please review my demo

[Marc Sacco]

hey all,
recently jumped back into the BIZ after about a ten year hiatus (you know...real job, raise family, etc!) kept up with graphic design and 3d animation while dreaming of the day i could get back to my real passion...DIRECTING! anyway, please check out my demo (3mins) and also watch one of my music videos (shot in 35mm but still shows my directing and DP skills). i directed several music videos and 2 low budget video features (back before it was acceptable to shoot video in the late 80's!) along with thousands of hours of video at the studio i worked for. I look forward to getting back to full time film and video production with my canon xl1s pkg and premiere pro NLE.

thank you in advance for viewing and let me know what you think. (also, i'm available for hire anytime anyplace if you've got some money to work with!)

http://www.zenimage.com/zendemo.htm

hey! if you jump around the site you can see a picture or two of me!
Marc Sacco

[Clayton Woodley]

I didn't like that music video at all.

[Marc Sacco]

anybody else? c'mon please? its just three minutes long!

yes, clayton that music video might not be to everyones taste but the client gets what the client wants! (especially when he pays big bucks for it!!) you still have to appreciate the effort and the high production value of it at least...

[Dave Perry]

Marc,

The demo reel looked nice and the music video was very good. The music was not my cup of tea but the production values were nice, as far as I could tell. (I've never really liked .wmv quality)

At the end of the music video I had totally forgoten that Tony was day dreaming and when the scene came back to him in the gym, I realized I had been sucked into his dream as well. In that regard, the video was quite effective.

[Kevin Carpenter]

LOL @ Clayton's post. It's ok not too like it but try to be at least a little constructive.

The demo video was great! Excellent blend of static and motion shots, produced and live event shots, creative and traditional shots. Very well rounded and really says a lot about you. I would hire you after seeing it. As a matter of fact the only suggestion I could give would be to have a higher quality quicktime file available for download.

The music video...wow....shiek of soul...lol. It looked really good though. I wish I could have seen a higher quality version of it. Very well shot and edited. I would have prefered it without the title cards. I think the message in the cards was either delivered well enough in the video or could have been with a couple more close-ups (just curious...were they an afterthought?). I also wasn't a fan of the changing aspect ratios. I understand why it was done and probably would have tried it out myself, but in the end I would have kept the whole thing widescreen.

So was the music video recent, or from before your hiatus? That would explain a lot about the artist. :)

Welcome back to the biz! I can't believe you were able to stay away for so long!

[Alex B Henderson]

I watched both, and I will attempt to give you some constructive comments on both:

The music video: There is really nothing more than to say "So 80's". The color, the look, the subject matter (and heck the song) are all fairly old school. Not really a "fresh" idea, but shot reasonably and I would say probably assembled to the singer's desire for face time.

The demo: I think that the choice of music pieces, as well as how you move from one piece to another holds this one back a fair bit. Your feature pieces all have one feel about them, which doesn't do a good job of showing that you are capable of many things. I got a very distinct middle eastern feel to the whole process, which while that in itself isn't an issue, might take away from your message of "we do all sorts of things". The cuts and fades on the music are also seem a bit unfinished, like the sound was added after the video was put together, rather than the video clips being put together to time match the music. Fades in the middle of lyrics or singing is a very uncomfortable thing to listen to.

The images are nice, the edits are decent and tight. However, I don't feel there is enough "fireworks" on this one. All the edits are pretty much simple cuts, nothing unusual. No split screens, no coloring, nothing other than pure real time. It's just not as exciting as the footage suggests your shooting is.

It's not a bad reel, but I think there is better still to be had here.

Alex

[Marc Sacco]

thanks all! great feedback from everyone ;} sorry it took so long to reply but i have been recovering from a serious accident and couldnt focus on too many replies. but im back and ready for action!

yes the music video was from before my hiatus circa 1989-1990! a bit outdated but still had high production value at least! the shoot was dictated by what the singer wanted to achieve so some shots were left in that he wanted. the cards were the editors afterthought and the singer liked them so they got left in. i really didnt care for them either! (he who pays wins!)

the demo has a mix of old and new shots on it. i tried to blend and mix throughout.

i should also upload the other music video of the same singer shot during the same shot but that is so completely different.

another note: we shot these two music videos in 35mm in 5 days. i was hired three days before the shoot when they fired the original director after finding out he had done about 30% of the preproduction on this! we had to rush order film stock (color and B&W that i had to pick up at the fedex airport terminal everyday!), an arri camera, lighting pkg., studio time, find 70% of the locations, etc. it was one of the best times of my life because everything just clicked together when it was needed. we finished under budget and on time. i was told that they had a short rotation on VH1 back in the early nineties but could never confirm that.

anyway, i look forward to getting back into shooting shorts, lo-bo features, and music videos as soon as i am completely recovered!

thanks again for looking and commenting!

marc

[Bryan Roberts]

Marc - hope you're recovering well! Regarding your reel: I think it's very confusing because I was never sure what aspect you guys were responsible for on each piece. I think introducing each section or just having some text in there somewhere would really help clarify what you're showing the viewers. The quality (disregarding WMV compression) of the video felt rough, non color corrected etc. Finally, you're intro graphics felt rough and flat as well, perhaps adding some slight movement to your main logo while it sits there or something to keep things moving or keep some of the interest built would really benefit there. Your 3d title work felt very old school and I'm not sure if it will benefit you to keep it in there. I also was a bit thrown by the middle eastern themed music, hence why so many reels use techno etc. as it doesn't envoke too many emotions or thoughts regarding the theme, just an excitement building tool. Well, I really don't mean to sound like an ass, just my thoughts and welcome back to the field!

-Bryan