OTHER: My Reel (or the first time I share work on DVX)

G

greymog

Well-known member
Hi all,

Just edited this post. It's my first 'post your work' thread on dvx, and I've been loving the feedback, positive and negative, been super helpful and motivating. I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I'm keeping just one thread for posting my work, for one, not to be messy, and two, to be able to see progress from beginning to end.

http://tarekkandilfilm.blogspot.com/ This is the blog post with the rundown, mostly big-ups to everyone I know, and details on one look I'm proud of (rooftop shots), and how I got it in camera.

http://www.vimeo.com/28793976 This is my showreel 2006-2010, no more password.

http://vimeo.com/34217988 This is a web ad I did for a fashion designer, my cut.

http://vimeo.com/34218567 This is the cut they took for the site.

http://tarekkandilfilm.blogspot.com/p/stills-gallery.html These are frame grabs from several other projects that are either unfinished, still in progress, or don't belong to me past a few frames put up.

And of course, the one big-up that should go here is to everyone on this forum. Sincerely, to EVERYONE on this forum.

Tarek Kandil
 
Last edited:
I liked the shots on top of the roof the best-they were good. It's a pretty mixed reel. There are some shots that look really boring and some that look good but they're only up for a split second and then gone. The opening 12 seconds looked like some bad music video from the nineties. If I was you and serious about film then shoot a short film. The problems involved with actually shooting a film will make you a better filmmaker. Good luck. remember it doesn't really matter if your work is good or not. Stick with it and keep learning and you will improve. It's all about improving. I'm a newb too and I know it takes guts to post a video up. I have not yet. So good on you! You were brave.
 
I think this reel is amazing, especially all the gunplay stuff at the end--you are just nailing the look and the vibe you're going for. Don't really get why there isn't more interest. I guess the first 12 seconds are a little off-putting and maybe the compression settings? Also, you are way too modest and self-deprecating in your post, its way better then you represented it.
 
:) I'm glad for both posts. I totally agree about the first 12 seconds. They were the very first things I did 5 years ago for an event on dv with iMovie. I mean I knew nothing.

The roof shots are my favorite till today. Trying to beat those, it's gonna happen, I just wrapped a short last week, finishing off the last bits of sound but also not too happy with it. Another's happening next week.

I'm really happy I got responses, searcher, thishideious replica, thanks a jillion I will put more work on this thread if I can. Your posts were cool I'm glad someone looked :)

I have to be modest man, one day maybe I can be like 'yeah you know it's good' but honestly, coming across as good is something I can fake if I want, and pretend that everything I did was on purpose, the truth is most of that reel are the happiest most salvageable accidents I've made. That's all my work is gonna be. I'm in that phase of repeating stuff a few times just to know every move I make over and over.

Lebanon is harsh though, not a very encouraging place for this. So I like the modest-self-deprecating me of dvx. I feel like a nice guy.
 
Ok, I'm back... with new work. This is a video I was commissioned to do for a fashion designer in Lebanon. They picked a track I really liked, and I just went ahead with my GH1. Had some light, softbox and two hard bulbs, lots of whiteboard in case, and took advantage of any other lighting in the location, which was a gorgeous place.

Again, noob, there's previous work in there before, looking for brutal criticism, and just to know if there's been any improvement.

Ok guys here it is, enjoy.

http://vimeo.com/34217988
 
As was mentioned earlier, is the self-deprecation really necessary in your case? no.

To begin, the audio syncing is fantastic and the song is GREAT. I'm sick of seeing vids of a buddhist temple shot with real gestalt then horrible taste planning the musical part. I'm really in no place to critique so I will praise instead. I've been waiting to see some new footage come of the gh1 that would be able to concretize camera whoring as being totally relative and superfluous. This 59 second homogeneous project does it for me. It is a full project, e.g., the music, the video, the grading, and the motion work together and thereby it's exemplary of the cliche'd 'its the in the hands not the cams,' and goes a long way in proving that. mad props

but how could you go wrong with that subject anyway :p
 
Wow. Nice work. Compare this with the first ten seconds of your demo reel. You've come a LONG way! World's apart.
 
Thanks guys :) Here's the notes. Hacked GH1 Max-Latitude patch, shot at 25fps and retimed with aftereffects' timewarp plugin, keyframes on source frames, and I'd allocate about 5 frames a second. I find that as long as the movements are subtle, it can work, and found better results shooting 25 1080 and scaling down after adding some grain than shooting 50p (which is forfeited with max latitude patch) and not scaling at all. Less visible artifacts from retiming.

Lifted my shadows a bit first thing usind shadow/highlight (I've been doing that for a while) Shadow tonal width 10, radius 10 (adjust radius according to output, 10 for high detailed scenes at 720p looks ok, doesn't show the 'fake HDR' halos too much), and lift shadows to taste. I could've pushed them farther, that results in a half-painting-half-poster-from-the-fifties-norman-rockwell thing that I love but not for this piece. Lifting slightly simulates a slight increase in DR.

Then an unsharp mask, then glow (animated), then colorista, and of course, misfire (I do miss sapphire though that was on an older system) for film damage. It's funny how I have this urge to slightly degrade quality in order to increase production value. They like the film damage.

I used a softbox and practicals, Canon FD 24/2.8 at f4 most of the time, and a 50 1.4. One day shoot, about ten in post, a good 5-7 hours a day.

Again, thanks guys, feels good, more coming soon I hope...

T
 
@Mattyg

Indeed. I have to admit/confess. When there's jump cuts, it 90% of the time means that I ahd one day to shoot, it is the number one 'salvage' method people ask for/turn to here myself included. "Pick the moments you like and jump through them man, it's spontaneous".

If I had two days, there would be less jumping. I would have reshot what I didn't like. And yes if it were up to me, I would like to always have more than a day and would have jumped less. It's kind of jarring at times doesn't go with the tune. Maybe more appropriate if most of the figure stays in same position but maybe one extremity is moving, like just the hand changes position, at a hihat or something, not too strong a moment. That could've been a n appropriate way to jump cut deliberately if I had to think about it again.

So yeah, that was 'hey let's pick some moments' You're right I dunno if it works for the thing or against it. Some are time ramps but so fast they don't show too.

The video curiously looks nicer in 12fps. I personally love 12fps and am waiting for the chance to do a 12 fps film. It can be such a violent frame rate if things are moving fast. A punch comes out of nowhere with every other frame missing. Too 'un-slick' for this though.

One day...
 
Thanks Tim, glad you like. This is a really nice feeling I want to put more work up every time I read this :)
 
I'm back... with new work. This is a video I was commissioned to do for a fashion designer in Lebanon. They picked a track I really liked, and I just went ahead with my GH1. Had some light, softbox and two hard bulbs, lots of whiteboard in case, and took advantage of any other lighting in the location, which was a gorgeous place.

Again, noob, there's previous work in there before, looking for brutal criticism, and just to know if there's been any improvement.

Ok guys here it is, enjoy.
Click to expand...
There were some really nice shots in there. The overall grade fit the content well. What I thought could have been better, the overall direction to the model. She looked lost in a good number of shots, as if you took clips then slowed them down to make it fit where you needed it. It also looks like she was posing for a photographer and you just took what was there, if that makes any sense. I just feel like she wasnt communicating with the camera, I felt she should have looked at the lens more.

The cut to the music was sweet, it worked well. This is nice work.
 
maranfilms that's exactly what happened. The stills I shot were good, but this video happened on the spot as i filmed her in between shots etc. they were indeed tiny slices of 'lost'. It would have been better with more contact to the camera... thanks :) I updated a stills page as well, and stuck all my links in original post. :) More to come.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top