Have to watch it a little later, but on getting more coverage. In the feature I just finished shooting and am currently posting, I had mostly non/inexperienced-actors. I shot through the master, then in the singles, you can really dial in a performance by giving the actors some freedom if they/you don't like the delivery of a line to stop, take a beat and redo that line...it's easy to cut it together if you have the master (watch out for continuity!) and you get some really good performances out of it...you can have them give you a variety of deliveries and emotional levels that way.

I actually liked the opening credits, yea, maybe something better than a curtain would have been nice, but it kind of worked for me, especially with the music and the font. Music and sounds was good. The story, although simple, was great and well done with great acting. Overall, good job. BTW, how do you think it turned out?

Not bad, I really liked the music. The blur did get to me a little, but no big deal. Like cole said, the movment made it almost sad. Good Job.

thank you
 

Thanks all for taking your time to watch it. Your comments are very helpful.

The night before the principle photography, our boom microphone stopped working so we decided to use the on board mic of the XL-1... it was a scary decision but we didn't have much choice. So I tried to keep the sound as clean as possible and then hopefully clean up in post (if needed); I did run into few issues but thank god, it was only minor issues... the only major issue was when she screamed ;-) i had lowered the level but still too loud in some shots... but i was grateful how the sounds turned out.

I agreed the title sequence is a little long. I did slow it down so the effects of the fonts be more effective.... but you're right.. it's a little long and boring.

Overall, we're also happy with the end result and there are also a few things I wish I could have done differently but we know we couldn't get it perfectly and that's why i'm here to see if other audiences see what I couldn't see ;-)

Again, thank you... and I'm looking forward to see more comments.

On the artist side: I agree with the others...horrible song...that guy should give up and try something else...

On the production side: Considering it was your first and a one camera operation...GOOD JOB!! My only issue with it was that the audio seemed VERY compressed, I don't know if that was the CD he gave you that was that compressed or if it was you, for web delivery, but with a musician (term used loosely here) I would put audio quality over the video size/bitrate.

Also in the future, with a rap/hip-hop artist I would try out some more interesting angles with possible some fisheye shots, overheads, ect.

My First Major Production
 

Hello All, I wanted to share my first video that took over a month to make. Technically it shouldn't have taken that long, but I wanted something good and I wasn't sure how I was going to form it. The video was for a school production of West Side Story and it was the 20 year reunion since West Side Story was displayed at my school. The video was shown before one of the shows for the cast of 1986 and 2006. Most of the footage I took wasn't included (7 80min mini-dv tapes total). The whole thing was filmed on a Sony Handycam dvc-trv27 and was edited in both Cyberlink Powerdirector and Final Cut pro 5.

P.S. Sorry for the VHS quality and some color problems... I couldnt extract from the DVD without paying for a special program so I copied it to VHS and captured it to my computer.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...od+Corp.&hl=en

Wow
 

I really liked it and I want to see more! I especially liked the titles and how only the letters in "Detours" stayed after a second or two. Storyline was very very catchy and I would definately like to see this movie.

I do not know if it is something at my end, but the file was corrupt. Regardless, I want to wish you luck in your project.

Hey Josh, welcome to DV Info and congrats at getting into video production. This first effort that you've created is really more of a home movie, meaning the people who are going to enjoy watching it are most likely those who were in it or family and friends of those involved in the production. As an outsider, I have no idea who these people are, its just images of folks set to music. To really express yourself as a filmmaker, I'd suggest tackling something that isn't going to have a set, captive audience. Think of something simple, wether its a fictional story, or a documentary, but something that will be interesting for people to watch because there is a story that is revealed as the film progresses.
Also, be wary of lengthy credit rolls at the start of your film. Be confident in your work, tell a great story, and at the end people will take note of who created the film.

That looks really interesting. Nicely done Eli.

Nice Start
 

Hi Terry,

You're vodcast looks like it's going to be a real hit! (I subscribe to about 20)

From the technical side, you're lighting could be improved - the video is almost washed out and shadows are on the subject's eyes (not flattering). Perhaps you can use an umbrella or softbox to fix this, diffuse your hard light, or crank down the gain/aperture, etc. Incidentally, you may want to consider a solid white/black background if file size is an issue (video compression works much better that way).

The voice quality could use some work - the mic distance is picking up an echo (poor room acoustics). One cheap fix is a wired lavilier. Processing the signal through a audio compressor would also help.

Your subject (Tami) is terrific - very energetic with good facial gestures and a pleasant presence! And looking at your site, you've got excellent content.

Best wishes and contact me if you have any follow-up questions.

Michael

VERY low-budget HDV Feature!
 

Here's the trailer for my feature, shot in HDV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77hl5ETy0vQ

It's titled, "The Uninvited", and is a supernatural thriller.

(Please pardon YouTube's compression, the picture looks better than what you can currently see!)

That's why you should host your own videos, otherwise having shot in HDV becomes moot.

I liked the trailer except for the shot of the girl in the house... it seemed to be the only shot that was different from the rest...

Shot on Z1?

Phil Spector at the Fair: Quasi-Music Video as Quasi-Home Movie, or something...
 

Here is a short video I recently did to accompany a musician's live performance:

http://karatemedia.com/inflatable/

(The Windows Media file is a little better because it is deinterlaced)

This was shot on both a Panasonic DVC-80 and a DV-53, then tweaked in After Effects to look something like an 8mm home movie. It's probably the antithesis of what most people are attempting to get here (and probably even of what I would normally strive for), but I thought it might be interesting to post here.

It's a very basic piece, and the "state fair" theme is pretty obvious take on the Phil Spector-ish style of the music, but hopefully the general editing and shot selection accompanies the song well.

Not to worry, it won't be shown in its entirety on the 'net- my producer is searching for a distributor for a DVD release.

If I told you why I couldn't use a shot of the girl that matches everyone else's, it would be giving away a major spoiler... ;)

No, we had to use the JVC JYHD10. Not my first choice, but it was available- along with the availability of the locations & actors. Otherwise, we would have had to find more financial backing, and start over with casting actors & locations months (or years) down the road. The lesser of two evils, I figure.

I like it Dave !!!

Edgy, lazer paced, well synced, colorful ... and yes, even a wee bit strange.

The music had almost a Blue Man Group feel to it....love that upbeat stuff.

hey, was that a jib shot behind the Musicians ?

Thanks a bunch Ken.

Yes, that was a jib shot. The second shot, the one of the school bus, was a jib shot as well. Both done with my home made jib.

At some point I will post pictures of the jib in the jib forum.

My first short film
 

I made this over a year ago but never really wanted to show it anywhere. As I was going through my hard drive, I decided to get some reviews on this short just to see what people think. I will admit that there is some amateur problems: a tripod in one shot; but other than that, I think it came out alright.

And yes I used a Chopin song but forgot to credit it. I didn't mean to infringe if I have, but I felt the song fit; plus it was just for fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAYhvjoFzkM

Review away

Funny Video
 

A funny video I write, directed, and edited today. Please comment. (wrote it during class :) )

http://invisionitstudios.com/khuni.html

Those photos kind of have a Sin City look to them. Cools

Nice work Djee... I like seeing stuff like this, low light very "cinematic" look shot on video.. shows where you can take video if you work at it. It wish I could see a better version of it, the online movie was a little dark, but I think that is a combination of compression and my monitor. I too, thought the almost B&W look was really cool. Good luck in the competition.

not bad for one day, wish i had friends that could do it right then and there. i liked your myspace vids, too.

thanks for giving time dropping your imput!

Thanks :-) and as the title and 'plot' of this film allready indicates, we are going to make a longer version, in the same visual style, and then even put a story in it, see how that works. ;-). We also want to use a 35 mm adapter in that version.

I will try to upload a better version on my website.

Productshot
 

My 4 YO son insisted I needed cars to make a proper product shot.

I thought I was missing the pretty girls...

Comments:
http://www.vulture.no/testvid/scooter.mov

Gunleik

Show Intro
 

Shot a simple demo intro for my show and would like to get some input. It's a golf show and tried to have a bit of a movie feel to it at the start. Any feedback would be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEWzci3DhPI

Thanks,

Matthew

It's great, but I'd shorten it up a bit to about 30 seconds. IMO there's a bunch of dead space in the beginning half. Also I'd change the font used for all the words describing the show at the bottom. Otherwise, it looks awesome to me!

Thanks for the info. Any special font that you might suggest? I was trying to have it start sort of like a movie and let it build. I was just trying to start the show a bit different than the average golf show you might see.

Looked good to me. But like was mentioned, it seemed to have some dead air. I'd ditch the quote probabaly. I understand the desire to have a cool movie into, but you have to undertstand it's a TV show. Not a movie.

I would at least shorten that black video after the quote. It seems to go on forever.

I couldn't see the video you posted, for some reason I can't get the "proper" codec from apples site.

I did however check out some of your other work. It's pretty cool. I like the MySpace commercials.

I also want to know, how the hell did you get the shot inside the 350z?!

The 350z has a hatch. I pretty much let my friend film while in the trunk with the hatch open. :D (Everyone asks that, I guess people consider it very uncomfortable :D)

Ahh, ok. That makes sense. It's a very tiny car so one can only wonder. Haha, pretty cool.

I'm watching the Short Version of Reno and it's pretty funny man. Keep up the good work.

I wouldn't ditch the quote. I think it looks cool. Just because it's T.V. doesn't mean you can't experiment with a more "movie" look. I mean, look at a lot of the TV shows out today like 24 and Prison break. They have a very cinematic look and feel to them.

I say keep the movie-like look, but definately ditch the long black portion of the video. It just goes on for far too long. I thought something was wrong and I was about to close the window because I had thought something got screwed up, like the encode or something.

I like the quote but that's about it... I would like to see some action shots if you are going to cut it that fast. High shutter, extreme angles, etc. Also, what really sets a show apart IMHO is custom graphics and music. In this case, I think both the music and graphics are a bit hokie. Try some 3D stuff for graphics (Cool3D is a cheap and easy program) and see if you can hook up with a local musician for some custom sound. Here is a link to a low-budget sports show I direct/shoot that will be going national early next year.

http://nts001.interplug.com/profiles.mov


ash =o)

The Mexican American War
 

Waayyyyy back in January we started shooting this History Channel documentary on the Mexican American war using the Panasonic Varicam...and two of the new HVX-200 cameras. We received the first two cameras on the west coast, and 2 days later were shooting with them.

Back in March a press release about us was circulated. I have been working on it for 9 months (a record for me...longest time on one show) and now it will finally air. The title is THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR.

Friday, Sept 29 at 8:00PM ET/PT on The History Channel.

This project mixed Varicam footage and P2 footage from the HVX-200 camera. Was shot 720p 23.98 and delivered 1080p 23.98 on D5. This show was cut with FCP at full DVCPRO HD resolution using 2 G-Raid 500GB drives, an internal 250 SATA drive and a Popsicle Stick Raid.

I color corrected using the 3-way color corrector, did moves on stills with FCP and After Effects and did green screen comps (with the expert help of Patrick Sheffield) with Shake. I output at The DR Group in Los Angeles to D5 and delivered...well, LAST week be the show was kicked back for a few technical issues that we spent the last week fixing and have since returned the tapes to the network.

Set your Tivo. Especially if you are a Neilson family.

For information on my workflow, visit my blog at www.LFHD.net

The teaser trailer can be found here...not color corrected:

http://homepage.mac.com/comeback/pro...Theater36.html

Thats cool Shane. I'm a big history buff and am addicted to that channel. Please post when it will premiere so I can keep an eye out for it. I am curious how this will look in HD as well.

That was pretty funny stuff. Reminds me of my old high school. Especially the beatings. We usually had atleast 3 good bouts a day. Good job

Congratulations Shane! I remember seeing some of the footage at your LAFCPUG presentation-- looked fantastic.

I'll definitely mark my calender...