tracporter
Active member
Ttt
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New music video
- Thread starter tracporter
- Start date
vision_filmz
Carbonite Member
Stay away from the graphics as it makes your production look poor and unprofessional. Put your camera on a shoulder rig or tripod, to many of those outside shots had to much camera shake.
Find better locations, all of your outside areas were very poor and uninteresting. It's like you just went to the corner and shot a video.... A major part of any scene in a project is choosing the right location. Your shots outside were overexposed, get yourself a loupe to judge exposure or a monitor.
I have to tell you again, stay away from those graphics, they look very very bad.
The only scene I actually liked was the indoor one with people by the pool table, problem is you needed a lot more light, A LOT more.
Overall I would say you have a good start here but you have a long way to go
peace
tracporter
Active member
Vision_filmz, I read your response and to be honest with you ,your blunt advice would probably be more respected if you had something posted to show me how it is done. Not everybody has access to the greatest locations or the money to secure one. I read your other posts and you seem to only commend people who have extremely polished videos and you **** on people that are learning. There is no balance with you critique. You never mentioned what was wrong with the graphics, just saying they suck does not help me. As far as over blown shot you need to look at the Plies music video "Becky" which was blown out considerably. Everyone has their way of expressing their creativity but you seem to come down on 70 percent of the people you respond too. Post something, back up the expert advice you seem to always have.
randomname
Well-known member
He's trying to help you, and everything he said was right. Frankly, it's just not a very good video. I respect people who will acknowledge their mistakes and figure out what they can learn from them and how to improve, but you can't just get defensive because you posted your video to a board for semipro-professional filmmakers and someone told you what you could do better. Also, the difference between what you shot and the becky video is that they still had a good tonal range, it didn't look washed out.
Finnegan
Well-known member
Hey tracporter. These guys have valid critiques of your video. I agree with what vision said about the locations, interior lighting, over-exposure in exteriors, and camera work. But I do think he's is being a little harsh - the video isn't terrible but it is amateur. One thing is for sure: I've seen music videos a lot worse than that so you shouldn't be getting defensive.
I want to show you one of my music videos that I shot for a digital network called Maker Studios:
The reason I am bringing this video up as an example is because I had to deal with some of the same issues you probably dealt with on your music video. I had to use available exterior locations without permits (which in LA is a nightmare) and was very restricted on how much lighting I could bring and set up in the exterior/interior scenes. Also, it's graphic heavy. But you'll notice that in most shots, the camera movement is steady and the frame is well composed - even if the editing is hyperactive. Even the handheld shots seem fluid because they're used in the right context. Same with the graphics. When we shot it I had no idea graphics were going to be implemented but when I saw the final product I was impressed. The shots in the alleyway came out so well, and that was just an under construction sidewalk area that we found driving around.
So I guess my advice to you is to take more time to plan and pay more attention to detail, particularly on the things that are in your control. You may not have control over how much money you can spend on lights, but that doesn't mean you can't place an actor next to a window and use natural lighting to get a good shot. You also may not have the budget for a steadi-cam, but you can use sticks and cut something interesting in the edit, or you can make use of the handheld aesthetic as long as it fits the story and feel of the rest of the project. Don't compromise on choosing locations.
All in all, not a bad effort. But you can do much better. And I think that's what these guys are trying to help you understand.
I want to show you one of my music videos that I shot for a digital network called Maker Studios:
The reason I am bringing this video up as an example is because I had to deal with some of the same issues you probably dealt with on your music video. I had to use available exterior locations without permits (which in LA is a nightmare) and was very restricted on how much lighting I could bring and set up in the exterior/interior scenes. Also, it's graphic heavy. But you'll notice that in most shots, the camera movement is steady and the frame is well composed - even if the editing is hyperactive. Even the handheld shots seem fluid because they're used in the right context. Same with the graphics. When we shot it I had no idea graphics were going to be implemented but when I saw the final product I was impressed. The shots in the alleyway came out so well, and that was just an under construction sidewalk area that we found driving around.
So I guess my advice to you is to take more time to plan and pay more attention to detail, particularly on the things that are in your control. You may not have control over how much money you can spend on lights, but that doesn't mean you can't place an actor next to a window and use natural lighting to get a good shot. You also may not have the budget for a steadi-cam, but you can use sticks and cut something interesting in the edit, or you can make use of the handheld aesthetic as long as it fits the story and feel of the rest of the project. Don't compromise on choosing locations.
All in all, not a bad effort. But you can do much better. And I think that's what these guys are trying to help you understand.
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randomname
Well-known member
agreed, the earlier posts maybe could have been a little nicer about it, and I really liked your example. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of budget/shooting schedule did you guys have for that?
tracporter
Active member
I watched the "Mario" video. Very good, after watching it I really see what you mean. Was it shot with a 7d. If so what did you do in post to get those colors to pop like that. As far as the video I shot it was a zero budget. I never disagreed with visions, he just seemed extremely blunt without some examples of his own work.
tracporter
Active member
I watched the "Mario" video. Very good, after watching it I really see what you mean. Was it shot with a 7d. If so what did you do in post to get those colors to pop like that. As far as the video I shot it was a zero budget. I never disagreed with visions, he just seemed extremely blunt without some examples of his own work.
tracporter
Active member
I tried to remove the video from dvxuser site until I can figure out how to handle the issues I have. So please disregard this post until I can post something a little better.
vision_filmz
Carbonite Member
Don't give up dude, half of the people that make it are the ones dedicated to learning and working hard.
In my opinion if you have an uninteresting location this is a good way to use some shallow depth of field shots. The graphics look cheesy, don't that. Indoor location was good just needed more light. Overall relax man and keep working on your vision till people want to put money on the table. It's not easy but you have to make them believe
peace
@finnegan that video "Do the mario rap" was great!!
In my opinion if you have an uninteresting location this is a good way to use some shallow depth of field shots. The graphics look cheesy, don't that. Indoor location was good just needed more light. Overall relax man and keep working on your vision till people want to put money on the table. It's not easy but you have to make them believe
peace
@finnegan that video "Do the mario rap" was great!!
jambredz
Veteran
I'd encourage Tracporter to actually NOT pull the video. Its all a learning process. Some people will be harsher in their critique but we are all here to help. Its better to hear it here on the boards also than have people gush over and applaud your work but they really think its crap. Everything is a work in progress. Keep learning and getting better at what you do and you'll be surprised how far you come along.
tracporter
Active member
Thanks for the advice, but honestly, one or two seasoned individuals telling me its not that good is enough for me. The whole forum telling me its bad would be over kill.
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
That depends. Did you post it here to be told it was great? Or to learn how to make the next one better? If the latter, then the more advice you get, the better -- right?
tracporter
Active member
Never was expecting to be told it was great. I got out of it what I needed. I decided to get more into color grading, I purchased deflectors and a large silk screen to control my outside lighting more. I also purchaseD a flo kit for my inside shots and i have been scouting around for better locations in Virginia to shoot at.I will be testing all the advice I got on the last video toward the video I have scheduled nov 27.