Had my T2i for a few days, made a Music Video! Critiques welcome..

T

truehuss

Well-known member
Hey wassup fellow dvx'ers.. Got my T2i, coming from an Hpx170, dvx100 background I'm really liking the DSLR's although it is another language I'm learning. Case in point, my 1st music video. My focus skills definitely need to get better and its only my 3rd music video overall but for doing everything myself I dont think it came out bad.It was also my 1st time getting non actors to act & direct them, pretty cool but annoying stuff lol. Be Sure to check out the little movie I made in the middle of the song! Honest criticism is always welcome. any tips also would be appreciated. let me warn you that this video is a spanish christian video . I created a story around a couple of the artists friends and family & shot & edited in 2 days. Used the 50mm 1.8 & kit lens. All natural lighting (which probably was another lesson learned, also the need for a prime if light is an issue)

anyways..check it out..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtSlnQEyrxU&hd=1
http://vimeo.com/15067753
Miguel Angel
Diamondstreetfilms.com
 
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actually really liked this. i'm sory but i didnt watch it with sound cuz the pc i'm on now doesnt have..but i could follow the story very well so good job. I didnt like the diffusion effect but other than that it was pretty nice.
 
yeah, I'm on the fence with the diffusion also, glad you said that. may have to change it. It almost softens it up too much.

thanks for the response.
 
Seems to me there are too many cuts, makes it look too jumpy. Your opening credits look good, but they're too short. Generally when there's text on the screen it should be on long enough to read three times, you're blowing them past before they can be read properly. Kind of iffy on the diffusion as well...
Nice work though.
 
F'Fing Wow.... Wow!
I have no knowledge of what the hell he is saying but Damn that was a good video, the story was told So well and I have just found a healthy respect for the T2i (I'm a Nikon Guy, D7000 already pre-ordered) I'm fuzzy on the Diff effect also but it does add mood to the video. Great Job!
 
I thought the diffusion worked well, nice choice. Not my kind of music, infact the song was annoying. But your work was excellent.
 
Pookie said:
Seems to me there are too many cuts, makes it look too jumpy. Your opening credits look good, but they're too short. Generally when there's text on the screen it should be on long enough to read three times, you're blowing them past before they can be read properly. Kind of iffy on the diffusion as well...
Nice work though.
Click to expand...

I basically disagree with everything here. First of all I think the opening credits are fine, a mistake I feel is people who leave the credits on too long. Even if it's only there for a second to me that's good enough.

Your audience doesn't want to be bored with credits before your video starts so keep it simple and fast, just like you have. Secondly I like the cuts, how else could he have told the story without so many?

I think the video looks great and you did an awesome job. My only critique is I don't like the colors of the video. A little too orange and yellow for me, but other than that good job!
 
That was very nice! Overall I think the flow and the cuts were well done. Personally I did not like some of the over-speed segments it was distracting and did not really add anything to the store. Some of the highlights were really blown out (maybe for artistic purposes), the segment with the singer and the very bright column in the background drew my attention to the column and not the singer.

I really enjoyed it.
 
Hey guys I really appreciate the comments and critiques. I agree with most of them like I was on the fence with the diffusion (maybe just tone it don, not eliminate) and the cuts, life4eva hit it on the head. The song was 2:39 seconds and I couldnt tell the story in that time so I sped it up and even had to do the movie sequence to give it enough time to tell the story. I also agree that the title sequence couldve been a 'lil' longer, but not too long though .

Thanks 4 all the info & comments guys! I'm still learning what to do & what not but this is now my business since I've been laid off and people are paying me! lol . actually, the T2i has already paid for itself between 2 jobs! yeaaaaahhhhh bwoooyyyyyy!!
 
appreciate it staygettin.. hey, I see your somehow affialiated with Def Jam? My background has been hip hop although the people paying me have been everybody but..lol but seriously, if your doing big things, maryland aint that far from philly, holla at me. I'm always interested in networking..

Peace & thanks again fellas!
 
I honestly like your directing style, and the storytelling really fit the mood of the song (even though I have no idea what is being said! The cool thing, though, is that you made this video a 'story' video, that way, even non-spanish speakers will be able to conceive the ideas and moods in the song.) The only thing I'd critique is that right away, the textures to the video (just something to the depth) seems to make it look very "local" and everything. There's alot of very nice shots, but something in the textures is putting it in that local/low budget zone; I think it may just be the color tones or something, I think it truly could just be the picture style, or that slightly different color editing would have really made it pop even more, giving it more of a film look. (Not sure here). It also could be that "natural lighting" thing, I honestly think that your video looks really good as is, but I think some more set-style lighting techniques could have put that umph into the in-house shots near the beginning, but again, I'm not sure if it's more of the lighting, or if it could just be the coloration. The angles all look pretty good, although theres a few in there that I sort of think give again a tinge of "local". (I'm not sure I'm fond of shots where the camera sees a desk with the story-line object on top, this technique has been used many times and often looks very stressed. =[) The actors were all very good choices, they all were attractive and picture-esque, and seemed to play their parts well! The one thing that really stands out to me is the editing, I loved the effects like the rewind effect, the quick-foward effect (like when the guy puts the gun to his head or so, where a couple of seconds are very sped up). Also, when the police officer came into the video, that's really where it got even better in the style and coloration to me, from there, the video really topped and kept looking better and better. I really hope that I'll be able to create things that end up looking as good as this; I have a few music videos I want to shoot soon and I want to do them very natural; so if this is what can be made with mostly natural lighting sources and all that, it really exceeds what I thought was possible! I was indeed picturing even a worse look for my own upcoming projects, so this really makes me feel even more excited about what I may be able to achieve with my camera and just some natural light.

Oh also, just one more thing, I want to say that the tunnel scene's color editing may have been a little too severe, but at the same time, it was all very effective and I don't wanna say it looked bad at all. My final word is that nothing in the video struck out as bad (not even the diffusion =P I thought it was alright!) and I think you have some very good talent that will only get more experienced with each production. Also you're a very good writer!!!

Like in all honesty, I would have no problem picturing this music video on tv or youtube for a famous artist, I guess just things like re-shooting a few scenes/angles, tackling the coloration for a perfect tone, ect ect would have made this good video very perfect. It's really not that far from it!
 
Snapper123 I really appreciate your post. thank you for the indepth analysis. I may do one more once over ... maybe. lol.. The client loved it as is but I may , just for me, do it.

thanks again guys. I'm loving the DSLR's and I see big things coming up.. will be posting more.
 
I didn't like your intro. It looks very amateur with all that effects, especially repetitive effects. Looks almost like any average joe getting their hands on a few special effects so they start over using it. With the story from your video, I would have kept my intro very very simple to keep it cohesive with the rest of the flow.

As for the diffusion, i think it's all about personal taste. I don't think it added anything nor did it take away anything from the story... so I have no comments on it.

The part where the song kind of ends and things go back in time... right where the singer picks up singing again it's too abrupt. You might want to find a way to ease that in.. maybe with a overexposed shot of the last scene as the music kind of echoes out... and then fades into the singer again.

Good story line.
 
Cool stuff man. I like your main scene, looks really nice. My only issues would be with the lighting and color on the interior shots. It's a bit dim and the colors don't look right. Other than that it's nice. I'd also suggest staying away from using "normal" people. Really try to get actors, it makes a huge difference, unless of course the artist wants certain people in it.

Cheers!
 
North Philly stand up!! (Born and raised 22nd and Diamond) Anyway, I like the diffused look. It separated him from the storyline. You already mentioned the lighting issue. Great job! Keep up the good work!
 
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