Highlights Video... Constructive criticism please at DVinfo.net

Michael Rodo · March 20th, 2005, 04:33 PM

I have been viewing and taking notes from the many samples that I've seen online... now it is my turn..
Let me know where I need to improve/change.... I'm tough, I can take it..

http://www.rodovideo.com/Plew_Highlight_wmv.htm

Thanks My Fellow Wedding Videographers!

Bob Costa · March 20th, 2005, 04:56 PM

clip does not play. WHy not just post a direct wmv file?

Bob Costa · March 20th, 2005, 05:15 PM

Well I dug into page source to find the wmv file. Overall nice editing. I didn't like ending with clothing and I thought your use of vignette-style blurring was a bit overdone. I thought some of the camera work could be better, especially attention to lighting.On second viewing, I realized that the more I see weddings in 16x9, the more I think that 4x3 is a better format 90% of the time. But overall very nice work, and I am sure your clients are happy.

Michael Rodo · March 21st, 2005, 07:43 PM

Posted the same thing over on Video University and got a lot of feedback... so here is what I did with the suggestions.

http://rodovideo.com/Plew Highlight 2.wmv

let me know what you think...

Thanks Mike R.

Bob Costa · March 21st, 2005, 08:44 PM

Thanks for reposting. I didn't compare, so I am working from memory. But I like the sequencing of shots and the "story" flows much better now. I also like the new shots you added, and didn't miss anything so I don't know what you took out. Much nicer ending too. Great job !!! Raise your rates. :)

Glen Elliott · March 22nd, 2005, 12:15 PM

Hi MIchael, sorry for replying so late but I'll critique the second clip you posted. Please don't mistake the length of my critique to be negative or overly critical- I'm going to make a point to be very comprehensive. Also keep in mind a good deal of my input is subjective and can fall into the realm of artistic vision. These style of critiques have helped me a great deal with my own work.

0:00-0:13 Nice establishing shots, though I'd try to smooth out the third shot (of the table and glasses) maybe use a smaller portion of the clip and slow it down to stretch it. Using only the bit of the clip that doesn't have unsteadiness.

0:13-0:23 Nice snyc with music- very stylistic

0:24 I felt the shot was a little long. The pacing of the clip started fairly upbeat then this shot seemed to slow it down. I can see what audio que you picked up on with the vocals starting, almost sort of smoothing out the song. Keep in mind even with slow smooth vocals you can keep your edits tighter and maintain the smoothness through your dissolves. More basic compositions don't take the brain as long to take in. Beings the composition and action in the shot wasn't complex and could probably be taken easily in maybe a 3-4 second shot.

0:34 Maybe I'm a bit slow but I got confused a bit..lol. The setting changed and the shot was still of the bride but at first (until I saw a few sucessful shots) I thought it was a bride's maid.) Sometimes it's better to introduce your bride and groom with a tighter shot.

0:54 Great profile shot. Love the pastel colors of the background. Again I felt this shot was a bit long- I see the audio que you were waiting for. Sometimes you can get away with stretching the shot by fading slowly to black. That way it doesn't "feel" like it's on the screen for such a long period of time. I think the fact that the bride is so static contributed to it.

1:10 Great smile from the bride! I like the cell phone concept.

1:22 Interesting use of a "light rays" filter. Vegas editor? Maybe try ramping up the effect as it approaches the following cut rather than starting with the light rays full blast.

1:26 Nice! I liked how you flashed to stills as the song transitioned. Very good timing as well. Good feel for the song. I "loved" how you faded out the last picture...it breathed with the song. (hey I notice the small things sometimes!)

1:36 Great profile of the bride- much better than the first. The colors feel a little cold though.

1:40 Fantastic shot. Great use of foreground element. I love shots like this.

1:55 Interesting pose- photographer pose? Only suggestion would be to try and add some movement to the camera if the subjects are static. Maybe try a slow dolly. What would really be nice is if you could combine elements like that of the shot in 1:40...dollying from behind nearby brush while they hold that static pose. I feel it might make the shot more dynamic.

2:06 Very nic shot- fun! Neo-classical if you will.

2:31 Nice shots of decorations/flowers. The stop during the slow zoom was a bit disturbing...maybe try to cut out of that show before it stops zooming.

2:39 Cool pose- photographer's doing? This shot screams for a dolly from left to right- working with the spacial distance between the groom and the groomsmen. Again, sometimes just a little bit of movement can help bring static photography poses to life...after all they were meant for a still, it helps to add a little something extra when viewing them on video.

2:44 Fantastic shot of Bride and maids. Probably my favorite of the whole piece. Something about the movment and the pastel colors and the beach/ocean backdrop...looks great!

2:48 This may sound odd but NICE BOUQUET TOSS! I wish all my brides would toss like that. More umfff to it than the simple fling the arm back while keeping their standard posture.

3:36 Great shot- The bubble really add to the composition adding a foreground element...a MOVING foreground element at that. A little long, maybe could have fit one or two more shots in before the final shot.

3:50 Final shot- always an important one. Looks great- very classic. If you are indeed a Vegas editor...try this: add a generated media clip (solid color- white) and do a sloowwww dissolve to it using the "flash- white, soft" setting. I think this shot screams for it. Then you might be able to introduce the silver dollar with their names over a white background. Just an idea.

I felt your pacing hung a little bit- sometimes seemingly to meet the next audio que. Some shots of static subject were paired with static camera work that seems to "flaten" the visual appeal a bit. Also watch your white balance- I don't know if it was done purposely but many of the shots throughout seemed a bit too cool. Overall I felt you had a good sense of timing and some really nice shots in there. I really liked how didn't take the default chronological approach flashing back and forth throughout the day even to shots taken before the wedding. It's something I have to become brave enough to try myself. There are so many ways to tell a story and that kind of stuff stands out to me. Good job and thanks for posting!

Michael Rodo · March 25th, 2005, 11:14 PM

Hey thanks for the critiques guys... I want to improve and I see this as a way to get fresh ideas and it makes me look outside of my box. I usually have an idea on how I want the finish product to look and feel, and when I hear suggestions it opens my eyes and I thank you.

March 20th, 2005, 04:33 PM	#1
Michael Rodo New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lock Haven, PA Posts: 6	Highlights Video... Constructive criticism please I have been viewing and taking notes from the many samples that I've seen online... now it is my turn.. Let me know where I need to improve/change.... I'm tough, I can take it.. http://www.rodovideo.com/Plew_Highlight_wmv.htm Thanks My Fellow Wedding Videographers!

March 21st, 2005, 07:43 PM	#4
Michael Rodo New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lock Haven, PA Posts: 6	Re Edited ... How you like me now? Posted the same thing over on Video University and got a lot of feedback... so here is what I did with the suggestions. http://rodovideo.com/Plew Highlight 2.wmv let me know what you think... Thanks Mike R.

March 20th, 2005, 04:56 PM	#2
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	clip does not play. WHy not just post a direct wmv file?

March 20th, 2005, 05:15 PM	#3
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Well I dug into page source to find the wmv file. Overall nice editing. I didn't like ending with clothing and I thought your use of vignette-style blurring was a bit overdone. I thought some of the camera work could be better, especially attention to lighting.On second viewing, I realized that the more I see weddings in 16x9, the more I think that 4x3 is a better format 90% of the time. But overall very nice work, and I am sure your clients are happy.

March 21st, 2005, 08:44 PM	#5
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Thanks for reposting. I didn't compare, so I am working from memory. But I like the sequencing of shots and the "story" flows much better now. I also like the new shots you added, and didn't miss anything so I don't know what you took out. Much nicer ending too. Great job !!! Raise your rates. :)

March 22nd, 2005, 12:15 PM	#6
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Hi MIchael, sorry for replying so late but I'll critique the second clip you posted. Please don't mistake the length of my critique to be negative or overly critical- I'm going to make a point to be very comprehensive. Also keep in mind a good deal of my input is subjective and can fall into the realm of artistic vision. These style of critiques have helped me a great deal with my own work. 0:00-0:13 Nice establishing shots, though I'd try to smooth out the third shot (of the table and glasses) maybe use a smaller portion of the clip and slow it down to stretch it. Using only the bit of the clip that doesn't have unsteadiness. 0:13-0:23 Nice snyc with music- very stylistic 0:24 I felt the shot was a little long. The pacing of the clip started fairly upbeat then this shot seemed to slow it down. I can see what audio que you picked up on with the vocals starting, almost sort of smoothing out the song. Keep in mind even with slow smooth vocals you can keep your edits tighter and maintain the smoothness through your dissolves. More basic compositions don't take the brain as long to take in. Beings the composition and action in the shot wasn't complex and could probably be taken easily in maybe a 3-4 second shot. 0:34 Maybe I'm a bit slow but I got confused a bit..lol. The setting changed and the shot was still of the bride but at first (until I saw a few sucessful shots) I thought it was a bride's maid.) Sometimes it's better to introduce your bride and groom with a tighter shot. 0:54 Great profile shot. Love the pastel colors of the background. Again I felt this shot was a bit long- I see the audio que you were waiting for. Sometimes you can get away with stretching the shot by fading slowly to black. That way it doesn't "feel" like it's on the screen for such a long period of time. I think the fact that the bride is so static contributed to it. 1:10 Great smile from the bride! I like the cell phone concept. 1:22 Interesting use of a "light rays" filter. Vegas editor? Maybe try ramping up the effect as it approaches the following cut rather than starting with the light rays full blast. 1:26 Nice! I liked how you flashed to stills as the song transitioned. Very good timing as well. Good feel for the song. I "loved" how you faded out the last picture...it breathed with the song. (hey I notice the small things sometimes!) 1:36 Great profile of the bride- much better than the first. The colors feel a little cold though. 1:40 Fantastic shot. Great use of foreground element. I love shots like this. 1:55 Interesting pose- photographer pose? Only suggestion would be to try and add some movement to the camera if the subjects are static. Maybe try a slow dolly. What would really be nice is if you could combine elements like that of the shot in 1:40...dollying from behind nearby brush while they hold that static pose. I feel it might make the shot more dynamic. 2:06 Very nic shot- fun! Neo-classical if you will. 2:31 Nice shots of decorations/flowers. The stop during the slow zoom was a bit disturbing...maybe try to cut out of that show before it stops zooming. 2:39 Cool pose- photographer's doing? This shot screams for a dolly from left to right- working with the spacial distance between the groom and the groomsmen. Again, sometimes just a little bit of movement can help bring static photography poses to life...after all they were meant for a still, it helps to add a little something extra when viewing them on video. 2:44 Fantastic shot of Bride and maids. Probably my favorite of the whole piece. Something about the movment and the pastel colors and the beach/ocean backdrop...looks great! 2:48 This may sound odd but NICE BOUQUET TOSS! I wish all my brides would toss like that. More umfff to it than the simple fling the arm back while keeping their standard posture. 3:36 Great shot- The bubble really add to the composition adding a foreground element...a MOVING foreground element at that. A little long, maybe could have fit one or two more shots in before the final shot. 3:50 Final shot- always an important one. Looks great- very classic. If you are indeed a Vegas editor...try this: add a generated media clip (solid color- white) and do a sloowwww dissolve to it using the "flash- white, soft" setting. I think this shot screams for it. Then you might be able to introduce the silver dollar with their names over a white background. Just an idea. I felt your pacing hung a little bit- sometimes seemingly to meet the next audio que. Some shots of static subject were paired with static camera work that seems to "flaten" the visual appeal a bit. Also watch your white balance- I don't know if it was done purposely but many of the shots throughout seemed a bit too cool. Overall I felt you had a good sense of timing and some really nice shots in there. I really liked how didn't take the default chronological approach flashing back and forth throughout the day even to shots taken before the wedding. It's something I have to become brave enough to try myself. There are so many ways to tell a story and that kind of stuff stands out to me. Good job and thanks for posting!

March 25th, 2005, 11:14 PM	#7
Michael Rodo New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lock Haven, PA Posts: 6	Hey thanks for the critiques guys... I want to improve and I see this as a way to get fresh ideas and it makes me look outside of my box. I usually have an idea on how I want the finish product to look and feel, and when I hear suggestions it opens my eyes and I thank you.