Please Critique My Work!

[Ed Roo]

I feel as though I have gotten to the point where I can spot my own big mistakes, but I am looking for advice on how to correct the small mistakes or things that I may be overlooking. Please watch this clip and let me know what you think.

Thank you!

A Paul Story on Vimeo

[Bryan Worsley]

Most obvious - the uploaded video was interlaced. You need to deinterlace it before uploading to Vimeo and the like.

[David Barnett]

Hate critiquing others work, especially when it's adequately done, but I'll offer. I feel the lighting is a little hot, either diffuse them a bit or move them a bit further from the top of the subjects head. With that, close up your aperature a bit. Higher F stop. I feel the camera is a bit tight on the subject, either zoom out a bit or something tells me this might be a prime lens, move the camera further back, composition more like below his nipples/top of stomach area. Lastly, is it 24p? Seems to be some motion blur, could have to do with being in tight but otherwise maybe go even up to 60p or faster shutter.


Overall tho, I mean it isn't bad or unusable. I think being too close in would cause the most viewer distraction. Most others could be fixed in post & the motion blur is likely only cause I was looking for stuff & know about it.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Bryan Worsley

Most obvious - the uploaded video was interlaced. You need to deinterlace it before uploading to Vimeo and the like.

Looks something like that. What would cause that anymore? Are you saying this is 1080i and needs to be converted to Progressive? (Sorry, it's just been a while since I dealt with i & p)

[Bryan Worsley]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

Lastly, is it 24p?

I downloaded the Vimeo video (with 4K Video Downloader) to examine more closely. Indeed, it looks like the original footage was recorded in '24p over 60i' format (what was called 'PF24' on Canon HDV and AVCHD camcorders) i.e. when deinterlaced (top field first) to 60p the frames show a repeating 3:2 ('pull-down') pattern - in other words 'telecined'.

To recover the 24p cadence from the upload video file he'd need to delete the replicated frames ('inverse telecine') after deinterlacing to 60p. I've always used AVISynth for such conversions. Depending on the editing software that was used, and assuming the original clips are still available, he might be able to go back into the edit and extract 24p on the timeline in the project settings. If that's not possible, the edited video does at least need to be deinterlaced to 60p before uploading to Vimeo. Haven't used it in a while but IIRC Handbrake uses Yadif for deinterlacing and can be set to double-rate (bob) deinterlace.

I definitely wouldn't leave it as it is. I find the interlace 'mice teeth' very distracting where there is movement.

[Paul R Johnson]

I'm not sure it's really possible to give a critique here. Subjectively, on this computer, it's fine. Sharp, detailed and apart from being a little 'pastel' which is a taste thing, I see nothing to put on a negative list. Sure, he waves his hands and lifts a knee, but that's just him. You could have gone out a bit, but then we'd see more of his movements. His skin would not respond well to tweaks to saturation etc.

[Andrew Smith]

Audio seems good (listening with headphones here). Only a tiny bit of room echo for him which is perfectly fine.

To my sense, the skin tones aren't quite right. Out by only a smidge and need to look a little healthier. Could be that some of the green of the background is being reflected around and this needs to be compensated for, but it's one of things where you need to figure it out the hard way with colour corrections. That last very subtle adjustment will make it look fantastic.

Andrew

[Ed Roo]

Thank you, everyone for your comments. They are much appreciated.
Background...
Canon XF-300
LitePanels 1x1 Spot (key, left), Flood (fill, right), ENG3 (hairlight) - all 5600K lights
Sennheiser MKH-416 boomed mic
Concrete blocked walled (light yellow) training room, ~ 16 ft wide and ~ 50 ft deep. I choose to set up widthwise.
Narrator ~ 4 ft from far wall seated in an arm chair (I like to use this type of chair so the subject cannot shift around too much); camera positioned ~ 6 ft from subject.

I had to eyeball the exposure, instead of using the camera's built in scope as I usually do, due to being rushed to set up. I normally like to have access to the room where the interview will be conducted an hour prior to the interview so that I have time to set up and check everything before beginning. Couldn't do that this time. I do have diffusers and frames for all the lights.

I experimented with changing the exposure in post (FCP X), but couldn't find the right amount of correction. So I left it as it was. Is there a standard for setting up the display brightness when editing?

I noticed the motion blur, too. Camera was set to 24P/1-48th. Should I bump it 30P/1-60th in the future?
Normally, I use a piece of white paper on the hair light to mute the hot spot on top of the head. Didn't bring one with me on this trip, and again, was rushed on the setup.

This is the second time I have read someone write about pulling back more, but I have never read anything that explains the correct framing of the subject during an interview. This subject has a broad chest and a narrow head, so it does look odd. In the future, I will try to frame a little wider, as David suggests. One of my mentors was a former broadcast executive, he always wanted tight framing. :-)

How much head space is best practice? I have my subjects start out with their butts all the way back against the chair so that they are sitting at their tallest, and frame with a couple inches of headspace. As the interview progresses, they move around and slup down. Using the "Rule of Thirds", I start out with their eyes on the upper third line.

As to the interlace/deinterlace... I am not that advanced, technically! :-)

I probably do need to pay more attention to how I export from FCP X. I have not adjusted the FCP X settings, I select File -> Share -> Master File and create a *.mov file. This is then convertered to an *.mp4 using iSkySoft iMedia Converter Deluxe for upload to Vimeo and distribution via NTSC formated USB thumb drives.

The echo off the concrete block walls is very evident when I am asking questions. I was pleased with the sound of the narrators voice.

Any further critic/comments/criticism are welcome. I do appreciate your comments. I want to deliver the best possible product to my clients.

[Paul R Johnson]

With people with no hair, dimming the backlight is important. I always liked this when using tungsten because dimming also warmed it up. For a little prep project, it's come off quite well.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I wasn’t able to watch but a few comments:
1. I’d use 30p for interviews. 24p is for cinematic style to simulate film.

2. I agree diffusion is helpful to reduces glare for no hair.

3. I don’t care for the position of the subject. I would suggest moving him to the right so he is not centered. I’d also turn him for a more 3/4 angle. Squared up as he is lacks depth and accentuates his wide shoulders. The camera feels like it’s too high this is probably because his posture (head drooping). His head also seems to be elongated can’t tell if that’s the way he looks or because of wide angle view/camera too close to subject. For older subjects it’s more flattering to not get too close. These wider shots require more room and bigger background.

4. Over all it has a very clinical look and feel that you get with background only. I prefer interviews that incorporate the actual setting, ie window, book case, plant, etc. I understand based on restrictions this might not be possible. Like everyone is saying this is good enough but you’re asking about ways to improve.

[Bryan Worsley]

Originally Posted by Ed Roo

Canon XF-300...
Camera was set to 24P/1-48th....
As to the interlace/deinterlace... I am not that advanced, technically! :-)

Ah, the footage was shot in native 24p - so it was the FCP X export that was '24p over 60i' then ? In that case, no need for any deinterlacing/inverse telecine. Just export 24p for upload to Vimeo and there won't be any interlace 'mice teeth'.

[Ed Roo]

I have re-edited the original file.

I changed the exposure -10% and formatted the file as 1080/24P

A Paul Story 24P on Vimeo

Let me know how the new video compares to the original 1080i file

A Paul Story on Vimeo

[Andrew Smith]

Skin tones are a touch too magenta for my liking. The 'less bright' version really lets it stand out.

Andrew

[Bryan Worsley]

Originally Posted by Ed Roo

I have re-edited the original file.

......and formatted the file as 1080/24P

Well, that's how it was shot and no interlace combing, which is an instant improvement.

Originally Posted by Andrew Smith

Skin tones are a touch too magenta for my liking. The 'less bright' version really lets it stand out.

I agree, the global colour balance seems a little cool with a magenta bias. I've never used FCP X so I'm not familiar with the color correction tools that are available. If it has an white balance tool with color picker maybe try sampling off his sweater for neutral grey, say on the light edge of the cuff on his left arm, and see how it looks. Or if Colour Temperature/Tint tools and vectorscope (with skin tone line) are available, adjust the skin tones directly. It is a global colour shift though.

Also reducing the global exposure is not really tackling that glare on his bald head, which remains quite distracting and unflattering. I think you'd fare better pulling down the highlights.

Would you mind uploading a 1080/24p version without the adjusted exposure?

[Ed Roo]

24P 0 Exposure

A Paul Story 24P 0E on Vimeo

24P -5% Exposure

A Paul Story 24P -5E on Vimeo

24P -10% Exposure

A Paul Story 24P -10E on Vimeo