still a pain, though. ONE hour for the typical wedding?!?! Wow. That's good and bad. I generally shoot for 10-12 hours (sometimes even more) on a wedding day, and while it's completely exhausting I also have a lot of different types of footage to work with later. One hour makes that a lot more difficult. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

June 27th, 2008, 11:41 PM	#2
Oren Arieli Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 919	Some great shots in there, along with some smooth camera movement, but there were inconsistencies with the exposure (especially in the first 2 minutes) and some 'sunburned' skin tones. For me, the music wasn't working with the way it was edited. You could have gotten a bit edgier with that song (especially at the end) or taken a different tack with something a bit more romantic. I love the long tracking shot at 3:54, but the change in white balance and exposure could be smoothed out with color grading.

June 28th, 2008, 06:24 AM	#4
Mark Ganglfinger Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Hermon Maine USA Posts: 138	Well, I was going to post something today, but my stuff now seems quite boring compared to that. I'm just going to wait until someone posts something really bad, then I'll post! Anyway, looked good to me.

June 29th, 2008, 05:39 PM	#9
Mike Williams Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USVI Posts: 232	I agree I always enjoy having the time to "recalibrate" my senses at a location and just try to tap into the creative groove. I usually put on my cans and plug in my ipod to visualize my shots as I work to "see" them set to music. Of course this is only when applicable, not during critical monitoring :) But it is a major rush most of the time! This wedding I was on location for two hours with another hour at a different venue later in the day. The more I think of it the more banans it sounds. Dip and ship and they would say in the scuba business. I still try hard to creat something really cool and apply what I learn watching guys like Jason Mag and Dave Williams etc.