another music video (my first on the hvx200)

D

drinkytheclown

Member
after some confusion cleared up through another forum, my slomo is now progressive and renders are 2X as fast. shot on hvx200 edited in vegas 9.0, this is my first project to film and edit.



thanks 4 the site guys!
 
Hey welcome cool stuff. Music Video's are great ways to practice. Needs polishing, still a long way to go. Here's some of my crit.

My first impressions 30 seconds in - Okay, there's already way too much going on. Feels like a mish-mash of stuff that doesn't work. You start with the dolby digital sound at the begining. Is that the song or did you add that in? The effects look very amature and just don't work. Like the weird blurring, the color grading, the projector scratches, the white flahses, the black and white with green, the superimpositions, and especially the super imposition with the mirror effect you can get with mac photobooth. They just make it look really amature, and like you're trying to make this look amazing, when it does the opposite. All this in the first 30 seconds...

On top of that, not to insult this girl, but the fact that she has braces kind of pulls me out as well. Okay, nothing can be done, but maybe it should have been shot differently. Less 'emotional'. It's like she's trying to act older than she looks.

After the 30 seconds it eases off a bit. Still some awkward effects, like clearly fake lense flares, light blow outs, some overly saturated greens...

With the super impositions, first of all you over-use this, secondly they feel very cluttered. The images you use in superimpositions should always complement each other, work in a compositional aesthetic way.

Also, there's just too much close-up. Especially with those braces it's just too much. You should have eased off and pulled out a bit. I'm guessing you kept it tight for a more closed off intimate feeling? Just didn't work for me.

The film also get's a bit repetitive, the same stuff over and over.

Anyways, good job, I'm sure it was fun. You need to keep going and keep practicing. There's some potential in there, just try to avoid the fancy effects till you learn how to use them a bit better. Right now the effects, overcrowing super-impos and extreme tight shots are too much for this video. Try and take it easy with cuts, let a shot breath, and simplify things next time. Minimalism is your friend.
 
thanks, don't really watch music videos much to gauge from, unfortunately. i tried to keep the camera tight to offset the minimal scene changes and braces and makeup were only evident after getting into the editor thanks to the stock viewfinder. a good bit of the effects were just experimenting with vegas, and the other 50% did ease some of the shot's projection of makeup/braces. they're coming off soon and we'll shoot again with a crew on reds. a lot of uncertainty about what less than professional effects are hip with the demographic. probably not many in vegas outside of 2nd color correction or a light saber. thats an idea... thanks again, it was my feeling as well, its quite busy.

one more thought, what kind of luck do you think i would have to secondary color correct the braces to a more neutral color?
 
Last edited:
I agree with Jon. WAY too many cheesy effects thrown in there. Just because you have access to filters, doesn't mean should use them...or all of them at once for that matter.

I would think about it from a conceptual standpoint. Your "star" has a great voice, but not a very compelling look. So, why not work on a different approach...a more interesting location perhaps? A gimic to keep the video movie forward? (As Jon says, it gets really repetitive after awhile...especially because the song is so common).

You say you don't watch many music videos...well start. Watch as many as you can. See what works and what doesn't. Try to achieve a "look" with lighting and production design.

Anyway, good luck.
 
The thing isn't that you're using effects, it's that you use them excessively, and the production value behind the effects looks very low. So they end up looking cheesy and over the top.

So don't rule out using effects, but use them wisely, and maybe get someone else to do them a bit more professionally, and properly when they should be used. If in doubt, just don't use them. Something can look great with cutting if done well.

ikander is right, find something to move it forward. As he said she's not appealing. I mean she's cute, but she's not the most photogenic, especially not with those braces. What you have right now is a video emphasizing her beauty with the close ups and cross dissolves and super-impos, but the fact that she's not the most photogenic kind of throws it off. If she didn't have the braces... maybe it would be a bit better, but still.

As for color correcting the braces... I would say no. "grey" is not really a color you can neutralize or lessen through color grading. It's a shade in the mid tones (maybe some low tones). Unless you can proffesionally remove the braces (and I mean proffesionally, which not even sure how that would be done), I would just not worry about it. What's done is done.
 
yeah, figured that out about color correcting silver a bit ago. tones out half the page. i've got only the photography i've got, and things look quite different in the viewfinder. i usually use dvrack so i can maximize it on the laptop and look at colors, balance, focus, etc but i was not hardly prepared. if we ever shoot again, i'll have makeup and lighting checked a dozen times, for sure. i swaped the video with one less about 70% effects and crosses. i do shoot too close, i have a hard time judging how much detail will be there when it goes to post. all of this is really good to know. her folks produce for her and they're as determined as they come. the audio on the track was recorded when she was 12 and they've been working every day since with some reputable trainers. with video associated on nearly every audio project these days, its probably time to start considering a path there. picking up a dslr and playing with it themselves probably wouldn't be a bad adjunct to singing alone. i cant say enough for vegas as a noob. its been 10 years since i tried to edit anything. i sat for 2 days with avid and adobe and couldn't figure out how to open a video. some pa's introduced me to majix, which i like almost as well for fooling around, but documentation sucks. thanks for the help, i think its ok at this point given its demographic ;)
 
Well for sure, you have what you have. Most of our advice is for next time as film making is a growing experience.

Shooting close isn't necessarily bad, but there's a time and place for it.

Good luck with your next project!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top