Grabs from a short in progress...

[VIOLENTX]

Here are some grabs from a short in progress, would love to hear what everyone thinks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/brickwater.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/dirty.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/GOLDPASTURE.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/michelle.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/michelle2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/NAPIER3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/wesleyandmichelle2.jpg

- Austin -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/wesleyandmichelle3.jpg

[pastywhiteboy]

In my opinion, the grab of the girl in the back seat of the car is by far the best... that's really the only one that stands out to me, but it's hard to say that the others are necessarily good or bad without seeing them in the context of the film. On the last four grabs, using white diffusion can look nice, but the way it is now (especially on the stop sign picture) is overkill for my taste. Again, the coloration, angle, motion blur of the background, and the general look of the girl in the back seat picture are just outstanding.

PastyWhiteBoy

[Smithhouse]

Really like the first and the fourth grab.

[HorseFilms]

2&3 look dark to me, but without seeing them in context, I don't know if they're supposed to be that dark. I'd lose the white diffusion on #6 unless it's a dream sequence or something.

I really like 1&4. Keep it up!

[David Jimerson]

1 and 4 are OK, depending on context. But the rest of them look like video, and bad video.

I can't imagine a context in which 2 and 3 would be good. In all honesty, they look like someone poked a consumer cam out the window of a car on a dreary day at dusk.

I don't say this to be harsh or condescending, but realistic.

[mcshyd]

i agree. i'd watch your exposure, and try to get everything right under white blowout. you can always darken things up in post, but not the other way around. 2 and 3 will probably fall to pieces if you touch them.

the dvx loves people and hates nature. at least with my experience. take number 5- if you had tightened up on the girls face you could avoid blowing out the sky, and have a wonderful composition. In its current state, half the image is garbage. I really like the girl in the car. Nice work.

[mynamesbuck]

You need to do some serious color correction. My canon MVi800 has produced better images.

[J.R. Hudson]

Crap.

[Cleavage2]

Crap.

Right to the point hey John? :P

I think 2 and 4 are the best.

[mcshyd]

Crap.

constructive criticism...
:grin:

[lucidz]

damn john, I think if I'd posted that as my entire comment my thread would get deleted heh. (its happened before)

Anyway, not to rehash something anyone else has said, but you should really ditch the pink barbell in the head. The way you shot it, and the skin tones and CC makes it look like a horrendous growth in the backseat shot. Definitely need something that contrasts more, like a black barbell or something.

[ZombieSquid]

I wanna marry you, John.

[mcshyd]

hahaha, nice imdb entry.

[microbob]

Crap.

Seriously though, at least for me, it is really hard to judge screen shots. Personally I'd like to see small 5-10 second clips.

My feeble brain needs to see them in context. Does the scene take place in the dark? Is this a dream sequence were the colors are supposed to be saturated? I can go on...

So, if you can export a few clips and post them, that would be great.

[VIOLENTX]

Thanks everyone for the comments, now I know what I need to work on. Also these have all been color corrected and that might have something to do with why they're so shitty.

Here's one of the original grabs, I'll try to get some up later:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/anguishfilms/NAPIER2.jpg

I'll try to get some clips up later tonight also so you all can see them in context.

- Austin -

[microbob]

Good deal Austin, keep up the good work.

[mcshyd]

jeeeez- why did you blow everything out in post?

[pastywhiteboy]

Yeah, although that grab doesn't have a ton of visual depth, it looks about 100x better than the "corrected" version. You could leave it as is or just crunch your blacks a little bit (not too much!) and it'd turn out nicely.

[MiniMan]

Well, I kind of like the CC on some of these, but what seems to be wrong, very very wrong, is the composition of the grabs. Almost all of them has their subject centered, or off center looking out of the picture. Not good. Keep them away from the center, and looking into the picture, not out of it, it will make them soo much mor comfortable to look at.

Oh John... Yesh really, constructive stuff you have there ;)

[pastywhiteboy]

So here's a quick example of what I was talking about in the last post. I probably went a little bit overboard, plus I have no idea what sort of look you're going for. So this may not be at all what you're looking for, but just an visual example of my thoughts.

http://digitalvideoevents.com/temp/napierimagetest.jpg

-pasty

[J.R. Hudson]

Relax Miniman

My truth serum was in effect and it ain't always pretty.

From time to time I tell it like it is. These stills do nothing for me. They are too flat or too warm or too dark or generally un-interesting with lack of general composition and/or framing skills.

It looks like a bad Magic Bullet dream. The reds are showing a serious casestudy in Chromatic Aberration (Color fringing). Honestly? Why does this scream 'This is not a short' but just random hanging out with the DVX shots? And for future reference, he might wan't to show the 'better' side of the actress and the not so flattering side.

And this doesnt even look like the DVX at that.

Now that's honesty. And it's subjective and considering the poster of this thread didnt go into meltdown over my comment something tells me he is figuring out what t do as we speak.

[MiniMan]

Ah, that's the way I like it, John :)

Actually, you are pretty genious.

[J.R. Hudson]

:cheesy:

[Justin_Kirch]

they are too dark and the color correction is no good.

[tktk]

footage does suffer from the videoish look. but if that's whats intended, it's ok. cc is definately needed. the still don't really relate to one another. Seem very random. If they were tied together with a common look or direction, would be better. need to choose interesting compositions.

[observer]

You guys are a bit too harsh. :cry: That may be the look what he/she intended. Who knows?

Anyways, now I see why the FX1 is a fine cam even in DV mode. I've seen other DVX frame grabs too and found them to be too soft for my taste.

[observer]

"The reds are showing a serious casestudy in Chromatic Aberration (Color fringing)."

That's the weakness of DV, I believe.

[Smithhouse]

Keep workin' it ViolentX, you'll get there... It take a lot of courage to post things for people to chew on... It only makes you better... That is, when the critiscm is Constructive.

[delaro]

don t ask people, don t listen to them, do what you want to do .... make your own video look ..... the worst thing is to try to do like others. because of that, all the actual movies look the same, with the same CC, the same effects. that s the difference between an artist and a technician. i would be upset if everybody likes my work, THAT would mean that it s commercial crap.

[mcshyd]

there are two ways to make this better. the first is to watch more movies. watch whatever you can get your hands on, figure out what you like, and try to emulate it. watch movies for the story, then watch them again for technique. the second is to keep shooting. the more you shoot with whatever camera you have, the better you'll get with it.

watch blowouts, beware the grain of doom. study the rules of filmmaking before you break them, and understand why they are there. form an aesthetic, and polish it off. eat more vegetables, and try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. eat whole grains, put down the bottle. don't laugh at old people. tell yourself that you're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like you.

[J.R. Hudson]

You guys are a bit too harsh. That may be the look what he/she intended. Who knows?

We are not too harsh and if you think we are you probably wouldnt like it around here. Do you want honesty or do you want a safe little circle where everyone tells you your crap is gold? I doubt the user wanted this look; but probably doesnt know any better at this point

Anyways, now I see why the FX1 is a fine cam even in DV mode. I've seen other DVX frame grabs too and found them to be too soft for my taste.

Something told me this wasnt DVX. The DVX too soft? Check out that HVX!
That's the weakness of DV, I believe.

The reason NOT to wear an all red sweater and hat.

don t ask people, don t listen to them,

I agree; who cares what the audience thinks. I agree with being an artist, being unique and being what you want; but you have to master the fundamentals before all that jazz. Even the masters learn with baby steps.

And well put mcshyd

[delaro]

i m not talking about wedding jobs or pop corn movies .....
giving to the audience what it wants is like feeding dogs. that s what tv is doing, that s crap. a real director is doing the movie he would like to see and if the audience like it it s wonderful, if the audience doesn t it s sad but it s life. some kids dre

[delaro]

some kids dream to become peter jackson, others prefer cassavetes, passolini, fellini, chris marker or godard, that s a choice

[mcshyd]

I agree; who cares what the audience thinks. I agree with being an artist, being unique and being what you want; but you have to master the fundamentals before all that jazz. Even the masters learn with baby steps.

And well put mcshyd

thanks.

we should be harsh. If the consensus calls for reshooting, you should be willing to jettison your crap and try again. If you can learn to seperate your emotions from your work you will learn to be a good filmmaker. We all have made crap, and we all know it. the crap we made doesn't personify us, it reminds us to stay humble and watch our backs. The longer you watch your back, the greater the chances are that you shoot something beautifull.

[delaro]

thanks.

we should be harsh. If the consensus calls for reshooting, you should be willing to jettison your crap and try again. If you can learn to seperate your emotions from your work you will learn to be a good filmmaker. We all have made crap, and we all know it. the crap we made doesn't personify us, it reminds us to stay humble and watch our backs. The longer you watch your back, the greater the chances are that you shoot something beautifull.

that s the problem and the strenght at the same time of the american cinema, if the audience surveys show that the majority wants a good ending, producers will charge the director to reshoot ..... what is important: the vision of an artist or the one from the audience? only the one from an artist can increase the audience cleverness. if you re offering the audience their own vision of the movie there will never be any evolution.

[mcshyd]

jesus i'm not talking about audience surveys. This man posted stills from his shorts to a group of his peers, whose opinions he clearly respects. you choose your peers, which is also a part of good filmmaking. Your decisions on whose opinions to value affect your work as much as anything. There's no need to get all macro on this guys short.

[J.R. Hudson]

LOL

No shite.

Sides; there's a name for what delaro is talking about 'Art House Cinema'

LOL

[VIOLENTX]

Why was this moved?

- Austin -