Please Critique My Reel

N

nickmicros

Well-known member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ukSLLVOap4

I am having a hard time with some of the footage in the beginning from being exported twice with h.264. The color saturation, crispness and contrast looks modified.

Dose the flow and grading work? Any shots that should be replaced? I have a ton of footage that can replace the over/undercrank stuff in nyc. All criticism is welcomed!

Thanks
 
The only criticism I can think to offer is that it seems as though there are a number of shots concentrated in the front end which share a pronounced change in focus. They're all individually distinctive as shots, but sharing that focal shift to me somehow ties them together in a lump, which is better than they deserve.*

Really I found it very impressive.


*EDIT just realized that's the exact opposite of what I meant to convey: the shots deserve better than to be lumped, like that.
 
Last edited:
Sad Max said:
The only criticism I can think to offer is that it seems as though there are a number of shots concentrated in the front end which share a pronounced change in focus. They're all individually distinctive as shots, but sharing that focal shift to me somehow ties them together in a lump, which is better than they deserve.

Really I found it very impressive.
Click to expand...

Wow, I haven't notice that after watching it 100 times. Plus that is the first time anyone has pointed that out to me. Even though this cut was presented to several peers of mine your the first to spot that. Thanks Max
 
The bulk of your great shots start in the middle of the reel. I would start with your more impressive stuff first. The music was a a bit of a turn off at first, and the first "wow" shot was the silhouetted fighter at 0:41. I would put that shot closer to the front...maybe choose a different song.

Great work! Killer shots and a great sense of composition. Your camera moves are very sharp. I liked the music once it picked up, but the time it took to pick up may turn some away.
 
Thanks Steve, its funny that we share some of the same network as far as actors go. We need to met up some time! I should have messaged you for the Film Market in Philly this last June.

Taylor, thanks for the thoughtful feedback. I will probably mod it a bit in a 3rd version. The thing is I thought the middle of the cut is the weakest. Also, the martial art footage is from the only doc I have shot (as second unit) so I wanted to keep that stuff together.

The song is Radio Protector by 65 Days of Static
 
Nice work

Nice work

I'm curious as to how you did the tracking shots of the Asian girl running. Did you use a dolly or a steady cam of some sort? Educate us brother man:)
 
I like the reel a lot. It's short, sweet, and to the point and generally that's what you want to go for in reels - too long and the viewer can lose interest unless its packed with some amazing camera work. I particularly like how the score builds - it fits well the reel. Did you have someone compose that for you?
 
Great job! I thought it flowed very well.

The shot with the girl running could only be done by a motorized vehicle. So a truck is probably it.
 
Thank you all! Even though I am getting amazing feedback I am still tweeking it bc I see flaws...

Funny thing about the score. I was sitting on footage for about 8 months without a reel because I never found a instrumental that would flow well with my work. Eventually I became so frustrated that I went to cinematography.com and watched every reel I could find. Searching for a track I could steel. Finally I came across an excellent Red reel shot by Matt Garrett which had the perfect instrumental that I wanted. Private messaged him for permission, he informed me he did not create the track or own rights to it. Then I went at it the cut in post.

The original is called radio protector by 65 days of static.

The shot of the asian girl running was taken with limited gear. Everything in my reel was shot with a basic HVX/letus set up witout a matte box or follow focus. I think there are 2 shots with a skateboard dolly and 2 shots with a HVX/glidecam 4000. Everything else was handheld (without any HH support system).

For the shot the director and I scouted the smoothest street we could find, of course the location must still have the look we wanted. We also wanted a extremely wide perspective (which also helped with smooth movement). The lens is the widest nikon lens (14mm f/2.8D I believe) with out fisheye distortion. For the actually movement we shot out of the back of a S.U.V without a steadicam or tripod, we needed a lower angle. So I propped the HVX/Letus up on a fat fluffy winter jacket and held the camera still as possible. No pan or tilt. The actress was told to stay directly behind the camera as best as possible and we got the take third try.
 
Kudos to you my friend

Kudos to you my friend

and thanks for the informative description of your work. I always admired improvising in the way they had to on low budget flicks b4 modern tech. It goes to show you how much more of an advantage we now have over guys like John Cassavetes and the like.

keep at it brother and I look forward to seeing what else you guys produce, it's inspiring to say the least.

peace
 
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