need help/advice on this... at DVinfo.net

Stephen J. Williams · January 30th, 2010, 12:34 PM

I cant seem to get past fidgeting with a few of the opening scenes of my edit... Long story short, it was raining outside when I grabbed these shots. I didn't really do a great job of having the setting right on my camera. Now I'm hoping to come out with some nice color where there isn't really any to start with.
I've tried B&W, adding in a warm touch, some presets with MB looks. Everything looks bad. This is it with just some very light film grain and the curves adjusted.
any ideas to make this look more asstetically pleasing? The rest of the edit looks great color wise IMO. I just need to get past this part...
Steve
There's a difference where I didn't have my filters in order at 9 seconds... just caught it after upload.
Password: dvinfo

Erik Andersen · January 30th, 2010, 12:42 PM

"Invalid Password"

Stephen J. Williams · January 30th, 2010, 12:49 PM

thanks Erik.. it should work now.

Ken Diewert · January 30th, 2010, 01:02 PM

Steve,

I may be the wrong one to talk to about this because I'm in a desaturated mode right now where I like things just a few notches above black and white - so I liked the look.

IMO maybe rather than the colors it's the subject that make it less aesthetic. I love the use of the street sign by the way, but it is a street sign, and I also like the use of the siding for the the lines for the names - but it is vinyl siding. Of course the only way we're sure it's vinyl siding that we're looking at is because of the next shot (dolly - in front of house)

A couple of things though (after watching it over), it is a bit jarring to go from the sign to the vinyl siding to then the dolly shot. Of the three, maybe it's the dolly shot that's too colorful relative to the shots that precede it. And because there are flower pots it's hard to do anything with them because you're expecting color. hmmmm... maybe it's the dolly shot that's causing the color imbalance.

I also think that the reverse angle shot of the dog may be better if the color is muted just because the color is just highlighting the external subjects.

I'll be interested to see what others have to say.

Stephen J. Williams · January 30th, 2010, 01:14 PM

Ken... great advice...

I've looked at it a 1000 times. I normally like to start out outside the house before working my way in. I think your right that it's not the color at all just my choice of shots. I wish I had better ones but I don't. It's easy to tell that theres something wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought it was the dull tone color wise but even with brighter colors it looked odd. Back to the drawing board.

Michael Dontigney · January 30th, 2010, 06:58 PM

I think you're stuck... The gray siding and tan/off white signage didn't help.

I had a similar time with a gray bridal prep room one time. Had to zoom some footage in and keep all cuts tight.

Stephen J. Williams · January 30th, 2010, 10:02 PM

Thanks again for the help guys... I ended up taking ken's advice for now and getting rid of the pan shot with the house. It seemed to help a little bit. All in all there just not great to begin with.

Vito DeFilippo · January 30th, 2010, 11:34 PM

Hey Stephen,

As far as the idea goes, I love it.

I would keep the sequence of shots. What's not working for me is that the fonts don't match well enough on the street sign (that is, your 'starring' title should be bolder to match the real text of the sign).

Then you go to the siding, but the colour changes just before the balloon arrives.

Then you cut to the dolly shot, but I think it would be better to just use the static shot of the balloon and house. Did you shoot enough at the end of your pan for that?

There's a small camera move at the start of the first dog shot that you could trim out.

But don't beat yourself up about it. It's already good!

Stephen J. Williams · January 31st, 2010, 09:15 AM

Vito...

I've been trying to get the fonts to match... I just threw something thats close up there for now so I didn't spend forever in the intro...

The color jump was from one of my filters set at 75% and the other 50% so that was an easy fix.

I'll try adding in a static shot of the house like you suggested....

The camera move on the the first dog shot was a good catch. I just took it out.

I appreciate you taking a look it and offering your advice.
Steve

Bill Grant · January 31st, 2010, 11:14 AM

Stephen,
I think you're over thinking it. Just roll on. No bride or future perspective bride is going to care that much about this 36 seconds of film. There is more to life than perfection. For my taste, I thought it looked great. Move on.
Bill

Jim Snow · January 31st, 2010, 12:31 PM

It's also worth experimenting with a drop shadow on your fonts. Subtle is usually best when you are trying to add realism.

January 30th, 2010, 12:34 PM	#1
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	need help/advice on this... I cant seem to get past fidgeting with a few of the opening scenes of my edit... Long story short, it was raining outside when I grabbed these shots. I didn't really do a great job of having the setting right on my camera. Now I'm hoping to come out with some nice color where there isn't really any to start with. I've tried B&W, adding in a warm touch, some presets with MB looks. Everything looks bad. This is it with just some very light film grain and the curves adjusted. any ideas to make this look more asstetically pleasing? The rest of the edit looks great color wise IMO. I just need to get past this part... Steve There's a difference where I didn't have my filters in order at 9 seconds... just caught it after upload. Password: dvinfo This is a password protected video on Vimeo

January 30th, 2010, 12:42 PM	#2
Erik Andersen Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 218	"Invalid Password" __________________ Canon 5D Mark II \|\| L-Series Lenses \|\| Steadicam Pilot \|\| Final Cut Studio www.lovestorymedia.com

January 30th, 2010, 01:02 PM	#4
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Steve, I may be the wrong one to talk to about this because I'm in a desaturated mode right now where I like things just a few notches above black and white - so I liked the look. IMO maybe rather than the colors it's the subject that make it less aesthetic. I love the use of the street sign by the way, but it is a street sign, and I also like the use of the siding for the the lines for the names - but it is vinyl siding. Of course the only way we're sure it's vinyl siding that we're looking at is because of the next shot (dolly - in front of house) A couple of things though (after watching it over), it is a bit jarring to go from the sign to the vinyl siding to then the dolly shot. Of the three, maybe it's the dolly shot that's too colorful relative to the shots that precede it. And because there are flower pots it's hard to do anything with them because you're expecting color. hmmmm... maybe it's the dolly shot that's causing the color imbalance. I also think that the reverse angle shot of the dog may be better if the color is muted just because the color is just highlighting the external subjects. I'll be interested to see what others have to say. __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 30th, 2010, 11:34 PM	#8
Vito DeFilippo Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 1,585	Hey Stephen, As far as the idea goes, I love it. I would keep the sequence of shots. What's not working for me is that the fonts don't match well enough on the street sign (that is, your 'starring' title should be bolder to match the real text of the sign). Then you go to the siding, but the colour changes just before the balloon arrives. Then you cut to the dolly shot, but I think it would be better to just use the static shot of the balloon and house. Did you shoot enough at the end of your pan for that? There's a small camera move at the start of the first dog shot that you could trim out. But don't beat yourself up about it. It's already good! __________________ . http://www.nosmallroles.com

January 31st, 2010, 11:14 AM	#10
Bill Grant Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Columbia,SC Posts: 806	Stephen, I think you're over thinking it. Just roll on. No bride or future perspective bride is going to care that much about this 36 seconds of film. There is more to life than perfection. For my taste, I thought it looked great. Move on. Bill __________________ Cinema Couture www.cinemacouture.com

January 30th, 2010, 12:49 PM	#3
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	thanks Erik.. it should work now.

January 30th, 2010, 01:14 PM	#5
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	Ken... great advice... I've looked at it a 1000 times. I normally like to start out outside the house before working my way in. I think your right that it's not the color at all just my choice of shots. I wish I had better ones but I don't. It's easy to tell that theres something wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought it was the dull tone color wise but even with brighter colors it looked odd. Back to the drawing board.

January 30th, 2010, 06:58 PM	#6
Michael Dontigney Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Atlanta, Ga. Posts: 103	I think you're stuck... The gray siding and tan/off white signage didn't help. I had a similar time with a gray bridal prep room one time. Had to zoom some footage in and keep all cuts tight.

January 30th, 2010, 10:02 PM	#7
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	Thanks again for the help guys... I ended up taking ken's advice for now and getting rid of the pan shot with the house. It seemed to help a little bit. All in all there just not great to begin with.

January 31st, 2010, 09:15 AM	#9
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	Vito... I've been trying to get the fonts to match... I just threw something thats close up there for now so I didn't spend forever in the intro... The color jump was from one of my filters set at 75% and the other 50% so that was an easy fix. I'll try adding in a static shot of the house like you suggested.... The camera move on the the first dog shot was a good catch. I just took it out. I appreciate you taking a look it and offering your advice. Steve

January 31st, 2010, 12:31 PM	#11
Jim Snow Trustee Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 1,104	It's also worth experimenting with a drop shadow on your fonts. Subtle is usually best when you are trying to add realism.