i've done a mock commercial, but i need some feedback
 

Hey everyone,

I just did a mock iPhone commercial today with the XL-2, but since it was a point-and-shoot type scenario, I was curious on everyones feedback regarding the lighting, audio, etc. (and overall comments if you liked it). It was mainly a comedic skit, but I did not have any bounce cards, lighting kits, etc. Just the camera, and i turned down the hot spots in final cut pro 6 with the 3-way color corrector.

link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPmyQludE1c

let me know what you think! and thanks in advance!

-Devesh Verma
www.deveshverma.com

I really liked it - Kind of felt the build up to the punchline, and still enjoyed it when it happened :-)

Can't really offer any constructive criticism though - other than maybe it could be trimmed a little tighter, with less pauses in the flow.

But I'm a real hack and slash editor, and like quick moving pace. :-)

Man! Nice job!

Dude, that was awesome!

Are you the other actor? Great job from you both.

You realize you cross the line of action at the beginning? Don't know if you intended that or not...

Completely got me with the punchline. Didn't see that coming at all.

I agree it could be tighter, but I loved it. You've inspired me to post my All Bran commercial...

Good work Devesh! Hope you washed your hands afterwards :)

Good job just using natural lighting, maybe using a bounce card next time will help with the contrast.

What did you use for audio? The XL2's stock mic? Sounded like you used a shotgun (I'm hearing it with our laptop's tiny speakers)? I think you could've toned down the background music a bit, as the dialogue seemed a bit lost.

Again, good job!

Best,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Looked good, funny too.

In terms of audio, it was a little hard to hear. Did you use the XL2 stock mic? I find using an external condenser really bumps the audio quality up a lot.

Natural lighting looked pretty good. If you do a lot of outdoor shooting something like this would be helpful.

http://www.adorama.com/JTFR36GW.html

I've used a reflector a few times and can make the difference in harsh shadows.

Great Job!

Hey everyone!

thanks for all the nice comments, i appreciate them greatly!

Vito - yes, i was the other actor. This was just something I felt like doing since I haven't been out filming for a little over a month, so I did not feel the need to get a huge production on something like this.

Jeff - I did use the stock XL-2 mic with a wind guard and cut audio from the different takes I did for whichever sounded best. I know exactly what you mean about the audio though. There was actually diegetic music playing where we were filming at so it was all i could do to make it the right levels that it did not sound too weird.

Andrew - thanks for the link. I just purchased it two minutes ago. I've meant to buy something like this, but just never got around to it. What did you mean by an external condenser? Is that a filter is FCP or a special accessory for the mic?

Thanks again for all the comments guys! Glad you enjoyed it!

It's a seperate mic altogether, run through the XLR inputs on the back of the camera. Condenser mic's run on either phantom power, or in some cases, battery power. I myself use something similar these for external condensers:

http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Produc...o_SM89_content

I have a different Shure microphone, but as I'm out right now I can't check the model type and don't feel like looking all over the internet for it. But something like that gets the job done. It cuts out noisy backgrounds and will pick up dialogue crisp and clear.

I'll post later today with the exact model of the mics I use.

Funny, I wanna see this on tv

It looks good, but appears like it wasn't in full manual mode? There a few spots where I noticed the iris close down (or gain or something went from boost to dropping back down), after too much light came into the shot.

The sound was good, I didn't know the onboard mic could work so well. :)

I was waiting for the friend to turn the phone 90 degrees to demonstrate the portrait/landscape view change the iPhone does. ;)

Very funny, nice work!

Eric