O.K. Guys, what can be done with this?

[Alan Melville]

Hi Cat,

I see you've given it another go, well done.

My thoughts;

Opening is good, star effect fits well and is well timed. I still think your highlights are too bright, I'll be specific, 0:09, this is over exposed, the yellows are hard to define as are the whites, what this does is turns the center of the flower into a conglomerate i.e. it lacks the fine detail that is actually there. This over exposure is also evident in the inner petals & the outer bottom petals.

Bubble transition at 1:35 is much better, 1] Because it's shorter and 2] Because your fading into a scene of a similar colour.

You mentioned your camera only has preset WB's. My suggestion is to shoot the whites and highly reflective surfaces in the 'Cloudy' and 'Full sun' settings to see if there is a noticeable difference. Dense, light coloured cloud, will throw more light and wash colours out more readily than bright sunlight. Try to avoid shooting between 11 am [ish] and 2 pm [ish] This depends on the length of day light hours and is based on the sun being at it's zenith at 12 noon.

Can you shoot with manual iris and speed?

I think you've done a good job at tightening it all up.

Looking forward to seeing more.

Al

[Catherine Russell]

Hi Al!

Now I get it. I see what you are saying concerning the lighting at 09 s. It's time for me to really pay attention to the white balance presets until I can upgrade to a different camera. Now that you and everyone else has pointed the hot spots in the high lights out, I'm noticing this in other film that I've taken of other things. Hmm. Nice to be aware of this now.

I can manually set iris and speed, but again they are in predetermined presets that cover most settings, but still limits complete control over everything you may want to do. I'm finding manual is much preferable over the auto-stuff, and am shooting in this mode more often.

Thanks for pulling this piece through the hoops! I'll set you on another section sometime!

Cat

[Alan Melville]

Hi Cat,

Glad to be of help, nice to know you've picked it up. I also saw signs of it in your long film.

Now before you dash off and spend squillions on a new camera, you may consider reading up on two types of filters; 1. Neutral density [ND] filters & 2. Circular Polarizing [CP] filters,
both of these would be used in conjunction with your manual settings. The ND's will cut out the harsh light whilst the CP will saturate colours. The CP needs to be used sparingly otherwise your colours wont look 'right'. Don't purchase a linear Polarizer.

You can also get ultra violet [UV] filters in varying strengths to combat haze, which drains colour in the summer time.

If your camera is unable to take screw on filters the CP isn't possible but the ND's and UV's can be utilized via "Gel Filters" and some sort of holder.

This may be a cheap and easy stop gap for you but it may also be that you'd rather put the money towards your new camera!!!

Look for Tiffen or Cokin filters. [ Tiffenfilters.com.au ]

Good luck.

Al

[Catherine Russell]

Thanks for the filter tips. I have no intention of buying a new camera anytime soon. I have plenty of learning still to do on this one first!

Cat