Jetboat racing clip
 

Here is a preview of a DVD I am working on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xcBVvP9Z4E

Let me know what you think. Also how do I get all race results to show at once..sort of a striped subtitle format with race boats#'s and times, can imovie do this or do I need FCE?

thanks

I am by no means an expert in this kind of work, but let me share my observations.

First of all, that's an impressive piece of production. The variety of shots is quite good. The helicopter shots and in-boat rigs are particularly good. But I'm bothered by the poor quality of all the handheld shots in comparison to the others. There's no reason why the shoreline shots should be hand-held. It really detracts from the watchability. Certainly the walkaround b-roll stuff is fine like that, but the action pans are sloppy and that hurts the overall feel. The audio seems good (obviously YouTube clobbers that) and overall I'd say you're well on the way to a marketable piece.

With respect to titling, I think the few samples you have in there look fine. But I'd fade the titles on and off instead of the abrubt appear/disappear you have on there. Not sure iMovie does that. FCP certainly does.

Cameras
 

I am curious about this comment "There's no reason why the shoreline shots should be hand-held" What are the other options? Walk around B-Roll??
I was shooting freehand from the helicopter! No gyro..I don't even know what a gyro is?
I am thinking that is the difference in camcorder quality more than anything. We used around 4 or 5 different camcorders..from a small sony, panasonic to a couple Hi8 cams and I use the XL1S. I notice when capturing the difference in quality and shake but just try to work with it.

Thanks for the compliments and feedback.
Anyone else??

Cool stuff, has to be fun just to be there. As far as the titles go, how about using a silhouette of a boat and rooster tail as a background for your titles instead of just the black bar? Music selection seems a bit tame for the event you're shooting. Those boats are high energy stuff, might want to consider different music. Good work with all the multi cams.

I can't help you with titles. Not my area of expertise, but I do have a few suggestions about the editing.

I liked the clip. It's an interesting subject and once the race began it was exhilerating! The helicopter shots were great!

However, the pre-race footage can be tightened up, I think. It needs to move a bit quicker. Example: As soon as the guy puts the decal on the boat...cut. We don't need to see him lovingly smooth it on. We just want a quick impression of what's going on before the race.

I agree that the hand held footage is a bit too shakey but it can be improved with a little cutting. Example: At 3:22 the cameraman follows one boat from left to right, then swings his camera back, repositions himself, and follows another. If you cut the swing and reposition I think it will be much more dynamic and hide the camerawork a little.

I think you have a good rough cut that would be excellent with a little tightening.

I would also like to add that I have no formal training in video..at all.
I am a math and science teacher who loves jetboating and somehow got into filming jetboat races.

3:22.....I do know what you mean..exactly, and that was me repositioning. The thing is if I cut it like you suggest then the real time effect of how many boat lengths behind MissBHAven is, is lost. That is a comprimize that I am not sure how to handle, I do need to lengthen up the finished product also, so I do tend to leave some shakey footage in.
As for the decal I thought about cutting it alot shorter but there is a good joke in there...just as he finishes he says I hope it stays on at 90mph and then someone behind him said....why your truck goes that fast? I thought it was too funny to cut out, but it does slow things down abit.

I understand...I also have no formal training, but love drag racing. I started shooting motorcycle drag racing last summer and now the series promoters are paying me to tape the 2007 season....

I won't comment on your video, as I'm no expert...
But....just let me know where I can sign up to drive on of those boats....
Looks like great fun!!!

Bob T.

Ahhhh...I see. Didn't realize you needed to see the boat lengths. That does make a big difference. Still, if that camera was on a nice fluid head tripod on the shore then the panning back and forth would be smoother and not objectionable.

That is funny, but I didn't hear it! Maybe subtitle it so that you draw attention to what he's saying. If I can't see someone's lips moving or they are off camera, unless you have them close mic'd, sometimes subtle things like that get lost. I'd also cut the shot of the guy walking shot from above. Not sure why that's in there and don't think it adds anything.

I've been working on the same problem with a doc that I am making. How do you make something interesting that's basically repetitive? Like a boat race or, in my case, a bodybuilder working out. I'm new at this too and not a great cameraman but I found that by cutting out most of my unsteady movements that I got something that was cleaner and more dynamic. Tell me what you think. It's not perfect but I think it's along the lines of what you are doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q2rd0dBc1Q