Highlights clip

Hey all,

It's been a while, so I thought I'd post a highlights clip:

http://www.nosmallroles.com/laura_gerry.h.264.mov

Shot on a Z1 and a HV30. First time using a Merlin, too, so that was fun.

Any comments always appreciated. Travis, feel free to point out the clips lacking contrast. I know you're good for it!

Cheers, and greetings from Montreal.

[Rickey Brillantes]

Very nice! did you use twixtor for your slowmo?

[Jason Robinson]

Good to see one of your new productions. Heh, well now that you mention it, a few clips did look like they have my GL2's lens (a bit gray cast). But I fight that on all my shots (is that a Canon lens issue???) Looks like the gliding shots (shot with what I assume is a HV30 / Merlin) were the only shots to exhibit that characteristic. I may be slowly changing fro ma Canon guy back to a Sony guy (I shot my first 4 on a HDR-FX1, and the rest on XL1/GL2).

The shot at 1;)4 was a little odd with the flowers in the background and then some glass reflections showing an SLR lens. Not bad, just felt odd. Was that the Photographer being the shadow / shooting the same thing right next to you? It looked like it happened again near 1:10.

Jog job catching the doves. Those little buggers are hard to predict! I've shot at least two weddings with our local "dove lady" and each time it takes me a few second to catch up to them.

Cork & wine bottle shot was very cool! You could see it sailing off in the distance. Did you slow that down on post?

I'll be real nit-picky here and say that some of the gliding shots show the tell-tail gyroscopic tilt as the sled is rotated quickly. Dynamic balance is so stinking hard to get! I've never gotten it for my Glidecam 4k. I have to compensate by pulling below the gimble in the direction of the turn to counter act the shot pitching to the left (ie at 2:30)

Did I see a diagonal linear wipe at 2:43? that seemed to be the only "effects" transition that wasn't a straight cut / dissolve or a whip pan.

Fun video and thanks for sharing!

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Rickey Brillantes

Very nice! did you use twixtor for your slowmo?

Hi Rickey,

No, that's not twixtor. It's the preset timewarp effects in Avid Xpress Pro. I'm continually amazed at how good a slow motion it gives.

Thanks for watching!

[Vito DeFilippo]

Hi Jason,

Originally Posted by Jason Robinson

Looks like the gliding shots (shot with what I assume is a HV30 / Merlin) were the only shots to exhibit that characteristic.

Yeah, the Merlin shots were all with the HV30. I was pretty impressed with the image quality, in good light anyway. The camera controls are a bit bizarre, especially coming from a Sony world. I'm still trying to figure out how to control it.

The shot at 1;)4 was a little odd with the flowers in the background and then some glass reflections showing an SLR lens. Not bad, just felt odd. Was that the Photographer being the shadow / shooting the same thing right next to you? It looked like it happened again near 1:10.

Yes, that's exactly it. I liked the shots using reflections, and tried to put some in.

Good job catching the doves. Those little buggers are hard to predict! I've shot at least two weddings with our local "dove lady" and each time it takes me a few second to catch up to them.

Got really lucky on that. Had two cameras covering that, and both got them great. I had the luxury of choosing which angle I liked better.

Cork & wine bottle shot was very cool! You could see it sailing off in the distance. Did you slow that down on post?

Yes, it's slowmo. I've tried that shot many times, and finally got the whole cork trajectory!

I'll be real nit-picky here and say that some of the gliding shots show the tell-tail gyroscopic tilt as the sled is rotated quickly. Dynamic balance is so stinking hard to get! I've never gotten it for my Glidecam 4k. I have to compensate by pulling below the gimble in the direction of the turn to counter act the shot pitching to the left (ie at 2:30)

Be as picky as you like, I don't mind. Yeah, it's hard to keep the darn thing level. Though at this point, I had a total of five minutes practice before this shoot, so I was happy just to get anything useable. First time using the HV30, too.

Did I see a diagonal linear wipe at 2:43? that seemed to be the only "effects" transition that wasn't a straight cut / dissolve or a whip pan.

Yes, you saw them. One at 2:40 as well. I used mostly pushes (what you call whip pan), a couple of horizontal opens, and the diagonal wipes. No dissolves.

Fun video and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for checking it out, Jason, and for the comments. Always nice to get feedback from your peers. Especially from all the great people on this forum.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

Be as picky as you like, I don't mind. Yeah, it's hard to keep the darn thing level. Though at this point, I had a total of five minutes practice before this shoot, so I was happy just to get anything useable. First time using the HV30, too.

I literally would take my glidecam on a walk aroudn the neighborhood every evening with my wife. I did that for the first few weeks when I got the glidecam. That was the only way I was able to feel comfortable using it. Unfortunately, I haven't touched it since my November wedding. But now is the season to get back in shape, do some curls to work out the bicep and get back at the camera skills.

[Jason Magbanua]

Great edit Vito!

Thanks for sharing.

My only nitpick would be the colored frames during the stills. I'm partial to white but that's just me.

That shot of the priest smelling the flowers was so money!

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Jason Robinson

I literally would take my glidecam on a walk aroudn the neighborhood every evening with my wife.

I hope she still loves you.

Unfortunately, I haven't touched it since my November wedding.

Hey, that was a fun video! Looked like a great couple to work with.

You did a great job of working with the music, too. Especially a good Canadian song like that, hehe.

[Vito DeFilippo]

Hey Jason,

Originally Posted by Jason Magbanua

Great edit Vito!

Thanks! It was a lot of fun.

My only nitpick would be the colored frames during the stills. I'm partial to white but that's just me.

Most of them were white. Just one blue for him, one pink for her.

That shot of the priest smelling the flowers was so money!

Yeah, you never know with these guys. Never cracked a smile, looked like he would bite my head off every time I blinked. Then he smelled the flowers and made up for it.

You know, I really thought people would notice more how lucky I got with the drumming shot. What are the chances he would break a stick and the piece would fly right into frame?

Thanks for checking it out, Jason. Greatly appreciated.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

You know, I really thought people would notice more how lucky I got with the drumming shot. What are the chances he would break a stick and the piece would fly right into frame?

I did catch that blurry thing that flew off frame but I was only 50% sure what I saw was what I thought happened. interesting. Good thing it didn't hit the lens. I'm always paranoid about stuff hitting my lens.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

I hope she still loves you.

I always say I lucked out with her. Not only is she still sticking around, but she doesn't mind being my permanent second cam op. And she takes great candid stills which I use for the DVD covers. It also helps to have a female with a cam if the bride's dressing chamber has someone that is a bit less clothed than necessary for me to be in there.

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

Hey, that was a fun video! Looked like a great couple to work with. You did a great job of working with the music, too. Especially a good Canadian song like that, hehe.

It didn't hurt that i lived on the same dorm hall at college as the groom and ALL the groomsmen for 2 years! It was like a reunion. The crazy thing is I only talked with the bride until we had the booking meeting, then the groom came along and we were like "wow Preston! Long time no see!" And even crazier is that a software dev job I got 1yr ago was offered to me because Preston (groom) left to work for another company.... so I got his old job.

Man it helps the video production when the groomsmen are loose and funny and not scared of the camera. Now most of them would have been camera shy (what computer geeks are fans of breing in front of a camera ... honestly), but a lot of the time I would just hold the camera, poitn it towards them, but be looking off the side and not "paying attention" to give them the non-verbal clue that it wasn't on (I also kill the tally lamp in the bios). So they just get used to me always pointing the camera. Also, since I run all pre-ceremony footage from my MultiRig, I ALWAYS have the camera up. I think that really helps them feel less "on the spot."

But yeah, that was the most fun I've had shooting a couple. It didn't hurt that i had the brand new Glidecam, the two GL2s, and the AT1821 UHF audio. I felt the most "together" on that shoot than I ever have. Confidence seems to help production values too.

Thanks for the comments on the video. I posted the video right in the middle of wedding show season so it got zip for responses. I can't blame people. I was dang busy then too. I love the artist's work (I've always loved the big band era, so his take on things is perfect for me!) and have spent a dollars of dollars since then just buying his stuff on Amazon.

[Noel Lising]

Hey Vito,

I love your video, this is the first time I have seen your work and I am really impressed. My favorite shot is the "mirror/window with the Bride", and the champagne bottle.

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Noel Lising

Hey Vito,

I love your video, this is the first time I have seen your work and I am really impressed.

That's really kind of you Noel, thanks very much.

Do you freelance in Toronto? We've opened an office there and are having trouble finding good shooters. Perhaps you wouldn't mind if I pick your brains a bit?

You can email me at vito "at" nosmallroles.com to keep this off list.

Thanks again,
Vito

[Carl Wilky]

Salut Vito

Well rounded video you got there. And this is your first time using the Merlin? You can tell the progression of skills throughout the video. Those las few shots you did in the woods were very smooth and well executed.

Not my first pick in music but it might've been out of your control.

I still can't believe how good those GL2s look even compared to HD footage.

Job well done.

P.S. How is your year looking so far? Still want to meet for coffee sometime?

[Vito DeFilippo]

Hey Carl,

Originally Posted by Carl Wilky

And this is your first time using the Merlin? You can tell the progression of skills throughout the video. Those las few shots you did in the woods were very smooth and well executed.

Huh, I never noticed that. But I guess it makes sense.

Not my first pick in music but it might've been out of your control.

Actually, I love that song, at least this remake. Real fun to edit to, with lots of possibilities I chose it on purpose.

I still can't believe how good those GL2s look even compared to HD footage.

Not sure what you mean. I used a HV30 on the Merlin. You mean that?

Job well done.

Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and critique. It's nice to have a couple give you good feedback, and be happy with your work, but there's another dimension to getting constructive feedback from your peers which is really valuable.

P.S. How is your year looking so far? Still want to meet for coffee sometime?

Don't know. I don't book, I just shoot and edit.

Would love to have a coffee some time. Drop me a line at vito (at) nosmallroles (dot) com and we'll set something up.