Demo Reel - No 35MM Adapter Footage.

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young_fast_&_scientific

Active member
Hey guys,

Hoping some of you might take the time check out my demo reel and share your thoughts. The entire thing is shot on the HVX with the stock lens.

Any comments or criticisms are encouraged.

Here's the link:

http://vimeo.com/3886232

password: demo2009

It's a little on the longer side, but I'm hoping the content is strong enough to at least hold interest in the first minute or two.

Thanks in advance!
 
Wow, I loved it all. I would really like to see beauty day when it is done. What are your typical camera settings. You achieved great footage.
 
Thanks guys.

I'm pretty much using factory settings. 720p 24fps.

No lens adapters throughout the reel. All shot with the stock lens. I've used a brevis 35 once and it was just too much of a pain considering I was handling all camera and lighting on my own.
 
What about other equipment you use? The doc on the goblin of Norway had some nice cinematic movement. Some good push in and such. Please share. Thanks again.
 
Ksun83:

For the Goblin Man short; I used zooms. No dolly. Just the HVX on a tripod for the entire shoot. Lights: 1K, 650, 3 bulb cool light, 1 bulb cool light.

For Colore Non Vedenti: Same lighting package and I also used the Cinevate dolly.

For Beauty Day: Same lighting package and the Cinevate dolly. Although I don't think I've included any dolly shots in the demo reel from this one.

I've also been using the Ikan field monitor for all of my shooting.
 
How are you liking the Ikan? Good Color and exposure representation? My big thing with my HVX isnt necessarily the focus, but the LCD screen isn't anywhere near the exposure and color of the footage I am getting. Even after I tried adjusting the settings.

By the way, phenomial footage. I cant get anywhere near the sharpness of that.
 
I loved all your stuff on your site. You are a very talented editor. You have a great sense of timing. I really can't wait to see "Beauty Day". I couldn't find any videos of cap'n video online. They were all taken down. Please let us know when it is viewable. How did you get that gig anyway? Do you know him? Thanks for all your feedback.
 
Amazing work...great choice of BG music and kept my attention! Best of luck with it!! I'd also be interested in seeing the rest of Beauty Day.
 
Excellent stuff. HVX200 or (a) ? All 720? And what scene setting. It looks really sharp and also very clean.
 
Footage with the stock lens is the best. Shallow DOF can be done with the zoom for a good result. To me the most important point is the sharpness of the subject. No matter what, adapters soften the image. There is nothing like the image richness the raw lens provides. Great work. An artist and pro proves himself/herself with the results of their work.
 
Deepfocus I do see your point though. One of my professors in college always told me to try and stay away from zooms as much as possible since it isn't a natural move. I.E. your eyes dont zoom, you have to walk closer to the object - dolly. But I do think he did a fantastic job with getting the most out of the camera.
 
jshaw300: Everything is the HVX200. No (a). The scene settings are factory settings.

Deepfocus88 and mb72378:

I know some people don't dig zooms, but I would say that's a subjective conclusion. There's no doubt that a zoom is a very different look/feel to a dolly, and I think both have their places. Your professor says to avoid them as much as possible, and I think this is simply another subjective conclusion. I suppose they may seem dated at times, but some of the greatest filmmakers/cinematographers have utilized zooms to great effect. Robert Altman, Terrence Malik, Sam Raimi, Brian DePalma, Sergio Leone, Werner Herzog, etc. Again, the feeling of a zoom is worlds apart from the feeling of a dolly movement. In my opinion, both are respectable techniques that can be used for different effects. I've also noticed a revival of the zoom, most notably in the works of David Gordon Green, Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson. Obviously a throw back to the films and filmmakers that have inspired them.

The idea of avoiding anything that doesn't replicate the natural movement of the human eye seems a little restrictive to me (although I don't think it's surprising to hear coming from a film professor). I'm assuming this is said as a very general guide rather than a rule. Again, there's a time and a place for everything. How dull would The Evil Dead have been if Raimi only considered the natural movement of the human eye?

Regarding the use of zooms in The Goblin Man of Norway...this mainly comes from my own personal love of documentary filmmaking and the fact that much of that film was actually shot as real interviews in a documentary format. When shooting interviews, it's extremely uncommon to have the camera mounted on a dolly. I believe Errol Morris may do this on occasion to get some slight left to right movement during his interviews. But shifting from medium shot to close up is usually handled with a zoom...wether it be a crash zoom with the intention of cutting (which I do quite often) or a slow zoom for any sort of dramatic effect.

But again, to each his own! I still thank you for checking out my reel!
 
Hey friend,

I had to let you know this demo really caught my eye. Great mood, great editing -- and I was transfixed for the whole thing. During the "Beauty Day" clip, I found myself actually having to close my mouth -- I was so into the dude's story my jaw had slackened a bit.

Great work, keep it up. Loved the way you handled this.


-Andrew
 
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I'm really glad people are seemingly enjoying the Beauty Day! footage. It's a documentary I'm currently working on and am very excited about, so It's great to see such positive reactions to the footage I've included in the reel!
 
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