My second video assignment

My first video assignment was a few weeks ago when I recorded my g/f's talent show at her middle school (no I am not dating a 13 yr old girl, and also, no I am not dating a 60 yr old woman!)

The video came out good, used the fx1000, but had to add 20% noise reduction in CS3. It didn't matter, since it was going to be reduced to 720x480 DVD quality.

Then yesterday I went to a battle of the bands where one of my buddies was playing. His band is just starting up, so I offered to do some free work. This will allow me to use his video for my promotional stuff... There I met some breakdancers who had me record their stuff too, since they were friends of friends. I had my HV30 there too, so I had 2 angles. Here is the break dance portion, from the fx1000.



http://vimeo.com/3119033

The fx1000 did fairly well in the almost dark room.
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Side question:
is there any easy way to shift your audio or picture a very small amount in CS3, without having to drag it 1 frame at a time. Maybe like highlight and hold a key then press left and right. And is 1 frame the only amount you can time shift? This would help when syncing my hv30 footage to the fx1000.

Interesting stuff. I can't even remember my second assignment, though I'm pretty sure it was around 1985. If you're looking for critique, I'll be happy to help you out, provided you're okay with it.


cheers,
Francois

Go ahead and rip me apart. I am all about fine tuning my skill. I might not use all the critique help, since there might be things I personally like, but please tell me Francios :-). I also respect you as a videographer, so I will probably listen.... NOW JAKE ON THE OTHER HAND.

http://vimeo.com/3127266 Here is the band I recorded.

That's a great answer, letting someone you respect rip you up on your go will do wonders for your skills.

lolz I was born in 1984

I dont think there's a whole lot of fancy camera work involved in recording a performance, I mean its all presented for the audience anyway. Not much you can do to improve on in this case.

Scott,

First off, a good difficult and challenging shoot. I like that, lots of people, audience, a nice challenge. I would suggest shooting from tripod a little bit more and letting the action happen in frame. In order to achieve that it helps to be able to rehearse the shoot with the talent. Find out where they are, how far they go, therefore allowing you a minimum and maximum frame. The lighting wasn't bad, the FX1000 is pretty amazing in low-light... nice.

Changing up the shots from tripod to handheld would be great, perhaps with a second unit (matched cameras of course), failing that, intercutting rehearsal footage with the performance. I found myself getting a little nauseous with the constant movement. Framing is most important. When in doubt... go WIDE! Wide enough to get the action and background. Subject matter will help determine what is wide enough. Maybe the b-boy going to left to right in frame with out the frame moving. Vary shots, close up wide, medium, follow pan, dutch tilts, etc.

Lighting was okay, but if you could have mounted very low angle lights with colored gel, say 500w totas on short stands or even rope lighting around the circumference of their 'stage'. Maybe a couple of safely mounted 1k redheads 12' up giving a nice wash on the stage would improve the shot.

A little judicious editing at the beginning would help as well. Get rid of non-essential shots, dancer warm-ups are nice, but brief glimpses are plenty, you can still keep the ambient audio in just cut over with B-roll.

All in all, not bad, remember, nothing replaces experience.


cheers,
Francois

lol I don't think a tripod shot is considered fancy camera work, but I agree... not a whole lot you can do.

BUT you are supposed to have a shakey camera for chaotic situations or candidness. (like in war movies) ... For a rock concert it might be appropriate.

Be careful about the experience thing, hollywood doesn't care about tenure. A lot of production companies have been sunk because they feel entitled by their experience. I am personally responsible for taking clients from a lot of "experienced" professionals. Thats why this business seems so cold.

Be that as it may, an experienced cameraman will know how much shaky cam to use and how much not to. Camera work is just part of the project: pre-production, lighting, sound, editing all make a video what it is. If you take a look at what I stated and incorporate all the points, the improvement would be justified.

Watching Cloverfield was annoying by about the 20 minute mark.

Francois

Mark,

BTW, I like you helicopter silhouetted against setting sun. Sure looks like a Soviet MI24 Hind attack helicopter, not sure what variant... what did you use for CG?

Francois