www.film-it.net/stuff/spaceship.wmv

Any and all criticism welcomed!

Ian . . .

Ian, I think the pacing fits well with the song, I'm not quite sure I got the whole scene in the woods, it didn't make sense to me. The music quality in the video is very good. I liked the look of it, I just didn't get the "story."
Who is the band by the way?

Hi Mark, thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

When the band and I first got together we talked about the 'plot' for the video. We both agreed that to create something that was about spaceships or aliens would be too blatently obvious and that it would be more fun to come up with something that people wouldn't immediately 'get'. Who's to say there's a story?! We just liked the idea of people trying to find hidden meaning where there may (or may not) be any! Whether we achieved that or not is debatable.

The band is called Cradle. They're originally from South Africa, now living in London. Here's their MySpace page if you're interested: www.myspace.com/cradlejess

Thanks again. Ian . . .

Ian, as I posted over in your vegas thread, I'm liking the efx and the overall look.

To me, it would smooth things out to bring some treatments to the band on the tarmac/airstrip. Like the scene, set and setting, but it looks way more realistic than the other photography & efx treatments.

Just my impression, take it for what it's worth.

pretty nice. my only complaint was the dropout in her vocal during the reprise.

Hey Seth, thanks for that.

The runway scenes were the first to be played around with and everything kinda built up around them (even though they aren't featured that much in the final piece). They have been treated with a bronze wash and a lot of additional contrast (the original images were just too wishy washy). You're right, the runway shots do stand apart but you know if I'm honest I think I like the contrast between the three different elements. But I value your opinion and I'm taking all suggestions back to the band for their final say either way.

Just for the curious minded, what I originally had in mind for the runway shots was for the three members of the band to slowly 'dissolve', one at a time, into different positions closer or further away from the camera, and to keep this up throughout the chorus. Sadly we ran out of time before we had to be escorted back through the active airfield. Another problem we hit was that when I shot the drummer in the far distance and Jess in the position you see her in in the video and Neil (guitar) about half way between the two, the sound delay between Conley (drums) and the click track was about half a second, making his downbeat out of synch with the vox etc. Bad planning on my part and, of course, the shots were useless!

Hi Bill,

I just heard that for the first time yesterday when I came to marry the footage to the track - and she makes it worse by making some weird 'ooo' shape with her mouth!

On the plus side, the track being used is a proxy taken from an early rough cut. The band is currently re-engineering a new version (based on the original tracks) and I've pointed out the drop out to them.

Thanks for being so eagle-eyed (eared?)!

Cheers.

Ian . . .

to my mind:

some shots where way to long. I think they should be shorter. Also didn't like the same plane angle for vocal on the stages. It was used a lot and i think you should have changed the angle more than you did. But thats all, overall it was nice. Good job!

Thanks for the feedback Andzei. The final change request list will be talked through with the band tomorrow night then I can get to work finishing the thing off!

I agree with some of the shots being too long and I've already put together a rough idea of where they can be shortened and other material put in. As for the stage vocal shot angle, we only had a few hours very very late one night to use the venue so I'm kinda limited as to the shots I have available to me. What's your thought? Replace them with something else? I guess I could flip them horizontally in places and play with the lighting effects to give a different feel. What would you do, given a shortage of footage?

Thanks again for the feedback.

Ian . . .

I think you should try to flip it couple of times, it would make it better. Then try to play with colors, you can make up some different moods, you know. Also what i like to do sometimes, is to play with focus. It gives kind of cool effect, like breething or something. You might try it to do in post, it probably won't look as nice as you could do it with camera, but still, it might be cool i think. Maybe you can cut in some more of these airport shots, those were cool. I forgot to mention before, but these woods scenes. The color correction is really nice to my mind.

Thanks for taking the time to make the suggestions!

I'll see what I can come up with and post a link back in maybe a week's time. Yeah, I like the woods scenes too. They remind me a bit of Nosferatu (not intended!).

Ian . . .

Ian,

Great work. I LOVE the idea of having stuff in the video that doesn't necessarily make sense. The job of a band is to sound good, the work of the cinematographer is to look good and it does. Who cares what makes sense, music videos are like visual "snacks". No nutritional value, but they are certainly enjoyable - does that make sense?

Did you use a mask/matte or were those shadows on the woods shots done in post?

Your fan,
Chris

Hi Chris,

How kind! I absolutely go along with the 'zero value' concept! In fact, I'm thinking of most of Chris Cunningham's work, most Radiohead videos, tons of Bowie videos etc etc etc!! I am CONVINCED that the directors are sitting in their armchairs giggling like drains while the rest of the world analyzes something that ain't there!

Regarding the shadows, almost all of it was done in post. In fact, there's a whole thread on the subject here, if you're interested:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=79660

Thanks again for your kind comments!

Ian . . .