Beach Engagement Shoot to Share

Matthew Ebenezer · September 26th, 2008, 11:43 PM

Thought I'd share this engagement shoot video we filmed on 23 August. I can show it now 'cause the couple played it at their engagement party this morning.

There's a few things I'm not happy with but I'll wait to hear everyone's thoughts before I share mine.

Any comments/feedback/critique are most welcome.

Paul and Aleisha - Gold Coast eShoot - HD on Vimeo

Cheers,

Matthew.

Noa Put · September 27th, 2008, 02:04 AM

"Not happy with?" You have got to be kidding, this was great!
I'm actually a tripod guy (can't afford a glidecam or 35mm adapter right now :)) but the handheld shots combined with the glide shots worked really well and those colors! Was that just a preset or did you do adjustments in post?

I see you have a real talent for this kind of productions and you manage to balance your glidecam and 35mm adapter use perfectly. You also seem to find all those great camera angles, do you use some kind of script or is it just improvising at the spot?

About the shaky handheld shots, as I said I work a lot with a tripod and even handheld I try to keep as steady as possible. My opinion on shaky shots has often been that it screams amateur but your production proves otherwise. I think what does the trick here is that a 35mm adapter was used, the fast shootingstyle and the way you edit it, especially those colors that are used.

Not happy with, pff, what were you thinking? ;)

Danny O'Neill · September 27th, 2008, 03:42 AM

Whats not to like matt. Im quickly becoming a fan of your work. The contrast in this one is outstanding and totally suits. Especially at 2:24 I just love that look.

Jason Bowers · September 27th, 2008, 03:15 PM

Hey Matt,
That was not what i'm used to seeing from you I thought you were producing good stuff? That was terrible, I can understand why your not happy with it. It made me excited and made me smile a few times. I can see where your distressed, I imagine the couples family loved it? Goes to show ya that any amateur can grab a camcorder and become a film maker. You should be ashamed of yourself for even posting that stuff here around us clearly you don't know what masters of film we all are. Let that be a lesson for you.

;)

Tom Sessions · September 27th, 2008, 08:37 PM

This really sucks!!! I'd say, "Back to the drawing board" for a reshoot and edit. Colors seemed to be washed out as well. Punch up the saturation and contrast to give a little "pop".....:-)

Jason Robinson · September 28th, 2008, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Ebenezer

Thought I'd share this engagement shoot video we filmed on 23 August. I can show it now 'cause the couple played it at their engagement party this morning.

There's a few things I'm not happy with but I'll wait to hear everyone's thoughts before I share mine.

Any comments/feedback/critique are most welcome.

Paul and Aleisha - Gold Coast eShoot - HD on Vimeo

Cheers,

Matthew.

Goodness. Next time show something you are proud of. :-)

Obviously since everyone has nothing but snarky comments, that means your production is amazing. And I'll as much. Very good job.

Louis Maddalena · September 28th, 2008, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Robinson

Goodness. Next time show something you are proud of. :-)

Obviously since everyone has nothing but snarky comments, that means your production is amazing. And I'll as much. Very good job.

Yeah seriously, would love to see something your proud of. I thought it was pretty much awesome. Some of the shakyness was a bit over done but was still awesome!

You're very talented, no need to second guess yourself.

Travis Cossel · September 28th, 2008, 03:43 PM

Love the coloring and the contrast. You had a consistent look and feel from start to finish, so that was nice as well. Some great shot ideas as well. REALLY loved the shot of the reflection of the couple in the water on the beach. Outstanding. The "half shot" of the bride's face with her hair blowing .. awesome.

Now for the "bad". There were a few places that the shakiness just felt a bit too much. I think maybe you might have had a stronger piece if you had incorporated some solid static shots as well. Of course, this is just speculation. I also think a few slo-mo shots could have worked well too, especially when the music slowed down.

But this is all nit-picky and speculative. You should be proud of this piece.

Matthew Ebenezer · September 30th, 2008, 11:04 PM

Hey guys,

Ok, ok ... I get the point :) Thanks for the positive feedback and for giving me a good laugh.

I guess this clip was one of those videos where I'd been staring at it for so long I couldn't tell whether it was good or bad any more.

A couple of the things I didn't like (which it seems don't show in the final product):

- It was so windy that day the Merlin was next to useless
- My wife (who was the photographer on this shoot) - her little brother was my 2nd shooter. He'd never used a video camera in his life and had only come along to hold my cameras so I could easily change from steadicam to 35mm. Anyway, I explained to him about the 'rule of thirds' and he did ok with his filming. All the shaky shots are his of course ;)
- I thought maybe there were too many silhouette shots

Thanks for checking it out!

Cheers,

Matthew.

September 26th, 2008, 11:43 PM	#1
Matthew Ebenezer Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Posts: 370	Beach Engagement Shoot to Share - Gold Coast, Australia Thought I'd share this engagement shoot video we filmed on 23 August. I can show it now 'cause the couple played it at their engagement party this morning. There's a few things I'm not happy with but I'll wait to hear everyone's thoughts before I share mine. Any comments/feedback/critique are most welcome. Paul and Aleisha - Gold Coast eShoot - HD on Vimeo Cheers, Matthew. __________________ --------------------------------------------------------- www.shadowplay.com.au --- www.shadowplay.com.au/blog

September 27th, 2008, 03:42 AM	#3
Danny O'Neill Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 915	Whats not to like matt. Im quickly becoming a fan of your work. The contrast in this one is outstanding and totally suits. Especially at 2:24 I just love that look. __________________ mintyslippers.com

September 28th, 2008, 03:43 PM	#8
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	Love the coloring and the contrast. You had a consistent look and feel from start to finish, so that was nice as well. Some great shot ideas as well. REALLY loved the shot of the reflection of the couple in the water on the beach. Outstanding. The "half shot" of the bride's face with her hair blowing .. awesome. Now for the "bad". There were a few places that the shakiness just felt a bit too much. I think maybe you might have had a stronger piece if you had incorporated some solid static shots as well. Of course, this is just speculation. I also think a few slo-mo shots could have worked well too, especially when the music slowed down. But this is all nit-picky and speculative. You should be proud of this piece. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

September 30th, 2008, 11:04 PM	#9
Matthew Ebenezer Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Posts: 370	Hey guys, Ok, ok ... I get the point :) Thanks for the positive feedback and for giving me a good laugh. I guess this clip was one of those videos where I'd been staring at it for so long I couldn't tell whether it was good or bad any more. A couple of the things I didn't like (which it seems don't show in the final product): - It was so windy that day the Merlin was next to useless - My wife (who was the photographer on this shoot) - her little brother was my 2nd shooter. He'd never used a video camera in his life and had only come along to hold my cameras so I could easily change from steadicam to 35mm. Anyway, I explained to him about the 'rule of thirds' and he did ok with his filming. All the shaky shots are his of course ;) - I thought maybe there were too many silhouette shots Thanks for checking it out! Cheers, Matthew. __________________ --------------------------------------------------------- www.shadowplay.com.au --- www.shadowplay.com.au/blog

September 27th, 2008, 02:04 AM	#2
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	"Not happy with?" You have got to be kidding, this was great! I'm actually a tripod guy (can't afford a glidecam or 35mm adapter right now :)) but the handheld shots combined with the glide shots worked really well and those colors! Was that just a preset or did you do adjustments in post? I see you have a real talent for this kind of productions and you manage to balance your glidecam and 35mm adapter use perfectly. You also seem to find all those great camera angles, do you use some kind of script or is it just improvising at the spot? About the shaky handheld shots, as I said I work a lot with a tripod and even handheld I try to keep as steady as possible. My opinion on shaky shots has often been that it screams amateur but your production proves otherwise. I think what does the trick here is that a 35mm adapter was used, the fast shootingstyle and the way you edit it, especially those colors that are used. Not happy with, pff, what were you thinking? ;)

September 27th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#4
Jason Bowers Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Thunder Bay, ON. Canada Posts: 374	Hey Matt, That was not what i'm used to seeing from you I thought you were producing good stuff? That was terrible, I can understand why your not happy with it. It made me excited and made me smile a few times. I can see where your distressed, I imagine the couples family loved it? Goes to show ya that any amateur can grab a camcorder and become a film maker. You should be ashamed of yourself for even posting that stuff here around us clearly you don't know what masters of film we all are. Let that be a lesson for you. ;)

September 27th, 2008, 08:37 PM	#5
Tom Sessions Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 154	This really sucks!!! I'd say, "Back to the drawing board" for a reshoot and edit. Colors seemed to be washed out as well. Punch up the saturation and contrast to give a little "pop".....:-)