New Indian Wedding Preparation Clip!!!
 

Hey Folks,
Here is my latest preparation clip. Appreciate your feedback. Thanks.

http://www.ifdvideo.com/videos/prep.wmv

Ram Purad

Hey Ram, thanks for sharing. I thought you did a good job. Lots of kinetic movment, interesting framing, and good pace. Good use of foreground elements.

The movement looked a bit unsteady, though I applaud you for not using all static shots. Moving camera techniques is something that has to be practiced quite a bit. The "Art of Moving Camera Techniques" (listed in the Resource Thread at the top of this forum) was very helpfull to me to help develop my handheld style. Even then it requires diligent practice on family animals and inanimate object to prepare me for shooting live in the field.

I saw a few redundant shots- the transition at 1:26 for example. Try to mix up your footage to give it balance where each shot leading into the next compliments each other. Go from a wide to a tight shot rather than wide to wide.

Lastly I feel you have a good eye for artistic shots and a willingness to get moving shots. Both very good qualities. Overall I think you did a good job and your client will love it. Take some time to practice those moving shots, and even employ the aid of some post-induced slow motion to help smooth out the movement if need be. I know- because I rely on it all the time.
Thanks again for posting- keep up the good work!

Glen,
Thanks for taking time in giving your feedback. Feedback from such an elite personnel in the industry means alot to me.

I know what you are saying about the movement shots. I still have quite a bit of tune up to do on those shots. I'm thinking this is something that I will improve over time. At one point I was thinking about getting that video you mentioned as well. Then I thought, there might not be nothing very useful I will gain out of it. Cuz my thinking was, there is no secrets to movement shots... it's just matter of keeping the camera steady as much as possible while you move...which I thought can be improved over time. Now that your recommanding it, I will get that video. Cuz the movement shots in ur clips are just amazing. Shots in your video inspired me to do these kind of shots. I will give it a try at that video.

Also another reason I think for the jerky movement shot in my video is the camera I use. I use XL2 which is an unbalcned camera. It's really heavy in the front. I'm thinking that could be also the reason. But what ever it is... hopefully I will improve on it.

Again, Thanks for for your feedback.

Well thank you, that is quite flattering- but I'm hardly an "elite in the industry". Regardless- thank you for that.

Anyway the video does go through various exercises you can do to help inprove your movement. Also when you "see" someones handholding style it's much easier to emulate and tweak, if necessary, to get the best possible results. It might be in part that you simply aren't holding it correctly or using your legs and hips in the best way. You'll find that the majority of smooth handheld shooting is done with your body rather than arms.

The video covers both handheld and shouldermounted camera techniques. Although the cameras used as examples are a PD-150 and a larger shoulder mount camera- Mark Von Lanken, himself, used to shoot with an XL-1 and achieve these types of moves. The XL-2 is sort of like a hybrid...it's small enough to hand hold for some techniques and large enough to mount on shoulder for others.

In addition to what you'll learn from the video- I suggest experimenting in post. Like I said, a fair amount of slow motion can help smooth out some othewise imperfect movements. Granted it depends on the degree of shake the camera exhibits but it constantly amazes me how a B-class shot can turn into a silky smooth A-class with a little bit of judicious slow-motion.

Finally, you don't want to "rely" on slow motion or your shooting technique will never improve. The smoother the shot is to begin with the silkier it'll be if you need to manipulate the speed of the clip.

Best of luck and let me know what you think of the video when you get it. Thanks.

Nice job Ram, really appreciate what you have done. thanks for sharing that. yeah, there are some unsteady shots but mylself also doesn't know how to stabilize handheld shots. what i do for now is rest my shoulder against my body but really needs a lot of practice...glen...any points on how to do stable handheld shots?

A big part of it is how you handle the camera and how you move. Try to move using your body and legs while only using your hands/arms to hold the camera. Granted, I do move my arms for some shots but it's complimented by movement in my hips and legs. It also depends on what kind of moving shot your trying to achieve as well. It's somewhat difficult to describe them in litterary form.

well perhaps you can shoot a video yourself trying to demonsrate the movements :)... how it is compensated, even just a short video of how you "do" it...i bet a lot of members like you seeing in action.....right guys...whoohoo :)

It's already been done. Follow the link in my signature and check out the "Moving Camera Techniques" DVD by Mark & Trish Von Lanken.