GH2 A commercial i shot w/Gh2

Cool--thanks for posting! It's inspiring to see others' work with the GH2. Tell me about the lens flare effect--was that all in post, or were you doing something on set?

Also, how do the wristbands work in practice? I'd be afraid to wear one for fear that it would make me seem too eager (if single), or if I wore the relationship band, I'd worry it would come off as arrogance. As if there are so many women after me that I need a wristband to fend them off. ;)
 
If you're not looking for critique, please ignore.

If you are, the lens flares were neat but then they really bugged me as overdone. Especially half way through, my eyes kept feeling like I wasn't focusing on the subjects and I was really trying to see them...

Glad to see GH2 work - keep it coming.
 
If you are, the lens flares were neat but then they really bugged me as overdone. Especially half way through, my eyes kept feeling like I wasn't focusing on the subjects and I was really trying to see them...
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Me to, I thought that flare was really annoying, at first I thought it was a glitch in my laptop, then I thought it was smoke on set or something. At any rate it was horribly distracting. I also thought the music was really bad, didn't fit the scene to well, and there was an abrupt volume drop that made me think something was going to happen like a narration or something. Also, the guy was really unattractive, and looked like he had cauliflower ear like a boxer. But then the girl steps up, and she has a beer gut. by that time I was in stitches. just doesn't seem on par with your other work. not sure what happened here. But I imagine budget was the culprit. Certainly not the worst commercial I have ever seen, But I know you can do much better.
 
Thanks guys for the feedback. This was zero budget. If anything I probably lost money to help out a friend. While it isnt the greatest thing to hear its what you how you received it and I'll take what I get. The flares were done in post because I wanted to get a club look but the location was a really a nice roof bar are that doesn't have any flashy DJ lights. And the owner let me film there for free. For the song, wasn't the production's first choice but it's what we ended up getting. Its pretty catchy though. For the actors :( I'll have to make sure they don't read these boards!
 
Beer gut... that's great lol. I agree on not letting them read the boards review lol.

Filming for free is great especially if it matches your needs. Too bad you couldn't bring in any strobe lights and darken the room down a little bit to give that night club feel.

I agree about the guy, I would have rather seen the guy sitting at 0:03 be the main subject male, maybe this guys profile was just hard...

I liked the movement and pacing of the video though.
 
Also, how do the wristbands work in practice? I'd be afraid to wear one...
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nice gerson, that you took the time to visit the site. before seeing your comment, i just assumed she was looking at his left hand for a ring...
the idea of "relationship status bands" thats just straight up retarded. the "unknown" is half the fun of being single. and if there is question, just look for a wedding ring. shy of that - the worst thing that could happen is you hear "thanks but i'm seeing someone." i dont see the value of wearing some goofy looking device, simply to avoid having that conversation...

but this isnt the critique you came here for ; )

as to the effectiveness of communicating the clients interest - i think that the shot of the guys hand should have been WAY tighter in order to feature the band. without gerson's proactive search, i would have just assumed it was an online dating site and never given it a second thought.

But then the girl steps up, and she has a beer gut.
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wow. you call that a "beer gut" dont know where you live, your age or what you're accustomed to seeing. but that girl looked pretty typical to me. i actually like that the people looked like REAL people.
 
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The demographic that the product is aiming for is probably not dvx users but I appreciate the feedback. The makers of the bands wanted people to visit the site so I guess they got what they wanted.
 
No way a girl like that would go up to that guy -- you needed to cast an alpha male in that role, he looks like Opie.
 
Very correctly done. Nothing over the top, nothing corny, just a clean, subtle, straightforward commercial, I like it. The BGM choice is good. What's the lens flare/light effect? After Effects?

The only thing that caught my eye (no pun) is when the dude looks over, he looks into the camera. Then the girl looks at him, but she looks to the side. Maybe it would have more engaging effect if she stared at the camera for a second there...

But thumbs up none the less.
 
The alleged "beer gut" is due to the 90-degree camera angle and the flat shading of the girl's plain white dress. It can be avoided by shooting from a more oblique angle slightly to the right of the guy's left shoulder, giving you a view of the front of her hips as well as her right side. I think that culminating scene might have had more impact as a tracking dolly shot, closing in on her approach to the guy seated at the bar.

From a technical post-production perspective, I think the flares were well done. Aesthetically, I think that when they obscured too much of the center of the frame they became distracting. I would've tried to arrange the flares to look like they just happened to flash on the margins, leaving clear views of the principal actors.
 
I've got a real problem with lens flares, especially fake ones.
Every commercial on TV seems to have lens flare on purpose at the moment, and I put a lot of that blame on the emerging DSLR community! It's one of the things the new breed of digital cameras does really well, and it's an easy way of papering over the cracks of a small budget or lack of creativity.
Just like all fads, it will die out.

Other than that, the video seems fine. The first few shots set the scene well.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. This was my first "gig" for someone else. Most of the stuff I've done has been for myself. I shot this at 1080p and had to crop a lot of my shots down to 720p due to some technical setbacks. I also had to get real creative because they are only like 10 people there and half of them kept dipping out and coming back. The last shot, where the girl approaches the guy, the bar was tilted to the right, so a dolly shot in post would have been ideal, if I hadn't already cropped and titled it to look straight.

I really didn't mean for the flares to be like a JJ Abrams movie, but to be a little more colorful than what was on set. Apologies there.

Regarding the guy, as some have mentioned, he's actually an attractive guy. Very "alpha-male." I should have probably chosen some more flattering angles.
 
one thing ive learned over the years is dont go into the shoot with what YOU like in mind. for a COMMERCIAL to be effective - try to think like the client's customer.
you might not win a bunch of arty awards - but i consider repeat, paying clients reward enough.
 
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