R/C Car Race Event Promo Video

[Norm_Li]

Hello,

Just finished shooting and editing a quick web promo video for a Radio Controlled Race Car national competition that took place in Chilliwack, BC this past October '04.

Feel free to view it at either: *

http://www.q-films.com/clips/rcpromo.mov
http://www.q-films.com/clips/rcpromo.wmv

Thanks,

Norm

[monte]

Hey i used to RC, good times!

I liked it alot, except for the cheesy car FX audio at the end

[Norm_Li]

Haha, cool :) I was thinking about that too! I'm just waiting to see if the RC Shop wants to keep it or not. I'm not that fond of it either . Should I just leave it silent with the music? I'm trying to find something to add to it so that it ends with more of an impact but having a bit of trouble. The sounds from the actual RC cars are just too puny sounding and high-pitched to give it that "oomph!" I'm looking for.

[monte]

you could just cut to the sound of a guy saying, "Hrughh!" and then cut to southern metal and pop up the logo again... *;)

[Erik Olson]

The undercranked stuff bugged me a little bit. I liked the GROUND EFFECTS long lens stuff right near the end. I'm a sucker for the overcrank though.

;)

[antomic]

that was very cool. well done. i was going to ask if you sped any of that up, but i guess the answer is yes. i agree with the cheese audio crash.

[Norm_Li]

I'll definitely take out the audio crash then :)
Is it just the tire screeching sound? Is the sound of the cars wizzing by okay?

Most clips were sped up by about 15-40%. OverlandFilms, can you tell me which parts weren't fast enough for you? I'll see what I can do to make everything a bit more fast-paced.

Thanks,

Norm

[antomic]

just watched it again...lose the whizzing too in my opinion...

one other thing that caught my eye...the first rapid fire of images to the drum beat needs a couple more quick images before going in to the next shot. all the other rapid fires worked for me though. fun piece.

[Norm_Li]

Ok cool, thanks for the suggestions!

Norm

[pookie_old]

Very nice work Norm, you might want to consider some slow motion on the low shots as the cars round the corners, I think you'll find it adds quite an addition.

[antomic]

i really like the slowmo on the guys in the beginning holding the controllers. amps you up for the action about to come. like top gun even... :o

you know...i would even keep the crash at the end in slowmo all the way thru instead of ramping it back up...then fade to black?

[Norm_Li]

I'll give the low-angle some slo-mo tests too!

As for the last slo-mo shot.. I used the Program called Slowmotion by Dynapel to make it 2.5 slower (but as you probably already know, it interpolates the frames and adds additional ones in). The only problem is that I can't use much more super slow-mo on the last shot because the program causes all these weird rippling effects which look super bad. If I just use the editing program to slow it down to super slow, it will be quite choppy. :(

I just reuploaded a revised version based on some of the comments from you guys if you want to check it out. Thanks!

[soarprod]

Sweet, but I prefer gas! :P

[antomic]

too cool norm! love the changes. way better without the screeching audio at the end!

so, one other suggestion if i may...a little past the halfway point there is a shot that is sped up and everytime i watch it, my eye goes to the top of the frame and i lock on the person running and jumping "gilligan's island" style. i find i'm not even watching the cars. then when i back it up to watch the cars, they're going way too fast anyway?

oh, and modify the post at the top for us quicktime users...the link is ttp:// instead of http://

this sh*t is tight yo! me likes!

[Norm_Li]

Hey Atomic :)

I'm not sure which modification you are suggesting. could you clarify what part?

Thanks!

Norm

[antomic]

sorry, i had to watch it with a timer... :38 secs

btw...aNtomic, with a N...

it's kind of an anagram...not to be confused with another user here either.

[Mino]

Cool little flic. Love the cars. I think antomic was refering to your link for .mov file it says ttp:// instesd of HTTP:// :) Damned caps lock ;) http://

[Mino]

Hey Atomic :)



pretty funny slip though from where I'm sittin....No disrespect to Antomic ;D

[antomic]

happens all the time. my fault for pickin a tardo name....

but i've had it for near 15 years now....try as i might, i just cant let myself change it. damn antomic! damn you to hell! ;D

[Erik Olson]

Norm,

Yeah, I meant that I'd lose the fast (undercranked) footage. At the same time, I wouldn't over do the slow-motion (overcranked) stuff - that ground-effects stuff at the end looks nice.

e

[Mike]

What if you killed the music at the crash and just had a sort of reverberating thunder/explosion/wind-type sound? Just a thought.

[Norm_Li]

That sounds cool!

I'll it a try!

[motox198]

Is there any way to smooth the blur on the RC cars? Raise the shutter speed would help I would imagine. I have in mind to get a DVX and am shooting motorcycle races. I know shooting 60i would be ideal, but 24p is the reason im buying this camera! Any suggestions for a dumb noobie?

[Norm_Li]

That's correct. I shot this in 24p so it will appear more blurred. You can raise the shutterspeed for less blurring effect in 24p as long as you have enough light to compensate for a proper exposure when increasing the shutterspeed (I think?)

60i will yield the best results for the least motion blurring.

[ozan]

hmmm... i should film my RC nitro car i got for XMAS

[HansK]

That's a great promo. Worlds above what you would normally find for a local shop. You did a nice mix of shots and editing. The beginning DOF shot is smooth and the colors are great. The equipment setup and then the racing shots give a real feel for the event.

Nice.

[uhrgl]

Awesome. I loved the slow-mo crash at the very end. Those RC geeks must love you, Norm.

[Norm_Li]

I showed it to them and although they think it is cool, they want to add more to it. They said it is too short.... The thing is, all the footage is basically the same (it's just cars racing around a small track) and if I add much more, it will be repetitious and just lack the overall 'impact' i guess. I don't know. They want a full 40 minute video now for the same price. $300 CDN. I shot it for one day, edited for 1 or 2 weeks and for $300 CDN. Now they want an extra 40 minutes free...it's sort of for a friend's friend, but man...I feel unappreciated and taken for granted...

[uhrgl]

They want a full 40 minute video now for the same price. $300 CDN. I shot it for one day, edited for 1 or 2 weeks and for $300 CDN. Now they want an extra 40 minutes free...


Give em what they paid for. 40 minutes bleeding RAW. ;D

[Mike]

or get fancy- start with your current nice clip, then the raw crap, and close it with the nice clip again. Just make it like a Don McLean concert.

[Norm_Li]

You know, I really I really wish I knew how do to all that crazy flash/aftereffects stuff like Jason Kosovo and the like. That stuff just rocks and adds so much to the plain editing of raw images and music.