Snowy Like

[Shaw]

Hi guys,

I went out today for about a couple hours on a hike and brought the DVX along. I managed to shoot some semi-decent snow footage and so I figured I would post an edited version. This isn't a Disjecta quality production - by far. It was freaking cold out and the tripod head kept sticking due to the cold (this is a fluid head)! It was even cold enough that the viewfinder would fog up just from being around my eye!

Anyway, it's a rough edit of rough footage but I enjoyed shooting it. Premiere also seems to be giving me trouble with crossfades for some reason... not sure why. Anyway, without further excuses for myself ;) I present the Snowy Like footage:

http://www.weet.us/snow1.wmv

*Please right click and save. I don't know how much my server can handle.*

[BLUESPIDER]

You know, I only live about 1hr 30min away from the nearest snow grounds and yet I've never stepped foot on snow before. Sad. One of these I will. I'm going to make me a snow man. Your footage looked okay. I would like it if you had some wider shots. The last clip looked fake. Is there any Asian folks in Montana? Keep it up! ;D

[disjecta]

Shaw,

Here's my assessment of this piece...and I'm going to phrase it in terms of "if it were me, this is what I would do differently"

1. If my tripod starts crapping out on me I'll either ditch it for the shoot or shoot with its limitations. In this case, because your head was freezing up, I would have used it for static shots only because now the pans are stuttery and worse than handheld.

2. For static shots in video or film, don't hang on them for long. Never underestimate the human eye's ability to take in a tremendous amount of information in a very short time. Your cuts ran way too long.

3. I would use more wide shots as suggested by Bluespider. Try to think of unusual angles. Show something in the abstract and then tilt up a little to reveal what the viewer is seeing... add a little mystery to your shots.

4. You attempted to edit to the music but it's still very tentative and not at all confident. That reflects on the viewer and makes them feel uncomfortable. Some will know why, others won't but they'll still feel it.

5. If your NLE is giving you grief with transitions, don't use them, use hard cuts, it's better than the confusion that your current edit eminates.

I don't mean to be harsh but this is the best way to get better...The fact is you are having fun doing this and that's what's most important. The technique will come...

[Slimothy]

I liked it. Besides some of the technical things that were already mentioned. It must've been hard to film in such freezing conditions. I liked the close up of the reddish branches!

[Bradbro]

Shaw, that's an okay rough edit, now listen to the master (not me, but Disjecta) he obviously knows what he's doing, and shore this thing up. I would add: drop your clips on the same channel ie Video 1, drop a cross dissolve between them, then stretch the dissolves to make them blend more softly (hover over end of dissolve, click and drag). You don't have to fill up the entire song, tighten up your shots and fade the music down where ever you run out of footage. Overall nice stuff though.

[speedbump]

This was a nice effort.

Your problems with fades in premiere might have to do with how you are placing your clips. A fade means that the one clip's endpoint must overlap the 2nd clip's start, and you have that cross-fade between them. make sure you've set it up this way. Premiere can easily handle this kind of effect.

You have an eye for what is interesting, so as others are saying, get wider AND tighter shots on your subject material. You've got the middle shot down.

I liked the music, and so did my girlfriend, so Disjecta's advice about tentativeness with music is overruled. :)

What else ya got? And is this Colorado?

[disjecta]

by the way, my comments about the music had nothing to do with the choice of music, it had to do with how the footage was edited to it...the rhythm which, in my opinion, is missing.

And by the way, you can't overrule my opinion because that's all it is 8)

[Shadow]

There is some nice images in your film, I agree with Disjecta, don't use the pans with to much stuttery, it look bad in the clip. Try to do a new editing and put some new images with it. The music is nice but don't go with the image all the time.

Some nice stuff overall that have to be complete with some new one. So, let's go out and have some fun with your DVX, what I should do too. ;)

[Shadow]

And by the way, it's look like you have some nice mountains in your backyard. You are from Montana, isn't it.

[Shaw]

Bluespider: Not sure why the last clip looked fake! It was stuttery as heck but I assure you it's all very much real. I wanted to get a full 360 degree pan as the mountains surround me by about 80%. I didn't have the tripod set up correctly for such a shot though and I was too cold to experiment and find the right place. And get to the snow! It's rather fun even if it is cold! Part of this might actually come from the lack of contrast that day. It was 100% overcast so I had some pretty uncreative lighting to work with.

Disjecta: Thanks for all the tips! I appreciate it. My comments:

1) I decided not to ditch the tripod pans because I know that too many still shots can become boring. It was, perhaps, not the best choice in this case though!

2) I did indeed hang on some of those shots way too long. A most excellent point.

3) There were not many opportunities to get wide as I was in a fairly tight valley. Anything much wider and the image would have been too cluttered (some of the shots are a bit too cluttered as it is). I didn't do much with unusual angles. I experimented with a shot or two in there but I didn't do enough or do it well enough.

4) I'm not sure I understand fully what you mean. I'm guessing that this is due to the fact that I was hanging on scenes too long waiting for a break in the music? That's the only thing I can of off the top of my head.

5) Good point. I'm going to re-edit and post an updated version. I may actually just go out and shoot for a few hours today instead of using this same footage. It's a good deal warmer today.

No worries about being harsh! I certainly don't see it that way. I haven't done much nature stuff before so all the comments are great.

Slimothy: the branches were rather pretty looking. Unfortunately I didn't have anything very interesting in the background to pull focus with but I couldn't pass up the cool red color!

BradBro: I actually didn't use the whole song but I still need to trim quite a bit off I think. No worries, I'm listening to the mastah!

Speedbump: This is actually south west Montana (Bozeman to be precise). I like itup here - It's very pretty. Wider and tighter it is! Glad you liked the music! It was written and sung by a friend of mine. It's actually sort of a random choice for music as it's a sung version of one the Hymn to Elbereth as seen in The Lord of the Rings.

You might be right about the crossfades. I'll have to go back and take a look at how I did them exactly. I'm used to using the whole A and B track setup of the older Premiere so working with Pro is a bit awkward still at times.

Shadow: Fun is what it's all about for me at least (since I don't do this as my main means of income)! Yes I am from Montana :)

[HansK]

I can't add anymore technical comments that have not already been made.

I can add that you picked some nice shots. I did like the red branch the most.


This is actually south west Montana (Bozeman to be precise).

Bozeman... I've heard there's some great mountain biking up there.

[disjecta]

Yes, your understanding of what I meant in #4 is correct. I obviously was not very succinct about that point seeing as no one really got it immediately.

The edit felt a little forced, probably due to lack of footage and you were hanging on static images a little too long. My point is that there is always a pacing in a good edit that doesn't draw attention to itself. Yours did because that pacing was dragging and inconsistent.

Am I making sense?

[Shaw]

Yep, absolute sense :)

Hans: yeah there is some great outdoors stuff here. Ski slope within 15min of my house, mountains in most any direction within 10-15. I love it!

[Shaw]

Ok, just uploaded a new edit. Same link as before. It's still not very good (and contains no additional footage) but it's slowly getting there. Thanks for all the helpful comments guys!