Show Your Work 2008

Richard Steenson · March 10th, 2008, 02:45 AM

Hi Sean,
Firstly, kudos for what looks like an interesting & well-made film.As far as the trailers are concerned, the second is much stronger than the first.The VO helped set the story up so the clips had some coherence that the first one lacked; I had no idea what the piece was about after watching the first one.

My only qualm would be the sound loop played throughout.It's a good beat but over-used & becomes repetitious It flattened the build of the story, IMO , rather than piquing interest as the crux of the matter, the scam of this pseudo-gear, got the plot ball really rolling.

In fact ,the only break I can recall in the beat came during the "cooking " segment.Not really the place I'd have used a orchestral strings ambient sound.
I'd try a variety of rhythms and emotive tones to more accurately reflect the texture of the flick which seemed to me to be less a Michael Bay thrill-ride than a character-driven caper/thriller parable laced with humor.

Also , finish with a flourish that will stay with the viewer, either visual or aural.Can be a stunning crescendo, a bit of humor, or a tantalizing cliffhanger.For eg, you started with that shot of the record playing.Maybe the cut to black should be on the sound fx of a gunshot/scream/"oh f**k" then the ambient soundtrack( which has built up to a climax in rhythm ,tone, and volume) ends abruptly with the needle screeching across the record followed by a quiet scritch-click-scritch-click as the turntable keeps spinning ...fade to silence......

Ok, maybe that's a little trite but I think the points of using music more judiciously to structure the trailer like a mini-short with a set-up,crisis, and cliffhanger are valid.Your film doesn't look monotonous but the trailer sounded that way.

Chris Coulson · March 10th, 2008, 06:53 AM

thanks for sharing, they look great.

The only thing I felt like commenting on, is I'm not sure I'd have included their knees, unless you were trying to look as if they were sitting on a fence in the backdrop location?

Brian Brown · March 10th, 2008, 09:17 AM

Thanks for the kudos, Chris.

Very good point about the knees. I wouldn't have thought about it that way, but now that you mention it... makes perfect sense. I'll crop 'em tighter next time.

Cheers,
Brian

Ken Bates · March 10th, 2008, 11:00 AM

I am finding myself wanting to shoot scenes and such when I see them, even when I am not currently on a project. A perfiectly clear night as a crescent moon comes up through some winter trees. Sunset against snowy mountains, night time city traffic, stuff like that.
My "eye" is starting to notice them I guess now that I am staring to work with this stuff in the early stages of my hobby.
Do others tend to gather their own stock footage this way, as they see it, or would it be to hard to match look and feel of clips aquired out of context?
Just wondering what others do.

Tim Polster · March 10th, 2008, 02:02 PM

Nice Job.

I'm sure the client was thrilled.

Paul Mailath · March 10th, 2008, 05:07 PM

I used part of this adagio in an AWOL comp and felt I didn't do justice to the piece - here is the full adagio, I still don't feel I have the images right so any comments would be appreciated

http://www.vimeo.com/770701

I just noticed an encoding error - there's a green line at the top and the image has some sort of flicker or jump - I'm sure what's doing that

Niall Chadwick · March 11th, 2008, 04:59 AM

Some friends who are gymnasts and parkour specialists invited me along to the gym, and I took my camera with me.

I wanted to test the slow-motion feature in the camera, as well as practice frame composition (with fixed and moving position), shooting angles. To see if I could make it look interesting and dynamic.

I took the footage, which was recorded on a combination of the HDR and tape, and then edited it together with some music. The guys featured loved it.

I thought it was ok. Nothing jaw dropping, just average. But then it is only the 2nd time the camera has been used. And the cameraman is still learning. The film is simple, short and a chance to practice :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJV9qNjsQjw

I am still working out the whole "compression" minefield, hence why the footage doesnt look as good as it should.

And yes, Im guilty of overusing the slow motion a la Matrix effect. In fight scenes its overused. With gymnasts, I think its different. Feel free to correct me if you think Im wrong.

I will be getting a 35mm adaptor soon, so will shoot some more with the guys soon.

I would welcome your comments on composition, music choice, editing, thoughts on overall improvement.

Thanks in advance

N

Dylan Couper · March 11th, 2008, 10:31 AM

Here's me three cents:

1) The slow motion worked well and I enjoyed that.

2) I got tired of the same low angle shot every time. You need to break it up, choose a bigger variety of shots.

3) The Matrix music (Spybreak-Propellerhead?) is so overdone.

Nathan Petersen · March 11th, 2008, 03:18 PM

Not bad, very smooth. The low angles do get repetitive, just cut it down a little maybe?? I know you probably do not have a device to do this but some higher shots mixed in fading to low angles as like one fluid motion would be very very impressive. Anyway what program did you work with to edit your footage? What camera? Very nicely done...

Brian Boyko · March 11th, 2008, 03:19 PM

Filmed on the Canon HV20

http://www.vimeo.com/user278515/videos

Makers is a short subject documentary, filmed at Austin's Maker Faire, 2007, about the people behind the do-it-yourself counterculture and their inventions.

You'll see a life-sized MouseTrap game, a live performance of the EepyBird Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments, and some amazing footage of inventions of all shapes and sizes - some of them going wrong in unpredictable and dangerous ways. Featuring Adam Savage

Makers is the first project of Blogphilo New Media. All subjects are filmed with full permission.

David Hadden · March 11th, 2008, 06:28 PM

Threw this together this weekend. Tightened it up some last night.

Reel

Thought I'd share since I haven't posted any of my work on here before, I like to do a lot of work with non-profits etc... around my area because while it doesn't pay as much I feel like I'm contributing and making a difference. This usually means less money, but money isn't everything ( though it sure helps buy those cool new toys ), and I do for profit as well, I just have an affinity and nice discount program set up for for NPO's that folks around here know about.

I'm prolly not gonna post a lot, so enjoy what you can get :)

Mike Watson · March 12th, 2008, 12:11 AM

Great reel!

Some of the shots were really creative! There's a lot of post production in there (perhaps trending a little bit toward too much, for my taste) but still within the realm of reason, and obviously suitable for your clients.

Suggestions:

- Your photography, editing, and compositing are very good. WTF happened with the titling in your demo reel? It's a plain font with a cheesy LiveType built-in effect on it. The font is bad, the effect, is bad, and it takes away from the great work that is your photography and your editing. First, ask yourself if anyone who watches your shooting/editing demo reel is going to wonder if it is your shooting and editing demo reel. Obviously they got it from somewhere (you, your website, your post) that was referencing what it was... do you really need this text at all?

One of the things I evaluate photographer/editors on is audio... and you didn't have any. I'd appreciate (perhaps on a separate reel) a look at 10 second snips of finished programs, with the full audio mix in there.

Other than that... looked great!

Walter McElroy, Jr. · March 12th, 2008, 12:39 AM

Hey guys how's it going? We shot these commercials using the Canon XH-AL. Take a look at them when you get a chance and let me know what you think.

thx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM2nSJqyyNA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8m_nGG6QOo

Jay Kavi · March 12th, 2008, 01:27 AM

great job on both, the export on the first on is sized wrong, it looks like it should be 16x9. Great comedic timing on the second, the ending could have a little more punch on the first.

Niall Chadwick · March 12th, 2008, 04:12 AM

Thanks for the comments Dylan & Nathan,

See what you mean about the low angle stuff, and the music.

I used Premiere CS3 to edit it together

Camera is a v1e, with HDR-60 hard drive recorder. The slow-mo only works to tape. :)

I will be going to the gym again soon, so expect to see another one at some point.

Was editing together computer game footage last night. Hardly worthy of showing here to be honest. It all looks the same, only thing that changes is the camera view.

March 10th, 2008, 11:00 AM	#304
Ken Bates Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 66	Shooting your own "Stock Footage" I am finding myself wanting to shoot scenes and such when I see them, even when I am not currently on a project. A perfiectly clear night as a crescent moon comes up through some winter trees. Sunset against snowy mountains, night time city traffic, stuff like that. My "eye" is starting to notice them I guess now that I am staring to work with this stuff in the early stages of my hobby. Do others tend to gather their own stock footage this way, as they see it, or would it be to hard to match look and feel of clips aquired out of context? Just wondering what others do. __________________ "...movies are never 'finished', only abandoned..." -Stephen Spielberg

March 10th, 2008, 05:07 PM	#306
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	doing justice to the music I used part of this adagio in an AWOL comp and felt I didn't do justice to the piece - here is the full adagio, I still don't feel I have the images right so any comments would be appreciated http://www.vimeo.com/770701 I just noticed an encoding error - there's a green line at the top and the image has some sort of flicker or jump - I'm sure what's doing that __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

March 11th, 2008, 04:59 AM	#307
Niall Chadwick Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chelmsford, Essex Posts: 83	At the Gym Some friends who are gymnasts and parkour specialists invited me along to the gym, and I took my camera with me. I wanted to test the slow-motion feature in the camera, as well as practice frame composition (with fixed and moving position), shooting angles. To see if I could make it look interesting and dynamic. I took the footage, which was recorded on a combination of the HDR and tape, and then edited it together with some music. The guys featured loved it. I thought it was ok. Nothing jaw dropping, just average. But then it is only the 2nd time the camera has been used. And the cameraman is still learning. The film is simple, short and a chance to practice :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJV9qNjsQjw I am still working out the whole "compression" minefield, hence why the footage doesnt look as good as it should. And yes, Im guilty of overusing the slow motion a la Matrix effect. In fight scenes its overused. With gymnasts, I think its different. Feel free to correct me if you think Im wrong. I will be getting a 35mm adaptor soon, so will shoot some more with the guys soon. I would welcome your comments on composition, music choice, editing, thoughts on overall improvement. Thanks in advance N

March 11th, 2008, 10:31 AM	#308
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Here's me three cents: 1) The slow motion worked well and I enjoyed that. 2) I got tired of the same low angle shot every time. You need to break it up, choose a bigger variety of shots. 3) The Matrix music (Spybreak-Propellerhead?) is so overdone. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

March 11th, 2008, 03:19 PM	#310
Brian Boyko Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 773	First Short Documentary Filmed on the Canon HV20 http://www.vimeo.com/user278515/videos Makers is a short subject documentary, filmed at Austin's Maker Faire, 2007, about the people behind the do-it-yourself counterculture and their inventions. You'll see a life-sized MouseTrap game, a live performance of the EepyBird Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments, and some amazing footage of inventions of all shapes and sizes - some of them going wrong in unpredictable and dangerous ways. Featuring Adam Savage Makers is the first project of Blogphilo New Media. All subjects are filmed with full permission. __________________ Equip: Panny GH1, Canon HG20, Juicedlink, AT897, Sennh. EW/GW100, Zoom H2, Vegas 8.1

March 10th, 2008, 02:45 AM	#301
Richard Steenson New Boot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: san Francisco , CA Posts: 18	Hi Sean, Firstly, kudos for what looks like an interesting & well-made film.As far as the trailers are concerned, the second is much stronger than the first.The VO helped set the story up so the clips had some coherence that the first one lacked; I had no idea what the piece was about after watching the first one. My only qualm would be the sound loop played throughout.It's a good beat but over-used & becomes repetitious It flattened the build of the story, IMO , rather than piquing interest as the crux of the matter, the scam of this pseudo-gear, got the plot ball really rolling. In fact ,the only break I can recall in the beat came during the "cooking " segment.Not really the place I'd have used a orchestral strings ambient sound. I'd try a variety of rhythms and emotive tones to more accurately reflect the texture of the flick which seemed to me to be less a Michael Bay thrill-ride than a character-driven caper/thriller parable laced with humor. Also , finish with a flourish that will stay with the viewer, either visual or aural.Can be a stunning crescendo, a bit of humor, or a tantalizing cliffhanger.For eg, you started with that shot of the record playing.Maybe the cut to black should be on the sound fx of a gunshot/scream/"oh f**k" then the ambient soundtrack( which has built up to a climax in rhythm ,tone, and volume) ends abruptly with the needle screeching across the record followed by a quiet scritch-click-scritch-click as the turntable keeps spinning ...fade to silence...... Ok, maybe that's a little trite but I think the points of using music more judiciously to structure the trailer like a mini-short with a set-up,crisis, and cliffhanger are valid.Your film doesn't look monotonous but the trailer sounded that way.

March 10th, 2008, 06:53 AM	#302
Chris Coulson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 101	thanks for sharing, they look great. The only thing I felt like commenting on, is I'm not sure I'd have included their knees, unless you were trying to look as if they were sitting on a fence in the backdrop location?

March 10th, 2008, 09:17 AM	#303
Brian Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Estes Park, CO USA Posts: 426	Thanks for the kudos, Chris. Very good point about the knees. I wouldn't have thought about it that way, but now that you mention it... makes perfect sense. I'll crop 'em tighter next time. Cheers, Brian

March 10th, 2008, 02:02 PM	#305
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	Nice Job. I'm sure the client was thrilled.

March 11th, 2008, 03:18 PM	#309
Nathan Petersen Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 95	Not bad, very smooth. The low angles do get repetitive, just cut it down a little maybe?? I know you probably do not have a device to do this but some higher shots mixed in fading to low angles as like one fluid motion would be very very impressive. Anyway what program did you work with to edit your footage? What camera? Very nicely done...

March 11th, 2008, 06:28 PM	#311
David Hadden Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fargo, ND Posts: 149	Short Demo Reel Threw this together this weekend. Tightened it up some last night. Reel Thought I'd share since I haven't posted any of my work on here before, I like to do a lot of work with non-profits etc... around my area because while it doesn't pay as much I feel like I'm contributing and making a difference. This usually means less money, but money isn't everything ( though it sure helps buy those cool new toys ), and I do for profit as well, I just have an affinity and nice discount program set up for for NPO's that folks around here know about. I'm prolly not gonna post a lot, so enjoy what you can get :)

March 12th, 2008, 12:11 AM	#312
Mike Watson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,082	Great reel! Some of the shots were really creative! There's a lot of post production in there (perhaps trending a little bit toward too much, for my taste) but still within the realm of reason, and obviously suitable for your clients. Suggestions: - Your photography, editing, and compositing are very good. WTF happened with the titling in your demo reel? It's a plain font with a cheesy LiveType built-in effect on it. The font is bad, the effect, is bad, and it takes away from the great work that is your photography and your editing. First, ask yourself if anyone who watches your shooting/editing demo reel is going to wonder if it is your shooting and editing demo reel. Obviously they got it from somewhere (you, your website, your post) that was referencing what it was... do you really need this text at all? One of the things I evaluate photographer/editors on is audio... and you didn't have any. I'd appreciate (perhaps on a separate reel) a look at 10 second snips of finished programs, with the full audio mix in there. Other than that... looked great!

March 12th, 2008, 12:39 AM	#313
Walter McElroy, Jr. Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis Posts: 32	Top This -Heinz 57 commercial Hey guys how's it going? We shot these commercials using the Canon XH-AL. Take a look at them when you get a chance and let me know what you think. thx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM2nSJqyyNA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8m_nGG6QOo

March 12th, 2008, 01:27 AM	#314
Jay Kavi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 243	great job on both, the export on the first on is sized wrong, it looks like it should be 16x9. Great comedic timing on the second, the ending could have a little more punch on the first.

March 12th, 2008, 04:12 AM	#315
Niall Chadwick Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chelmsford, Essex Posts: 83	Thanks for the comments Dylan & Nathan, See what you mean about the low angle stuff, and the music. I used Premiere CS3 to edit it together Camera is a v1e, with HDR-60 hard drive recorder. The slow-mo only works to tape. :) I will be going to the gym again soon, so expect to see another one at some point. Was editing together computer game footage last night. Hardly worthy of showing here to be honest. It all looks the same, only thing that changes is the camera view.