Trailer for the short "CHEMISTRY"
 

Hi Everyone,

Here's a link to the trailer for the short film "Chemistry" on YouTube... let me know what you think.

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

Thanks for watching!

bmx video with hvx
 

short bmx video i did with hvx200.

http://www.vimeo.com/671515

Very cool!
However a better wide angle lens would make it even better... ;-)

I think this emulates the "old home movies" feel more than well enough. It's too easy to get bogged down in the details of trying to perfectly match Super8. If your doing this for a client who is a stickler and specifically wants that look, then I say go ahead and buy a Super8 camera and shoot with that. If this is going to be shown to the general public they will more than accept this look.

yeah, can't afford the $2000 century fisheye...

thanks tho!

As I said
"As something to be projected as if it were Super 8, I think the average theatre goer will accept it. Not many specialists sitting in the audience."

Excellent !
 

Hi Paul

Please get ion touch with the diving fraternity, PADI, BSAC etc and tell them about your site. If they publisize it yoou will get thousands of divers who are filming immediately available for content.

Cheers
Dave (I am a PADI qualified diver)

Web video
 

Even in Germany web videos are becomming big for newspapers. I just came back from a 14 day stint covering the primaries in Florida and California shooting for the German weekly "Die Zeit". I thought some of you might be interested in the footage. I wish, the technical quality would be better but they wanted me to shoot DV and the HV20 doesn`t do too well in that area. And the encoding lets much to be desired. But anyhow, have a look and let me know what you think:
http://www.zeit.de/video/player?videoID=200802069da5b8
http://www.zeit.de/video/player?videoID=20080204ec8ded
http://www.zeit.de/video/player?vide...f7cc&from=left
http://www.zeit.de/video/player?videoID=200801280816e5
http://www.zeit.de/video/player?videoID=200801257f9056
Thanks,
Matthias

Movie Review Show
 

Hey everybody, I started a movie review show several months ago and it's evolved over that time. We recently finished a new format. Thought I would show it off on the board where I get tons of info from.

TheCritics.tv


I do all the production myself, and the presenters write their own material. Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks for taking the time to check it out.

We do shoot in HD, so if anyone would like to check out the HD divx version go here: http://www.stage6.com/The-Critics/vi...on-2-Episode-1

Bali Scuba Diving Promo
 

I've posted a video from our scuba diving in Bali in September 2007 towards the top of my home page. The video is for the dive operator to show silently and looping on a TV on their stand at the London International Dive Show next month.

I would be interested in any comments on the video and whether it downloads/plays smoothly.

Shot with the Sony Z1 in Light and Motion Bluefin housing. Wide shots with their 80 degree port. Most of the macro with Century Optics +3.5 diopter behind flat port. L&M Sunray halogen lights on many shots.

Edited in Sony Vegas Pro 8.0b. The Flash .flv file is 500 kbps video, 128 kbps MP3 audio. I frameserved from Vegas to On2 Flix Pro and did a 2-pass encode and it took over an hour on my quad core! It's hosted on brightcove.com

I'll put a 960x540 version up on Stage6 when I'm happy with it.

Wow - beautiful shots! It looks like if you are also a very experienced diver - the shots are extremely stable.

I think the film would be even better, if you would cut it down to 3 or 4 minutes. It might also be a good idea to change the music at the beginning.

Very nice, more the of slo mo action would have been neat, especially since you have the option :)

Props for using Supersystem too, they're cool

Jay

I dig that man, looks really nice. Did you use any color correction?

Sam

Short "suspense" on XH-A1
 

This is the first short I ever created on my XH-A1 and edited in Final Cut. I noticed that the colours really washed out and the picture was brightened up after it left compressor. I didn't use any of the colour corrections in Compressor, just compressed to H264 and cropped for 2.35:1.

Any suggestions?

http://www.vimeo.com/677218

Here's my $.02

It is my belief that audio should be used to reinforce a feeling that the video creates. To fill in the gaps where dialog leaves off or to hint at things to come.

In your clip the only somewhat visually suspenseful thing was the random appearance of "203." So it was up to the music to somehow make the clip suspenseful. But because most of the footage could have been mixed with a dreamy and lighthearted score and worked well, I think though the music tried it just couldn't do everything on its own.

So I spent 3 minutes confused and waiting for something to happen and was completely let down. I think that the clip could have been cut down to a minute without loosing any of the effect. (If anyone feels that an effect was created.)

That being said I think you did very well on the technical aspects of the piece. :)

Overall nice job on the different cuts/shots, though the action wasn't all that exciting.

In Vegas there's a setting to switch the video to StudioRGB, anything similar in Final Cut Pro? Other than that, try setting your levels and color curves - or use the VividRGB preset for the XH-A1. But you were shooting on what looks like a pretty cloudy day, so your colors are going to be generally muted anyway. The flat indoor lighting probably didn't help either. Were you shooting in Auto? I noticed at the beginning your reverse shots of the guy walking away from the underpass towards the car were darker than the rest.

Ok where to begin...1st teach the girl how to read on camera. Wow, talk about uncomfortable to watch, also what's with her posture? The hand on the hip is not natural. Plus she adds nothing to the review.

2nd, don't sit in front of the monitor, you're blocking the video!
either sit next to it so we can see what you're talking about, or cover you guys with the video when you refer to it.

3rd wardrobe, if you eventually want to get advertisers on your site, you don't want it to look like some high school production.

4th, technically, your chroma key needs a little work. Too many green halos still.

5th, the 2 of you are pretty natural on camera, the dialog back and forth is good, very conversational, not to scripted , which is good.

Sorry to be picky, but I think this is the feedback you're looking for.

I have heard there are some problems with how the gamma curve is handled on H264 - it is viewed differently in Quicktime vs other players, or something along those lines?

The file itself is fine, but it looks washed out in certain programs. Is this the case?

I'm starting up a new web series 'Action Film Fan'
 

well... I guess it must be new, I posted the title wrong.
=P it's called 'Action Movie Fan'

Let me know what you think about Episode 1-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HjBEyCpZRc

thanks!
-nick

Music Video I produced
 

I produced this music video last year (senior year in high school) for a local Columbus, OH group. Shot on the sony pd170 and a panny dvx, edited in final cut. At the time i new very little about lighting, but it's not too bad. Let me know what you think.

http://www.jeffkolada.com/movies/02_...stndrd_web.mov

Hi Dave
Hey a fellow diver...
They way the net goes I'm sure word will get around to them about it.
I'll send SSI and email.
Getting some nice clips loaded up now.

SSI Instructor
Ex PADI instructor.....handed my license back to them....

New Company Reel
 

Hey everyone,

Below is a new version of a quick reel for my prod. co Meydenbauer Entertainment. This isn't really meant to be a full reel, but more of a quick introduction/presentation of the work the company and I have done so far (it would more than likely be at the beginning of a DVD or website). Many of you have seen some of our films including The Beautiful Lie and The Ronnie Day Project.

Just thought I'd see what you guys think.

http://www.meydenbauerentertainment.com/Reel.mov

Josh

Depending on where you live, you can rent one!

Great lighting. Good pacing!

Toward the end, maybe just a little too much cutting on the beats, but in the beginning I think those cuts work fine.

I don't know if I'd like it as a force-play before a DVD feature, but certainly as a DVD extra or as a piece on the web.

Good work!

Great!
 

I think it looks great. Good choice of clips. If I were to make any critical comment, it would be that there are a few too many 'clips to beat' at the beginning.

Unfortunately, most of the real suspense came from waiting for this film to load up. Man, must be a really slow server or something.
After waiting that long for the film to load, I was really hoping for some kind of big payoff in the end, but there wasn't any.
I thought most of the video looked nice, anyway.

It is against forum policy to link to works better than my own.

BTW, do you have any tips on how you get those results? I see in your sig that you use an XL2 but there must be a lot more to it than the camera.

Hi David. I guess the story is a bit slight but it is your first film! It's great to try stuff out without worrying too much about tricky plots at this stage. The the first movie I ever made was a suspense film too.

I liked some stuff. I thought the opening shots, with the handheld long lenses did add a bit of a "surveillance" mood which did make it a bit suspenseful, a lot of contemporary thrillers use the same approach.

I could have done with a few fewer zooms, but then I seem to be in a minority about that these days.

Be careful with the long handheld tracking shots - I noticed you had to speed one up to fit it in. It's best to shoot a few of angles and just cut. I know filmmakers fall in love with the long windy tracking shots, but usually they're pretty pointless, and actually that's how my mum would shoot a movie: "I'll just follow you while you walk around, honey"

Not bad George! It looked very professional, something you'd see on TV here. From what I saw, the actors look like they're doing a great job. Nice locations too.

The 'films' in the logo for GH films is kind of unclear though. I don't know if that's just because youtube squished the video to 4:3 but the f looks like an l. You might want to change the font for that.

Wow, that's all I can say. I love the story, it kept me entertained the whole time. Beautiful work. Amazing. Holy crap. Usually I don't like those love type stories, but this was just incredible. I will watch it a second time. I loved the twist, the pregnancy at the end all that. How they were both married. Very good storyline.

I really, really, and I mean this, REALLY enjoyed your film.

The cinematography was great, especially in the light that I paid it no attention. I didn't need to. Visually it was there, and cued me to what I needed to know, without spelling things out. The audio was great, the actors expressed great emotion....

I did think that the B&W transitions were somewhat out of place, something a bit less intrusive would have been more pleasing to my eye, personally. Other than that...

The story was phenomenal. The storytelling was even better. Congratulations.

I like it.

Good song, good pace....visually interesting. The winking pirate at the end is a wee bit silly but that's ok given the context of the little treasure chest scenerio.

Amazing what you can do in a 10' x 12' white room and a little imagination.

Now the vintage broadcast type microphone like the one used by your lead singer seems to be a popular prop in a number of music videos i've seen but it still works in yours because you treat it as just another prop except when the Bass Player does his solo vocal part and visually it's the right choice .

As for lighting ....pretty basic stuff. Looks like you had a key light maybe a 2nd light and whatever was coming off the ceiling light. I could see the Musicians faces plus desaturating....it looked ok.

Over all good job Jeff.

Very nice!
I was thinking about getting together with some friends that jam every now and then for fun and put together a little video. I was wondering any suggestions for syncing? They do have some stuff recorded. I am really new to all this so any suggestions would be great. Thought it would be fun

Hi, we now have a teaser and a trailer on the site. Check out and tell what you think :)

http://silentpaprika.kapsi.fi/evil

Thanks for the feedback Oliver.

I am quite an experienced diver but I also used a tripod for many of the macro shots, which of course helped with steadiness.

I think I will shorten it somewhat, and I will reconsider that opening music track.

Trailer for feature I shot, F900
 

A feature I shot a long time ago is finally seeing the light of day, as the producers are shopping it at the European Film Market. I've been waiting for this one as it was a strongly visual film, I think I posted about it here back in the day. Please enjoy the trailer here:

Flash version
Quicktime version

This was mostly shot on the F900, with some additional photography done on the Genesis.

Congratulations, Charles! Finally!

Good heavens, you aren’t kidding when you speak of it being “strongly visual;” the trailer was enough for me. :) But it’s beautifully shot, just as all of us would count on from you. I have to say…that first scene is really gross!

The man who plays Nikolai looked familiar, but I didn’t recognize his name. Judging from the trailer he did an excellent job. Then as I looked to see your name (so cool!) I noticed that he wrote this movie.

I had to watch both versions because on my computer the audio on the Flash version is out of sync. It’s “prettier” than the Quicktime, though, so I hope it works for others.

Wonderful news...wonderful job!

Great work! you're a true artist. I can now see what years of experience and natural talent can do when matched with the right equipment and a great crew and am impressed. I was wondering if you could take a moment to discuss the lighting equipment and techniques used in the movie. In particular, is the key light coming from a direct source or is there a certain kind of diffusion or bounce used in combination with the key light? Does your method change throughout the movie? I'm interested in learning how to match (or compliment) the lighting style from one scene to the next when they require vastly different sized lights (ie - low lit interiors vs. bright exteriors). This kind of information would be really helpful, I think. BTW, Great job on the movie.. hello Sundance! And, thanks for your reply in advance.

thanks Lorinda and Brian.

"right equipment and crew"--well, sort of...this was actually a really low budget movie, appearances to the contrary. I'm not supposed to say how low but suffice to say that the general consensus is that it looks like it cost 10-20 times what we actually spent on it.

I started the job with a different grip and electric crew that was replaced after a week, then things settled down a bit, but we were always way understaffed, and the biggest equipment package in the world (not that I had that) is of no use if you don't have the manpower to use it! Some of the sets were very large and required an alternative approach to light based on our resources.

Many different lighting approaches in the film, but generally I kept the Narrator (main charactor) in half-light as it made him more menancing, and it was generally pretty hard. Some of the locations required more of a soft-light approach, and the segments with Roslyn Sanchez at her mansion were much warmer and prettier than the rest of the film as she represented the yin to the yang of the violence and darkness seen elsewhere in the film.

It will be difficult if I am ever called on to do an interview on the lighting of this film as so many years have now gone by, it's getting fuzzy, but I might be able to remember details for specific shots if asked.

by the way, the official site at perfectsleep.com has added a set of great framegrabs from the movie.