nine to five

H

hustheman

New member
hey guys, first post, just found this site using google. looks like a great community

anyways we just made our first video and i'm really proud of it. However i highly doubt that I am perfect in anyway. :cheesy: So i want to hear some comments and criticism on things to improve.

this was shot on a Canon T2i, 1080 24fps. Most of it was shot with a 50mm, with one or two shots on the kit 18-55mm

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I AGREE
 
1) it's boring... too slow.. couldn't get past 2 minutes

2) You need a tripod with a fluid head

3) practice focusing

4) I have the same red can of shaving foam

5) it's good work overall! I can tell this is just a learning experience for you. So it looks like you are doing well. Keep it up.
 
thanks for the comments.

yea fluid head is definitely high on my list of things to buy. However they are all very expensive. Do you have any recommendations around the 100 dollar mark?

Focusing is another thing I have had trouble with. When the screen is so small and not always in a comfortable position, making sure the focus is right is hard. Also the fact that i was shooting most of this wide open at 1.8 made it even hard when the actor moves out of the focal plane

thanks for watching!
 
The focusing issues and need for a fluid tripod head have been mentioned, but I wanted to second that.

Why on earth were you shooting so much at f1.8?! That leaves you with a focal plane about as shallow as Keanu Reeves' acting repertoire. Yeah, it's neat that these cameras can do that, but shallow DOF is not to be taken lightly. Use it sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary. When you're at f1.8, you lose focus just by inhaling.

Get some audio support. The mic built into the camera is trash, but even a mic plugged into the camera is going to be useless thanks to the harsh AGC in the camera. It's difficult to watch through a video like this when all the dialog sounds like it's in a metal trash can... with an air conditioner running. Remember that the best solution is to get the mic off the camera and close to the actors.

Change your shots up a bit more. There were lots of cuts that would move from one shot, to another shot that was way too close to the first. And the office sequence stayed on the wide shot far too long. I understand where you were going, and you could have gotten away with a certain length of awkwardness on that one shot, but after a while the viewer needs to be pulled out of the same slump that the actor is in.

Watch your framing. The refrigerator camera should have seen his face looking inside. When he stands up to put the letter on the door, he stands up into a shot that's a little better, but when he's still seated the framing is just off.

When the camera moves outside the house, it looks like the lens is fogged. When you go from indoors with A/C to a warm and humid outdoors, the camera will need about 15-20 minutes to come up to temperature. Also, watch your exposure. The T2i meters too hot, so whatever the camera says is "spot on," pull it back about 2/3 of a stop, maybe a full stop.

The pacing in the open wasn't bad. It gives that feeling of a hum-drum morning routine.

In all , a noble first effort. Keep it up! And you might want to get a couple of books on lighting and sound. Also worth reading.
 
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C2V said:
The focusing issues and need for a fluid tripod head have been mentioned, but I wanted to second that.

Why on earth were you shooting so much at f1.8?! That leaves you with a focal plane about as shallow as Keanu Reeves' acting repertoire. Yeah, it's neat that these cameras can do that, but shallow DOF is not to be taken lightly. Use it sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary. When you're at f1.8, you lose focus just by inhaling.

Get some audio support. The mic built into the camera is trash, but even a mic plugged into the camera is going to be useless thanks to the harsh AGC in the camera. It's difficult to watch through a video like this when all the dialog sounds like it's in a metal trash can... with an air conditioner running. Remember that the best solution is to get the mic off the camera and close to the actors.

Change your shots up a bit more. There were lots of cuts that would move from one shot, to another shot that was way too close to the first. And the office sequence stayed on the wide shot far too long. I understand where you were going, and you could have gotten away with a certain length of awkwardness on that one shot, but after a while the viewer needs to be pulled out of the same slump that the actor is in.

Watch your framing. The refrigerator camera should have seen his face looking inside. When he stands up to put the letter on the door, he stands up into a shot that's a little better, but when he's still seated the framing is just off.

When the camera moves outside the house, it looks like the lens is fogged. When you go from indoors with A/C to a warm and humid outdoors, the camera will need about 15-20 minutes to come up to temperature. Also, watch your exposure. The T2i meters too hot, so whatever the camera says is "spot on," pull it back about 2/3 of a stop, maybe a full stop.

The pacing in the open wasn't bad. It gives that feeling of a hum-drum morning routine.

In all , a noble first effort. Keep it up! And you might want to get a couple of books on lighting and sound. Also worth reading.
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again thanks for the comments

the reason we shot at 1.8 so much was because of lighting. Then again in retrospect I could have compromised with a higher ISO setting and a smaller aperture.

i also agree on the mic issue but as with many problems money is short. recommendations on decent microphones less than 100 dollars would be appreciated. I think i saw one called the Zoom h4 for 99 bucks but that doesnt ship for a while.

So you are saying that the changes between the shots weren't different enough. I'm assuming you were talking about the change between going down the stairs to the fridge, and possibly the scene where the boss walks in. If so I'll keep that in mind.

The fridge shot was a hard shot to get. The fridge we were working with was disgusting. Haha. It was painful to put my baby into it. But I'll keep framing in mind for next time.
 
I didn't really see the point of the film. I got that his boss overwhelmed him with work, then he felt he had enough then typed his resignation.

Before even considering spending another dime on your cam, I would say spend it on a good mic. And if you can swing the cash for a zoom h4n get one. otherwise, just get a decent pre amp, like a beachtek or something. And stop that lens down some, open up your field, and lose that clausterphobic feel you have going on here.

overall, I think you put forth real effort and did your best. take the advice with an open mind, and dont let your ego get in the way of learnig, like so many do. Because if your offended by critique, you will never progress. keep shooting.
 
maranfilms said:
I didn't really see the point of the film. I got that his boss overwhelmed him with work, then he felt he had enough then typed his resignation.

Before even considering spending another dime on your cam, I would say spend it on a good mic. And if you can swing the cash for a zoom h4n get one. otherwise, just get a decent pre amp, like a beachtek or something. And stop that lens down some, open up your field, and lose that clausterphobic feel you have going on here.

overall, I think you put forth real effort and did your best. take the advice with an open mind, and dont let your ego get in the way of learnig, like so many do. Because if your offended by critique, you will never progress. keep shooting.
Click to expand...

I think one of my stronger points as a person is my ability to take criticism well. I acknowledge the fact that I'm obviously not perfect and this being my first dive into shooting video, obviously things are going to be wrong. The only way I would ever know is when people like you take the time to crap on my work =). Which I truly appreciate.

so the general agreement is that we need better audio and writing.

Just throwing it out there but if i had a crappy camcorder could i use that solely for audio and sync it up later in post production? Would that audio source be any better?
 
hustheman, welcome to the community. DVXuser tends to be very technically-oriented, so I thought I would give you some advice that's more about how to improve your storytelling.

First, your movie has some clichés that you should avoid at all costs:
- person waking up, hitting the alarm
- Morning ritual of getting ready for the day
- the fake-looking run-in on an uncrowded sidewalk

Also, I recommend you try and stick to stories that you can tell with characters your age. If your intention is to show an audience (whether it's Youtube or folks here on DVXuser) movies you're making, it's difficult to suspend disbelief that teenagers are working adults. Write for the resources that you have at your disposal. Find interesting locations that you have near you and think of characters and situations that would make a good story. Avoid shooting at your house. It's convenient, but looks mundane because everyone your age does it. I did the same thing back in high school.

Getting the right equipment can certainly aid you to tell a story better, but it's not nearly as important as refining your writing skills. After all, you could have a Red One camera, a super-fluidhead tripod, full grip truck and lighting kit, pro sound equipment, etc. but if your story is junk, all the equipment is irrelevant.

Anyway, practice makes perfect amirite? I look forward to seeing your next project.
 
jambredz said:
sorry i havent even watched it as yet...as i'm running and waiting for this to load but i read a comment about needed a cheap fluidhead tripod. this will get u some decent shots. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...TA18_ProVista_Tripod_with.html#specifications


will come back and comment later.
Click to expand...

Fahad said:
no.

but, i hear this ain't too bad for ~$150.
Click to expand...


Both look promising but are pushing it with my budget. With college coming up soon I've been saving almost all my money. Even getting the camera itself pushed the limit a bit. I'll keep these in mind though.

TomGruber said:
hustheman, welcome to the community. DVXuser tends to be very technically-oriented, so I thought I would give you some advice that's more about how to improve your storytelling.

First, your movie has some clichés that you should avoid at all costs:
- person waking up, hitting the alarm
- Morning ritual of getting ready for the day
- the fake-looking run-in on an uncrowded sidewalk

Also, I recommend you try and stick to stories that you can tell with characters your age. If your intention is to show an audience (whether it's Youtube or folks here on DVXuser) movies you're making, it's difficult to suspend disbelief that teenagers are working adults. Write for the resources that you have at your disposal. Find interesting locations that you have near you and think of characters and situations that would make a good story. Avoid shooting at your house. It's convenient, but looks mundane because everyone your age does it. I did the same thing back in high school.

Getting the right equipment can certainly aid you to tell a story better, but it's not nearly as important as refining your writing skills. After all, you could have a Red One camera, a super-fluidhead tripod, full grip truck and lighting kit, pro sound equipment, etc. but if your story is junk, all the equipment is irrelevant.

Anyway, practice makes perfect amirite? I look forward to seeing your next project.
Click to expand...

This is the kinda of advice and help you won't find in guides online, thank you very much.

I totally understand what your saying and where your coming from. Originally this project was supposed to be a music video for a song called 9-5er's Anthem and thats why we had the business theme. We scrapped the idea of it being a music video but kept a lot of the shots. I guess it didnt turn out as well as we hoped.

I totally agree with your argument about writing and equipment. None of us in our group has any talent for writing so this part may take a lot of trial and error but hopefully we can improve.
 
hustheman said:
Just throwing it out there but if i had a crappy camcorder could i use that solely for audio and sync it up later in post production? Would that audio source be any better?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. A crappy camcorder will most likely have the same issues that your T2i has: poor AGC (automatic gain control), limited input, poor quality built-in mic. Using the built-in mic on any camera or audio recorder just isn't a good idea for dialog.

It also depends on what you have to feed that camcorder, i.e. microphones. If you can defeat the AGC on the camcorder, and have something like a Beachtek XLR converter on hand along with a decent mic and boom kit, then perhaps. But there's no point to spend money, especially on a tight budget, on something like that as it's a temporary fix. Buy right, buy once.

The Rode VideoMic is a great little device, for what it is. I have one for my T2i, but the only reason I do is so that my scratch audio is much clearer for sync in post, and as a fail-safe for nat sound. It's a vast improvement over the little pinhole mic on the camera, but the T2i's AGC is still going to destroy anything that comes through it.

The Zoom H1 (not the H4, which is now the H4n, which is $300) is also not going to be a good solution. No XLR ins, so it cannot take professional mics. And using the built-in stereo mics is going to be problematic. Dialog is not a stereo deal. It's recorded in mono, and when it's mixed it is mixed to the center of the stereo or surround image.
 
C2V said:
The focusing issues and need for a fluid tripod head have been mentioned, but I wanted to second that.

Yeah, it's neat that these cameras can do that, but shallow DOF is not to be taken lightly. Use it sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary. When you're at f1.8, you lose focus just by inhaling.

Get some audio support. The mic built into the camera is trash, but even a mic plugged into the camera is going to be useless thanks to the harsh AGC in the camera. It's difficult to watch through a video like this when all the dialog sounds like it's in a metal trash can... with an air conditioner running. Remember that the best solution is to get the mic off the camera and close to the actors.

Change your shots up a bit more. There were lots of cuts that would move from one shot, to another shot that was way too close to the first. And the office sequence stayed on the wide shot far too long. I understand where you were going, and you could have gotten away with a certain length of awkwardness on that one shot, but after a while the viewer needs to be pulled out of the same slump that the actor is in.

Watch your framing. The refrigerator camera should have seen his face looking inside. When he stands up to put the letter on the door, he stands up into a shot that's a little better, but when he's still seated the framing is just off.

When the camera moves outside the house, it looks like the lens is fogged. When you go from indoors with A/C to a warm and humid outdoors, the camera will need about 15-20 minutes to come up to temperature. Also, watch your exposure. The T2i meters too hot, so whatever the camera says is "spot on," pull it back about 2/3 of a stop, maybe a full stop.

The pacing in the open wasn't bad. It gives that feeling of a hum-drum morning routine.

In all , a noble first effort. Keep it up! And you might want to get a couple of books on lighting and sound. Also worth reading.
Click to expand...

"Why on earth were you shooting so much at f1.8?! That leaves you with a focal plane about as shallow as Keanu Reeves' acting repertoire."

Best line EVER!!! you made my morning brother!!!
 
hustheman said:
haha well thats embarrassing how many of those faults I committed. I'll try to stay away in my next project
Click to expand...

nobody's born with an oscar in their hand. it's a learning process. your video here is 100x better than my first (and only so far). don't be too hard on yourself.
 
Hi, I think everything has been said already. For me, you could have tighten the edit a little bit more. It took the kid to dress up for almost 2 minutes. You can achieve that for maybe 30 seconds or less?

Overall, it's a great start. Keep it up and as they say practice makes perfect. Good luck!
 
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