GH2 Music Video (Driftwood Cluster v7 'Apocalypse Now' - 6 GOP Nebula '444')
- Thread starter Gary Huff
- Start date
Never even noticed, but it's something to keep in mind. My avatar needs to be changed, but it's incredibly low on my list of priorities.
I normally agree, but sometimes you have to frame in order to keep as much unpleasantness out as possible.
Not quite sure I agree with this. I think you could almost say that about 99.999% of camera moves. It's intended to imbue the frame with motion so that things don't seem so dry.
Wasn't my call. We shot a ton of singing elements, but there were reasons why this particular one was chosen. Plus, the artist liked this area as he said he felt it fit with his vibe.
Originally this was supposed to be at a bar at night. He couldn't get the bar, and the originally cast actress wasn't available past 9pm on the shoot day, which compressed the schedule that remained the same even after re-casting (she dropped the bomb that she wouldn't kiss because she was saving herself or some such nonsense, even though she had the script for a good week beforehand and it clearly outlined that).
I'm not particularly happy, but I'm just not that experienced in grading with the color board, and a Resolve pass just wasn't in the cards, so that's all stock FCPX grading.
Well, that's guerrilla style for you on a compressed schedule. Considering this park is "leash free", I'm just glad my gear didn't get marked by some dog.
Only the top part (and the most interesting visually) was closed and they were opening it while we were in the middle of shooting. Some of the takes it's open, some of them it's closed. The artist preferred his performance in the closed takes. We just got permission to shoot there when we arrived (the other bar we had planned decided to simply not open that afternoon). The bar was still in operation, and the arrival of some drunk assholes at 7pm on a Sunday made me speed up the process to keep from anything unsavory from occurring.
I had nothing to do with the extras in that scene, they were simply friends of the artist who volunteered to be in it. Given the situation described above, I had to roll with what was given. Changing things up would have made the video better, I agree, but would it have been worth the extra cost in time/money? I don't think so.
Did.
Yes. I went for a overall lighting look. Tends to be what happens when you are DP, Gaffer, and Grip all rolled into one, and the person responsible for letting you into the location forgets and sets back shoot time by a full hour.
Well, the story is done at this point in the song. It's basically just an invigorated chorus, so it matches the structure, really.
Actually, the location is pretty heavily visited by locals. It's not just to "feed the ducks." Granted this is a local thing, but he's a local artist.
Yes, but it's a fine line between showcasing her and keeping him in the shot. At the end of the day, he's the artist/producer.
Yes, in found it very hard to isolate the skin given the combination of 4:2:0/ColorCore NDs and inability to use Colorista in FCPX. Proper skin tones made the shot look off in the background, so I split the difference.
From the beginning it was simply intended to be a montage of just them together. The song doesn't give any specifics. I find "lacks dynamism" to be meaningless, frankly.
The artist actually didn't want this specifically, and one of them avoided those "arbitrary" camera moves and thus looked odd in the edit because it was static. In the end, I cobbled together the best of these.
They aren't a real couple and she was like the third or fourth actress cast. Almost had to cancel the shoot because we were a day away with no lead. Such is the life of low-budget productions.
Which is boring as hell. Much better to reach at least and try something that fails than take the "safe" route. This was an incredibly low-budget shoot for an artist who wanted something nice. I did the best I could given some incredibly non-ideal circumstances. Sure, I'd love to have a decent-sized crew and a grip-truck with paid extras and locations, but until then, I have to work with what I'm given.
I do appreciate the comments, some of which I found helpful, though I do think there's a subtle, "Here's a taste of your own medicine!" vibe to it, which doesn't need to be there.
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Liam Hall
Veteran
Great reply Gary. Do you want me to respond to each point - only kidding;-)
In general I agree with not taking the safe route and I know what it's like working with no budget, I just felt you've been a touch too ambitious with the number of locations etc. For the record, none of my comments were meant in a "taste of your own medicine" way - you'll have to take my word for that.
In general I agree with not taking the safe route and I know what it's like working with no budget, I just felt you've been a touch too ambitious with the number of locations etc. For the record, none of my comments were meant in a "taste of your own medicine" way - you'll have to take my word for that.
Someone who has worked on several projects here's my professional opinion.
Loved the video.....
The only knock are two things, the opening scene should have been much stronger on how they met and should have used some different color grades in certain scenes to separate ones from the actual present. Other than that great video. The ending was strong and the flashback sequence (minus the lack of grade) was powerful and conveyed the message 100%. I like it a lot and thought you did a great job. Loved the dance scenes and the dolly reaction of the main artist!
Here's a project I worked on (edited and strongly structured together) as it's only fair to share some of my work
peace
part II to the video
Some continuity errors but still liked it overall
Loved the video.....
The only knock are two things, the opening scene should have been much stronger on how they met and should have used some different color grades in certain scenes to separate ones from the actual present. Other than that great video. The ending was strong and the flashback sequence (minus the lack of grade) was powerful and conveyed the message 100%. I like it a lot and thought you did a great job. Loved the dance scenes and the dolly reaction of the main artist!
Here's a project I worked on (edited and strongly structured together) as it's only fair to share some of my work
peace
part II to the video
Some continuity errors but still liked it overall
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dustylense
Veteran
Guys, thats NOT my point. Harsh criticism is fine. But 100% harsh is "harsh". What I was asking Liam for was at least ONE good point out of him. JUST ONE. As Liam says, he's a music video expert. Well, as an expert I'm sure Gary would have said to him, "Was there ANYTHING I did right"? Even while looking at a car that I detest, I will find something on it I like.
I get that the expert is trying to use his resume to give an HONEST critique of the video. But a good teacher and mentor will encourage what is done both wrong and right.
dustylense
Veteran
Liam Hall
Veteran
Dusty, or is it Mr Lense? I pointed out that lots of people had given positive comments and would focus on things that I think could be improved.
Hopefully you look better than you spell
critique
critique
I can see why more people are not honest in their critique. The fact that it looks good and you finished it is a good thing. I dont think that you had to justify why you did each step. Most people here have worked or are working on a "no budget, no crew" type of existence. I recommend just looking at the points made and taking what you think is helpful and leaving what you dont. I think you guys were a little hard on Liam for being honest in his opinion on what would make the video better. He didnt say that it sucked, he only said what would make it better.
critique
I can see why more people are not honest in their critique. The fact that it looks good and you finished it is a good thing. I dont think that you had to justify why you did each step. Most people here have worked or are working on a "no budget, no crew" type of existence. I recommend just looking at the points made and taking what you think is helpful and leaving what you dont. I think you guys were a little hard on Liam for being honest in his opinion on what would make the video better. He didnt say that it sucked, he only said what would make it better.
Yep. I for one have given up. At this point, I limit myself to "well done" when I see really good work, and I say nothing about flaws - cause it just deteriorates into a flamewar/accusations etc. Instead of policing how people give feedback, how about you give your own, and don't comment on another poster's character and motivations? What really, really kills me, is how divorced this is from the industry reality - in hollywood, you can't get anyone to read your script or watch your video or hear your pitch - unless you are a working pro, that is, and sometimes not even then. People would KILL for the kind of feedback Liam is giving for FREE. That's how you get a whole sub-industry (often scammy) offering paid analysis of your script etc.. I'm not talking about getting read by your girlfriend or her friends and friends of friends - I'm talking about getting feedback from people who are in key gatekeeping positions - development execs, readers, producers, agents etc. Here you have Liam - a working pro - giving FREE extensive feedback - and people are nitpicking about how he doesn't give cuddles at the same time. We're not five-year olds here, and don't need our milk warmed; if you aspire to work in this industry, you are grateful to get feedback without a lot of fluff that just wastes time ("and congratulations on not leaving the lens cap on while shooting this sequence").
DVXuser is a tremendous resource and has always had great potential. But it's up to the users to make it work. We can chase away honest contributors, or we can make it a fantastic community. It'll only be as good as we are.
I'm not criticizing any one person - we can all do better, myself included. And Gary deserves a lot of credit, Liam deserves big thanks, as well as everyone else who contributed.
Ian-T
Veteran
Gary...nice. Some shakey camera thingies going on in a gouple of places but....nice. Looks like you could have turned this into a narrative if you wanted. I guess if I disected it like some other folks I could find a plethora of things that were...um...off. but I didn't look at it from that perspective. I looked at this like the common viewer...and it fit right in there with any other decent video i've watched. I also liked how the song told a story and the video followed that story. if anything the only thing that bothered me were those shakey camera moments which there were only two of them.
Ya'll go easy on Liam. He put a lot of thought in those comments. Things that I would have not picked up on myself. They were helpful. But Dustylense's point is spot on about at least telling us what he (Liam) "liked" about the video. Other than those well thought out comments by Liam it does appear as a jab. Quite honestly....we all know Gary to be a straight shooter in his posts. So when I seen a video posted by him to be critiqued....I kind of laughed ( a payback opportunity for some folks)..... But...Gary's a big boy. His cool, calm and collective responses proves that (though I was secretly wishing for someone to be lambasted.....rats!!).
Ya'll go easy on Liam. He put a lot of thought in those comments. Things that I would have not picked up on myself. They were helpful. But Dustylense's point is spot on about at least telling us what he (Liam) "liked" about the video. Other than those well thought out comments by Liam it does appear as a jab. Quite honestly....we all know Gary to be a straight shooter in his posts. So when I seen a video posted by him to be critiqued....I kind of laughed ( a payback opportunity for some folks)..... But...Gary's a big boy. His cool, calm and collective responses proves that (though I was secretly wishing for someone to be lambasted.....rats!!).
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dustylense
Veteran
Let's just say that to mentor is to teach and vice-versa. I've had many mentors in my life. Never has any mentor in my life earned my respect by telling me everything I did wrong. Good mentors or good teachers will find a way to say what actually was done right. We don't just learn from mistakes only. We also learn from success or things done right. If you want to teach, you must be able to point both aspects out. What was done right and what was done wrong.
Liam has EVERY right to critique the work as he see's fit. As I have every right to think it was harsh and without a SINGLE compliment. But to compare a local band video to Liam's experience with bands like UB40, U2 or whatever (I see you erased the post Liam), all backed up by large budgets, art directors, set designers, lighting tech's, producers, traffic control, etc.
Sounds to me like Gary did the one man band thing.
I guess some peoples mothers never taught them, "I you can't find anything good to say, don't say anything at all". Good professors criticize and congratulate. Bitter ones criticize only.
Just one compliment or thing you thought Gary did well or right would have been enough. Just a single one. How hard is that?
Liam has EVERY right to critique the work as he see's fit. As I have every right to think it was harsh and without a SINGLE compliment. But to compare a local band video to Liam's experience with bands like UB40, U2 or whatever (I see you erased the post Liam), all backed up by large budgets, art directors, set designers, lighting tech's, producers, traffic control, etc.
Sounds to me like Gary did the one man band thing.
I guess some peoples mothers never taught them, "I you can't find anything good to say, don't say anything at all". Good professors criticize and congratulate. Bitter ones criticize only.
Just one compliment or thing you thought Gary did well or right would have been enough. Just a single one. How hard is that?
Zim
Veteran
Liam Hall
Veteran
Dusty, I haven't erased anything and I've never worked with U2. I have no idea what you are babbling about...
Thanks to the folks springing to my defence. Honestly, I didn't mean to take this thread off topic. This is Gary's thread and we should get back on topic. If someone wants to debate my critiquing skills start a new thread...
Thanks to the folks springing to my defence. Honestly, I didn't mean to take this thread off topic. This is Gary's thread and we should get back on topic. If someone wants to debate my critiquing skills start a new thread...
Zim
Veteran
Looks good JFR what camera did you use? My only problem was I can't see how a cook can afford that nice mustang!!
Zim
Veteran
I've seen many hollywood movies and think, "she would never be with him" But in this video I didn't think it was far off at all.
On balance, which as a creative director is how I think all work should be considered, it's a very nice representation of what can be done with a ridiculously cheap camera and good technique.
We all improve with criticism but for a thread focused on the G2 hacks in use, I'm thinking, "really nice job" for an obviously small production.
And as someone who deals with talent and casting projects (often with far less resources than we'd like) I thought the people looked great and believable which goes beyond the camera and technique obviously.
We all improve with criticism but for a thread focused on the G2 hacks in use, I'm thinking, "really nice job" for an obviously small production.
And as someone who deals with talent and casting projects (often with far less resources than we'd like) I thought the people looked great and believable which goes beyond the camera and technique obviously.