Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas at DVinfo.net

Ian Stark · October 15th, 2013, 07:22 AM

Three camera shoot (for the performance segments - all done in one take plus a fourth high angle shot separately); half a day of editing in Vegas Pro 12; then two and a half days trying to work out why certain layers of video were not rendering. Still not sure what was going on but removing the layer of video shot on the third camera (a Canon DSLR) solved the problem. The shoot was fraught with all sorts of technical problems and the footage was all a bit hit and miss. Luckily the client wanted a very heavily stylised look for the performance segments so out came the toolkit - NewBlueFX (ColorFast), Magic Bullet (Looks - for the light leak) and BorisFX (for the smoky spotlight). Still a few bits to tidy up but I can't look at it again until the weekend so meanwhile I thought I would seek opinions as to how it can be improved in general.

Ian Stark · October 15th, 2013, 07:23 AM

BTW, YouTube has not played kindly with the colours and exposure :-(

Chip Gallo · October 15th, 2013, 11:50 AM

Ian -- the fades to black before the cameo head shots seem too long. In other cases the transitions are faster. I am not enamored of the bands of blurry light but if the musician wants it, ok. You could shoot inserts of the body of a violin, perhaps slow pans showing detail and use that if other shots are soft or otherwise out of sorts. The speaker explains that she has gotten other grants but doesn't articulate that she needs more, or how much of a funding gap there is. I didn't get a sense of urgency and I am thinking that a faster editorial pace might give that.

The music sounds good. The narration might benefit from some compression (I was listening on lower quality PC speakers).

Will Youtube be the host of the final video?

Ian Stark · October 15th, 2013, 12:13 PM

Thanks Chip, that's greatly appreciated.

I agree about those fades to black being too long - actually they were shorter but the artiste wanted more of a distinct gap between the Bach (that she was playing) and the other pieces. I'll put it to her.

The light leaks have grown on me. I wasn't keen at first but actually I think they look quite cool! I did shoot lots of close ups of a violin (I used two shots at the beginning of the video) but they seem somewhat incongruous interspersed with the rest of the performance clips. Good idea though. I might just dial the light leak back a bit as I agree there are places where it is overpowering.

Re mentioning the funding gap, she does this in the intro section (£3000) and, of course, it will be clearly shown on the Kickstarter web page where the video is to be embedded (not YouTube).

I'll take a listen to the narration again. I have compressed it using a preset but other than that I haven't touched the voice audio yet. I also haven't listened to it on cheap speakers yet, only my (not cheap!) reference monitors.

Do you think the video needs a sense of urgency? I thought the opposite - I felt that a more relaxed approach fitted the music better. I'll review that, though.

Thanks again for the valuable feedback. This is my 'only once a year zero budget for a friend' production, so it was all done very much on the cheap and fitted in with other paying work. Given a budget I would shoot all the performance segment again.

Chip Gallo · October 15th, 2013, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Stark

This is my 'only once a year zero budget for a friend' production, so it was all done very much on the cheap and fitted in with other paying work. Given a budget I would shoot all the performance segment again.

It''s great that you are able to do this for a friend. I look forward to seeing the finished version!

Jeff Harper · October 19th, 2013, 02:35 PM

I believe the pace of the video is appropriate for your subject and fits it perfectly. Then again, I watch public television so I'm used to similarly paced clips such as yours. I didn't watch to end, but it seems close enough to ready for me.

I'm not completely sure about the bands of light, but it's a great concept and it fits, I might play with it a bit, but cannot offer a direction to go. Maybe remove a pinch of color from the bands? I don't know.

Yours is a reallly nice video, your friend will be very very happy.

Leslie Wand · October 19th, 2013, 08:32 PM

like jeoff i watch mostly public tv - and with that in mind i have no problem at all with the pacing.

i too think the colour bands a little over done, but hey, i think colour is moving ahead too quickly ;-)

very nicely done indeed.

October 15th, 2013, 07:22 AM	#1
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas Three camera shoot (for the performance segments - all done in one take plus a fourth high angle shot separately); half a day of editing in Vegas Pro 12; then two and a half days trying to work out why certain layers of video were not rendering. Still not sure what was going on but removing the layer of video shot on the third camera (a Canon DSLR) solved the problem. The shoot was fraught with all sorts of technical problems and the footage was all a bit hit and miss. Luckily the client wanted a very heavily stylised look for the performance segments so out came the toolkit - NewBlueFX (ColorFast), Magic Bullet (Looks - for the light leak) and BorisFX (for the smoky spotlight). Still a few bits to tidy up but I can't look at it again until the weekend so meanwhile I thought I would seek opinions as to how it can be improved in general. Fenella Humphreys - Kickstarter v5 - YouTube __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

October 15th, 2013, 07:23 AM	#2
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Re: Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas BTW, YouTube has not played kindly with the colours and exposure :-( __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

October 15th, 2013, 11:50 AM	#3
Chip Gallo Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Harpers Ferry, WV USA Posts: 164	Re: Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas Ian -- the fades to black before the cameo head shots seem too long. In other cases the transitions are faster. I am not enamored of the bands of blurry light but if the musician wants it, ok. You could shoot inserts of the body of a violin, perhaps slow pans showing detail and use that if other shots are soft or otherwise out of sorts. The speaker explains that she has gotten other grants but doesn't articulate that she needs more, or how much of a funding gap there is. I didn't get a sense of urgency and I am thinking that a faster editorial pace might give that. The music sounds good. The narration might benefit from some compression (I was listening on lower quality PC speakers). Will Youtube be the host of the final video? __________________ * http://www.vimeo.com/chipgallo * Last edited by Chip Gallo; October 15th, 2013 at 11:52 AM. Reason: explain listening situation

October 15th, 2013, 12:13 PM	#4
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Re: Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas Thanks Chip, that's greatly appreciated. I agree about those fades to black being too long - actually they were shorter but the artiste wanted more of a distinct gap between the Bach (that she was playing) and the other pieces. I'll put it to her. The light leaks have grown on me. I wasn't keen at first but actually I think they look quite cool! I did shoot lots of close ups of a violin (I used two shots at the beginning of the video) but they seem somewhat incongruous interspersed with the rest of the performance clips. Good idea though. I might just dial the light leak back a bit as I agree there are places where it is overpowering. Re mentioning the funding gap, she does this in the intro section (£3000) and, of course, it will be clearly shown on the Kickstarter web page where the video is to be embedded (not YouTube). I'll take a listen to the narration again. I have compressed it using a preset but other than that I haven't touched the voice audio yet. I also haven't listened to it on cheap speakers yet, only my (not cheap!) reference monitors. Do you think the video needs a sense of urgency? I thought the opposite - I felt that a more relaxed approach fitted the music better. I'll review that, though. Thanks again for the valuable feedback. This is my 'only once a year zero budget for a friend' production, so it was all done very much on the cheap and fitted in with other paying work. Given a budget I would shoot all the performance segment again. __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

October 19th, 2013, 02:35 PM	#6
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas I believe the pace of the video is appropriate for your subject and fits it perfectly. Then again, I watch public television so I'm used to similarly paced clips such as yours. I didn't watch to end, but it seems close enough to ready for me. I'm not completely sure about the bands of light, but it's a great concept and it fits, I might play with it a bit, but cannot offer a direction to go. Maybe remove a pinch of color from the bands? I don't know. Yours is a reallly nice video, your friend will be very very happy.

October 19th, 2013, 08:32 PM	#7
Leslie Wand Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: upper hunter, australia Posts: 1,410	Re: Kickstarter campaign video created with Vegas like jeoff i watch mostly public tv - and with that in mind i have no problem at all with the pacing. i too think the colour bands a little over done, but hey, i think colour is moving ahead too quickly ;-) very nicely done indeed. __________________ www.lesliewand.com.au