OK, critique my Save The Date

I'm holding my breath and ready to receive the blows. Aside from my focusing issues please help me get better by telling me what you might do differently, and lo and behold if there's anything that is likable, let me know that too! : )

Note: everyone was about an hour late so the sun was much lower than I would have preferred, and I forgot I had an ND filter on my Glidecam. I'm ordering a loupe today, if only I can decide which one will work best for weddings...I don't want to glue anything to my cam, and I don't want to spend as much as the Zacuto runs for.

password: SR2011

This is a password protected video on Vimeo

[Philip Howells]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brown

At least she had the balls to offer something for everyone to take a look at.
There are still a lot of people out there who (for whatever reason) prefer to keep their work close to their chests.

I do wish we could rid ourselves of the pathetic notion that members who choose not to exhibit their work have some shameful reason (or small testicles) for not doing so and are, as a consequence lesser participants.

In my view there are three genres of video posters:

1 those who need to show others a phenomenon about which they’re seeking help;

2 those who are genuinely seeking critique or comment;

3 those seeking cheap publicity, as if to say “look what a clever boy I am”.

I am none of those. My approvals come from my clients who for 30 years have never failed to pay their bills. Deride it if you wish, but it keeps me and my bank manager quite satisfied.

And there are other, more practical reasons for not posting my work on the Internet - most of it would be illegal because much of the audio the content is covered by copyright release which precludes broadcasting - a fact which seems to escape most of the publicity seekers who post without regard for the niceties of the law.

In your case Andrew, unless you’ve purchased the international broadcast rights to the sound track from “Love Actually” or the Take That song you play on the examples on your own website, this will be of interest to you. Maybe you should watch in your post for a message from the companies which own those pieces.

One day, and for my money it can’t come too soon, the copyright holders won’t bother going for the people posting such material but will seek redress instead from the site owners or even the ISPs. The practice would cease overnight because even if the individual posters have complete disdain for other people’s property, the site owners, faced with the costs of international broadcast rights for all the copyright songs posted on their sites, will very quickly find themselves needing another line of work.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Philip

I cannot truly see the reason to post your latest masterpiece (or flop) unless you either have a serious issue with it (like why is my whole clip blue) Then you would not post the entire clip but purely a part of it or even a screenshot to hopefully solve the problem.

The only other reason I can see for posting would be "approval" from the big boys in the Industry or as you say "self gratification"

I truly cannot see any reason for posting a clip to us technical perfectionists when a totally non-technical bride will watch it....if the bride tells me her photoshoot is awesome that doesn't mean that forum members will like it as they are looking at it from a completely different perspective...which might help clear up technical errors but it doesn't mean if you do a shoot "the forum way" a bride will like it.

If my brides like the way I shoot then that's good enough for me cos they are the ones that pay me!!

BTW: Purely as a matter of copyright courtesy, all my site samples have the original music replaced by Royalty Free tracks...not as good but at least I feel I'm doing the right thing

If I was Lisa I would get my video critiqued by a few brides, past present or future...if they give it the thumbs up then you are doing things right in your customer's eyes even if it's technically wrong

Chris

[Philip Howells]

Chris, of course you're right. One small point which might be worth checking and which stopped me mentioning Royalty Free music in my last posting, is that "royalty-free" doesn't always means it includes international broadcast rights.

For example Smartsound includes this specific ruling: If you are making a television program that will be broadcast on national television additional fees may be required.

My instinct is that internet broadcasting could fall into that category, though perhaps it's not commercial enough.

On the other hand, Smartsound also cautions that in some non-USA countries, all its music will be subject to performance permissions etc which sounds as if all internet performance will be excluded.

Might be worth checking if it concerns you.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Philip

I have seen ads on National TV here that have a SmartSound audio track!! However I cannot say whether that attracted extra costs???

The way I look at it a YouTube video with a SmartSound backtrack is probably a lot more "legal" than pulling the lastest pop song ...I accidentally uploaded a ceremony clip where the celebrant was playing a commercial song as the bride walked in. I got an "copyright infringement" email from YouTube about 5 minutes later....however they did say I need to do nothing and they will either place an ad over the video or disable the audio track!!!

Probably not a clear cut solution but better than using out and out commercial music. I guess one needs a accurate definition of "broadcasting" Our own licencing only covers you for the DVD NOT online video and according to APRA here you need to go to the publisher for YouTube rights.

Dunno about the UK but over here every "wedding videographer site" seems to use commercial music without any issues and I'm sure they would pull the clip very fast if they had a warning from a publisher's attorney!!!

Chris

[Noa Put]

What has this to do with this topic? Someone asks for critique and before you know it people's websites are being checked out, their business and pricing openly questioned and now it's copyright issues about music in video's on other persons websites?

[Kren Barnes]

I hear you Noa...It feels like someone appointed himself as the all true experienced wedding video police; saving the world from apparently awful wedding videos, copyright infringement, DSLR silliness, artistic mumbo jumbo and unfair pricing practices ....one new videographer at a time...lol!

Kren
Vertical Video Works* Winnipeg Wedding Videography