I would come up with the message and a basic framework before I deleted any clips. Some clips might be more acceptable with some color correction, slow mo, or by trimming off the shaky parts. Take for example the camp schedule in the opening shot. I would trim off the shaky portion because to me it looks a little amateurish and slow mo the more steady portion. This helps the audience to actually understand what they are looking at. Just an example.

Early EX shoot
 

http://www.vimeo.com/1227654

Here is a one cam one man wedding I did. I felt the urge to go with less polish and more veritas (sp). Please feel free to rip on it, I need the pro input.

I shot it in the 1920x1080 60i HQ mode. I have since moved to the 30p mode on the cam since I really like to use the natress film filters. Other film filter suggestions are welcome. Once again you won't hurt my feelings as input on how to get better is what I'm looking for.

This wan't the final edit and the song was different but I'm into Muse right now so I let it rip:)

I saw "Live at the Abbey Road" ( I think ) on Sundance channel and it was some of the most amazing camera work I have ever seen! Just awesome and it inspired me to achieve that look.

Thanks to all who reply!

Cool
 

Great job Paul! You have done what I have dreamed about since I was a little kid :)

The line on the bottom of your post has inspired me so thanks for that too!

08 Show Reel
 

Hey guys. I normally don't post much stuff, due for me being a hard critique to my own work, but I want some second opinions on our new show reel before I start spamming friends and older clients.

All of this stuff was shot during my last three years at school using whatever we could find equipment. This is my last and final year of schooling, and I wanted to thank all of you for being such a big help (just from reading all the posts)! =)

http://www.exaltedstudios.com/

-Note- I know I need to include a contact email, which I plan on adding in shortly.

Showbiz Pizza / Rockafire Documentary
 

Anyone from the southern united states around 30 years old remember this as a kid?!

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

Guess not. LOL!

I must have been the only weird kid that went to showbiz pizza...

Thanks Mike. I appreciate you taking the time to take a look.

Glad Mr. Pearce has inspired you. I look forward to seeing you post about your next film here.

Paul

Video doesn't play.

Hi Adam:

Congrats on putting up your new reel.

There seem to be some format issues, a few shots look stretched--probably better to have those properly formatted with letterboxes to make them less distracting.

The black and white footage (16mm?) could be graded to give it some more snap, it's a bit flat.

The motion graphics have some nice energy but nearly all of the live video is static--I would at least lead the reel with the few moving shots that you have, remember that many times the decision is made to hire someone based on the first 30 seconds of a reel and you need to hit it hard right off the bat.

Another rule of thumb is that it is better to create a shorter reel than one that has repetition (unless you have the same shot in a montage vs. longer form). By the last 1/4 it seems it's a lot of re-runs (the guys in the superhero outfits etc).

Great work Eddie!!!!! Solid work all across the board; editing, sound, cinematography, and acting. That has to be one of the best short film dramas I've seen. I really like the story. A dose of real life....

I had a little issues with the color grading, but i think it's a little trivial. So no worries there. Once againg great work man....I just get a little ticked off when peopel fail to comment on good stuff. Because i think people can learn from what you did.

One question though.... Why did u keep it all tight shots in the (interiors)???

Jeremy, very nice, makes me want to visit! Same comments on use of zoom, but on a positive note, many of the shots were extremely creative and very well executed. Keep up the good work!

criticism? compliments? I'll take it all
 

I've been lurking around dvinfo for a couple of months now and know that there are some talented, knowledgable people in here. I would greatly appreciate any criticism, no matter how harsh. I'm a total noob and feel that I have much to learn. With that being said...please rip apart my videos. Thanks.

Best Demo Reel I've ever seen...
 

I really don't know why the video won't play - I have tested it in Firefox, IE7, Safari and Opera. It's using Flash 9 and buffers before it auto plays. You might of been having a slow connection at that time.

Charles, thanks for the great advice, the formatting issue was created in flash encoder. I believe I have fixed that. One thing I completely forgot was color grading some shots such as the 16mm footage and a few of the interviews. I also shortened the reel to 2:32, unlike the previous 3:30ish - and finally removed oblivious repeated shots and swapped others around.

One thing I noticed I did while swapping shots around is that I separated most of the motion graphics pieces from the cinematography clips. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not.

The new one is up, located on the same site. Let me know what you think.
www.exaltedstudios.com

There is a lot of good stuff in there, but I think there are a lot of uninteresting things in there as well. With how long your reel is, I would really concentrate on making it a lot shorter. There are a lot of shots you could really take out, like guy opening back pack, or a standard close up.